Rebecca could tell she was hiding something. “It doesn’t matter. I just thought it might be important. Do you think it has something to do with her death?”
Grandmother put her hand on her forehead, shielding her eyes for just a moment. It was another sign to Rebecca that she was hiding something. “Well, she was never excommunicated from the coven, so I don’t think so.” She returned to drying the rest of the dishes. “Both the Authority and Convent decided this was a human crime, not supernatural.”
“Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Between you and me, I’m not buying it.” The doorbell rang. Knowing it was Lucky, Rebecca headed towards the door to let him in. Before she could leave the kitchen grandmother grabbed Rebecca’s arm once again, “you need to stop digging into your parents’ death. Please.”
“I can’t.” Rebecca stated sadly. “I’m sorry but I have to know what happened.”
Grandma sighed heavily. “Can you at least promise me that you will let me know if you run into any more problems with the air element? I can send you to someone to help you control it better."
Rebecca nodded, "of course." She didn't expect to have anymore issues with magic. Since that day, she hadn't seen any sign of magic coming from her. But it was nice to know she had someplace to go. She then flashed a brilliant smile as she went to answer the door.
Lucky pulled Rebecca into his arms and across the threshold the moment the door was open. She felt overwhelmed and cared for in that instant. It was overpowering and she closed her eyes waiting for the kiss, the kiss that never came.
"Gabe and I made a promise to not..."
"Push me. No kissing until I decide which one of you I want." Rebecca finished his sentence. It was the same one she heard from Gabriel last night.
He let her go and she caught the guilty look cross his face for a second before it was replaced with a dazzling smile. "So I’ll not be kissing those irresistible lips today." He leaned in close and whispered "and I probably shouldn't have hugged you, either, but I was worried about you. I had the strangest dream."
Rebecca felt his warm breath on her neck and was drawn in by the scent of vanilla, cloves, and cinnamon. The effect made her shiver and his comment about the dream made her feel guilty. "Well, he told me about the deal, and I must say, you two sure do know how to fight for a girl." It was meant to be a playful statement, but it hit him hard.
"We’ve never fought over a girl." He ran his fingers through his hair, frustration coming off of him in waves. "Our friendship is facing the ultimate test, and even after you choose, I’m afraid it may still suffer." He offered a weak smile. "But that’s not your problem. You have enough to deal with." He opened the car door and waited for her to get in.
She smiled when he got in to the driver’s seat. “Savvy and Hunter have late practices today so she is going to drive them both in.”
“So we get to ride solo today, huh?” He pulled the vehicle in to drive.
Chapter Twenty-Three
~”I like to push characters to extremes so they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that of an athlete.”
~Chris Cleave
Hunter
Hunter rushed back to the locker room, tired of being beat up daily at practice. Practice of the very game he loved so much. It was the only connection he still had to his father. And there was no way he would give it up for that very purpose alone. Who cared if his coordination was off and he couldn’t run very far towards the end zone before one of his teammates took him down? Without even thinking Hunter’s hand moved to rub the pain out from his knee. Natalia had grown tired of watching so she left, unable to watch him get crunched between the ground and another bigger, stronger player on his team.
While the rest of the team barreled into the locker room, Hunter closed his eyes and focused on the pain in his knee. Natalia taught him an interesting trick earlier this week. He wasn't sure how much he believed it, but he was still impressed with the results. The pain was throbbing so he decided to try it again. He imagined pulling energy from a large healing light in the sky and allowing it to flow through his hands into his body. As he concentrated on the area of pain, miraculously, he started to feel relief. She called it energy healing and she promised him more lessons; letting him know there was plenty more to learn. If the lessons all show the same effective results he was ready to try them all.
By the time Danny and his three stooges; Bryce, Jacob, and Marcus entered the locker room he felt better. They made their way through the room high fiving, chest bumping and congratulating most of the other players until they reached Hunter.
"Nice fumbles, Winters." Danny grinned darkly. "When are you gonna learn that football isn't for everyone?"
"And when are you gonna learn that I’m not a quitter?" Hunter shoved his pads into the locker, taking his anger out on them, instead of the guys behind him. Then he turned and faced them head on. Marcus was flexing his pectoral muscles; overcompensating for something no doubt. Jacob and Bryce puffed up their shoulders and tried to look mean and intimidating, but all they achieved was looking ridiculous.
Hunter didn’t bother with them. The one he was really worried about was Danny. "Look, your sister and I are going to the dance and if I get my way we’ll be exclusive real soon. That means I need to start looking out for you."
"As team captain, you should’ve been looking out for everyone already." Hunter locked his angry glare with Danny’s odd grey eyes.
"Maybe." He pulled back as though he’d been slapped, and, shamefully, Hunter felt a twinge of gratification. It was short lived. "Unfortunately, there’s a hierarchy at schools and on teams. You just happen to be on the wrong side. It really isn’t your fault. You weren’t built for this game. You should be playing chess or on the debate team." Danny sat on the bench beside him and Hunter scooted a few more inches away from him. Danny always rubbed him wrong. He didn’t know what it was that made him dislike his teammate so much, but Hunter could barely be in the same room with him, let alone sitting side by side. Hunter had no clue as to the attraction Savvy had for the guy. Danny’s three stooges created a fortified half moon around them, effectively cutting Hunter and Danny off from the rest of the team.
"I think I’ve proven that trying to intimidate me isn’t going to work." Hunter grumbled as he stared coldly at him.
Danny chuckled, "I don't want to do that anymore. I actually want to help you."
"Yeah, right." Hunter snorted, "Like you helped me when you’re a-team crushed me into the ground five times during practice today?"
He shrugged, "hierarchy, and thanks to your sister you’re now moving up in that hierarchy." Danny handed Hunter a small bag with two tiny pills, they looked like aspirin but something told him they were far more dangerous than aspirin.
"What’s this?" Hunter’s voice shook slightly and he put his hands up, not willing to touch the bag. Drugs! They want to offer me drugs? I was right, Danny is a douche.
"These little pills will make you bigger, stronger. They’ll make your life easier and send your social life into outer space." Danny grinned and placed the pill bag next to Hunter on the bench. "The first ones are free. Be smart and take the offering."
"So you’re a drug dealer?" Hunter hissed in a whisper.
Danny chuckled again, "Absolutely not. That’s Ethan's job. Mine is to simply scope out new talents for the pills."
"What is it?" Curiosity getting the better of Hunter as he shoved the pill package into his pocket. Fear of getting caught with the illegal substance on him overrode his adverse reaction to touching the pills.
"Blood." Danny grinned and he and his troupe left Hunter alone.
Jackson moved quickly to sit by Hunter on the bench. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, concern reaching his brown eyes.
Hunter nodded, "yeah, you know how they are." He shrugged, hopefully convincing Jacks everything was alright.
"I would’ve been here sooner, but his goon squad had everyone blocked." Jackson smiled. "How’s Becca?" Jacks asked.
Jackson and Rebecca were very good friends. At one point they pretended to be dating so that he could get his parents off his back when they noticed the lack of a girlfriend. She became his cover story, allowing him to remain in the closet for a little while longer. But all that changed when she started dating Lucky.
"She’s good, I guess." Hunter continued on, feeling like Jackson needed more, "Lucky is good for her."
Jackson nodded, "that’s good."
The silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Hunter liked Jacks enough, but he was Becca’s, friend not his. Jackson and Danny were friends. Hunter did not fit in with them. Besides, the pills were burning a hole in his pocket. "Well, I guess we should get to class."
Jackson nodded. “If you need a friend, I’m here for you.” With that he left the locker room.
Hunter sat there, wondering if the pills in his pocket really could make him stronger, bigger, and a better athlete. He wondered if taking them would bring him closer to his father's memory or push him further away. Hunter knew his father would want him to be who he was; brainy average kid. But Hunter wanted so badly to connect to his father’s memory, to prove he was as strong as him. Lately, he felt his father’s presence more than usual. It was that feeling alone that made Hunter decide what to do next.
He made sure he was alone and took out the pills. They looked so tiny, so innocent. It was hard to believe that something so small could make him stronger. Hunter bit his lip as he considered the options.
Mind made up, he made his way to the bathroom area of the locker room. He opened the package and tossed the pills in the toilet. He flushed them for good measure. Good riddance, he thought as he grabbed his bag and left for class.
Chapter Twenty-Four
~”To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
~Sun Tzu
Rebecca
School was so borrriiiinnnng. It wasn't really the subject matter; it was that Rebecca had other, more pressing issues on her mind. Issues like who was brazen enough to try and kill off the entire Arizona pack? Or how they were going to tell Savvy and Hunter the secret of their family history? What Rebecca was going to do about Sundae and her dream trick from last night? Not to mention the conflict she was dealing with choosing between Lucky and Gabriel. And then there was Celestia, the Covenant, and the Authority. And of course, the intense task of rebuilding her pack. While Rebecca’s parents’ deaths were originally the most important thing in her life, now, that had somehow worked its way onto the back burner. Seriously, with all the drama that had developed in her life over the last week, it was a surprise that anything was interesting at this point.
And if the truth was important, she wouldn't be able to absorb anything else at this point anyways. Not even if she tried. The sponge that was her mind was completely saturated.
So when the final bell rang she almost exploded from her seat. Lucky did his best to keep her calm as he ushered her out of the building. Savvy and Hunter had a late practice so Savvy drove her car to school that morning. That meant Lucky and Rebecca could simply head out to his house for training; not that she was extremely excited about being beat up by her pretend boyfriend under the guise of training. But she had an extreme amount of pent-up energy she needed to expend.
“Did you find out anything from the police last night?” Rebecca asked on the drive over to his house.
“My contact said it had been moved to cold cases. She said there was little to no evidence pointing to anyone. It was a clean crime scene.”
“Well, that does us no good.” Rebecca couldn’t hold back the disappointment in her voice.
“Actually, it is more help than you realize.” He turned towards her with a weak smile when they stopped at a stop light.
“Really?” She raised her eyebrows to accentuate the question.
“Yes. It tells us the killer was a professional.” The light turned green and they were off once again, maneuvering quickly through traffic.
“Which opens up an entire new group of suspects.”
“Yes and closes another group. Believe me; this information is actually very helpful. The person who ordered the hit had to have good reason to pay for their deaths.”
Rebecca hoped he was right. She wanted to find an ending to this investigation, some closure to her parents’ deaths. They had waited for far too long, she had sacrificed too much. She was silent for the rest of the trip to his house, lost in her own thoughts.
The house was empty when they arrived. They grabbed some snacks and water. He went upstairs to change and Rebecca made her way to the training room and changed in the back room. She decided to pull her long blonde hair into a braid while she was waiting for Lucky to join her. It took everything she had to keep her from snooping around the oversized training room; she was pretty proud of the fact that she managed to stop herself.
When Lucky came downstairs he was barefoot. His familiar yoga pants and t-shirt fit his body like a comfortable glove. It should have been illegal for him to be walking around with that dimpled grin and gold-amber eyes. He took his position on the mat, standing in a fighting pose, and motioned for Rebecca to join him. “Shall we begin?”
She did. "So what are we learning today?" It was a logical question since they weren’t holding any bamboo sticks this time.