Torn by Christine Hughes Page B

and Ethan would crash in the extra bedroom or on the living room floor at my house whenever he was gone. I could remember how distraught they were when they learned about the plane crash that had killed him. They huddled in the den with my dad and closed the doors. It was the first time I ever felt left out. It was only recently that I’d been told he was a victim of an Exiled attack.
    For days afterward, Lucas looked wiped out as strain and exhaustion took over his body. He was tired and sad all the time. Ethan was the quicker of the two to recover. He seemed to understand that, though his father was dead, he would always be near.
    Because our fathers had been best friends since childhood, it was only natural that they moved in with us after that. And ever since, we had become closer than I thought possible. It was like we could read each other’s thoughts. I swore there were times we didn’t even need to speak. We just knew. We learned to lean on each other.
    When I was younger, I had a small crush on Lucas. I mean, how could I not? However, my feelings for Lucas changed until eventually I no longer minded that he saw me as his kid sister. We had so much in common and understood each other so well, we were often mistaken for twins. No matter what happened, I’d always love him. He was my best friend after all. Doesn’t everyone love their best friend? Mine just happened to be a guy.
    While Lucas and I were best friends, I’ve never felt as close to Ethan. He was older and always acted like the proper big brother. But not long ago, this strange heated tension had developed between us. The love I felt for Lucas was tame and innocent compared to the unadulterated, R-rated lust I began to feel for Ethan. Although Lord knew I’d never act on it. But for some reason, whenever he got close, it felt like we were two magnets bouncing off each other. Two negatives or two positives wanting, on some raw, primal level to connect, but we couldn’t. Neither of us had shown any obvious interest for each other so it felt like a stalemate. But I was okay with that. I needed time to figure Ethan out because my feelings had me confused.
    After my father’s death, Ethan had grown more protective, whereas Lucas had become standoffish and authoritative. Ethan was never interested in being “in charge” and he gladly passed off that responsibility to Lucas. And that completely embarrassing want that I felt when Ethan was around began to grow exponentially. Especially when I saw how he would look at me sometimes. And though it was a little disarming, curiosity set up residence in my belly. I couldn’t count the number of times he looked as though he was going to say something or act on whatever was brewing between us but he always walked away. I knew Lucas had noticed it, too, because since then he had become my shadow. It was odd the way he seemed to not fully trust Ethan, especially since we moved to the cabin.
     
    ***
     
    The morning after my heavy training session with Ethan, I woke up still feeling tired and shaken. Nightmares had me tossing and turning all night, while visions of darkness and blood floated around like balloons in my mind. The clock beside my bed smiled wickedly, taunting me. It had only been four hours since I went to bed. Figuring that was all the sleep I was going to manage for the night, I threw off my comforter and swung myself into a sitting position. Rubbing my hands over my face, I willed the visions to find a new host, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. As I stretched the sleep and exhaustion from my body, I walked over to the window and pressed my face to the cool glass. It was still too early yet for the sun to start peeking through the trees and the darkness that surrounded the cabin mimicked the dread I couldn’t seem to shake. From deep inside, I had this feeling that something was happening. Something was coming. Something bad.
    I kept thinking back to the voices I heard whenever I trained. In