Taurus: Book 3 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (4 page)

Chapter Five

‘You’re still fit considering you’re not training anymore,’ she said, blowing out the smoke from her mouth.

Taking the joint out of her hand, I pulled a drag on it. She was my perfect girl. When she had asked if I had a smoke, I had fallen in love. Okay, not literally, but she was my type of woman.

She leant up on her elbow and looked down at me. I had one arm behind my head.

The bed was soft underneath us. The door was locked so the others couldn’t get in. I usually had the house to myself during the day, so I wasn’t worried about anyone walking in on us.

‘I think it’s a bit odd that you’re called Taurus and your sister is called Cancer.’

I stubbed the end of the joint in the ashtray and lay back down. Sophie folded herself around me and snuggled into the crook of my neck. The scent of her freshly washed hair mingled with the smell of my sweat.

‘We’re an odd family,’ I replied, closing my eyes and letting the fog overtake my brain.

She blew against my skin as her fingers ran over the stubble on my chin.

‘Well, so far, I really like the two people I know already,’ she whispered, licking my ear.

My consciousness was losing the battle to stay alert. The exertions and dope made me feel extremely chilled.

‘Don’t sleep,’ she whined.

I pretended to snore, which made her slap my chest. The sting didn’t break through the fog. I forced my eyes open.

‘Getting high makes me want to talk,’ she said.

‘Really…?’

There was nothing more to say. Why did women feel the need to talk so much? If I could just drift off to—

‘Taurus!’

‘What do you want?’

She laughed. The tinkling sound made me smile. It was nice to have a body wrapped around my own. The weight of her against me was snug. It was something I could get used to.

‘Why don’t you want to talk?’ she whispered in my ear.

‘Because I’m stoned,’ I replied.

The sharp tug on my nipple made me sit upright. Sophie giggled as she tried to tickle me. There was no point, I was numb.

‘Why do you have to be such a girl?’

I grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head.

Her eyes sparkled up at me. My chest expanded as my eyelids drooped.

‘Because I am a girl. I’m bored. Let’s have some fun.’

‘Have I not given you enough fun?’ I wasn’t sure that I could repeat what we had shared so soon.

She tugged her hands. I didn’t free them. I pinned her to the bed with my weight.

‘Not that type of fun. Another type…’

Her raised eyebrows challenged me. ‘Are you going to tell me?’

‘I want to dance the night away.’

I slumped down. She emitted a puff of breath and moaned as I landed on her.

‘My brothers go clubbing all the time. Go with them.’

She shook her head, knocking my chin with her nose. ‘No. I want you to come. I have some pills at home. They’ll make it much more fun.’

My eyes had been closed but one popped open. Rolling over, I pulled her with me. She sprawled on top of me, her hair fanning over my face. I spluttered when I inhaled some of it into my mouth.

‘Are you that hungry?’ She giggled.

‘Okay, let’s do it.’ I laughed as she clambered off the bed.

‘Yeah?’ she asked, looking over her shoulder at me.

Rolling onto my side, away from her, I muttered my consent. I liked getting off my face. Now I had the perfect girl to do it with.

*

My siblings were so much better than me. Why were we really on earth? I didn’t believe that we were literally here to have a relationship. There was no mission. Nick was a psycho man that wanted to kill us for some reason, but I didn’t think it was because of love…or whatever.

‘It’s good to see you getting on with Sophie,’ Cancer said.

The queue was long. We had been waiting for a while, which made me zone out. My mind wandered when left to its own device. It was the reason I smoked so much dope.

The bassy music filtered to us every time the door opened.

‘Yeah, she’s…’

The princess in question was chatting away to Leo. They talked about music. She fitted in with my brothers and sisters. She had made herself at home, introducing herself as soon as anyone had come home. It had been her idea to drag everyone out with us.

‘I don’t remember the last time you came out,’ Cancer went on.

I patted my pocket to make sure the pills were still inside. Sophie had made me put on smart trousers and a dark red shirt. She had threatened to burn my cap if I didn’t leave it at home. I was looking forward to the chemicals in the pills changing the chemicals in my brain to make me feel good.

I researched a lot things. Life was a mystery but I knew most of what there was to know. The body had always fascinated me, which was why I had gone into personal training. I wanted to know the psychology and physiology of people. Why did humans think the way they did?

‘Do you think she’s the one?’ Cancer asked me as Sophie glanced back at us.

She winked at me. The corner of my lip reached my cheek as she fluttered her eyelashes.

‘Who knows,’ I replied.

I couldn’t tell Cancer that I didn’t believe in soulmates. There was no such thing. We came to earth, we lived, and then we died. That was it in my opinion. And my opinion was always right.

‘Let’s go!’ Sophie cried when the bouncers finally let us into the club.

She linked her arm through mine as we made our way to the bar.

‘Two waters please,’ she shouted over the house music.

‘No, I—’

Her finger came over my mouth. I snarled as she tilted her head to the side and did her secret grin. It was a grin that was saved for me. A special smile that chastised or teased me.

She patted my pocket, which made me remember that we were going to pop a pill. It had been a while since I had indulged in heavier drugs. I was getting excited as the music made me want to move. I hadn’t felt like I wanted to do anything for a long time.

‘Let’s go,’ Sophie shouted, dragging me to a dark corner.

She put her hand in my pocket and pulled out the baggie. Opening my palm, I accepted the pill she placed in it. Quickly shoving it in my mouth, I swallowed it down with a gulp of water.

‘It’s time to have some fun.’ Sophie laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me down to lick my jaw.

‘I don’t dance,’ I announced when she tried to pull me over to the others.

‘Suit yourself.’ She left me standing in the shadowy corner. The music pounded around me as I watched her throw herself into the crowd. My siblings were gathered around a table near the bar. Why had I come? I never hung out with them. I hated dancing.

‘Taurus!’

Cancer took my arm and started to drag me away from my shelter. I bumped into a petite blonde as I tried to yank myself away from my sister.

‘Sorry,’ I shouted. The music was too loud.

The woman turned towards me. Her blue eyes were similar to Sophie’s. She smiled at me as she shrugged.

‘Cancer?’ she shouted when her gaze met my sister’s.

‘Kerry!’

The girls screamed as they jumped up and down. My skin started to tingle. The nerve endings felt soft and…pleasurable.

‘I haven’t seen you for ages.’

I left the girls to their catch up and plunged into the throng of people. The buzz was starting to hum throughout my body. I needed to find Sophie.

‘Hey, baby!’

I turned my head and saw her grinding against another woman. A slow smile came to my face as I watched her. The urge to dance overtook me as the drug wound itself around my system.

When I reached Sophie, I stepped between the girls. They didn’t need to be encouraged. Both of them instantly clung to me. Their hands ran over the muscles on my torso, sending pleasure all over my body.

‘Dance then!’ Sophie shouted.

I attempted to move but dancing wasn’t my thing. Sophie put her hands on my hips and tried to get me to sway. I let her guide me as a superhuman power flowed through my veins. She was so close to me. Her friend had moved away, so I thrust my hand into her hair and leant down to capture her lips with mine.

She groaned against me, her body flattening against mine. I could feel every place we touched as if she was climbing into me. I could have ripped her clothes off, right on the dancefloor, but some distant part of me knew that I shouldn’t.

‘Dance!’

Her shout was loud in my ear. It felt like a caress. I let go of her. My legs started to move on their own as I jumped along to the music. A water bottle was shoved under my nose, so I snatched it. Throwing the liquid down my throat, I moaned as it travelled into my stomach. I could feel it sliding through me.

My jaw started to move, so I bit down on my gums to stop it. Time ceased to exist as Sophie jumped along with me. Sweat poured from my glands. I could feel it dripping onto my shirt. I was superhuman. I could go all night.

‘Let’s rest,’ Sophie shouted.

I tried to disagree, but she linked her arm through mine and dragged me out of the dancing crowd. The blast of cool air greeted my skin as Sophie led us outside.

‘I thought we were going to rest?’

My jaw was clenched tight. I couldn’t stop biting down. It didn’t matter. Everything felt amazing.

‘We can’t rest,’ Sophie whispered, taking my hand and leading me down a side alley beside the club. London was the best capital in the world. I was a tiny prawn in the middle of its streets.

‘I bet I can climb that wall like Spiderman,’ I said, letting go of my date.

She giggled as she slid her arm around my waist from behind. I was about to attempt to climb the wall like Spiderman, but her hand ran down my body. My attention was completely taken by the feel of her. She wound herself around me, pressing herself into my back.

‘I want you,’ she whispered.

Her breath hit my ear. I pulled away, spun around and picked her up. Pushing her against the cool brick wall, I sucked on her neck.

‘Taurus, you’re amazing.’ She sighed.

I pulled back to look at her. She smiled at me, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. Her pupils were big, the blue around them almost invisible. She was perfect. She had shaken me up in less than twenty four hours. No other woman had ever done that to me.

‘I think you might be the one,’ I whispered, catching sight of my bracelet as I ran my hand down her arm.

‘Yes, I think I am, too,’ Sophie replied, taking my attention away from the one thing that tied me to earth.

Chapter Six

‘What happened to you lot last night?’ I asked as we walked down the street.

‘We went on to a different club,’ Aries said. His usual swagger was still achieved, even with fake legs. I shook my head as he winked at a passing middle aged woman.

‘You’re engaged!’

He shrugged as a car horn beeped in the distance. ‘So? Natalie knows I’m a flirt. There’s nothing in it.’

‘What’s relationship life like, then?’

His eyebrows rose. He was right to be surprised. I still didn’t believe in twin flames, but I couldn’t get Sophie out of my head.

‘It’s…different.’

The lopsided grin on Aries’ face showed how understated the word different was. He was besotted. I had never seen him look so…happy.

‘That’s all? Different?’ I wasn’t going to let it drop so easily. I was intrigued by the change in him.

He checked the busy road before jogging across. His metal legs were covered by his jogging bottoms. His trainers were attached to the end of his prosthetics. No one would have guessed that he had lost his legs only a few months before.

‘What can I say? She’s amazing.’

Aries shot through the open shop door. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going. He told me that the girls had set up a picnic in the park. We were on food patrol. The supermarket was cool as I entered. It was a small express shop in Clapham.

‘Get the drinks,’ Aries called as he filled a basket with processed food.

Picking up my own basket, I paused and watched the woman that stood in front of the wine. She looked familiar. I was about to grab the cans of beer when she turned her head slightly and met my gaze.

‘Hi!’

The quick response was high pitched and a little forced. The pretend smile melted into a real one when I rubbed my hand over my shaved head. Sophie had asked me to stop wearing my cap. I wasn’t going to let her tell me what to do, but I had left it off.

‘You’re Cancer’s brother?’

The girl stepped forward and offered her hand. ‘I’m Kerry. I met you at the club last night.’

Taking her hand, I shook it once before letting go. I wasn’t very good at talking to women. Not since I started taking drugs anyway.

‘I’m Taurus,’ I choked out.

Being with Sophie hadn’t made me any less awkward. Kerry was a pretty girl with long blonde hair. Her blue eyes were slightly darker than—

‘Cancer told me about you a few years ago. We used to play in the local park.’

Swallowing, I looked over at the tins of lager. What had Cancer told her about me? ‘Kerry! I remember now,’ I blurted as an image of a small girl running around the park came back to me.

‘Yes. Your mother stopped me from playing with Cancer when she found out that she had sneaked out to see me. I was the older bad influence.’

She frowned as the memories obviously came back to her. I rubbed my stubbled jaw and moved from one foot to the other.

‘Yeah, our mother was a bit protective,’ I replied, finally reaching out to pluck a six pack off the shelf.

She stared at me. I couldn’t look her in the face. Making eye contact made me uneasy, which would end up being weird.

Coughing, I grabbed a different brand of beer and shoved it in my basket. ‘We’re having a picnic in the park. Cancer will be there. You should come.’

I had no idea what possessed me to ask her along. I didn’t know her. She smiled gently and glanced down at her basket. There was a ready meal and chocolate bar lying pathetically at the bottom.

‘I would like that.’

‘Taurus, what’s taking you so long?’ Aries called from the end of the aisle. ‘Kerry?’

He came towards us as I let out my breath. No matter how many times I spoke to women, or even had one like Sophie, Aries would be better at it than me.

‘Aries? How are you? It’s been a while!’

I stepped back as Aries bent to hug our new friend. If I remembered rightly, she played with most of the others. I would always hang back, getting on with my own thing. The only kids I played with were Gemini and Aquarius.

‘Let’s go, brother!’ Aries said, turning to me and frowning at my measly two six packs. ‘Are you coming, Kerry?’

He started to pile cans into my basket. My arm muscles were sore from overuse the night before. When we had got home from clubbing, I couldn’t settle, so I had done a few hundred pull ups.

‘Taurus just asked me. I’d love to come,’ Kerry replied, chatting away to Aries as they paid for their food.

I followed along, tuning the others out. The image of Sophie dancing in my bedroom the night before entered my mind. I smiled at my private show. She really was an amazing woman.

‘You’re taking your time!’

The annoyed tone broke through my reflection. I turned to see the woman I had been daydreaming about, standing with her hands on her hips. Her frown stretched into a grin when she saw my raised eyebrows.

‘We’re coming,’ Aries said, grabbing the bags and gesturing for Kerry to come with us.

‘I missed you,’ Sophie said as I put my arm over her shoulders and led her out of the shop.

The air was warm. She wore a flowery dress with a white cardigan over the top.

‘I thought you were supposed to be training Sophie, not banging her,’ Aries called as we entered the park.

I glared over my shoulder. Kerry punched him in the arm as he chuckled.

‘Just ignore him, Taurus, you can bang whoever you like.’ Kerry laughed.

Shaking my head, I did as she said, guiding Sophie towards the group waiting in the sun. Not everyone was there. Cancer lounged on the ground, her shorts pulled as high as they could go to take advantage of the warm sun. Pisces and Antony leant on one another as they made puppy dog eyes at each other. Leo was strumming his guitar as Natalie tried to sing some of his lyrics.

‘Here comes the food!’ Cancer shouted, jumping up and throwing her arms around Kerry. ‘What are you doing here?’

They giggled together as they whispered. Sophie tugged me to the ground so she could sit on my lap.

‘You two have hooked up quickly, haven’t you?’ Pisces said.

I glanced at the most sickly couple of the group. Pisces had been the first to unite with her twin flame and now she acted like she was an expert. I didn’t care about soulmates. I didn’t care about love. I was just happy that Sophie was wiggling on my lap as she tried to get comfortable.

‘Can you blame me?’ Sophie chuckled, flicking my nose.

Blinking, I tipped her off me and leant forward to grab a can out of the bag that Aries had dropped on the floor.

‘I can’t blame him,’ Leo said, plucking the strings of his guitar as he smirked at me.

Sophie winked at him. Shaking my head, I cracked open the can and downed it in one. I had worked up a sweat the night before. Scrunching the can in my hand, I let out a loud burp. My hand shook as I buried it into the bag to get another drink.

‘Slow down.’ Cancer laughed, pulling Kerry down to the grass.

Taking a joint out of my pocket, I put it between my lips.

‘You shouldn’t be smoking that here,’ Kerry said.

Everyone went silent. My siblings had given up challenging me on my smoking habits.

‘Who made you boss?’ I replied, flicking my lighter.

Sophie climbed back on my lap. She was watching the others as I took a drag on the joint and blew out the smoke.

‘No one made me boss. I’m just saying.’

The other girl was staring at me. Her eyes tried to pierce me. I looked away. She wasn’t my mother and even if she was, I wouldn’t listen to her.

‘We’ve given up trying to tell him.’ Pisces added her voice to the conversation.

‘Stop talking about me!’ I snapped.

‘They’re right, Taurus.’

Sophie fell to the ground as I shot up. Father stood behind the group, his arms crossed over his chest. The others got to their feet as quickly as I had.

‘What are you doing here?’ Pisces asked. ‘Should you be out in public?’

We had only rescued Father a few days ago. Nick would probably be searching for us by now, although why he was so interested, baffled me. I’d had to help rescue our father. It was part of being within the family. It didn’t mean I agreed with everything he said.

‘I wanted to check on you. There are a few things we need to discuss in more depth. Last time I saw you, we didn’t get a chance to talk.’

Pisces threw her arms around his shoulders. He squeezed her tight. Antony stood next to her, waiting to take her hand when she stepped back.

‘Is everything okay?’ she asked.

Father ducked his head before looking her in the eye. He glanced around. His gaze lingered on the two outsiders of the group. Sophie and Kerry.

‘Everything is fine,’ he said to allay their suspicions. ‘I have a lot to tell you, my children, but until then, I’ll leave you to your gathering.’

Aries put his arm around Father and led him away from the group. They whispered together. A part of me hated that Aries was always in charge. The rest of me remembered that I couldn’t be bothered with any of it.

‘Your father is handsome! I can see where you get your looks from,’ Sophie said, linking her arm through mine.

Leo choked on the beer he was drinking. It was hard to keep my mouth shut. I couldn’t tell her that he wasn’t our real father or that we weren’t actual siblings. When she met Aquarius, my dark skinned brother, she would guess that something wasn’t right. Had Cancer not told her anything?

‘We should play a game of football,’ Kerry said, bringing everyone’s attention back to the group.

Leo offered his hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘Yes, my lady.’ He bowed to her, pointing at the football that waited on the ground nearby.

She ran for it and managed to kick it away before Leo reached her. They moved away from the group, laughing as they fought over the ball. Aries jogged back over, trying to join in the game.

‘Come on!’ Sophie called, running to join them as the others went with her.

I used to like football. I liked my joint even more. I needed to chill out after a night of dancing. Lowering myself to the ground, I sparked up again, savouring the flavour of the weed as it went into my lungs.

‘You’re so boring!’ Sophie sang from across the park.

I didn’t know her well, but she was gorgeous. Her bum jiggled as she ran around the pitch. She was sexy and she liked a smoke. Technically, she was the perfect girl for me.

‘Just keep running. You wanted to get fit!’ I shouted back.

She scrunched up her nose and glared at me. If she was a robot, she would have been able to laser shoot me with her eyes. I could easily see her as a 3D character on the computer screen.

We would probably be ruled by robots one day. It would give us the freedom to do what we liked, instead of having to work all the time. Not that I worked. I wasn’t able to take orders from anyone. Why should I? Why should I make the rich richer? My motto was not to give a monkeys about anyone else. There was no point in caring too much. We came to the world alone. We would die alone. There was no god, no afterlife, no nothing. We just died and that was that.

I took out another lager and dragged on my joint again. My brain liked to go into overdrive. If I wasn’t careful, I could sit up for days thinking about things. As the drink warmed my body, the laid back Taurus emerged. My muscles relaxed as the dope calmed me.

Digging in my pocket for another joint, I brushed against something small sitting in the bottom of it. I was wearing the same jeans as the night before. My heart sped up in excitement as I pulled a pill out with my joint. The memory of invincibility came back to me. It had felt amazing to be able to keep going and not get out of breath.

‘Taurus, don’t be so boring!’ Natalie called.

She was probably the fittest person in the game. She was an occupational therapist and had helped Aries to get back on his feet…literally. Popping the pill into my mouth and washing it down with a swig of drink, I jumped up to join them. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long to get high. Then I could beat them.

‘What’s your job now?’ Kerry asked as I stood next to her.

The others were across the park, running after the ball. Kerry was a few years older than us. Her jeans stretched across her backside as she hopped up and down.

‘Not a lot,’ I muttered.

‘He’s doing a bit of personal training.’ Sophie made me jump as she wound her arms around my hips from behind. I didn’t even realise she was there.

‘How long have you been together?’ Kerry asked, the ball game forgotten.

Sophie giggled as I coughed. ‘Not long.’

The ball pounded into my leg, so I skipped away from the girls and started to play. My heart beat faster as the energy rushed through me. The ball moved with me. I didn’t have to do anything, it was as if it was attached to my feet.

‘I didn’t know you were good at football,’ Aries called.

He tried to tackle me. I dodged him. The breeze brushed my bare arms as I thundered around the others and went for the goal. Leo stood his ground, but I was invincible. Bringing my leg back, I kicked the ball with my superpower strength. It went flying over Leo and into our pretend goal.