Forged by Fate (The Aqua Collection Book 1) Read online

  “Of course.” He grinned, and for some reason heat creeps up my neck. He’s got a pretty nice smile. “We have some on display up front, and there’s one in particular that’s caught my fancy. Your father would enjoy it, I’m sure.”

  “Awesome.” I turn to Minerva and say, “I’ll be right back.”

  She winked at me. “Take your time! She’s single!”

  “Minerva!” I cover my face with my hands but can’t help laughing to myself. Did she really just say that? He doesn’t indicate that he heard her, which is a relief.

  He and I walk over to the display case up front. I notice that there’s something about him that seems familiar…maybe the way he walks? Or holds himself? Where have I met him…? Brown hair, green eyes…doesn’t ring a bell.

  “Have we met before?” I ask.

  Jake paused, hand in the process of reaching for a bottle of cologne and looked at me. His gaze was serious for a moment, and then poof, all of the intensity disappeared. He grabbed the sample bottle and spritzed some onto a piece of paper. He held it up to my nose. “What do you think?”

  I take a whiff. A warm and woodsy scent fills my lungs. “My dad will love it!”

  “Good.” He said with a nod. “So, are you and your friend celebrating some occasion?” He asked on our way back to Minerva.

  “Not exactly. It’s a long story. Well, I mean, technically this could be my treat to myself for my birthday this weekend, and that’s a special occasion.” I’m babbling like an idiot.

  “Happy early birthday then.”

  “Thanks.”

  Minerva suddenly popped up in front of us, mischief written all over her face. “Did the two of you find what you were looking for?”

  I make a face at her. “Yup. I’m ready to go.”

  Minerva eyed Jake. “Listen, we’re new in town, and we were wondering if you knew of a place for us to grab dinner at.” I see that she’s come out of her shell…and that might not be a good thing. She had acted so differently at school today. I would’ve never expected she had this kind of personality inside of her.

  Jake seemed surprised by her request, but he quickly recovered. “Actually, there’s a great burger joint here in the mall.”

  Minerva feigned excitement. “That’s exactly what we were craving earlier! Could you give us some directions?”

  Jake pulled out a map and pointed to the place. It was on the other side of the mall. He then proceeded to give us in-depth directions. He was very formal about the entire ordeal, so he was either clueless or uninterested.

  Minerva rolled her eyes behind his back and said, “You should totally come with us! When’s your break?”

  “I don’t think that’d be appropriate.” He stated bluntly.

  Chapter 12

  A Brother’s Worry

  Thomas

  Ron and I sat down at the ancient wooden dining table that my great-grandfather had crafted a few years back to begin working on our partner assignment. Ron already knew his way around my house, so he didn’t need a tour. I wouldn’t need a tour of his either. We usually spent more time at his place than mine. So much that Ron’s mother often called me her ‘adopted son’.

  My mind wanders, per the usual when I’m supposed to be focusing. I think about fishing, and what book I should read to Lola next. Also, I really need to pull up my grade in French, otherwise my mom’s going to cut off my allowance.

  “Thomas? Yo! Man, snap out of it.” Ron brought me back down to Earth.

  I scratch the back of my head. “Huh? Oh, what’s up?” I ask, resting my chin on the table.

  “I’ve been askin’ you all of these dumb questions, but you haven’t answered em’. Nota. Zero. Zip.” Ron formed a zero with his hand.

  “Sorry man. Can you ask me again?”

  “What’s yo’ favorite food?”

  “Steak.” I answer. “Shouldn’t you already know this?”

  “Uhhhh. I’m confused. You know I got long-term memory loss.”

  I look at Ron as he writes for a moment, differently than I usually do. Now that we’ve gotten this assignment, I observe him with more of an inquiring eye. If I had to describe his behavior, lifestyle, and personality, it’d be something like this:

  Ron’s always had a laid-back air about him. He likes to stay out of other’s business and would rather avoid you than cause trouble. He’s not a snitch, either. But if you pissed him off, he’d beat your ass without a second thought. Any other time though, he’s the class clown.

  “What kind of music do you listen to?”

  “Country.” I respond.

  He shivered dramatically and grabbed his head. “The horror! The horror! I don’t even want to write that one down. I’m not gonna’ write it down. Really, my man? Country? I thought you’d at least be one of those classic rock dudes. Not a cowboy! Giddy up, cowboy!” He sat there and laughed his ass off.

  “I’m not a cowboy!” I argue. “And you’ve heard me listen to country music before. Don’t think I haven’t see you stomping your foot to some of the songs.”

  He denied doing such a thing.

  “Hey, so what do you think about Iris?” Ron ‘subtly’ changed the subject.

  I can already tell where he’s going with this. “She’s cool, I guess.” He waggled his brows at me. “But it’s not like that. She’s a friend.”

  “Nah, man, it’s so obvious that you’re into her.”

  I shake my head. “I’ll admit that she’s pretty—”

  “I knew it!”

  “But, I wouldn’t date her. I feel more…loyal to her than anything. It’s strange.”

  “I kinda know what you mean. There’s something about her that just makes you want to help her.”

  We sit quietly for a moment, pondering.

  “Maybe we should invite her to a kegger?” I suggest. “It’d be a good way for her to make more friends and get to know everyone.”

  “I don’t really take her for the partying type. But it might be a good idea for her to…unwind. She’s had a lot on her plate.” Ron said vaguely, but then pointed at me, “And dawg, what about that Minerva girl? What is her problem? She’s crazy. Didn’t she use to hang out with Dara or did my eyes deceive me?”

  I recall the argument from earlier. “I don’t know man. She flipped so quickly, and I didn’t even mean to offend her. And yeah, she used to hang out with Dara. Trace had a thing for Minerva, and Dara got wind of it, and then shit went down, and now she’s an outcast.”

  “Oh yeah, and now she must hate you because…well, I guess it’s because you remind her of them. Hell, I don’t understand the way women think.”

  “But I’m not like them!”

  “I know that, but she doesn’t. Maybe you should apologize to her tomorrow. Smooth things over.”

  Something that feels a lot like pride wells up in my chest. “I didn’t even do anything to her! I mean, yeah, I said her brother didn’t ‘show up in life’, but I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just saying what everyone else already knows!”

  “You should apologize though, for Iris’s sake. As I said, she’s got a lot on her plate. Have you spoken to her?”

  “Uh, yeah. What are you talking about?”

  “You spoke with her spoke with her? About the weird shit she’s been seein’?” Ron whispered, as if he didn’t want anyone to overhear us.

  I make a displeased sound and lean closer. What the hell is he going on about? “Are you talking about what happened with her mom?”

  “Naw, it’s even crazier than that.”

  I wait for him to continue. He didn’t. “Are you going to tell me?” I demand.

  Ron raised one eyebrow. “If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then she hasn’t told you yet. That means I can’t tell you.”

  “What, so now you’re keeping secrets from me? Why the hell did you even bring it up then?” I ask with narrowed eyes. I’ll admit that my interest is peaked, and I’m a little hurt that I was left out.

&n
bsp; “I wanted to know if we could talk about it! Damn. But since you don’t know, that means we can’t. She might not want you to know.” Ron said and threw his hands in the air.

  I scratch the back of my head in frustration. “I’m sure that anything she tells you, she’ll tell me. Spit it out. Hell, I’ve known her longer than you have!”

  “Are we going by the days or the hours? Because technically, even though you and I both have four classes with her…I’ve got her during gym and that counts as double, so therefore five for me.” Ron shrugged sympathetically.

  “Dude, this is not cool…”

  “I’m sure she’ll tell you when she’s ready.”

  For the first time in a long time, I want to sock him in the nose. I don’t know what to think anymore. Irritation fills me, but I know that when Ron’s got his heart set on something there’s no changing his mind. “Fine, let’s finish this project.” I’ll figure it out one way or another.

  A torturous hour later, Ron completed his part of the assignment. “So, when do you want to come over to my crib?” He asked me while gathering up his things.

  “How about tomorrow?” I question after a moment.

  “Yeah, that’s cool my man.”

  Before Ron walked out of the door, my mom stopped him. “Ron sweetie, would you like to stay for dinner?”

  Ron turned his head towards me, giving me the usual ‘your-mom-is-hot’ look, and then replied smoothly, “Yes ma’am, if that’s not any trouble.” Gross.

  She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s no trouble at all.”

  I signal for him to come into the living room and watch TV. I’m just glad that Lola’s at a play date, because she would be all over him. She goes for Ron every time. Once, she told one of my friends that she had a thing for bad boys. What kind of kid says something like that? Sometimes I worry. What has she been watching?

  “I love your mom’s cookin’!” Ron said as he turned the channel to some kind of Chinese mafia movie with big guns and gore. I wonder if we should sensor some of these shows. Lola might accidently come across one. Maybe she already has. Makes sense.

  “My mom could walk back in at any second, and you know how she is about blood.” I quickly snatch the remote from him and turn it to a monster truck show.

  Ron leaned back into the couch. “Yo mom’s beauty takes my breath away every time.” My mom laughed in the kitchen. She must have heard his little comment.

  “Yeah.” I give him a look.

  We had probably watched about three junkyard vehicles get crushed by the time Lola burst through the door and into my arms, knocking the breath out of me momentarily.

  “Elizabeth is sick, so her mom had to take me back home.” She whined.

  “Oh, no! That’s terrible.” I say, acting as if to be flabbergasted.

  “It’s horrible! I c-” She started, but paused midsentence when she saw Ron lounging beside me on the couch. “Thomas, you didn’t tell me Ron was coming over. I would have never left.” She said arching her little blonde eyebrow at him. See this is what I mean.

  She got off my lap and stepped in front of Ron, who just gave her a bright grin. I grimace, fully aware of how this is about to go down. “Lola…” I warn. She carried on, despite the bass I had added to my voice for a stricter effect.

  “Do you have a girlfriend yet Ron?”

  “Not yet.” He glanced sideways at me before responding. I wish he’d just lie to her and nip this shit at the bud. Sure, he liked to joke around and pretend to be aloof to a lot of things in life, but he was serious about being honest. Sometimes too honest for his own good.

  “Do you want a girlfriend?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

  “Uhhh...” He started. We’d been through this many a time, but he never had the heart to lie to her. She’s a big crier, and he knows that just as well as I do.

  “Lola, listen.” I intervene sternly. “You are too young to be worrying about having boyfriends. Seriously. As your big bro—”

  “Dinner’s ready, kids.” My mom yelled from the kitchen. Ron dodged Lola and jogged to the kitchen. Saved by the bell.

  We all took our seats, with mom and dad at each end of the table. I sat next to Ron, and Lola sat in front of him.

  The table’s set with condiments, bacon-burgers, sweet tea, baked beans, potato salad, and an apple pie. As usual, she went all out since Ron was here. Any other time, she’d just make hotdogs or casserole, which got old pretty fast.

  We ate quickly, but I think Ron was trying to finish before Lola so that he could leave without running into her again.

  “Well, that was a great dinner ma’am. And that’s probably the best apple pie I have ever eaten. But I need to be gettin’ home, so thanks for everything.” He announced, and my mom smiled.

  “It was good seeing you again Ron. At least someone enjoys my cooking. I wish that some of your manners would rub off on Thomas.” She said pointedly towards me. What? I do enjoy her cooking! When she cooks something that’s actually good.

  “Have a good night everyone. Bye Thomas.” He took a look at Lola and saw that she was on the verge of crying because he didn’t say anything to her, so he added, “Bye Lola.” He was outside before we had a chance to reply.

  Chapter 13

  Babysitting Older Brothers

  Iris

  “Did you just see that?” I exclaim, nearly slamming on breaks.

  “What?! What is it?” She glanced around, trying to figure out the cause of my alarm.

  “I could’ve sworn that I just saw that Jake guy riding a bike. He was headed to the mall. Isn’t that strange?”

  “Well, seeing as Jake just helped you find some cologne for your dad…yes, that’s strange.” Minerva’s voice was filled with doubt, but there was an underlying sense of curiosity. “Turn around, let’s go see!” She ordered, pulling off her seatbelt like she was about to go run the guy down.

  “No way! I was probably mistaken. There’s no way it could’ve been him.”

  Minerva buckled her seatbelt back in place and her attention goes elsewhere. “Could you believe him? ‘I don’t think that’d be appropriate.’” She said in a mocking voice. “And then he had the nerve to ask us to leave the store! Jerk.”

  I laugh, remembering the situation quite vividly. “‘I’m going to have to ask you both to leave the store.’” I mimic his strictness to the best of my ability. “But he was cute, though.”

  Minerva and I both giggle until our sides hurt.

  I wipe a tear from my eye. “So what was with the tough guy act at school today?” I ask tentatively. “It seems like you’re a completely different person now.”

  She waved me off. “Oh, I’m like that with everyone at school. I hate that place. Just being there puts me in a pissy mood. And the fact that you’re friendly with Thomas doesn’t really help your case.”

  “What’s wrong with Thomas?” I ask with a huff.

  “People like him just irk me.” She put it simply.

  “What do you mean ‘people like him’?” I press.

  “The kind that gets everything handed to them. Never has to work for anything.”

  “Well, what makes me any different? I hate to break it to you, but I’m in that category.”

  “I’m still trying to figure that one out.” Minerva responded. She turned away from me to look out the window, closing the conversation.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Minerva excused herself to go to the bathroom. I glance at the alarm clock and see that it’s already getting late. She came through the door and sat on the edge of my bed.

  “What time do you need to go home?” I ask as I pull my boots off.

  “No later than eight because my parents are going on a date tonight.” She answered as she kicked her shoes off. She faintly smiled. “They haven’t gone on a date in a long time.”

  “You have to be back before they leave?”

  She fiddled with a loose seam on my comforter. “I have to be back so I can keep an
eye on my older brother.”

  “Older? Can’t he look after himself?” I try baiting her.

  Minerva sighed and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “He’s complicated. He’s always getting into trouble and stuff, so my parents asked me to keep an eye on him.”

  That seems a little unfair in my opinion. I don’t say this, of course. Instead I state, “That sucks.”

  “Well, it’s not too bad. I kinda want to be home for him anyways. He’s been going through a lot lately.”

  I grin at her. “You’re a good sister.”

  Chapter 14

  Code Word: Seaweed

  Iris

  “Alright…I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but Dara has asked me to extend an invitation to you for a party she’s having tonight.” Thomas announced and took a ginormous bite of his burger.

  Minerva scoffed. “Why would Iris go to one of her parties? You’ve got to be joking.”

  “Interesting.” Jen input.

  “What say you Iris?” Ron asked.

  I raise my eyebrows. I meet Dara’s eyes from across the room. There’s a challenge in them. “I’ll go.” I tell them. Frankly, I’m surprised that I’m being invited to a party on my second day of school.

  “What? Why?” Minerva demanded.

  “But only if you all come too.” I say.

  “Well, Ron and I were already going.” Thomas said.

  “No crap—” Minerva started.

  “What about the two of you?” I interrupt before the arguing begins. I look at Minerva and Jen pleadingly.

  “Sorry, but my parents would never let me do something like that. They know how crazy those parties can be.” Jen shook her head. “Also, I’ve got to work on that Chem project this afternoon.”

  “Yeah, no can do. I already have plans for tonight.” Minerva stated, not meeting my eyes.

  Something told me otherwise, but I knew better than to press the matter. Minerva had a temper that I did not want to find myself on the other end of. “Well, looks like it’s just us then.”