Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

Expecting
to find him angry, for the vibe in the air had suddenly begun to
feel like something preparing to strike, I saw his expression was
neutral.

What
was that about? Why does my stomach hurt?

“
Forgive
me, Gale,” he said gently, “but I would prefer to not
talk about that. It's... a private matter, to put it mildly.”

The
wave of guilt was heavy, I hated the thought I'd made some sort of
faux pas. “Oh, no! Sorry, I shouldn't have been so nosy. Let's
just... yeah, sorry.”

“
No,”
he assured me, smiling sweet as cake. “It's nothing. Come
along, let's get you back to the campus.”

Too
busy gnawing my bottom lip and beating myself up mentally, thinking
I'd perhaps stumbled across the painful memory of someone Mr. Birch
had been close to, I hurried to follow him from that quiet house.

****

The
drive had not helped clear my head. It'd sent me down a road of my
own painful memories.

I
tried quite hard
not
to
think about that man, and how my mother had spoke with both disgust
and sadness all through my childhood about him.

How
she, too, had empty spots on our walls where photos must have been.

Forcefully,
I pushed aside the wandering string that was taking me down a morose
path.

After
all, I had never even known him.

Climbing
from the car, I waved after Mr. Birch as I stood in front of the
commons. With a giant smile on my face, elated by what felt like a
glimmer of hope in finding out what was going on around me, I turned
with the book in my arms.

I
found the students in the area all staring at me.

Balking,
I didn't know why until I saw their eyes following my teacher's car
off into the streets.

Oh,
shit, they think...

Turning
red as a cherry, I hugged the heavy book tight and hauled it across
the grass towards my dorm. It hadn't occurred to me that people
could get the wrong idea about me climbing out of Mr. Birch's car,
not until I saw those suspicious stares.

Ugh,
not what I need right now.

I
felt naive, more than a little dumb, and it soured my mood. Pushing
through the door into my room, I was too distracted to make sense of
the sock on the knob.

Stepping
inside, everything was ruined to a whole new level. Especially when
Becky screeched.

She
was straddling someone on her bed, someone who's face I couldn't
see. Truthfully, I couldn't see much of him at all, but I didn't
need to.

Becky's
naked back, skin shiny in the light, was more than enough for me.

My
mouth fell open, eyes stuck on the scene in front of me. With a high
pitched shout, I dropped the book to the floor. “I—Becky!”

“
Gale!
Gale, get out!” she shouted, staring at me with wild,
humiliated eyes. I caught a glimpse of her breasts, standing proud
in the air.

That
was my sign to go.

Turning,
I slammed the door hard, chest heaving. Leaning against the hard
surface, I felt the sweat sliding down my sternum.

“
Oh
my gosh,” I said out loud to no one, the halls around me
empty. Glancing side to side, I peeled myself from the door, rubbing
a hand across my face.

I'd
never walked in one someone doing... anything like that before. My
cheeks were so hot, I wondered if I'd given myself a fever. Turning,
I started to speed-walk away.
I'll
just... I'll just go get some water, and read my book in the
library, and...

Freezing,
I hung my head with a dramatic groan.
I
dropped the book in the room. Dammit.

Glancing
back warily, I debated returning, but quickly pushed the thought
aside. I couldn't face Becky again, not so soon.

I'm
scared of seeing her at all, at this point.

Mussing
up my hair in exasperation, I made myself trudge out of the dorms.
What
a waste of my afternoon. I'm such an idiot.

Wallowing
in my misery, I wandered through the commons. The breeze felt good,
clearing my head enough that I ended up deciding to bide my time
until Becky was done with whoever that had been.

The
bell chimed in the bakery, Josef cheering at my arrival. “Gale!
Good to see you! Give me a minute, let me get you some stuff.”

Nodding,
I peered around, noticing how quiet the place was. Inhaling the
scent of fresh bread and sweet cinnamon, my mouth watered.

I
hadn't eaten all day, I couldn't wait.

Strolling
to the counter, I stared hungrily at the display of baked goods
inside. “Here,” Josef said, his great forearms flexing
when he set a big paper bag in front of me. “Also,” he
went on, before I could open my mouth and thank him, “here's a
treat for you today.”

Eyeballing
his movements, I looked on as he reached in the glass case, handing
me over a decadent brownie. “Oh, Josef, no,” I argued,
“I can't take that.”
Dammit
that looks so good.

Laughing,
he dropped it in the bag. “Then share it with the birds, but
honestly, you shouldn't worry about eating such things.”

He
thinks I'm freaking out about the fact it's stuffed with sugar, not
that it's free.
Welling
up with happiness, I took the package gingerly and held it close.
“Josef, thanks. I mean it, really.”

Waving
me off, he looked away with a proud grin. “It's nothing. Just
leftovers from the sample batch I'm testing before the Fall
festival.”

“
I—the
what, now?”

Staring
at me, he leaned forward until I could smell the flour on his skin.
“Come on now, the festival that'll be downtown in a few days.
You didn't know about it?”

Glancing
away, thinking about everything that had been happening lately, I
bit my lip.
I
think Becky did mention that to me.
“Sorry,
guess I've been a little busy.”
To
put it mildly.

Chuckling
deeply, Josef pulled back and folded his arms. The cords of muscle
bulged with such a simple motion. “It's a huge event, great
for business. Music, dancing, food and fun. I'll have a food stall
there, you see? You should go, enjoy yourself like young people are
supposed to!”

Hugging
the bag close, the scent of the food making my head fuzzy, I sighed.
“Uh, maybe. We'll see about it.”

”
Then
I'll see you there,” he said, winking at me. “Now, go
feed those hungry birds.”

“
Sure
thing,” I said softly. “I bet they're ravenous.”

I
couldn't walk fast enough to the park. When I finally made it, I
collapsed onto a bench and eagerly dug the brownie from the bag.
Birds were gathering at my feet, but I didn't care.

Holding
the chocolate delight close, I took a small bite. It spread
lusciously across my tongue, smooth and thick all at once. Rich
sweetness coated my taste buds. I sighed contently.

“
Sounds
like that's much better than stale bread.” Nethiun stood
beside me, his eyes as disturbingly eggshell white as I remembered.

Jerking
sideways, my bag toppled over, spilling some slices to the ground.
In a flurry of feathers, the birds were on them. “You!”
I gasped, fingers squishing my brownie slightly.

“
Me,”
he agreed, sitting down on the bench beside me.

Like
the wood was made of lava, I jumped up, holding my brownie like a
weapon. “Why are you here?”

Blinking,
he tilted his head at me. “I thought we already covered this?
I'm keeping an eye on you. Also,” he pointed, “your
brownie is melting.”

Wincing,
I licked my thumb, hating the idea of wasting the precious snack.

Smiling
firmly, he watched me with arched brows. “Good call.”

Scowling,
I popped the whole thing in my mouth, chewing it away. “Last
night, you vanished again before I could finish asking you what the
hell has been going on.”

“
You
seem a bit edgy.” Studying me intently, he made a soft sound.
“Hmn. I'm guessing something happened. Maybe with your friend
there, what's her name, Becky?”

“
Stop
acting so familiar with me,” I grumbled, blushing at the
memory of my roommate and her lack of clothing. “And don't
change the subject. You're here, so tell me what happened last
night.”

Leaning
back languidly, he motioned at the bench. “Have a seat, then,
if you want to talk.”

Gritting
my teeth, I looked from the bench, to his infuriatingly calm face.
“If I sit, you'll answer my questions?”

“
If
you don't sit down,” he said softly, a hint of heat bordering
on that smokey tone, “I certainly won't.”

Kicking
the bag of bread away with my foot, I settled tensely across from
him. Even with the arm length of space between us, I felt way too
close.

“
That
wasn't so hard, was it?”

Blushing,
I tightened my jaw. “Tell me why you were fighting that other
thing last night.”

“
Ah,
the other twaelin?” Rubbing his chin, he looked upwards. “I
was mostly trying to scare him off. He was getting too involved and
dangerous.”

“
He
tried to kill you,” I said, baffled. “I mean, wasn't
that what was going on?”

Chuckling,
he folded his hands on his lap. “Oh, no. That is, he
was
trying to hurt me, but just because he's a bit obsessed with
winning. No, he didn't try to kill me. He did, however,” he
said, lowering his voice as he peered at me with a sideways smile,
“try to kill you.”

The
skin on the inside of my elbows felt clammy. “What? I...”
Holding my forehead, I gasped. “Oh my gosh, you mean that big
metal sign?
He
did that? It wasn't an accident?”

“
Hardly.
Quite intentional, really.”

Covering
my mouth, I felt my stomach bubbling with nausea. I'd assumed the
sign had been a fluke, and that Nethiun had rescued me from a freak
accident. But that had been no accident.