Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (5 page)

As she slid coat hangers aside, a flash of
red caught her eye and she decided that would do. Pulling out the
fitted shirt, she donned it quickly then checked in the mirror.
Tipping her head to the side, she studied her slight form, ruffled
her hair then rolled her eyes. What did it really matter? Harrison
loved her in anything. She grinned as she pictured the mixture of
hunger and adoration that swirled in his eyes whenever she
approached him. Satisfied with her look, she reached for knee high
boots and sat on her bed to put them on.

As she fiddled with the zips and buckles, her
mind jumped back to where it had been all week… worrying about her
boyfriend. She was still making subtle plans to return to England
and find Nathaniel, but if she was going to pull this off before
moving day she needed help. Harrison was such a good researcher and
she would need reminder tips from Gabe. But until she had back up
from her boyfriend, she was hesitant to tell the man. Gabe, her
real father, would no doubt disagree with her. He and Harrison
seemed to surf on the same thought waves, which usually worked in
her favor, but not in this particular instance.

I have to do something, though. We’re
running out of time!

The idea of going back without telling either
of them had flittered through her brain a couple of times, but she
knew it was too risky. Her self-driven traveling experiences were
minimal and this was one job she didn’t want to screw up. In spite
of her doubts, Gemma decided she would visit her father’s white
caravan the next morning. She’d have to find some excuse to spend
the whole Saturday elsewhere, but she was sure Courtney would help
her come up with something plausible.

Dabbing on the smallest amount of lip-gloss,
she pressed her lips together then grabbed her phone and a few
bills off her dresser. She shoved them into her back pocket as she
swung out the door. Her parents weren’t in the kitchen or dining
room that evening, much to Gemma’s relief. She could finally leave
for something on time and not have to spend a good quarter of an
hour explaining exactly where she was going and who she’d be
with.

The trip to the mall was quick for a Friday
night. She had agreed to meet Harrison there as opposed to him
collecting her a few blocks from her house. It wasn’t quite as
romantic, but after the stilted week they’d had it seemed
appropriate. She decided not to mention anything about her trip to
England. They both needed to switch off and enjoy doing something
normal for a change.

Harrison was waiting for her by the north
entrance. A smile lit her face as she spotted him. That look she
was hoping for swirled in his eyes.

“You look pretty.” He kissed her lips and
wrapped his arm around her waist.

She could sense his strain to be casual. It
had been a challenging week and she only had an inkling as to why.
She’d been guessing he was trying to win his mother over without
having to send his girlfriend back in time. By the tension of his
muscles Gemma could tell he was losing.

Squeezing his middle, she put the thought out
of her mind and began chatting about the episode of “Mythbusters”
she watched the night before. The experiments brought a smile to
his lips and as they met with Darren and Courtney she felt his body
begin to relax.

They ate at the diner next to the food court
before heading to their movie. It was pretty busy as they lined up
to buy their tickets and Gemma nearly swore aloud when she felt her
toes begin to tingle.

Grinding her teeth, she looked at Harrison
and excused herself to the bathroom. He promised to buy her ticket
and flashed her a sympathetic smile as she scuttled away to the
toilets.

* * * *

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – 2011AD

The trip back was quick and within seconds
she was surprised to find herself standing in her own kitchen. Her
parents were before her, holding a pink, fluffy bathrobe. She
pulled it on and checked the clock on the wall and the calendar
beside it.

“What day is it?”

“Today.” Her mother crossed her arms.

Gemma’s face bunched with confusion. They had
brought her back ten minutes into the past!

“What are we doing here?”

“You didn’t tell us you were going out
tonight. Where are you right now? You’re not answering your
phone.”

“I’m about to go into a movie.” Gemma could
feel her insides bubbling, a volcano of pent up frustration ready
to explode.

“Are you with a boy we don’t know about?”

Gemma rolled her eyes.
Here we go.

“You pulled me back ten minutes to ask if I’m
with a boy? Isn’t that kind of abusing the time spirit code of
conduct?”

“Don’t change the subject. Are you sneaking
out on a date? Are you seeing someone we don’t know about? You’ve
been a lot happier since school started. Have you met someone and
not told us?”

She could picture her parents dressed like
the Gestapo as they hovered around her. There was no need for
torturous implements; these lectures were enough to send anyone to
a painful death. Gemma pulled in a calming breath.

“No and I didn’t sneak out. I just didn’t say
goodbye.”

“Or tell us where you were going.”

“I’m out with Courtney and Darren.”

“Where?”

“At the mall. We’ve just had dinner and we’re
about to go to a movie.”

“Don’t you think that’s being a bit of a
third wheel, Gem?”

“Yeah, well you took the fourth one so I
don’t really have much choice, do I?” Her lie of Harrison’s
existence was so engrained now it flowed with ease.

“You haven’t told them who you are have
you?”

“No! I haven’t! They’re just people I hang
out with!” The hot magma in her belly was spitting wildly as it
tried to climb up her throat.

“Well, just watch what you say around
them.”

“Why? You going to take them from me
too?”

“Watch your tone.” Her father pointed a
finger at her. She didn’t care, she was on a roll.

“You know, I don’t recall Dom and Ruby ever
getting third degrees over who they hung out with.”

“Well that’s because they proved trustworthy
and didn’t tell all our family secrets to the first person they had
a crush on.”

“Thank goodness we managed to eradicate that
problem so easily.”

A reply to her mother’s quiet words burned
her tongue. Gemma forced her mouth shut. Cursing her parents, as
satisfying as it would feel, would not get her back to the movie
any quicker.

“So what movie are you seeing?”

“You don’t care what movie I’m seeing, Dad.
All you care about is that the leash you have around my neck isn’t
broken! Well, it’s not okay. You still have the power to drag me
wherever the hell you want! Happy?”

“What is going on with you?” Her mother
looked a little distraught. “What happened to my beautiful,
compliant daughter from a year ago? Is this the influence of your
new friends? You know I blame that Harrison boy. If it hadn’t been
for him you wouldn’t be spending time with these kids.”

“I
thank
him! If it hadn’t been for
him, I wouldn’t have had the courage to make any friends and thank
God I did, because without Dom and Ruby, school’s now a very lonely
place!”

She was satisfied to see both her parents’
faces flicker with guilt. She let out a sigh and dropped her voice
back to its normal volume.

“I so don’t get this, you were the ones
encouraging me to make friends in the first place.”

“That’s before we realized your inability to
keep a secret,” her father clipped.

“We never had problems like this with Dom and
Ruby, why are you choosing to be so difficult?”

Her mouth dropped open at her mother’s
ridiculous question.

“You let Dom and Ruby get away with
everything
, that’s why you never had problems! Maybe if you
just let me live a little, we wouldn’t keep having these
arguments!”

“Well, if you didn’t keep making foolish
decisions about who you keep company with, we wouldn’t have to
intervene!”

“Ruby was allowed to hang out with whoever
she wanted! You know she dated all the time, right?”

“Ruby chose good-looking losers who were
never going to get serious! We didn’t have to worry about her!”

Gemma raised her eyebrows. She must have the
only parents in the world who spoke like this.

“I can see you’re still mad about our
decision over the summer, but you must remember it was for your own
good. That boy was distracting you from your calling.”

“Don’t you mean
your
calling?”

“Gemma…”

“You know if it’s such a problem, why don’t
you just create a friend for me. You could maybe build a robot and
program him to sway all my decisions in your favor. That way you’d
be happy and I wouldn’t have you on my back all the time. Now, if
you don’t mind, I’m going to miss the beginning of the movie.”

She knew the argument wasn’t over, but her
parents were gracious enough to transport her back to the little
white stall she had left from.

* * * *

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

Throwing on her clothes with shaking hands,
she shrugged off the tiredness. It was much easier to do this time,
having traveled such a short distance and only assisted two of her
family members as opposed to the usual four.

She tried to calm her anger as she exited the
bathrooms and made sure her pace was a saunter as she approached
the waiting trio. Keeping her eyes downcast to hide her true
feelings didn’t work. Harrison grabbed her hand then asked Darren
and Courtney to save them seats. Pulling her away from the crowd,
he pressed her body against the wall and lifted her chin with firm,
but gentle fingers.

“You okay?”

She nodded with a frown.

“Where’d you have to go?”

“Back to my kitchen, seven forty-five this
evening.”

“What? Why?”

“Because they didn’t know where I was and my
phone was turned off.” She huffed out the words.

“Are they allowed to do that?”

“They can do whatever they want!” She bit her
lower lip and shot Harrison a silent apology. He didn’t deserve to
be shouted out. Her eyes began to glisten. “How much tighter are
these reins going to get, Harrison? I can’t breathe.”

His expression softened as he brushed her
cheek with his fingers.

“We just have to figure how you’re bound.
This will end one day, babe. I promise you. We’ll make that
happen.”

She sniffed and looked away. “Not if you’re
gone.”

His look was pure agony and she couldn’t bear
to face it. Shaking her head, she turned away from him and mumbled,
“Maybe Gabe’s right about that birthmark.”

Confused, Harrison ran his finger over her
collarbone. “What do you mean?”

“No, not that one. The one on my ankle.”

His brows creased and she nibbled her cheek,
feeling a sudden guilt at not telling him. “Gabe thinks it’s some
sort of tattoo that links me to… them. He thinks that maybe that’s
how Alistair gets me to travel.”

A wave of shock coursed over Harrison’s face;
anger following swiftly in its wake. “Why didn’t you tell me this
before?”

“Because I don’t quite believe him.”

“But what if he’s right? This could be the
answer we’ve been looking for.”

Gemma felt the doubt nibbling at her stomach,
she’d been waging this war for weeks; she knew Harrison’s battalion
of arguments would shift the odds.

“I… I’m not sure. If he’s wrong I score a big
fat hole in my ankle.”

“A hole that would heal.” Harrison softened
his rebuttal by tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Where would I go?”

“You could live with Gabe?”

“In his teeny, tiny caravan? Where would I
study? Where would I
sleep
?”

“Gem, I don’t understand, you almost sound as
if you don’t want to be free?”

“I do.” She closed her eyes, knowing in her
head that she did, but wrestling with the loyal heartstrings that
would not let up. Whether she liked it or not, Alistair and
Penelope raised her and part of her still saw them as her parents…
in spite of the lectures, the betrayals, the shackles… for most of
her life, they were all she’d ever known. Breaking away with no
real place to go, scared her senseless. “I just think I’d be better
to wait until college before I try and… I’m just being practical,”
she finished in a mumble. “I wish I could stay with you, but… well,
your mom hates me.” She tried to add a flippant smile to her
comment, but it didn’t take away the sting.

The look in Harrison’s eyes deepened. She was
waiting for further argument, further justification that she was in
the wrong, but his lips remained sealed. After a long stare that
she couldn’t decipher she saw his eyes glimmer as they settled with
decision.

“It won’t be like that forever.”

“Oh really… and how do you know that?”

“Well,” his voice softened, “see I’ve got
this girlfriend who can travel through time.” He licked his lips.
“And she’s going to go back and help me fix things so that my mom
can move on yet stay put… and hopefully be so grateful that she’ll
fall in love with you all over again. Maybe then you can come stay
with me.” He finished with a grin.

Gemma tipped her head. “And are you going to
help your girlfriend do that?”

“Yes.” Harrison kissed her lips. “I am.”

She could feel the full beam of her smile as
she pulled Harrison’s head towards her and dosed him with a
grateful kiss. They had to force themselves apart, and finally
managed to walk into the theatre, their bodies still racing with
fire.

Gemma nestled into her seat and calmed
Courtney’s concerns with a brief smile and a wink. As the lights
went black and the screen came to life, Gemma’s mind began to buzz.
Her subtle plans now racing to the forefront and consuming her.
They didn't have long to research. She wanted to get there and back
again before the house was fully boxed. It would work in everyone’s
favor. Calculations and plans swirled in her brain and each
decision ended with the same conclusion. She had to see Gabe as
soon as possible.