The Watchers

Chapter 13

Last night I was able to get much needed, uninterrupted sleep. Hopefully it is the beginning of many more to come. I awoke with excitement that I have not felt in a while. Claire and Calvin are coming this morning and I am eager to see them. It will be nice to have a couple days that feel like the old days, before all of this began.

I quickly get dressed and head downstairs for breakfast. Zack and Liam are supposed to go after we eat to meet Claire and Calvin at the diner we ate at before and let them follow them here. I was surprised that Claire didn't ask too many questions about how secretive we were about our location. Maybe after she sees the security here she will worry about me less. The last couple of weeks she has sent me message after message telling me about how worried she is that something is going to happen to me.

When I enter the kitchen to eat, I notice that the table is lined with enough food to feed an army. They havent cooked this much since I first came. They eat a lot for being in such good shape.

"Claire just messaged me that she is about an hour and half away from the diner. We will go get them after breakfast. Im bringing Liam with me in case someone is following us. I know you realize how dangerous this could be. If we see anyone following , we may have to cancel." Zack tells me. It looks like he is waiting for me to respond so I quickly shake my head to indicate that I understand.

"I doubt anyone will be. I haven't seen Ezekiel or any other of Azazel's minions snooping around lately. It's actually a little worrisome." Jeremiah piped in.

"I know. Thats why we have to be extra careful." Zack says.

I quickly scarf down some bacon and pancakes and wait for everyone to finish. When we were done eating, I waved Zack and Liam off and headed to train with Jeremiah and Elijah. Im hoping to get some training in and shower before Claire and Calvin arrive. I know I will have to change my training times to earlier in the morning and later in the evening while we have company. I wonder what Claire would say if she saw me sparring with the guys. Shed probably get in between us and kick them in the privates while cursing them. Then I would have to explain to her why we were fighting. I dont think Zack would be happy with us having to explain it to her. He says that the less they know, the safer they will be.

Three hours later, I have trained, showered, and was waiting by the door for them to get back. Alex and Jasper keep teasing me about how eager I am. I dont care though. They can tease me all they want. I have been dying to have a good girl conversation with Claire. She told me that Calvin has been acting weird lately. He has been leaving late at night and coming home at odd hours. She said when she questioned him about it he got very defensive and said he was at work. When Claire checked the time clock at work it showed he was not at work. She keeps insisting that he is cheating. I tried to comfort her and assure her he would never do that. Since we have been in grade school Calvin has loved Claire. I really always envied her. I was friends with Claire first and just kind of became friends with Calvin when he started following her like a sick puppy. He loved her spunkiness and was hooked. I told her I would try to talk to him alone while they are here and try to see what is going on.

The sound of a car pulling up interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see Zack and Liam pull up with Claire and Calvin close behind. Before the engine was even off Claire was in my arms squealing. "I have missed you so much. Its good to see that they have been taking care of you. You are practically glowing. What exactly have you guys been doing for my friend?" Claire said while turning and winking at the guys.

For the first time, I see Zack blush. I couldnt help but laugh. Claire sure has a way with people. Calvin hurried up and engulfed me with a hug that seemed to drag on way too long. It was really weird. Calvin and I have been close for years and this is the first time that he has managed to make me feel uncomfortable.

My eyes land on Zack, he is behind Calvin with a very thoughtful look on his face. He seemed to be observing every move that he made and analyzing it. Ive already told him that Claire and Calvin can be trusted. I dont know why he doesnt believe me. Maybe Im just reading too much into it.

"Nice to see you cupcake. How have you been?" Calvin asks.

"Ive been fine. Just missing you guys. Thanks for coming. I know that yall are very busy at the hospital so I was happy to hear that you were able to take time off and visit. Lets go inside. Claire you can follow me. You will be staying in my room and Calvin will be two doors down." I tell her while taking her bag.

"Aww I wanted to sleep by you guys, maybe you can finally make that fantasy of mine come true." Calvin says with a playful look on his face. He has been taunting us about that since high school. Claire and I know better than to take him serious and just laugh it off. The look on Zacks face says he doesnt appreciate Calvins joke too much. It takes just a few minutes to introduce everyone. The guys were very nice and didnt do any of the stuff that they had taunted me about. I did notice Jeremiahs gaze linger over Claire a little too long. She didnt really notice though so it was okay. Im sure if she did she would taunt him until he blushed too.

We head upstairs and I take Claire to my room while Jasper shows Calvin to his. I locked the door behind us because I was hoping for a few minutes alone with her to talk. "Alright, how do you like it?" I ask her.

"This is your room. Oh my, its nice. Girl how did you end up in this gorgeous mansion surrounded by all of those studs?" she asks.

"Oh, they are Zacks cousins." I tell her.

"Speaking of Zack. Why dont I see any of his stuff in this room?" she asks.

"He sleeps in the room next door. He has is own space and I have mine." I tell her.

"Oh, I get it. That way he can sneak in your bed in the middle of the night and give you a nice surprise! I bet its a good one too. I didnt say it when I first met him because I thought he was a psycho, but girl that it one nice hunk of a man." She says giving me a mischievous look.

"No. Its not like that. He sleeps in his room and I sleep in mine. Nobody sneaks into anyones room." I clarify.

"Lily, are you telling me there is no hanky panky going on? I dont believe you. There is so much chemistry between you two. I know you are lying. He has definitely been giving you the D. I could tell the moment I saw you. Nobody smiles that much." She says. Yep, and there is the Claire I know and love. She can be kind of vulgar sometimes but she brightens my day.

"Really, Claire. No hanky panky. We kissed before but after that he kind of got distant. Hes really hard to understand. He is extremely protective and takes care of me but we have never gone further than that kiss." I confide in her.

She looked at me like I was an alien. "Well girl something is wrong with him. Who wouldnt want to bone you? I mean I dont mean to sound crass but you are sexy! I know, maybe he is gay." She says with a thoughtful look on her face while rubbing her chin.

"No, he isnt gay. I think he is just a gentleman." I defend him.

"Okay. If you say so. So what are we doing today?" she asks while changing the subject. I take a sigh of relief. She can be really prying at times. Ive only been intimate with one guy in highschool. We had been dating for two years and I thought I loved him. It was the shortest, most painful experience I have ever had. He then had the nerve to break up with me the next day. To be honest, I didnt really care either. I realized in that moment that he was a class a jerk. Calvin cared though because he beat him the next day in front of the whole school.

"I guess we can go swimming. There is an inside pool and one outside. Which do you want to use?" I ask her.

"Two pools? Wow! I guess the outside one. I need some sun. Ill go and tell Calvin and get dressed in his room then we can go." She says while heading to the door.

"What the hell! You scared me. Gosh Calvin what have I told you about appearing out of nowhere. Its going to get you hurt one day." Claire says when she opens the door to find a very guilty looking Calvin standing outside.

"I was just trying to see what was taking you ladies so long." He says defensively.

"Goofy, lets go get dressed. We are going swimming." She says as she grabs his arm and starts dragging him away.