Wisteria (Wisteria Series) Page 16

  Garfield banged on the gate because no one was in sight. “Do you think Amanda’s going to be there?” He adjusted his new shirt that he got from the ration center.

  “I do not care.” Feeling ashamed to have descended to socializing with humans to get fresh meat he banged on the gate again. The residents of the island had consumed practically all the wild animals. There were a few farm animals, but stealing from humans was just too low for him.

  “You know if you soften up, you’ll have a better chance of getting Wisteria on your side,” Garfield remarked.

  “Shut up.” Bach scowled and opened the gate. “I am going inside.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  They made their way up the long driveway to the front door and knocked.

  Hailey appeared at the door, wearing a short black strapless dress. “You came,” she greeted Bach with a wide smile that faded when she saw Garfield. “Oh hi, come in.”

  “Hi, Hailey,” Garfield greeted. “I love your house.”

  She led them through the naturally lit house to the garden, where several of her friends were.

  Bach recognized a few of the kids from his class and a few from Hailey’s.

  “Come, let me introduce you to everybody.” Taking Bach’s arm, Hailey led him through her gauntlet of friends.

  Garfield made his way straight to Amanda and was trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to pry her away from one of her admirers.

  “Amanda is really popular with the boys,” Hailey remarked. “I hear Garfield’s working as a rat catcher now?”

  “Yes, he is.”

  Garfield was livid when town hall informed him he was to either work as a rat catcher or leave Smythe. He believed he was put there in retaliation for his run-in with Coles. Felip had suggested that Garfield apologize, but the Terran boy maintained he would never give the Major the pleasure.

  After an hour of talking to everyone, Bach was finally left alone with some meat.

  Hailey was less concerned with him once someone started to play music and a few of the kids started dancing.

  The music was nice; he hadn’t heard any since Red Phoenix destroyed his home, not since he left the Dungeon and Wisteria played and sang. Thinking about her and remembering her lyrical voice in his mind made this music sound dull. Finishing his food, Bach headed back through the house, intending on going home, when he ran into another boy.

  “You’re leaving?” the boy asked

  “I have had too much fun for today,” Bach replied dryly and continued to head for the door.

  “You’re Bach, right? I’m Steven.”

  Bach knew he was the boy that was groping Wisteria yesterday. There was nothing else he wanted to know.

  “Hailey will be disappointed when she learns you’re gone,” Steven remarked.

  “No, it seems to me she is enjoying herself.” He continued toward the exit.

  “Word of advice,” Steven called out to him. “You’ve been here a week and you’re trying to date Hailey Davenport. Maybe you should set your sights a little lower. That way you’ll save yourself a lot of drama, because Hailey’s all about drama.”

  “People are dying outside these walls.” Bach halted and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “Why would you think the social order of your artificial society is something I will even think about?”

  “No, I’m telling you to stay clear of her. I don’t care who you are or if trying to take on soldiers makes you feel special, but this is my town and you can’t come in and do whatever you like.”

  “Stay away from me and never talk to me again.” Bach glared at him.

  “I’m trying to help you.”

  “And I am warning you, never talk to me—ever.” Fuming, he swung the front door open only to see Wisteria’s dark eyes looking up at him. “Wisteria.” He couldn’t help it, he was happy to see her.

  “Hi,” she said unemotionally. “How are you?”

  “That is a strange mark.” Stretching out his hand, he gently pulled one of her tiny curls. There was a dark bruise on her forehead.

  “Hey, you!” Steven came to the door. “I’m surprised to see you here. You were invited to the party?”

  “No, Sir Davenport wanted these dropped off.” She offered him three large books. “Can you give them to Hailey?”

  “Sure.” He took the books from her.

  Wisteria looked up at Bach, and then over at the other boy.

  “You should hang out for a while,” Steven suggested.

  “I can’t. David will be here soon and I don’t like to leave my mother home alone,” she replied.

  “Are you sure?” Steven coaxed. “You can stay until your brother gets here. We can catch up.”

  “Maybe next time.”

  “Do you want me to walk you home?” the Terran boy continued.

  “Why?” she asked. “I’m not going to run into biters on my way back.”

  “True, but it’d make me feel better,” Steven kept pressing.

  Bach decided that he wasn’t going to watch this nonsense and marched out of the house. When he was halfway between the house and the gate, he stopped. What was he doing? There was no way that he was going to leave her with that Terran boy. Turning back, he found Wisteria walking toward the gate alone.

  “Hailey’s looking for you. They’ve opened the good booze,” she said as she passed.

  “What happened to your head?” he asked about the bruise.

  * * * * *

  “Nothing.” Wisteria touched the bump she got when Corporal Blair pushed her yesterday. It still hurt a bit. Now, she moved past him as casually as she could.

  “It does not look like nothing.” Bach examined the discoloration.

  Having him this close to her and this interested in her made her uneasy. It reminded her of the time in the SUV when she desperately wanted to kiss him. But she understood her emotions then; they were isolated and she depended on his moods for her survival. Now she didn’t have to take his crap. Sure, she accepted his apology for the horrendous accusation, but she didn’t trust him.

  Now, he was acting interested in her and she couldn’t figure out why. They only guy to ever show that kind intrigue was Steven and it had always been a joke or his attempt to bang every girl on the island.

  “The thing with Coles and Garfield; I was stupid enough to get involved,” Wisteria explained. “I got knocked down for my troubles.”

  Silently, he touched the bruise and she flinched. “Coles hit you?”

  Judging from Bach’s expression, he would finish what he and Coles started yesterday. She had to think about her answer. If Coles couldn’t stop Bach, Blair, the one who actually pushed her, would just be a stain on the ground when Bach got to him.

  “Coles hits everybody,” Wisteria said lightheartedly. “Well, except for you—now.” She stepped past him.

  “He cannot just decide to hurt you.” Walking with her, he seethed. “Someone has to do something about him. If everyone is afraid to, then I will.”

  “Bach, it’s not that easy. The soldiers can do whatever they like. It’s their way or the biters for us.”

  “The man is dangerous.”

  “You don’t understand the way things were before the soldiers came. You have no idea how bad it got here. Thanks for the concern, but just leave it be.”

  “I am not concerned.”

  She could see that statement wasn’t true; the emerald-eyed boy looked like he was worried about her. She chuckled. Focus Wisteria, she scolded herself. You’re asking for trouble.

  “What is funny?” He squinted at her. “You do not think I am serious?”

  “Oh, you’re serious, but don’t go after Coles. He didn’t touch me. Even if he did, it would make no difference.” There was no question that he could cause damage to Coles, but she feared how much.

  “I am not going to hurt him. I could drop him off, fifty miles from here, surrounded by biters.”

  “Coles is important to me,” she told him.

&n
bsp; “Important—how?”

  “He just is. So, leave it. Promise me you won’t do anything to Coles.”

  “Promise you will stay away from him.”

  “I can’t promise that. But I won’t look for trouble, if that helps.” She tried to pass him but he blocked her path. “Bach, what is it? I want to go home.”

  There was silence.

  “Wisteria, I wish I had not said those things at the den.” His fingers toyed with her hair again, and then his hands trailed down the side of her face, her neck, her shoulder, down her arm, until he had his fingers touching hers.

  Okay Wisteria, pull away. As she gazed into his green eyes she was shocked not to see affection, but bewilderment.

  “Bach,” Hailey hollered, as she came closer with her friends, Yvette and Karen. With their usual confident strides, they all strutted down the slope. Ignoring Wisteria, the girls crowded him. “Bach, we’re going to Barton Lake. I need to get out of here,” Hailey cooed at him.

  “There is a lake on the island?” Bach’s face lit up.

  Wisteria had only managed to see Barton Lake once because it was supposed to be restricted to everyone except the soldiers and the leadership council. “It’s more like a large pond.”

  Hailey scowled at her. As a local of the Isle of Smythe, Hailey was proud of their lake-pond.

  “You’re leaving your own party?” Wisteria asked suspiciously.

  “Come on,” the pretty brunette pleaded with Bach.

  “You are leaving your own party?” Bach mimicked Wisteria’s question.

  “Yeah, Steven showed up, so now it’s not much of a party. I hate the way he acts. Like he owns me or something. Please come?” Hailey pouted at Bach as she stroked his upper arm. “Even if it’s just to make sure Steven stays away.”

  “I would love to see your lake.” The confused expression he wore before melted away and he looked really happy.

  As Wisteria expected, he was captivated with Hailey. She had that effect on boys and some men in town. Only Amanda was better at entrancing guys.

  “Wisteria, you should come with us?” he asked.

  “I need to go.” Wisteria felt foolish yet again, as she’d gotten caught up in whatever recent nonsense Bach was trying to pull.

  “You need to see it.” Hailey placed her hands on his chest. “It’s really quiet and private.”

  She thought Bach hated being touched? Wisteria left. She wasn’t going to watch the girls pawing over him. It serves you right, Wisteria, for being a fool.

  * * * * *

  “Let’s go for a swim,” Yvette suggested. “It’s actually warm enough to get in.”

  Bach sat on the grass watching the waters of Barton Lake ripple. Water was calming and reminded him of the Jade Ocean, but he hadn’t been able to see the water, since he was behind the walls of the island. As the water moved, he felt the pressure and stress from the last few days melt away.

  Hailey, Yvette, and Karen were lying on blankets nearby and there was no one else around. Hailey explained that no one was allowed at the lake, but she got in because her father was the head of the leadership council.

  Suggesting the lake was a great idea, but he was glad Hailey and her clique appeared when they did for another reason. Bach sensed himself surrendering to Wisteria and there was no greater perversion within the Family than that. Miscegenation with free Terrans resulted in one or both people being murdered. Usually, it was the Terran, so if he wanted more from Wisteria, he had to renew her first, get her to surrender her free will to him, and then it would be all right. It was probably how Felip’s ancestor did it. But he couldn’t do that to Wisteria, even though it felt right.

  Surveying the sun, he searched for a clue about what to do. As he did, a cloud floated overhead, settling over him.

  “If you stare into the sun you’ll damage your eyes,” Hailey said.

  “Thank you.” Staring into the sun helped him to think. As children, the Family taught them to watch the sun for hours at a time to meditate and this turned his eyes a healthy shade of green.

  “Bach, you want to get in? You can swim, right?” Karen got to her feet and started to undress.

  “Huh?” He found it funny that Yvette and Karen were so free with him. How could he get Wisteria to let down her guard? Watching the water, he wondered if she were open to him then perhaps the renewal wouldn’t change her that much.

  “You’re going in?” Yvette began undressing as well.

  “No,” Bach replied.

  “I’m sure I can make you change your mind, once you see I’m having such a great time out there.” Yvette headed to the water.

  “Yvette’s a bit crazy,” Hailey, who was now left with him, laughed. “Most days she’s okay, but like today, the girl’s acting like a bloody stripper.”

  “Hmm.”

  “If things were like before, Yvette and I’d never be friends. But there’s not a lot of choice when it comes to friends around here,” Hailey explained sadly. “Most of the people are really old. Most of the kids I went to school with are dead, missing, or seriously messed up. I wish I wasn’t stuck in this dump.”

  “Where else would you go?”

  “There is nowhere else to go. My dad made that perfectly clear. There’s no way I’d be able to get past the gates.”

  “So, you wish to leave?”

  “No, I just want my freedom back. I wish my old friends were here and that I could go up to London on weekends with my mother, like before.”

  “It seems everyone has had to give something up.”

  “But why is my family making all the sacrifices? We owned—well, my dad owned—sixty houses in this town. Now, no one owns anything. People just live in his houses and he gets nothing except insults from the soldiers.”

  “I am sorry living here has been so hard.” He didn’t care really, he just wanted to sit and relax.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come in, Bach?” Yvette called out from the water.

  “There’s almost no one left from before Nero,” Hailey continued. “A lot were trapped on the mainland, some killed themselves, and others tried to cross the channel to France. My ex-boyfriend, Steven, and his family sailed to France. Steven said when they got there they didn’t even get off the boat, because the French dock was overrun by biters. And if Steven couldn’t get out, then no one can.”

  “Why do you say that?” he asked.

  “His mother was Maureen Hindle.”

  He had no idea who Maureen Hindle was.

  “She was the Minister of Health. If anyone could’ve seen this coming, it was her,” Hailey added.

  “She did not warn you?”

  “Maureen Hindle was the first biter from Smythe. No one knew this was going to happen.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come in here?” Karen shouted. “I swear once you’re in, you’ll never want to leave.”

  “She needs to be quieter. The biters are attracted by noise,” he warned her.

  “The biters.” Hailey chuckled. “The flesh eaters haven’t gotten into the island in years.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Bach was certain there were some biters on the island. Not many, but he sensed that there were some.

  “Bach, come on!” Karen pleaded loudly.

  “Karen, shut up, you idiot!” Hailey screamed.

  “Miss Davenport, what the hell are you doing here?” a man’s voice called from behind them.

  The kids turned around and found Coles and another soldier standing a few feet behind them. Neither men looked happy.

  “Great, Steven probably told him we were here,” Hailey muttered to Bach. “Elliot, come on, we come here all the time.”

  “Get up and get out,” Coles ordered.

  “Listen, you can pull your tough guy act in school because everyone’s there, but you know you can’t make me do anything.” Hailey giggled.

  “Hailey, tell Karen and the French one to get dressed.” The Major turned to Bach. “Then, get
your new pet project out of here or the next time we see you? You’ll be working pest control.”

  Hastily, the girls started to pack up their things.

  “I’ll be at the fence. You children have five minutes.”

  Bach rose and walked over to the soldier. “Why do you enjoy bullying people?”

  “The island is safe because the same handful of people put their lives in danger every day. I don’t have time to coddle or baby anyone. But if you want to, be my guest.”

  “I do not see how hitting girls protects the island,” Bach pointed out.

  “What happened with Wisteria? Well, that was an accident,” Coles responded thoughtfully. “And it was none of your damn business.”

  “It is my business when you tried to choke Garfield,” Bach seethed as he grabbed Cole’s shirt. “Or when you hurt her!”

  The other soldier with Coles moved toward to Bach, but Coles signaled to the man to stay back.

  “So your plan is to beat me up or kill me? Even if in some twisted universe you could, where would you go then? You would never make it off the island alive.” Coles laughed.

  “You have no idea.”

  “Why don’t you show me?”

  While Bach would have loved to put this animal in his place, he promised Wisteria to leave him alone. “Like I said, you have no idea.” He let the man go.

  The Major adjusted his shirt and then punched Bach in the face.

  Caught by surprise, Bach staggered back.

  “You ever touch me again? I’ll end you,” Coles fumed.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Karen snickered as the girls walked up.

  From the girls’ expressions, they hadn’t seen Bach and Coles’s exchange.

  “Whoever upset you Elliot, I pity them when you’re through with them,” Hailey teased and walked past them. “Come on Bach, you can come to my house.” She slipped her arm around Bach’s, seemingly oblivious to Bach and Coles’s confrontation. “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN