See How She Runs (The Chronicles of Izzy #1)(14)

He looked at me as if I would bolt at any second. Which, I supposed if I had any sense at all I would be doing. But I kept hearing the echoes of my mother’s voice telling me he was the only one I could trust, so I held firm.

Kennan started slowly, as if reluctant to rid himself of the secrets that had been his companions for so many years.

“Your dad and I were best friends, Iz. I have known him since we were both boys. We grew up together. We trained together. We were brothers in everything but blood. I would have died in his place if I could. But none of that matters. What does matter is that he died trying to save you and your mother. He protected you when you could not protect yourself. He loved you both more than I have ever seen any one person love another."

I stared at him, obviously confused. So I got the whole Guardian thing, but now the whole vampire thing seemed more plausible. There was no way that Kennan could be the same age as my father. It was unfathomable. My father had graying hair and crow’s feet around his eyes from smiling too much. My confusion must have been evident. The next words out of Kennan’s mouth confirmed there were things about the story that I would have a much harder time believing.

“I will explain it all with the histories. But first you need to know what happened to you and your mother, and how you came into our protection. Your story really started on that day, that horrible day all of those years ago, the day of the wreck. It was a trap set up by Xavier’s people. He had been searching for your mother for a long time. Your parents thought they were safe in that hole-in-the-wall town in Alabama. Your mother learned to hide her talents. Your father took up a job and an appearance that was completely average. But they found them anyway. They sabotaged the car. It flipped 5 times before it came to a rest out in that peanut field. You all survived the initial wreck surprisingly.”

I could not stand it anymore. His story was completely different from my own memories.

“I was not in that car Kennan. I was at home with a sitter.”

His eyes were becoming more withdrawn with suffering by the moment.

“You were there. I know, because I saved you and ran. When the car came to a rest, your mother took your memories of it and replaced them with what you remember. Your father, in an effort to save you lowered the seat in the back and put you in the trunk of the car. He sent me a message telling me where you were. When they came, your parents told them you were no longer with them. They shot your father and took your mother. When I got there he was barely alive. But he told me where you were. He told me where to take you and he told me to keep you safe. They made it so that once I found you, you would not remember.”

I could not stop the flow of tears as memories came rushing to the surface. I remembered the crush of the metal, the sound of my mother’s soothing voice telling me everything would be okay. The sound of my father telling me he loved me and that I needed to play the quiet mouse game. I remembered the small closed in space and how I opened my eyes to complete silence and darkness. And most of all I remembered Kennan’s face in a bleary sort of way.

“So what about Grams, and Mike, and you? How do you fit into this story? Why did they want my mother so badly?”

“Grams and Mike are part of the safety net. They aren’t like me, but they have all lost family to the Corporation. They have both felt the brunt of pain that could have been prevented. Pain caused to gain profit. So Grams took you in. She loved you like you were her own. She had the power to mask your presence, which is why you were kept safe all of the years you were with her. Mike lost both of his sons to the Corporation. They were collateral damage. So Mike, much like Grams, kept an eye on you when I could not. I only came back into the picture after Grams died because I promised your father I would keep you safe. The closer it got to your twenty fifth birthday, the more danger you were in. As much as it pained me to be close to you with the constant reminder of what was lost, I could not deny the oath I made to your father. So I stayed, and then you became mine.”

“I don’t understand. Everything you say brings up more questions than answers. You say that you and my father were childhood friends. But he was so much older than you. You talk about this Corporation and how they are run by people like you. But where does my mother fit in and why do they want me? What does it mean that I am yours?”

“It is getting late Iz, you have already had a lot to take in. Are you sure you want to hear all of this tonight?" He ran his hand down his face, as if he could wash away the memories that our discussion had brought to the surface.

“I need to know, Kennan. I need to know everything so that I can figure out what in the hell to do. She has been talking to me in my dreams. I lied when I told you I was not having them anymore. She was telling me to run. But I thought it was just a dream. Just now, when I passed out I saw her Kennan. She was right there in front of me. She is wasting away to nothing and they have her strapped to a table like some sort of lab experiment. How can I leave her like that? And he was there. How did he get in my dreams Kennan, can he hurt me there?”

His eyes became serious and filled with a sort of rage I had never seen before. It scared me and brought me peace simultaneously.

“What do you mean he was there? And I already knew you were still having the dreams. I dream what you dream, Iz. I have since I became your Guardian. But I did not see this one which means you are starting to have the visions. Tell me everything you saw.”