Restless Waves

Chapter 54

Michael looked from Wez, to Mandy, then to his son, who pretended that he wasn't in agony.

"Dad," Rowan said. "I need Kaerius."

Michael nodded and motioned for Mandy to get in the car. She was hesitant but had no idea what was going on, so she had no choice but to follow her family and trust that they knew what they were doing. Michael had no idea what he was doing. Mandy had just told him that Wez was her brother, the person who cursed her and caused all the misery and pain. Did Wez know what Jack had done, or did he still think Mandy was cursed? Michael had to pretend like he hated her.

On the way to the car, Michael whispered, "Don't speak a word. Pretend like you don't know Wez." He got in the backseat with Rowan, acting like Wez was just an average Hunter.

"Do I heal like Kaerius now?" Rowan asked, trying not to move his wrist. When the car started moving, he couldn't stop it from bouncing against his lap. "He heals quicker. Won't Doctors find that strange?"

"Oh... yes. That's a good point." Michael tried not to stare at Wez. He didn't want him to know that anything had changed. "Have you told Kaerius that we're coming to pick him up?"

"I tried, but I can't hear his voice anymore. It's weird."

"It might be because you've hurt your head."

"I hope so," Rowan mumbled, watching his mother staring anxiously out of the window. She was avoiding Wez, leaning more towards the car door like she was afraid. She didn't look back at her son or Michael. Rowan wanted to speak to her and ask her if his mother truly didn't remember anything from when she was cursed, and if the mother he knew was gone forever.

When they reached the cliffs, Rowan wanted to get out to see if Kaerius was waiting for him, but his dad wouldn't let him. Rowan watched his dad jog down the path and around the bushes. Rowan hoped that Kaerius had gotten his message and wasn't still waiting by the rocks at his mother's house. Rowan didn't know how long it had been since the hunters captured him; a couple of hours maybe.

"Mandy, I thought you didn't want your hunters to hurt Rowan," Wez said, and Mandy turned to stare at him with a frown. Her expressions were not as cruel as the cursed Mandy. She didn't snap at him like she usually would.

"The hunters were working against her command this time," Rowan said before his mother said anything weird. He didn't want Wez to know what was going on, though Wez had helped him in the past. Rowan wasn't sure if he could trust him enough to let him know who Mandy really was. "She didn't know they were watching us. We just wanted to talk, and they assumed we wanted to fight."

"I see," Wez said, adjusting his mirror. "Ah, your father's back."

Mandy turned to watch from the back window. She wanted to look at Michael but stared at Rowan instead. Rowan saw her expression change to interest. Her eyes travelled around him like she was seeing him for the first time; like Rowan was still a stranger. Eighteen-year-old Rowan was a stranger to her.

Mandy's staring was distracted by Kaerius who yanked the door open closest to Rowan. Kaerius cupped his face when he saw that it was covered in dried blood. "Rowan hurt bad!" Kaerius said, turning Rowan's face left and right.

"Kaerius, my face was punched quite a lot, can you stop squeezing it please," Rowan breathed.

"Oh." Kaerius let go and hurried around the side of the car, so he could sit in the middle, sandwiched between Michael and Rowan. "We mend you?" Kaerius asked after Michael helped him with his seatbelt.

"Are we going to the hospital?" Rowan asked, scrunching his eyes shut when his vision blurred again. His heart felt a little less stressed now that Kaerius was right next to him, touching his arm and smothering him in his concern.