Descending Darkness(33)

“Thanks for the heads up,” she says.

“What’s going on?” Colton asks as he walks to the back of my chair. Emma smiles at Natalie again.

Natalie glares at Emma, but says, “Nothing. Nothing is going on.” All the guys are looking between the three of us.

“I hate being out of the loop,” David mumbles.

“Honey, how would you know what being in the loop feels like?” I ask David. He smirks and sticks his tongue out. Good to know I’m not the only immature one here.

“Not fair. I was going to say that. He’s my honey!” Emma says. I start laughing as she pouts. Colton chuckles behind me. I arch my head back and watch him as he laughs. His laugh is growing into one of my favorite sounds, as cliché as that sounds. He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. My cheeks redden at his display because I know everyone is watching us.

“Aww, she still blushes when he kisses her,” Emma says, “Though I’m sure he’s done more than just kiss her on the forehead.” Colton laughs behind me while my blush deepens.

“No sex,” Tom says as he enters the kitchen and refills his coffee mug. I am absolutely mortified, but a movie quote pops into my mind.

I turn to Emma. “Don’t have sex because you will get pregnant and die!”

“Mean girls!” She turns toward David, gloating.

“Come on, Ryanne. That’s not fair. I don’t watch those movies,” David says, groaning.

“Maybe you should start,” I tell him. “I mean, it’s not my fault if you can’t keep up with me. I could go on all day, man,” I say while leaning back against the back of the chair.

“I see what you did there,” Colton whispers in my ear.

“I would never intentionally change the conversation like that. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say. I glance toward the window again. “Can I please go clean up the yard? It’s going to drive me crazy. I keep thinking about the mess out there.”

“Ryanne, you know how much magic that’s going to take.” He’s just worried that I’m going to get hurt from using too much magic.

“Fine, then I’ll only clean the backyard with magic and clean along the beach normally. Oh, David could help make a pile with his magic.” I look over to David. I can’t get the littered yard off my mind. I don’t know why, but my mind is telling me to go clean it up. It bothers me how easily something so beautiful can be destroyed. Colton seems to understand because he slowly nods. I jump up and walk to the back door. Instead of taking the stairs, I jump onto the railing and flip off, landing perfectly on my feet.

Natalie yells, “Ten!”

I look over my shoulder and do a final presentation pose, before skipping along the side of the house to the backyard. The beautiful yard is full of twigs and branches. The strong winds ripped the leaves from the trees, littering the moist ground below. Three large fallen trunks are dispersed across the backyard. I hear footsteps behind me as everyone follows me into the backyard. The large trunks are going to take the most amount of magic to move. They have to be moved with magic because of their size.

“Where should I move those large ones to?” I point to the three large trunks. Tom looks around and tells me to make a pile against the house. He says that he can use them as firewood later on. If we don’t use them, the people who own this house can.

Colton walks up behind me, wraps his arms around my waist, and hugs me. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks one last time.

I open my mouth to reply but fall into another vision.





Chapter Nine




When I open my eyes, I’m standing in the middle of a small kitchen. I don’t recognize my surroundings. The room has little dull green tiles on the wall and white wooden cabinets that stand out against the smooth tiling. Simple appliances line the cream marbled countertops. An island sits in the middle of the kitchen with a glass bowl filled with gala apples on top. I love gala apples. Mini pendant chandeliers hang from the ceiling. French doors are located to the left of the centralized island, leading to the private beach outside. Above the sink sits a small open window; its blinds swaying with the slight breeze. The colors of the room contrast perfectly with the deep wooden flooring.

I walk up to the island and check the mail lying on its surface. Everything is addressed to Mr. Colton Wagner. This is Colton’s house?

“Ryanne! Come back here,” I hear a deep voice yell from outside. Dropping the mail back on the island, I walk over to the small window above the sink and look out. I watch as a different Ryanne runs toward the house, giggling. A very wet Colton is laughing and chasing after her, kicking up sand in the process. She’s fast, but not as fast as I am now. She hops up the stairs and runs through the doors. Her eyes scan the kitchen looking for somewhere to hide. Leaning casually against the counter, she tries to calm her rapid breathing.