The Bellwood Breed

The Bellwood Breed-19

"Ok so, the only down side to this is that, it might make you a little sick."

I gawked at Ryder, the others had just got back to the lounge. "What do you mean it might make me a little sick?"

"Well...the blessing we put on your house was created to ward off Darklighters, if they enter, it makes them gravely ill."

"Gravely...ill?" I said slowly. "Did you guys think this entire thing through? I can't be allergic to my own house!" Blythe smirked at my use of words.

"Look, Riley, you most likely won't even respond to it, you're 50/50, so in your case, the outcome could be different, you probably won't be affected at all." Ryder reassured.

I chewed my bottom lip. "You guys aren't being very convincing right now."

******

My house seemed to be a little ominous at the moment. What if it did in fact make me "gravely ill"?

I took a deep breath as I walked up my front porch. I stepped through the front door hesitantly, waiting to be struck by lightening or something. I felt a tad queasy at first, but then after a moment or two, it vanished.

Taking a deep breath, I walked all the way inside.

"See, you're perfectly fine." Avery said in my ear. He tagged along to make sure I wouldn't fall under or anything.

Both of our faces were relieved. "Thanks for coming with me." I said.

He ran a hand through his hair, struggling a little. "No problem." His smile was shaky.

I could tell things were still a bit awkward after the passionate kiss we shared earlier. "Look, if this is about the kiss, I'm sorry, I...pushed boundaries."

He waived his hand a little as he dismissed it. "Don't worry about it, it wasn't just your fault, I kissed you first." I cleared my throat as I rubbed my arm. "But Riley, that can't happen again, you're engaged." His voice broke a little.

I looked down at the ring that I still, for some reason, hadn't taken off yet. "I know I just..." I looked at him, unable to make sense of my thoughts. I stepped toward him as he stood against the island in my kitchen. He looked down at me, his lashes casting shadows across his face. "Avery, I just want to be with you." I squeaked.

His eyes were sad as he looked down at me. We were just inches apart as I laced my hand in his that was resting on the island counter.

He took a deep breath. "Then Riley, you know what you have to do. Until then..." He stepped away from me.

My breath was shaky. "I know."

My mom walked into the kitchen, not looking up as she typed away on her phone. "Riley honey, we have guest coming-oh, hello!" My mom looked up, noticing Avery for the first time. " Ri, who's this?" She gave Avery a hesitant smile.

"Hello Mrs. Dunts, I'm Avery, Riley's friend."

She cocked a brow. "Oh? I've never heard of you before."

He cleared his throat and I blushed. "Mom he's David and Shannon Johnson's son, they live just down the street."

"Oh! Of course!" She smiled. "I see the resemblance now!" She laughed. "Well it's nice to meet you Avery."

"Nice to finally meet you also." He said politely.

"Say, we're having a dinner party tonight, why don't you stay and invite your family over!" She offered.

My eyes widened a little. "Mom!?"

Avery was caught off guard for a moment. "Oh um, thanks for the offer but-"

"No, no buts, you guys must join us. We're having another family over tonight also, it'll be fun to have a mid-week get together. And," she added with a smile. "We can get to know our neighbors better."

I covered my face and groaned internally.

Avery rubbed his hands together anxiously. "Uh, then..." He sighed with a smile. "Then I see no real reason to object."

My mother smiled. "Marvelous!"

******

"I'm so sorry about this." I said to Avery as he and his parents arrived back an hour or so later. "My mom's very spur of the moment." We both watched as the adults began conversing with each other.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's um, okay." I nodded a little.

Lexi came prancing down the stairs in a short dress that barely came passed her thighs. "Oh, hi there Avery." She said cutely.

I felt my eyes roll in their sockets as he tried not to look her up and down. "Oh, um, hi Lexi."

"Do you ever have on any clothes?" I said with an annoyed look. Avery had totally just checked out her legs.

"Do you ever know what you want?" She countered.

I took a deep breath as I tried to allow her comment to roll right off of me.

The aroma of Italian food engulfed my nostrils, making me long for the food. Before I found out I was adopted, I had originally thought I was Italian like my family. The thick dark hair and creamy skin made it seem reasonable to believe.

My mom told us dinner wouldn't be ready for another 15 minutes or so. So Avery, Lexi, and I, along with our neighbor's 16 year old daughter, waited in the parlor room, snacking on caviare.

Lexi chatted along with the other girl, they seemed to know each other, while Avery and I sat there, waiting for the other to say something first.

I cleared my throat. "Again, if you're uncomfortable, I completely understand, you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"What, are you trying to get rid of me?" His smile was small and I felt my self blushing.

I laughed a little, it coming off strangled and shaky. "No, it's just, when we lived in the city, my mom did things like this all the time. Each and everyone of my friends got caught up in one at least once."

He chuckled. "Sounds like she likes doing this kind of thing."

I nodded. "Yeah, she is, after all, an event planner."

"Really? I just learned something new." He said quietly as he smiled at me.

My stomach did a little flip as I looked back at him. I wanted so badly to kiss him, but I knew I couldn't.

I noticed that we had somehow gotten a little closer together in the couch. I could feel the warmth from his body radiating off of him, I just wanted to nuzzle up in the crook of him and never move.

I watched as his chest rose and evenly. His eyes were on mine, causing my own chest to slowly go uneven. Everything about him made me go dopey eyed. Simply just looking at him right now made it feel as if we were the only ones in the room.

And sadly enough, we weren't.

"Riley?"

I looked up, catching of someone who was waving a hand in my face, apparently highly annoyed right now also.

"Andrew?!" I stood to my feet, entirely surprised by his presence. "What, what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be here until Saturday morning?"

He folded his arms across his chest, a hard look on his face. "I finished my classes early for fall leave so I thought I'd come early. Why, are you to preoccupied with other situations at hand?" He have Avery a cold stare.

I cleared my throat, positive that I was red at the moment. "No, of course not, I'm glad you're here."

"Are you really?" He frowned, his eyes going soft and sad.

I nodded, resting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Yes Andrew, I'm glad you're here." Because now I could tell him that this just wasn't going to work.

He nodded. "Alright, help me get my things out the car." He walked out of the room with his hands shoved in his pockets.

I turned back to Avery who was siting there talking to Lexi and her friend now.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. He simply turned his head and said nothing.

I couldn't help but sigh as I followed Andrew out. I realized he had more than just an overnight bag like he usually did.

"Um, how long are you staying exactly?" I tried not to sound too rude.

He handed me a smaller bag as he turned to close his trunk. "I told you, we're on fall leave. I'll be here until Monday morning."

I groaned internally as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "But, what about your own family, don't you think they'll want to see you too?"

"Riley, look, I came to spend time with my fiancé so that's what I plan on doing, I'm starting to feel like I'm an intruder or something and you don't even want me here." He dropped his bag on the floor and looked me right in the eyes. "What is going on with the two of you?" Andrew was never one to beat around the bush, he got right to the point.

Now would have been the perfect time to just tell him everything, but as I looked at how sad and worried his face was, I couldn't do it. He had done nothing wrong and had always treated me well. Why couldn't I do the same to him?

"Drew, I, there's nothing going on between Avery and I, we're just friends." I laced my hand in his, stepping toward him.

He looked down at me through his lashes, his alabaster skin bathed in moonlight. "Riley, please...I don't, I can't lose you babe, I love you too much." He said quietly.

I could feel the seams of my heart tugging to be undone, whatever had been sealed, was trying to open itself.

I frowned in the slightest, standing on the tip of my toes to plant a small kiss on his lips. "I know Drew." I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him as close to me as I possibly could. He buried his face in my hair, hugging me back.

Had things not been so confusing for me, Drew and I being together would have been a nobrainer. He was just as perfect for me as I was for him. I had pictured our wedding and future children together many times, but now, it all just didn't...just didn't fit my life anymore.

He kissed me on the mouth gently, still holding me close to him. I pulled back and rested my head on his, catching my breath. "Drew..." I breathed.

"Shh." He whispered as his lips met mine again, making me forget what I was going to say.

When we finally made it back inside, everyone was already seated in the dinning room at the dinner table. Andrew sat next to Lexi, and I sat next to him, putting me right across from Avery and his parents. I cleared my throat awkwardly as my parents welcomed their guest.

I could feel his eyes on mine, but I wouldn't dare look up, not with Andrew siting right beside me. If I looked at him, my eyes would go dreamy, and I wouldn't be able to look away.

Everyone around me began eating and talking amongst themselves, but I could really find the appetite to do so. There was too much on my mind, too much going on for me to be worrying about little things like food and entertaining guest.

I knew I had to tell Andrew sooner or later, but he'd just got here, and I didn't want to break his heart already. I was already a terrible person, but that would just make me even worse.

I noticed Andrew was quiet also, he was looking down at his plate with a pained expression on his face.

I rested a hand on his lap. "Drew, are you okay?"

He turned to look at me. "Ri, what's in this?"

I looked down at my plate, examining its ingredients, I usually knew what my mother put in her food. "In what?"

"The dressing Ri, what's in it?" He gagged a little.

Now I was worried. "Oh no, Andrew, did you just eat walnuts?" He'd been badly allergic to them since he was a kid.

He nodded, gulping his water down quickly as he began to sweat, fanning himself with his shirt. "Yeah, I thought..." He paused. "Riley..." He held on to my chair. "I can't...I can't breath..." He heaved.

"Oh my gosh." My mother was going to kill my fiancé! "Mom?!"

"What? What's wrong?" Everyone was looking at me now.

"Walnuts, walnuts are what's wrong! You know he's allergic to them, why the heck would you use it in a main dish?!"

"Oh no, Drew, baby, I'm so sorry, I forgot."

He tried to speak but couldn't. I was starting to get scared. Last time he ate walnuts he ended up in the hospital. His tongue and mouth had swollen, blocking his passage of air to his mouth.

He was beginning to heave. "Do something!" I cried.

My dad was first to get to him, helping him out of his seat and out the front door.

I chewed my bottom lip, this was not good, not good at all. I grabbed my coat as I followed them out.

"Do you not have an EPI pen?"

"Riley would he be suffocating himself if he did?" My dad answered.

"Well sorry." I said in annoyance.

Drew gently pushed my dad away from him, digging in his pocket to retrieve an inhaler. He pressed it into his mouth, breathing deeply.

"Are you okay?" My mom asked. I hadn't realized she had even come outside, the others were standing on the porch looking on in worry.

He took a few deep breaths, inhaling deeply and nodded. "I...I can breath now."

I sighed in relief along with the others. "Oh thank god." My mom said in relief. "Andrew hun, I am so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, it completely slipped my mind."

He wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "It's fine. No biggie."

"Drew you could have passed out." I clung to his arm, still trying to get my own heart rate back down to a normal pace. Seeing him like that scared me half to death.

"Babe, I'm fine now, ok?" He said reassuringly. "I'm just gonna catch some air out here for a minute though if that's fine with you all."

My parents nodded. "Of course honey, come back in when you're ready, we'll get something else fixed for you."

He shook his head. "No it's fine, I'm not even hungry." My mother nodded as she followed everyone back inside, apologizing once more.

Once we were alone I turned to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I may not have loved him like I used to, but without a doubt I still loved and cared for him. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

He wrapped his arms around me and chuckled a little. "I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to." He pecked me on the lips.

I knew I still cared for Drew, I just didn't know how much until just now. Seeing him like that scared me like no ones business. The look he had in his eyes would follow me for a bit.

We sat on the steps as he kept one arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulders and sighed. "You're burning up." I said quietly. I could feel his hot skin through the material of his thin cardigan, he almost had a fever. "Ready to go back in?"

He cleared his throat. "Yeah but, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go upstairs and lay down for a bit."

I nodded as we stood, the heat of the house welcoming us. "That's fine, let me know if you need anything."

He nodded as he walked up the stairs slowly. I could tell he was weakened just a little.

I needed to throw water on my face or I was going to overheat. Just as I was going in, Avery was coming out.

"Oh!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair.

"I-it's um, it's fine."

He nodded. "Is he okay?"

"Uh yeah, I think he's going to be fine."

He nodded. "Well good."

We were both silent for a moment. "Listen, Avery, I'm-"

"You don't have to explain." He said quietly as he held a hand up. "He's the one who belongs here, I'm the one intruding."

I frowned. "Avery-"

"I told my parents I was gonna head out now." He sighed a little.

"Oh, um...ok." I took a deep breath. "Thanks for coming."

He nodded. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

I watched as he walked down the hall and out the front door., his shoulders slumped the entire time.

I drug a hand down my face. Ugh, this was all just wonderful.

******

After everyone had left and gone to bed, I went to go check on Andrew, who hadn't showed his face since earlier in the night.

The bedroom door where he slept was closed. No lights appeared to be on so I figured he was already sleep.

I peaked in the dark room, catching what looked to be his sleeping body on the bed. I sighed as I watched, not exactly sure of what I was feeling.

Not wanting to disturb him, I tiptoed back down to my own room, getting into my pajamas and crawling into bed.

I was in a deep sleep when I was awoken by a faint sound of shuffling feet. My eyes peeled open groggily, checking the dark of my bedroom. My night clock told me it was just after three in the morning.

I could still hear someone moving about my bedroom. "Drew?" I called. I could see the outline of his body standing near my bedroom window.

His back was turned toward me as he watched the night. He turned slowly. "Hey, I'm sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

I sat up in bed as he walked over, siting down on the edge. "It's okay, what are you doing?" I scratched my head, still half asleep.

"Well, don't get creeped out or anything but...I was watching you sleep." He said quietly, I blushed a little. "But then, I thought I heard something outside."

The blood drained from my face. "Oh? Did you see anything?"

He shook his head. "No, it was probably just a grizzly bear or something." I could see his smirk.

I smiled a little in relief. "Oh, right."

"Mind if I join?" He whispered.

I shook my head, scooting over so he could climb in next to me. He scooted close, bringing me into his arms and kissing my forehead. "I love you Ri." His lips pressed against mine gently. I could feel him playing with the ring on my finger as he held my hand.

I sighed. "I love you too." I breathed.

He brought his lips down to my neck, trailing little kisses down to my collar bone and back up, leaving a fire wherever our skin met.

I tried not to giggle. "Drew, what are you doing." I whispered.

"I'm cuddling with my fiancé." He whispered back, pinning me underneath him.

"But I have to get ready for school in less than three hours." I said quietly. His hands were trailing up and down the length of my body, making me lose my resolve for a moment at the sensation it was creating.

He ignored me, his gentle hands running over the skin on my stomach as he kissed me. I kissed him back, going heady by the scent of him.

He pulled his shirt from over his head, his smooth skin being revealed to me as he brought his lips back to mine. My hands trailed down his back and through his hair as we kissed. I could feel the dark in me starting to respond, wanting to take over.

He tugged at my pajama shorts, sliding them right off of me. My stomach erupted in butterflies as I tried to bring myself to stop, but to no avail. His hold on me was too strong now.

He traced the hem of the lace on my lower abdomen as we kissed, his lips moving back to my neck.

The words, "We should stop" just wouldn't form on my lips because I didn't want him to. I wanted him to keep going, every reaction inside me said that much.

He caught the lace of my hiphuggers, about to tug them right off when I caught his hand.

"Someone's coming." I could hear Lexi's distinct footsteps tiptoeing down the hall.

"What?" He was confused.

I put a finger to his lips. "Shh. Just, get down on the other side of the bed." I whispered.

Seconds later, Lexi's head peeped through my bedroom door. "Ri?" She whispered.

"Lex?" I was confused, what was she doing up, and why was she dressed?

"Can I tell you something?" She whispered.

"Uh..." I breathed. "Can it wait until morning? I'm really tired." I rubbed my eyes. "If it can't...sure."

She shook her head. "I think waiting until morning would be better. Don't want to wake the others up anyway. Thanks." She shut my door quietly.

I rubbed my temples. What on earth had that been about?

Andrew stood up. "Um Ri, how'd you know she was coming?"

"Huh? Oh...um." Shoot Riley, think fast! "I um, the floors, I'm used to the floor creaking when people are coming toward my door." I nodded, that seemed true enough.

He cocked a brow as he pulled his shirt over his head. "O...k, well, is Lex okay?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "Um, I'm not exactly sure, but...I'm glad she interrupted." I chewed my bottom lip, beginning to blush.

"Yeah, me too." He whispered as he kissed me on the lips. "I'm gonna head back to my room."

I nodded. "That might be a good idea." I whispered back.

He nodded as he slid out of my bedroom. My head fell back against my pillows as I groaned quietly.

"Riley get it together."