Her Forbidden Threeway

The woman cackled with nasty amusement. “A smart game you’re playing. A game of seduction, kindness and pretty little laughs and enticing little smiles. He may be caring, but he is no fool. You will not have him as yours for the taking,” the grandmother said in almost a warning.

“She’s crazy,” Reade thought to herself, her skin beginning to sweat from all of the stress, causing the book to slide slowly out of her hands. “I don’t want… that’s not…”

The elderly woman had confused her. She jumbled her mind and caused her thoughts to swirl and stick together like a melted strand of taffy. Nothing was making sense; including the coherent sentences she was trying to structure.

“Who is this?” Jackson asked demandingly, appearing at the other end of the receiver. His Scottish accent was hard to decipher, but somehow Reade managed.

“Hi, it’s Reade,” she started off slowly. “I came into the store yesterday, asking about—“

“I remember,” he replied.

Reade closed her eyes, took in a deep breath of air and swallowed the thick ball of anxiety that had risen in her throat. She didn’t care about how ludicrous she was about to sound. “I want a professional opinion on the things I’ve found. I want to know what they all mean.”

“What do you mean?” Jackson asked. “What do you want to know?”

Reade paused with hesitation before she slowly began to speak up. “I want to know why my father has boxes that are hidden and locked with information about dragons.”

*****

 This time, Jackson had offered to stop by Reade’s house, though she opted against it. She didn’t want a stranger lurking in her father’s important things, especially if he’d hidden them from her. She was the one person that he trusted most on the planet, so she assumed if he wasn’t telling her, he had a reason. Though that didn’t stop her endless curiosity.

In a bag, Reade had collected a few of the crystals, the book with the glowing gem seal and all of her necessities before she had climbed the bus that had taken her down the old strip. As she stepped off of the bus, she finished off the last of four voicemails she had already left for her father.

“—I’m worried about you, Dad. Please call me back. You wouldn’t like it if I did this.”

Reade sighed once again as she hit the end button on her phone and hesitated outside of the Drakon store for what seemed like an hour, though was only a few moments. She almost felt like berating herself for being scared of an elderly woman, though she was. She hoped with everything she had that the grandmother wouldn’t be inside the store. Waiting for her and watching her as she was the last time.

As Reade stepped through the door, it chimed once again upon her entrance and she canted her head to the side as the store seemed so deserted. Much more so than it seemed when she first visited the place.

She spotted Jackson standing in an aisle, sweeping an accident from the floor.

“Hey,” Reade started, causing him to halt his movements. “I’m here.”

Jackson turned and gave her a business-like nod as he set the broomstick to the side, leaning it against a counter.

Ignoring the tension, Reade got down to business. She pulled the crystals from her handbag that was weighted down by everything she had shoved inside and she placed them into Jackson’s outstretched hand. Reade’s eyes narrowed as she watched him momentarily stiffen.

The room stayed silent as Jackson turned his head from left to right, clearly checking to see if the coast was clear before he took Reade by the arm and led her over to an aisle that was darker and out of sight. The shelves were laden with jars, dream catchers and everything else you would probably find in a horror shop.

“This is what I expected,” Jackson spoke quickly and quietly. “You shouldn’t have brought these in here.”

“What?” Reade frowned, the lines in her forehead creasing. “You said you would help. You told me to bring these to the store.”

“I didn’t realize their value and power,” Jackson answered.

Reade found that she was silenced by the word ‘power’ and she rolled her eyes, frustration and impatience becoming her. “What do you mean?”

“Listen, you’re being kept in the dark by your father. These?” Jackson gestured, his large hand strangling the crystals as he waved them in the air. “These are bad news, as is anything else in that box you found. You would be doing yourself a favor by ignoring what you’ve found. Believe me.”

Reade’s eyes narrowed once again. “What do they mean?”

“They’re potent with their power, a far more vigorous type than what we sell here, and that’s news enough,” Jackson replied as he straightened his posture, the muscles of his jaw shifting as he clenched his teeth. “You could get seriously hurt if they’re found on you, Reade, be lucky I’m not confiscating them.”

Reade tucked her lower lip between her teeth as Jackson placed the crystals into her fragile hands, though she found herself wanting to object. If what Jackson had said to her was true; she didn’t want to take them home. She didn’t want to live with them, or have them even remotely associated with her family.

“What about the glowing?” Reade spoke up. “What does that mean?”

“That isn’t my place to say,” Jackson answered, shaking his head. “The punishment is too severe.”

Frustration bounced off of Reade’s face but she nodded her head, pretending to understand as she took a step back. She reluctantly moved to load the crystals back into her bag and before she could close it, Jackson’s hand was on the strap of her handbag, stopping her.

“Is that….?” He trailed off.

Reade swallowed nervously. The book she had brought with her was on display and it was becoming obvious that it was more inviting than the crystals.

“What is it?” She asked, her voice small and frail.

“Can we meet? I will tell you anything you want to know,” he replied, leaning forward with an inviting twitch of his lips. “I will tell you anything you want to know. Just bring the book.”

“But you said the punishment was too—“

“Just bring the book,” he said, stepping back out of their circle of privacy. “Just bring it.”

Reade nodded her head with quick agreement, finding herself too scared to deny the man standing before her.

“Call me with a time when you return home,” Jackson requested, though Reade was already walking towards the exit. “And don’t let anyone see it.”