Chapter Eight

I found myself deciding that I’d hang with Neil at the shooting range before I even opened my eyes Wednesday morning. At the realization that I was still at the hotel rather than at home with my family and friends, my heart seemed to grow heavy in my chest.

 My phone rang on my way down to the lobby, it was Sultan. I’d been ignoring calls from my family since Friday night, but now I felt an intense urge to hear my brother’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Oh thank God Jace, where the hell are you?!” Sultan practically screamed in my ear.

“Around.”

He sighed, “Everybody’s going crazy here, we all miss you…please just come home” his voice sounded strained.

“What does dad have to say about that?” I wanted to know.

He hesitated “he wants you home too.”

His hesitation, however brief, said it all, “Tough”

“What the hell does that mean? He sighed “ok, take a few days more to calm down, then come home…please” he pleaded.

“Not coming home Sul” I said quietly.

“What? Jasam…ok at least… don’t do it for dad then, do it for the rest of us, it’s a mad house without you, we need you bro” he sounded anxious but I couldn’t concede, I just wouldn’t.

“You don’t understand Sul…I…since I left I haven’t had a single nightmare, that has to count for something, I think this is a good thing.”

“So you don’t have nightmares anymore…BIG DEAL… they have shrinks that could fix you right up, just come back and we’ll-“he started

“It’s not just the nightmares, I’m not angry anymore, I feel…great…I feel free you know, I don’t worry about my grades anymore, or trying to make dad proud or how I feel about Tira, I just feel like this huge load’s been lifted and if I come back it’ll go back to the way it was, I don’t want that.” I said adamantly.

“How do you feel about Tira?”

Shit I hadn’t realized I’d mentioned her. I remained silent.

When he realized I wasn’t going to respond he went on;

“Ok ok, forget I said anything. It…it doesn’t matter I swear, maybe it doesn’t have to go back to the way it was Jace, I’m sure it’ll get better, it just takes time. Come home…or at least tell me where you are so I know you’re ok”

“I’m fine, everything’s fine, tell them that. I gotta go.”

“Jace-“I ended the call before he could say more and sidestepped a group of tourists to purchase a margarita at the bar. They didn’t ask for I.D. The first few days had been a challenge but I’d gotten the hang of it and if my family, excluding my dad, was here, it would have been almost perfect.

Across the lounge sat a blond haired girl of about sixteen, she had been staring boldly at me for the past five minutes and it was hard not to feel self-conscious. Setting down the glass, I decided there was no way I was going to let a child make me feel uncomfortable and even though it felt petty I stared right back at her for almost a minute without blinking. Something about her felt…off.

“Refill sir?” the bartender asked, I looked at him and gave him a short nod, then turned my attention back to the girl, only she wasn’t sitting across the lounge but standing right next to me.

“Why are you smiling? She asked tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“Because I know what you are” I retrieved my glass and sipped the cold beverage. Refreshing.

She sniffed “What do you mean?” she asked, looking slightly apprehensive.

“Condoloid?” I asked, trying to appear nonchalant

“How…how did you know?” she looked  ready to bolt.

To appease her I dropped my hand under the counter and she followed my gaze. I harvested the heat from my body, concentrating until I held a ball of erratic but controlled flames in the palm of my hand.

“You’re...” she laughed, “wow the only other condoloid I know is my mom, this is so amazing how’d you know?”

My hand, now empty, I explained to her that a human could not have made it to my seat in the time it took her to get to me from where she sat, which was a split second.

“You need to be more careful in the future” I berated.

She blushed “You sound like my mom.” A saucy smile lit her features “I’m Mackenzie” she held out her hand

I clasped it, “Jace”.

I spent the rest of that day with her then on Thursday and  Friday I hung out with her and her mom, like her daughter, she was also light on her feet. They were an interesting pair, they described to me the places they’d been and the life they enjoyed.

I refrained from telling them anything about my family other than that they were condoloids. I didn’t trust them. I couldn’t.

On Saturday morning I wished them farewell after the hour they spent trying to convince me to join them in their travels but as fun  as travelling the world sounded It wasn't for me.

I was to meet Pristine in less than an hour ,I had nothing appropriate to wear and my arm itched like crazy! I was tempted to rip the cast off, consequences be damned. On top of that, my head was killing me and after visiting every store on the block, I still couldn’t find anything that suited my needs.

Thirty minutes before my ‘meeting’ with Pristine I teleported to my favorite clothing store called des vêtements super  in Paris. I  didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it earlier, in 15minutes I entered a nearby restaurant,  my good arm filled with packages.

To the host I said; “Je voudrais réserver une table pour duex personnes à dix-neuf heures (I would like to reserve table for two persons at 7:00pm). I knew it was a long shot but I hoped that everything would go well when I told her about my abilities.

Dressed in my purchases, I waited, as arranged at the address she had given me at 10:00am. It turned out to be a little park surrounded by pine trees, a small water fountain stood in the center.

There were about 6 benches with flowers planted on either side and a few families were there having picnics, some were simply strolling. I was glad she’d chosen this place to meet; it had an air of tranquility that I found myself liking.

 At that moment, a figure approached from between a row of tall pine trees, as she stood surveying the area my heart caught at the sight. My breathing was shallow, almost strained and I felt a strange pull towards the creature that slowly walked toward me.

When she said my name my heart ached at the sound. I felt as if an extraordinarily powerful bolt of lightning had struck me in a place I had once thought incapable of such emotion. My fears, my sadness, my pain and my anger disintegrated, an unfamiliar warmth spread through my body, sizzling in my veins, vibrating to my very core, my very essence, my very soul.

My heart pounded soothingly in my chest, pumping awareness throughout my entire body. The feeling was paradise, three thousand times my beautiful than the lunar eclipse and infinitely more wondrous than the  sunset on the horizon.

…the old man was right…

 … My grandfather was right!

His words whirled in my mind like autumn leaves in high wind.  … ‘Love is a mystery, it has the ability to take and give life, to create and destroy. Love can drive a man insane or it can open a man’s heart, mind and soul allowing him to see the world with new eyes, and that’s what love did for me, it altered me completely, I’m a different man Jasam, Julie’s brief presence in my life and the happiness she allowed me to experience is something I will cherish until the day I become one with the soil of this earth. Love is a beautiful thing Jasam and it’s something I pray you’ll find in life…’

Why hadn’t I felt this way when I spoke to her online? What was happening to me? My knees threatened to buckle when I began to fully register the emotion… is this…love?

Me?

The cynic?

The bad boy?

Me?

The guy who had scoffed at the thought of love since I was old enough to read?

No it couldn’t be, but then what was this feeling? She wasn’t what one would call extraordinarily beautiful but she was a lovely creature, something I had always known…

When she touched my arm I slowly brought my eyes up to meet hers…

I …love her, I acknowledged and it was then that my fate was sealed, by the very emotion I had been running from all my life.

“Hello Pristine.” I whispered.

                                        AUTHOR'S NOTES

YES I KNOW IT'S REALLY SHORT..YES I KNOW I TOOK FOREVER TO UPLOAD (SCHOOL IS A PAIN)  BUT I COULDN'T MAKE IT ANY LONGER BECASUE I HAVE ALOT OFWORK TO DO SO I DECIDED TO JUST UPLOAD WHAT I HAVE...I REALLY HOPE U GUYS LIKE IT DESPITE IT'S LENGTH AND I SAID I WAS GIVING SHOUT OUTS TO ONE FAN AND ONE READER IN EVEY CHAPTER I UPLOAD FROM NOW ON ....

SHoUt OuTs to:  AnnieR ....a dedicated reader and CRAZYbOOty a great fan! Thanks to you two for your support I really really appreciate it, you have no idea how much <3

AND THANKSTO EVERYBODY FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND KIND WORDS. ENJOY! -DoUbLe.A

-unedited