Entice. Part 16

"When you didn't show at the church, I knew you must have gotten stuck here. Tom and I got here as quickly as we could." In Tanner's face I could see how terrified he'd been. I could practically smell his fear. I allowed my head to rest on his shoulder.

"I command you to flee, in Jesus name!" Pastor Tom shouted. "Leave her! Go! In Jesus name!"

Mom let out a blood curdling scream. She fell to the ground, her body writhing on the carpet. I watched in wide-eyed wonder. A minute later she was still. Her face returned. She looked at peace. When she opened her eyes, her gaze swept the room with a look of confusion. I breathed a sigh of relief. When her eyes connected with mine, tears of relief flowed freely from my eyes. It was her. It was really her. Mom was back.

I jumped up, raced to her side, and threw my arms around her neck. The familiar smell of her hairspray and perfume combo gave me comfort.

"Thank G.o.d you're okay."

She pushed me away. "What's going on? Who is this man? And why am I on the ground?"

"You've been sick, Ms. Smith," Tom spoke soothingly. "Kenzie had me come over to help you." He motioned to me. "Kenzie, why don't you take her to her room. She needs to rest."

I nodded. "C'mon, Mom." I helped her up. She was unsteady on her feet. Holding her around the waist, I guided her forward. I saw the bruise on her chin and knew there'd be another one on her chest. Looking bewildered, she allowed me to lead her to her room.

As I pulled the covers up to her chin, she grabbed my arm. "I know there's something you're not telling me,. Kenzie."

I swallowed hard, my throat hurting with the effort.

"Do you remember anything?" I wished she'd let go of my arm. My heart raced. Even though I knew she was my mom again and that Wesley was gone, the memory of moments before was so fresh. I half expected her to morph into him again.

She shook her head. "Not really. Everything is fuzzy." She narrowed her eyes, and pressed her lips together. Her arm fell by the side of her body as she released her grip.

"Just get some rest. Don't over think it." I reached over and turned off the lamp on her nightstand.

"Kenzie," she whispered into the darkened room as I neared the door.

"Yes?" I turned to her.

"Thank you."

I paused, wondering if she meant about tucking her in, or if she remembered something. Instead of asking, I nodded and left the room, closing the door behind me.

"Thank you, Pastor Tom," I said when I re-entered the family room. "If I had known that was all I had to do I would have done it myself. I just wasn't sure if it was that easy."

"It's not that easy. You two did the right thing in coming to get me. You shouldn't fight these kinds of things alone. Plus, it's not over. The battle has just begun."

My chest tightened. Tanner came to stand beside me. "What do you mean?"

"Your mom isn't a believer, is she?"

I shook my head.

"Then she's not safe. In Luke eleven, Jesus says that when an evil spirit is cast out of someone it seeks rest but doesn't find it. So it returns to the person and brings with it spirits even more wicked than itself."

I thought about what Wesley said about how he would torment my mom forever.

"What Jesus was saying was that it's not enough to just cast a demon out of someone. That person needs to be healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Your mom still needs a lot of healing and she needs to accept Jesus as her savior. Until she does that, she'll never truly be free."

I felt sick. My mom would never surrender her life to Jesus. So, did that mean Wesley would always come back? Would we never be free of him?

"So, what do we do?"

"We pray," Pastor Tom said. "And we trust G.o.d."

"Okay." I nodded.

"In the meantime, we need to cleanse this house of all the things that are not of G.o.d. There are a lot of things in this house that are inviting evil in. We need to get rid of them. After that, we'll pray through the house for blessing and protection."

Pastor Tom had just left. It had been a long night. We got rid of all the horror movies, books, music, and everything else Drake had ever given to my mom. I've got to say that it felt so good to get rid of that awful sculpture. The living room felt much more peaceful without its evil stare. In fact, the whole house felt safer now.

Mom was sound asleep. I had prayed over her, trusting G.o.d that she would one day put her faith in Him.

Afterward, Tanner and I stood outside in the cool night air. The moon illuminated the s.p.a.ce around us, glowing against the dark night sky.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue tonight. I'm so glad you did. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Of course. I would do anything for you, you know that. When you didn't show up at the church, I knew you must have gotten trapped here. So, I grabbed Pastor Tom and we raced to get here as fast as we could." He let out a ragged breath.

"You've been a G.o.dsend to me the last few months. How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?"

"It wasn't luck," Tanner said. "I believe G.o.d brought us together for a reason. You have been so helpful to me. I don't know how I would've gotten through the first few months of my faith journey without you."

"Well, you would've been safer and you would have had a lot less drama, that's for sure." I laughed. A car peeled out down the street.

"It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun though." He flashed one of his famous dimpled grins. "Seriously though, you've shown me so much grace and taught me so much about what it means to be a Christian."

"Wow, I never thought I'd hear someone say that about me." My face flamed.

"See, that's an example of humility right there." Tanner chuckled.

I giggled. Tanner reached up with his hand and grazed my cheek. It felt warm and soft. Despite my better judgment I leaned into it, my eyelids fluttered. A car engine rumbled down the street, a door slammed. But I felt frozen in place. Tanner's face neared mine. I knew I should back away but I stayed still, forced my breathing to slow.

Just as his lips reached mine, footsteps clicked on the concrete behind me. I heard a sharp intake of breath and whipped around. When I saw him, my heart stopped. I gasped.

"W-w-what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to surprise you. But I guess I'm the one who's surprised." Isaac dropped the bag he held in his hand. His shoulders drooped. His eyes were downcast. He wore a pair of gym pants and a basketball s.h.i.+rt.

My heart stopped. He looked just like I remembered. At the sight of him standing in my front yard, I realized how much I'd missed him.

I stepped away from Tanner and toward Isaac. "It's not what it looks like."

"It's not?" Tanner asked.

I threw him a sharp look.

"What is it then, Kenzie?" Isaac asked, drawing my attention back to him.

"Hey, be easy on her, okay," Tanner said. "She's had a rough night."

It was weird seeing Tanner defending me from Isaac. In fact, I might have laughed at the whole thing if I didn't feel like I was on the verge of throwing up.

Isaac glanced over at me and for a moment his face softened. Then it returned to Tanner and his eyes blazed with anger. "I had no idea. Apparently, you're the one she's confiding in now."

"That's not true," I said. "I called you before calling Tanner but you didn't pick up."

"You called him first?" Tanner's face fell. It cut to my heart. I couldn't say anything right at that moment.

"I was probably on my way here. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." Isaac tucked his hands in his pockets and gave me a sheepish look. It was so cute, I wanted to kiss him right there.

"Well, that's how it's been for the past three months. Kenzie's been through a lot and you weren't around," Tanner said to Isaac. "I was."

"It's not because I didn't want to. Man, believe me. I wanted nothing more. But I don't live here."

"Well, she needed someone who could be here for her," Tanner countered.

Isaac groaned. "I can't believe I was actually glad she had you looking out for her, man." He shook his head in disgust. "I mean, seriously, what kind of guy hits on another guy's girlfriend?"

"It wasn't like that. We were just friends. I didn't mean for it to turn into anything more. But then I fell in love with her. I wasn't trying to."

My face warmed.

Isaac ran a hand over his face. "What?" He looked at me, searching my face. I was still in shock over what Tanner had said.

He loved me?

"Kenzie," Isaac said. "do you love him too?"

I wanted to scream no. I wanted to tell Isaac I only wanted him. But it was more complicated than that now. Isaac nodded at my hesitation.

Disappointment was written all over his face. "I see."

I rushed to him. "No. Isaac, you don't understand." I wanted to grab him and pull him close, but I was afraid. I hadn't touched him in so long. My fingers burned with longing. But I didn't want him to push me away. I wasn't sure I could handle the rejection. Standing inches from him, I stopped. Tears filled my eyes. "I love you, Isaac. I do. That hasn't changed. It's just that Tanner and I have spent a lot of time together and we've been through a lot." I looked back at Tanner who was watching me with an expectant look on his face. "I care about him." I faced Isaac again. "I care about both of you."

Isaac sighed. "You can't have us both."

"He's right," Tanner chimed in. "You have to choose."

I bit my lip and stared into Isaac's eyes. I knew I loved him, but did I love Tanner too? I wasn't sure. How could I choose between them?

"Kenzie?" Tanner asked. I looked at my friend, my protector, the boy who had spent the last few months looking out for me. He had just professed his love for me and all I wanted to do was run into his arms and tell him I loved him back.

"Kenzie?" Isaac asked. Glancing at my boyfriend, my heart tugged. Before tonight I had been convinced he was my soul mate. I had wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He was the first boy I had truly loved. I'd missed him for so long that I wanted so badly to hold him and kiss him and tell him how much I loved him.

Why did this have to be so hard? No matter what I chose, I couldn't win. By choosing one, I would hurt the other. The thought was more than I could bear. And yet, I knew they were right. I had to choose. It was time to make a decision.

I glanced up. The minute our eyes locked, I knew. It was him. He held my heart. He was the one I truly loved.

I opened my mouth, ready to share my decision.

Other t.i.tles by Amber Garza.

Prowl Trilogy:.

Prowl.

Entice.

Unveil.

Engraved.

Delaney's Gift Series.

Dazzle (Fall 2012).

Shatter (Early 2013).

Betray (2013).

Awaken (2013).

Questions about G.o.d or the spiritual nature of ENTICE visit: http://ambergarza.wordpress.com/.

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