Chapter 2 – Loved
When we stopped in front of the red and gray doors, I was nervous. How would Ian take it? Would he be angry at me? He would definitely be angry at Jared.
"Jared," I said, turning to him, "Ian is going to want to rip your head off. I think he shouldn't see you just yet."
"I don't want him ripping your head off."
My eyes narrowed at the thought. "He wouldn't dare."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," I nodded. "It will be fine."
"I'm staying right here."
I sighed and let Jared pull the door out of my way. Ian was sprawled where I - Wanda - had left him. I sat down carefully on the second mattress and watched him for just a moment.
I thought about the first time I had seen Ian, how he had had almost as much hate in his eyes as Kyle. How had that changed? I'd been paying so much attention to Jared and Jaime, it had been too late when I realized Ian was falling in love with Wanda.
There had to be a way to keep her here. She wouldn't be happy about it, but there wasn't much she could do about it. If, as I suspected, some humans disappeared completely from their bodies, then we could find her someone different. A body where it would just be her.
It would be nice to tell myself that I was doing that for Ian, or even for Wanda, but the truth was that I had grown so attached to her myself, I couldn't bear the thought of losing her.
I had always been surrounded by men. My dad, lost to the Seekers. Jaime, growing up so fast that I had to admit he'd soon be a man. And Jared, who was more to me than the whole world. I knew how to handle men. But Wanda. Wanda and I would always share a special bond. We had shared each other. In her, I had found a sister, and I wasn't giving her up.
Ian groaned and rolled, then settled back into his deep sleep.
Might as well get this over with. Nothing, still silence.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Ian."
He didn't budge.
I leaned over and put my hand on his shoulder. I was pleased that there was no electricity there, no jolt like when I touched Jared, but my heart did thump strangely. Ignoring that, I shook him.
"Ian," I called louder. He stirred, and then was suddenly wide awake.
"Wanda?" he asked, confusion in his eyes.
I opened my mouth to explain, but no words came out. I felt guilty as hell. What was I supposed to say to make this right?
As I fumbled, trying to think of something to say, Ian's eyes settled on the tank in my arms.
"NO!!!!"
He snatched at the tank so fast I almost missed it.
"Careful!!" I yelled at him.
He was clutching the glowing cryotank with all the tenderness of a new mother. I thought I saw a tear glisten on his cheek.
"Wanda knew you would never let her go, so she went to Doc alone. I'm so sorry, Ian."
His gaze turned accusingly to me. "And Doc just did it?! I'm going to murder him."
"Don't you dare! She made him absolutely swear to do it forever ago. It was her price for teaching him how to remove a soul. Actually..." I thought about this for a moment. Ian was going to be furious with Jared no matter what, but I wanted to justify him any way that I could. "Wanda forced Doc to promise that he wouldn't put her in a tank at all."
I let that sink in for a moment before adding quietly. "She asked him to bury her with Wes and Walter."
To my surprise, his reaction was not what it was when he found that she had been removed. His voice was steely, though, when he said, "then I guess I owe Doc big time."
"No, you owe Jared." He cocked his head. "Jared figured out what she was doing in time. He changed Doc's mind through ... persuasion."
Ian's eyes were red and puffy, and I couldn't decide if that was because he was going to cry again or if he was just tired. Either way, I could tell that he needed me. I scooted to sit next to him on his mattress and rub his arm. For a while, we just sat together.
Suddenly, I pulled back and looked him in the eye. My heart thumped again as his blue eyes met mine. It was not nearly as strong as with Jared, but my body clearly remembered Ian. I wanted to reach out to him again, to stroke his face and hold him close.
It looked like Wanda had left her imprint on me.
Fighting the urge, I moved away from him, putting much needed space between our bodies. I could see the confusion in his face. Neither of us seemed to know what to say.
Was it going to be this awkward between him and me forever?
Probably.
Ian turned away from me, looking down at Wanda, glowing silver. "So...what do we do now?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure yet. She doesn't want to leave Earth, and I don't think we should make her. But other than that, I don't know."
Ian looked like he was about to say something else, but I was getting desperate to leave the tiny room with him. His body was both too close and not close enough for my liking. "Look, let's all sleep on it for now. I'm dead tired, and I'm sure you are too. I need time to adjust, but we'll figure something out."
Before he could protest, I stood and fled to the hall, where Jared was waiting for me with open arms.
I relaxed in his embrace for a long minute, then he pulled me gently toward his room. Our room. There was no way I was sleeping anywhere other than with Jared and Jaime.
Sure enough, Jaime was lying in the middle of Jared's double mattress. Jared started to say something about grabbing the other twin from Ian's room, but I stopped him.
"This is the first time I've really had you both back in a long time. We'll fit somehow."
I coaxed Jaime to the edge of the bed, then curled myself around him. I felt Jared do the same with me, wrapping his arms securely around my waist. It was crowded, but by clinging to each other, we managed to not fall off.
I could feel his hot breath against my neck, and it felt as good as I remembered. Just before I fell asleep, I heard him whisper in my ear.
"I love you, Melanie."
"I love you, Jared." I was almost gone, but I needed to make something clear. "I love you with my whole heart and soul."
