A Night of Flame and Blood Page 6

  “Why?” I said shocked. “Why are they afraid of me?”

  “You know why?” He used his thumb to smooth out the pucker between my eyebrows. “Because you see things.” I absorbed what he just said. I see things. He was talking about my dreams I just knew it.

  He covered the majority of his face with his hands, blocking out the sun. “Don’t think too much about it, we can talk about it later when we are alone.”

  I found myself nodding along with him. I still did not trust him, but suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be alone with him. I needed to find out more of what he knew. “How about I pick you up tonight? We could get something to eat and we’ll talk about everything that is running through that head of yours.”

  I looked at him suspiciously. “Why does it sound like you are asking me out on a date?”

  He scoffed. “Man, you are really trying to turn this into something romantic.” He winked. “Can’t blame you though.”

  I shook my head at him. I heard the familiar engine of the Toyota pull up next to me. The car window rolled down. “Why are you laying on the sidewalk like some creeper?” Rebecca’s voice called out. “Does Robert need a ride home too?” She said annoyed. I sat up startled. Robert? I looked down at Daston, he had his face covered with his hands, his brown hair was dark enough that it looked black like Robert’s and they were similar in height. She probably only took a quick glance. Man was she going to be surprised.

  I stood up and grinned into the window. Rebecca inched back. “Why the hell do you have to do it so creepy?”

  Daston stood up next to me. “I thought she was going to say daddy not Robert.”

  Rebecca’s eyes widened. “Daston.” She sputtered. The look of shock was comical.

  “May I have a ride?” He asked sweetly, giving her a crooked smile.

  “Sure.” She said eagerly. “Do you want to sit up front?”

  I frowned. How could she give up my seat so easily? Daston glanced down at the passenger seat, then looked at me. “You want to sit on my lap?” He said quietly so only I could hear.

  I punched his arm hard. “Brianna!” Rebecca yelled. “How could you do that?”

  “Yea Briana. How could you do that?” He imitated Rebecca’s voice almost exactly. I burst out laughing. Rebecca looked at Daston and I could tell by her face she was debating whether or not she should be mad at him. The latter won.

  “Come on in Daston.” She tapped the passenger seat. He stared at it, then glanced at Rebecca.

  He opened the car door, I walked around him so I could open the door to the backseat, but he blocked me with his foot and made an exaggerated gesture with his hands signaling me to go inside. I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “What?” He shrugged. “I’ve got manners. I open doors when in the presence of a lady.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and slid onto the passenger seat. Rebecca gave me an annoyed look. I shrugged at her, not my fault, he was the one who told me to take it. Daston closed the door then opened the back door for himself and buckled himself in. His fresh scent overpowered our girly scent, and it filled the entire car. It was mouthwatering. I peaked at Rebecca, she was stealing glances at Daston from the mirror. Daston stayed quiet and stony in the back seat.

  “Where too Daston?” Rebecca asked.

  “Just drive to your house, I can walk from there.” He said seriously.

  “It’s no problem, I can drop you off at your place.” She said eagerly. I knew she was dying to find out where he lived.

  “No, it’s better this way. Otherwise, Briana might stalk me.”

  I choked on my spit. “Why the hell would I stalk you?” I yelled out.

  He gave me a cocky look. “You know why, you are just dying to see me naked. Can’t have you lurking under my bedroom window.”

  My mouth popped open. Rebecca looked at me weirdly. “You actually confessed that to him? Talking to me about your fantasy is one thing, but you do not confess them to..”

  “Shut up!” I yelled at Rebecca. Curse her big mouth, I should have never told her about the naughty things I thought about.

  Daston had a self-satisfied look on his face. “I knew you had dirty fantasies about me.”

  “No, I don’t.” I shot Rebecca a glare. She gave me a guilty look, realizing too late that she fell for Daston’s trap.

  She shook her head quickly and looked at Daston through the mirror. “What the hell is going on? Why does it sound like you are flirting with Brianna?”

  Daston stayed quiet as we pulled up into our street and Rebecca drove the car into the driveway. “It looks like we are here. Guess I’ll leave you two then.” Daston said quickly.

  Rebecca locked the doors and put the child safety lock on. “Not until you answer my question.” She said harshly. It was scary as hell.

  He put his hands up. “Look guys, I am not up for a threesome.”

  “Good, because you weren’t getting any.” I told him. I turned to Rebecca. “This is actually kind of scary though.” I told her quietly.

  “Fine.” She said childishly and unlocked the doors. Daston got up quickly and nodded at both of us. He ended my nod with a wink and walked away. I forgot to ask him if we were still going to go eat later on. Maybe after that scary as hell show Rebecca did, he thought better of it.

  I got out of the car and turned to Rebecca. She was starting to walk towards the house. “What was that all about?” I asked. “It was like our roles reversed and suddenly you were the creepy one.” I laughed.

  “Don’t laugh.” She said angrily. “I can’t believe I did that. I just embarrassed myself in front of Daston.”

  “Dude who cares. Daston sure as hell doesn’t. He is just as weird, actually more so.”

  “I care.” She said frustrated. “I have been waiting so long to talk to him, and when I do I act like some creeper.” Her nostrils flared. “Why are you two all buddy buddy all of a sudden?”

  “Honestly, I don’t even know. But don’t worry, I think Daston secretly liked that you locked the doors. It is more his style.” I grinned at her. “He even made a sexual suggestion at you, he would have never done that prior to.”

  “What?” She turned towards me suddenly. “What do you mean he would not have done that prior? Did he say something? Besides, I would not consider him saying he would deny a threesome as progress.”

  “He might have mentioned you in passing, I don’t quite remember.”

  “What were you guys talking about in the sidewalk, and in the cafeteria?”

  “He just wants to be my friend. I think he is just a natural pervert, but he means to be strictly platonic with me.”

  She nodded. “Yea, he is very flirty and quite a little pervert. I would have never guessed that.” She smiled. “Interesting. Whenever you talk to him, let me know and invite me over ok.” She looked at me intensely. “I would have never guessed it, but you are my inside man now sister.” She turned away from me and walked into the house. I dragged along after her. I did not particularly feel in a cheery mood.

  I called Robert as soon as I got into the house. I passed my mother in the kitchen as the phone rang, she had called me over to eat, but I was unsure if I should. I was still holding on to Daston’s promise that he would take me out to eat. I did not want to be rude and go eaten. Then again, if we did not end up going, I was just starving myself for no reason.

  Robert’s phone rang several times before he managed to answer it. The voice that answered was almost unrecognizable, he sounded like a chain smoker, his voice croaky and awful. Maybe I was too hasty in thinking he simply ditched.

  “Robert, what the hell is wrong with your voice? Did you actually get sick?”

  “No.” He croaked. “I think I fell asleep while reading.” I could hear him yawn though the phone.

  “You fucking asshole. I was almost concerned for you.” I snarled.

  “Don’t me mad.” I could hear his cringe.

  “What are you going to do to make it up to me?�
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  “I’ll go over, right now.”

  “How is that going to make it up to me?”

  “It’s not, but I am going over to explain, and I’ll get you a shit ton of chocolate and candy.”

  I grinned. “Bring the chocolate and candy now.” I hung up before he could say anything else. I walked into my room and laid on my stomach on the bed. I had already forgiven Robert, I just wanted to give him a hard time.

  The doorbell rang almost thirty minutes later. I sprinted downstairs, my mom was at the door, Robert in front of her, he cringed under her hard stare.

  I walked up to them. “Robert, you are here, good, come on let’s go to my room.” I grabbed his arm, and he shot me a grateful look. He was wearing his backpack for school.

  “So, Robert,” My mother kept staring at him. “you and Brianna be careful now.”

  “Of course. madam.” Madam? Since when does Robert say Madam.

  “Good.” She walked back into the kitchen. Robert visibly exhaled in relief.

  I pulled him by the arm upstairs. “Bri, your mom is scary.” He told me.

  I shook my head at him and took him into my room. I closed the door behind us and crossed my arms, my eyes narrowed. “Where’s my chocolate?”

  Robert rolled his eyes and shrugged off his backpack. “I have it here.” He handed me various chocolate bars and I took them greedily.

  “Am I forgiven? You know I am sorry I left you.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “Can you forgive me?” He pleaded.

  “You’re forgive.” I peeled off the wrapper from the chocolate bar and took a big bite. One chocolate bar would calm my hunger. “But I just want to know, why did you ditch? And why did you not invite me? You know I would have gone with you.”

  He sighed. “That passage, the one you showed me, I’ve read it before.” His face scrunched up. “Well, I am not sure if I read it, but it sounded really familiar.”

  “Familiar?” I said confused

  “I don’t know why, it just is. The memory is really far away, I almost have to squint to remember it, but it’s there, I know it.”

  “And why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

  “Because I didn’t remember until after I read the passage.” He sounded frustrated.

  I sat on my bed and signaled for him to sit next to me. Robert conceded, his shoulder and mine touched with our proximity. “That still doesn’t explain why you ditched me.” I told him.

  “I am getting to that part.” He shook his head at my impatience. “I wanted to know if maybe I had read it in another book. So, I went home and looked through my stack of books. And the only way I could do that is if I faked an illness. I could not bring you along. What was I going to tell my mom? I’m sick but let my friend stay with me in my room.”

  My fingers fidgeted in annoyance. “Couldn’t you wait util after school?”

  “Bri,” He gave me an incredulous look. “Have you seen how into this I am? Do you think I would have survived the whole day without knowing?” He did have a point. He would not have survived one hour let alone seven.

  “Well, you still should have told me. I was waiting for you at the table like a dumb ass.”

  He sagged in defeat. “Ok, I am guilty of that, sorry. But it was kind of a last minute decision. It came to me when I was walking to class.”

  “So, did you find the book?” I asked. Believe it or not I was dying to know.

  “Nope, I could have heard that passage anywhere. I’m not sure if it was a book, but it has to be. I spent my life with my nose in a book.” His face became solemn. “If the book is back in the library, we’ll never find it. We’ve been through too many of their books to retrace our steps.”

  “What about The Seer’s Handbook? Does that have anything about it?” I did not know what compelled me to ask. It was like the words blurted from my lips without my knowledge.

  “The what?”

  “The Seer’s Handbook, you know that book on your dresser.” Why was I explaining this to him? He should know what book I was talking about. The title was kind of weird; it’s not one you’d forget.

  “Brianna,” He said slowly, “I don’t have a book called The Seer’s Handbook.”

  “But I saw it, it was in your room yesterday.”

  He gave me a confused look. “Brianna, trust me, if there was a book in my room called The Seer’s Handbook, I would know about it. I turned my room upside down yesterday looking through all of my books. There was not one in there called that. It was just my comics and the same old ones I’ve let you read.”

  “Ok then.” I let it go for now. Robert looked so sincere. I couldn’t not believe him.

  “Can you leave the book with me today?” I asked. I knew he had it in his backpack. He gave me a surprised look and dug his hand into his backpack. “How did you know I had it with me?” He took out the book and held it out at arms-length.

  I grabbed the book it was as heavy as I remembered. “Like I don’t know you Robert.”

  He smiled at me, a genuine smile. He liked that I knew him so well.

  Robert hung around my room for the next hour as he told me about his boring day. I told him about the crazy day I had, and how Daston pretty much stalked me all day.

  “I knew he liked you.” Robert slapped my back a few times. “Well done. Should I high five you for getting such a hunk?”

  I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “What? I am confident in my masculinity and I know when to acknowledge when another man is good looking.” He snipped.

  “More power to you.” I nodded. “You know he asked me out tonight, kind of. He’s taking me out to eat, maybe, I am not even sure if that is still going on. He didn’t even give me a time.” I grumbled. I tugged at a lock of my hair self-consciously.

  Robert gave me a wicked look. “Oh, he’s coming.”

  I snickered at how sure he was. “I am not sure if he likes me, he probably just wants to bang me because come on.” I signaled at my body.

  He laughed. “Either way he wants you, so I am sure he is going to come running.”

  Hearing Roberts confident made me feel better. Robert left shortly after, winking at me and making me promise to share all the details with him later. He could be such a girl sometimes.

  I jumped in the shower after he left and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a t shirt. I glanced at the window, it would start to get dark soon, and with it a chill. I grabbed my black hoodie and pulled it on. My stomach was growling, I was ravenous, the chocolate only dulled my hunger for a short while.

  Once my clock read seven pm, I was having serious doubts about Daston. I wanted to bang my head against the wall. Why would I think he was coming?

  I walked dejectedly down the stairs to get something to eat. I walked past the front door and heard the doorbell ring once. I froze.

  It couldn’t? I walked quickly to the door and pressed my eye on the peephole. With his brown messy hair and tall menacing stature it was impossible to not know who the person behind the door was. I glanced behind me. Luckily none of my family came down. I smiled inwardly and opened the door.

  Chapter 8

  I closed the door behind me in a hurry, Daston gave me a curious look.

  “I don’t want them to know I am going out with you.”

  He poked my nose. “Naughty. That’s not very smart of you. What if I kidnapped you? No one would know it was me?” He walked towards a glossy black car. I froze.

  “Is that what you are planning?” I asked bluntly. Sure, Daston was dreamy, but he was still highly suspicious.

  Daston glanced back at me, looking me from head to toe. “Maybe.”

  I inched back. He spun around to face me with his hands up. “I am just kidding. I don’t need to kidnap a girl. I am not desperate.” He laughed. “You looked scared as hell.”

  “Not funny.” I huffed. I would not put it past him. I was here because I needed to hear what he had to say about my dreams.

  I followed him
to his car, he held the door open for me. I did not comment this time. It was almost endearing that he had a custom of holding doors open.

  When I entered his car, I noticed that every surface of the car was wiped clean, it shined black; not exactly what I expected. I thought there would at least be dirty cloths, maybe a girl’s underwear lying around from the recent shag. It was too clean.

  Daston got in and turned on the engine, hitting the accelerator as soon as possible, he zoomed past my street, I had to grab the leather seat.

  Maybe getting in the car with Daston was not a good idea.

  “You look terrified.” He glanced at me, a small smile playing on his lips.

  “It’s not funny.” I could hear the terror in my voice. “Where are we going?”

  “To eat, Brianna. I am a man of my word.” I risked a glance towards him and saw him staring back at me.

  “Keep your eyes on the road.” What was he trying to do, get us killed?

  “I will if you promise not to have a panic attack.”

  “I am not having a panic attack!”

  “Then why are you punching holes into my seat.” I was about to argue when I noticed that my hands were, in fact, gripping the sides of the seat so hard, I nearly ripped off the leather.

  “Sorry.” I whispered, unclenching my hands from the seat.

  “It’s alright, nothing but a seat after all.”

  “What food place? I am starving by the way, so it better be good.” I made my voice sound calm and relaxed.

  He glanced at my face. “I’ll give you something to eat.”

  My eyes widened in shock. “Not like that.” He said quickly. He shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. “Why is your first instinct to go straight to the gutter? Unless you want that. Would not blame you by the way.” He gave me a charming smile. I rolled my eyes at him.

  “It is not my first instinct to go there. It is yours. I just assumed that is where you were going with that.”

  “Ahh, so you like that. Fine. I’ll tell you the truth. I am going to take you out to eat at the little diner in the plaza, after I am going to tie you to my bed and strip you naked.”