[Anita]. chapter 5

                          

Anita.

Chapter 5

 

    As the shouts and arguments raised in volume, the tenor and bass murmurings traveling through the walls of the house, I leaned against the doorway to Blake's bedroom. In Chloe's jeans and tight, breathable shirt I felt bold; dangerous. I had no doubt of the actions my father would take if I had ever donned such garb at the castle.

            I watched Blake where he lay, on his bed. His chest rose and fell with every breath he took, and I used his breathing as an excuse to stare at the sculpted planes of his chest, and the faint lines of the muscle of his abdomen. I curled my bare toes, and felt the thick carpet under my feet. I was vaguely aware of Norah curled around a pillow on the couch. I could hear the rattle as she shook the 8-ball and turned to look at her. The second that our eyes met, she grinned, her breath came in a gasp. Immediately, she stared at the 8-ball. She shook it in her tiny hands vigorously. I couldn't see the answer that it gave her from where I stood, but she suddenly bolted to her feet, skipping over and tugging on my hands. The 8-ball lay forgotten on the couch.

            “Tum, tum, tum,” she giggled. “Tuman' to get Nana!”
    “He's outside,” I told her, stealing one last glance at Blake, slumbering on his bed, “he's arguing with the men. Why do you need him?”

            “Mim, mim, mim,” Norah sang, tugging me along. Reluctantly I went, she lead me to Nathaniel though I wished to be with Blake. I felt drawn to him for some unknown reason.

            “Hey Nathaniel,” I said.

            “Hey,” he waved and picked Norah up when she ran to him.

            “Nana, Nana, Nana,” Norah sang.

            “Yes Norah?” he asked.

            “Bake o'tay?”

            “Yes Norah, Blake will be okay,” he answered.

            My heart seemed to skip a beat at the sound of his name. I thought about when we met at the ball, how nervous he had looked. Now his face was a mask of serenity as he slumbered. Norah's giggles brought my attention back to the moment at hand. The workmen still argued beside where Nathaniel and I stood.

            “Take it to the doctor,” I said, hoping one of them would hear me.

            “Thank you ma'am,” a tall scruffy looking man replied. He walked off, silver in hand, towards Doctor Carter's office. The other men lingered a bit before packing up their tools and heading down the road that lead off Island.

    Nathaniel set Norah lightly on the ground and took my hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze as the three of us headed to see Carter. We passed the workman on our way, he gave us a slight nod. Nathaniel's house looked like all the others on Island. The only difference being a small sign that read “Doctor Carter” posted hear his mall box. Nathaniel opened the door and let Norah and I in ahead of him, though he still held my hand.

            “Dad, you here?” he called out. Without responding, Carter seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

            “Hello,” he greeted us. He glanced down at our hands and gave Nathaniel a pointed look. “How are you, Anita?” he asked.

            “Very good, thank you, and I trust you are well Carter?”

            “Yes, yes, all is well, especially now that I am able to make that antidote that will cure our beloved Blake,” he beamed. I couldn't hold back the smile that shone whenever Blake's name was said.

            “How long do you expect till it is ready?” I was unable to keep my curiosity contained.

            “Well, it will take two days to make, a day to settle and a week for it to work on Blake's body,” he explained.

            “Then we shan't keep you from your work, good day, Carter.”

            “Nathaniel, a word please?” Carter called as we walked out the door.

            “I'll catch up with you in a minute,” Nathaniel said as he turned back inside to talk to his father. Norah and I continued down the road towards the main road on Island. Nathaniel soon caught up with us as promised, though this time he seemed to keep Norah between us.

            This was the first time I had actually been in the main section on Island. There were small shops and a lush green area in the middle. Some benches and trees lined the edges. Nathaniel steered us to one of the shops on the left. It was called the 'Pawn Shope' and the first thing I saw was the boy with the brown eyes that came by on the day Blake took ill.

            “Beawy!” Norah ran past me and jumped into Bear's open arms.

            “Hey, Norah, where's your 8-ball?” he asked as he gently bounced her on one hip.

            “'S wif Bake,” she announced to him gleefully.

            “Hey, Nate, did Carter get the silver yet?”

            “Yea, he's working on the antidote as we speak,” he relayed.

            “Good, oh hey, Anita,” he said as if just noticing my presence.

            “Hi,” I said, looking down at my feet. The memory of that day still fresh in my mind. I thought back to what he had said about the Arbor Lamiae. The beautiful tree with the white leaves. The way it's used as a numbing medicine, just a plant, and worked just as well as anyone of our anesthetics.

            “So, how long until our Blake is up and about?” he asked. Our Blake?

            “Week and a half, tops,” Nathaniel replied. To me it seemed like forever to wait to see those brilliant deep green eyes of his. My mind wandered to the way everyone said “our Blake,” it was curious how everyone sounded as though they owned him.

            Fingers snapped in front of my face, yanking me from my thoughts. I blinked a couple of times as my eyes focused on Nathaniel who was now waving his hand in my face.

            “Yes?” I asked, my brow furrowed in frustration as I tried to figure out what the odd gestures meant.

            “Welcome back,” he exclaimed cheerily. This confused me even more.

            “I never left, I've been standing right here.”

            “Your mind was wandering, you've had this far-away look in your eyes for the past five minutes. Completely unresponsive when we asked you questions,” he told me in a matter-of-fact way.

            “Oh, I'm sorry.” He smiled.

            “So, now that we've got your attention,” he began.

            “Are you excited that Blake won't be a vegetable in a little over a week?” Bear finished. Norah squeaked and we all looked down at her where she sat on the floor playing with a particular deck of cards. She didn't seem to know what to do with them, so she just threw them around in front of her.

            “Well,” I said, bringing my eyes back to meet Nathaniel and Bear's. “I don't really know,” I said, blurting out the truth. Bear cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow. When I looked at Nathaniel there was a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

            “Why is that?” Bear asked.

            “I am excited, because now I'll get to know him better. At the same time, I'm nervous and worried that maybe our personalities will clash.” I hated myself the moment the words escaped my lips, but I needed someone to know how I felt and I had a feeling that Chloe wouldn't be warming up to me anytime soon.

            “Of course you two will be perfect for each other and Blake is an easy going guy. Besides, who wouldn't like someone as nice and as pretty as you?” I had a feeling that he meant that as a rhetorical question, but I answered anyways.

            “Chloe.” Bear's smile dimmed and he gave me a sympathetic look.

            “She'll come around eventually,” he said, resting a hand on my shoulder. I glanced over at Nathaniel whom had been awfully quiet as of late. He was staring right at me, smiling.

            “Nathaniel?” I raised one eyebrow. His smile broadened, then he abruptly turned to Bear.

            “I think we should get going, Cathleen will be looking for us.”

            “OK, come back anything if you want to talk or just hang out or anything,” Bear told me as he waved goodbye and shook Nathaniel's hand.

            “Come on, Norah,” Nathaniel called.

            “Tuman Nana,” she yelled. She put the cards into a pile.

            “That's okay, Norah, I will clean it all up,” he said as he bent down and started to pack up the deck into the package.

            “Baibai Beawy,” she said hugging his arm. We left and walked down the long stretch of road to get back to the Alpha's house.

            “I guess I'll see you later,” Nathaniel said when we got to the porch of the house.

            “Yes,” I said, taking Norah's hand. Nathaniel took my free hand then and brought it to his mouth, gently pressing his lips to it softly. I stared at him as Norah tugged on my sleeve.

            “Tum, tum, Nina,” Norah squeaked. Nathaniel turned and left without another word and Cathleen appeared in the doorway.

            “Girls, dinner is almost ready,” she said ushering us inside. A sweet scent drifted to my nose; peaces, apples, cinnamon, and beef. I wonder what she's cooked up today. Still after almost two weeks of living here, I wasn't at all used to the foreign smells in the kitchen.

    Instead of taking a seat at the table like Norah and Chloe, I went upstairs to see Blake like I had done everyday this week. I laid on my side, facing him, with one hand propping myself up, the other stroking his cheek. Cathleen kept it warm in here for him so he wouldn't get cold.

            “Don't worry, you'll be better soon. I promise,” I told him. Sometimes I felt weird talking to someone who might not even be able to hear me. “So,” I said to my husband to be, “Chloe is starting to be nicer to me. And Norah and I are becoming very well acquainted. Nathaniel is still a mystery and Bear seems nice enough.” Still no response, though I wasn't hoping for much.

            “Ninner!” I heard Norah call out just as her little body appeared in the doorway. She ran straight to her 8-ball, which was still on the couch where she had left it earlier this morning. Then she stepped onto her step-stool and climbed onto Blake's bed.         

            “Hi, Bake,” her voice was soft. She rested her tiny palm on his cheek, then kissed his forehead. “'S time ninner, bai. Tuman, Nina,” she said as she scrambled back down to the floor. She shook her 8-ball vigorously and giggled, smiling at me. I gave Blake's cheek a quick kiss and scooped Norah up in my arms on my way down stairs.

            Dinner's were becoming easier for me each day. I felt more connected to the family as time passed. Today, though dinner took less than an hour, it felt like forever. The clock read 5:24pm.

            “Norah, would you like to come with me to go see Bear?” I asked after dished had been done and everyone was off doing different things.

            “Mmsay,” she said. She grabbed her 8-ball from her room and we left. The sun was still up and people were still out and about, most of which steered clear of us. They had done is earlier too, but it seemed worse now. I was relieved to find that the shop was still open and Bear was behind the counter. One customer who was looking around when we entered, ran out past us.

            “Here you go,” Bear handed Norah the deck and she plopped down on the floor, spreading the cards around. “Hey,” he said to me.

            “Hey, what's with Nathaniel?” I asked in a hushed voice so Norah wouldn't over hear.

            “We'll be right back Norah,” Bear said, she nodded in response. We went outside to one of the benches on the grass.

            “He's been acting a little strange lately.”

            “How so?” he asked.

            “Remember when you asked if I was excited about Blake?” he nodded. “He was sort if smiling when I said I didn't know,” I paused. “Then, when Norah and I were about to go into the house, he kissed my hand.”

            “Huh,” he pondered the information I gave him before answering. “You see, the thing is, Nathaniel is human like yourself. Due to that fact, he had told me that he feels an attraction to you,” he paused.

            “Oh,” my mind was in a twist.

            “Don't say anything to him please,” Bear pleaded. I looked up at him, searching for the answers to all my questions. His eyes were sad, the brown in them tainted with a golden honey color. His whole face seemed distressed, I wanted to hug him, but just then, Nathaniel walked up.

            “Hey,” he said, looking back and forth between Bear and I. I could tell he was puzzled as much about this as I was about him. He was attracted to me and I was to marry Blake when he was well enough. Though I had talked more with Nathaniel, I did not feel any more attraction towards him than Blake.

            Blake.

            He haunted my dreams at night and drew my to him during the day. Although I am human, I don't understand Nathaniel's way of thinking. When I lived in the castle, I was taught to love the one I was betrothed to and never disobey them. At this moment in time, I belong to Blake and I would not cross him.

            “I have to go,” I said quickly, running inside an picking up Norah. “Thank you,” I said to Bear.

            “Bai Beawy, bai Nana,” Norah called to them. While I walked back, carrying Norah in my arms, she fell asleep. The setting sun made her blond hair glow and her face seem, almost like an angel's. I felt a smile creep onto my face as we approached the house. It had been a long day and I had walked an exhausting distance with little rest. My legs ached as I trudged up the walkway and pushed the door open, trying not to wake Norah. Cathleen was in the kitchen ans took Norah from my arms and proceeded to their room. I headed straight to mine and Chloe's room.

    Chloe was on her bed reading when I entered. She nodded at me and I went to my side of the room, plopping down onto the bed. Too tired to undress, I fell asleep in my clothes and dreamt again of Blake.

            “Princess,” he took my hand and brought it to his soft lips, kissing it gently. He drew me closer to him; a dance. This time, however, I was not tired and never took my eyes off him. He spun me around, locking his deep green eyes on my brown ones. He smiled a dazzling, pearl white smile at me, then twirled me around.

            “I can't wait to dance with you again once you're well.”

            “And I as well,” Blake pulled me closer to him, leaving no space between our bodies. I blinked and suddenly my wonderful dream plunged into a horrific nightmare. Blake held me captive, a sneer on his face as I struggled against the ropes that bound me to a chair. Nathaniel appeared beside him, wearing the same mask of twisted pleasure. I blinked again.

            I was in the Garden, on the swing. Bear was there, lying on the lush green grass. “The trees are always watching in the wood,” he warned me. My dress turned the color of blood and shadows encompassed me, blurring my vision. Pairs of red eyes were everywhere. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.

            Nothing.

            I was floating in a black space, nothing but darkness. My body felt restricted and paralyzed. My mouth wouldn't open, my voice made no noise. This must be how Blake feels, I thought. I was relieved when I blinked and found myself awake and in Chloe's room. Instead of trapping myself in another nightmare, I quietly crept over the Blake's room. I stared into the darkness of the room for a moment, then crawled into the bed beside him, I laid my head on the pillow next to his and twined my fingers with his.

            “Can you feel me here?” I asked. “Do anything, squeeze my hand, make a sound. Something to show me that you can feel me.” I just laid there, hoping he might suddenly wake and talk. Eventually, I began to drift off to sleep.

            Pressure, the slightest thing on my fingers, but I felt it. I squeezed his fingers in return to let him know that I felt it, then fell fast asleep. Happier dreams came to me this time; Blake kept my nightmares away.

 * * * * *

    “Anita?” a gentle voice said. “Come on sweety, wake up,” the voice pleaded. I felt a nudge in my side. I groaned, hoping they would just go away, no such luck.

            “Anita, get up please,” a second voice told me. I rolled over and opened my eyes. Cathleen and Peter were staring at me.

            “Good morning dear,” Cathleen said in her gentle voice.

            “Morning,” I tried to be happy, today was the day Carter would give Blake the antidote.

            “Carter will be here soon,” she said going to my closet. She began pulling out jeans and T-shirts that I had acquired over the two weeks I had been here. She found a pale pink blouse and blue jeans. She laid them at the foot of my bed.

            “Is everyone else up?” I asked.

            “Yes, they're down stairs making breakfast.”

            “Okay, thank you,” I said getting out of bed and stretching. My mind portrayed an image of Blake in his serenity, then one of him dancing at the ball. Then pictures of my nightmare from three days ago. I cringed then went across the hall to shower.

            The warm shower soothed my tense muscles instantaneously. Apricot shampoo and green tea soap filled my senses. The deep green loofah cleansed my skin, helping to relax me further. I let the warm water run over my skin for a short while longer. When my body and hair were clear of shampoo and soap, I stepped out of the shower and shut it off.

            A soft knock sounded on the door as I wrapped a pale blue towel around myself.

            “Nina?” Norah called through the door.

            “Yes?” I opened the door a crack.

            “Hasoo seem my ball?” she asked. Her face full of worry.

            “No, I'm sorry,” she frowned and took off running down the hall. She hurried downstairs as fast as she could without falling. Norah screamed and Peter calmed her, after that there was only sheer silence.

            I took my time dressing and doing my hair in a simple braid. Only one more week, I thought, smiling softly to myself in the mirror.

            “Anita?” Chloe's voice traveled through the house. “Carter is here,” she called. I went downstairs to greet Carter, he was in his professional uniform.

            “Carter,” I said, inclining my head slightly.

            “Anita,” he said. “Now, shall we cure the boy?” I smiled and Chloe's face brightened as well. We lead him upstairs to Blake's room and he went in alone. All of us waited at the door for him to finish. Cathleen's cold hand rested on my bare forearm.

            “How are you feeling, dear?” her soft voice cooed.

            “Better and yet increasingly anxious at the same time,” I replied as I twined my hands together many times. The whole hall seemed as though it was shrinking and enclosing us in a box. Severe claustrophobia kicked in and I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate. “Excuse me just a moment,” I said as I hurried downstairs to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with ice water from the faucet. A murmur of voices from upstairs told me that Carter was most likely done.

            Everyone filed down the stairs and surrounded me. I took a deep breath, calming my frayed nerves.

            “He's going to be just fine,” Carter said before walking down the hall and out the door.