Brave (Healer) (11 page)

                 ‘How long can you stay for?’ I ask.

             
‘I’ll stay here until I hear from Arrow and Gabe.’ The sound of his name makes me wince. Rose sees my jolt and gives me a pitying look; I know she won’t mention him again.

             
‘Why didn’t you go with them?’ I ask curiously.

             
Didn’t she want to stay with Gabe and watch over him? He is a ticking time bomb and it frightens me that he is off in the world on his own without the protection of someone who loves him. The sadness which swallowed him after losing Claire lead him to excessive drinking. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly as I think about that night he got blindly drunk at the hotel in Paris. The same night I lay beside him as he slept. When I met him I knew he would change my life forever but that night it was too late for me to turn back; I was in love.

             
Doesn’t she want to see Claire with her own eyes? I would. I remember the photograph I found of her. She is taller than me and much, much thinner. Her hair is yellow blonde and her face is smiley or at least it was when she was standing beside Gabe with his gorgeous brown eyes gazing towards her and his strong arm wrapped around her small waist. Doesn’t she want to look at the girl who broke him?

             
‘I wanted to see you,’ she smiles at me and reaches her hand out to squeeze mine. I’m glad. I couldn’t face the silence anymore. I don’t know why I thought I could live in ignorance. ‘They don’t need me over there.
You
need me.’

             
I nod sadly. I need her to tell me it is going to be alright. I need her honesty and her vitality. I need her to remind me of the girl she met at her house in Manchester half a year ago because I’m starting to lose sight of her. Would the Cassie she first met be jumping into something with Oliver and trying to numb the pain with something that feels entirely wrong? Maybe she could help me get back to the honorable girl I was, the girl with dreams and hopes of a fantastic life because for now I am hopeless.

             
‘Let’s make this happy, Cassie, I’ve missed you. Why aren’t you in the house with Oliver?’

             
Oh my God. In the fogginess of hearing about Gabe I completely forgot about Oliver. The beautiful man with a beautiful soul who for the past few days I have fallen for. Have I fallen for him him or the comfort he offers me in this dark world? I don’t know.

             
I look at Rose and words struggle to leave my mouth. I know I should tell her everything. I should tell her how he has made me laugh and how happy being with him makes me feel but I don’t know if she would understand. Maybe she would but I just don’t want her to. I don’t want to tell her that while she has been fighting for me and while her heart has been breaking that Gabe and I can’t be together I have been lusting after the man she hired to be my babysitter. I don’t want her to judge me for the things I’ve done and felt with Oliver so I lie. ‘I don’t know. We just don’t... gel very well.’

             
Rose opens her eyes wide with disbelief. It is a pretty difficult lie to swallow. I can’t imagine anybody not gelling with Oliver. He is effortlessly charming. He could make friends with anyone and if Rose knows him then she will know this. I pray he hasn’t said anything to her about our friendship in their phone calls. ‘Really? Oliver is a great guy. You just need to get to know him better.’

             
‘Maybe,’ I shrug. I don’t like keeping secrets. They always come out in the end and they only hurt people. Too many keep things hidden from me so I hate doing it to others but it’s for the best that I keep my twisted friendship with Oliver off of Rose’s radar. I don’t want it to ruin things between Rose and I. I just want to enjoy her company while she’s here and not mess it up because she could disappear too soon.

             
Rose looks around at the dismal surroundings. The low camp bed, the yellowing fridge, the rickety table. I wish I could be staying in the main house but it is safer here with the magic protecting me although I reckon I’d feel safer in Oliver’s arms. I sigh.

             
‘It’s horrible in here. Come on. I want to say hi to Olly,’ she smiles at me, takes a hold of my hand and we walk through the grounds quickly as if we are both frightened Maurice might appear.

             
I feel sick at the thought of this awkward little trio. Rose will be unaware of the tension; I wonder if she will sense it. June is the first person we meet when we enter the manor. I am about to introduce Rose to Oliver’s surrogate mother then she wraps her arms around her and it is evident they are already acquainted. It makes me wonder about Rose and Oliver’s relationship. How does she know a werewolf? Did they date? Surely she would have mentioned that.

             
‘It’s so good to see you,’ Rose says still in her embrace.

             
June laughs heartily. I love the sound of her laugh as it echoes through this house. She laughs even when nothing funny has happened. I wish I was always that happy. ‘Rosie Posie,’ June cups Rose’s face in her hands. They must know each other well. I become increasingly curious. I guess I just assumed Oliver was one of Rose’s many supernatural contacts through her work with Maurice but this is intimate and familial. I feel like I’m intruding on a family reunion. Then it dawns on me.

             
I look at June’s coffee skin, her wide grin and I think about her easy manner then I look at Rose... They are related! The resemblance is so obvious to me now. It is uncanny. June is a smaller, older version of Rose.

             
‘I’ve missed you, Aunty June,’ they hold each other in a sweet embrace and I feel choked up. Rose’s parents died and she was left alone to look after her disabled brother. I didn’t know she had other family and I can’t help but wonder why June hasn’t been more involved in her niece’s life?

             
‘I... I didn’t realise,’ I stutter.

             
I suddenly realise the huge holes in my knowledge of my best friend. Over the time we’ve known each other we’ve learned a lot about each other. I know her vulnerabilities. I know how strongly she loves and worries about her brother and how much she misses her ex-boyfriend, Dan. I know that she uses materialistic objects and her sexuality to cover up these weaknesses but it shocks me to know that there is more to this beautiful woman than I already know. How does one family become so heavily involved in the supernatural? Rose worked for a vampire and is now working with witches to fight against him and her Aunt is the housekeeper and adopted mother of a werewolf. That’s got to be more than a coincidence.

             
There is no sign of Oliver and June just shrugs it off when Rose asks where he is. I am nervous that he has ran away because of our little situation earlier.

             
We sit in the kitchen together and June makes us hearty bowls of pasta with creamy tomato sauce. I’m going to put even more weight on living here. I can feel my stomach swell with every bite of June’s gluttonous food. Rose talks about her time with Arrow and the amazing things witches are capable of. I have to say I am enamored by the idea of these magical creatures.

             
The more time goes on the more worried I get about Oliver not making an appearance. Surely he wants to say hello to Rose, have I upset him that much? I go off into my own world and think about what happened between us. It had been so intense, so passionate, I’d gotten lost in those feelings and it was wrong of me to indulge in them if I knew my heart belonged to another but I don’t want to lose Oliver. The past few days have been so brilliant for me. I can feel the ice around my heart slowly beginning to melt. With every laugh we share I feel hope shine through the cracks. I hope I haven’t screwed that up.

             
When I snap out of my daydream I realise that Oliver has finally shown up. He has been for a shower; his shaggy brown hair and beard is dripping with water and his perfectly muscular body is paraded as he wears only a towel around his waist. Oh God. His body is perfection. It is so big and towering and manly. Sordid images from this afternoon flash through y mind. His wandering hands and the electrifying sensation of his touch. Oh and his lips pressed against mine. I get shivers and forcefully I restrain myself from biting my lip. From the corner of my eye I see Rose tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth and eying up Oliver’s perfect physique lustfully.

             
‘Long time no see, Olly,’ Rose smiles at him politely, shaking off her moment of desire. I guess he has this effect on everyone. It kills me that he is such a nice person too. Such good looks usually equates to a rotten personality but Oliver is the whole package and my God do I want to tear off the gift paper.

             
There is an almost visible tension between Oliver and I. Maybe I’d thought it was sexual originally but this feels different. Whatever we are both feeling it is crackling between us but I don’t think Rose and June sense it or if they do they keep it to themselves. I want to have Oliver alone. Not to ravish him but to talk to him about what happened between us. I want to be friends and I want to make the rest of my time here as pleasant as possible for everyone - I hope he can understand.

             
Oliver and Rose hug each other. She watches him intently as he leans against the kitchen counter and bites into an apple. Why? Does she like him romantically?

             
‘How have you been, Rose?’ he asks casually between crunches of his apple. It is hard to concentrate with his contoured body glistening with water droplets like that.

             
‘It’s been tough being away from home and not visiting Michael as often but I’ve kept it together. How have you been?’ she sags. Another moment where I am reminded of my selfishness. All I could do was think about my pain and my grief. I couldn’t stand everything I’d lost but I never considered what Rose was giving up to save me.

             
Oliver keeps his answer vague. He doesn’t mention our time together which I’m grateful for. I can’t tell if he doesn’t mention how much fun we’ve had because he’s mad at me for today. Even if that’s not the case he is definitely avoiding me. He hasn’t looked at me once since he walked in the kitchen.

             
‘Put some clothes in you dirty boy,’ June smacks his bare, solid stomach with a wet dishcloth. ‘You have guests!’

             
He laughs and leaves the room to dress. Normally he would make a joke but he seems much more subdued than the Oliver I have grown attached to. I still melt at the tenderness in his eyes as he looks at June and his boyish laugh but there is definitely something missing. I really have screwed this up, haven’t I?

             
Once he is out of earshot Rose gushes, ‘I always forget how beautiful he is then I see him again and I feel like I could melt.’

             
June throws her head back in laughter but I can’t find it in myself to even smile. Oliver is mad at me. Gabe doesn’t remember me. My family are miles away and I feel like there is a big wedge between Rose and I as I can’t confide in her about my true feelings.

             
‘He seems different though,’ Rose says after she is done giggling.

             
I swear June looks at me suspiciously when Rose says this but it is so fleeting that I can’t be sure I didn’t just imagine it. ‘He’s same old Oliver,’ June says with a motherly smile upon her little heart shaped face. Whenever June talks to or about Oliver I get a pang of longing for my own mother. Beatrice Mueller who I never got the chance to know because she was a Healer and Maurice drained her of all her blood for his own selfish reasons. I shudder. I wish I had gotten the chance to spend time with her and talk to her about being the way I am, being a
freak
. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so alone all my life if I knew there were other people like me.

             
‘How long are you staying with us, Rosie Posie?’ June asks and I zone out of the conversation again and drift off to thoughts of my family. Thinking about my late mother prods me to think about my dad and Shannon back at home. Is Shannon better? How is Lily? I think about my newborn sister and clutch my stomach. I barely got to see her before I had to run off with Oliver. My dad will be so worried, will she get a good start at life? I hope I haven’t ruined the happiness that should be warming the house right now. I wonder if Oliver and Rose would let me call my dad and let him know I’m alright. I already know the answer. It’s too risky when Maurice probably has dozens of employees still looking for me. Just because he has moved his sights towards Claire, it doesn’t mean I am safe.