Procrastinating a little longer, I thought how a life partner was someone you should choose freely. My mom had once told me that she knew my dad was the one, from the moment they had met. While working at a diner, she had spilled coffee on him. She expected him to freak out, but instead, he asked her on a date. They went out for the first time the next night and had been together since, other than a brief separation when she thought she was too young to be so serious. She had regretted their time apart. She told me once if I ever found the one, don’t let go. Now, I had found the one, and was being forced to let go.
Getting dressed, I saw the marks from Logan had become darker. They lingered on my skin as a constant reminder of his hatred for me. Selfishly, I was grateful that Reese could remove them. I didn’t need to be marked to know that Kace was a danger to me. The sooner they were gone, the happier I would be.
When I finished getting ready, I headed for the stairs, mentally preparing myself for how to handle Reese. I heard yelling below and made my way quietly down the first few steps to hear what the argument was about.
Brent’s voice was the first I heard clearly. “Get out of my face, Reese. I didn’t do anything to her. I can’t explain what is going on either.” His voice was rigid, but he was making an effort to keep things from escalating.
Reese growled at him, sounding territorial. “Of course you can. You are interfering with the order of things and you need to stop.”
The irritation was back, burning deep inside. I sucked in a deep breath to extinguish it.
Brent’s voice was softer. “I am not interfering, Reese. I know the way things are supposed to be. I only told you about her reluctance so you weren’t blind-sided by her reaction to you. I am not sure how she is going to handle it, and I thought it best you know,” he explained and I heard the sincerity in his words.
Reese obviously wasn’t hearing the conversation the same way I was.
“Oh right, Brent. I’ve seen how you look at her. We all have. Maggie warned you about it and you didn’t listen to her,” he quipped, speaking to Brent disrespectfully. It upset me. I remembered seeing Maggie talking to Brent in the driveway. She was scolding him before he changed his semblance to Mr. Marshall.
What did he say to her?
“Look, I did listen to her. I tried to keep my distance…and then I felt her. She was in trouble. I was further away than I should have been. It’s a good thing I made it to her in time,” Brent argued, his voice sounding pained, struggling with the memory.
Reese shouted explosively. “I’m glad you were there, but that doesn’t mean anything has changed.”
Brent continued his attempt to convince him. “I didn’t say anything has, Reese. I just wanted you to know she may need some time.”
Brent lied when he said things hadn’t changed. I saw it in his eyes just before the doorbell rang.
Reese groaned in frustration. “Good, then maybe you should give us that time. Why don’t you leave? You can stay somewhere close and I’ll call you if we need you.”
“Absolutely not!” I shouted from the bottom of the stair case. Anger filled every cell within me. I turned my fury on Reese. “Who do you think you are to show up here demanding things? Paramour or not, you don’t control me. Brent has been nothing but respectable. He hasn’t done anything to me, and despite what you may think, he’s not interfering. He was giving you a courtesy by telling you I have reservations about what I am supposed to feel for you, and this is how you treat him?” I was scolding him now.
Reese tried to defend himself. “Claire, it’s not like that. It’s…”
I interrupted him before he could spew out more babble that I was not interested in hearing. “Please, do not start on the order of things and how our seals are stamped to match. I already got that message loud and clear, thank you. You can’t just expect to show up here and have me fall for you the second you walk in the door.”
He approached me in an intimidating show of control. “Are you kidding me? That’s exactly what I expected, but thanks to Brent’s interference, that’s not going to happen.”
Brent interjected. “Look Claire, Reese is right. Why don’t I head out for a while so the two of you can talk? It’s probably for the best.” He headed for the front door, looking back at me, uncertainty shadowing his face. He pulled the door open.
“No,” I shouted, surprised by the depth of my own voice. My insides were vibrating like the sensation I would get as a kid when I sat on the washing machine during the spin cycle. But that was a joyful feeling and what I felt now was pure rage. I was not a pawn to be played by Reese, or anyone else. Staring at the doorway, I looked past Brent as he started to make his way out. The vibration in my body increased, becoming more forceful than before. The door slammed shut furiously with Brent still inside.
Did I do that?
“You are not leaving!” I yelled to Brent.
Brent moved his eyes between Reese and me. I was not finished. Energy was building up inside of me. Cupboards began to open and shut on their own, forcing glass and china to fall to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Wind swirled through the air around us like a tornado, tearing apart everything in its path. I attempted to turn off my brain, begging for it to stop but it didn’t. My nose started to bleed like before, and my ears were ringing. I felt Brent’s hand on my arm and then heard his voice. I continued to listen allowing his words to soothe me. The anger and resentment left me and my breathing calmed.
“Claire, it’s okay. You’re fine.” I fell into him, allowing him to envelope me in his arms and lower me to the floor.
When I opened my eyes, Reese had joined us on the floor with a towel. He held it out for me, shame evident in his eyes. His effort was nothing like when Brent had found me at Maggie’s, and so tenderly wiped the blood from my face. I snatched the towel from his hand, wiped away the blood, and tossed the towel to the floor.
Turning to face Brent, I felt my heartbeat slowing.
“Don’t leave me, okay? Don’t you do it!” I cried, slapping him in the chest harder than I meant to, urging him to listen to me.
“I won’t, Claire. I promise. I’m not going anywhere,” Brent said, cradling me to his chest. I saw Reese shift awkwardly away from us. He started to say something but must have thought better of it given the show I had just put on.
My mind was brimming with worry looking at Reese. What was I doing? Who was I to think I could turn a cheek to our design? It had already been decided. Brent said the seal was too strong to fight and if he and Reese were right, then I was changing the order of things. There must be