The Neighbors
Her heart was pounding in her chest and her mind tried to figure out what she'd just heard. She knew he hadn't said it… it'd been slightly watered down telling her he'd been thinking it.
"You love me?" she asked, her mouth dry. He was pale and his eyes avoided hers.
"No fair, I thought we promised we'd never read each other like that," he muttered, avoiding her question.
"Chris, what do you mean you love me?" she asked while looking at him. "Do you mean Romantic love or sisterly love?"
"I," he muttered before standing as if to move away. She went to follow but swayed dizzily. Instantly he caught her and kept her from falling. "Slowly Vida, you don't want hurt yourself."
With that he eased her to the floor once more.
"Either you answer my question Chris or I'll get your answer another way," she stated trying to break through the block he'd put around his mind.
"Oh yeah, how? You going to read my mind?" he asked defensive and she shook her head. He went to speak and she pulled him close and kissed him. Fire burnt through her as their lips touched, betraying her.
He tensed for a moment and his hands grabbed her shoulders as if to push her away. She assumed he must love her like a sister. However, his hands didn't push her away, instead she felt him pull her closer to him. Her heart rate intensified.
After what felt like forever she found she was the one who pulled away first, needing oxygen.
"So, Romantic love I take it," she whispered. He looked away, uncomfortable.
"You are my best friend, I can't… I can't," he couldn't say it. She smiled sadly.
"You're my best friend too," she stated. "That doesn't mean we can't love each other. Look at your parents. Before now your parents were best friends as well as lovers. They would still be friends and lovers if magic hadn't separated them."
He nodded. She went to stand and he helped her up. "It's just… I never thought you'd like me that way," he muttered.
"Chris," she stated touching him. "There were so many times I've wanted to tell you how I felt. There were so many times I've wanted to show you. Only once did I get up enough courage to even attempt and we were interrupted."
His eyes grew wide and he looked up at her. "My fourteenth birthday." She nodded at him. "If only Wyatt hadn't pissed off that Immortal who knows what would have happened."
"Yeah, who knows," she whispered though her mind was lost in the fact he'd spoken so casually about something so painful from the past… their past at least. "Wonder if we'd be together now or if we would have just been high school sweet hearts."
He just shrugged, not about to comment. With that she yawned, suddenly feeling tired. "I think I'm going to go to bed."
"Goodnight," Chris told her and she nodded before heading up the stairs.
--
'Daddy,' a little girl yelled and Wyatt turned around to see Ura standing there in the doorway. Instantly he was on his feet, moving across his bedroom towards his little girl.
'What is it baby girl?' he asked bending down. He knew he was dreaming the moment he'd seen her but he didn't want it to end.
'I had a bad dweam,' his little girl said while hugging her woobie close. It was his old teddy bear, the same one he and Chris used when they were kids, one that he was sure had been in the family for two generations at least.
'Come here,' he whispered picking her up. Then he carried her back to her room where he laid her down in bed and tucked her in. Once there he sat on the chair next to her and sang the song his own mom sang to him when he couldn't sleep.
'Daddy, when will I meet mommy?' his little girl asked, like she use to. He felt his heart sink just a little bit.
'I don't know sweetie,' he whispered and she nodded. 'Someday soon I hope.'
'Okay daddy,' Ura whispered. 'I love you daddy.' He looked at his sleeping little girl. Her blonde curls framing her beautiful angel face.
'I love you too,' he whispered before kissing his little girl's forehead.
Once again he awoke to find himself alone in his room. Twice in a two month span he'd dreamt of his daughter after not dreaming about her for what seemed like a lifetime. Something was changing, something in him. He knew it, he could sense it. He didn't like it.
--
Ran stood there in the basement looking at her older sister, Sadira. A spell had been cast around the basement so that their magic didn't affect the house, just their training center. Ran's hand was completely fluid, water like.
"You sure about this little sister?" Sadira asked, toying with the younger one who took that as a challenge.
"Oh yeah," Ran said. Before she had a chance to finish speaking her sister threw her hand up. A blast of fire flew at Ran who threw up her own hand to stop it with a blast of water.
"You know, a little bit of water isn't going to stop me," Sadira teased and Ran let out a jet of water from her palms that her sister wasn't ready for. It soaked her sister to the core. She went to start a fire but her body was too wet. She wouldn't ignite.
"No, but a lot of water will," Ran said with a smirk. Sadira rolled her eyes when Talbot came down the stairs, looking lost again. Six months in the same house and she still found a way to get lost. "Lost again Tal?"
"I seemed to have gotten, turned around a bit," Talbot stated while looking around the walls of the house. "Can… can you tell me how to get back to my room?"
Ran and Sadira shared a knowing glance.
"Head upstairs, go through the kitchen, go through the living room to another set of steps. Once upstairs head to the farthest door on your left with the silver letters spelling your name. That's your room," Sadira said and Ran nodded. Once their sister was out of the way each of the dueling sisters glanced at each other then at the magically implanted bedroom in the basement, the spare room Sadira and Ran shared.
"I'm going to get ready for bed," Ran stated before heading to her room. Then she moved towards them. Seeing her sister disarmed she spun quickly, throwing her hand out.
A blast of water spun out. However, a blast of fire met it. They simultaneously dropped the blasts with smirks.
"Goodnight," Sadira called to Ran who called her goodnight. Then she ran to her room.
--
Chris sat there on the bridge, thinking. His mind was going over all the possibilities of what might have been, what could have been, and what should have been. All those years ago he and Laveda had had a chance to get together and become a couple only to have it interrupted by an attack on his brother due to his brother's descent into darkness.
This had changed their whole relationship for years to come making it so that they never got together, remaining friends while he became entangled with Bianca. If things had gone the way they way they were planned he could have begun to date Laveda.
Oh, the joys of what could have been. In a world where Wyatt was good maybe he and Laveda had gotten together. He imagined that, about now, they'd be planning on getting married if not already there. Maybe they'd have a kid or be talking about it. Would they even be together still or would they have just been high school sweet hearts that broke up when high school ended?
It was crazy all of the potential ways things could have gone but hadn't. It was that old what-if thing that he found himself questioning.
After what felt like a short time but had actually been hours he orbed himself to the club.
