Enigma (21 page)

“I’ve found it!” Jack stood up, holding a framed sketch in front of his face. When he turned it around to show me, my jaw dropped, and I realized why Jack had been so furious. Jack was holding a sketch of Kelly, Seb’s ex-girlfriend. Underneath the sketch read the slogan:
The most beautiful girl in the world.

Jack threw the sketch behind him and I covered my ears as the glass smashed, sending shards of glass in my direction. As I raised my arms to shield my face, Seb appeared and caught the glass just as it was about to cut through my skin.

Jack looked horrified. “Sorry, Kate,” he said. I knew you’d have to see it to believe it. You have to stay away from Seb. You can’t come over here anymore.”

Jack’s eyes had almost returned to their normal color, but he was still angry. Seb remained calm even after seeing his room in a complete mess.

“Jack, let’s hear what Seb has to—”

“No!” Jack walked over to me. “You don’t understand the repercussions of spending too much time with him.”

I sighed. “He’s just another person, Jack.”

Jack held his head in his hands and gritted his teeth.

“What the hell is going on?” Seb asked.

“This is about you trying to steal Kate from me,” Jack shouted, his eyes sparkling.

“What are you talking about?”

I pulled the sketch of Kelly from the broken glass and held it up. “There was a sketch of me with the same slogan written on it in—”

“In Jack’s locker. I know; I put it there,” Seb declared.

“No, it was in my locker,” I said.

“I put it in locker 265, Jack’s locker,” Seb insisted.

“No, his locker is 264; mine is 265. Why did you put it in there anyway?” I questioned.

“Jack asked for ideas; he wanted to do something romantic for you to make up for the pool house scenario, so I left a note with the sketch.”

Seb took the sketch of Kelly from me, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash. “That can stay in the trash where it belongs.”

“Seb, I’m sorry. I had no idea; the sketch is beautiful, really romantic.” I looked over at Jack, waiting for him to apologize for making a terrible mistake.

“Come on Kate, let’s go.” Jack walked over the glass and out of Seb’s room.

I followed him out, mouthing another apology to Seb.

When we walked into the hallway, Jack picked up my bag and opened the door. I grabbed my bag and stormed off to my car.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” I slammed my door and locked it. Jack tapped on the window and pulled at the handle. “Kate, let me in.”

“Go back and apologize to your brother for being such an idiot! He did a good thing for you, and you trashed his room and humiliated him. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I started the engine and Jack tapped the window again.

“You don’t understand! Let me in and I’ll explain.”

I rolled the window down a little. “You’d better have a good excuse.”

“If you spend too much time around Seb, you could fall for him. He could be the reason you break my heart.”

Finally, I was realizing that the sketch had little to do with why Jack was so furious. All along, he was worried that I might fall in love with his brother.

“If you eventually fall for some random guy, I might be able to pull through, but if it’s Seb I know . . . I know I wouldn’t survive that.”

Jack looked heartbroken. I opened the car door and he got in.

“Why would you think I would fall for your brother?” I asked.

“Because you’re exactly the type of girl he’s attracted to.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m attracted to him, Jack,” I said. Seb was exactly the type of guy I’d be interested in, but Jack couldn’t know that. I placed my hand on his knee. “Jack, this curse is making you paranoid; it’s starting to control you. I’m no more likely to fall for Seb than I am anyone else. We agreed not to allow ourselves to think about what could happen. I thought we were living day-by-day?”

Jack placed his hand on mine. “I can’t help it. I feel the curse prevailing. I thought I could block it out, but it’s too hard.”

Seb walked out of the house.

“Go and apologize, Jack.” I leaned over him and opened his door.

He got out and walked over to Seb, who was standing next to his bike. I rolled my window down further.

“Seb, I’m sorry.”

“When are you going to give me a break?” Seb asked. “I’ve been trying to make peace since I came home. I’ve never caused trouble in my life; that was always your job, Jack! I don’t need to take Kate away from you. The curse will inevitably do that anyway. Despite what you think, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t believe you, Seb.”

Jack was incredibly stubborn. I got out of the car and walked over to them.

“I believe you, Seb,” I said.

Jack turned and looked at me, stunned. I wasn’t trying to betray him, but I believed Seb.

“Thank you, Kate. At least someone is seeing sense,” Seb said. Jack walked off, furious that I’d taken Seb’s side. He turned the corner and was out of sight.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Seb said, sitting on his bike. “If you need me, I’m always here for you. We could study together; it’s been nice having a friend like you.”

“That would be nice,” I said.

As Seb put his helmet on, our eyes locked for a brief moment before he placed his visor over his eyes and rode off.

I walked back to my car and sat in the driver’s seat. Seb was a friend, but he intrigued me. Not only did he resemble the kind of guy that I was usually attracted to, but his personality and interests reflected mine in so many ways.

But I had to fight him out of my mind; he couldn’t be the one I fell for.

I
nstead of going to Jack’s football game, I walked back to my house. I needed a break and thought that Jack could use some space too.

Enjoying the heat of the sun, I sat on my balcony reading, when Seb caught my eye. He had sensed that I was watching him and smiled up at me. I couldn’t help but smile back, feeling connected to him in a much different way than I felt connected to Jack. Without thinking, I gestured for him to come up to my balcony.

He was on my balcony in less than a minute. I pulled him into my bedroom and drew the curtains. We stood in front of each other in silence for what seemed like too long. I felt different around him. It wasn’t only a physical attraction; it was like I could see into his soul.

“How can I help you, Miss Harris? Or do you have the wrong brother standing in your bedroom again?” His wit was charming. “Are you holding me prisoner?”

I laughed and reassured him that he was free to leave any time he wished, but he sat in my frilly, outdated, pink velour armchair, which I had inherited from my late grandmother. My mother had tried to persuade me to throw it away every time we moved, but I’d refused. Seeing Seb sitting in such a girlie chair made me giggle. I sat on the edge of my bed.

“I need to talk to you; I need to know the truth. I have to trust that anything we discuss will stay between us,” I said, leaning toward him.

“Jack would hit the roof if he knew I was here. I have no intention of telling him anything.”

I couldn’t think about Jack at that moment. I wanted Seb’s company; he was easy to be around.

“Is there anything else about Jack that I should know?”

I’d told Jack that I didn’t care about his past, or the person he used to be, but now I was suspicious and hoped that Seb could give me some answers.

“I’m not going to tell you anything that Jack doesn’t want you to know. We may not be best friends right now, but I’m hoping that’ll change. I don’t want to jeopardize anything by exposing his past.”

I was disappointed, but I was impressed, too.

“So, you’re a loyal brother, then.”

“I’m a loyal person, so I’m afraid I can’t help you. But I will say one thing: If you don’t trust him, you shouldn’t be with him. No relationship will ever survive if there isn’t trust.”

I agreed with him; trust was a key factor in any relationship. Then intrigue got the best of me; I wanted to know about Seb.

“So, tell me, who is Sebastian Jones?” I couldn’t help smiling. He made my cheeks ache.

“Well, he’s a fun guy to be around. He loves to sketch, has a serious thing for motorcycles, and thinks the girl who lives next door is very nosy.”

I laughed. Our conversation flowed naturally. He opened up to me about himself, but there was something I desperately wanted to know, and hoped that I wasn’t overstepping boundaries.

“Do you believe that Jack meant to hurt you the night that he slept with your ex-girlfriend?”

“NoI don’t think he intentionally set out to hurt me. It was the alcohol that played a big part that night.”

I knew Seb was telling me the truth. Both of them had made terrible mistakes and now they were living with the consequences. Two brothers who had almost destroyed each other were now going to have to face the fact that it was going to happen all over again. I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer and allowed tears to fall. Seb sat next to me and gently wrapped his arms around me; they felt very different from Jack’s. I let my head rest on his chest and he held me close. He wiped a tear from my cheek and passed me a tissue.

“Kate, I have to say something and if you hate me for it, so be it: I believe Jack is in love with you, but you’re not in love with him. The curse made you fall for him and soon, any feelings you have for him will begin to fade.”

I looked up at him. “Seb, you created the curse; can’t you destroy it? Is there any way to free us from it?” I asked hopefully.

“The only way the curse will be destroyed is for it to prevail. Then it will destroy itself. As far as I know, there is no way to stop it. You have to know that I’m truly sorry, Kate. I never intended to curse Jack, but something inside of me lost control; I don’t even remember what happened.”

Seb’s eyes were full of remorse. I believed that he was sorry, and I knew that Jack was sorry for hurting him, too. I wasn’t sure if I preferred some kind of timeframe, or maybe it would be less painful not to know when our lives would change forever. I had to resign myself to the fact that I had no control over the curse. Fate would decide when all of our lives would be destroyed.

“Seb, Jack thinks that you might be attracted to me; he’s worried that I’ll fall for you. He said that if I fell for a stranger, then he might pull through; but if I fell for you, he’d never survive.”

“I wouldn’t betray him like that.”

“Perhaps you should reassure him that you aren’t attracted to me. I’m sure you’ll be busy enough soon with all the girls practically falling at your feet at the beach party,” I said.

“I’m not really a one-night stand type of guy.” Seb looked at his watch. “I’d better go.”

“Thanks for coming over. It’s been nice getting to know you.”

“Anytime,” he said and jumped off my balcony.

CHAPTER 21

A
couple of weeks passed, and the annual family skiing vacation was nearing. I had spoken to Brett on the phone the previous evening and he told me that he couldn’t come with us, which was devastating. I was missing him so much, and his weekly phone calls weren’t enough anymore. He was doing well in rehab and I couldn’t wait for him to come home.

The thought of going skiing with my parents and Heather for an entire week made me cringe, and it wouldn’t be a family holiday without Brett anyway, so I told my parents that I couldn’t go because I had important lectures. I had expected them to be more disappointed, but they agreed.

Jack had persuaded Lindsey to call my mother and suggest that I stay at her house while they were away. My mother agreed because Flo and Tobias were off for vacation and no one would be home. It was a kind offer, but I was worried about spending so much time around Seb. There was a connection developing between us and I felt guilty for having feelings for him. Seb hadn’t denied that he was attracted to me, but he hadn’t confirmed it either. Spending so much time around him would only enhance my feelings for him and hurt Jack, and I couldn’t do that.

I stayed with the Joneses while my parents were away, and everyone made me feel welcome. I slept in the guest bedroom because Lindsey didn’t approve of my sharing a bed with Jack.

Despite my growing feelings for Seb, I still wanted to explore my feelings for Jack. I needed to know exactly how I felt about him, and I had a plan.

On the evening of my first full day with the Joneses, I took Jack down to the dock and led him aboard a boat, which I had hired for the evening so that we could spend some time alone.

“Have you ever thought about trying to find your biological father?” I asked. “Maybe he’d be able to help us break the curse.”

“There’s no way of finding him, Kate; my dad reassures me of that. We don’t have so much as a last name to go on. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Lindsey and Jonathan seem like great people,” I said.