Chapter 27 — Time to save the day

Amara:

“Hey Bree, can I stay at your place this weekend?” I look up towards the dark sky as my friend Zoe pleads with me through the other end of the phone. The campus is really quiet at this time of night. I just got out of class, and I know that my sister Lana is waiting for me to give her a ride home from work. I try to balance my bag and cell phone as I walk towards my car. “Sure, girl. Is something going on at home?” She clucks her tongue. “Just the usual. Mom’s pretending that everything is alright, while John’s wife makes every effort to make our lives hell. I wish I’d never moved back here. I freaking hate it!” Her voice rises with derision. I can’t help but feel pity for her.

Zoe’s life hasn’t been easy. Her mother is the maid of this really rich tycoon whom she had an affair with before Zoe was born. The sad part is that everyone knows that John’s her dad, but they pretend that he isn’t. The guy is the biggest asshole in the world. He keeps marrying these trophy wives that only want him for his money. From what I saw of his wife this summer, the lady is the biggest witch of all. Unfortunately, John lets her treat Zoe and her mom like crap. The worst part of this twisted story is that John knows that Zoe is his daughter, but he keeps her mother as a maid and has never helped either of them financially. I mean, what kind of father does that?

Anyway, it’s not for me to judge. I take out my keys and press the auto-lock on my car door. The breeze feels so good on this damp day. I close my eyes and inhale the fresh scent of grass and rain in the air. The leaves stir in the breeze creating an eerie feeling around me, but I choose to ignore it. The campus is different at night than it is during the day. During the day, there are plenty of students, professors, and staff littering the grounds. At night, however, it’s a lot emptier. The students are either in their dorms or out partying. Only working students take night classes, and there are not that many of us. So the place looks abandoned. The grounds are a little scary with their old buildings and ominous lights.

I shake my head, trying to focus back on my path. “Sure, Zoe, Lana will be happy to see you. We thought that you were going to drop off the grid when you left Cal State.”

She sighs in exhaustion. “No, I just needed some time to think about my life. And I haven’t been completely off the grid. Geez, I saw you last week in the school library, you drama queen. Anyway, I’m definitely going to go back to school. I just need to find some way to pay for it. For now, I’m just going to suck it up until I figure it out. But in the meantime, I need to get away from my mom before I commit homicide. Either way, I have so much to tell you. We’ll talk tomorrow for sure.”

I nod my head and speak into the receiver as I make to open the car door. “Well, you know where the keys are.”

She laughs into the speaker and snorts. “Oh, I know where they are. I just hope I can find the rock.”

I chortle at her comment. A few years ago, when Zoe and I began school, we decided we were going to keep a spare key in a safe place. Well, we decided to tape the key to a rock, and unfortunately forgot what rock it was under. It took us an hour to find where we put it. Nevertheless, we figured out that we needed a central place to keep the rock. So, we put it in between the stairs and the rose bush. We laughed for days about it.

I make to adjust the phone in my ear and gasp as my bag slips from my hands and falls to the ground. “Ah, crap! I just dropped all of my stuff. We’ll talk tomorrow. I have to go.”

Zoe chuckles lightly, “Clumsy girl. Okay, love you. Bye.” I disconnect the phone and kneel to get my things. A growl escapes my lips as I strain to find the things that fell out of my bag in the darkness.

“Shit!” I think as I reach under my car and feel around. Unfortunately, I’m so busy looking for my keys that I don’t notice the form standing threateningly behind me. I flinch, startled, and my body slams into the side of my car. Blinking my eyes, I try to get a good look at who is standing in front of me, but it’s a losing battle. That’s when I see glowing red eyes staring back at me. “Wha…” I whisper before the shadow strikes.

I gasp loudly as the vision fades away. My eyes open slowly as if I’ve just woken from a dream. I feel faint for a moment as I gaze into the mirror and see my reflection.

Kell is standing behind me, looking concerned. “Hey, beauty queen, are you alright?”

I nod my head and turn into his arms for comfort. Kell pulls me close and wraps his hands through my hair, kissing it and whispering unintelligible words. Wrap my arms tightly around his waist, I inhale his manly scent. His heart beats steadily, making me feel comforted. It’s so sweet how he holds me like I’m the most delicate thing in the world. He’s the only person who has ever made me feel this way, and I love it.

Several moments pass before we break apart. His beautiful blue eyes gaze into mine in question.

“Tell me about your vision.” He asks gently.

At his words, my heart speeds up. I try to pull myself together as I move towards his bed and take a seat. “Sit with me,” I ask as I pat the navy blue and white striped comforter.

His body visibly tenses, but he does what I ask. Licking my lips, I take in his perfection. Call me shallow, but I can’t help but admire the way his t-shirt strains against his muscled chest and arms sexily, or the way the bulge of his pants and thighs mold to his jeans. His stride is purposeful, almost predatory, as he makes his way towards me.

He sits next to me and stretches his legs in front of him in a relaxed pose. His unruly golden brown hair curls becomingly across his forehead. Raising my hand, I slide my fingers through his hair and down his chiseled jaw with a whisper, “In my visions, there’s this girl named Bree. She’s older than us. She’s thinking about her class at Cal State and her sister. She’s on the phone with some girl named Zoe. It’s dark outside, and she’s walking to her car when it happens. She drops her stuff on the ground by mistake and kneels down to pick them up. But then something hits her on the head, and everything goes blank.”

Kell’s brow furrows as he takes my hand. “Did you see anything else?”

My throat clogs as I recall the night’s events. “Yeah…” I croak out. “…she saw red eyes before she passed out. They’re the same eyes that I saw in my other visions.”

At that moment, my body trembles as a cold chill begins to seep through my body. I cross my arms in front of my chest, trying to stave off the chill. “There were two of them. One hit her on the back, and the other with the glowing eyes was in front of her.”

I look into Kell’s cornflower blue eyes and blink back tears. “There were two…beings there, Kell. I can’t say, humans, because I’m not sure. They hurt her.” I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I shudder again as the cold begins to permeate through my body.

Kell notices my slight tremble and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “It’s okay, beauty queen. Nothing is going to happen to you for as long as I live.” He whispers as he pulls me close to his chest. Somehow his reassurance creates a warmth inside my heart. I cling to him, letting his warmth combat the chill in my body, and place a kiss on his neck and chin. H

is body stiffens alertly, then becomes pliant as my body rubs beckoningly next to his. Kell lowers his head, rubbing and caressing mine. We’re nose to nose and lips to lips, but we’re not kissing yet. It’s a tender moment. My fingers sift through his soft hair as I gaze into his eyes.

He places a small kiss on my nose, closes his eyes, and whispers, “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too.”

He sighs contended and kisses me again. Just then, my cell phone rings.

We both turn startled and gaze at my phone. Kell chuckles lightly and reaches for it while I sit back on his pillow and watch him bend over my bag to retrieve my phone. He gives me a sardonic smile and hands it to me. “It’s your mother.”

I roll my eyes in exasperation and take the phone. “Hello, Jordana,” I say into the mouthpiece.

“Amara, are you on your way home?” I slam my head on the pillow and shake my head in annoyance. “No, I’m not. What do you need?” She huffs out a breath and responds angrily. I can’t help but imagine that she’s probably sitting in front of her vanity, her leg shaking over her knee, and her face puckered into a sour expression. “What I need is for you to come home. Your father has some associates over, and we need you to be here. You have fifteen minutes to get home.”

I gasp in exasperation. “What do you mean I have to be there? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Her voice hardens. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, little girl? I didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t know. Your father just called me and told me about it. So get your ass over here now—no excuses. And don’t you dare bring that boyfriend of yours. He’s handsome enough…but he’s poor, and I don’t want your father’s associates to know that our daughter is associating with…street trash.”

I want to scream at my mother for her snobbish comments, but I know it’s pointless to argue. Instead, I answer, “Fine,” and hang up the phone.

Kell gives me a tentative grin. “What’s up?”

I rise from the bed and adjust my clothing. “I have to go. My parents are having some of my dad’s clients over for dinner. and my mom needs me there.”

He frowns and rises too. “Do you want’ me to go with you?” He asks. I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want my mom to give you a hard time. She can be even worse when some of their rich friends come over. Trust me, it sucks. I hate it.”

He frowns. “Be honest with me. Amara. Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”

I shake my head vehemently and caress his jaw gently. “No, Kell. Never. I love you. If anything, I’m embarrassed by my family and their friends. They’re not nice people. You should hear some of the horrible things they say to each other. It makes me sick. Especially when they do it under the pretense of friendship. I don’t want anyone to say anything to you. It would kill me if someone hurt you.”

He laughs and shakes his head as he pulls me back into his chest. “You know it’s my job to protect you, right?”

I raise my chin stubbornly. “Well, I love you, and it’s my job to protect you too.”

He places several kisses on my head and pulls away. “Okay, then let me take you home.” I nod in agreement and follow him out the door.

Kell drops me off a few minutes later with the promise that I’ll leave my window open. It’s crazy to think that my boyfriend is an angel who sometimes flies through my window at night. But it’s also very sexy. Maybe one of these days I’ll ask him to take me on a flight.