Ten

 

 

My heart stopped. My hand dropped before it even reached her.

“Eli,” I repeated. “You’re engaged to Eli?”

“More than engaged really,” the other girl said. “They’ve known each other since they were kids. They were practically betrothed at birth. Isn’t that sweet?” she crooned and extended her hand. I took hers this time. “I’m Mara. He doesn’t know we’re in town. It’s a surprise.“

“It will be a surprise, I think,” I mused and tried to smile when all I wanted to do was hurl. “You know where he lives?”

“Yeah, we’re just headed to his place now.” She nudged the other girl and started to push her the way of Eli’s house. “Nice to meet you, Clara. Maybe we’ll see you around? We’ll be in town for a few days.”

“Yeah,” my mouth said but my head said heck no. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Bye.”

Eli was engaged, to a freaking gorgeous creature who was surprising him at his house as we speak. And he didn’t tell me. I marched across the street and slammed the door too hard. Harder than I wanted to but everyone was too busy to care.

My room was not the emotionless haven I wanted but I took it. I plopped face down on the bed and buried my face in my pillow. I wanted to cry but I refused. If I started, I’d spend all night doing so. It felt silly to cry over a guy I’d only known for a couple weeks anyway. But I just felt so connected to him. He cared about me, protected me, thought about me, he visited me at night when I closed my eyes and took me to sweet places. What other guy had ever done any of that and didn’t want anything in return?

The doorbell interrupted my internal tirade. I got up and glanced in the mirror. Ugh. I’d cried anyway. I wiped the smeared mascara from under my eyes and smoothed my hair back. The doorbell sounded again and I rolled my eyes and bolted down the stairs, grumbling out loud.

“I’m sorry. I forgot I’m the only one in this house equipped to answer the door.” Just then I saw Mrs. Ruth with peas smeared down her shirt, one kid on her hip and another one crying at her feet for more Goldfish crackers. “Sorry,” I told her, because she had definitely heard me mumbling. “I’ll get it.”

“Thank you.”

She made her way back to the kitchen and I opened the door and …what the…the nerve!

“Eli? What are you doing here?” I asked harshly and almost slammed the door in his face when I saw him register how upset I was. His mouth opened, his eyes blinked, staying shut a little too long to be normal. “Stop it!” I snapped.

“You’re doing it, not me,” he countered. “What is wrong with you? I told you I’d come over after I took care of some things at the house. Did I take too long or something?” Then he inched forward a little and his voice dropped to sympathetic levels. “Are you crying? What happened?”

He looked genuinely clueless. It had to be an act. He was apparently a Grammy award winner because he’d fooled me this whole time.

“Are you through with your visitor so soon?”

“What? What visitor?”

“You can drop it now, Eli. She told me.”

“Who?” he asked but then his face turned hard and I knew he knew. “Who?” he asked again but harder and even held the door open further with a hand.

“Who do you think?” I asked softly, begging myself to not cry in front of him. “Your fiancé.”

His face took a shocked direction and that was confession enough for me. I slammed the door and ran back upstairs. He didn’t ring the door bell again like I thought he might. Well, that was it. He knew I knew and he was done with me. Good riddance. Boys!

That was what my head said, but the rest of me was devastated.

Was I not worth it? Was I not something that a guy would find precious and worth the trouble of being honest and straight forward with? Mike had always been a jerk to me and every other female on the planet. Tate had been good to me but only to my face. Behind my back he was a cheating abusing idiot. And Eli. I thought I’d finally found someone who was going to be completely mine. I knew his secret! I thought that meant I was in a class all by myself, but apparently not.

I twisted the promise ring on my finger; the promise ring my mother had given me and made me promise her I’d follow it. She told me her and Dad’s story. About how she wished that they had waited until they’d gotten married but luckily, they’d still only ever been with each other. She said how it felt like her wedding night had been robbed from her because it was just like every other night, nothing special. She bought me this ring and made me promise.

I wondered if I’d ever find a guy who respected and loved me enough to want to wait for me. Instead, I found boys who lied and cheated and snuck around. It was ridiculous how much they didn’t care about my feelings at all. I felt so alone. I wanted to break down my mom’s bedroom door and fall into her lap to cry. Or knock on Dad’s office door and sit on his couch with him while he scratched my head and listened to me babble. But that was no longer an option for me and it sucked royally.

I decided to call my sister. We were never really close, but I needed to talk to someone, anyone. And these days, it seemed to be slim pickings.

“Fannie?” I said when she answered.

“Don’t call me that,” she grumbled. “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

“Sorry, Fay. Old habits.”

“What’s up?” she asked and I could tell she didn‘t really want to be talking to me.

“I, uh…I just wanted to talk.”

“About what? I’m a little busy.”

“About…do you miss Mom and Dad?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”

“Do you miss me?” I asked. Her silence was a ringing in my ears. “I miss you. I know we weren’t really close, but I miss having you around.”

“Pastor’s treating you good, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to complain about. You got lucky. Some of us had to fend for ourselves,” she said bitterly.

And there it was. The reason she had barely spoken two words to me since our parents death. She was angry that I got a place to stay and she had to re-enlist in the military, because she had no where else to go.

“I’m very grateful to them but I’m also a minor. I’m still in school. I’m not being treated better than you, I wasn’t given special privileges. Stop playing martyr, Fay. You always tried to act like I was spoiled.”

“You were spoiled, but that’s beside the point. I’m busy, I’m gonna go.”

“Whatever,” I grumbled.

“Look,” she sighed in exasperation, “I’m working, ok? I’ll call you later if you really need to talk to me and aren’t just sulking about a boy or something.”

“That’s what sisters are supposed to be for,” I countered.

“Not me. Bye, Clara.”

“Bye,” I said but she’d already hung up.

So, I hurriedly tried Addison’s number. If I didn’t get someone to talk to, I didn’t know what I’d do. Although, Addison hadn’t talked to me a whole lot since my parents died, she thought I blamed her on some subconscious level and avoided me like the uncomfortable situation I was, I still felt like I could call her. So I tried.

It rang and rang. Then she picked up.

“Clara? Something wrong?”

“No, I just…wanted to talk to you.”

“Clara, I love you but please don’t call me anymore. I can’t handle it. Do you know I’ve been in therapy for the past four months? Therapy, Clara!”

“Why are you in therapy?”

“Because of you!” She yelled and I had to inch the phone away from my eardrum. “You blamed me for your parent’s death. Do you know what that did to me?”

What the…was she really turning the tragedy of the death of my parents around for me to feel sorry for her?

“I never blamed you, Addy. You’re the one who brought that up, I never, ever said that I blamed you. We went out to a movie, there’s nothing wrong with that. If I hadn’t been gone with you I’d probably be dead too.”

“Oh! So now you’re suicidal? You wanted to die with your parents and I denied you that?” she yelled and once again I had to pull the phone back.

“What is wrong with you? Why are you doing this? I just wanted to talk to my friend, about a guy.”

“Well, I’m not your friend anymore, Clara, I can’t be. It’s too hard for me to hear your voice and know that we can never be friends like before.”

“Why can’t we? I wouldn’t have called you if I didn’t want to talk to you.”

“Please call Dee or someone else when you feel the need to unload on someone.”

Then she hung up.

It was the last straw, the final blow, the thingy that broke the camel’s back. The tears flowed and the sob raised and I bawled into my pillow. I hadn’t felt this abandoned and alone since my parents died. And I had absolutely no one to talk to about it.

But then, Eli was there. I knew he had dragged me into a Reverie and I tried to drag myself out. I pulled my eyelids up but I couldn’t be rid of it. I looked around and saw it was blank. We were nowhere. It was all white and nothing else.

“I thought I’d cheer you up by letting you pick the place,” he explained behind me. I turned to look at him. “Ah, Clara,” he said, seeing my state. His face fell. “I’m so sorry, I have so much to explain.”

“I don’t really want to hear it,” I answered quietly.

“I need you to,” he insisted. “You believe something that is a complete lie.”

“Eli, please don’t. Why do you feel like you have to torture me?”

“I’m not,” he assured and came close. He put his hands on the tops of my arms and spoke low. “Pick a place, anywhere you want.”

My mind immediately went to the night we’d spent in Pastor’s car at the docks. My cheeks burned at the memory and the fact that he knew why I chose this spot. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I love this place too.”

“Eli, what do you want?” I pulled from his grasp and went to stand at the edge, looking over the water. “I don’t think I can take much more tonight.”

“I need you to understand something.”

“What’s that?”

“That you are the most important person there is for me and I have never loved nor wanted anyone before I met you.”

“So,” I turned to look at him, “you were just going to marry her and not love her?”

“Don’t you remember what I said about our kind?” he answered slowly and came forward. “We don’t love. Angelina doesn’t love me,” he said and I hated her name coming out of his mouth. I grit my teeth. He huffed and rubbed his neck. “Sorry.” I shrugged so he went on. “I don’t love her. She doesn’t love me. It’s a game. My parents orchestrated our marriage when we were born. She has always had some fantasy about it and when I left, it just made it worse. She finds it all a game to play and, like my brother, tracks me from city to city. Sometimes she finds me, sometimes she doesn’t. Usually, I just head out of town as soon as I catch wind of her. But I have a dilemma this time.”

“What?”

“You.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” I said sulkily.

He inched closer.

“I blanked at your house when you told me and for that I’m sorry. I know what it must have looked like to you to say that to me and for me to not respond.” He inched even closer. “But I was so shocked that she’d found me so quickly. My brother must have tipped her off. And that she had talked to you... It wouldn’t be wise to provoke her and the idea of her speaking to you when I wasn’t there…made me sick with worry for you.” He inched the final inch. I was shivering in the cold, my arms crossed over my chest. Eli put his arms around me and slowly pulled me to him. He sighed when he realized I wasn’t going to fight him. It was as if my arms uncrossed themselves and wound around him. He looked down into my face. “Clara…you have to know how I feel about you by now. I’d never, ever, do anything to hurt you. The very thought of you in harms way makes me hurt. Please. I need you to believe me. Angelina is a hellish witch who cares for no one and nothing. Her sole want of me is to carry on our race and make her parents proud.”

“But what about the other one? They both lied? That’s what you’re saying?”

“Ah,” he said in understanding. “You must have also met my sister. Mara and Angelina travel together sometimes. She’s equally as unpleasant. I’m so sorry. I hoped we’d have more time before my past came to catch up with us.”

“Are you leaving?” I asked and was very unhappy with that thought. Even though I was still processing everything he was telling me.

“No,” he said vehemently. “Why do you always jump to the conclusion that I’m about to skip town?”

“Because I…” I sighed and pulled back some, twisting my ring. “I don’t…”

“I am not Tate,” he insisted. “Tate was an idiot who took for granted what he had. I have no intentions of doing that. That is, if you’ll still have me.”

“I don’t know. I’m so tired, Eli. I’m tired of feeling like I can’t trust anyone anymore.”

“You can trust me,” he said softly. “Tell me what I can do? I need to earn your trust, Clara. I want to.”

“I don’t know what you can do. I’m scared.”

“I know,” he said knowingly and I looked up to his face to see him. He was holding it back but I saw how hard he was straining. “Everything will be ok.”

“How?”

“Because I’m here and I’m not going to leave you. I could have left a hundred times already. I could have just used you and been on my way. I could have just left after Angelina and my sister showed up. But I’m here,” he insisted. “I’m here because I need to make sure you’re ok and safe. I want you, Clara.”

He was right. Why go through all this trouble? Why put up with my ex and come talk to me if there was a chance he could leave. He wanted to be here. I turned my ring and looked at him. Could he be the guy my mom always told me about? A guy who loved me and would do anything for me? Who loved me for me?

He saw me rubbing my ring and moved my fingers away as he took over. His thumb caressed it lovingly and I felt my anger melting away.

“I’m not going anywhere. Even if you won’t have me, I’ll still be here to make sure you’re safe-“

I cut off his response with a swift hug around his neck. He pulled me up off the ground and held me tightly.

“I want you to stay.”

“You believe me?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” I breathed. “This is going to sound very cheesy, but please don’t hurt me. I don’t think I can take anymore heartache right now.”

“You have nothing to worry about on that front,” he promised and put me down gently. He took my face in his hands. For a few seconds we just stared at each other with silent understanding. We were announcing that we were together, a couple, in for the long haul, we were defining the relationship. I pushed up on my tip toes to kiss him quickly and was awed at how right it all felt. It was like my body knew something I didn’t. He pulled back slightly. “I’ve been given a gift, a chance at a new life with you. There’s nothing in the world worth risking that.”

I nodded and smiled when he laced both our hands together. His fingers lovingly caressing mine.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wish I had let you explain before but…your sister and …the other one were very convincing.”

“That’s what they’re made to be like,” he replied. I nodded again and yawned. He smiled sadly. “I’ll take you home so you can sleep.”

I felt a spike of unease about that. The thought of Eli alone or me alone for that matter was unnerving after everything that happened. Eli’s grip tightened on mine and I watched him closely.

“Does it ever get easier for you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt positive emotion before. Your negative emotions affect me just like everybody else’s but your positive emotions have ten times the effect on me.”

“Is that normal?”

“Yes,” he said cautiously, “but, usually when we pair up with someone, they are…” he looked uncomfortable, “the mates are…they’re evil, like us. The Devourer feeds off the despair and hatred of a human who matches their own and it makes them all the more powerful because they are never starved. I’ve never heard of a Devourer feeling positive emotion before. It seems you and I are one of a kind.”

I smiled despite what he had just said. The end part was pretty good.

“I kind of like that,” I mused softly.

“Me too,” he said against my forehead. “Home,” he said and then I was standing in my bedroom again.

 

 

 

Eleven

 

 

 

After Eli left, I sat on my bed and contemplated the day. It was only about six o’clock by this point. Eli had promised that he’d come over, as planned, tonight for dinner. He left me so I could take a nap and think about everything that had happened. I was thinking alright…

About his tongue ring.

Was that shallow? After everything that happened I couldn’t get the feel of his tongue ring - a smooth little silver ball - as it moved against my tongue and lips, out of my head.

When he’d dropped me off in my room, he had kissed me for a very long time. He’d been afraid that I was done with him and needed assurance that I truly believed him and was going to wade through the craziness to make this work.

If I was completely honest, I was scared myself. I didn’t know what his sister and Angelina were up to or how to get rid of them. I didn’t know what to do about his brother either, but Eli assured me that he had no intentions of leaving me. We’d work this out somehow, and then he had kissed me silly. His hands on my lower back pressed and pulled to bring me close as I gripped his upper arms. When he had finally pulled back he said, “Do you feel that?”

I had no idea what he was talking about but he swiftly said his goodbyes and promised to see me in a couple hours.

I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes to accept the darkness. I knew I’d be alone when I closed my eyes and that was ok. If Eli was going to be coming to me and taking me to places when I closed my eyes at night, I’d have to start learning to take a nap or two.

 

~ ~ ~

 

The doorbell woke me. I jolted up and glanced in the mirror, smoothing my hair. I ran down the hall and stopped to take a calming breath - so it didn’t look like I’d just ran down the hall - and opened the door to find Eli with a little sly grin. I bit my lip and started to return it but once again I just knew.

“Enoch,” I said angrily. “What are you doing at my house?” I tried to keep calm. Knowing he could literally feel and taste my fear made it that much worse.

“So it’s true,” he said in an angry awe and came a little closer as if examining me. “I can feel it.”

“Feel what? What are you talking about?”

“You’re bonded with him.” He gazed at something between us with disgust. I watched him curiously.

“With Eli? What?” Enoch came even closer to completely invade my space. I sucked in a quick breath and he groaned slightly. “I’m not going to hurt you, silly. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. You don’t see this?”

He motioned between us. I looked and saw nothing but air and space. I looked at him questioningly.

“When we mate-“ he started but was interrupted by Mrs. Ruth.

“Eli! Nice to see you again.” She glanced between us. “Well, let him in, Clara, don’t just stand in the door, honey.”

“No,” I said quickly, “this isn’t Eli.”

She raised her eyebrow and gave me an amusing look.

“Ok,” she said sarcastically. “Eli, come on in. Dinner’s almost ready.”

“No really, this is Enoch, Eli’s twin.”

“Oh,” she said and looked closer to him. “Identical. Wow, I’d have never known. How nice that you came too. I’m sure we have plenty if you want to stay for dinner.” She held out her hand to him. “Ruth, the Pastor’s wife.”

“Enoch,” he said smoothly and took her hand, bringing it to his lips, before I could stop him, and kissing it. “Pleasure,” he rumbled.

Her face flamed a shade between red and pink.

“Oh,” she whispered. “Um.”

I pulled her hand free and glared at him.

“He’s not staying,” I assured her. “He just came by to say farewell as he skipped out of town. Isn’t that right, Enoch?”

“Well, it doesn’t look like there’s much fun to be had here anymore,” he explained flatly.

“Goodbye, then. Safe travels,” Mrs. Ruth said briskly before turning to go back to the kitchen.

“What is wrong with you?” I hissed at him.

“Evil being,” he said and pointed to himself. “If that’s not an excuse, I don’t know what is.”

“There’s no excuse for being a jerk.”

“But she’s the Pastor’s wife… Do you not understand the irony of this whole situation?” he said clearly enjoying himself. “One evil being at your door, kissing the hand of your adopted mother who’s married to the Pastor with whom you live. You, the sweet innocent unscathed mate of my twin brother who renounces what he is but is also…an evil being. I mean, you can’t write this stuff.”

“Just get out of here,” I said and tried to shut the door.

“’Fraid I can’t do that, love,” he said sweetly as his hand snapped out swiftly to hold the door open.

“Don’t call me that.”

“But you’re family now,” he said sarcastically and jerked me forward with a hand on my wrist. He pulled me out the door and pushed me against the house side, my wrist still in his surprisingly gentle grasp. “Don’t you understand what I’ve been trying to tell you?”

“No, I don’t.” I tried to pull away but he held tight. “You’re hurting me.”

“No, I’m not.” He grinned and inched forward. His face was almost touching mine and I held my breath. “You little liar,” he breathed and I felt it wash against my lips.

It was true, he wasn’t hurting me, but I wasn’t comfortable like this either.

“Let me go,” I commanded in a whisper.

“Not until you hear what I have to say.”

“What?” I said in exasperated annoyance. “What do you have to say?”

“That you’re in trouble,” he said low and foreboding.

Before I could speak I heard a growl off to the side. We both looked in that direction to see Eli. I wasn’t surprised to see him. He’d told me he was coming over, but I was surprised to see his face at least a shade too red to be normal and the veins in his neck and arms were blue. Yes, blue and bulging. He shook with rage and I felt a second’s spike of fear as he speared his brother with a glare.

His gaze immediately shot to mine and he visibly calmed; his veins seemed to be less prominent and his fist shook less as he heaved a long breath.

“Don’t be scared of me, Clara,” he said gruffly.

“Have you looked at yourself, brother?” Enoch chimed happily but didn’t release me nor back away. “I haven’t seen you this enraged since I stole that girl from you in Philadelphia.”

“That was over a hundred years ago and I was stupid back then. I am not the same, as it seems to so easily escape your grasp, brother,” he spat.

“I’m not the only one who lets things slip their grasp.” He leaned back a little but held me firmly to the wall. Eli’s eyes shifted to the space between us and his eyes widened to impossible half dollars. Then his gaze settled on me.

Anyone else would have been frightened out of their mind. But you see, the look on Eli’s face was something indescribable. The way he felt for me, the affection, the care, the...love, was all over him as if I could see it written in ink there.

“Clara,” he said, his voice was almost a beg.

I didn’t understand what was going on but, I wasn’t scared of it either. Enoch interrupted anything that was going on between us.

“You see?” He turned to look at me again and sneered. “I couldn’t hurt her even if I wanted to. So you can relax, little girl.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked in a harsh whisper.

“You don’t see that?” Eli asked.

“See what?”

“Come here, Clara. Enoch, let her go.”

Enoch’s hand gently released my wrist and he backed away. I made a swift move to Eli who had completely returned to himself. He was no longer filled with rage, and his eyes never left my face.

I let my fingers smooth the skin of his neck over a vein, plump it pumped his blood, but was invisible now. I asked the silent question with my eyes as I took my hand away.

“Forgive me for that. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“What was that?”

“It was protection,” Enoch said across the porch. “He thought I was hurting you.”

I ignored him.

“What do you see that I don’t see?” I asked Eli.

“We’re bound,” he said, barely a whisper, in fact I really just read his lips.

“What does that mean,” I asked in the same fashion.

“It means that Enoch is correct. He can not hurt you…because he too is bound to you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There’s a string…” His fingers moved between us into clear air and nothingness. “Why can’t you see it?”

“A string?”

“There’s a barbed strand here…between you and I and between you…and Enoch.”

I gulped. I glanced at Enoch and he was stoically watching me. He didn’t look like he was surprised so he’d apparently already seen it. I looked back to Eli. He touched my face softly, almost as if seeing if I was real. I heard Enoch tell him, “No, don’t,” but I didn’t understand why. Then my gaze snapped alive with a new brightness.

Although it was darker I could see better than before. Like it wasn’t dark but a bright sunny day. The colors of Eli’s white shirt and black button up and the grass below us was contrasted to high definition levels. But most importantly, I saw the string attached around my wrist and his. It was black and barbed as he said, like it hooked into us like barbed wire, taut and ridged, but I didn’t feel anything. It had a haze around it and the ethereal look of it made it seem smoky and unfocused.

His fingers barely caressed my cheek and then slid down my neck and arm. When he looked back up his face changed. He tilted his head to look more closely into my eyes. His jaw dropped slightly and a stunned breath blew across my face.

“I told you to stop,” Enoch said behind us. “Idiot.”

“What?” I said confused. I felt a prickle of unease shoot through me that whatever he was going to say wouldn’t be something I’d be thrilled about.

“My eyes.”

“What about them?”

“Your…I completely forgot. Your eyes…are like mine now.”

“What do you mean?” My heart pounded. “They’re purple?”

“No, they’re green, but you can see like me. When I touched you I gave you my perspective. The green is just a backlash, some kind of mishap or something. We have no idea why they turn green instead of purple but it happens when the two bound ones touch for the first time. You noticed the sight?”

“Yes,” I answered and looked around again, “everything is brighter and more focused.”

“How are we going to explain this to your guardians?” he mused more to himself.

“Wait,” I asked in my most calm voice. “My eyes are really green? Really?”

“Yes,” he nodded solemnly, “and they’ll stay that way.”

I wanted to panic and I wanted to do…something. But I knew my reaction was important right now. The way Eli viewed me and handled me from now on hinged on my reaction to this moment; my reaction to something supernatural and awe inspiring happening to us. We were bound somehow. And that part of the equation thrilled me. It was the other stuff that was making me want to bolt. I thought long and hard about my next statement. One, to make sure I wasn’t lying to him and the words were true and two, to make sure my voice was calm before I said them.

“Well…I’ll tell them I got contacts or something. I’ll tell them I was tired of blue,” I tried to come to a solution when really, weirdly, strangely, I found it oddly satisfying that I was in possession of something that only Eli could give me; his view of the world.

It hadn’t really hit me that this might change my world entirely. It scathed by my thoughts that things may be different in every way but Eli seemed to function, so could I, right?

“Maybe,” he thought, “but they are really green, Clara. In the mean time, put these on.” He took the aviator glasses hanging on his shirt collar and put them on me. I grimaced and wrinkled my nose. “What?” he asked me, his lip twitching as it fought a smile.

“Aviators are so not my style.”

He laughed and smoothed my hair before saying, “Please try not to be such a girl right now.”

“I am a girl,” I countered.

“A girl who looks fine in my sunglasses,” he insisted with a little smirk. “Besides, we have bigger things to worry about.”

I looked back down between us to see the barb connecting our wrists and looked back up to Eli’s face.

“What does this mean? What is this?”

“It’s a linkage,” he explained in a soft voice. “A bond.”

“Like what you were talking about before? Because I’m your…mate?”

“Not quite,” he answered carefully.

“Tell her, brother,” Enoch said snidely. “Tell her what it means.”

“Shut up.” He looked at me closely and carefully. His face was lit with a glow I’d never seen before. He almost smiled. “Later,” he promised in a low rumble.

“Why not now?” I insisted. “I’m not exactly known for my patience.”

Enoch laughed, “Oh we can see that.”

“Shut up,” Eli told him again and looked back to me. “I will explain, but not right now. Besides…” He stepped back and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Pastor, good to see you again.”

Pastor had just turned the corner and look up startled.

“Oh. Eli, hello. And…” He looked at Enoch with a hilarious expression. “Eli?”

I giggled nervously and both Eli and Enoch chuckled.

“This is Eli’s brother, Enoch,” I told him.

“Nice to meet you, Preach,” Enoch stated and shook his hand. “I’m just visiting my little brother here from out of town.”

“I thought you were twins?”

“We are. But I was born first.”

“By 6 minutes and he never lets me forget it,” Eli offered. He extended his hand too and smiled. “Good to see you again, sir.”

“You too, son. You staying for dinner?”

“If the Mrs. will have me.”

“I’m sure she will. Enoch?”

I started to butt in and state that he was absolutely not staying but he declined.

“Nah. I’m on a strict diet, but thanks anyway.”

“Ok,” Pastor said easily but quirked a brow at him. “Do you mind if I ask where you’re from? Your accent is more pronounced than Eli’s. Where did you boys grow up?”

“Amsterdam,” Enoch answered while Eli said, “Africa.”

Eli laughed and then said, “We moved around a lot, lived all over. I guess that’s why our accents are hard to place.”

“Huh,” Pastor said. “Well, good to meet you, Enoch.”

“And you as well,” he answered slowly.

Pastor turned to look at me and cocked his head, looking thoroughly amused.

“Sunglasses at night? Do I want to ask?”

“I wouldn’t, Pastor,” I said grinning, trying to deflect. “It’s a Diva thing.”

He laughed and nodded. As soon as he went inside I turned to stare at both of them.

“Answers,” I demanded.

“All in good time, princess,” Enoch said grinning. “You need to enjoy your family dinner and I need to…trick some silly girl into feeding me. We’ll meet somewhere tonight and discuss it all.”

I groaned and turned away, disgusted. Eli grasped my fingers and I looked at the barbed string connecting us all. I turned back to the door. Although I was in awe of the whole situation, I didn’t want to think about how Enoch got his kicks.

“Get out of here,” Eli told him. I heard footsteps retreating and then Eli’s arms came around me from behind. “I’m sorry.”

There was so much in his sorry; hurt, love, trust…regret. I turned in his arms and looked at him. What was he sorry for? As if he read my mind he answered me.

“I’m sorry for dragging you in my world.”

“I’m not exactly kicking and screaming,” I said coyly.

He didn’t laugh at my joke. He lifted my hand and placed it to his cheek. He inhaled the skin at my wrist and rubbed his scruffy chin on my palm. He then kissed it and held on to me as he pulled me inside to have dinner with my family without another word.