Legion of Loch Ness

Chapter Eleven

         Although it had been a hectic few months, Arabella found that she was beginning to enjoy the time she spent with Jason, Victoria, and Noah. After determining that Melanie Rivers was, in fact, the Melusine of the legends, she and Victoria had agreed to wait sometime before confronting her about it. They still had quite a bit of research to get through, but the journal had given them a good start. Her mother seemed to be easing into her routine as well, though sometimes Arabella caught her staring at old family photos, her eyes wistful. Arabella missed her father as well, but she'd kept herself distracted with countless extracurriculars, dates with Jason, discussions with Victoria, and college applications. However, she couldn't resist calling him in excitement earlier that week to discuss her upcoming trip to her dream university in London.

       She'd booked the tickets that past month and despite applying to quite a few universities in America, she felt particularly excited about London. Victoria had urged her to book a college tour, and while her mother had been reluctant to let her go so far, she'd allowed it after Arabella resolutely argued the many benefits of the trip. Now, all that was left was to pack and prepare, thought Arabella, as she hummed to herself happily. She'd be leaving for the airport in just a few hours, and while she'd told Victoria about the tour, she'd failed to mention anything about it to Jason. On the surface, she'd convinced herself it simply wasn't that important and that she'd just casually tell him she'd been on a brief trip when she returned in two days. But deep down, Arabella knew she didn't want to think about the prospect of a long-term relationship. The cynicism that had defined Arabella in California returned at the thought of young couples and their desperation to stay together through college. Arabella was aware that she was starting to fall in love with Jason, but she couldn't bring herself to consider the implications of it all.

       After packing her belongings, settling her affairs at home, which included a large stack of assignments she'd managed to complete, and double-checking that she had her passport, Arabella finally readied herself for the airport. She hugged her mother, who reminded her to call every few hours and to let her know when she reached the hotel, and finally set off for the airport, excitement coursing through her veins.

                                                                              ***

      Ethan realized he was pacing back and forth in his apartment in anticipation of Noah's visit in a few hours. He had lived through quite a lot of pain and love and tragedy in his life. Never had he felt so nervous facing any of those events of his life as he did today, finally telling his son the truth about who he was. It had been almost a week since he'd last seen Noah. In that time, he had received only one text from him asking if it was ok if he brought his girlfriend with him. He had ordered pizza and cookies for them. Ethan went around the apartment one final time to make sure everything was clean. He heard footsteps outside his door and rushed to open it. Melusine was just about to knock on Ethan's door when he opened it before she had even raised her hand.

     "Mel! What are you doing here?"

      On top of that, every morning, she and Chris had made a routine of running together, followed by breakfast either at her place or his. She had to admit; she had not felt so content with life in as long as she could remember. Thinking of Chris brought a frisson of excitement in her thoughts, followed immediately by the dread she felt every time, realizing nothing between them could be true or long-lasting until she told him the truth about herself. She respected Ethan for being so forthright and wanting to tell Noah everything immediately. She knew in her heart that if either of them had a chance to have these precious people in their lives, they would need them to know everything and accept them for what they were. She still felt, however, that the minute Chris found out the truth, he would be repulsed, like Lionus had been, and want nothing to do with her. For that selfish reason alone, she had delayed telling him the truth.