NOVEL NEXT 40. Chris, You Think too Much
40. Chris, You Think too Much
Liam
Cindy and I quickly exchanged looks. The man in front of us was a watcher; all the people who came to help were. Dressed in all-white. Michael and I stood at eye level. I might be as tall as him, but I was nowhere near his size. Bulging muscles and covered in tattoos from his neck to his toes, I supposed. Long hair and those beady eyes were what Juliet would like. Then I remembered him. “I wish I could say I’m here with good news, but I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t an emergency.”
“Is Juliet okay?”
“Qadir was at the fight tonight, gave her lashings, split her back open, almost gave her a concussion. Put Marcus out for not letting him take her back.”
Cindy covered her mouth with a hand. Michael looked guilty as if he had done something wrong. His hand ran nervously over his hair, eyes cast to the ground. “It seems there is more?” I asked.
“There is. You see… she’s pregnant.” That was a possibility, so we weren’t really shocked. Michael’s eyes fell on Chris on the ground, and went quiet again. After a long pause, he looked back at me. “But that isn’t the biggest thing going on right now.”
“What else could possibly have happened?”
“It’s not my place. And I feel strange talking to you about this, but Juliet and Louis slept together.” That news made me happy. Why would he be worried? Michael went on. “Then today to get back at Qadir. She stood...” Michael smiled. It was quick and only one side of his mouth quirked. He was proud of her. “She stood so Louis could brand her and join Marcus on her.”
Cindy and I gasped. Our eyes met, and she grabbed my hand. Elated, astonished, but taken by surprise. I felt relieved and anxious at the same time for all it entailed for them. My lifelong worry was gone in one moment, “I didn’t think she would ever let anyone do that to her again,” I muttered, watching Cindy.
“No. Neither did I,” Michael said softly.
“I thought it would’ve been Chris... Cindy and I discussed that we might have made a mistake with Louis and that she didn’t love him at all?”
“On the contrary... Juliet loves Louis deeply. He wouldn’t have stayed any other way.” Michael seemed full of admiration for their relationship. I stared at the strange man in front of me, who knew everything about us, and yet we didn’t know him at all.
Chris moved and complained, muttering. Cindy bent down and took his pulse, turning him on his back. She patted his face, “It won’t help, mam.”
Cindy’s eyes shot up to Michael, “Don’t ever call me that again. Just because I’m four hundred years old doesn’t mean I’m middle-aged.”
Michael smiled and nodded. “The drugs kicked in. I will have to carry him. Warden, you’re dismissed. I need to talk to them.” The other man saluted and flew off as if this was a movie. How could they even do that?
Michael threw Chris over his shoulder like he didn’t weigh anything. Like Chris wasn’t three times Michael’s size a minute ago. Together, we made our way back to the house and to the barn. We locked him up for the rest of the morning in his original cage, which seemed stupid. I chuckled. He wouldn’t even have fit. Then, for the first time in the two hundred years, I’d been on Earth. We had a very long talk with a watcher. My daughters’ watcher.
***
Chris
My eyes jolted open. I remembered everything from the previous night. The feeling of falling. Juliet! I manifested and teleported out of that stupid cage onto the porch. Changed back, ran into the house, and rummaged through my stuff, trying to find my passport. I tossed everything into an overnight bag. I got dressed and did it all again, only to get out the door faster. Liam and Cindy sat on the porch, watching me go in and out. I walked past them with one intent but had to stop right before getting in the car. “How do I get Marcus off her?” Liam couldn’t meet my eyes. That was strange, and red flags went up. Yesterday, he was still smirking at me—challenging me. Now he seemed almost defeated. “Chris, we need to talk to you.” There was an ominous silence.
“Just tell me. No more lying!”
“Louis and Juliet consummated their relationship this week.” My stomach sank like a bag of bricks. I had a feeling her and Louis having sex wasn’t the real bad news. “Last night... Marcus and his father were in the same place as Juliet.” I stepped backward, wondering if he would tell me she wouldn’t make it or that she was gone forever. “Is she okay? Did they take her?” I asked, not caring about the fact that she had slept with another man.
“You see, it’s difficult to explain. But no, she did something else to stop that from happening.” I was trying to decipher his words. How could she have? “Juliet asked Louis to brand her. He did. And it was for so many reasons... She has two marks on her now.”
It was one of those moments where I had no thoughts. My mind blank. My body rigid. As if I had died. “She needed someone to save her, and it wasn’t me. I wasn’t there,” I whispered.
“Chris! You have to understand that Juliet loves you, there is no doubt! But... you didn’t say anything in front of Marcus, and from what we could see, you seemed indifferent.”
“Could no one just give me one freaking minute to sort myself out!?”
“Juliet doesn’t work like that...” Liam got up and yelled. “You live your life, she lives hers, never! She is more the partnership do everything together type. She is intense, Chris, all the time. Our lives… Your new life… Will never allow for you to take a minute!”
I threw my hands in the air. I knew that! She told me as much. If I wanted that ‘separated’ kind of life, I could have stayed with Sita and slept with Ashleigh. Juliet didn’t like cowards. “What would be the point in me going! She has two husbands now!” I laughed, staring up into the sky. I had worried about being married and thirty. Going to jail. Now I had to decide if I would be the third wheel. If I could go at all.
I got into the car, picking up my phone. The messages I had been avoiding mocked me. Stupid Chris! Louis had started sending me things weeks ago, and I had left them because I couldn’t deal. How I left everything else, and I would have to bear the fruit. I sat down and listened to the first one. It was a voice message. Juliet spoke with a lot of feeling. My hand gripped the steering wheel so tight, seeing her face as I listened.
Juliet { Hi... You crossed my mind, and I took it as a sign that I should call and say ‘hi.’ I hope you don’t think I’ve lost my mind or that I’m crazy. No need to reply. I miss you... I know you don’t know how you feel about me, and me bugging you like this is not helping, but... No... No buts. If we die today or something bad happens, I want you to know that I love you. And that you are not alone. If you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything, okay. Don’t write any more letters and make things so final. This message is getting too long, but the idea of you on the other side. I don’t want us to end.}
I lowered my head and wanted to cry. Her words... I groaned, hitting my head softly on the steering wheel. How could she love me so much and sleep with Louis? How stupid I had been... I pressed play on the next one.
Louis { Chris… Juliet misses you very much. She wants you to come }
Next message
Louis { Chris, I think you should come. We can figure out everything here… with your full moon }
Next message
{ Chris, for heaven’s sake, you and Juliet slept together that Friday in the car }
That time, I hit the steering wheel, cursing loudly. “What the hell is wrong with me. Why didn’t I listen to these!” I yelled out loud.
Next message
Louis { She needs release, Chris. And if you’re not here soon... So help me, I will do it... What am I saying? You’re not even listening to any of these! You must really not love her...! When I was still in town and read your thoughts, you seemed somewhat confused, but you’re still deciding? You would probably not even be up for polyandry. You were so devoted to Sita. Anyway. This is my last message. We’ll probably make it official in one way, maybe not the other.
Remember I told you she loves both of us. It’s still the case, and you have to remember Marcus will come back eventually... It’s a very long story. She hasn’t even told me. I only see images, and then she blocks him out. I don’t know when she will deal with all of that... So yeah, just giving you all the facts before you rush over here and make her feel like she... had done something wrong. It isn’t her fault. Any of it... She has no choice where he is concerned, and if you come now… I think… I would be able to walk away. } Louis was struggling. { If you really couldn’t handle me… In her life. And if you want her to choose, I think she would be able to... Anyway. I’m rambling... Whatever! Seems like Juliet and I are using your cell as a journal.}
Last message:
Louis { She worries so for you for the 26th. Could you not call and talk to her even if it’s on my phone. Tell her you’re okay }
I sat staring at Liam and Cindy, who heard all of it. He came over and took something out of his pocket. “I had this made for you the night Juliet came home all cut up. The next day she left to be with you. I kinda knew that you were it. You would someway be a part of all this mess.”
“What is this...?” I said, turning the metal object in my fingers. I put two and two together. I got up and threw it into the woods. “I’m not putting her through that again... it would be pointless. I stretched out my hand. Liam gripped it and pulled me in for a man hug.
“Where will you go? You have to at least stay close to Nick.”
“To France!”
Liam’s jaw dropped, shocked, but then he smiled. Tears pooled in his eye, “Chris... there is more.”
My shoulders shook as I held back the tears. I could feel myself laughing and crying at the same time. “What else could there possibly be?”
Liam bit his bottom lip, “She is carrying your baby.”
My cheeks were wet after that. I sobbed before I knew what was happening. Turning, I rested my head on my arm, leaning against the car. “She’s pregnant?” I muttered to myself.
Cindy came over pulled me away from the car and into her holding me until I felt better. “Everything will be okay, Chris,” she whispered softly.
“What if she doesn’t forgive me.”
They both laughed a little. “Makes the chase so much more fun. I’m glad I’m not you,” Liam said.
I had to smile. Liam had in one night gone from doubting me to giving me an emblem to brand his daughter for the third time. Three husbands. Juliet was okay with three husbands. They were okay with it. Louis was okay with it.
I didn’t want to think anymore. Juliet wasn’t someone I could put on a pro-con list. I was in too deep. Dove right into the deep end of a supernatural world. One where girls disappear, and Louis could read all my thoughts… All I could do was hold on and take it like a grown-up. No more cowardice. No more thinking. I sat in the driver’s seat and closed the door. Liam pulled his wife into an embrace. They cried, waving me goodbye.