Redheads are Soulless (13 page)

“You’ve got to stay away from her,” Jason demanded.

“It’s too late,” Robbie began to panic.

“Who is this girl, really?” I asked. Neither of them said anything, but they didn’t have to. I realized exactly who she was. “She’s a hortribue… The last one…”

“We need to get her out of here,” Jason told Robbie as if I wasn’t even there.

“It’s too late,” Robbie insisted. “She will just follow us wherever we go.”

“Then we will leave again! We have to keep her safe!”

I stepped between them. “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to show her that I’m scared. Let’s just figure this out together, ok?”

Jason sighed. “She’s right. I
f we leave, it will just make things
worse.”

Robbie nodded his head. “Fine, but what are we going to do? Fight her? She will eat us alive before we even get close to her.”

“If you have a better idea, please share.” I put my hands on my hips. “Seriously, I’m going to continue my day as normal, if you’ll excuse me.”

I walked away without looking back, but I was sure they were close behind me.
Only t
his time, I didn’t mind having them close.

Fourteen

I
belong with you

It’s amazing how quickly life can change. It had been about 4 months since I first met Jason, and since then my life
has been complete chaos
. I used to think it was for the better, but now I’m thinking not so much.

I met Robbie 3 weeks ago. It’s crazy how much my opinion of him has changed. Everything that he has done, he has done for love. He may act tough on the outside, but on the inside he’s really kind-hearted.

I know it hurt him to kill my father. If he had it to do over, he wouldn’t have done it.

I sat on Robbie’s bed, just thinking. He and Jason were in the other room cooking dinner. It was nice seeing them actually get alo
ng.
Before me, I know they must
have been close. Even with all the tension, I can see that they still truly care for each other. I am the one coming between them, and I hate it.

I wish I could just walk away. My chest tightened at the thought. I have grown so close to both brothers, it would be impossible now for me to leave.

Earlier tonight, my mom actually called me. I couldn’t help but be worried about her. She’s already spent the money from our
house she sold
. She bought her fiancé, Steve, a boat.
I tried to be optimistic. Maybe Steve is truly a wonderful guy, and my mom seems happy enough, but I still think my mom is acting
very hast
y about the whole thin
g.

Ma
ybe I am too quick to judge her.
It seems like
I’m doing the same things
that she is
. Sure, I haven’t given up a house for Jason and Robbie, but I have moved in with them
, and practically given up my life..
. But my circumstances are different. I’m here for safety reasons
… and I’m not “sha
c
king up” with them. That’s definitely
not
going to happen, no matter how goo
d Robbie looks without his shirt..
.

Finally, I decided to leave the comforts of Robbie’s bedroom. I can only sulk alone for so long before it become
s
depressing. When I walked into the kitchen
,
both Jason and Robbie were laughing about a joke.
Robbie was shirtless and leaning against the counter. I forced my eyes to look away from his perfectly shaped abdomen.

“Sofie, you’re just in time,” Jason greeted me.

Apparently both brothers are good at everything. Robbie made a homemade pizza, and Jason made a wonderful salad with homemade dressing. Really, I should be the one cooking for them, but I didn’t mind being pampered.

After eating, Jason showed me some more chords on the guitar, and I practiced them for an hour. I thought I was getting better. Whenever I strummed they were actually starting to make noise instead of sounding mute, but then Jason started playing and I knew that I still had a long ways to go.

“He’s had a lot more practice than you,” Robbie whispered in my ear. I jumped, startled. “You’ll get there.”

“I hope so. I suck,” I said laughing.

He started to say no, but then stopped. “You kind of do, but that’s what practice is for.”

I hit his arm playfully. “I’ll never be a rock star god like you.”

He shrugged his shoulder playfully. “Everybody sucks at first – even Jason. He was terrible. It took him about 10 years before I could tolerate listening to him.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Yep – some people have talent, other people practice a lot.
He wanted it bad, so he worked hard until he got it.”

“He’s very persistent.”

“Yes he is,” Robbie’s voice sounded annoyed.
He looked me in the eye, and a serious look came over his face. “I want you to sleep in my bed tonight. I will take the couch.”

“That doesn’t sound fair. This is your house. I’m merely a pest,” I reminded him. “Besides, your couch is really comfortable.”

“Why don’t you just sleep with me?” he flirted.

“I don’t want to hurt him.” My voice came out in a whisper.

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.

“Do you love me?”

I kept my mouth shut.

Robbie’s face lit up, and he raised his eyebrow at me slightly. “I thought so.”

His words stun
ned
me… could it be true? Do I really
love
Robbie?

Later that night, I lay in Robbie’s bed alone, unable to sleep. I stare
d
at the ceiling and tried
to think about something, anything, other than
love
and
death
. It seem
ed
nearly impossible to me.

The
bedroom door crept
open
,
letting light from the hallwa
y
shine
into the room. My heart sped
up, but relief washe
d over me when I saw it was
just Robbie.

“
Sorry if I woke you,” he said,
turning on the light. My eyes instantly shut in protest of the bright light. “I just need another pillow.”

“Robbie?” I ask
ed
, timidly.

“Yes?”

“Will you stay with me for a little bit?” I felt like a little kid asking him. “Please.”

He smiled before nodding. He turned off the light and climbed in bed beside me. Once he got in bed, I put my head on his
bare
chest and snuggled up close to him.
For a while, neither of us said anything. I just lay there, listening to the sound of his breathing and steady heart beat.
I wonder how great it would feel for it to be like this every night… Feeling like that was dangerous for my heart. I knew that in the end, Robbie would break my heart.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.

“I’m thinking about you,” I admitted.

“I always think about you.”

Me too
, I thought. I wasn’t quite brave enough to admit it out loud. “I don’t understand why. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m going to die.”

“I will not let you die,” he promised.

“I
’m scared,” I admitted.

Robbie pulled me closer to him, and kissed the top of my head.
“Don’t be. I’m here, and I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

His words comforted me more than they should. I have been promised a lot of stuff in my life, and I have always been let down. He seemed genuine and sincere, but what if he changes his mind?

I felt a tear fall down my cheek, and Robbie wiped it away. “Sofie, I love you.”

With his words, t
ears began to fall more freely.

“You are my life now. Nothing is going to change this,” he vowe
d. “I’ve waited a thousand life
times for you, and I will not screw this up.”

“But what if I screw it up? What if I do something stupid, and you decide I’m not worth it anymore?”

“That’s not going to happen,” he affirmed. “You are wort
h everything to me. Every heart
ache, every lonely night – it brought me here to you and to this moment. Everybody makes mistakes, after all the bad things I’ve done, I don’t deserve you
.
I wouldn’t blame you if you chose
not to be with me
. It would break my heart, but I would understand.”

“It’s me who doesn’t deserve you.”

He shook his head. “I’m a monster.”

“I don’t believe it. I can’t fathom that anybody as sweet as you could ever be considered a monster.”

“Well, believe it,” he said coldl
y.

I put my hands on his face and tilted hi
s head so he was looking at me, and then I kissed him gently on the lips. “
Will you stay
me?
”
I asked once I pulled back from his lips.
“I don’t want to be alone.”

“I won’t leave,” he promised.

Robbie
wrapped his arms around me, and gently
sung me to sleep.

When I look into your face

The universe is in its place

Time with you is so sublime

You possess the power to stop time

Ooooh, I belong with you

Wrapped in your warm embrace

Your fingers trace along my face

Your steady hear
t
beat, I feel at home

With you, I know I’ll never be alone

Ooooh, I belong with you

…

Today at school, Adrianne winked at me, but not in a playful way – more like a
I’m going to kill you
way.
I pretended to be unaffected by her, but when she winked all the open locker doors slammed shut. There was no way that I could hide my anger.

In my first hour class, Todd, the football qua
rterback, tried throwing a crump
led up note at me. I notice
d
it mid
air and immediately tried to push it back towards him with my mind, but I ended up hitting Mr. Franks instead. Todd, with his mouth open in shock, got detention. It served him right.
I have no idea what the note said, but I was sure it wasn’t very nice.

In the hallway
,
I overheard
a few students
talking about how the
school is “haun
ted”. I couldn’t help but smile
to myself
when I heard that.

After school, Robbie and I went out for a drive. His car is a convertible, so we let the top down. I loved the wind blowing through my hair, and the sun on my face.

My favorite song came on the radio, and I started dancing. Robbie laughed at my incredibly awful moves. It felt amazing to just laugh and have fun. It made me forget all the bad stuff that has been happening to me.

“You are crazy,” he
joked
.

“Crazy,” I agreed, “but fun.”

“You are
a lot
of fun,” he
emphasized
the words “a lot”.

“You’re just saying that because you like to kiss me.”

He smiled. “You’re right.”

“Hey!” I said punching his arm gently. “You were supposed to say ‘that’s only part of it’, and then continue by telling me how awesome I am.”

“
You’re smart – I assumed you could figure out on your own that I am absolutely crazy about you.” He smiled, and my stomach suddenly felt full of butterflies. “The way you look at me like there is no
one
else in the world you’d rather be than with. The way your face lights up whenever I’m near, your smile, your eyes, your hair,” he took o
ne hand off the wheel and gently
tousled my hair. “There isn’t anything about you that I don’t like. You have an amazing personality; you’re gentle, and so loving. And besides all that, you
are
a really good kisser.”

A small giggle escaped my lips. “Thanks,” I finally said.

Thanks
seemed lame to say compared to what he told me, but I could really think of nothing else. Once again, Robbie Morgan rendered me speechless.

Suddenly, Robbie swerved the car to the right. I gripped the bottom of my seat for extra support. “What are you doing?” I asked.

I looked back
to see a black SUV coming at us. I took a deep breath, held out my hand and
with all my concentration I
swished it to the right. When I did, the SUV swerved out of control missing
u
s by
merely
inches.
It crashed into the median, and after flipping a few times, it came to an abrupt stop.

My heart was beating so loud, I could hear it in my ears. I looked at Robbie who was just sitting there stunned.

Finally, the world
caught back up to us
and I realized we were going over 100MPH.

“Did you do that?” Robbie finally spoke.

I nodded, breathlessly. “I didn’t mean to hurt them. Do you think they’re ok?
”

“That wasn’t just anybody, Sof…” he cut off, but I knew exactly who he was talking about. It was Adrianne.

“So immortals can die in car crashes?” I asked stupidly.