“And we will,” Cade assured Jenna touching her arm briefly, reassuringly. I looked quickly away, unable to take the sight of them right now as unreasonable jealousy tore through me. They were both so beautiful, so perfect. “But for now, we have to keep moving.”
“The old lighthouse, only teens go there anymore. It will be safe,” Jenna said softly.
“Nothing is safe anymore,” Abby whispered.
Jenna’s lower lip trembled, her arm tightened around Abby’s shoulder. “It will be safer than the woods.”
“You really believe that a lighthouse, used to call in ships, set out on a Jetty that can be seen across the bay, is safer than the woods?” I asked incredulously.
“I don’t hear you coming up with any ideas!” she practically wailed.
“Our old tree house.”
We all turned to Aiden. “What?” Bret asked.
“Our old tree house,” Aiden responded excitedly, his brown eyes bright. “Our old house is on Cranberry Isle, the area has been built up over the past few years, but it’s still relatively private. Even more private is the tree house that Bethy and I built with our father when we were younger…”
“You want us to hide in a tree house!?” Jenna nearly screeched.
I sighed loudly as I rolled my eyes. She was going to be my undoing, my snapping point, the end of my small tether on sanity. I was certain of it. I just wasn’t sure if it was because she was driving me crazy, or because Cade was trying to console her so much. A day ago the stupid ass had been kissing me, and being so kind and understanding that he had made me cry for the first time in years. Now, just a day later, he was all over Jenna.
I had a boyfriend, I reminded myself fiercely. Bret was my boyfriend. To Cade, I had just been something to play with something to string along, and now it seemed he had set his sights on the far more beautiful, and pristine, Jenna Howe. I wasn’t jealous of her, not at all. I couldn’t be jealous of her small interaction with Cade when her interest in Bret, and their history, had never bothered me. That made absolutely no sense.
I was angry at myself for believing there was some strange connection between Cade and myself. I was angry at myself for having so many doubts about Bret, a man that loved me and would never do to me what I had done to him. I had been vulnerable when I’d kissed Cade, I’d let him, but I knew better now. Now that I knew what he was really like, I would never allow such a thing to happen again.
I wanted to believe everything that I was telling myself, but the awful truth was that I was jealous, and Cade had not taken anything from me that I had not willingly given to him. I could try and convince myself that what I felt for Cade was wrong and that he was a user, but I was not one to lie to myself. I never had been; I never would be. And I didn’t believe that Cade had just been toying with me. I didn’t know him well, but I knew that wasn’t the kind of man he was. He was too straightforward for that.
“It’s a little bit more than a tree house,” Aiden said softly.
“I’m not dying in a tree house,” Jenna retorted.
“We spent a lot of time on it; it’s more than a tree house,” Aiden insisted. “It’s actually pretty well equipped for a tree house.”
“We haven’t been there in years Aiden, you can’t possibly know what condition it’s still in,” I reminded him.
He shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve been there recently.”
I started slightly, my mouth parted in surprise. Aiden and I didn’t tell each other everything, but we shared more, and were closer than most siblings. We looked out for, loved, and protected Abby, but the two of us were closer in age, bonded by more shared experiences, and truly liked each other now that we were older. Going to the tree house didn’t sound like something Aiden would do, he was not a nostalgic person, and it definitely seemed like something he would have told me about.
I didn’t know if I was more stunned, or more hurt, that he hadn’t. I didn’t ask when, or why, he didn’t seem to want to elaborate.
“It will be a good place to hide out for tomorrow. We can come up with a better plan then.”
“Cranberry isle is a good three miles away,” Jenna mumbled.
“Then we had better get moving,” Bret said softly. He slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it gently.
CHAPTER 10
It was a tree house, and I still refused to go inside it. I sat against the tree, my knees drawn up to my chest, surrounded only by the forest. There was a small stream about thirty feet away, I couldn’t see it, but I knew its location from childhood memories. The sound of running water was like gentle music in the oddly still woods. Birds were not singing; there were no squirrels running amongst the trees. I did not hear any forest creatures moving about. I was terrified that the alien’s magic ability to freeze things had somehow extended to them. How could we stop them if they were able to pull off such a colossal attack?
I could only hope that it was our presence that had scared the animals away, or that they still had not awakened in the early morning hours. I rested my forehead on my knees, trying not to think about it, trying hard to just block everything out but it was almost impossible. Aiden had been right; the tree house was in good shape, excellent even. I didn’t think it was the new home owners that had kept it in such good condition, Aiden and I had not disclosed its location when we moved from Cranberry isle. This was our tree house; neither of us could stand the thought of anyone else playing amongst its walls.
Abby had been too young for the tree house at the time, she had come out here with us once, but I highly doubted she had remembered how to get here on her own. Abby was many things, but adventurous and handy were not amongst her vast list of attributes. That left only Aiden to keep up the maintenance, and he had done a wonderful job of it. I just couldn’t believe that he had kept it from me all of these years, but then there was plenty that I had kept from him also.
I lifted my head, gazing up at the wooden structure thirty feet above my head. It was nestled in the crook of four massive branches in a large maple. There were three ways to escape the structure, and two ways to enter it. A long metal ladder stretched from the ground up to a hole against the trunk of the tree. The hole was usually left open, but it could be closed and the ladder thrown away if such a thing was required, or wanted. We had thrown it aside often as children, when we had been escaping the imaginary creatures chasing us. It was not lost on me the complete circle that our lives had completed from then, until now.
Another ladder hung from the other side of the tree, the one closest to the stream. It was a rope ladder that dangled down to the ground. It could be pulled swiftly up, and had been many times when we were younger and under the attack of trolls and other nefarious creatures. The third and final exit was a metal pole that had rusted slightly over the years, but still appeared stable. It had always been my favorite way to exit the fort when in a rush to escape from the fiends that had breached our security.
The exits had been for fun when we were kids, now I was glad that we had decided to build so many emergency escapes. I stared at the bottom of the fort; I sensed no movement up there. They must all be asleep. Even Bret had climbed into the leafy bowers, curious about the elaborate fort. I had told him to stay up there for awhile, I needed to be alone. I was enjoying the quiet. I was surprised that he had actually listened to me. He was terrified for me, I could see that, but thankfully he seemed to understand my need for solitude.
I had no doubt that he would return soon though. I rose to my feet, stretching as I walked to the edge of the small clearing. Long ago we had cut the woods back, creating a large area to play in, and a nice path to traverse through the forest. The woods had reclaimed most of the path. Just as the wilderness would reclaim everything that was going to be abandoned, and forgotten when this was over. The world would change, it had changed already. Houses may very well be a thing of the past; the forest would regain the wood it had lost over the years, animals would be the new residents of homes. I shuddered at th
e thought; there would be much for the wilderness to reclaim when this was all done. Maybe even our bodies.
I hated my morose thoughts, but they wouldn’t go away. Neither would the heart wrenching agony of losing my mom. Now that we were stopped, now that I was alone, now that I was not focusing upon inane little things like Cade’s interaction with Jenna, I could not stop the flood of pain, loss, and memories that surged through me. Tears did not streak my face, but hollow, dry sobs racked through my chest and hunched my shoulders as I hugged myself tightly. She had gone fast; they hadn’t gotten a hold of her. I kept telling myself this, kept trying to reassure myself with those thoughts, but it didn’t help to ease the tight knot of anguish searing my chest.
This was not the trauma and shock of my father’s death. Losing my mother had been shocking, and yes this whole thing was traumatizing, but I had not seen her. I had not been with her at the moment of death. I had not seen the suffering and fear. I had not seen the worry for me, for her family. I had not seen death clouding my mother’s gaze, as I had with my father.
I veered sharply away from the thought; it would only lead to dark places that I did not want to travel to ever again. Dark places, and an even darker and despondent version of me than I ever wanted to know again. I launched abruptly to my feet, unable to sit still any longer. I paced anxiously to the edge of the clearing, tugging slightly at my hair as I wrapped it around my finger. The honey color of it was nearly brown with dirt, sweat, and residue from the antique store. I would have given anything for a shower as I could barely stand the smell of myself anymore.
My last memory of the stream as a child told me that it was small. I imagined it would seem even smaller now that I was an adult, but at least it was something. I glanced up at the tree house, they were all inside. The small shutters had been drawn over the three windows, blocking out the sun so they could make an attempt at sleep.
I slipped through the forest, shoving aside bull briar, grape vine, and branches as I struggled to make my way to the stream. I was bleeding and sweating even more by the time I broke free of the woods and stumbled upon the stream. It was smaller than I remembered, but it was still one of the most wonderful things I had seen in a long time.
I swiftly kicked off my sneakers and socks and shed my filthy clothes. The stream reached a little above my knees as I waded in. I dropped down; sitting upon the rocky bottom, I let the cold water wash deliciously over my heated, filthy skin. Closing my eyes I fell back in the stream, allowing it to engulf me. I opened my eyes slowly to stare out at the world through the blurry haze of water above me. It was beautiful; the sky was as pristine and clear as the water trickling over my head. My lungs began to burn, but I stayed under, trying to pretend that the world was as perfect as it seemed from beneath the water. Trying to pretend that I could stay here, where it was cool and clean, and I could somehow be hidden from the horror above.
Unfortunately, I did not have gills. I burst free of the water, gasping for air, struggling to keep the fierce shaking of my body under control. I was not safe here, I knew that, but I could not drag myself from the cool stream. It was the only sliver of peace I had managed to find in awhile. Pulling my knees up against my chest, I rested my chin upon them and closed my eyes.
***
It was falling over in the water that jolted me awake. I was disoriented, confused, and stunned by my surroundings. Bolting upright, I splashed and crashed about in the water as I swiftly wiped the wet hair from my face. Blinking away the water clinging to my lashes I looked swiftly around the darkening woods. I didn’t know how long I had been sitting in the stream, but the sun was lower, and I was freezing and pruned.
I rose shakily to my feet, wincing as the softened pads of them landed painfully upon the rocks. I struggled out of the stream, teetering like a newborn foal as I tried to avoid the more painful looking rocks. I rang my hair out when I reached the shore. The last thing I wanted was to put my filthy clothes back on, unfortunately I didn’t have any other options.
Sighing in resignation I slipped the smelly clothing back on, shuddering in disgust at the feel of it against my skin. Now that my skin was clean, the smell of them was even more repulsive as it engulfed me. I didn’t care if it was wrong or not, as soon as it was dark out I was going to search out some clean clothes. I was certain the owners of them would understand; if they were still alive they were probably looking for the same thing.
I groaned in disgust as I slipped the dirty socks back on and shoved my feet into my sneakers. “Feel better?”
I whirled, stumbling backwards in surprise and nearly falling over as the voice came from the edge of the woods. It took me a moment to find Cade half hidden within the darkening shadows of the day. The sun was behind him, making it hard to discern him against the glare of the rays. “How long have you been there?” I demanded, trying hard to control the accelerated beat of my heart as I panicked at the thought of what he might have seen.
He shrugged, which was a highly annoying gesture that caused my jaw to clench in aggravation. “Not long.” His voice was causal, his posture almost indolent. I could feel my anger boiling to ever rapid heights as my fear swiftly faded away. He moved away from the trees, coming out of the glaring sun. I clung to my anger, even as an aggravating flash of excitement tore through me. Even dirty and disheveled he was stunningly handsome, and slightly overpowering. I took a step back, struggling to breathe a little better as he moved toward me. The closer he came the more difficult I found the task.
“I didn’t see anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”
It seemed he was taking pity on me as he uttered these words. I didn’t want his pity, and I didn’t want him looking at me like I was a child. I didn’t want him treating me like I was helpless; I already got enough of that from Bret. “Good.”
“Bethany…”
“We should get back. It’s getting dark.”
I turned away, trying hard to keep hold of my remaining shreds of dignity. He grabbed hold of my hand pulling me back. A small cry of surprise escaped me but it was swiftly buried beneath the hard press of his lips. I was stunned into immobility, but even though I was frozen in place my instant physical reaction to him was stunning in its intensity. I knew that I should pull away, that this was completely wrong, but the last thing I wanted was for it to end. He cradled my face gently, pulling me closer against him. For the first time I began to feel safe, for the first time I did not hurt, and I wasn’t terrified. In his arms I felt as if there was no one else in the world, but us.
His lips brushed lightly against mine, just a butterfly caress, before he pulled slowly away. His forehead rested against mine, his fingers stroked my cheeks. I didn’t want the moment to ever end, didn’t ever want to part from him, but I had to. We had to.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
His eyes were as dark as midnight as he slowly surveyed my face. “Isn’t it obvious?” I shook my head. He sighed softly, his lips brushed lightly over mine again. Heat pooled through me once more, my heart beat a rapid staccato that I was sure he could hear. “It should be.”
“But, Bret.” He did not move away from me, as I’d thought he would at the reminder of my boyfriend. “Bret’s a good person.”
“He is.”
“He loves me.”
“This has nothing to do with him Bethany.”
“But it does.” I closed my eyes, unable to meet the stark beauty of his onyx eyes.
“I’ll tell him if you want.”
My mouth dropped, shock and horror pounded through me. “That’s not what I want,” I blurted. It wasn’t what I wanted at all. I didn’t want Bret hurt; I didn’t want him to know anything about this. It would be such a huge weight off my chest, such a giant burden taken from me to tell him about my infidelity. However, I was not going to hurt Bret simply to ease my conscious. But there was a part of me that wanted to let this out so badly that I almost wept at the joyous thought of it.
“Then what do you want? I’ll give you anything you ask for, just tell me.” His voice was hoarse, raspy with its desire and need.
My throat ached with tears for him, for Bret. I didn’t want to hurt Cade either, but I suddenly realized that I was. “I don’t know Cade. I don’t even know what this is. I don’t even know if we’re going to be alive tomorrow morning. I know that I don’t want to hurt Bret, I just can’t, he deserves better. We, all of us, are all that we have right now. We need each other. We have to trust each other in order to survive. Bret is a good guy, he loves me, and I don’t want to betray his trust anymore than I already have.”
“He does love you.” I had not expected Cade to say that he loved me too, there was no way that he could, but I hadn’t expected such a nonchalant confirmation like the one he gave.
“He deserves better.”
Cade frowned at me. “Then you?”
I licked my lips nervously; my gaze darted anxiously toward the trees. He sighed softly as his fingers stroked over my face again. “Yes, he deserves far better than me. I’m so confused.”
“I’m not. There is no better than you.”
Before I could protest his statement he was kissing me again. His arms were around me and I was no longer confused, I suddenly knew where I belonged. It was the oddest, most bewildering, and most wonderful feeling I had ever experienced. How could I feel like this for someone I hardly knew? How could this feel so right and good, when it would only hurt people?
It was the sound of Cade’s name being called that tore me away from him again. I blinked at him in surprise, barely registering the calls through the haze of pleasure enshrouding me. I was so ensnared in a cocoon of warmth and pleasure that thoughts were not properly coalescing in my brain, but Cade was swift to recover. My eyes widened in surprise as a thunderous expression crossed his face. I had never seen him look so angry and annoyed, but then I didn’t really know him, not anymore. He cursed softly, released me swiftly, and stalked toward the forest as my name was called.