Their Cursed

Chapter Seven

Cullen

I stood outside her apartment, leaning against my brother’s car. I do not know what he was up to with this girl, but he shouldn’t be. We have a Luna even if he has not accepted it yet. He emerged from the front door of the building, smiling.

He came down the steps and then finally saw me. “What are you doing here?” I asked him in a flat voice.

“The question is what are you doing here?” he shot back.

“Why are you messing around with a waitress when we have a Luna?”

“Oh, cut the s**t, Cullen. You do not want Jaime. You want to find your mate just as much as I do, even if we share one!”

“It’s too late for that. We have a responsibility to the pack. The elders want us to have our Luna before taking over. Jaime was accepted and proposed by them. So again, why are you here playing with the waitress?” I stood up completely now. We were standing face to face.

“Last time I checked, you do not get to dictate who I spend my free time with, brother.”

“Just don’t get attached,” I said before turning away from him.

“I am not dumb, Cullen. She has caught your attention too even if you want to ignore it,” he said. I froze. “You know there is something different about her. You have been sneaking out to watch her. Haven’t you? If you are not going to accept her, then you should leave us alone.”

I continued walking away from my brother. I heard his car door close and his car take off back towards our apartment. I circled the block before ending up right back at her apartment building. I looked up to the window I knew belonged to her. There was a small, soft light behind her curtain on still. I sighed.

Who was this girl and why did she get both Calder and I’s attention? If she was just a human, it would be safer for us to stay away from her. If she was our mate and a human, she would be in danger whether we accepted her or not.

Calder

My brother really knew how to mess up a good thing. I try to push him from my mind as I let my thoughts float to Remi. I groaned as the image of her biting those delicious little lips came to my mind. She was incredible and she could not see it.

Her words ran through my mind again. “I can’t fall for a guy who’s going to break me and walk away from the pieces again…”

What happened to her? What did she mean to break her and walk away? I wanted to know more but I knew she would not be so forthcoming with that information. She barely liked talking about herself. I was going to have to earn her trust and show her I was not going to just walk away before she opened up about anything that serious.

I drove through the city streets on my way back to the apartment. My phone dinged with a message.

                Did you get Cinderella back?

I rolled my eyes at the message from Gentry. I decided not to message him back as I would be home in a few minutes anyway. My phone dinged again as I parked my car in the garage.

                Don’t leave me hanging here….

I rolled my eyes as I made my way upstairs. As soon as the elevator door opened, Gentry was walking out of the kitchen towards me. “Are you going to just not tell me?”

“Why should I tell you anything?” I asked. I walked towards the kitchen and he followed.

“Come on. You came home last night all upset and shut yourself in your room. Then you were a grouch at the office until you disappeared at lunch. I checked the GPS on your car, I know you went to the diner. So, did you get Cinderella back or what?”

“Her name is Remi…”

“You are deflecting.”

I shrugged. I grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and a water bottle from the fridge before heading towards my room. Gentry followed.

“Just saying, I am team Remi all the way,” he said before he changed direction and went to his own room. I entered mine and set the apple and water down on my nightstand. I took my jacket off and tossed it on the bed before I laid back as well.

Tomorrow was Sunday. I had nothing that needed my attention until Monday at the office. I had the whole day to figure out what to do about Remi. I needed to get her to trust me and open up. Something inside of me wanted her to depend on me and need me. My wolf had been antsy since last night when she ran out of the restaurant.  He really did not want me to let her just get out of the car. He was calm now though.

Remi

After our talk, I was not sure how I felt anymore. I wanted so much to believe Calder’s words but there was a part of me still so afraid to be the one left behind again. I woke up the next morning feeling a little better after some sleep. I went into work a little early, not sure what else to do with myself. I pushed all my worries out of my mind and focused solely on work for the rest of the day. I was tired and relieved to finally be off that night.

When I left the building, I was surprised to find Calder waiting outside leaning against the building. He looked handsome in his jeans and leather jacket. He had a purple shirt on underneath that matched his eyes. He smiled at me as I looked at him in shock.

“Hi, there,” he said, standing up.

“Hi,” I said. “Um, what are you doing here?” I asked.

“I came to walk you home,” he said with a smile.

“Oh,” I said surprised.

“Is that okay?” he asked. I nodded my head and gave him a small smile. He held out his hand for me to grab. I hesitated for a moment before reaching out and grabbing his hand. His fingers closed around mine. “You ready?” he asked. I nodded again. He turned and we headed out of the alleyway towards the street.

We walked in silence for a few minutes towards my apartment. Finally, he broke the silence. “How was your day?” he asked.

“Okay, I guess,” I said. “How was yours?”

“Productive actually,” he said with a smile.

“As opposed to some other unproductive day?”

He chuckled. “Yesterday I was a little absent at work.”

“Oh,” I said.

“It's okay though. Nothing that can’t be done later.”

“That’s good,” I said. “So, what does a CFO actually do all day?”

“Read a lot of boring financial reports, sadly,” he said.

“It can’t all be boring.”

“No, not all of it, I guess.” He smiled down at me. I looked forward, my cheeks burning up. His smile gave me butterflies. “So, what does your work schedule look like this week?” he asked.

“Uh, well I have off tomorrow and Thursday, if that is what you mean.”

“What do you think about doing something with me tomorrow?”

I looked up at him. “What?”

“I was hoping you would come do something with me tomorrow,” he said with a big smile.

“Like another date?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

Before I could reply, my foot slipped off the curb and I fell forward, letting go of Calder’s hand. My arm came up to protect my face as I turned my head away from the concrete. But I never felt the impact. Instead, I realized there was a strong arm around me. I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him.

“Careful,” he said, pulling me back up to my feet.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“Are you okay?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“Yea, I’m okay. My foot just slipped,” I told him. I realized he had not let go of me. “Um…” I said looking down.

He let go and stepped back. “Sorry,” he said. He grabbed my hand, and we took off once again. We were not far from my apartment now. We were quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “So, about tomorrow?”

“Well, um…” I chewed my lip as I mulled it over. “Okay, why not.”

“Really?” he said, sounding excited. I nodded at him. He smiled brightly. “Thank you.”

“So, um, what are we doing?”

“That is for me to know and you to be ready at noon to find out,” he teased.

“Wait, won’t you have to work tomorrow?”

“Those boring financial reports will still be boring on Tuesday,” he said.

“Are you sure?” I asked quietly. We had arrived at my apartment and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yes, I am sure,” he said sweetly. “Thank you for letting me walk you home. It has been the highlight of my day.” He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing it again, just like last night.

“Thank you for walking me home,” I said quietly, blushing.

“I will pick you up right here, tomorrow at noon,” he said. He let go of my hand.

“Okay,” I said.

“Sweet dreams, Remi,” he said.

“Good night, Calder,” I said. I turned and walked up the stairs to my building.

-

The next morning, I woke up to a message from Calder.

                Looking forward to today. Wear comfortable clothes. See you at noon.

It made me smile for some reason. I rolled out of bed to make myself breakfast. Afterwards, I made a grocery list and gathered all my laundry to clean before I decided to start getting ready to go out with Calder. I went to my closet to figure out what to wear. He said comfortable clothing. I only had one nice pair of pants. All the others looked worn, had holes torn in them, or both. I found the least worn pair of boot-cut jeans I had. I grabbed a plain shirt and a flowery cardigan before heading to the bathroom to shower and change.

Once I was clean and dressed, I attacked my hair. I settled on a couple small braids leading into a half bun at the back of my head. I normally wore my hair up at work, so I like to wear it down on my days off.

I exited the bathroom and checked my phone. I had 20 minutes before I needed to meet Calder downstairs. I slipped on my checkered sneakers as they were my most comfortable shoes and grabbed my coat. I shoved my wallet and phone in my pocket before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. When I got downstairs, Calder was waiting outside just like the other night.

He looked up from his phone as I came out the door. He smiled brightly at me. I smiled right back. He was dressed much more casually today. He wore some jeans that looked worn just enough to be comfortable and a pull over sweater. He stood up and walked towards me.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hello,” I said.

“You look amazing,” he complimented. I could feel myself blush. “Should we go?” he asked, offering me his hand. I placed my hand in his and he intertwined our fingers. We set off down the sidewalk.

“Where are we going?” I said as we walked.

“The subway,” he smiled. My eyes widened a little. He chuckled at me. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you get lost or end up across the city.”

I gave him a small smile and nodded. The walk to the subway entrance was not far so we arrived in no time. I gripped his hand a little tighter as he led us down the entrance. He scanned a pass card for us and we entered through the gate.

“Our train will be here in just a few minutes, we can wait over here,” he said pointing to a platform with people already milling about.

“So where are we going?” I asked.

“I think I will keep that a secret for a little bit longer,” he said with a wink.

“You like surprises, don’t you?”

“What is it? You don’t like a little adventure?”

I giggled. “I like a good adventure. I just usually experience them from the comfort of my living room with a cup of tea in my hand.”

“So, the girl is adventurous but also a homebody?” he teased.

“I guess I sort of turned into a homebody,” I said.

“Turned into? So, there was a time where, how did you phrase it? Oh yea! Where there was more to tell?” He smiled at me.

“I guess you could say that…” I said blushing and looking away. After everything happened with Jeremy and my parents, I definitely changed.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it…”

“No, no. It’s okay,” I said, giving him a small smile. Just then, the train arrived. The doors opened and people began flooding out.

Calder leaned down and whispered in my ear, “Hold my hand and stay close.” As the crowd started to thin out exiting the train, those standing on the platform waiting to get on began to move into the cars. Calder led us into the train car and away from the door. The seats were filling up, so we stood. The car was filling up, so I was pushed closer to Calder.

He smiled at me. “Here,” he said letting go of my hand. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me so that my back was flush against him. He kept one arm around my waist and grabbed the handle above us with the other. “I won’t let go,” he bent down and said in my ear.

I held his arm with both of my hands, and I could feel his laughter in his chest behind me. His warmth felt nice. The doors closed and the train began moving. We stood together as the train sped through the underground tunnels.

The train stopped twice but Calder remained standing right where he was. I peeked up at him a few times and he had a relaxed smile on his face. He looked so normal and cheerful. For a moment I wondered if Cullen ever looked the same. He always had such a mean and intense look on his face. I pushed away the thoughts of Cullen. I was standing here literally wrapped in Calder’s arms.

When we approached the third stop, Calder bent down and said, “This is our stop,” in my ear. I let go of his arm, but he did not move. The doors opened and people began to file out. Once the crowd had thinned, he finally dropped his arm and let me step away from him. His hand was immediately in mine once again as he pulled us from the train car. As we moved toward the exit, I tried asking him again, “Where are we going?”

“We are going to one of my favorite places,” he said simply. We exit the subway onto the street. We weren’t very far away from my apartment building, but I hadn’t been around this area much. He led us down the street. When we reached the corner, he steered us toward a building that looked like a small school almost.

When we went inside, my suspicions were confirmed. It was similar to what a very small school building would look like. To one side there were doors to a couple offices that had signs over top them, telling you what the office was for. Across from us was a staircase and opposite the offices were two sets of double doors leading into what looked like a cafeteria area. There were posters on the walls with nutrition and hygiene information. There was a billboard with what appeared to be job postings on it. I looked around trying to figure out what this was.

“What is this place?” I asked Calder.

He smiled brightly. “This is a community outreach clinic. They provide services to the disadvantaged in the city. They provide meals, help people find jobs, offer job training and GED classes among other things.”

“What are we doing here though?”

“They need volunteers to make and serve dinner tonight,” he said brightly. My mouth dropped open a little. I was not expecting this when he asked me to go out with him today. “What do you say? Up for a little charity?”

I gave him a warm smile and nodded my head. He pulled me along through the doors to the cafeteria area. There were a couple older women wiping down long tables inside. “Hey Marcy, Julie,” he called to them. They looked up and gave him big smiles.

“Calder, what a surprise! We have missed you,” said one of the ladies.

“Who is this?” the other lady said, seeing me.

“Ladies, this is my friend Remi. She was spending the day with me, so I brought her along to help,” Calder told them. They both gave me a warm smile.

“Hello, Remi. It’s wonderful to meet you,” said the first woman. “My name is Marcy.” She was a short, round woman. She had greying blonde hair that was in a short bob around her face. She wore a handmade sweater that was made up of a lot of bright colors. It looked to be knitted.

“And I am Julie. Calder has never brought anyone with him other than Gentry. We’re so happy to have you,” said the other woman. She was tall and very thin. She had raven black hair and a dark tan complexion. She wore bright red lipstick to match her bright red glasses.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said to them.

“Calder, dear, where did you find such a sweet girl?” Marcy teased him. He blushed a bit. I giggled at him.

“Rex is in the back harvesting some vegetables for tonight. Would you guys like to go help him?” Julie suggested.

“Sure,” Calder said to them. He turned to me. “Ready to get your hands dirty?” I smiled and nodded at him. He led me towards the kitchen. I could feel the women’s eyes on us as we exited.

“They seem really nice. How long have you been coming here?” I asked as he led me through a kitchen.

“Four or five years now. My family’s business has always had this place in its charitable donations portfolio. When I was training to take over, I visited all the organizations we contribute to. I saw they needed some help, so I started coming when I had time. Now, whenever I am in the city I come to help.” We reached a large door that had to lead to the outside.

“That’s amazing,” I said. He blushed again.

“Helping people isn’t just about money,” he said as we stepped outside. I looked around at a beautiful garden.

“Wow,” I said astonished.

“Amazing right?” he said. “A couple years ago, a volunteer suggested turning the spare space back here into a garden to help produce food for the center. I hired an Agricultural Manager to come in and help the center maximize the use of the space. It has helped with the donation burden as well as given the center the ability to serve much more nutrient rich meals and a more balanced menu.”

“I never knew about this place. It’s incredible,” I said. There were all kinds of plants around the yard space. Planter boxes had been built to house everything with paths all around. All the boxes had interchangeable signs on them, indicating what was planted everywhere. There was a young kid, maybe 15, standing at one of the boxes. Calder and I moved towards him.

“Hey Rex,” Calder called. The kid turned around and smiled seeing Calder. His eyes then fell to me and widened in surprise. “I have someone I would like you to meet. This is my friend Remi. I brought her along to help tonight,” he said, introducing us. “Remi, this is Rex. He helps out around here and is a part of the GED program.”

“Nice to meet you Rex,” I said. He smiled.

“She’s cute,” he said to Calder. My cheeks flamed. Calder gave him a sideways glance. Rex threw his hands up. “Just sayin’.” He laughed. “Nice to meet you Remi,” he said, turning back to me.

“What needs done then?” Calder asked.