Whispers of the Damned: See Series Book 1

  Chapter Seven

  The waffle place was packed when we got there. I recognized a lot of the cars there from the field earlier. Aden pulled the Hummer up along side us a second after we parked.

  Madison and me got out at the same time, her once over had a glint of hope in it, but I knew she’d expect my alone time with Draven to bring me up to speed faster.

  “New-card-couple is...kinda cute,” she said.

  I drew back as she arched a brow and said, “Didn’t really get ‘round to talking about abilities, I guess.”

  “You mean that you’re all mind readers?”

  “Relax, you’re better than all of us at doing it. You aced putting up the do not disturb signs first too.”

  “Is the sign broken?” I asked sarcastically?

  She swayed her head. “I don’t care how he brings you back, I just want you back.”

  She stepped away before my best friend instincts told me to probe her a bit. Madison was uptight, about me sure, but something else was bugging her too.

  Draven was standing in front of the Hummer with Aden. They weren’t saying a word, but I knew Aden was in the know. Like Madison, he was going to stand on the stage Draven and me were pretending was my life.

  “Aden,” Draven said with a shallow tick of his head toward his brother to intro us.

  “You should’ve been behind the drums.”

  My words were bold, like a critic, but I meant them. This knowledge didn’t hurt when I pulled it out of my mind. Aden could play just about anything, but the drums had his soul.

  “Better to be out front,” Aden said glancing at the night just beyond the lights of the parking lot. “Unpredictable atmosphere.”

  This coded conversation pointed out the obvious to me.

  No whispers. They were not dead silent, hiding, like with Britain and Bianca. They were like they were at my house, just outside a comfortable barrier I could give my attention to, or not.

  “Come on, guys, there’s a table—someone’s getting up,” Madison said.

  I couldn’t believe how many people were out this late at night. I felt the nervous anticipation of walking in. I reached to pull my hood up. Draven gently reached for my hand to stop me. As he looped his fingers through mine, the warm, tingling sensation of his presence swarmed through me. “I gotcha.”

  Every single person in the room turned to look at us as we walked in. Draven squeezed my hand to remind me that he was there. We followed Aden and Madison to an empty dirty booth in the corner. I could tell people wanted to say something to him, or even Aden, but all they did was smile and nod.

  I slid into the booth, thinking that if my back was to everyone I wouldn’t be so uncomfortable. I was wrong, though, because in front of me was a window that reflected everything behind me. Draven slid in next to me. The way his body fit against mine, the way we both seemed to relax all at once took the edge off.

  Madison and Aden sat across from us.

  A waitress came over and began to clear what was left from the customers before us, and another woman came up behind her and took our drink orders. Madison glanced behind me. “This is a bad idea. The docs said her life. We don’t hang out like this.”

  “Yeah, well, he thought my house would be too much too fast,” Aden said.

  I tracked their words as my eyes shifted. “So me feeling anxious here is the norm?”

  Draven laughed as he settled a bit more next to me. I don’t think he knew he was doing it, but when he relaxed, he all but told me I was acting like the girl he knew.

  “I gotta go shut this down,” Madison said, pushing against Aden so he’d let her out.

  I couldn’t help but tense. Shut what down? Did my mind reader crew see a threat? Did they hear something I didn’t?

  “She knows these people,” Draven said. “Them crowding us will only muddy the waters.”

  “Since we’re friends again,” Aden said, “maybe we can take this to go. Play some music at our house or something.”

  “Slow down, bro,” Draven said smoothly.

  Aden glanced at me, “Sorry.” Then went back to scrolling through his phone.

  The waitress came back, and as she set the drinks down she asked what we wanted.

  “I’ll take a waffle. My friend, too,” I said to her.

  Draven held up the number four to order for all of us. As the waitress questioned him on what else they might want, I glanced outside. I didn’t trust any barrier between the darkness and me to hold long.

  “Is it bad?” Draven asked Aden with a nod to his phone.

  “There’s one video, but you can’t see it clearly. Downloads spiked, but not much. I told you it would be fine. It was worth it,” he said, glancing at me.

  The waitress returned with four plates of waffles. I tried to glance at Aden’s phone to see what he was looking at as he laid it on the table. I was sure he was checking to see if their performance had caused more people to notice them.

  “Jacob’s Ladder,” I said as the waitress walked away.

  I didn’t get how I was remembering things without a stitch of pain now, but I was. Jacob’s Ladder was exactly what I felt tonight. The music drew me out of the darkest dwelling of my soul and vaulted me toward euphoria, a heaven. I fell right down the same ladder when it was all over, but still. I got the meaning!

  I remember the bible story; I remember putting the theory to debate. We all had a ladder to our heaven, and sometimes we fell a bit too far down it. My stare darted to the night beyond the parking lot. Cool band name, I thought. No, no you wouldn’t call your band something so ancient. You wouldn’t attach the name to such a high vibration, not when the damned already hunted you for salvation.

  I swayed my head agreeing with myself. “Anonymous,” I breathed. “That’s what they call you. What you go with.”

  Both Draven and Aden were staring me down; Aden broke away first, scouting out Draven’s take on the words I spat out, at the very least how to react to them.

  I ticked my head toward his phone. “You didn’t want the attention. You try to avoid it when you can on the norm. After what—my deal, gave you reason to do more than avoid it.” I stared Draven down. “You can reach thousands of souls at once, but you can’t. You’d be overrun.”

  “We,” he said. “We.”

  I stopped right there. I wasn’t stumbling into an argument half cocked.

  “Are we in more danger now?” I asked, understanding I was a curse. That no matter what they could or could not see or sense about me, they had no idea how cold or dark the beings that lurked in my voided memories were.

  “We’re good,” Draven said ticking his head toward my plate before diving into his like nothing in this universe could rattle his cage, nothing short of me not being at his side.

  “Did you call him,” Aden asked leaning forward a second after the door opened.

  I turned with Draven to see a young guy and girl walking in. They were older than us. I’d guess they were at least in their twenties. They spotted a table on the other side of the room and made their way to it.

  Draven turned back. “Kinda, ran into him yesterday. I told him we were playing.”

  “That’s his girl?” Aden asked.

  “Crazy, isn’t it.”

  I didn’t get what was weird.

  Draven swayed his head when he saw my confusion. “I don’t think you met Wesley yet. Our friend Austin brought him here.”

  Austin?

  “Don’t worry about it right now,” he said. “Austin gets our...how we’re different. That’s all.”

  Aden glanced at his phone then dropped some cash on the table. “Madison said evacuate.”

  Draven didn’t even ask why as he scooted out and waited for me. My phone went off next.

  Head out unless you want to be guilt tripped into going to a party.

  You going?

  Maybe.

  “I’ll hang back, talk to Wesley, if Maddie wants
a way out, she’ll have her chance.” Aden said grabbing her food so he could take it to her. “Pick you up in a few?”

  Draven passed him a shallow nod as he took my hand and led me out. I hung back once we were outside making sure Madison was good. When I got in the drivers side of my car Draven was toying with my phone.

  “What are you doing?” I couldn’t hide the panic in my tone.

  I knew I didn’t lie before about not stepping out, the thing was, if anyone ever heard or saw the way Britain was around me, I wouldn’t look so honest. “Adding contacts.” He glanced at me. “Some pics. Your phone is looking pretty blank.”

  “One of many mysteries,” I said. “Mom got the music back, when she comes back in town I’ll get her to give me what’s missing.”

  As I pulled my belt on I asked. “You don’t know my passwords do you?”

  He laughed. “Charlie, you post like once a year. Never the real you.”

  “I’ll take all the pictures then,” I said as I backed out.

  “Maybe not all,” I heard him say like he was highly amused with himself. The crimson blush that glided down my body hastened the comfortable vibe. At least it did until the music blared through the speakers I let myself study every song he picked. When someone plays a song for you, they’ve basically bared their soul. The music he played was empowering and enchanting at once. It made reality seem like a fantasy and an unseen world our true home.

  I pulled into my driveway and circled into the garage. I climbed out and leaned against my car. The urge to ask him to come in was overwhelming. I knew if I did, I might come closer and closer to the surface of who I am, but comprehending it would be impossible. I needed time to catch up. Time to make sure my demons hadn’t invaded my zip code yet.

  He walked slowly around the car, letting his fingertips run across the body. I was beginning to think it was a bad idea just to stand here, that it made me look like I was waiting for him to say or do something.

  Maybe I was...

  He stepped in front of me; his eyes were starved for recognition. I didn’t care how ancient our vibe was, no amount of time could make the electric charge of this guy ordinary.

  “I see you,” he said tilting his head, leaning closer. He softly reached for my left hand. I could feel pure energy coursing through the warmth of his skin. He looked down at my fingertips and ran his thumb over my soft skin.

  “It’s been awhile since you played.”

  Not a single callous was on the tips of my fingers; there was no sign of me pushing through the pain.

  “Charlie,” he said as our hands folded together. “I’m all for playing for us, keeping it anonymous.” He lifted a brow. “But don’t you ever hide this part of yourself again.”

  A nervous blush flamed across my skin. Did I do that? Had I hidden who I was this last semester, right down to music? If I had...I didn’t do it on a whim. I went to draw from that notion and argue with him. His finger landed on my lips as he leaned forward.

  “You said it was our weapon,” he whispered. “Nobody goes to war unarmed.”

  “Fair enough,” I managed. “I don’t know how to get it back,” I admitted recognizing a vacancy inside of me for what it was.

  “Priority number one tomorrow.”

  I glanced to the darkness.

  “Weapons, first,” he said. “Then we can talk about your blind spots. Noon?”

  I grinned to agree on the time.

  He slowly reached his hand to cradle my face, tracing the base of my eye. “When you wake, hold fast to the dream you think you never had ‘cause...” he trailed off.

  I leaned up, feathering my lips across his. “‘Cause that’s you holding me.”

  All the tension left his body as his lips framed mine. The contact made us both groan. He deepened our kiss as he pressed our bodies together. My hands moved up his chest, reaching to outline his face with a passionate embrace.

  The sound of his Hummer pulling up divided us.

  He gave me one more innocent kiss before he pulled his body away from mine.

  “Hold fast,” he said walking away.