Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “I’m not worried.”

  “Anyway, it’s not like you had to see it for yourself. Unlike me, I saw you and Tate everywhere and in large quantities if you recall; at lunch, at diners, at your locker, at your house,” he said wryly.

  “Ok, I get it. I have no room to talk.” That sure gave me some perspective. “I was just trying to … with Tate I just …”

  “I know what you were just doing. You were just trying to stop your feelings for me by making out with your boyfriend who you weren’t in love with.”

  “Yes, that’s what I was doing,” I admitted. “I felt guilty for feeling anything for you when I still had a boyfriend.”

  He pulled me closer and whispered into my hair, “And it made me respect you even more for it. Let’s just forget about that. I think it all worked out for the best, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.” I leaned back. “I better get going.”

  “I’ll walk you,” he said and I knew better than to argue.

  As we made our way upstairs and passed the living room I stopped at the birds' cage. He looked at me with a crooked neck. He blinked, I blinked.

  “Cavuto,” I said and it stayed silent. “Cavuto want a cracker?” Still nothing.

  I rolled my eyes and went to leave, hearing Eli chuckle behind me, but we both stopped when we heard from behind us, “Arequipa.”

  “Arawhata?” I asked as we both turned back to the bird.

  “Arequipa,” Eli repeated. “It’s a city in Peru. Angelina must have taken the bird there at some point.”

  “Have you ever been there?”

  “Yeah … about 25 years ago. It’s been a while. But I wasn’t there with her,” he finished quickly.

  “OK, well, let’s-“

  “Clara want a cracker?”

  “What?” I asked and laughed nervously as I glanced at Eli. He looked stunned, too. “That bird is pretty chatty. I thought you said he never talked?”

  “Yeah.” He crossed his arms in contemplation. “I haven’t heard him speak since I took him. He must like you. Maybe he just likes girls.”

  I went closer to the cage and crooned to him, “How did you know my name, little guy?”

  “Eli told me, idiot.”

  I stilled and glared at the bird. The innocent little feathery beast was perched on his feet from his swing so sweetly, like he didn’t just insult me. I switched my gaze to Eli, who was smothering a laugh in his fist. Very badly, I might add.

  “Ah, CB,” he soothed. “I told you she taught it to be foul mouthed.”

  “Ok, fine. Bye, Cavuto, you deviant little thing.”

  “Bye, toots,” the bird sang out.

  Before I could turn and teach that bird a few new choice words, Eli had grabbed me and turned us out the door. He was still fighting a smile as we walked to my house.

  “Not funny,” I muttered. “I can’t even get birds to show me some respect.”

  He pulled me under his arm and said, “I respect you.”

  “Yeah, but you’re only one person. Everyone else thinks I’m a ditz or a tease or, recently, a stupid human.”

  “You are none of those things.” He kissed my temple as we turned into my yard. “I told you, the bird has said way nastier things in the time that I’ve known him.”

  “So,” I thought of some more of the questions I wanted to ask before he was gone. “The Sweet Grass carnival is coming up.”

  “And the dance.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not going to that.”

  “Why? You don’t think I’d want to go?”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “There’s got to be a reason,” he asked softly as we reached my porch and turned to face each other.

  “The old me would have loved to have gone. The new me, not so much. The carnival, yes, I’m dying to go. But the dance is just a juvenile and pointless thing that I don’t need nor want to do when there are plenty of other things to round out my education. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m in control of myself.” I smiled up at him.

  “Well, I’m glad then.” His hands coasted up and down my arms. “But I am going to wish I could’ve seen you in a pretty, silky dress.”

  “Well,” I thought, “there’s always prom.”

  “So we’re not ditching all school functions, just the ones you dub as juvenile?”

  “Now you’re getting it,” I jested and poked his stomach. He laughed as he pulled me to him.

  “I’ll be here all night,” he promised. “You’ll be safe, so I want you to sleep tight.”

  “You won’t put yourself in danger will you?”

  “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not particularly thrilled about you being out here alone.”

  “My whole life, I’ve been alone.”

  “That’s doesn’t make it ok for now.”

  “Clara, don’t argue. When it comes to you being safe, I won’t ever compromise on that.” I scowled up at him. “And don’t pout. It doesn’t work on me. I’m immune,” he said grinning.

  “I highly doubt that,” I said in a challenging tone.

  He just smiled that crooked, gorgeous smile that fit his lips perfectly and kissed me. “I’m not going to come to you in a Reverie tonight. You need your rest. Enoch will be too exhausted from recuperating to try and Angelina, hopefully, is indisposed.”

  “Ok,” I said reluctantly. I liked the Reveries. We could go wherever we wanted for any kind of weather. It was our own little fantasy world. “If you change your mind though, I’ll be all for it,” I told him and pulled him down to me once more.

  He chuckled huskily against my lips. When we parted this time he looked down at our wrists. He rubbed mine and smiled without looking up. “Thank you for this.”

  “You’re welcome. Thank you for picking me first.”

  “Always will,” he said with promise. Then he rubbed my cheek and turned to go, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll be here all night. Stay inside and sleep well.”

  “Ok. Thank you,” was all I could say. He wasn’t exactly giving me much choice.

  I turned to go inside and ran down the hall in the quiet house. I glanced in the mirror before taking off Eli’s shirt and did a double take. My eyes were seriously green, like Eli had said. I liked the way it made me look; different in a familiar way that made me feel mysterious and empowered. Wow. How to explain this one …

  I showered quickly and went to lay on my bed in an exhausted heap. I flopped on my back, my arms spread wide and I looked at my wrist. The barb wire was still wrapped around me in its possession and made a path out my window to wherever Eli was. I felt satisfied with just that small reminder that I belonged to him. And vice versa.

  I smiled as I rolled over and closed my eyes. And though I was by myself in the dark of my room and the dark of my eyelids, I knew Eli was right there outside and I’ve never in my life felt so looked after and safe.

  ***

  The next morning, I woke a little early. It was pretty quiet in the house so I hurried and got ready for the day. With my uniform on and hair fixed, I ran downstairs to fix a glass of juice. Pastor snuck, unintentionally, up on me and made me spill some of the orange juice on the counter.

  “Sorry. Thought you heard me.”

  “It’s ok. Just a little jumpy, I guess,” I answered as I sopped juice into a paper towel.

  “So, what’s on the …” he started, but trailed off as his newspaper fell to the counter and he came closer. “What happened to your eyes?”

  “Oh,” I laughed nervously and rehearsed the explanation I’d concocted this morning, “it’s a social experiment for school. You know, to see how many people look you in the eye when they talk to you. I’m going to see how many notice my eye color is different.”

  “Interesting. I like it. And the green actually suits you well, it was just a shock.”

  “No worries. Bye!”

  “Bye.”

  I was glad he didn’t ask me why I was leaving so early
. I had to see Eli before school and since he was nowhere to be found in my yard, and the string had me heading into the woods, I headed for his house to wait for him instead. When I got there I knocked softly, but remembered he wasn’t there yet and rolled my eyes at myself before I went inside. The bird was asleep with a sheet over the top so I crept by, happy to escape anymore interactions with the rude thing.

  I made my way down the stairs to his room and found something I had not intended. Instead of an empty room that I could sit and wait for Eli in, I found Angelina. And she was awake, naked, covered only in his black silk sheets, in his bed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  She roused slowly and languidly, stretching and pretending like she couldn’t see me there. The sheet fell away from her chest to her waist and I couldn’t help the disgusted gasp that fell from my lips. Or the following ,”Oh, please.”

  “Yeah, right,” she muttered and finally looked my way. “Don’t act like you’re not impressed.”

  “Are you serious?” I said incredulously and shielded my eyes. “Viewer discretion is advised.”

  “I know what I look like to my own kind, let alone human standards,” she said matter-of-factly and suavely pushed and smoothed her hair back before pulling the sheet back up.

  “You are a real piece of work,” I said sharply and crossed my arms over my uniformed chest. I felt silly in my uniform in this setting, with her laying there so perfectly. “Who do you think you are?”

  “I’m who Eli was with last night,” she replied happily and smiled, a cruel grin on her pink lips. “And I gotta tell you, coming back together after all that chasing was so worth it.”

  It hit me like a message from the sky; a plan.

  I dropped my chin to my chest, to stop the grin more than anything else, because I wanted her to believe that I believed her. I turned to go, slowly, carefully. I heard her giggle behind me and turned, where she could just see my profile.

  “I hope you’re happy,” I said softly.

  “Oh, I am,” she affirmed. “Couldn’t be happier.”

  I left walking straight back to my house. I wasn’t exactly sure where my plan started and ended, but I knew that they had to think that Eli was leaving me. If I started the bond then couldn’t I stop it somehow? Not that I wanted to, but if he left, then they’d stop coming after us right? He could come back for me later.

  They had to believe it though; the Horde, Enoch, Angelina, everyone.

  I came back into my yard just as Eli and Enoch were coming around the back. Enoch looked all too smug and it clicked into place for me. Him and Angelina planned this whole thing. He had come and gotten Eli, knowing I’d go looking for him when I got up, and Angelina set herself up at Eli’s house.

  Bastard and witch! It wasn't too hard to portray feelings of anger for Enoch to feel because I was pissed.

  “Where have you been?” Eli growled as he came to me. “I was just about to follow the string to you. I thought we talked about this? You can’t just wander around by yourself!”

  “Oh, like you care,” I said and even though it wasn’t real for me, it hurt so much to see the rejection on his face when I said, “Like you were really waiting here all night for me.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “I know about Angelina! I went to your house, I saw her in your bed. I know everything.”

  “Clara, you have to see this for what it is. I was not with Angelina, I was here, all night, like I promised you. They’re trying to trick you.”

  “The evidence speaks for itself, I think. I’m so done here,” I said and pushed between them to go to my back door. Eli grabbed my arm and when I turned, it was almost too much. His face was twisted in horror and disbelief. He begged me silently to hear him out, that he could explain everything, but I couldn’t. If we were going to trick Enoch and Angelina into thinking that they had tricked us first, then I had to go inside away from him. Now.

  “Let go,” I said and when he continued to stare, I yelled it, “Let go!”

  He did immediately and watched me go inside my house. I leaned on the door with my back and slid down. I knew I was going to be late to school now, but I didn’t care much about that. I needed to get Eli to follow me into a Reverie so he knew what I was doing.

  I closed my eyes, tight. I waited. He didn’t come. I figured he needed time to get rid of Enoch, first. I waited some more but he still didn’t come. I almost stood to go and find him, to tell him it was all just a hoax on them but we needed them to believe it. We needed them to leave town.

  The next time I glanced at the clock, it had been twenty minutes. I could take it no longer. I ran back outside but they were gone already. I searched everywhere, even called his name a few times, risking to blow my plan, but never heard a sound. I ran into the street and followed the string with my eyes but it just went on and on.

  I ran back inside to my room, closed the door and sat on my bed. I begged him in my mind, forced my thoughts to be his. I threw myself back onto the bed and felt a hot angry tear as it slid from my eye down into my hairline. I said things in my mind to him, begging him to come to me as I squeezed my eyes shut so tight it hurt.

  “Clara?” I heard and jerked up to see Eli in my room. I jumped up and threw my arms around him. “Clara, I thought you …”

  “That I what?” I asked and leaned back. “That I hated you? I’m not sure that’s possible.”

  “But you … I mean you were so … And how did you pull me into a Reverie?”

  “I did this?”

  He nodded as he said, “I was burning sheets one second and the next, I was here watching you on your bed.”

  “Burning sheets?”

  “You said Angelina was in my bed. She wasn’t there when I got there but I took your word for it and got rid of them. I wasn’t about to keep them after that. I was thinking about you, maybe that’s how you pulled me to you.”

  “I wanted you here pretty badly so … I’m just glad you are,” I said and hugged him tightly. “I couldn’t let Enoch see me like that, so I came inside as fast as I could. I’m sorry, it was the only way it would work.”

  “What are you … Oh. You want them to think we had a fight over this, and that I left,” he realized. I nodded to him. “They’ll leave, thinking we’ve ended our humanDevourer relationship and they’ll both be back to chasing me across the country and the Horde will move on. That’s actually not bad.”

  “I have my moments,” I chimed and he smiled as he bent down to be closer to me.

  “So, you didn’t think I’d slept with Angelina, even with the evidence right there in front of you?”

  “No,” I snorted, “of course not. The Angelina ship has sailed.”

  “But how? How did you know the truth?” he asked softly.

  “I trust you,” I answered as if it was as easy as breathing. It was.

  His hands rested on my lower back and he swallowed hard as he spoke.

  “But how do you know I won’t go back to my old ways,” he said sadly. “I am a Devourer after all, and we are made to deceive and manipulate. I want it more than anything, but how can you trust me after everything I’ve done in my life, after everything you’ve seen from my kind the past few days.”

  “It’s not about how you’re like the Devourers, Eli … it’s about how you’re not.”

  “You are a magnificent creature,” he murmured before kissing me gently. “Thank you, Clara.”

  “For what?” I asked dazed.

  “For being level headed and not flying off the handle and taking the bait that Angelina fed you.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said and smirked, but it spread back into a frown. “Now comes the hard part.”

  “I have to actually leave,“ he said in understanding and nodded. “I wondered if you’d thought that part through. They’ll see the string. They’ll know if I’m still here.”

  It was my turn to nod.

  “I know, and I don’t like it at all, but I d
on’t see any other way right now. You don’t have to stay away long, just a few days.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “And then what?”

  “Come back here and finish school with me,” I spouted causing him to smirk.

  “I don’t actually need to finish school, again.”

  “But you want to be with me,” I said coyly.

  “I do,” he agreed and then chewed his lip. “It’s for the best, for me to leave, to keep you safe.”

  “It’ll work,” I agreed.

  “I won’t go too far. I can’t, and to be honest, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to leave you alone anyway.”

  “I’ll be fine. You can make sure they’re following you out of town first and when they are, you’ll know I’m safe here. With the Horde gone, too, I’ll be safe. I’ll just wait for you to come back.”

  “You realize I can’t come to physically see you before I leave. They’ll be watching now, they’ll know.”

  I nodded.

  “This is goodbye, I know,” I said softly

  “You are so incredibly smart and lovable. You know that?”

  “It doesn’t hurt to be told,” I said to him, but it was hitting me that he was leaving. Because of my stupid plan. Why did I open my mouth!

  “Hey, you’re right,” he told me as he took my face in his hands, “this’ll work. It’s a genius plan that I’m sad to say I hadn’t thought of. As long as the Horde stays away, we should be fine for a while once I come back.” He let his lips touch mine softly. “I will miss you something fierce, CB.”

  “Me, too. It doesn’t seem right; you leaving the day after I ultimately pick you out of every other guy in the world. You should feel pretty special,” I quipped; my survival tactic. When things got tough, I got sarcastic.

  “Don’t I know it,” he said gently and kissed the edge of my lips. “It’s alright if you miss me, Clara.”

  “I will miss you.”

  “It’s ok to say you will, and to be vulnerable with me.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” I squeaked. “Please come back,” I said against this chest. “Be careful and don’t stay gone too long.”

  “I will do all of those things,” he promised. “And of course I’ll visit you in our Reveries. Until then, I hate to say it, but you’re already late for school and if I don’t leave soon, they may get suspicious.”