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BORROWING OF DARKNESS

  By M. J. Marques

  Copyright 2012 M.J. Marques

  CHAPTER 1

  I DON’T EVEN LIKE COFFEE

  Ian Marcellus grabbed his jacket and headed down the stairs of the old house in Bromsgrove, Maryland, where he lived with his older brother Marcus. Ian had arrived home a few hours previous to freshen up and was heading for the door when he saw Marcus glaring at him from the kitchen.

  The two brothers looked very similar with a few prominent differences. Marcus was a few years older and had emerald green eyes and light brown hair, where as Ian was slightly taller with jet-black hair and piercing ice-blue eyes. Ian was much less responsible than Marcus and as the older brother; Marcus felt that it was his responsibility to look out for Ian and keep him in check; a fact that greatly annoyed Ian. Marcus of course just wanted the best for his brother, he wanted him to settle down and be happy but Ian fought him every step of the way.

  “Are you going out again? You just came in,” said Marcus.

  “I have a date,” Ian said, scowling at his brother. He was growing weary of Marcus’s constant big brother lectures.

  “You’re going to destroy yourself if you keep this up,” Marcus said as he leaned on the kitchen counter. “I know you don’t like to hear it Ian, but I’m only telling you because I care about you. I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile. You’re never home and you drink entirely too much. You really should slow down a bit.”

  “Look Marcus, I know you worry about me, but don’t,” Ian said opening the front door, “I’m perfectly happy with my life. Enjoy your day with Isabella, tell her I said hi.” He forced a smile and walked out the door into the frosty morning air, leaving Marcus staring after him shaking his head.

  No matter what Ian said, Marcus knew he really wasn’t happy, he was obviously miserable. Everyone could tell, all you had to do was spend five minutes in a room with Ian and you could feel the bitter misery oozing from his pores. Marcus was at his wits end as how to help Ian but he just couldn’t get through to him no matter how hard he tried.

  Marcus shrugged and picked up his own jacket. He was going to spend the day with Isabella Alba, his girlfriend of three years. Isabella had light brown hair that fell to her shoulders and her eyes were the color of caramel. Isabella disliked Ian, she didn’t actually hate him, but she was certainly not fond of him. She tolerated him because she knew that Marcus loved his brother and Ian was the only family that Marcus had left.

  Ian rolled over and looked at the blonde lying beside him, “What am I doing?” He asked himself.

  Dana Whitmore was a good-looking woman but certainly not the smartest he had ever met. It was the same old story with Ian; he would find an attractive woman, sleep with her and then make any excuse he could to get away from her as quickly as possible.

  As Ian got up and pulled on his pants he got the strangest feeling. He suddenly got a very strong urge to go to the coffee shop on the west side of town. This was strange to Ian because he did not drink coffee; he always preferred his drinks alcoholic.

  “Where are you going? Can’t you stay a little longer?” Dana pleaded with him, kneeling on the bed. “Dean won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. There’s no hurry for you to leave,” her green eyes almost begging and her curly, long blonde hair a tangled mess.

  “I’m going to get some coffee,” Ian said pulling his shirt over his head.

  “I thought you didn’t drink coffee,” Dana scowled.

  Ian gritted his teeth, “I don’t.”

  “Well then why are you going?”

  “That’s a good question,” Ian retorted.

  “Aren’t you going to kiss me goodbye?” Dana asked, as she got out of bed and stood in front of him pouting, blocking his exit.

  Ian gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He could tell she was disappointed and thought that he would have given her a more meaningful kiss after their hours of frolicking under the sheets. He lifted her chin with his fingers and looked very deeply into her eyes.

  “Forget that I was ever here,” he said.

  “OK,” said Dana, her eyes unfocused and trance like. She got back into bed and rolled over pulling the blankets up over her head.

  Ian headed down the stairs, pulling on his jacket. He didn’t understand why he felt like going to the coffee shop. He just felt a very strong pull and knew that he had to go there right now. It was a strange feeling that he could not ignore and seeing as Ian did what he wanted, whenever he wanted, he set his pace and headed for ‘A CUP A DAY’ coffee shop.

  Jo Montgomery was a beautiful thirty-eight year old woman. She was a separated mother of one, who had suffered her share of grief in life. She was just sixteen when she married Dean Montgomery and she spent the next twenty years wondering why she ever did. Dean was a well-built man; he was medium height and had strong facial features. His hair was the color of sand and his eyes were dark chocolate brown. Apart from his rugged good looks, Dean was a rough mannered man. He always had an air of self-importance and spoke to people as if he were superior to them, but this was most apparent when he spoke to Jo.

  Jo and Dean had trouble conceiving a child and Dean, of course, blamed Jo. Then finally one day when she was twenty-three she gave birth to a beautiful daughter whom Jo wanted to name Fallon but Dean insisted they name her after his grandmother Clair, so Fallon became Clair’s middle name. Dean was happy to have a child but would have preferred a son, and of course, this was all Jo’s fault. Jo, having no desire to have any more children with Dean, did everything she could to make sure that she did not conceive again.

  Jo loved her daughter Clair more than anything in the world; they were very close and told each other everything. Dean was jealous of their relationship and became increasingly rude and bitter. Then two years ago Jo found him in bed with Dana Whitmore, one of the waitresses that worked for them at the café. They then separated. Jo told Dean that he could keep Dana but she was keeping Clair and the café. Dean, not having really cared much for the shop in the first place, and knowing how close Jo and Clair were, agreed, and he and Dana moved in together.

  Jo had also lost both of her parents. Her father died of brain cancer when Clair was just a few weeks old and her mother had passed away from a heart attack the year before her separation. She had an older sister Marie whom she loved but who lived two hours from her.

  Marie was married to Jasper Scott and they had two children, Jenna who was sixteen and Joshua who was fourteen. Marie and Jo were a lot alike in demeanor but very different in looks. Marie was more like their mother, her face was round, and she was shorter, lighter skinned, with brown hair and dark eyes. Jo was taller like their father, her hair was dark brown, almost black and her eyes had started off brown when she was young, but gradually changed as she got older and were now an interesting mix of green and brown. If you looked closely at Jo’s eyes it was almost as if you were looking into a kaleidoscope.

  Jo put on her coat and left her lawyer’s office. She felt different suddenly, as if signing the papers had freed her. She felt very odd indeed and had a sudden urge to get to her shop as soon as possible. It was a cool, crisp morning in early winter; she pulled her coat around her as she got into her car. She felt as if she couldn’t get to the cafe fast enough. What was going on? She had driven to the cafe every day for the past ten years, and though she had certainly enjoyed working there, she never felt such desperation to get to work.

  Jo decided that she must be anxious because she was late. She had told Anna that she had an appointment that morning and to take care of things until she arrived.

  Anna was one of the young girls that worked for Jo, she was a slender eighteen-year old with wavy auburn hair that fell just be
yond her shoulders and green eyes. Although Anna was young, she was responsible and had opened the shop for Jo before.

  As she stepped through the front door Jo felt so relieved to be there. She thanked Anna for coming in early and told her that she would be in the back office if she needed her.

  Jo entered her office and hung up her coat. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the door. She looked pretty, her long tousled hair fell down her back and her emerald green wrap-around dress was very flattering. Jo never really felt very pretty, she always felt tired and worn. If she had ever taken the time to look at the men around her, she would have noticed that although she never felt attractive, they certainly thought that she was. Even if she had noticed, it wouldn’t have made a difference; after being married to Dean for twenty years Jo was enjoying her freedom. She enjoyed her time with Clair but even when her daughter wasn’t around she relished her time alone.

  For years she catered to Dean and took extraordinarily good care of Clair. Now that Clair was fifteen and pretty much looked after herself, Jo had the time to do the things she loved. She could spend hours reading in the sun or making scrap books of the times she spent with her daughter, there were times she would spend an entire day just baking. Why, she often thought, would she ever want to attach herself to another man?

  As she took a deep breath and smoothed the front of her dress, she suddenly felt like she had been magnetized; something was pulling her out into the café. The urge was so strong she did not even realize that she was already heading to the door. When she stepped out into the café her eyes automatically went to the front door and her heart stopped. Ian Marcellus had just walked in, shaking flakes of snow from his hair. She knew who he was but had never actually spoken to him. He always seemed to have some young girl with him, and from what she had heard, he drank entirely too much. She knew his brother Marcus as he had frequently come into the shop with his girlfriend Isabella, but Ian had never stepped foot inside the café.

  As Jo stood gazing in his direction, Ian looked up and their eyes met. She felt a sudden jolt inside of herself and Ian returned her stare with a startled expression. Their eyes did not leave each other as he walked to a table and sat down. Jo stepped in front of Anna, who was clearly thrilled that she would be serving Ian.

  Anna scowled. She had always admired Ian Marcellus and would have welcomed the chance to serve him. She was clearly bitter at Jo for stealing the opportunity from her and complained to Stephanie, the other waitress.

  Stephanie was also eighteen; she had straight blonde chin-length hair and light brown eyes. Although Jo took a liking to both girls, she had always found that Stephanie had a much softer personality than Anna.

  “What is she doing?” Anna scoffed. “She can’t possibly think he’d be interested in her! She’s too old for him and she knows I’ve had my eye on him for months now.” Anna said crossing her arms.

  Jo did not know herself what she was doing, it was as if an invisible force was pulling her towards Ian. She felt like a foolish little girl but she could not seem to turn away from those piercing eyes.

  “What can I get you?” Jo managed to say through the lump in her throat, as she approached his table.

  “Why don’t you surprise me,” said Ian. It didn’t matter what she brought him he did not intend to drink anything from a coffee shop. They stared at each other for a moment, and reluctantly Jo turned to go get him a coffee.

  Anna took the opportunity to approach Ian. “Hi, my name is Anna. Can I get you anything?” She asked emphasizing the “I” and propping one hand on her hip.

  Ian looked at her and smirked; he had overheard what she had said to Stephanie and he knew that she was taking advantage of Jo’s brief absence to flirt with him.

  “Hi Anna,” Ian said leaning back in his chair and folding his hands on the table, “under normal circumstances I’d welcome your boldness, but you know full well that Jo has already taken my order, as it stands I really wish you would go away.”

  Anna’s face reddened in a mixture of shame and embarrassment as she walked sulkily back to the front counter. Jo made her way back to the table with Ian’s coffee and glared at Anna as she placed the cup in front of him. Ian just stared at her; he looked as if he were at a loss for words.

  “Can you join me for a minute?” He managed to say.

  “I guess I could spare a minute,” Jo said and she sat across from him. She found it strange enough that Ian had come into the café, but him asking her to sit with him was utterly bizarre. She looked at him questioningly. She couldn’t help but notice how incredibly beautiful he was. His lips were perfect, his cheekbones so precisely sculpted, and those eyes; they were absolutely intoxicating. Jo felt herself drifting into a daydream then saw Ian shift in his seat and she snapped back to reality.

  “It’s Jo right?” Ian asked studying her face.

  “Yes,” Jo answered.

  “Is that short for something?”

  “No, its just Jo.”

  “This is a nice place?” Ian said looking around the café.

   Jo gave him a searching look and leaned in closer to him, “I never really pegged you for the kind of guy who makes small talk. Why are you here? It’s obviously not for coffee, you haven’t touched yours,” she said, indicating the full cup in front of him.

  “I don’t drink coffee,” he laughed.

  “And yet here you are.”

  “Yet here I am,” he repeated, still staring at her. They couldn’t seem to stop looking at each other. Ian gave his head a shake, “Actually I don’t know what I’m doing here. I should go.”

  “You just got here,” Jo said.

  “I know but I need to get going,” he said getting to his feet.

  He didn’t like the feeling of having such a strong pull to anyone; he was the guy that didn’t get emotionally involved. Is that why he felt such and urgency to come here? Was it to see her? The feeling had certainly subsided the minute he had laid eyes on her, but it didn’t make sense. He had seen Jo before and he had barely noticed her, she was just the lady that owned the local café, whose husband had had an affair with one of their waitresses. Why now was there such an attraction? He certainly did not want her to know that he was having such a hard time turning away from her.

  “Oh, okay…” Jo’s voice faltered. She didn’t understand. She didn’t want him to leave, but why? This was the guy that mother’s warned their daughters about and she had never given him a second thought before, so why was it all of a sudden so hard for her to watch him leave? She felt like a silly teenager, waiting for the captain of the football team to ask her out, but she just stood and watched him walk away.

  Ian paused with his hand on the door and turned to look at her one last time and then he left just as quickly as he had come in.

  “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What the hell is wrong with me? Jo Montgomery? Why?” Ian muttered to himself as he rushed down the street. He wanted to stay at the café and talk to her, stare at her, touch her, but what would he of said? How would he explain this sudden attraction? He had seen her before so why was it only now that her noticed her? Why had he never realized just how beautiful she was? Her dark hair complimented her olive skin perfectly, and her eyes; she had the most beautiful eyes. Ian could have sat and just stared into them all day. He shook his head trying to rid himself of all thoughts of Jo Montgomery.

  Ian walked in the front door to find Marcus and Isabella cuddled on the couch watching a movie.

  “Hey Ian, where’ve you been?” Marcus asked looking up.

  “At the café,” Ian mumbled as he tossed his coat on a chair and headed toward the stairs.

  Isabella looked up, “Since when do you drink coffee?”

  “I don’t,” he yelled back as he began walking up the stairs.

  “What’s gotten into him?” Marcus asked as Isabella snuggled back into his arms.

  “Just Ian being Ian I guess.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”
Marcus looked puzzled but settled back down to watch the movie.

  Upstairs Ian Marcellus lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. The only thoughts in his head were of Jo Montgomery, and one question…why?