Secrets Abound (Supernaturally Bound Book 1) (19 page)

“It’ll be too messy when I leave. It’s better to end it here.” He said matter-of-factly.

“So, basically, I’m not worth trying to make it work.” I spat.

“That’s not what I’m saying, Bridge.”

“Well, Aiden, that’s what I’m hearing.” I lifted myself up off the ground. I staggered back over to the door but whirled back around. I wasn’t going to say anything else, but when I saw the pity in his eyes, it sparked more anger. “I’m so glad I didn’t fuck you, since I’m such a mistake and all.”

It was visible that my words hurt him. I was tempted to feel sorry for him, but I knew he didn’t deserve any sympathy from me. I decided I didn’t care that the pep rally wasn’t over, and I didn’t care that I had detention. I was going home, now. I darted through a back door of the school and headed straight home.

The next morning, I rode to school with Cassie to avoid walking with Aiden. I evaded him as best I could all day. I spent lunch in the library talking to Sylvia. If I had a class with Aiden, I sat on the opposite side of the room.

That evening, I was scheduled to work, but was tempted to call in. If I didn’t need the money so bad, I would have. But there I was, dressed in my uniform, smearing concealer on my eyes trying to cover up the fact that I’d been crying for the past two days. I shoved the carton of chocolates I had been gorging myself with all day out of pure emotion into my bag and began walking to work. I took the longer way to avert passing by Aiden’s house. It was proving to be a difficult task, avoiding someone that lived next door.

Everyone could tell I was in a foul mood, so they all dodged me. I took orders and refilled drinks without any hint of perkiness. I was relieved when I finally got to take a break and headed out the back door. I lit a cigarette and stuck a chocolate in my mouth. I never used to be an emotional eater but a lot of things about me had been changing.

“Everything okay?” I heard Damon ask as he joined me on break.

“Not particularly.” I answered. I took a drag from my cigarette and let the smoke fall from my mouth.

“Does it have anything to do with Aiden?” He asked, curiously.

“Yes.” I frowned.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked with concern.

“I’d rather just forget it.” I tossed another chocolate in my mouth. He stared at me, truly noticing the abysmal state I was in.

“Well, if that’s the case, candy is dandy.” He took my chocolates away laughing at the dangerous look I shot him. “But liquor is quicker.” He handed me a flask that was three quarters of the way full.

“Do you make a habit of drinking at work?” I accepted his offer and took a swig.

“What kind of employee do you think I am?” He asked, pretending to be insulted.

I smiled for the first time since Aiden dumped me. It felt odd, though, like it wasn’t a real smile but merely a cheap imitation. Of course, I’d take what I could get. I finished off the flask in a few gulps.

“Is this all you have?” I asked him.

“That’s all I have here.” He glanced over at me. “There’s more at my place. You’re welcome to it.”

I gave him a smile that told him I was indeed interested in getting more intoxicated tonight. I was willing to do anything that would push Aiden out of my mind. Once we finished our shifts, Damon and I drove back to his apartment.

“Anything in particular you like?” He closed his front door behind us.

“I’m not picky if it’ll get me drunk.” I told him.

As he disappeared into the kitchen, I decided to explore his place. He lived in a small apartment, but his layout made it seem more spacious than it actually was. He had a blue sofa that looked like it folded out into a bed, a stereo in the corner next to a shelf full of CDs, and a flat screen TV on the wall across from the sofa. He had some nice things, but I guess when you worked two jobs, you could afford a
little
luxury.

His bedroom was probably the nicest of all. He had a king size bed with a dark blue comforter set. He had another slightly smaller TV on the wall. There was a chest of drawers that was made of wood on the left wall. I brushed my hand across the design that had been carved into it. I was beginning to wonder if two jobs were even enough to pay for all this, but it wasn’t my place to ask.

I spotted a huge cabinet in the corner of his room. I couldn’t tell what was in it because its doors were closed. I reached up to grab the knob, but a hand pressed the door shut before I could get it fully open. I glanced up to see Damon grinning down at me.

“What are you doing?” He asked in a light tone.

“Sorry, I was being nosy.” I apologized.

“Well, you don’t want to see what’s in there.” He said, piquing my curiosity even more.

I let him lead me back to the living room where he had a couple bottles of alcohol and two glasses sitting on the coffee table. I sat on the couch next to him and poured myself some whiskey. After a few minutes, I began to feel it. I knew it probably wasn’t a great idea to drink so much so rapidly, but I couldn’t seem to control myself.

“The best way to feel better is to talk about it.” He insisted.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I swished the alcohol around in the cup before taking a drink.

“I’m speaking from experience.” He said.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what happened
if
you show me what’s in the cabinet.” I offered.

By this time I was feeling dizzy from the alcohol. He leaned back contemplating it but finally nodded and stood. I followed him to his room with a walk that was less than straight. Right before he opened it, he twisted back around to face me.

“Just so you know, you’re the first girl to ever get to see this side of me.” He said, making me even more anxious to see.

“Well, I feel special.” I said flirtatiously.

He smiled turning back to the cabinet. He slowly opened it up and moved out of the way so I could examine the contents. I was shocked to see all the shelves were full of books. And when I say books, I do
not
mean comic books. There were novels by John Steinbeck, Robert Heinlein, William Faulkner, and more. I’d only read maybe half of them and I’ve read a
lot
of books growing up.

“Okay, this is the most boring secret I’ve ever seen.” I declared.

“That’s the secret. I’m actually boring.” He said with a joking, wide eyed look.

There was something sexy about a guy being
secretly
smart. Like when you pour yourself a bowl of sugary cereal and a prize falls out. You were already content with just your cereal, but the surprise was an added bonus.

“Are you sure that’s supposed to be a secret?” I teased.

“Oh, gee thanks.” He feigned offense. “Okay, your turn.”

“Ugh, I need more alcohol, then.” I staggered back to the couch. I poured some more whiskey and took a gulp. “Short version, this past week, mine and Aiden’s relationship had been going fast and furious, but then yesterday, he slammed on the brakes.”

“Why?” He asked.

“I’m not sure.” I gave a drunken laugh. “I guess he doesn’t find me attractive.”

“He said that?” He lifted a brow in disbelief.

“He fed me some bull about him leaving for college next year and blah blah blah.” I rolled my eyes.

“Well, there’s no possible way he broke up with you because he wasn’t attracted to you. Unless he’s gay, that is.” He tipped up the corner of his mouth in a side grin. I could tell he was getting drunk himself because he was gradually losing his ability to pronounce his words.

“He’s not gay.” I asserted.

“Then, he didn’t break up with you because he wasn’t attracted to you. There’s not one straight guy that wouldn’t be attracted to you.” He gazed down at me.

I stared down at his arm that was on my lap. I gently traced his tattoos with my finger tip up his arm. His muscles were lean but still defined.

“He’s an idiot.” Damon’s voice was low.

“Hmm?” I continued moving my fingers along his skin.

His fingers gently lifted my face. “He’s an idiot.”

He slowly gave me that lopsided smile that I found so alluring. I knew I’d probably regret it tomorrow, but I was drunk and the impulse was too strong. I moved my face the short distance between us and pressed my lips against his.

His mouth was warm and welcoming as I slipped my tongue in to meet his. Our kiss lasted a few moments before I moved back. I was mistaken on how fast I’d regret the kiss because I instantly knew it was a mistake. Damon and I were just friends, and I needed it to stay that way. I wondered if this was how Aiden felt about things between us.

“Does this couch turn into a bed?” I asked, breaking the moment.

“Uh, yeah, it does.” He answered.

“Okay, I should probably sleep off this alcohol.” I told him, clearly cutting any expectations he might have had.

He cleaned up our mess and moved the coffee table out of the way. I tossed off the cushions from the couch to find the folded leg to the bed. I tugged at it without much luck. Damon lifted it out with one hand, making me feel even weaker. He brought me a few extra blankets and a pillow and went to his room, closing the door to give me a bit of privacy.

I woke up groggy the next morning with an awful hangover. I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized I was already an hour late to school. I flew out of bed and scrambled to find my shoes.

“What’s the matter?” I heard Damon ask from the kitchen.

“I have to go to school.” I told him.

“
Have to
is such a strong term.” He strolled into the living room. “Why don’t you skip and we can hang out, today?”

“I can’t. I’m
this
close to being expelled and you know what happens to foster kids that get expelled.” I frowned.

“Yeah, they get relocated.” He pursed his lips.

“Exactly, and I don’t want my life completely uprooted,
again.
” I paused. “But thank you so much for last night. You were a really good
friend
.” He nodded his head to show that my hint was coming through loud and clear.

“Let me give you a ride.” He offered.

By the time we stopped by my house so I could change out of my uniform and finally got to school, I was only two hours late. Which honestly, was two hours later than I should have been, but what can I say? Shit happens. The rest of the day followed suit and was equally as crappy as I did my best to avoid Aiden.

Things did not improve that night. I awoke around three to the feeling of my hair being played with. When I glanced up to see the ring demon, I leapt from the bed with a scream. I wanted to burn off every inch of me that he had touched.

“You didn’t do what I asked.” He stated in a much calmer fashion than the last time. It seemed he had decided to change tactics.

“I’m not going to do that.” I declared.

“And why not?” He sprawled out further on my bed, making himself right at home. My stomach curled at the sight.

“I’m not handing a possessed ring over to some innocent person.” I asserted.

“Nobody’s innocent, Bridget. You, of all people, should know that.” He smirked, knowing he’d hit a sore spot.

My stomach dropped to my feet. Did he honestly know things about my past or was he merely screwing with me? If this truly was a delusion, then he would know anything that I knew. My gut clenched at how much sense that would make. Especially, considering how real this all felt at the moment.

“If I did give this to someone and you had access to a body, what would you do?” I asked.

“Kill my brother.” He stated nonchalantly.

“What?” I said, horrified.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a wad. He deserves it. He’s the one who trapped me in this stupid ring.” He scowled.

“How?” I asked.

“I underestimated Nathaniel’s craftiness. I was the better sorcerer. He shouldn’t have been able to do it, but he managed to trick me. Once I killed our coven and stole every ounce of magic, Nathaniel said he would join me. I should have known it was a trap. Stupid me, I trusted my brother.” He barked out a laugh that held no amusement.

Sorcerer? Coven? What was he talking about? Could his tall tale hold actual truth? Either way, I wasn’t about to let this monster loose.

“I can tell by your horrified expression that you are on his side. So be it. You have one week to find me a suitable body, or I’ll slit your throat while you sleep.” He announced before vanishing. My hands trembled at his threat. I knew he would do it, too. I had to figure out a way to destroy the ring before he could follow through with it.

“That’s it!” Cassie said on our way to school Thursday morning. “No more moping. It’s getting ridiculous. I get that you and Aiden had some sort of falling out or whatever, but you have
got
to get over it. Tomorrow night you are coming with me to Lincoln to hang out with Bryan.”

“I don’t care to be a third wheel.” I frowned.

“You won’t be. There’ll be a group of people. We’re all going to Club Ice.” She smiled.

“I don’t know.” I bit my lip. I didn’t know how to tell her that I had more on my mind than just my breakup with Aiden.

“Well, you don’t have a choice in the matter. You’re going whether you like it or not. Oh, and you’re also going to eat lunch with me, today. No more hiding in the library. You can’t avoid Aiden forever. The sooner you face him the sooner things can get back to normal.”

“Fine.” I told her, but I didn’t think it was possible for things to go back to normal.

Later in BCIS, despite my promise to Cassie, I sat far away from Aiden. I pulled up a search engine determined to find information on the ring demon. I had a few details to work with. I had Nathaniel’s name and the fact that the ring demon had killed his entire coven. I wasn’t sure how to search for
that
, so I typed in “Nathaniel murders Nebraska”. Random news stories popped up that seemed to have nothing to do with what I was looking for. I changed my search to “Nathaniel brother murders Nebraska”.

The first story that popped up caught my attention. I clicked into it, and my stomach dropped. There was a picture of the ring demon, only he appeared normal, handsome even. His name was Jeremiah Winslow. His family was a wealthy one, and they lived in Lincoln.

The story spoke of the murder of an entire family,
Jeremiah’s family
. Funny how he forgot to mention that his coven was his family. Yet, he felt betrayed by his brother’s actions. He was seriously screwed up. Apparently, Jeremiah vanished after the slayings and was under suspicion for their murders.

Finding all this information seemed bittersweet. I would have to be incredibly unbalanced to be making this all up in my head. The proof was right here in front of my face. I thought about having Aiden look it over for a second person’s confirmation, but I loathed him more than I cared about this, at the moment.

I shifted my attention to Nathaniel. I searched for Nathaniel Winslow and found a current address in Lincoln. My new plan was to return the ring to Nathaniel and let him sort out his brother. I felt better knowing I’d be getting rid of the ring, soon.

When lunch rolled around, I was tempted to go to the library, again. However, I knew if I did, I’d never hear the end of it. So, I grudgingly made my way to the cafeteria and sat in our usual spot. A few minutes later, Aiden slid into the chair diagonal to mine and Cassie sat across from me. The lunch started out fairly normal.

Cassie filled all the silence with her constant stream of chatter. The only difference now was that I didn’t look in Aiden’s direction, at all. Cassie left ten minutes early to go to class so she could speak with her teacher over a late assignment, which left Aiden and I alone at the table. At first I pretended he wasn’t even there, but after a few seconds, he moved to Cassie’s empty seat.

“Bridget, can we please talk?” His eyes pleaded with me.

“What is there left to say?” I frowned.

“Can we please just put this behind us and get back to normal?” He begged.

There was that word again; normal. The more I thought it over and what it meant, the more I realized they were right. This wasn’t normal. Normally, I would never let a guy get me down like this. In fact, normally, I’d never even put myself in the position to get hurt this bad. But
nothing had been normal since I met Aiden.

“You’re right. Things do need to go back to normal.” I told him with a newfound perspective on everything. “Normal before you came along.” I finished under my breath and with that, I got up and went to my next class. I wasn’t going to ignore him, anymore. However, I also wasn’t going to let him stop me from having fun, either. It truly was time for me to get back to normal, starting with tomorrow night. Once I dropped off the ring to Nathaniel, my life would finally go back to normal.

Friday night, Cassie and I were at her house getting ready to go out. I was wearing a black mini dress with black wedges, and she was wearing a black skirt with a green top and black, high heeled boots. Her house was parent free, so I was going to stay the weekend with her.

“Look what Bryan got us.” Cassie grinned, handing me a new fake ID.

“Wow, this is amazing. It looks so real. It even has my address on it so no chance of getting the info wrong. Where’d he get it?” I asked her.

“Someone at his school makes them. Now we can drink at the club.” She squeaked excitedly. Tonight was going to be fun. I was going to drink, dance, and, most importantly, not think of Aiden, at all. Who knows, maybe I’d meet a hot guy, tonight.

We left out early so that I could stop by Nathaniel’s house. Cassie was curious about our random detour, but I kept telling her it was nothing. We pulled up to a house much larger than Cassie’s. I expected nothing less from everything I read online. The Winslows were filthy rich.

I was nervous as I knocked on the front door. Cassie waited in the car. Well, more like pouted in the car. She had wanted to come with me, but this was something she could not be present for.

I had expected a servant to answer the door, perhaps a butler or maid. Instead, the door swung open, and Nathaniel stood there with a curious expression.

“Can I help you?” He asked.

“I need to speak with you.” I told him.

“Concerning?” He did not move to let me in.

“Your brother.” I stated.

“I don’t speak with reporters.” He began to shut the door, but I placed my hand on it to stop it from closing.

“I’m not a reporter.” I asserted, but he raised his eyebrow skeptically. “I found the ring.”

His expression switched to one of horror. “That’s impossible.”

I tugged it out from under my shirt and showed it to him. “Can I come in?”

Alarm covered his face, but he stepped aside for me to enter. I followed him through a long corridor until he led us into a study. He motioned for me to sit.

“How exactly did you come to possess the ring?” His voice shook slightly as he spoke.

“I bought it at an antique store. I have no idea where they got it.” I explained.

“How did you find me?” He asked.

“Your brother has been sort of… haunting me.” I told him.

“That’s impossible.” He stated.

“You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” I told him, my
Princess Bride
reference going straight over his head.

“I’m telling you, I trapped his soul into that ring. He can’t do anything from such a state.” He announced.

“Okay, well, I’m telling
you
that I have seen him. Not only has he possessed my foster sister, but he’s visited me on more than one occasion. So, while all this may be implausible, I assure you that it is not impossible.” I said, my eyes gripping his.

“You’re right.” I could see him worrying the inside of his cheek. “There is one thing, but I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“There is a cleansing spell, but I’d need help. Except, it has to have another sorcerer or Jeremiah might possess them once he was out.” He told me.

“He can’t possess me.” I informed him.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yeah, I mean, he was pretty pissed about it.” I said.

“Alright, bring the ring back next week, and we’ll try it.” He told me.

“Don’t you want me to leave the ring here with you?” I asked.

“No.” He said sharply. “I mean, I think it would be safer with you.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but short of throwing it at him, there was nothing I could do. I felt relieved to be sharing this burden with someone else, even if he was more terrified than I was. Perhaps, that should have given me a clue to simply ditch the ring in a river, somewhere. I just couldn’t get over the guilt I’d feel if anything were to happen.

I joined Cassie back in her car, and we drove to the club. We smoked while we waited outside for Ryan and his friends to show up. The cigarette tasted even sweeter since I was mostly doing it to spite Aiden.

“I thought you mostly quit.” I heard someone say behind me. I twisted around to see Eli smiling from behind Ryan. Tiffany, Nicole, Grey, and Hail were also with them.

“I started again.” I smiled back at him.

I was surprisingly delighted to see him here, even though I should’ve been annoyed that Cassie didn’t tell me he was a part of the “group of people”. While everyone else waited in line, Eli led me around the corner where it was quieter.

“Listen, I’m sorry about the party. I don’t blame you for not returning my calls. Aiden’s your friend.” When he said
friend
, I felt my face twinge. “Oh, is he more than a friend?”

“No, we’re just friends. And about the party, it’s fine. I’m over it.” I told him. “Let’s just forget it ever happened and go have fun.”

“That sounds great.” He appeared relieved that I didn’t hate him. We rejoined the group, who were now at the front of the line.

As I had suspected, our fake IDs worked like a charm. Surveying the club, I could see that Club Ice was not simply the name but more of a theme. Everything was decorated in blue and glistened like it was all actually made of ice. Grey found us a rounded booth in the corner and, precisely like everything else, it had the appearance of ice. Tiffany, Nicole, Grey, and Hail headed straight for the dance floor. Cassie, Ryan, Eli, and I wanted to order drinks first. Eli bought me a huge long island ice tea. Cassie stuck with drinking fruity drinks. Eli and Ryan drank whiskey. After a few minutes, Cassie’s favorite song came on, so she dragged Ryan out on the dance floor.

“Let’s dance.” I said to Eli, feeling the sweet bliss of the alcohol as it began affecting me.

“Okay.” He grinned.

We got up and found a spot on the dance floor. There was a hip hop song playing that had a really good beat. We both started dancing to the music. I moved him closer to me where our bodies were dancing up against each other. I turned facing away from him, moving back and forth against him. He had his hands on my hips as I swayed them. After a few more songs, we made our way back to the booth to catch our breath for a second and drink more. We both took a few shots of tequila.

“This is fun.” I boldly pulled myself up onto Eli’s lap. I was definitely more than tipsy by this time.

“Yes it is.” He wrapped his arms around my waist.

I leaned down and kissed him. I had wanted to do that since the moment he kissed me in the woods at the party. He drew me back in for another, longer kiss. This time his tongue met mine, and I pressed myself harder against him. We pulled apart when Nicole and Grey sat back down, but I remained on Eli’s lap.

“Let’s go smoke.” I told Eli as I stood up and grabbed his hand.

He let me lead him outside and around the corner to the alley we had been in earlier. Without saying anything, I pushed him up against the wall and kissed him.

“A guy could get used to that.” He grinned down at me.

“Is that your way of saying you missed me?” I lit a cigarette.

“Maybe.” He took a drag. “So, am I going to have to wait another two weeks to see you, again?”

“I don’t know. Do you
want
to wait two weeks to see me, again?” I teased.

“Definitely not.” He tugged me toward him.

It felt terrific being pulled toward someone instead of being pushed away. I abruptly lost any train of thought as he stared down at me. His eyes were so dark and intense that it felt as if they burned straight through me, in a pleasurable way. He kissed me again but, this time, slightly sweeter than earlier.

“Text me and we can make plans.” We went back in for another kiss when Cassie and Ryan rounded the corner.

“There you two are!” She waltzed toward us. “Bryan and I are going back to my place. Everybody else is going to hit another club. Do you want to go with us or them?” She asked me. I was shocked that she didn’t ditch me. I guess people
do
change. Maybe, Ryan had something to do with that.

“I’ll go with you and Ryan.” I told her.

I was too drunk to make smart decisions, right now. I gave Eli one last kiss and followed Cassie to her car. On the quiet ride back to Waverly, Eli dominated my thoughts. The way we danced. The way we kissed. How his arms felt around me. I was so worried before about being from different worlds, but now my concerns seemed silly. Who cared if we didn’t end up having some long lasting relationship? I was having fun, and that’s all I cared about, right now.

For the next few hours, I had Cassie’s phone glued to my hand texting Eli. I always slept in the guest bedroom when I stayed at her house, but this night, neither one of us were sleeping. I could hear the moaning from her room where her and Ryan were doing things I preferred not to picture. After a while, Cassie tapped on the door and came in.