Chapter 93 Chapter~93~Training day.
Chapter 93 Chapter~93~Training day.
Harley~
How do I let myself get into these situations? As for Nick, I'm hopeless at denying him any request. And he's right, I need to get a handle on myself if I intend to make things different for Etta.
The grass is wet, so I slip off my sandals and barefoot it beside him across the lawn. It may look inviting, but the afternoon sunshine has the soaked greensward as hot as the devil's playground.
Thankful for the breeze, I wonder, "Did I do that?" My chest is pounding by the time we reach the crepe myrtle trees at the back of the lot, where Nick has readied a makeshift target range.
He steadies me in front of him. "What do you think?"
My hand went to my chest as my jaw dropped. Nick had arranged the various water bottles he and Sofie had dragged out of the house in a row, from smallest to largest.
Each bottle had a name: the 5-gallon water-cooler tank he'd chosen to be Ian. All the way to a mini water bottle, I was sure belonged to Kylie, that read 'Me.' In the mix were Luccese, Steve, and Donna.
"Wow, that's some lineup you have there."
"Knowing your trigger, my love, is half the battle."
"I'm loving your optimism," I flex my shoulders and roll my neck. 'Alright, Rae, here we go.'
'Follow your instincts, Harley, and the rest will come.'
"You can do this; focus on whoever you choose."
Right, big head Ian has my attention! No one is more shocked than I when the air circled into a ball above my palm with a loud whir as it solidified in mid-air at my command.
When the humming stopped, the airball hovered, bobbing up and down, pulsing to my rapid heartbeat beneath it. Nick is looking over at me; his eyes and mouth are matching circles.
This escalates my anxiety. I dropped my arm, but the air follows, so I sling my hand instead. He ducks, and the orb hits the privacy fence with a loud boom before it disappears.
Nick moves to a safer position further to my right. "That was awesome! You need to work on your aim."
"Who was aiming?"
"Try again."
The ground beneath me vibrated my feet as my Sauther stone glowed. Closing my eyes, I extend my hand, and my palm tingles as the wind forms. When I opened my eyes, my reflection danced in the sphere, which bounced as I flexed my fingers.
Nick takes a few steps closer. "Try to make it go away."
My eyes squint, 'stop', I close my hand, and the wind dissipates. That was cool! "Did you see that?!"
He nods. "Now bring it back."
Ok, that's the next logical step: taking a deep breath, I focus my mind. A ball twice the original size formed in my hand. With a smirk, I threw it across the yard, but the tank only rocked on the table.
"Come on, Harley, you can do better than that! That man killed your mother and destroyed your life."
Rae's Lycan growl vibrates my chest as I raise my hand again; the ball is now a spiked flail. It connects to the tank dead center, sending plastic debris and water flying into the air.
"That's what I'm talking about," Nick inches closer. "Now we have old Stevie, who took Rae from you. What do you have for him?"
Good question; I focus my energy on the smaller three-gallon tank. Images of Steve beating Rae with the log chain flood my mind. The air above my hand forms into a dagger.
With the flick of my wrist, I hurled it toward the Steve proxy, but my aim wasn't so true. The edge of the table gets the blade, and the whole thing tips over, and the remaining bottles fly into the air.
"Nice shooting, sis!" Kyle and Becky exited the house and joined us.
My shoulders slump as my hand returns to my side. "I was aiming for Steve."
"You did great," Nick closed the distance between us, kissed my cheek, and snaked his arm around my waist.
"Thanks, Wolfman, it was ok for a test run. Sorry about your lineup."
Kyle looked at the bottles strewn about, then at me. "It's a process, sis. You'll get there, lunch is ready, and Seth is here."
Inside, the AC feels incredible, and with a deep sigh, I take off my hat and sunglasses. Nick accepts them from me and places the glasses in the hat. We follow the smell of pizza into the main kitchen.
All five of us gathered around the cobalt-blue-tiled island bar in the center of the room. A large stained-glass dome light fixture in the same vibrant electric sapphire tone hovers above.
Matching tile countertops and backsplash give way to high-shine, creme-colored cope-and-stick cabinets. The combo adds some homey-ness to the otherwise Steril, high-tech space.
We take seats in plush, high-back, barrel-style stools as Sofie comes in with Seth, who joins us. He sits on the stool beside Kylie and gives her a fist bump as we're served the meaty, cheesy pie.
Homemade pizza is a weakness of mine. With wide eyes, I fold my slice into a taco and take a big bite. It was as good as it looked and smelled, so I went for another.
Kyle took a big sip of lemonade, set his glass down, and focused on Seth. "How long before our guests arrive?"
"Within the next 30 minutes, there will only be three of them," he said to Nick and me. "Do you have any questions?"
I'll go first. "Did you set a time limit?"
"No, it's over when the two of you say it is."
"No cameras, right?" Nick glanced over at me.
Seth shook his head, "Only audio."
"That's about it, I guess," he squeezed our joined hands. "Did you want to freshen up?"
With a nod from me, Nick gets off his stool and lifts me down from mine. We excuse ourselves, and he leads me down the hall to our room. Inside, he closes the door behind us and releases my hand.
He sits down on the bed to change his grassy loafers, and I continue to the bathroom. My nerves are setting in as I turn on the faucet. After cupping my hands, I bend and splash the water over my face.
When I look back up, he's standing behind me in the mirror and runs his hands down my arms. Kyle knocks on the door, "Are you ready, Amante?"