XII. Whisper
I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow, I know that there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be blinded by tears
I can stop the pain, if I will it all away
If I will it all away...
-Evanescence
It was almost like speaking too soon when Rowan had told Reid she was feeling fine. A couple of nights later he woke up because Rowan was fidgeting in her sleep and he felt like something was wrong. When he reached over he could feel the intense heat coming off of her skin. He was fully awake with a jolt of adrenaline; it was the first time he had to deal with this by himself. Normally he would just get a call from Caleb saying Rowan had to go to the hospital.
Reid got the thermometer, went back to Rowan. He woke her up enough to put it beneath her tongue. 101.1.
"Row, I'm gonna get you some tea, all right?" he said. First he got a cold compress to put on her head. Less than five minutes later he was back in their room. Rowan was sitting up, a little. The animals were also astir, used to their human's occasional ailments, offering solace by getting on the bed and surrounding her with their furriness.
"What time is it?" she asked blearily. Her throat hurt, and her muscles felt weak.
"Five after two," he replied.
"Sorry," she said. "I can take care of it."
Reid shook his head. He helped her sip the tea. "I'll stay home with you today."
"Reid, no. You have a test. Swim practice."
"You come first," he said. "And I don't want you staying alone."
"Hunter can stay with me," Rowan said. "At least take your test."
Reid frowned. "I'll see." He wanted to watch how Rowan was doing first. If it looked like a hospital stay might be needed then he was going to be the one to take her.
The weekend had gone fine. There'd been no contact with Ginger or Chase, not since Chase's tête-à-tête with Caleb at the aquarium. All that was perfectly fine with Reid; the more Chase kept away, the better. Although he didn't like the guy just hanging out wherever, looming like a heavy cloud ready to pour rain at any moment, soaking them all in whatever bullshit Chase was full of.
Reid took her temperature again. 101 degrees. She was dosing off a little, Reid went back downstairs to make a cup for himself while he called Caleb. He promised Caleb before he and Rowan got married that he would be the first he'd call if Rowan had any problem. It went straight to voice-mail so Reid left a brief message. Then he called Hunter. Three minutes later Hunter popped up with an overnight bag.
"Dude," Reid said. "Some warning."
Hunter smiled. "Sorry." Getting a glass of water, he and Reid sat down at the kitchen table. "I tried to get some background information on Ginger."
"How?"
"It was kind of a bust. She's registered as Ginger Collins in the library's database, and I don't know her real last name."
"Our own double-o seven," Reid quipped.
"It's too early for me to kick your ass, so I'll let that slide."
The blond snorted. He put his empty mug and Hunter's empty glass in the sink, turned off the kitchen light. "Room's made up," he said.
"Thanks." Hunter peeked in on Rowan briefly before taking a room down the hall. Bubbe slinked in a few moments later, curled up with Hunter.
Back in Rowan and Reid's room he got back under the covers, facing Rowan, arm draped over her. She was still a little hot, and looked uncomfortable in her sleep. She was still beautiful though; however misplaced this bit of truth was at the moment. The more and more he observed other relationships, it just made him appreciate the bond he had with Rowan tenfold. Even relationships between people his age. Some of the guys on the team insulted their girlfriends, complained indiscriminately; some were cool with their 'old ladies.' The more vulgar ones were explicit about their sexual proclivities; some were frustrated because their girlfriends wouldn't have sex.
It occurred to Reid that he'd never openly praised Rowan's stellar bedroom talents to any guy. Definitely not his brothers, that would be too weird and…kind of icky. Was it out of respect for Rowan that he didn't? When Tyler wasn't around the guys elbowed him for details on Rowan. He had no problem bragging about her. Every dude agreed she was 'hot.'
Duh, Reid thought.
"Loons," Rowan muttered. Reid wasn't sure what he heard. "The Loo… Reid?"
"Yeah?"
"You…" she trailed off. It wasn't uncommon for her to lose her train of thought when she had a fever, or speak of random things. "Naked pictures."
He chuckled.
"Delete them?"
Busted. "Uh…not ex...actly. Go to sleep, Row, okay? Want more tea?" But she'd already drifted off back to sleep. That was good. Maybe she would forget about the pictures. Reid liked them, even if she took them under the influence of a spell. That was just a natural naughty part of Rowan coming out full force. When he figured she was fully asleep Reid was able to nod off himself.
Despite Rowan's objections he skipped his first two classes but went in at 2:30 to take the one class he had a test in. The blond made Hunter promise that he would contact him if Rowan got worse, even if he was in the middle of swim practice. Coach would have to understand.
"I'll be fine Reid, go on," Rowan insisted. "And drive carefully, the weather is making people nuts. In fact, take my car; it's better."
"Hey, are you insulting Sally?" Reid questioned. "Are you going to make me get rid of her?"
"Are you referring to your car as if it's a living, breathing person?" Hunter asked.
"This coming from the guy who calls his bike his 'baby,'" the blond retorted. "You know, I never asked, do you consider your bike male or female?"
Hunter ha-ha-ed Reid, and used his telekinesis to shove him playfully. "Drive safely, Reid."
"And swim carefully," Rowan added.
"Always," Reid kissed Rowan goodbye and patted the three furry animals on the heads before he left.
A half hour later he was sitting next to Tyler in class. Despite the larger room with considerably more students than Spenser Academy, it was almost like high school, only Reid didn't try to copy off of Tyler's test.
"How's Row?" Tyler asked as he got a pencil out of his bag.
"Still had a fever when I left, but Hunt's lookin' after her," Reid replied.
"All right, put your cell phones away, everything off your desks," the professor called order.
"Shit," Reid said under his breath. He hustled down the stairs to speak with the prof right quick. "Sir," he got the guy's attention.
"Mr. Garwin."
"My wife's not feeling well and if she gets worse I'll need to go if my friend texts me."
The professor didn't look overwhelmed, but he nodded curtly. "Very well. I hope it doesn't come to that."
"Thanks." He sat back down as the professor began handing out the tests. "You got a pencil?"
Tyler smirked. "You're in college now, you have to come prepared."
"That's what I got you for, Baby Boy."
xxxxx
"Do you think Ginger put an address on her application for a library card?" Rowan asked. "I mean a real one." Hunter and Rowan were sitting on the couch in the TV area adjacent to the kitchen. It looked like it was about to rain, but the clouds were constipated apparently. Bubbe was perched on her cat stool, having a staring contest with the tropical fish Mo and Bo.
"It wasn't," Hunter replied, stuffing a chip in his mouth.
She peered at him. "Are you sure? You're not just saying that because you think I'll go knocking on her door, are you?"
Hunter chuckled. "I swear, it wasn't the real address." If it had been he wouldn't have been able to lie to Rowan about it, and then he'd have had to worry about Rowan doing just what she postulated.
"I want to talk to her again. Maybe she'll go back to the library soon."
"You know you can't go without me," Hunter reminded her.
Ernie woofed. Or me!
"How did I get to be surrounded by over-protective males?" Rowan mused jokingly. Before Hunter could reply, her face lit up. "Mommy!" The phone barely had a chance to ring when Rowan picked up. "Mommy?"
Hunter could hear the faint voice of Mrs. Danvers. "Hi, Evelyn."
"Mom says hi," Rowan replied. Hunter got up to make himself a sandwich. "When're you coming home, Mom?" Evelyn Danvers' expertise in gourmet was in high demand, taking her out of state more and more often. "Mmm-hmm… No, I just got a little fever." Rowan was shaking her head. "You don't need to come back, finish your review, I want to read the finished product. Is it good?" Rowan smiled. "Yeah… Have you met anyone in particular?"
Hunter chuckled.
"Is he cute?" Rowan asked. Her mom answered. "That doesn't mean you can't think he's attractive."
Mother and daughter spoke for another half hour before Evelyn asked to speak to Hunter briefly, then hung up. Despite Evelyn being away frequently, she and her two children were closer than ever. For Evelyn's one year of sobriety anniversary Rowan and Caleb took their mother out for a celebratory dinner. Rowan subtly hinted to her mother about dating, while Caleb was openly disdainful of the idea.
By the time four o'clock came around Rowan was getting groggy. She fell asleep on the couch and Hunter made her comfortable there because he didn't want to risk waking her by taking her upstairs. He settled comfortably with his laptop and a soda at the kitchen table and booted it up. Ernie came in through his doggy door, shook himself off, then lay down by the couch.
Deep into his research he barely caught Rowan's voice. He stopped typing, pricking up his ear. He got up, leaned over the couch. Rowan was twitching from a dream, eyelids shuddering.
"Loons…"
Hunter kneeled down, felt her forehead. "Shit." He was upstairs and back down in less than thirty seconds with the thermometer. He coaxed her partially awake, waited for the beep. 103.2.
"Hunter," she mumbled. "The Loons."
That's the fever talking, he thought. "Come on, Row." Hunter was taking her upstairs for a cool bath.
"No." She wiggled in his arms. Then, "THE LOONS!"
Hunter nearly dropped her, the sudden jerk of her body taking him by surprise. "Shh, hey, it's all right, Row." The heat of her forehead against his neck was clammy with sweat.
Rowan started to shake, half in, half out of her dream. "Careful," she chattered under her breath.
xxxxx
When Chase came out of the bathroom Ginger was standing, staring out the living room window. She'd been doing that a lot the last few days. Sometimes in the middle of the night he'd catch her doing that. She was hesitant to tell him what she thought she was seeing; one time, when it was late, she had whispered that she was just waiting for it to snow. Odd behavior wasn't abnormal for Ginger, but there was something expectant in her watching, her waiting. Like she felt something was coming for her.
"Gin?" He said her name softly, not wanting to startle her.
"Hasn't snowed yet," was her wistful reply. "The weatherman said it would."
"You can't trust the weatherman," Chase joked.
Ginger turned her head, big brown eyes locking on him innocently. "There aren't a lot of people to trust, are there?"
He was rendered silent by her comment. Any time the topic of trust came up he felt like a hypocrite. Telling Ginger that she could trust him…
It's not a complete lie, he defended silently. She can trust me. I love her. Chase just wished he were able to say it out loud. There were so many other things that needed to be said though. Chase was going to give up his Power, his dad's share anyway.
Idiot, that inner voice jeered.
He just would leave Caleb and them alone, a clean break. And Chase felt that it was the right thing to explain to Ginger why. Reveal the utter truth about his origins. He hoped that she would still look at him the same way after. After he told her that he was a monster, a murderer, borderline psychotic maybe. If she lost faith in him he would work the rest of his life earning it back. He knew he would never be Mr. Joe Somebody, or anywhere near the greatest guy with a heart of gold in the world, but he would try to be anything and everything Ginger wanted him to be.
Ginger felt Chase step up beside her, joining her in looking at the gray sky. For days she waited for him to tell her, or for her own courage to take hold so she could tell him that she'd spoken to Rowan Danvers. The longer Ginger waited, the more frightened she became of the possibility of Chase's anger and subsequently losing him. No matter her good intentions, she had gone and spoken with Chase's enemies.
I can't lose him, she thought sadly. No, I was so alone before he came along.
"You still want to go to Sorellina?" Chase asked.
Her brow rose and her breath hitched. "Really?"
He nodded. "Best seats in the house."
"You mean it?" she asked, beaming. When he nodded, Ginger squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "I get to dress up?"
"Does that mean I have to?" he frowned.
"We both will," she said definitely, eyes glittering. "Ooh, when?"
"Tomorrow night."
Ginger hugged him again. "I'm going to go tell Mrs. Filange."
Was there a better feeling than doing something that makes the woman you love smile? Chase thought. There were a lot of similar good feelings, all had to do with Ginger. He wondered where in his journey for revenge did he come upon love. She had more of him than any dark feeling ever had; not that those dark feelings were gone, just eclipsed. Chase felt more at home with just the two of them than ever with his adoptive parents.
He plopped on the couch, dropped his head in his hands. Was it possible to fall for someone but feel like you've been lifted up at the same time? It was a jarring sensation. Where had his rage gone? The searing need to cause others pain, to cause the Covenant pain. Chase had perceived them as a tight little family, bonded, a security he'd been deprived of, not knowing what his Power was and no one to confide in. So naturally Chase had resented them. A part of him still did.
But he had Ginger now. A much needed balm on an old wound, ready to heal. And how in the hell did you go back to a life of burning pain? He got up again, restless, back to the window. Something caught his attention across the street. Two men, oddly cloaked, were watching the apartment building. He blinked, less than half a second, they were gone. Maybe they were just passersby, he thought.
xxxxx
"What's wrong Michael?" Rowan asked.
It was about an hour after the cool bath Hunter had helped her take. Neither were embarrassed by her lack of clothing, they were so close that it was a non-issue. Michael and Gabriel had then popped up (the latter downstairs with Hunter), sitting up in her bed next to her, stuffing his mouth with junk food while Princess Agrippina Buttercup, his girlfriend Sasha's Yorkshire terrier, looked on.
"Blanche Devereaux," the Cajun sorcerer said. "I do like that name." They were watching reruns of The Golden Girls. "She's a hussy. I love it."
Rowan sipped her tea, cushioned under the thick blankets. And there was something bothering the usually gregarious Michael Grayraven. He had yet to say one curse word in Cajun or French. It was like a bird that didn't tweet. So, naturally, Rowan was worried about him. Especially since it was obviously something Michael had not even confided in his twin about.
"A little bump in the road, pichouette," Michael lamented. "Entre nous?"
She nodded.
"My Sasha speaks of marriage."
Her brow rose. "Really? Wow." It did throw her for a certain loop. "This is big. She's part Nymph, right?"
"Oui. Her mother is half; her grandmother is full blooded Nymph." And Sasha was proud that she was the first in a long line of females that revered marriage and wanted the blessed union with a man she loved. Nymphs did not marry, and they rarely stayed with the same man. They were more than capable of love, but it was not in their nature to be monogamous. Sasha was even adverse to threesomes.
"And you don't want marriage?"
He was silent for a moment. "Je ne sais pas. It is complicated. She becomes more frustrated with me the more I change the subject." Another Twizzlers went in his mouth.
"I think you would make a good husband," Rowan told him.
He smiled at her wistfully. "Merci."
"Ah, hell no," Reid complained, coming into the bedroom.
"Yankee!" Michael beamed. "This is a comfortable bed you have."
"So glad it meets your approval," the blond retorted. He approached his wife, kissed her hello. "How're you feeling?"
"A little better."
"Well, I shall join mon frere downstairs." He swung himself gracefully out of bed, the small dog tucked securely in his arm like a football.
Reid sat down on the bed facing Rowan, frowning. "Hunter said you need a cool bath." He wasn't frowning over Hunter, but the bath in general. "Is your temp down?"
"Yeah." Ernie padded into the room and set his muzzle on Reid's knee.
"How was your test?"
"Okay. I might have pulled a B." It was silly, but he warmed inside when she smiled at him proudly. "Hey, Ty's coming over with Diz, everyone else, too."
"Oh!" Rowan tried to get out of bed. "I think we have some-"
"No, no, no," he rushed to say. "He's bringing some pizzas. You're not doing any hostessing tonight." Her displeasure at the idea was amusing, and put a cute moue on her face. Reid turned serious. "Um…Hunter told me you said something."
Her head tipped to the side. "What?"
"You don't remember?" It was rare she didn't recall her nightmares. Or was she just holding back on him this time? "Loons."
"Loons," she repeated thoughtfully. "As in the genus Gavia?"
"Would dreaming about birds make you upset?"
She worried her bottom lip, thinking. "Maybe it was the fever. You know I don't make a whole lot of sense when I have one."
He nodded, but didn't forget the issue. Reid kissed her; when it began to escalate into something more he had to stop himself. Could he ravage her when a kitten had more strength than she did right now?
"If you want…" she said coyly, picking up on his thoughts. "Or later tonight."
"Ah, Row… Don't tease."
"I'm not. There are certain…activities, that don't require me being…vigorous. The night can be all about you."
"You gave me a whole night on my birthday," he reminded. "A whole day, really. Have I told you you're the best wife ever?"
xxxxx
Pogue tapped on the bathroom door. "Babe, you ready?"
"One minute," Hope replied.
Her boyfriend heard the edge to her voice. She'd been acting a little out of sorts lately, tense, bothered. He was glad Thanksgiving break was coming up so he could spend more time with her; school was keeping him real busy. Pogue stood by the door, he heard a curse.
"Hope? You okay?"
"Yes."
Pause, he didn't like her tone. "Let me in."
"Excuse me?" she said, her voice an octave higher.
"You're near the sink."
She snorted. "How do you know?"
Pogue sighed. "Something's wrong, and you're not telling me."
"And what does that tell you, mister?"
He pursed his lips. "Fine." His eyes sparked and the door unlocked.
"Hey! Foul!" Hope exclaimed.
But he already caught what was in her hand. An argument he had on his tongue backtracked to his throat and he swallowed a jagged lump.
"It's nothing," she said.
"Nothing? Is this what you've been hiding from me?" He stepped in further.
She sighed. "I think it's just stress, that's all."
"That's all? You think you're pregnant and you don't tell me?" he snapped.
Hope frowned. Checked her watched to avoid his gaze.
"How much longer?" Pogue asked, looking over her shoulder.
She didn't answer for several seconds. "There, negative." She threw the applicator in the trash. "Let's go."
"Wait." He blocked her way. His initial anger was dissipating, now he was worried. Pogue tucked her hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek. "Talk to me."
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything," she said sincerely. "I really think it's just stress what with trying to work stuff out with Justice and everything."
He nodded. Hope had reluctantly agreed to go to therapy sessions with her brother, a vampire psychiatrist who specialized in families trying to cope with "the change." It was like PFLAG for vampires. Sometimes she would come home unable to speak, sitting on the roof by herself no matter the weather. They so rarely kept things from each other, especially after their silences had almost kept them apart in the first place.
"Do you want to stay in tonight? They'd understand."
"No. I think being around my…family will do me some good." She smiled weakly. "Besides, I want to see Row for myself."
Pogue grinned, then sobered. "All right. But…maybe you should go to the doctor for a second opinion. I know those things are supposed to be pretty accurate, but false negatives do happen."
Hope glanced away, then back, looking up at him through her lashes. "Will you come with me?"
"Of course." Pogue hugged her tightly. "You're never going to be alone Hope. I love you."
xxxxx
"Hey, Lil Bit." Caleb bent down to hug his sister with a kiss on the forehead. "How're you feeling? I was worried." It was the first time ever that he hadn't been with his sister when a fever came on. He'd felt guilty when he heard Reid's voice message this morning because he hadn't picked up earlier. Reid had convinced him that he didn't need to miss school and Hunter was staying with her.
"Better," she smiled. "Did Mommy call you?"
He nodded. "She sounds good, doesn't she?"
"She does." Then Judy gave her a hug. Bubbe meowed on her lap, making sure she wasn't forgotten. If people were giving out affection she wanted some, too.
Everyone was present; the girls were in the TV room while the guys sorted out the pizza. Standing next to Reid, Caleb asked, "Sorry I didn't answer."
Reid smirked. "Dude, you already apologized like ten times." He chuckled. "You're being way too hard on yourself."
"Are you talking about me?" Rowan raised her voice so she could be heard.
"Only good things," Reid answered, bringing her a plate. He kissed her lips.
"So, like, Sasha is a Nymph?" Pinkie was saying to Michael.
"Oui."
"Wow… Are there like…any male Nymphs you could…maybe introduce me to?" Pinkie questioned.
Michael laughed.
"We knew you had an inner-slut, Pinks," Reid said, receiving a prim glance in return.
"What're you doing after class tomorrow, Row?" Maria asked. "We can go out to lunch."
"Are you feeling well enough for that?" Tyler said.
Rowan nodded. "This isn't high school, I can't just miss days of school and have it fixed for me."
"But you're sick," Pogue said.
"Doesn't matter. I feel well enough to go in."
"I'll drive you," Hunter said.
"And after?" Maria put in.
"Uh…I was thinking of taking Ernie to the library," she took a bite of her pizza so she wouldn't have to say anything further.
Hunter glared at her.
"You're not fooling anyone, Lil Bit," Caleb said.
She pursed her lips. "The library is a good place to be."
"We'll go out to lunch," Maria said definitively, taking charge. "No worries about Chase or his girlfriend. If she comes to you for help, okay. But not the other way around."
Everyone was quiet, brows raised in astonishment. Maria had no problem voicing her opinion but this bossiness was a new thing.
"Here, here!" Michael said.
Rowan frowned at all of them but didn't argue. Dropping it, she enjoyed the evening with her family.
"So, someone's birthday is pretty soon," Maria said.
"No," Rowan stated. "No big party."
"But you're eighteen," Hope grinned.
"I am going to buy cigarettes," Rowan said.
"Rowan," Caleb censured.
"I'm not going to smoke them. I'll throw them away after I buy them." It was obvious big brother still disapproved. "And I want to go to a strip club."
Caleb choked on a piece of pizza. "Christ." Judy patted him on the back. "Rowan, you're not going to a strip club."
"I'll go with you," Pinkie and Maria said in unison.
"No!" Tyler exclaimed, glaring at his girlfriend.
"Oh, sweetie, it's not like my dear friend here hasn't seen half-naked men with bulging muscles," Pinkie declared. "All the ladies here have."
"When?" Tyler, Pogue, and Caleb demanded, and Maria giggled.
"I have to spell everything out," Pinkie sighed.
"It's a shame, n'est-ce pas?" Michael commiserated. "Yankees."
"When did you see half-naked men, Hope?" Pogue inquired sternly.
"Almost everyday at swim practice at Spenser!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Really, a hoard of sleek, waxed men in tight Speedos with buns you could bounce a quarter off of."
"Dude!" Reid said, mouth full of pizza. "Come on."
"It's your buns he's talking about," Gabriel pointed out.
Pinkie's eyes were still thoughtful, "Coming out of the pool with water streaming down toned bodies like a Greek statue."
Maria sighed. "Yup. And I see one of those bodies every night." Her eyes flittered over her boyfriend who turned beet red, though wasn't displeased at the appreciation in his girlfriend's eyes.
"You guys will produce beautiful babies," Pinkie said.
Hope and Pogue exchanged a glance. "How does that work?" she questioned casually.
"Yeah!" Pinkie interjected. "I mean, was Rowan one in a million, or do you Covenant guys only bear sons?"
The Sons traded stumped looks. Tyler said, "Um…besides Rowan, the girls never made it passed their thirteenth birthdays. And after a Son was born that was it."
"Even if the woman was completely fertile?" Judy asked.
"There was an onus on the Covenant for centuries," Caleb said. "Because of the lack of harmony within it. It was the Keeper/Covenant breakdown that probably led to the little amount of births per generation."
"So…now that this mystical energy is restored, more babies will happen?" Pinkie said.
"Well…we'll see, I guess," Pogue replied.
"What if Chase had a baby?" Maria voiced. Everyone was silent to that one.
Because it was essentially a school night everyone was gone by eleven. Michael teleported back to New Orleans with Princess Agrippina Buttercup while Gabriel stayed with Hunter. Reid made Rowan a cup of tea before they settled in for the night. The animals had decided to sleep on their bed and were curled up around each other.
"Thank you," she said, accepting the mug.
Reid stripped down to his boxers, got into bed next to her. One arm around her shoulders, the other holding the remote he flipped through the channels.
"So, the library?" he finally said.
"I couldn't lie," she admitted. "Darn you people I love."
Reid chuckled. "Diz had a point though. And I know you think about tracking Ginger down."
"I just…want things to turn out all right for her."
"I know you do." He looked down at her. "But you won't go to her, will you? I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I know. I won't seek her out." Rowan sighed. She set her empty mug on the nightstand, then snuggled into Reid. "I think The Golden Girls is on."
"Ah, we watched that the other night," he moaned. "You and your old television shows."
"It's not that old!"
"It was on before you were born. Before I was born."
"Maybe I should put that on my new list."
"You still working on that?"
She nodded, took the notebook with the empty page from her night table drawer. The header was: Things I Want to do before I'm 30. Reid had framed her first list, now she was working on another. Rowan mimed writing, "Get Reid to like old TV shows."
He laughed. "Yeah, that might take longer than thirteen years."
"Twelve. I'm almost eighteen."
"My wife will be legal," Reid joked.
Rowan dozed off while he continued to flip through channels before shutting the TV off and wrapping himself around Rowan. It was a cold draft that woke him up hours later. Rowan wasn't next to him and the animals shifted at the chill, too. Bruce Lee had skittered under a vacant pillow with only his nose and whiskers visible. He noticed the balcony doors were wide open, the drapes billowing from the wind. Rowan was leaning over the banister. Reid leapt out of bed.
"Rowan," he said, not wanting to startle her. She turned her head a little, didn't protest when he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her away from the edge. "Come on, you'll have a relapse in this cold." Once inside, he closed and locked the balcony doors. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry," she answered, somewhat out of sorts. "I… I thought I heard Loons."
xxxxx
"Ginger?" Chase got out of bed. The window was open, letting in a bitter cold chill. "Gin?"
The hardwood floors were like ice under his bare feet but he didn't stop to put anything on them. He found her in the living room, leaning out of the window. He said her name again, lightly, so he wouldn't scare her.
"I thought I heard something," Ginger said quietly. "Calling me."
Gently, he pulled her back, shut the window and locked it. "How long have you been hearing this?"
"Not long."
Chase looked out the window. Something moved across the street, long shadows, but they disappeared before he could make anything out. "Come back to bed, Gin."
"I did something wrong," she whispered. "That's why I hear them. I did something bad, Chase."
"You didn't do anything wrong." He got her back in bed, wrapped the blankets securely around them.
"If I did…would you forgive me?"
"You could never do anything bad." He brushed her hair aside, gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep, okay?"
Please, please forgive me, Chase, Ginger thought. I love you.
xxxxx
Ginger was on pins and needles the entire morning and afternoon. In just twenty minutes she and Chase would leave for their date to Sorellina. She'd chosen a light green cashmere turtleneck sweater to wear with a knee-length patterned skirt and flat boots. Because of the turtleneck she dared to wear her hair up and sleekly pulled back.
"Hey, you look…beautiful," Chase said, walking into the room. He wore slacks and sports jacket with a blue button down. Ginger so rarely pulled her hair back to show her entire face.
Ginger blushed. "Thank you. You look…really handsome."
Chase smiled. "These old things?" He took a breath. "Ready?"
"Mmm-hmm. I just need my purse."
He left the room, hand sweating in his coat pocket, clasping the small box. It seemed out of the blue, but when thinking on it, it really wasn't. Ginger and him belonged together, and she was a romantic, and he knew if they made love for the first time as a married couple it would mean that much more to her. And over dinner he would tell her that he was giving up his Power, and then give her the ring. It was a heady thing.
So absorbed in his plans, he wasn't paying attention walking through the living room. He banged his shin into the coffee table, knocking over Ginger's book. A piece of folded paper slipped out.
Smarting over the slight throb in his shin, he bent down to pick up both paper and book. Out of curiosity, he unfolded the paper. His body went rigid reading the two names on the paper. Written in a hand that was not Ginger's.
"Okay, I'm-" Ginger stopped dead in her tracks, smile faltering. Chase had found the paper.
He glared at her, blue eyes blank with anger, betrayal. "You talked to her." His hand was clutching the paper tightly. "You talked to them."
"I…I…" Ginger could barely get the words out. "I…"
"What?" Chase demanded through clenched teeth. God, his world was spinning and falling apart.
"I wanted to help you!" she exclaimed. "I wanted you to be safe."
"Safe?" Chase got in her face. "You…betrayed me. I told you about them, I told you!" Tears started to gather in her eyes, but he shut them out. "Don't cry! Your tears won't work this time."
"I wanted to help," she sniffled, trying to hold them back. "Chase…"
"What did you tell them?" he shouted. "What did she tell you? That I'm evil, addicted?"
"No! She didn't tell me anything. She told me about the Covenant, about…the Power and what it does…but the rest she…said that you should tell me."
"I bet," he whispered. "You went behind my back. You know how I feel about them, and you went behind my back!"
Ginger jumped when he yelled. The tears were streaking down her face. "I'm sorry. I told you why!"
"That…I bet they told you I'm a murderer," he ranted, not even looking at her. "A power hungry psycho!" He whipped around, grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. "That's what they told you, didn't they?"
"No!"
"Liar! Why should I believe a damned thing you say?"
"Be…because I love you," she cried. "I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Hurt?" He scoffed. "They can't hurt me. Why did you really go to them Ginger? Huh?" He shook her. "Why?"
"I said why! Please, believe me, Chase!"
"I should never have taken you. The biggest mistake I ever made. You've been nothing but dead weight!" The logical voice in him was telling him to stop, to listen to Ginger because she made sense. But…he couldn't. Darkness and anger warped his mind. Ginger was crying harder now, head bowed. He felt as if he were being ripped in half. "I could have had everything I wanted by now if it weren't for you!"
A choking sob filled with pain emitted from her mouth. "Please. I just wanted to help."
"Help? You couldn't help yourself. You're so pathetic you lived on the streets!"
Ginger was folding into herself, arms crossed over her stomach.
"You should have stayed in that nuthouse with your like."
She sobbed, fell to her knees. "No… I just wanted to help…"
"You make me sick! I'd be better off without you!"
Chase couldn't take her crying; it was gouging his heart. All he wanted was to wrap his arms around her but he couldn't. He stared at her, frozen between two actions. He took the second and left the apartment. Her cries echoing in his mind.
I hope that wasn't too melodramatic.
Thanks much for reading, love to know what you think as always. :D
