Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) (7 page)

I carried the platter of cookies into
the house and asked, “Where can I put these?”

“I can take care of those for you,”
Bryce offered as he stepped in behind me.

“I’d better hide these,” Jace laughed.
“Bryce is greedy when it comes to anything with chocolate. You’ve
got to watch him like a hawk.” He relieved me of the burdensome
cookies and started toward the kitchen. “Hey, I’m going to take a
quick shower. Sorry, Alisa. Bryce will you get her a drink and take
her out to the patio?”

“Sure, Jace. I don’t mind
entertaining
your
guest.” Bryce walked through the kitchen toward the patio
door, motioning for me to follow him. He halted in front of a red
cooler and rooted around for a drink. “Pick your
poison.”

“Thanks,” I said, selecting a can of
soda. I followed Bryce over to a glass-topped patio table. Sitting
down as far away from him as I possibly could, I was at a loss for
words. Should I try to make conversation, or wait for the rest of
his family to rescue me?

“Mom and Dad should be here in a few
minutes. They made a last minute run for supplies. I’m afraid we’re
not very organized yet.” Bryce seemed totally relaxed. He had his
feet propped up on the chair next to him. I tried not to stare at
his long, muscular legs. “So, Jace tells me you’re some kind of
genius. You’re the only junior in Senior English?”

“Well, I’m not a genius. Actually, my
grades are pretty average,” I stammered. Jace had been talking
about me? I wondered what else he’d told Bryce.

Bryce raised his eyebrows. “So, you’re
in Senior English for fun?”

“Well, no,” I replied.

“So, you’re smart?”

“No…I mean…I don’t know.” I glanced
away from him. “They just advanced me back in eighth grade, so now
I’m out of sync with everyone else…” I was always out of sync with
everyone else—my English placement had nothing to do with
it.

“Do you hang out with the seniors?”
His questions came so rapidly, I didn’t have time to bolster my
defenses. I shook my head.

“So, you hang out with the juniors
despite the fact that they’re obviously inferior to
you.”

I shook my head again.

“Who do you hang out with?”

“No one,” I admitted before I could
think.

“You’re too good for the people around
here?” he asked.

“No. I just…”

“Alisa, you are an enigma.”

I didn’t know whether or not to be
insulted. “What do you mean?”

“You’re afraid to talk about yourself,
but brave enough to face a Hunter.” Bryce smiled widely. “You’re
really different from the people in this town. No wonder you have a
hard time fitting in.”

“Excuse me?” I gasped. I was sorely
tempted to leap up from my seat and run away, but I was too shocked
to move. Apparently, Jace had been talking about me. He must have
told Bryce what a total geek I was and how my own cousin wouldn’t
even hang out with me.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it.
You said you didn’t hang out with anyone, so I assumed…
Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re right.
Actually, I don’t fit in around here. It’s not exactly a secret. If
you hang out in Oaktree long enough, you’ll figure that out on your
own.” So, maybe Jace didn’t say anything about my bleak social
situation, but it was only a matter of time before the whole
Alexander family found out on their own. Thanks to Becky, I was a
complete misfit, and despite Jace’s acceptance of me and Rachel’s
recent kind gestures toward me, my popularity was unlikely to
change in any significant way.

“Look, I said I was sorry. It’s no big
deal if you’re lacking in the friendship department. At least you
have Jace, right? Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I never had
a lot of friends in school, either.”

“I find that hard to believe,” I said,
studying his attractive physique. “I bet people fought over you
every time they had to pick teams in gym class. And the girls were
probably all over you.” I cringed at what I’d said. I should have
stapled my lips shut before I left my house. Or, better yet, I
should have stayed home. He would totally think I was flirting with
him. As if I’d know how.

“You’d be surprised,” he said without
acknowledging my slip up. “There were a lot of people who found me
difficult to get along with.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, do
you want another soda?” He pointed his hand toward the cooler
several feet away. “I can get you one without even getting
up.”

I remembered the trick he did with the
spinning fork, and shook my head.

“Your eyes are really blue,” he said
leaning toward me.

What should I say to that? He wasn’t
complimenting me. He was just making an observation. I hated him
for putting me on the spot. I breathed a sigh of relief when the
sliding glass door opened.

“Hi, sweetie,” Jerica said, stepping
onto the back patio. “It’s hot out here. Alisa, do you mind helping
me in the kitchen for a few minutes?”

“Sure. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes
of air conditioning,” I replied, rising from my seat at the patio
table and following Jerica. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes away from
Bryce either. That conversation had me feeling more uncomfortable
than the heat ever could.

***

As afternoon faded into evening, we
sat in patio lounge chairs, too stuffed to move. Jace brought up
the idea of tossing a football around or setting up the volleyball
net, but everyone was lethargic after all the food we’d consumed
over the past couple of hours.

“So, Alisa, how’s school?” Jerica
asked. I shrugged. “Junior year is a big year. You have to start
thinking about which colleges to apply for and what to major in.
Have you given college much thought?”

No. But I probably should. “I’ll
probably major in English or Psychology,” I replied
unenthusiastically.

“Botany is a valuable major,” Jerica
said.

“Mom, nobody cares about that stuff,”
Jace mumbled. “A bunch of stuffy professors and elderly ladies are
the only people I ever see at those conferences you go
to.”

“Thanks, Jace. You make me feel so
young and vibrant.” Jerica rolled her eyes and laughed. “Hey, isn’t
the Homecoming dance coming up soon?”

“Oh, yeah,” Jace said. “That’s like a
huge deal at our school, at least for the girls. That’s all they
ever talk about. Hey, Alisa. Who are you going with?”

My face heated when Jerica and Jace
turned to look at me. Wonderful. I could sense Bryce listening for
my answer too. He already knew the truth about me, and I didn’t see
that as a good thing. “Hmm.” I shrugged as if I hadn’t given it a
second thought. I already knew who I was going to Homecoming with.
Nobody.

“Hey, we could go together if you
want,” Jace said casually. “I’d rather go with a friend than take
some girl who’s going to get ideas about us. Girls always take
things too seriously. After one date, they’re planning our wedding
and naming our imaginary children.”

“Yeah, cool.” I was totally
nonchalant, like hot guys asked me out every day. “Sounds like
fun.” I blushed, remembering all the times I’d mentally planned our
wedding and picked out baby names.

“I’ll have my driver’s license by
then, so maybe I can borrow Dad’s car. I’m taking my driving test
next weekend, so wish me luck. Otherwise, we’ll be walking,” Jace
said.

I was so excited at the idea of going
to Homecoming, I hadn’t hit panic mode yet. That would come later.
I mean, it’s not like it would be a real date. It’s not like he was
going to be my boyfriend. But it could be the beginning of
something, I hoped. I forced myself to stop thinking along those
lines. I needed to stay connected with reality and not get my hopes
up.

“Does anyone want more food before I
put all this away?” Jerica asked, getting up from her lounge chair.
We all groaned in response. “Okay. Anyone want to help me take all
this into the house?”

“I’ll help,” I said, hoisting myself
up. “Just tell me what to grab.”

With my minimal help, Jerica stored
all the food in plastic containers and stacked them neatly in the
refrigerator. She handed me a cold bottle of root beer and sat down
at the kitchen table. She motioned for me to join her.

“I’m not going back out there yet,”
she said with a sigh. “It’s too hot.” She took a long drink from
her bottle. “You seem a little quiet. I hope you aren’t still
feeling uncomfortable around us.” Jerica smiled reassuringly. “Did
you have any questions about what Abe and I told you the other
day?”

“Yes, actually, I have a ton of
questions, but most of them are stupid. I don’t want you to get in
trouble for telling me so much about yourselves.”

“Don’t worry, Alisa. We told you about
ourselves because we believe we can trust you. I have a good
feeling about you, and in my family, that means
something.”

“Bryce doesn’t trust me,” I said
before I could stop myself.

“Bryce has a hard time trusting
people. He’s never had many friends. His heritage means a lot to
him, and he finds it very difficult to mix with non-magical
people.” Jerica looked troubled. “Abe and I worry about him. Are
you sure you don’t have any questions I can answer?

Yes, but I didn’t want to push my
luck. Instead, I said, “No. Thanks for everything
today.”

“I’m glad you came. I’ve enjoyed
having you.” Jerica stood up from the table. “Let’s head back
outside. The boys will start looking for us soon and I’m afraid if
they come into the kitchen, it will start the feeding frenzy all
over again.”

Mosquitoes were out in full force as
soon as the sun set. That was my cue to leave. I said my goodbyes
and hopped into Bryce’s truck. I tried to repress a yawn as we
pulled out of the driveway. Jace flipped through every channel on
the radio, trying to find the perfect song.

“Hey, Bryce? Can you drive me and
Alisa into the city next weekend?” Jace asked. It was the first I’d
heard of any plans. Wisely, I kept my mouth shut and waited for
Bryce to explode.

“I leave Wednesday.” Bryce stared
straight ahead at the road. “I guess I should start packing
soon.”

“And you say I’m the procrastinator,”
Jace chided his older brother.

“Yeah, well, I’m not looking forward
to leaving as much as I did last year. This year’s going to be
tough.” Bryce seemed very serious all of a sudden.

“Can I use your truck after I get my
license?” Jace asked.

“No. Tell Alisa to get her license.
I’d let her drive my truck before I’d let you,” he said.

It was the first nice thing he’d ever
said about me. I thought about his earlier comment—about how my
eyes were really blue. That didn’t count as a compliment,
though.

As Bryce steered his truck into my
driveway, a strange feeling of disappointment weighed my shoulders
down. When Jace opened the truck door, I slid over and hopped out.
“Bye, Jace. I’ll see you at school,” I said, standing in my
driveway, holding my empty cookie platter.

“Nah, I’ll probably see
you before then. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Jace said. A shiver went
through me. He was calling me
tomorrow
.

“Bryce,” I said, leaning through the
open door. “If I don’t see you before you leave, have a good trip
and be safe.”

I pulled my head back out of the truck
and straightened up. As I turned toward my house, Bryce called my
name and motioned for me to come around to the driver’s side door.
I quickly walked around to his open window.

“It was nice meeting you.” I must have
looked doubtful because he said, “I mean that. Take care of my
little brother. And take care of yourself.”

“I’ll do that. Bye, Bryce.” I waved
goodbye and scurried to my front door. Take care of Jace? I was
hoping he would take care of me.

Chapter
Eight

Rachel

At school on Monday, I picked up a
weird vibe. People kept giving me strange looks, and at first I
didn’t know why. Megan approached me after second period with a
look of deep compassion on her face.

“Are you okay?” she asked, pulling me
aside.

“I’m fine,” I replied. “Why shouldn’t
I be okay?”

“Well, I heard about you and Robert.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I just wanted to say, I think
he’s a jerk for replacing you so fast. You were the best thing that
ever happened to him. I don’t trust Autumn and I seriously don’t
think they’re going to last.”

I decided to pretend I knew what she
was talking about since I had a pretty good idea what was going on.
Apparently, Robert was now my ex-boyfriend, but hadn’t bothered to
mention it to me.

It was lunchtime before I saw Robert.
He and the blond sophomore from the party were sitting together at
the far end of the cafeteria. It was hard to tell where one ended
and the other began, they were so close.

“Hello,” I said. I had been standing
over them for a good five seconds before they noticed I was there.
Robert seemed startled. I wasn’t going to make it easy on him, but
I also wasn’t going to humiliate myself by making a
scene.