So I'm up in Park City for UEA, and you're all going to be shocked by this.... save Erin. I complain to her daily. I'M BORED. It seems like there's really nothing to do here. No one to talk to besides the family, and I've yet to find a cute boy to stare at while I've been hanging out in the hot tub. On the less boring side, I watched the Nordic Ski Club team train for the Olympics today when we went to the Olympic Park. If you don't know what the Nordic jump is, it's the one where they go down that really steep hill, jump off and lean way forward with their skiis in a V for distance. It's what you can play on Wii Sports. It was amazing to watch them jump! And the best part is, it didn't have to be snowing for them to practice, so I wasn't freezing!!! Anyway, here's chapter twenty-six.


Chapter twenty-six
　
Stepping off the plane, London seemed a more welcoming place than it had the first time. I wasn't looking for someone, wasn't meeting someone, but walked off the plane as if I had lived here for years. Our group gathered our luggage and left the building, getting no further than twenty feet out the door before we met a familiar face.

Parked at the curb was a sleek black Corvette, and in the driver seat, relaxing against the door, was Vance. He tipped his head, looking over the top of his dark aviators, smiling; his smile however wasn't for everyone. Just me. Cam walked around the back of the car and tossed his bags into the back seat. Vance's smile faultered for a moment, but it came back quickly.

"'Ello, love." he said, addressing me, "Care for a lift?"

I glanced around. Stitch was stiff, as he always was when Vance came around, and Kitty seemed bitter, which was unusual. I hadn't seen her act like that around Vance before; she had always been polite around him.

"We were just going to hail a cab," I said weakly. His words from my dream echoed in my head again. Yes, love. I will always answer your questions. No matter which lifetime we're in. I still needed answers. I didn't know if he would be able to answer them, but he was all I had.

"You want to ride back to the school in a smelly cab?" He shrugged, leaning forward and turning the key.

The engine roared. "Suit yourself,"

Get in the car. The little voice that acted irrationally was back. It always came back when he was around.

Nervously, I glanced at Stitch. He was watching me, waiting to see what my discision was. In the split second of indescision I tossed my bags into the back seat and opened the door and slipped in. Vance glanced at Cam's bags, and then at Cam, still standing by the back door. Cam rolled his eyes and heaved his bags out of the car, and no sooner than his foot touched the curb Vance had sped out of the drive. The wind whipped my hair around my face. I reveled in the sensation. I loved convertables.

"Enjoy your time back home?" Vance asked, glancing over at me.

I sighed. "Most of it, yeah." I replied.

"Most of it? What didn't you enjoy?"

"There was just some drama, nothing major."

"That's not what I heard," He glanced at me again, knowing I was hiding something.

I could see the school coming up; it was now or never. "Well I'd love to know what you heard, just not here.
Is there somewhere we can go? I don't really want to be around the others right now."

His smile widened. "My doors are always open for you, love." He sped past the school, waving at a group of girls on the corner.

We drove for another twenty minutes, leaving the bustling school town into a quieter private community. We drove down a long driveway, lined with tall thin trees toward a huge manor house.

"Do you live here?" I asked him, in awe of the house.

"Yes'm, my brother and sister and I." he replied, "Before you ask, my parents are alive and well. They hate each other, don't bother coming home, but pay the bills. We can't really complain."

We pulled up to the doors, parking at the bottom of the stairs. Vance got out of the car, walked around to my door and opened it, grabbing my bags and brought them inside with us.

"Looks like it's going to rain." he commented, looking up at the sky. The clouds had been slowly turning gray since we left the airport.

He set my bags by the door, and offered me his hand. Thinking nothing of it, I put my hand in his, and let him lead me into the house. It was large, just as Stitch's had been. I wondered vaugely for a moment if their families had always been rich. With houses like these, the answer was probably yes. He walked close to me, holding my hand against his side, smiling. As we walked, he explained that the house had been given to his mother by their grandmother, and after his parents began fighting it became a place they couldn't stand. So, they gave it to the kids and went off on their own to do heaven knows what.

"Do you ever get lonely?" I asked as we entered a large kitchen.

"I used to, but now I just roll with it." He sighed, "Its not so bad, I've got plenty of friends."

"And loads of ways to entertain yourself, isn't that right, brother." Another voice had entered the conversation. It wasn't one I recognized. I turned around to find another boy standing in the corner of the room, leaning against the doorframe. "Nice to meet you," he said, smiling. I half expected him to bow. "I'm Jack. Vance's older, and more attractive brother."

I blushed. "It's nice to meet, you. I'm Laela."

Vance glared. "Hardly appropriate behavior, Jack." His voice sounded cold, but a hint of a playful challenge lay beneath it. "I've got no intention of letting this girl go." He gave my hand a squeeze.

I blushed, realizing my hand was still in his. He could sense my surprise, and winked, causing me to blush deeper. Jack crossed the room, a contemplative smirk on his lips. He stepped up to the counter, grabbed an apple and tossed it into the air before taking a bite. His blue eyes sparkled, just as Vance's did when he entertained a private thought. I stared at him. He looked vaugely familiar, as if I had seen him before, perhaps just in passing, but I couldn't help but think I knew him. Like Vance, his eyes were deep and penetrating blue, his skin was perfect, but unlike his brother , Jack's hair was dark brown.

"I'm sorry, but have I met you before?" I asked, stepping away from Vance, and toward the counter.

"Perhaps once or twice," Jack replied, taking another large bite from his apple. "Why haven't you ever said hello?"

"I--"


"Don't you have to get to work, Jack?" Vance growled, nodding his head toward the door.

Jack turned to look at the clock against the wall, sighed and took another bite as he walked around the counter and out of the room. Vance sighed, loudly, and walked to the fridge as thunder rumbled overhead.

"Hungry? Long flights always make me hungry." He asked, rifling through the shelves.

With the mention of food, I realized how hungry I actually was. "Yes, actually." I chuckled, putting my hand on my stomach.

"Any preferences?" Lightning cracked, "I'm a good cook, you don't have to be worried about anything."

"I'm up for anything, surprise me."

His eyes narrowed as he smiled mischeviously. "Whatever you say, love." He began pulling things out of the fridge and pantry. "Now, while I cook, why don't you tell me what's bothering you."

"Well, I told you there was some drama..." I sighed. "I came home excited to see my friends, to see my family, but most of all I was excited to see Tony." A lump rose in my throat thinking about Tony. I could feel the tears coming on; I wasn't going to cry in front of Vance. "So one morning I decided to surprise my friends by showing up at school during their lunch break. Everyone was there, well everyone but Tony. He got there soon enough, and I was so overjoyed when I saw him, I ran to him, like they do in the movies, and we kissed and I thought he was stiff, but I thought it was just because he was surprised to see me. Turns out that wasn't the only reason. All of the sudden Victoria, a girl I shared all my secrets with... my best friend..." I felt tears slip down my cheeks despite my efforts to keep them down, they began to flow heavily. "Tony--he was--he cheated on me with my bitch of an ex best friend!"

I curled over the counter and began sobbing. I hardly knew Vance and yet here I was bawling on his counter. He stepped away from the food and walked around the counter, took my shoulders in his hands and gently lifted me until I was looking at him. He smiled, wiped away the tears from my eyes and kissed the top of my head then went back to the food.

"I'm real sorry, love. Is there anything I can do?" he asked, stirring whatever he had in his pot.

I sniffed a few times. "Let me cry out all my problems on your counter?"

"Anything for you, Laela." his voice was so sincere I felt a warm rush come over me.

I blubbered to him about all of my problems and how I wished things could have gone differently. He listened, offering advice when he could between my sobs, and twenty minutes later sat down next to me with a bowl of amazing looking pasta. While I ate, he told me about one of his old girlfriends who had done the same thing. After his story, the two of us ate in relative silence. When I finished, the storm outside was raging; thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, rattling the windows. With a huge rumble of thunder I jumped, startled by the noise. Vance chuckled and helped me off the stool and into the living room where we sat together on the couch and I continued to cry into his chest. I curled into a ball, and was jabbed by my cell phone.
Yanking it out of my pocket, I realized I hadn't turned it on since we got off the plane.


As soon as my phone powered up, it exploded with messages. 52 new text messages, and seventeen missed calls. Holy crap, what's the emergency? I opened my inbox, and my world shattered. The first message was from my mother: Laela, I'm so sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, and have to tell you this way. Tony passed away today in a terrible accident. Please call me when you get this. I need to make sure you're okay. --Mom. I went into complete shock; I wouldn't believe that. Tony couldn't be dead. Shaking my head furiously, I quickly went through the rest of the messages. All of them said the same thing.
Tony was dead. Vance didn't say anything, but looked at me, searching for answers. I turned the screen of my phone toward him, showing him the message from my mother.

"Oh, Laela. I'm so sorry, are you... damn I know you're not okay. What can I do for you?" He closed me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest.

Everything hit me at once. My world shattered; I never thought anything like this could happen to me. I couldn't think. I wanted to die. I felt as if i were responsible for Tony's death. I bawled into his chest, clutching his shirt tightly in my hands. A sudden rush of emotions flooded over me. I went from feeling awful, to suddenly enraged. I wanted to destroy something, I wanted to throw somthing against a wall, break it, rip something to shreds. As the anger coursed through my veins my grip on his shirt tightened, and then something crazy happened. The glass cabinents in the kitchen shattered and the lightning intensified outside.
My head shot up off his chest, staring at the kitchen. Surprised by the destruction, Vance turned to look at the kitchen.

"What... just happened?" I asked. My head was buzzing. I felt like I was on drugs, and this was my high. My eyes were still clouded from the tears, which were still flowing, dispite my surprise.

He looked at me, a knowing smile on his face. "Laela, answer my next question honestly." His eyes were intense. "Something happened in Florida, and now you don't feel the same, right? Everything is suddenly more intense, right? The air feels charged with power. You feel powerful."

How did he know? Slowly I nodded my head, staring at him. "Yes, I don't know what it is, or how it happened, but I feel different now. Do you know what's happening to me?"

Without saying a word he stood up and walked into the kitchen. "Call your mother, talk to her, I'll clean up in here, and then we'll talk."

Absently I nodded, and dialed my mom's number. It rang a few times before she picked up. "Laela, baby, are you okay?" she asked before I could even get a word in.

"No, mom, I'm not." I admitted, and began bawling again. "What happened?"

She took a deep breath. "Tony was driving home from school and lost control of his car and spiraled into a power box. His car exploded on contact. If its any consolation, he died quickly."

I shook my head furiously, still unable to believe what had happened. Crashing into a powerbox and exploding? No one should die that way. "How's his family doing?" I asked, swiping furiously at the tears flowing down my cheeks. "When is the funeral?"

"His family is devistated. His mother is a wreck, and his father hasn't come out of the den since they came home from the morgue. They haven't set a date for the funeral, but we'll buy you a ticket to fly in for it."

I nodded, though I knew she couldn't see it. The storm raged outside the house, but it was nothing as compared to my inner storm. It was ripping me apart. I needed something to take all the pain away. To make it disappear.

"Thanks."

"Are you going to be okay? Do you have your friends around? Have Kitty give you a hug since I can't. I have to get back to work, but I'll have my phone. Call if you need anything."

"I will,"

"A long bubble bath should help, and some Ben and Jerry's. Goodbye honey. I love you."

"Love you too mom." I hung up and started crying agian. I couldn't keep it in. I threw myself onto the couch.

After who knows how long, Vance tapped my shoulder and sat down next to me. I sat up, wiping my eyes.
He handed me a glass with a small amount of deep red-brown liquid in it. I took it, staring at the glass. I hadn't had any alcohol since I had kicked my heroin habit. Those had been dark times, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go back.

"A drink helps every once in a while." Vance said, swallowing all the liquid in his glass. "Takes the mind off of your problems."

I swirled the liquid in the glass and raised it to my lips. It burned all the way down my throat. "What is this?"

"Burbon, it's all we drink here. Except Clarette. She prefers wine."

"Who's Clarette?" I took another drink. I could already feel the buzz. I had a low tolerance for alcohol, one or two drinks could get me completely wasted. I needed to be careful.

"My sister, she's around here somewhere." The thunder rumbled. "Drink, it will help."

Without much more thought, I finished the glass. He poured me some more, and finished off his second glass.

"You told me you felt different in Florida, and I'm going to tell you why. It's probably going to sound crazy, but trust me." He put his hand on my thigh, leaning in. His eyes were intensely sincere. I couldn't help but to believe him. "You're not human, Laela. You've got powers that no human could ever possess."

I took another drink. The buzz was stronger now. "You've said this to me before."

He looked taken aback. "I... what do yo mean?"

"In a dream I had. We were married, and you..." the burbon was already clouding my thoughts. "you were called Vincent, and I was Lilly or something.... you told me I was a powerful sorceress... more powerful than any other sorceress..." I hiccuped, taking another drink. "You promised to help me unlock my powers and we..." I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"That dream... did it feel any different from your other dreams?"

I thought for a moment, but thinking made my brain hurt. "I don't know. I've had lots of those dreams, but I
don't understand why."

"You will, I promise." His hand was on my cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "I'll show you the answers."

He kissed me, his lips tasted like burbon and honey. Kissing him made my body feel electrified, empowered.
He took my empty glass and set it on the table without breaking the kiss and drew me closer. Somewhere in my mind I knew this was wrong. I had just lost Tony, I needed space to mourn, but it felt right. I breathed in, pressing myself closer to him until I had moved into his lap. I strattled his hips, putting both of my hands on the sides of his face, kissing him as if I had been doing this for hundreds of years. We felt right together, the way my body felt against his, his hands exploring my body, tangling his fingers into my hair. He pulled my elastic out, releasing my hair from the ponytail. My curls fell around my shoulders, and his hand curled into it.

We stayed like that for nearly an hour until the grandfather clock in the corner of the room chimed midnight. I broke away, staring at the clock. Vance picked up the bottle of burbon and took a swig, offering it to me with a smile. I took a long drink, wincing as the burn passed through my throat into my stomach. The room started to spin, and my head was cloudy. Vance began kissing my neck, drawing out a long moan from my throat. His hands rested on my hips.

"Laela, come with me." He whispered against my skin.

"Where?" I breathed, throwing my head back. He was quickly unbuttoning my cardigan, drawing it off my body and tossing it to the floor.

"Somewhere more private."

I nodded my head, and we stood up. I could hardly keep my balance, wobbling around, stumbling back and forth. He put his arm around my back, his other went quickly to my legs, lifting me off the floor and holding me to his chest. My arms went around his neck, and I kissed him again. He began walking, but didn't break away. I was impressed somewhere in my mind, but couldn't be bothered with anything but kissing him.
Before I realized it, we were in a dark room. He set me down on a bed, and moved on top of me. One hand was on my waist, and the other was beside my head, bracing him. His hand was warm against my bare skin as he slowly moved my cami upward. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it greedily upward. He smirked through his kiss, breaking away to throw his shirt to the floor. His body was hard with muscle. I shivered; he had moved my cami up around my neck, exposing my black lace bra. I sat up, pulling the top over my head and tossing it into the darkness. He pressed his body against mine, and my mind exploded. I craved him. I never wanted this sensation to end.

"Vance," I whispered breathily. He murmured against my skin. "You promised to show me..."

His lips moved down my jaw, travelling the length of my neck and down my chest. He left a trail of kisses down my stomach, and stopped to unbutton my pants.

"Then let me show you..."