The Curse Of Spring (Book Two of The Seasons Trilogy)

Chapter 15

Harley

To say that I was overcome with shock at being told I was practically a science project gone wild would be an understatement. One side of me hoped that my theory was right - that by losing my memory, I had lost my powers as well. But that didn't really make sense if it was ingrained in my DNA.

Either way, I had a few of the questions which had always plagued me answered.

"We should get back, Jay will be wondering where we are," Cole said gently, pulling me to my feet.

Even though he'd told me that he was basically superhuman, it didn't really worry me. At least, not now that I had been able to process the information. We had chatted for a while, talking about Emily and Alana, and Alana's boyfriend.

"You're going to have to take me to the orphanage," I muttered, walking ahead of him as we made our way down the hill to the house.

"Of course. Emily would definitely want to see you again, although be warned - she'll probably never want to let you go. She blamed herself after your disappearance…"

I could tell that he wanted to say more, but didn't.

Jay was asleep on the couch when we got back home, so I shook him awake and dragged him off to his room. He'd been drinking more since he discovered Jason was part of the Rebels, and I was worried about him. I didn't want him spiralling into substance abuse again.

"Is he OK?" Cole asked as I shut Jay's bedroom door, Jay's snores still audible through the closed door.

"Yeah, he's alright for now. But we have to find a way to get Jason out of that bloody gang, or else he won't be alright for much longer," I sighed, leaning back against the wall.

Cole smiled weakly and crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging alluringly. "I have a plan that might work, but it will take a few days to set in motion. In the meantime, I have something for you to read."

He passed me a leather bound book before he turned his back on me and lay down on the couch, leaving me to stare after him. I looked down at the book once again before I entered my room and sank down on my bed, opening the weathered book carefully, flipping to a random page.

~ Dear Wynter

It's been warmer lately, so I know that my time awake is coming to an end. Miss Emily has been pushing me harder in my lessons, so I think she senses it too. Soon it will be your turn, so I have one request - write often. Your words have become the highlight of my waking periods and I want to know everything about the winter season. I worry that I will never be able to experience it.

With love,

April

Ps. I've stuck my favourite flower in the back of this diary. It's called a daffodil. ~

There were pages and pages of letters between the young Wynter and myself, mostly just descriptions of the day - but the further in the book I read, the more I can sense the emotions bleeding through the pages. And then I came to an entry which stopped me in my tracks and I felt tears prick at my eyes.

~Dear April.

You're gone. I woke up this morning, and you're gone. Emily told me that the military came for you, but that you seem to have managed to escape. I wanted to go and look for you, but she said it's too dangerous. The military still patrol the countryside, which makes her believe that they haven't got you. I'm sorry, April. I think that I caused them to come for you. I kissed you. I couldn’t help myself. I kissed you and I'm now certain that you hold a piece of my soul inside you, just like what Emily keeps telling us about. I won't give up, I will search for you until my final breath. I promise you.

With all the love in my heart,

Your Wynter ~

I stared at the page for a long while, feeling the regret and pain in every word written. I might not remember the days before I woke up in Jay's house, but I could almost imagine them.

With a sigh, I closed the book and placed it under my pillow, but rest was hard to come by and it was no surprise that I woke up when the sun was already high in the sky.

"Ah, welcome Sleeping Beauty," Jay teased as I trod into the workshop in my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt.

"Why did no one wake me up?" I grumbled, leaning against the door.

A wicked grin crossed Cole's face before he schooled it into a serious mask and responded, "we thought you needed some extra beauty sleep."

I picked up a rag and threw it at him while he and Jay laughed. "That's not nice! Now I'm not making the coffee I came out here to offer."

There was a series of groans and apologies as I headed back to the house and made myself some breakfast, settling down with the paperwork I still hadn't finished. Dammit!

I took a break just to take lunch out to the guys, but I was on a roll for a change so I didn't want to stop - who knows how long it would take before I found my motivation to get back into the files again.

The next thing I knew, Jay was calling "what's for dinner, angel?" as he walked through the door.

I took one look at the grease smeared all over him and bit my tongue, no point arguing right now.

"I didn't think that far, got too stuck into those files. I'll run down to Jacky's and get some takeaways."

Saving my work, I shut down my laptop and grabbed my purse as I heard the shower door close and the water switch on. At least he would be clean-ish by the time I got home.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" I asked Cole as he was still busy with a bike. His shirt was lying on the workbench and his muscled torso gleamed with sweat and streaks of mechanical oil. He looked like a model in one of those sexy calendars, "mechanics gone wild".

"Anything as long is it's not a salad," he replied, wiping his hands off on a rag.

I stepped into the workshop and sensed his entire body tense in response. Almost as if he didn't know how to react to me now that I had read our diary.

"Thank you," I said softly and saw him relax. "I think I needed to read all that we had written. I do have one question though."

He tensed again but nodded.

"Why did your name change?"