Blindsided : Part 2 of the Intended Series Page 2
Alexa’s brand-new cherry red Audi isn’t as classic as Gavin’s car, but it is still way nicer than anything I could ever afford. The interior of the car practically sparkles just as much as the exterior. It’s amazing to me how much money their family has. My adoptive mom has enough money to enjoy life, but she has one little home in a decent neighborhood, and a twelve-year-old oldsmobile. I have some money that I saved up from my one part-time job as a Starbucks Barista in high school to live off of until I find a job here. If I ever have the time for that.
Alexa turns down the wide dirt road that leads to her mother’s home, but splits off at a fork, toward the opposite direction. I turn to her in the ridiculously comfy passenger seat. “We’re not going to your house to train?” I ask, confused.
She shakes her head. “Gavin put the most amazing gym behind his home when he built it.
It will be the best place for you to train for sure.”
I cringe at her words and want to bail out the passenger door. “Gavin’s house? I don’t know if that is such a good idea.”
She just waves her free hand at me. “It will be fine, El. He’s out working, so he won’t even be there to bug us. No worries, sweetie.” She turns the wheel onto another road, this one paved, instead of dirt like all the rest. My eyes go wide when I see what sits at the end of the long driveway.
The most beautiful yet rustic house I have ever seen comes into view. There are large rocks surrounding the home, framing its gardens that wrap around both sides. The roof has a high peak in between two lower ones with a large, rounded window under each peak. The top ridges of the home are probably three stories up from the ground, making the dark shingles reach up to the sky in a dramatic contrast. The majority of the home is made of a dark wood, causing it to 13
almost blend in with the trees surrounding it. There are smooth gray rock pillars holding up the covered porch and matching the stone steps up to the glass front door. A wooden deck lines the whole front of the home, curving around each of the three large windows on the main floor. The whole house looks like it just rose up from the ground.
A part of the driveway leads to an attached underground garage, which opens when Alexa pushes a button on her visor. She parks inside, next to a large white SUV. “Here we are.”
She chimes, hopping out of her seat.
I follow her up a short flight of stairs at the back of the garage and through a door that opens into a large modern-looking kitchen. There are granite countertops and all stainless-steel appliances. Alexa opens the fridge and pulls out two bottles of water, handing one to me. I just stand amazed, watching her.
She notices how still I am while I stare at her and lifts a hand to her cheek. “What? Is there something on my face?”
I gesture all around us and scoff. “There is absolutely no way this is Gavin’s home!” I say, louder than I intend. My voice bounces off the high ceilings in an echo.
She raises an eyebrow to me in question. “Why do you think that?”
She continues leading me through a high archway into a huge living room with a fireplace that has an opening taller than my head. The furniture is all dark and very masculine with little feminine touches here and there, a few vases of flowers on the tables and cream-colored curtains that block our view of the outside world. There are beautiful paintings on the walls of waterfalls and mountain ranges, bringing the surrounding wooded area into the home.
“I guess I just don’t understand how a twenty-year-old guy could create something this magnificent. Where did he even get the money for it at his age?” I ask, astonished at how cozy Gavin’s home is as I plop into a plush sofa.
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know how he came up with a lot of the design part of it, but as for the money, when our dad passed away, he left us each a large sum. Gavin wanted to put the money toward a home that he could take care of forever and have a family in some day.”
I sink into the couch, praying for it to just swallow me whole. I feel like I pushed away the most perfect man in the universe. She watches my reaction. “He didn’t do it all himself though. I helped decorate. If not for me, it’d all be black and brown, like he wanted. That boy can sure make a place look super doom and gloom. You’d think he was a shut-in with how dark it is in here.”
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I smile at her, grateful that she is trying to cheer me up. “Well, if I had any idea of the perfect home, it would look a lot like this. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”
Alexa smiles wide at me and shakes her head, causing her auburn curls to flop around wildly. She mumbles something under her breath that sounds like “that’s amazing” but instead of elaborating, she grabs my hand and lifts me from the couch. She tows me through wide double doors.
“Where are we going?” I ask, wanting really badly to go back in and see the rest of the house.
“I’m taking you to Gav’s gym. It’s in the backyard.”
We exit onto a cobblestone pathway leading through a grassy lawn, to another building matching Gavin’s house. It has all of the same characteristics on the outside as the main house but is about half the size. Alexa has to stop and unlock the large door with her fingerprint on an electronic pad. My eyebrows raise at her, surprised at the level of security required for a gym.
As soon as we step through the door though, I understand why the security system is so important. An entire wall of the large room is lined with an assortment of weapons. There’s everything from nunchucks to throwing stars and long samurai swords, but shockingly no guns.
I turn to Alexa with weary eyes. “You didn’t bring me here to murder me, did you?” I ask, mostly kidding. Mostly.
She laughs hysterically at me and slaps her thigh. “Of course not, El! These are very necessary for the line of work we’re in. You know, we’re basically demon hunters, so swords tend to come in handy from time to time.”
I am taken aback by the truth of her words. I knew some of what they did, but seeing all of these weapons really puts it into perspective. I suddenly feel afraid of what I’m getting myself into by agreeing to this. “Right, I guess that makes sense. I just can’t see you guys as demon-killers.” Especially the sweet and adorable girl standing in front of me.
I look Alexa up and down. “Sorry, Lex, but you don’t really look the type.”
A devious grin spreads across her freckled face, and I instantly regret my words. She winks at me and then is gone. I try to follow her red hair blur to the weapons wall and in a second, I see a large, thin dagger fly by my face and imbed itself with a loud thunk into the wall behind me. I jump, and a small, frightened squeal escapes my lips.
I hear laughter coming from behind me, and Alexa is standing there bent over, cackling her head off. “I’m sorry, but that was so worth it! I mean, the look on your face was priceless.”
She barely spurts the words out, through her giggling fit.
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One of my hands flies to my chest and I finally start breathing again. “Goodness gracious, Lex! You almost stopped my heart!” I shake my head at her hysterics. “Okay, you are still adorable, but I will definitely try to stay on your good side from now on.”
Her laughter slows, and she crosses the wood floor at a normal human pace this time, thank the heavens. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I think it’s necessary to show you what someone like us is capable of. You’ll be that fast, too, someday.”
I absolutely cannot see a future where I can run as fast as her. Alexa places her hand on an expensive-looking treadmill and calls me over. I obey and stretch my legs before climbing on.
She turns the machine up so that I am at a comfortable walking speed.
"So, if you're really serious about training and learning to protect yourself, you need to put in a lot of exercise. You should be running for at least an hour every day, constantly pushing yourself further and I will help you do weight training afterwards." She kicks my pace up until I am speed walking. "After weights each day, I will teach you how to use weapons. We’ll practice only one at a time until you are a pro at one, then move onto the next."
I nod my head at her, even though I'm seriously stressing out about how I'm going to fit this into my school schedule.
She continues, turning my speed up again so that I am jogging. "After you’re exhausted from training, we will go into Gavin’s library and I’ll teach you about our kind, so that you can learn a bit about Seers."
I mull over her training regimen in my mind. "All right, how long will this take every day? I have classes until after noon on weekdays, and I have Kassy, my best friend and roommate who doesn't know anything about any of this."
"If we want to do it right, probably three hours a day.” I nod. “Have you thought about maybe telling Kassy who you really are? She is your best friend, and she cares about you, right?"
I shrug, starting to sweat a little. "Is that allowed, though? Wouldn't I be breaking some Seer rule, or something?"
She waves her hand in the air, erasing my outspoken doubt. "Sure, we have guidelines, but they aren't set rules. The leaders say we shouldn't tell humans our secrets, but they also know that we aren't hermits, and we have relationships with the rest of society, so sometimes you just have to be honest in order to keep a loved one." She turns up my speed on the treadmill again so that I am running now. "Really, our only actual rule is to not harm humans, considering our sole purpose is to keep them safe."
"I guess I'll have to tell her, then. I don't know how else to train for hours everyday unless Kassy knows what’s going on." I push the words out in between short breaths.
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"Great! Now, as your trainer, I want you on a dead sprint for ten minutes and then you can run at an even pace until your time is up. After that, we do weights!" She rubs her hands together, enjoying herself too much. "You won't be able to stand tomorrow, it'll be hilarious!"
"Woohoo." I say sarcastically, starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake picking her as my trainer.
Chapter 3
After two and a half exhausting hours of exercise and failing miserably at wielding a longsword, Alexa calls it a day and postpones study time until tomorrow. She drops me off back at home with an apologetic grimace on her face. I wave goodbye and drag my body inside to sit, or rather fall, down on the loveseat. My legs are numb, and my arms feel as if they weigh a hundred pounds each. If this is going to be an everyday thing, I’ll seriously need to increase my protein and calorie intake.
I wander around the pool house, waiting for Kassy to get home from her date with Liam, and nervous about the bomb I have to drop on her. I’m starting to psych myself out, but I know letting her in on my long-hidden secret is the best option if I want to keep her in my life. I just hope she doesn’t freak out too much or just think I’ve gone crazy.
As I’m exiting the shower, I hear the front door shut, so I dress fast and rush to meet Kassy in the living room. She and Liam are sitting close together on the couch, looking very cozy and giggling at something. I smile, glad to see them so happy together, but feel just a tiny twinge of jealousy over how easy it is for them.
I clear my throat, announcing myself before I end up witnessing something I’d rather not.
Liam turns and flashes me his cute, boyish grin. “Hey there, El. Kass said you have been going up into the mountains a lot lately. You’re not going to become some hippy and stop shaving your armpits, are you?” Kassy elbows him gently.
I give him a faux angry glare. “There’s nothing wrong with liking the outdoors, pretty-boy. By the way, you have more than enough armpit hair to go around, sasquatch,” I tease.
He is surprisingly hairy for the cute lanky type, even if it is all blonde.
Kassy stands and rolls her eyes. “You guys are seriously like brother and sister. I don’t want to have to live with all this bickering every day from now on. I really can’t pick sides.”
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Liam stands up and wraps his arms around her small waist. “So, you’re planning on seeing me every day, huh?”
She has to look up to see his face. “Is that a problem, babe?” She asks, her eyebrows raised in question.
He sighs. “Not at all. I actually really really like the sound of that.” He leans down and plants a kiss on her smiling lips. The kind of kiss that heats up the whole room and really should be saved for when they’re alone.
I look away and groan. “Is this what I have to look forward to from now on?” I pretend to gag at their show of affection.
Kassy’s giggle is squeaky as she steps back from Liam. “I’m sorry, El. I almost forgot you were here for a moment.” A small blush stains her cheeks.
“Well, thanks,” I say sarcastically.
Liam heads toward the door. “It’s all right, El. I’m leaving, so you don’t have to avert your eyes anymore. Well, maybe once more.” He gives Kassy one more slow sweet kiss and then winks at her. “Feel free to gossip all about me while I’m gone.”
The door shuts behind Liam, and Kassy turns back to me with apologetic eyes. “I really am sorry. I can’t help it, he’s just so freakin’ adorable.”
I hold up my hand to stop her apology. “It’s fine, mostly. And holy heck! Did the temperature get turned up in here or what?” I fan myself with a small notebook.
She turns beet red. “Aella!” She shouts at me, embarrassed. “He really does make me happy, and I feel like we are connected in some way, like it’s just meant to be.”
“That must be pretty great, to feel that way with someone,” I say, although I know exactly what she means. It’s how I felt when I spent time with Gavin, and I miss it, even after just one day without him.
Kassy sighs, lost in thought. “It’s awesome.” She comes out of her fog and heads to the kitchen where her smile vanishes.
“What’s wrong, Kass?”
She holds up a written address on a sticky note that was left on the counter. Above the address and in all caps reads “THE VINYL CLUB”. Kassy throws the paper in the garbage and clears her throat. “Did you hear about what happened to Max?”
I shake my head. “What did he do now?”
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“He died yesterday.” She stares down at the countertop. “I saw it on the local news app earlier.”
“Seriously? How did that happen?” I dread to think of Thrane getting his hands on Max.
Kassy pulls up the article for me on her phone. “Here. You can read it.”
I scan the page and see that Max’s body was found with no noticeable wounds about a mile from the college behind an abandoned home. The police say it has been a location for drug dealers in the past and that he likely died from an overdose.
“I’m sorry, Kass. I probably shouldn’t feel sad about this news considering what he did to us, but I kind of am.”
She takes her phone back and nods. “Honestly, I feel the same way. I don’t know what he was going through to make him act the way he did or especially go out and overdose on drugs, but I feel like he wasn’t that person.” She shrugs. “I guess I just didn’t know him well enough.”
I wrap her in a hug. “I am glad that you found someone who truly cares for you.”
She wipes her eyes. “Me too. There’s no need to look back now. Let’s move forward.
Speaking of which, how was your day with that, Alexa girl? Is she pretty cool?”
“Yeah, I think you’ll really like her.” I struggle to find the words for the bomb I need to drop on her.
She studies my face, reading me like a book in an instant. “El, what’s wrong now?”
I turn away from her and sit on the couch. Hesitantly, I wave her over. “Come sit with me, okay?”
r /> Her face reflects the epitome of concern as she slowly makes her way over. Without a word, she takes a seat on the couch and places her folded hands in her lap, waiting for me to say something else.
I suck in a deep breath and hold it for a moment before exhaling. “All right, um… So, are you ready to hear something that I have been keeping from you since we met all those years ago?”
Her face shows no emotion and after a moment she speaks softly, as if talking to a scared cat that will run away at any second. “I am, as long as you’re ready to tell me.”
“Are you sure, though? Kass, it’s a big deal and it could make you think differently about how you feel about our friendship.”
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She looks at me with disbelief. “I’ve told you, nothing you say will ever make me not want to be your sister. Come on, El. I’m ready.”
I take another deep breath and before I can change my mind, I begin blurting it all out.
“Okay, then. Since I was a little girl, I’ve had visions that make me black out and I see things before they happen, and I can even change them. Well, I just barely found out that apparently there are a lot of other people in the world like me. We are called Seers and I guess when one of us turns eighteen, they can start training to run super-fast, like Edward-from-Twilight-fast, and hear things that people are whispering from over a hundred yards away. It also turns out that my mother was a part of some family that used to live around here that are like me and they are all dead for some reason that I don’t know about yet. Gavin’s family are all Seers, and they have missions, or assignments where they protect people from freaking demons, Kass! Like, literally hell demons! They can fight really well and are insanely creepy. And now I’m going to be training to be a real Seer and kill things. It’s all really ridiculous and terrifying, but true, and I don’t know what to do or how to feel about any of it.” I talk so fast that I have to breathe heavily while I wait for her reaction. I’m fairly sure she missed everything I said because she doesn’t immediately get up and run away from her lunatic best friend.