Destiny's Fates

Chapter 19

I pull into my driveway and see Derrek and Chris waiting outside. As soon as I park, James opens the door and hands the box of Chinese food to Derrek. Chris opens the back seat and grabs 3 of the bags of groceries. James climbs out of the car and grabs a few bags, then follows Chris inside. I grab the remaining 2 bags, shut the car door and head inside.

Closing the front door, I notice that the guys are all in the kitchen. Derrek is setting the table; the takeout containers are in the middle of the table. He goes to the fridge and grabs the soda from last night and one of my cans and brings it to the table.

James and Chris have unpacked their bags of groceries, and Chris is currently putting all the frozen food in my freezer. He closes the freezer and dumps the bag of apples into my fruit bowl on the counter. I open the fridge and stick the eggs, butter, bacon, and meat inside. James tosses me the bag of baby carrots, and I put them in the vegetable drawer, then Chris hands me the gallon of milk and I slip it into its place right before closing the door.

James takes the bag of rice and potatoes to the pantry and sets them down on the bottom shelf. Derrek hands him the flour and sugar and James places them on the middle shelf. He then bends down and scoops out a cup of dog food, pours it into Cherry’s bowl, and then closes the pantry door.

“Cherry, where is she?” I ask.

Derrek heads to my bedroom door and opens it. Cherry runs out, barking at all the guys. “Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip!” Then she pauses, nose in the air. Cherry spots the food in her bowl and makes a beeline for it.

Derrek laughs, “We locked her in your bedroom so she wouldn’t run out when we helped you carry in the groceries.”

I nod, “Smart move.” I really hope they didn’t look inside my room when they put Cherry in there. I haven’t made my bed in over a week.

James gestures to the table. “We should probably eat and then talk.”

We all move to the table and start dividing up the food. After we have all loaded up our plates, James clears his throat. “Doll here met her 4th Fate at the grocery store.”

Derrek and Chris snap their heads up from their plates. Derrek quickly swallows his bite of eggroll. “So Love, is he joining us for dinner?”

I shake my head, “Considering he was shopping with a woman pregnant with twins, I really doubt it.”

Chris stands up, goes to the living room, and returns with the last three potential fate papers. “What was his name Des?” Chris asks as he sits back down at the table.

“Eric Halen,” I respond. Eric Reid Halen, actually.

Chris nods, “Born in May of 1998. He works for the local car shop as a mechanic. 6’, light brown hair, hazel eyes.”

I nod, swallowing my bite of sweet-and-sour pork. “That is him all right.” I glance at the clock on the microwave, which reads 1:30. “We only have 4 and a half hours till you guys have to report to the Fate Council.” I look around the table. They look scared. I wonder what the consequence for telling me the big secret is. “Do you guys have to report Eric as a rogue?”

Derrek nods, “Normally, yes. However, if those are his children that this lady is pregnant with, then no. When they take the blood sample at the hospital after birth, we will be notified that the children are Fate.”

“You can tell if someone is Fate by their blood?” I shake my head. Forget supernatural, it is simply genetics. Obviously not something super dramatic, or else there would be studies on it, and they would single us out. Maybe something small, like a mutated gene that changes how we respond to certain stimuli.

Chris clears his throat. “Nothing super dramatic, just a higher level of a specific protein in the blood. Anything over a specific level indicates they have Fate Blood.”

I nod and focus my attention on the food on my plate. We finish our meal in silence. Is that how they found out about me? At the hospital when I was born?