Heart Heart Head
i/ii
Her skin has been buzzing all week, a sensation akin to being watched.
She awakens to a dark room and the air conditioning unit in the window sputtering to its final breath. The landlord said he'd replace it, but she's been renting this studio apartment for three weeks and she hasn't seen him since he gave her the tour and the key. Lying in bed, she listens to the motor rumble and wheeze for a solid ten minutes before it gives one last puff of tepid air. Then the room falls silent.
She's heard many a death rattle, but never one like that.
Rising, she whips the sheets damp with her sweat off her legs and pads her way to the wall. There are a couple of screws mounting the unit into the window to keep it from falling out and down five stories to the street, but nothing too pesky for her magic to take care of. She wrestles the hunk of metal and plastic into her arms and lets it drop to the hardwood floor. It is too early in the morning to wonder if it scratched the finish and if that would come out of her security deposit, but it isn't too far from the back of her mind.
The dawn light filters through the new space, a humid breeze washing over her. Her apartment is west-facing, overlooking a street that is busier in the daytime, so she knows she'll be the last to get a glimpse of the rising sun. It's a shitty location where police sirens whizzing past have often woken her up, but she found the previous renter's ad for someone to sublease on craigslist and couldn't pass up the price. Where else would she find a rent-controlled place smack dab in the middle of the city?
She turns her back on the window, glances at her bed, just a twin size mattress, sheets, and a quilted blanket, and debates if she should try for a few more hours of sleep. But goose flesh litters her arms and the room is too hot. So she settles for a shower and getting a headstart on the day.
"You are the most stubborn witch I know, Cuz," Lucy's voice admonishes in her ear. "You have magic, an assload of it, and you refuse to use it."
"It's not my job to fix my AC. It's the landlord's. And, to be fair, I've been without magic more than once. More than twice. I'm not at luxury to get dependent on it."
Bonnie fumbles with her keys, her elbows weighed down with tote bags full of fresh vegetables and seeds for her garden. The lock to her fifth floor walk-up often jams due to swelling from the summer heat, so she bucks her hip against the door as she twists the knob open. Her phone nearly slips from between her ear and shoulder, but she catches it and kicks her foot behind her to close the door.
"Yeah, yeah. Those sound like the excuses of someone who still fears the power they hold."
"It's not fear. It's reverence."
"That's a big word, college girl."
"Okay, you're being mean. I'm hanging up."
"No, wait!"
She sets her bags on the kitchen counter and rifles through for her seeds. She silently waits for her cousin's apology, which will come and will be close to an apology but not quite.
"Fine. They're your powers. Use them or don't however you want. It's not my place. It's none of my business."
"For someone who is the nosiest person I know, you love saying 'it's none of my business'."
"Fair enough," and she can almost hear Lucy smirk on the other end of the line.
Bonnie spent about a year in Phoenix with Lucy Bennett. After she left Texas, it was the only place she wanted to go. But a year was a long time to stay in one place that didn't feel like home and she knew it was time to move on. Lucy tried to get her to go to New Orleans, said she'd go with her. But Bonnie wanted to put more distance between her and vampires, not less.
"I still can't convince you to take a trip with me to Louisiana?"
"Luce, I just got here. Besides, another run-in with the Mikaelsons isn't on my bucket list now or ever."
She makes her way to the sliding glass door, slips out of her flats, and walks out onto her tiny balcony. She's made herself a little terrace with potted flowers, calla lilies and aloe and lavender. The lavender's sprouting the best, but she's anxious to plant some sage. Her stash is running low, and until she can find a source of steady income she's pinching pennies.
"Because a shitty studio apartment in Portland, Oregon of all places is so much better?"
"Uh, I slept on your shitty pull-out couch for how long? At least here I have a real mattress."
"Which is probably sitting on the floor while all your grimoires are nice and neat on a bookshelf."
"Okay, I love you but I really am hanging up now. Bye." She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts, and focuses on pinching out spots for the seeds and watering the soil just enough. For good measure, she whispers a rooting spell over the pot and then walks back into her apartment.
"You're going to want to get that fixed," she hears from by the front door and she rolls her eyes. All the skin itching… Of course it's because of Kai.
The Parker witch is yards away propped on the arm of her sofa, an ugly thing she picked up from a thrift store and covered with a tan bed sheet. He kicks the toe of his boot in the direction of her discarded air conditioning unit. "These summers can be brutal."
"How'd you find me?"
"How about the question you really want to ask? Why did it take three weeks for me to show up here? You're in my city, after all." He pushes off the sofa and clasps his hands in front of him. "It's called respecting boundaries."
She scoffs. "You? Boundaries? Since when?"
"A year is a long time, Bonnie."
Her name on his tongue is like a fever coursing through her veins. "But you're here now."
The air between them grows thick with memories of those Texan nights, hidden away in that dusty motel room. The feel of his lips tasting of diner coffee pressed against hers with a goodbye neither of them wanted to say. How it felt to hear him breathe and not through the line of a telephone. Come to think of it, it was pretty foolish of her to get rid of her phone when she got to Arizona.
Kai remains where he stands, his fingertips twisting at the silver ring he wears on his thumb. His hooded eyes are hungry, but he stays on his side of the room. "It was requested that I summon you."
"Summon me?"
"You're in Gemini territory. It's only fair they get the chance to assess the threat level."
So preoccupied with drinking in the sight of him, his tidied stubble, his unassuming outfit, scuffed boots, black jeans, and a blue crew neck t-shirt, she doesn't immediately notice his aura. He's purposefully keeping space between them. "I'm a threat?"
"You're a Bennett."
"Is…is that the opinion of your council or of the coven leader?" she wonders, her voice sounding smaller to her ears than she intended.
"In the interest of safety and secrecy, it's important the elders and I see eye to eye on coven matters. There's a reason the Geminis still exist, while other factions have been-"
"Wiped out? Like, the Bennetts, for example?"
"This would be a lot easier if you just came with me, Bonnie."
"It doesn't feel like you're giving me much of a choice."
He takes a step towards her but avoids eye contact. He sucks his teeth. Her walls are bare except for a paisley tapestry tacked in the corner. At its base lies a tiny altar, the last of her burning sage laid beside her Bennett grimoire, crystals, and mortar and pestle with the ashes of herbs she'd burned last. It all fits into a burlap clutch Lucy gave her.
"You know why this apartment was so cheap? It's where they used to harvest organs from people like you. New to town. No family, no friends. Unsuspecting. When my father was still coven leader, he let this one gang of vampires with ties to the black market operate out of this very room. That was their deal. They stayed in line, and he got to keep tabs on any newcomers in town.
"I put a stop to that, but if I were you I'd change the locks. Never know what kind of riff-raff might have a key to this place."
"You made that up."
He cracks a smile, a playful light filling his eyes for the first time since he stepped foot in the apartment. "Maybe." He shrugs. "Maybe not. You don't know my father. Either way, it's a good strategy. Change the bolts, change the locks. I could've told you all this had I known you were coming."
"You never formally withdrew your invitation."
"Says the girl who chucked her phone into the Grand Canyon." He takes another cautious step towards her, gauges her defenses. Her feet are already backed against the edge of her mattress, the sheets tickling her Achilles' heels. "Tick tock, Bon. I'll throw you over my shoulder if I have to, and believe me - I want to."
"What, now?"
"I've put the council off for as long as I could."
She lifts her chin defiantly. "How long?"
He smirks to himself. "Long enough."
She cuts her eyes sideways and groans. "Fine. I have to change, though." His responding expression reads both you look fine and so, change. "Well, turn around."
He huffs, dares to mumble, "It's nothing I haven't seen before," but spins on his heel to face the other way.
Her stomach quivers but she pushes back the heady attraction growing second by second. For the past year, she dreamed up reasons to call him, scenarios of him showing up in Phoenix unannounced, what it'd be like to see him again. And yet now… He sees the barely furnished apartment and probably caught sight of the taupe 1998 Pontiac Bonneville she bought for six hundred bucks in El Paso parked downstairs. Possessions aren't everything, but if she were an offering she'd be a very meager one.
Her closet holds a modest wardrobe. Any name brands she owned were sold at a consignment shop in Nevada. She'd stopped there for a month to make some quick cash doing palm readings and selling healing crystals spelled for ailments. Lucy had taught her well. Any skill could turn a profit, but Bonnie didn't want to draw too much attention so she stayed small and moved on quickly.
She did manage to save one label. A lacy, forest green Free People dress she'd never gotten the chance to show off. She kept it for a special occasion, a rainy day. Today. After shimmying out of her black leggings and gray linen tunic, she peeks over her shoulder and finds Kai is unfortunately behaving. He observes her altar, bent at the waist over the small, water warped side table she'd found by the dumpster at the back of the apartment building.
"I have a place."
"Okay." She steps into a black slip and pulls her dress off its hanger.
"I mean, the coven has a place. We have lots of places. Guest houses. Condos and cottages we own. It helps to have somewhere inconspicuous for others to stay when they visit on coven business, you know."
"Okay…"
He almost turns to face her but stops himself. "You're welcome to any of them. We have loads."
"Witches who are into real estate. That's new."
"We're very established in the community here."
"I'll take your word for it."
She clears her throat, signaling he's allowed to look at her. She smooths the lace hem against her thighs and shakes her fingers through her now shoulder length waves. When he finally turns around, she watches his eyes. Moody gray with something not yet spoken, his gaze goes to her mattress and her discarded clothes in a rumpled pile, travels up her legs, lean and sienna like the desert she left behind. They pause on the dress, lustfully note how without the slip he'd see through to her naked skin, before finally meeting her own jade eyes.
"Shoes?"
Deflated, she paces over to put on her flats, shuts and locks her window, and strolls past Kai and out of her apartment.
The drive is eerily quiet. Kai doesn't ramble or fill the silence with nonsense. He doesn't goad Bonnie into a fight and he definitely doesn't ask her about her time in Phoenix. With white knuckles, his hands clutch the steering wheel and his attention doesn't stray from the road.
Bonnie grows more uneasy the longer she's around him. The skin buzzing has transformed into a hollow pit in her gut. The Gemini council thinks she could be a threat and what the hell could that mean for her? What could they do to her? What would she have to do to them to protect herself? But beyond that…
The coolness between her and Kai pisses her off. They've always had this weird tension. The will they, won't they, kiss me or kill me dynamic. But after Texas, she thought they'd made some kind of progress, formed some kind of foundation. Something on which to grow, to build. But he hasn't made a move to touch her and won't let his eyes linger on her for too long.
An ugly notion derails her train of thought. Maybe he found someone else. He is back home and seems to have fit into his coven's graces with relative ease. He could have met another witch. They might even be on the council. Kai's taking Bonnie to get her head ripped off by his new witch girlfriend, who's grown up around magic and is probably better at it. And obviously she's gorgeous. She pictures a brunette with long hair and cool blue eyes, a mean-spirited amalgamation of Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes. What if the Gemini are making them get married? They could have already done that!
Bonnie sneaks a peek at his hands on the steering wheel and notes the absence of a ring on that finger, so she shoves away the idea.
Outside the gray sedan, the landscape goes from urban to scenic and Bonnie's pulse ticks up when they become surrounded by woods. "Let me guess. Your council's decided to sacrifice me for the good of the coven and you're delivering me on a silver platter."
Confused and humored, his eyes dart over to her a few times before a smirk upends his lips. "We're going to a barbeque, Bonnie. My family has a small cabin beside the Willamette River. Jesus. Is that what you've been thinking?"
"What else was I supposed to think, Kai? You said they summoned me, that they think I'm a threat."
"I never took you for someone who spooks easy." He grips the steering wheel tighter then loosens. "What else are you torturing yourself with?"
Her mouth turns down at the corners. "You'll laugh."
"I won't laugh." She throws him a skeptical sideways glance and he sobers up. "I promise I won't laugh."
Bonnie heaves an exhale and frowns at her hands, useless in her lap. "I had a fleeting thought that your coven set you up with another witch and you both are…you know, together."
There's a pregnant pause before Kai clears his throat. "The Gemini may have some ass backwards rituals for passing along leadership, but arranged marriage is a no-no. Besides, all the money in the world couldn't bribe me a bride."
"You're totally making fun of me."
"Only on the inside." His grin grows wider as he turns off the main road.
"See? This is my problem with you! I never know when to take you seriously. You show up uninvited, practically forcing me to come before your stupid council, and you can hardly make eye contact with me. Really, what was I supposed to think?"
"I may have taken to the concept of boundaries too strongly."
She scoffs. "And my apartment?"
"Oh, yeah. They definitely found a guy disemboweled in your bath tub." He meets her gaze again. "But just the one."
He winks.
All the way down the gravel access road to the river, her skin buzzes again. Maybe that's the magical frequency of the Gemini. She's always been able to sense witches but never so keenly with such a distinct sensation. The car comes to a halt, and Bonnie gulps down her anxiety. Kai parks and hurries to the passenger side to open the door for her. She steps out and her attention goes to the exuberant squeals of children and the low murmur of disembodied voices.
"So that's what you meant by witchy-woo in the air."
She looks up at Kai for guidance or reassurance. Something. Something other than the frigidness he's displayed. He glances down at her and can no longer help himself, dipping down to capture her soft lips. Gripping her at the waist, he pulls her flush against him, and coaxes her lips open to taste her mouth.
She all but melts at his warm touch, and grabs fists of his shirt to steady herself. Their tongues use their muscle memory to tease each other, and behind the nostalgia of the last time they were together is a mighty need to let the world bleed away.
They part but share the same breath, Kai inhaling Bonnie's exhale. She searches his face for a moment. Then she slaps his chest. "You wait until now to kiss me when we had all that time back at my apartment?"
A chuckle rumbles through him and he leads Bonnie to the cabin by the water. "That was for my benefit just as much as it was for yours."
Author notes in part ii...
