My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) (25 page)

A sud
denly loud clap of thunder roared in the sky before a bolt of lightning just barely missed Chris as he dodged behind a vehicle. From Mateo’s stance in front of her, there left no question who caused it. Chris stood up with a glare, and his hands outstretched towards Mateo when his bloody nose started to pour out faster and faster drowning his shirt in the liquid, causing him to cup his own face. Behind him stood Ryan, showing clearly through his stance that he was doing this.

Unable to physically fight while trying to s
low down the blood flow, Chris ran into the night. No one attempted to pursue him. Ryan picked up the smoking suit jacket, making sure the fire was out. Mateo came over to Audra, offering a hand, assisting her from the snowy ground. They safely tucked her inside Mateo’s car, shutting the door before they faced each other.

The world she once knew had
seemingly evaporated in a blink of an eye.

*****

“
Hey, how are you feeling?” Ryan asked.

“Emotional
,” she responded.

“That’s to be expected. It’s never e
asy the first time,” Ryan admitted.

Mateo sat
on the other side of her on the couch while Ryan tried to make her feel okay about something she knew nothing about. Ryan did his best to explain, but for some reason nothing seemed to make sense, Nothing connected in her mind. It was almost painful every time she tried to force herself to understand.

“You’re not who you thin
k you are…or were,” Ryan advised.

“Then who am I? Why don’t I know who I am?”

Mateo shook his head. “She’s been blocked. She won’t get it until it happens to her.”

“How do we get her unblocked? Chris is going to be gunning for us the next time we see him. We can’t risk her
losing it in public,” Ryan stated.

“We’
ll figure it out,” Mateo replied. “Surprises can be good or bad…Audra is on our side.”

She glanced over at
Mateo, trying to make sense of his words. On his side, like good versus evil? He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her to him comfortingly. Some of her worry faded, knowing deep down that he’d never do anything to hurt her. Ryan smiled while looking at the two of them.

“At least everything seems to be
going correctly,” Ryan commented.

“What do you mean?” Audra asked
.

“This was all planned…
from the beginning,” Ryan admitted.

Confusion distorted
the words as she flicked glances between the two of them. She was reassured by the matching confusion on Mateo’s face as well. At least she wasn’t the only one in the dark. She looked up to Ryan with a hopeful expression.

“What
plan?” Mateo asked impatiently.

“Ask t
he one who made it…” Ryan stated.

“Who?”
she asked.

“You, A
udra,” Ryan finished.

THE END
…for now…

Winds of Change Coming Soon

Here’s a Sneak Peek at the next installment

Winds of Change

The leafless branches seemed to stretch out towards the street. Questions of where the vegetation had vanished to scream
ed from the bark. The comfort of having them surrounding was now gone, leaving an emptiness that wouldn’t be filled quickly. All of the natural elements vanished with the snow; the birds had gone while the squirrels had hibernated inside, void of the happiness felt months ago.

The warmth in the chocolate brown eyes of her best friend Stephen has cooled. The once boisterous and cheerful companion had been a shadow of himself since
the Winter Cotillion. With no explanation to give on the disappearance of Chris that night, rumors had been spread all over the school but no answers were given. Only a few people knew what really happened.

T
he only sense of normalcy sat in the driver’s seat beside her. His dark, black hair still eclipsing his face other than his one gray eye, focused on the road laid out before him. It was only slightly odd that he was the only reason for her happiness and normalcy. His full humanity in question did little to ruffle her feathers.

As the car pulled into the parking lot, she felt reluctant to leave the confines of the vehicle. She tucked her caramel highlighted dark brown locks
behind her ears while scanning the somewhat empty lot. Memories of that night started to crawl over her skin. Chris and Mateo physically fighting, the evilness in his eyes that still sent goose bumps all over.

“Cold?” Mateo asked.

Audra glanced at him, taking stock in the fact that he was here with her. She shrugged in response, and he opened his arms for her to lean into him. Allowing herself to meld into his embrace, an almost instantaneous warmth wrapped around her. Her worries slipped from her mind as quickly as they seeped in.

“I wish we could do this all day long. No classes or homework.”

“You’re just trying to get out of first period chemistry,” Mateo chuckled. “We will, soon enough. Besides, that’s all we did this weekend.”

“You wouldn’t want to do this every
day?”

“Of course I would
, but we have responsibilities to take care of. And part of that responsibility is headed this way,” Mateo said.

She reluctantly unhinged herself from Mateo as Stephen approached the vehicle. Not bothering to wait for him to reach the door completely, she pushed it open and stepped out into the chilly February morning. Stephen waved at Mateo as a greeting but didn’t say anything. Audra followed Stephen into the building knowing that the usual routine set in place would continue on.

“Surprised your dad hasn’t found a way to put a stop to Mateo bringing you in yet.”

“It’s a subject that doesn’t come up. Mom knows but won’t say anything and Jim…”

“Out of everyone, I was sure Jim would have thrown a fit,” Stephen admitted.

“Jim has been preoccupied lately. I barely see him as it is.”

“Maybe Tobias has something to do with it?” Stephen asked.

“Who knows
?”

It’d been easier than she realized to spend time with Mateo, something she had taken for granted. Any reason behind Jim’s lack of attention was a plus
, but it was still strange that he hadn’t seemed as attentive towards her. The only reason she could come up with was Tobias; he must have intervened somehow. It had been more than a few weeks since the confrontation with him and Mateo, but he hadn’t approached her.

Mateo was so angry that even through her fire breathing experience, she was focused on him. He wouldn’t leave her after that weekend, not that she wanted him to
, but he seemed like he was trying to keep a distance between her and Tobias. Even now, she barely saw him in the hallways and would ride home with Mateo whenever possible. Deep down she had already forgiven Tobias; however, it didn’t mean she was ready to make herself vulnerable again.

Audra followed Stephen into homeroom, sitting in their usual place up front. He dropped his backpack beside the desk before plopping down in the chair. He ran his hand through his shaggy dirty blond hair for a second before turning to face her. Questions filled his eyes as he opened his mouth sending anxiousness throughout her stomach. It wouldn’t be the first conversation about what happened that night of the dance nor would it be the last
, but pretending to know nothing weighed heavier on her shoulders every time he brought it up.

“I need to ask you something
,” Stephen began, “I know that when you and Mateo had that falling out that you were really torn up about it. I saw through your trying to deny it. And I understand that breakups happen but this…”

Stephen looked over his shoulder to make sure no one could overhear them. This only caused further anxiety to ratchet up inside of her. She tried to swallow
, but it was difficult over the lump in her throat. It felt as if the lights above had lit up brighter causing a spotlight upon her, heating her face and neck uncomfortably.

“This is stupid. Why do I feel like this? We broke up, Audra. I know that. But it seemed like things were getting back to normal that night. Everything seemed to be perfect before he just…vanished
,” Stephen said.

“I really couldn’t say…”

“I just don’t understand. He didn’t just disappear into thin air. Someone had to have seen him leave. And what really pisses me off is that no one seems to care. No one is even looking for him,” Stephen pressed.

Audra took a deep breath, preparing to give the speech she mentally prepared over the weekend.

“We both know that that isn’t true. We all looked for him. You, Me, Molly, Mateo and Ryan. What more could we do? The facts are all we have.”

“Something happened to him. I feel it in my bones
,” Stephen stated.

Unable to say more to comfort her friend or
reduce his suspicions, she just shrugged. Nothing she had said in the past had done anything to lessen his worries. She wondered if there was some type of connection Stephen had with Chris. Of all the crazy things that had happened, it wouldn’t surprise her completely. Just another par for the course at this point.

Heat warmed her back a second before the bell rang. She wouldn’t turn around, knowing who was the only one
responsible for that type of reaction. The sound of a backpack being dropped behind her eased the tension inside only a little. Doing her best not to turn around and acknowledge Mateo’s presence was almost torture, but she forced it.

Stephen was hurting and didn’t need a visual of a relationship thrown in his face. It sounded ridiculous
, but she loved him that much; and the amount of guilt that plagued her having to hold back the truth from him caused her to give him her full, undivided attention. One of the great things about being with Mateo was that there was no fanfare. He hadn’t requested constant displays of affection or felt the need to show off their relationship.

Homeroom passed slowly with awkward tension
, but it did eventually pass. The bell rang sending the students to their first period class. Audra stuck close to Stephen, allowing him to walk her to class. Of all the priorities she had on her plate, she made sure that he was number one while at school. It was the least that she could do.

The day left Audra feeling exhausted between trying to comfort Stephen and paying attention to her own troubles. She closed her locker with the weight of books weighing down her shoulders in her backpack. Her comfort level was going to take a slight dive knowing that she had to be taken home by Jim and Tobias.

She didn’t have to wait longer than a few minutes before the laughter from Jim and Tobias could be heard. Thankfully, the ride home wouldn’t take long, and there was no way Tobias would bring up anything in front of Jim. It was almost strange that she could trust him to keep her secrets but not trust him to be around on her own. She shook the thought away just as Jim approached her side.

“Ready?” Jim asked.

Audra nodded and trained her eyes on finding the vehicle in the parking lot. She kept her focus on finding the car instead of acknowledging Tobias walking only a few steps behind her. She didn’t waste a second climbing into the backseat, leaning her head against the window while Jim pulled out of the lot.

Once back at the house, Audra escaped to the safety of her bedroom. She got right to work on her assignments. Although the strain at home had somewhat alleviated, there was always the same pressure to bring home good grades. That same strain seemed to make things easier for Audra to handle spending time with Mateo.

Mom had no problem with the tutoring, especially when her grades had finally come in. Dad had no idea that the tutoring had resumed elsewhere and believed his strict rules were the reason for the improvement in the subject. Audra was more than fine to let him believe that, as long as she was able to have the freedom she needed.

Jim barely noticed anything
, but it could be he was getting excited about leaving for college. The thought wasn’t as exciting for her. She’d be under severe scrutiny as the only one left in the household. She hadn’t even given her college education real consideration. The positive aspect would be she would out from under her parents’ roof, but that was all. College was supposed to mean more than that.

Audra tried to let go of all her rambling thoughts and focus on her assignments. There was still half the school year left before Jim was to leave, not including the summer. She had more than enough time. She flipped through a few pages trying to organize her thoughts just as her phone pinged with a text message.

The phone number was blocked, and a tingle of fear slipped down her back. What if it was from Chris? What would he have to say to her? Had he already reached out to Stephen? Her worries seemed to manifest quickly, but there was no use in guessing without checking the message first. She opened the awaiting text…

*****

“The best advantage of this is the snacks,” Molly joked, nibbling on chips.

“Don’t forget the time limit too
,” Stephen added.

“And the comfortable
couches,” Mateo piped up.

Ryan scowled
, carrying in a bowl of dip and placing it on the coffee table. “Really? That’s the only advantage? What about me?”

Stephen covered his slight grin with his hand, skimming through pages of his book. Mateo picked up his pencil, focusing on his sketching pad. And Molly tossed in a few more chips while keeping her eyes downcast from him like she hadn’t heard a word.

After a few seconds of chewing, Molly’s eyes met up with Audra. “Yeah, it’s definitely the snacks.”

Audra did all she could to keep her lips smashed together to discourage the laughter that was threatening to break out. She turned her face towards Stephen
, but that only seemed to make it worse noticing he was about to let loose at the same time. He clasped hands with her and tightened his grasp to hold in his mirth while Ryan made his way over to Molly.

She smirked up at him with her kind brown eyes and tugged him down for a quick peck kiss. The giggles seemed to slip out of Audra but less intensely than felt previously. She could feel the tension within Stephen’s grasp and clutched
his hand tighter. Audra lay her head on his shoulder giving herself over.

“I’m gonna use the bathroom
,” Stephen said

He quietly slipped from his chair and around the corner. She wanted to follow him, to make sure he didn’t need her but felt awkward chasing after him like that. Stephen needed time. There was nothing she could do to make it pass more quickly or ease his pain. It was particularly frustrating knowing deep down that she couldn’t open up to him like she wanted to.

Audra glanced in Mateo’s direction already sensing his attention on her. She had no words to give him that he didn’t already understand. There was nothing that could be done about it. She could read his expression of concern over her, but she saw further concern of what would happen when they found Chris. She broke eye contact with him then, not willing to think about the possible fireworks that would happen at that meeting.

After a couple of hours, the study session ended with Mateo and Audra bringing Stephen home. She made sure to keep her eyes away from Mateo allowing the distance to seem even f
arther for her best friend’s sake. Stephen was still melancholy, but he seemed okay by the time he left the vehicle. She watched him reach the front door and waved at him as he disappeared inside.

*****

She walked into the room and a smile graced her lips as she spotted the numerous sketches along the wall. More than a handful of those were of her—variations of her portrait, her profile and her eyes. The attention to detail in every single sketch left her almost breathless, such a vivid picture that if she didn’t know it was of her, she’d expect the female to come alive and speak to her.

“I know that it’s weird hanging out here
, but we’ll have to get used to it,” Mateo advised.

Audra nodded in response. Memories of his dad and his drunken past started to slip inside. The most vivid memory
was of her lying on his bed, waking from a nap just before he came into the house. His voice was loud and clear, screaming through the door as he banged on it towards Mateo. It surprised her that she had been spending more time here than anywhere else.