Infinity chronicles book.., p.7
Infinity Chronicles Book Two, page 7
I nod my head biting my lip, eager now that I have something else to focus on other than Dante and Delaney. It’s not long before Ares turns into the front drive of Turtle Creek. Even though I haven’t been here in a few days, everything looks exactly the same.
There are a few long-term trailers parked around the pond, along with Mark’s mobile home. We creep past the front area slowly, taking the narrow drive toward the back where my mom parked. I didn’t complain, never did when she wanted to be as far away from others as she could. I was just happy we weren’t too far from the bathhouse.
We pass by the storage lot where local people stow their trailers and campers for the cooler months, or if they don’t have the room at home, and I spot our old motor home. The yellowish paint has faded into an off-white, but the stripes of orange and brown are still vibrant. I notice nothing out of place as we slow to a stop a few feet from the rear end of the RV. I never mastered backing the thing into these narrow spots, but Mom didn’t care.
“You good?” Ares asks when I make no move to get out of the SUV.
“Yeah, it feels like it’s been longer than a few days since I’ve been here. It feels empty, like it’s been out here for years.” A few weeds around the blacktop pad we parked on are rising up to the underside of the motor home. Usually they’d be matted down with my coming and goings, between grocery shopping and laundry mat, but the motor home hasn’t moved in a least two weeks. That only adds to the abandoned feel.
Grabbing the door handle I purse my lips, should I ask Dante to stay outside? It makes little since to deny Ares entrance. He’s been in there several times already, but Dante hasn’t. There’s no real reason he needs to now. I also don’t want to issue him an order, especially after what we were just talking about, I don’t really want to talk to him at all. Not to mention Ares has probably already told all of them or showed them the inside of the camper with his cameras.
Dante opens the rear door and exits, so I do the same. Ares comes around to our side and we all just stare at the only home I’ve ever known. When I take a step forward, Ares grabs the back of my neck. “We go in first, but I want you to really look around. Someone has been here, we need to know who it was, and what they were doing here.”
I nod, falling back behind them as they approach the door. “Dante, anything?” Ares asks, looking over the screen door like it might be booby-trapped. Dante’s shoulders hunker down low as he closes his eyes and inhales deeply. His nose pinches up in a sneer as his head moves to the left, and then to the right.
“There’s something there, but it’s just on the edges. Like I get a hint of it, but not the entire profile. I’d know it if it was someone familiar, or if I smelled it again.” Dante opens his eyes, they’re more golden than normal and the pupils have shrunk down to a tiny pinprick. “Whoever it was tried to cover their scent, and I’m only getting one,” he adds letting his eyes fall closed again.
“Maybe it was my mom?” I ask, a hopeful note in my voice.
“I would know if it was her, she’s all over everything inside,” Dante answers, taking a few steps closer to the door.
“Wait, you’ve been inside?” I shuffle my feet. My worries about him seeing how I lived is needless now that I know.
Dante looks over at me, his eyes squinting a bit. “Yeah, we helped Ares with the camera setup.”
“Oh.” I nod my head, looking away. They were all here, what were they thinking? Did they all talk about my tiny little house on wheels and feel sorry for me? I can’t stand the thought of them pitying me. My back straightens, and I walk over to Ares who’s still examining the door.
He’s completely absorbed in his task and he barely notices my approach. “What are you looking for?”
“Anything, I want to make sure nothing has been tampered with. My equipment is still functioning, but I need to make sure it isn’t compromised.” Ares stands, and looking over his shoulder, he tells Dante, “See if you can get anything else, walk around the trailer.”
A few seconds later Ares produces my key from his pocket, and until that moment I hadn’t even realized I didn’t have it. Something that was so vital to me such a short time ago, and now I didn’t even know, or care, where it was.
“Let me have a quick look around, wait here for a second. I’ll call you when I’m ready for you,” Ares announces as he steps into the camper without waiting for my response. I look over my shoulder, noting Dante isn’t in sight. Inching up on my toes, I peer into the open door, watching Ares and his ever-present shadow move around the small space. I don’t know if I’m more aware of his shadow, or if it actually takes on a life of its own.
“Come on in,” Ares calls from inside. Entering, I take a quick look around. Nothing looks out of place, but something feels off. Glancing over, I see Ares coming from the back area, my bedroom. His brows are drawn down as he peers around. Crossing my arms over my stomach, I rub the exposed skin of my forearms. “What do you think?” he asks as he looks around.
Scanning the room again I narrow my eyes. There’s something here, something that isn’t supposed to be, but I don’t know how, or where to find it. “It feels…” Dante hops up into the RV before I finish and his head jerks back like something hit him.
“Fucking weird.” Dante begins to shake, the quivers starting at his head and working down his body.
“Off,” I finish. “Something feels off, but I don’t know what. It’s like I can hear something, a whirring sound, or feel a buzzing vibration.” I spin around slowly and close my eyes.
“That might be my surveillance equipment,” Ares offers, stepping over to the kitchen area, he feels along the top of the built-in cabinet and retrieves a small black object. Moving in his direction, I shake my head in denial before even reaching him. The feeling isn’t coming from what he’s holding. I didn’t even know I could pinpoint it until he offered the little device.
“That’s not it.” I turn toward the front of the motor home. The driving area has been sectioned off for ages. Mom hung those heavy drapes and kept them closed all the time, but the weirdness is coming from up there. “It’s something up there.” I point to the curtain, uncertain if I want to go up there. The buzzing feeling is intensifying, making my ears ring with pressure.
Dante slinks up beside me, his head tilting in different directions like a dog. “I can feel it too.” Making his way past me, he finds the part in the center of the drapes and pulls the heavy fabric back. Holding my breath, I expect to find a big machine, like a computer network or something, instead I see a small white ornate box, very similar to the one my mother kept her ring in.
Dante is still staring at it as Ares brushes past me to get a better look. When he reaches down like he might grab it I shout. “Don’t touch it.” I don’t know why I don’t want him touching it, but I don’t want anyone of us near that thing. There’s no way that thing is just a simple box.
Dante and Ares both turn to look at me. “Do you know what it is?” Dante asks, his eyes already back on the box.
“No, I don’t. But it looks a lot like a box my mom had, but hers never felt like that. At least it never did to me before.” I back away from the box without any real reason other than I feel like something about it is wrong.
Dante backs away, coming over to stand near the door with me. Ares picks up a pencil from the dinette table and gets closer to the box. “Are you sure this isn’t your mom’s box, what’s different?” Ares questions taking measured steps near the box.
Wringing my hands together, I watch as he uses the pencil eraser to open the lid of the box. “I know it’s not the same box. Hers was round with a little gold bow painted on top. Is there anything inside?”
The lid swings back on tiny gold hinges, but I can’t see inside. Ares’s shoulders fall and he turns to face us. “It’s empty.”
I take a few steps toward him and look around him. It’s not that I doubt him, but how could a small marble box be causing this feeling of dread in me? Dante wraps his hand around my fingers. I look back at him and there’s a small part of me that wants to shun his touch of comfort, but a bigger part of me wants to grab on to him with both hands and not let go.
Keeping my hand in his, I make my way over to Ares where he stands to the side so I can get a better look. True enough, the box is empty. The smooth bottom is lined with thin grey veins, the fake marble giving off an iridescent sheen.
“You said your mom had a box like this. Where is it?” Ares asks after giving me a few seconds to look over the trinket. There’s no way I’m touching it though.
“I think it’s in the bathroom. Maybe my room, I can’t remember if I put it away or not after I took it from her hiding spot.” Glad to have a reason to get away from the box, I turn and head into the minuscule bathroom. I have to lie on the floor halfway into the hall, so I can check the underside of the sink cabinet. Mom’s box isn’t wedged back into the usual spot. Getting to my feet, I slide the thin curtain aside so I can see the bedroom area. I glance around the room quickly, there isn’t much to see other than a few odd pieces of clothing I never took still piled on the bed, and a couple sheets of loose paper. Dismissing all that, I head over to the built-in shelves and drawer. This is the only other place I would have put it. Digging into the back of the drawer I feel around expecting to find it. Eventually I pull the entire drawer out, there isn’t any box, just a few mismatched socks.
Spinning, I pull the covers off the bed and turn the pillows over. I close my eyes, thinking back to the moment I took the box out from under the cabinet. I remember thinking if the ring was gone then so was she. Asking myself how long it had been gone. But I don’t remember what I did with it later, did I put it away, leave it lying on the bed, the counter?
I search through the room, coming up empty-handed. “I can’t find it.” I finally admit.
Dante has been helping me sort through everything and he drops the blanket back on the bed, bracing his hands on his hips. “When was the last time you remember seeing it?”
Dropping to the bed in defeat, I mumble, “Right after Mom left, a day or so later. She kept a ring in there. I secretly always thought it was from my dad. She loved that ring, but it was gone, so I figured she took it with her. No one else would have known where to look, she’d stopped wearing it years ago and hid it under the sink.”
Dante sits next to me, his thigh touching mine. His nearness reminding me that nothing between us has been resolved. “Why did you kiss her?” I surprise myself when the question comes out. Dante peeks down at me, his face already in a grimace.
His eyes dart away from mine almost immediately. “I didn’t kiss her,” he says with little conviction. “She kissed me.”
I scoff. “Does it really matter at this point who initiated it? You kissed. Why?”
Dante hangs his hands between his thighs and sighs. “I turned to look up when the principal came into the room. I saw the photographer come in behind him. As soon as he made the announcement, Delaney…,”
I growl when I hear him utter her name, Dante looks over at me and his mouth droops into a frown.
“She hugged me.” His words are spoken softer tone. “The next thing I know she kissed me, I pushed her away within a second, but I was so shocked that it happened, I didn’t push her away fast enough.” Dante admits while lowering his head and slowly leaning it toward my shoulder. I lean away, wondering what he thinks he's doing. He just admitted to kissing another girl, but he wants to lay his head on my shoulder.
At my rejection, he tilts his head to the left exposing his throat to me. It’s the second time today he’s done this. His eyes are nearly closed and he swallows, a quick bob of his Adam’s apple. He stays in that position, waiting for something. Mad that he isn’t explaining himself more, I have a fleeting thought that I want to bite his neck, teach him to think before he acts, but the thought dies the moment it forms. How would that teach him anything, worse yet, how would that be any better than his childishness of not responding?
“Dante.” My tone is firm and his head snaps around in my direction, at least he’s looking at me again. “I need a better explanation.” I soften my tone, but my words are still a demand.
He leans his head back closer and bumps his forehead against my shoulder. “I don’t have one. The second I realized what happened, I pushed her away. Delaney has been desperate since you moved here. She was the one that left the panties in the apartment.”
My back goes ramrod straight. I had forgotten about those damned red panties. “You acted like you thought those where my panties,” I seethe.
“I knew they were hers the moment I saw them, I just didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t know she had left them there.”
Shoving him away with my shoulder, I stand up. “You made me feel like you thought I was a whore when you accused me of having panties in my bag.”
Dante peers up at me, his eye's wide and lips parted. “I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want you thinking I had a girl over.”
“But you had a girl over, obviously you had Delaney over if she left her panties wadded up on your floor,” I shout, getting close to his face. I’ve never felt so aggressive in my life. I feel like I could shake him silly.
“She came over, but not because I invited her. Delaney and two of her friends showed up after you left. She must have left the underwear on purpose. Because she didn’t take them off for me,” Dante counters, his hands still hanging loosely between his legs.
I roll my eyes to the ceiling, putting my hands on my hips. “Like I should believe that. You just admitted kissing her, you probably slept with her and she left her panties behind. That part probably was on purpose, I’ll give you that much.”
I hear a thud from the front of the trailer, reminding me we aren’t alone. I snap my mouth closed. I’ve been shouting loud enough for neighbors—if I had them—to hear my yelling. I take a deep breath and look at Dante, he’s slumped forward and his knees almost touch the floor. “Jesus, what am I doing?” I spin around so my back is to him. Seeing him looking so contrite makes me want to keep yelling at him. But I know that reaction isn’t just mine. There is something fueling that need to dominate him.
“Ares!” I shout, my voice full of worry. He steps into the walkway like he’s been waiting there the whole time. I feel Dante brush his head against my thigh. My hand goes to the top of his head and I stroke my fingers through his dark hair. “Dante is acting weird, and… and I feel weird. I think we should go. That box is making us act funny,” I stammer with my hand still in his hair as he nuzzles his face and cheek against my leg.
“I don’t think the box is affecting you the way you think. But yes, I agree, we need to go.” Ares takes a step in the room and Dante turns his eyes in his direction. He bares his teeth in a sneer, a low growl leaving his chest.
Ares steps back, his face a mask. “He’ll follow you Cara.”
My hand tightens into a fist in his hair and Dante peers up at me. “Don’t growl at him,” I snap.
Dante’s face softens, and he rubs his face on my stomach coming up into a kneeling position. Shocked at my own demand and his easy acceptance, I release my hold and run my hand down his shoulder and back. “We’re leaving now,” I tell him just above a whisper, I don’t know where the authority is coming from, but right before walking away, I add, “If you ever kiss another girl but me, I’ll… I’ll.” My threat dies off when I don’t know what else to say.
“Never,” Dante comes to his full height, towering over me. He takes my cheeks in his palms with a sweet gentleness and brushes his nose against mine. His lips hover over mine like he’s asking permission. Stretching my neck, I capture his lips with mine.
There’s no peck, no sweet start. I bite his top lip in a quick nip then shove my tongue in his mouth. I have a burning desire to erase any traces of Delaney’s kiss with my own. Dante freezes, and his deepening breath is the only cue I have he’s interested. I want to punish him for allowing Delaney to touch him. I nip him several more times while stroking his tongue with my own. Little bites of pain to go with the euphoria of the kisses. I pull back the moment his lips begin to chase mine, leaving him panting and his eyes squeezed shut.
Snatching up Dante’s hand, I pull him from the room. Ares is standing near the door, his back to us as I hustle over to him. Ares pushes the door open, waving his arm to let me know I need to go first. With Dante trailing behind me, I release his hand and get into the front seat of the car. I need a few seconds alone. I don’t trust myself to sit in the back seat with Dante right now.
Dropping my eyes to my lap, I get my breathing and heart rate under control. I feel edgy, like my skin is crawling, and I have an itch that I can’t scratch. Balling my hands into fists, I can feel my nails digging into the flesh of my palms. Peeking out the windshield, I see Dante and Ares standing a few feet from the car. They turn their backs to me, and Dante’s shoulders are rolled down, his head dipping while the set of Ares’s shoulders is rigid. I can see his hand gesturing wildly as he talks with Dante.
Is Ares yelling at him? Why? With a quick movement, Ares turns so I can see his profile. He reaches over, almost slapping Dante on the back with a few quick pats. Dante nods his head and his back rises. He lifts his head and I watch as he comes to his full height, his shoulders rising and falling several times while he takes deep breaths. They stand together for a few more moments before Dante eventually turns to face the car. His eyes land on mine immediately. He bites the corner of his lip and heads in my direction.
Ares follows, going over to the driver’s side and getting in. I roll my lips in, worried what they will say to me. Is Ares going to yell at me too? Will Dante say anything about how bossy I was or the way I basically assaulted him with my kiss?
“Well…” Ares pauses still staring out the front window, before he settles on asking, “Were you guys able to find the other box?”
