Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(107)

“And Dane is just as eager to hate Drake,” Clarissa added.

Dane’s vengefulness was for the nightmares I’d endured. Honestly, everyone yearned for retaliation for the painful images that had haunted me through childhood.

“So what do I do with this?” I asked.

“Forget it,” Olivia said, taking the photo from me and ripping it into small pieces. “Look, we all think Drake is going to come back one day. We just didn’t want him showing up and throwing this in your face,” Olivia finished.

“We thought if you knew in advance, he wouldn’t be able to play with your mind. We were only trying to give you an advantage.” Clarissa added.

“I’m glad I did show you. Downstairs, you looked weak when you saw it,” Olivia said, putting the small pieces of the photo in her pocket.

Their twisted logic almost made sense. My only problem now was finding a way to forget before Landen read it all over my face.

“I brought some stuff from my house, too. There are some photos of Monica. Do you want any?” Olivia asked.

I nodded and followed them downstairs. Through the window I could see the guys still playing a demanding game of touch football. Olivia opened the box she had brought with her then handed me a photo of Monica and me at the lake last summer. She was so full of life then. I didn’t think I would ever move past the grief I felt when her memory surfaced. Olivia laid out a few other photos from our senior year, then walked over and hugged me.

“I have to go. I promised your mom I would drop these boxes by before dinner,” she said.

“Wait, I’ll help you,” Clarissa said. Before she left, she looked at me, “Willow, really, forget the past. Don’t let it hurt your present.”

As they left I slid further down into the chair I was standing in front of. As I stared at Monica’s photo everything I’d faced over the past few months—all the emotions I’d felt as my world was turned inside out consumed me.

The walls seemed to close in around me. I imagined my future—another huge ordeal, my family and friends put in harm’s way. My mind spun as I took in the awe of a past I couldn’t remember.

I needed to get away. I abruptly sat up in my seat and pushed back from the table, then went to the hall closet and pulled out Landen and my travel bags, which carried four changes of clothes and currency for different dimensions. I was setting them by the front door when I felt Landen walking in the back door. I glanced down the hall and saw him hesitating at the table as he looked over the photos. I felt his remorse as he saw Monica’s face. In a way, I was glad I had left those photos out. I knew that he would not ask me why I was upset earlier. He would just assume it was over her.

Landen walked slowly up the hall, tossing the football casually from hand to hand. His intense blue eyes landed on the travel bags at my feet. I knew he could feel my intent to run. Seeing how certain my resolve was he tucked the ball under his arm. I felt him fighting with the urge to ask me what Olivia and Clarissa had told me. He forced a calm smile, bringing his perfect dimples to life.

“Are we going somewhere?” he asked playfully.

I sighed, looking down and knowing that if I looked into his eyes, his calm would take me over and I would find a way to stay. I wanted to run. To run away with him.

“I don’t care where. I just need to get away. Just me and you.” I said in a pleading whisper.

He stepped closer and leaned his forehead to mine. He then reached carefully for my wrist and traced my Ankh tattoo—avoiding the brand of the star. We had not been anywhere alone since we had learned that this star was a marker placed on me by Drake. Chara was the only dimension in which I was safe.

“Landen, we don’t even know if he is alive. We can’t be prisoners here,” I pleaded as tears came to the corners of my eyes.

He let my hand fall then reached for my face and wiped away the tears before they had a chance to escape.

“I would hardly call this a prison,” he whispered, trying to make me smile.

“You know what I mean,” I said, trying to remain serious.

Landen tilted his head toward the phone in the kitchen. “Can I at least call someone and tell them that we’re leaving so they don’t think we’ve been kidnapped by scary monkeys?” he asked lightheartedly.

I held up one finger. We would be here all night if he called everyone in our family and all of them would either tell us not to go or find a way to follow us. He smiled and nodded, then walked to the phone. I ran upstairs to close the balcony doors and all the windows. When I came back downstairs Landen was closing up the last window. When he saw me, he walked over to the bags, picked them up, and opened the door.

“How long do we have before the Cavalry comes?” I asked, raising my brow. “Not long,” he said with a wink.

I grinned then took off in a sprint. We raced through the field of flowers to the large windmill that led to an opening in the string. Breathless, I stepped in. As the hum of energy pushed through me I felt renewed. The white light gently lined in colors was so beautiful to me. When I was in the string I felt like I melted into the energy of the universe. Landen took my hand and began to lead us away from Chara.

“So who did you call?” I thought.

Landen smiled down at me. “Brady. Just so you know, I had to promise him we’d be home the day the baby is due,” he thought.