by Jenna Bernel
Chapter 11: Sneaking In
I was lying on top of my bedspread, inspecting my little chef's hat with "Daniella" embroidered in bubblegum pink across the front. I sat up to try it on, only to find it wouldn't fit over the crown of my head. I guess I'd outgrown it in more ways than one.
"What are you doing?" Evan asked as he opened the French door of my balcony, entering my room.
"You know, just thinking about the good ol’ days." I threw the hat at him, and he ran his finger over the embroidery.
"You and your dad have a fight?" Evan knows me too well. I shrugged; I really didn’t want to talk about it. He leapt onto the bed next to me and tried to ram the hat on my head, but he just smashed my hair down over my face. I squeaked out a laugh as I fell from the force, lying beside him. I chucked the hat aside, and he brushed the hair out of my eyes to reveal his crooked smile.
"I think it's a little small," he said, continuing to sweep the hair away from my face.
"You think?" I answered sarcastically, slapping his arm, and he propped up on one elbow, laying his other arm across my stomach.
"You want to tell me about this flightaho, and why I've never heard of him until today?" Evan raised one eyebrow inquisitively, while jostling his arm over my stomach, trying to shake some answers loose, and I made an irritated sound.
"Could we please not talk about Alec? I'm practically being blackmailed into hanging out with him. I don't need you making it harder. What was with the attitude at lunch?" I asked, looking at him with disapproval.
"Who's blackmailing you, your dad?" Evan asked, ignoring my question to ask another, and my heart sunk, knowing I had to lie.
"Yeah, my dad does business with his family. They’re one of our investors or something, so could you please take it easy on him and give me a break?" I pushed his shoulder, and he collapsed his elbow. His breath felt warm on my cheek.
"I know the last thing you and your dad need is more tension, so I'll try, for you." Evan said pulling me in until I was on my side, facing him.
"Thank you," I whispered, closing my eyes, feeling emotionally exhausted, and he kissed the top of my head. His gesture was so warm and comforting, just as Evan always was.
"I just want you to be careful. I didn't get a good vibe from him is all. The way he looked at you was… intense." Evan couldn't put his finger on it and mistook it for desire, but I knew what it was. It was the way a vampire always looks after choosing his next victim: power hungry. He brushed my cheek, and I opened my eyes again to find his warm molasses candies melting with concern.
"Evan, you know me, I'll be careful. I'm always careful when it comes to… " I wanted to say it, but the words cracked in my throat as the fight with my dad replayed in my head. If only I could have been as careful with my missions as I was with keeping people at a safe distance from my heart. Maybe then, I wouldn’t be in this mess now.
"Yeah… I know, Dani." Evan pulled me in tighter, and I rested my cheek on his chest, listening to his heart thump methodically in my ear. My grueling day made the weight of my lids feel like boulders, and before I could fight it, I was drifting off to sleep.
*****
Three sharp beeps ripped through the air before I could reach out and smash my palm on the "off" button of my alarm. Evan's arm was still wrapped around my waist, and he groaned at the sound, pulling the comforter over our heads until we were in our own dark cave of blankets. He must have covered us last night after I fell asleep, which meant he was awake enough to go home.
"I'm surprised you stayed," I said as I maneuvered out of our spoon to face him.
"It seemed like you needed a good night's sleep," Evan said, groggily burying his head in the pillow, unwilling to face the morning. He didn't know the half of it, but I was glad he stayed. I always slept better when he was here. Since Conner spends half the time at Mom's, and my dad sleeps most nights at his apartment in the city, it gets lonely in the six-bedroom house with only Missy here, whom I try to avoid at all costs. I knew how it looked from the outside, Evan sneaking into my room, snuggling me as we slept. But it felt easy this way with him, even comfortable. We both have been through so much with our families, it was like we created our own way of coping. We have this safe little world where we can talk about anything in the privacy of my room.
I sat up and pulled the comforter back from our heads to reveal the bright morning sun shining through the balcony door. Evan smashed the pillow over his head to try and shut out the light, groaning again in dismay. I pulled the pillow away from his face and started tapping his cheek with my palm, coaxing him to wake up. He smiled, grabbing my wrist, pulling me into his chest while giving me a noogie with his other hand. I squealed as the friction from his fist turned my hair into an even bigger rats’ nest, and pushed on his chest, but I accidentally used too much force, and he flew off the bed, landing on the floor with a thud.
"Crap!" I gasped.
I jumped off the bed to help him up. "Are you all right?" I asked, grabbing his hand like a teammate helping him up off the field.
"Someone had their Wheaties for breakfast," he said, standing up and looking at me with a peculiar expression. I laughed and shrugged, not knowing how to gloss over that. It wasn't the first time I slipped up in front of him. Sometimes it's so hard not to be myself, especially with Evan, who makes me feel so normal and at ease in my human state.
"You should go before Conner comes busting in here," I said, changing the subject, as he picked me up in a bear hug.
"All right, I'll see you at school," he said into my shoulder before setting me back down and digging his feet into his shoes. He disappeared down the lattice of ivy next to my balcony and started to sprint across my backyard into his own, to change for school. The timing was perfect because Conner burst through my bedroom door just as I turned the balcony door's lock. He immediately climbed up on the mattress and began to jump on my bed. His light brown hair was flopping in his eyes as he bounced in his Spiderman pajamas.
"Can you make me pancakes?" His request sounded bumpy as he jumped, and I smiled. He's always trying to get me to cook for him, since burnt toast and dried-out chicken nuggets are Missy's main staples when it comes to feeding my little brother.
"Of course, buddy. But we gotta hurry, so I can get ready for school," I said, holding out my arms as he bounced right off the bed into them with a squeal. I maneuvered him onto my back until his arms were wrapped around my neck. I made horsey sounds as I jumped and skipped downstairs to the kitchen, relishing the sound of his wild giggles as we went. I would die if anything ever happened to Conner or anyone else I loved. I sure hoped Eli was coming up with a plan, because all I had for breakfast was a whole lot of worry with a side of zilch.
Chapter 12: Carpooling
The smell of blueberry pancakes wafted through the house long after Conner devoured his syrupy stack. I was running a little behind and as I finished up with the hair dryer, I heard a honk outside telling me my ride for school was here, but it didn't sound like Kate's Jetta. I quickly secured my hair in a haphazard ponytail to go check it out, and when I opened the front door, I saw a black Audi parked in my driveway. Alec sat grinning behind the wheel as Kate waved happily from the passenger seat. My stomach instantly did a flip at the thought of him alone with her. I rushed over and jumped in the back seat behind Alec, as Kate turned to look at me.
"Hey, guess who called me this morning and offered to pick us up? Wasn't that nice?" Kate asked, but her wicked smile set the tone for the question, and I wanted to scream. She had it so wrong, I could have crunched his car up into scrap metal, and it still couldn't have tamed my frustration.
"That is so nice," I said, like a cheerleader. Alec's eyes flicked into the rearview mirror, and he winked at me before putting his car in reverse. I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms like a child after being refused an ice cream stop. If yesterday was my worst nightmare come to life, today was sure to be the sequel.
"Alec is staying at the Patterson house
until his parents find something decent to buy. But that place is so gorgeous, you'll probably never want to leave, right, Alec?" Kate asked, and he nodded along in agreement. Of course, the Patterson house. It was a beautifully restored historical estate down the road, owned by the Patterson family who only use it during the summer and rent it out the rest of the time. Alec found a primo spot to keep an eye on me, only a few blocks away from my house, and I sunk a little more in my seat. The thought of him wandering around my own neighborhood was beyond disturbing.
"I heard you tried out for the baseball team. How'd it go?" Kate asked, turning her attention to Alec. Our senior class should have started their own media network. They got information out faster than Facebook.
"I made it. I'll be starting in November with the rest of the team, when indoor practices begin." Alec's tone was genuinely happy, and I wondered if it was because he knew he was making me crazy. Was he seriously going to be here in November? That was over a month away. I thought I'd definitely be dead by then, or at least in a mental hospital from the psychotic breakdown I was about to have. Watching my two worlds collide was surreal, and I was not coping well.
"That's great! Dani and I go to all the games so we'll be there to cheer you on."
"I'm counting on it," Alec said cryptically to me, but Kate smiled and patted his shoulder supportively, because any friend of mine was a friend of hers, and I couldn't tell her he was NOT my friend. I didn't even want her touching him. What if she accidentally broke her hand just by patting him too hard on his concrete shoulder?
A few silent minutes later, we pulled into the school parking lot, and Alec hopped out, running around to open Kate's door. I was so surprised, I sat there stupidly for a minute, and he managed to get my door too, before I could object. I stepped, out eyeing him suspiciously, and wondering what his game was today.
"Thank you, Alec. It's so nice to finally have a gentleman at our school." Kate praised him, swooning at his little gesture, and I clenched my jaw, not pleased by how easily he was accepted into our group. At least, Evan was still on my side. She waved goodbye and said she'd see me in AP History, as she ran off to her class on the other side of campus.
"What was that about? If you even think about working your so-called charms on my best friend as some sort of twisted play to get into my head, I swear I will snap your neck when you least expect it," I threatened, stepping into him, and pushing an accusatory finger into his chest. He tilted his head down until his smoldering eyes locked onto mine, not at all intimidated by my words. He grabbed my hand from his chest and wrapped it behind his neck, picking me up until we were eye-to-eye, in one startling swoop.
"Who says Kate is the one I'm trying to so-call charm?" He asked with a hint of a smile as he spun us in a slow circle, with my feet dangling off the ground. As we turned, his eyes became even more torrid with something. I didn’t get it. I'd swear he was trying to Trance me with a Gifted form of hypnosis that somehow affected vampires, but all I could see were the students who stopped walking into school in order to stare at us before pulling out their phones. I shook my head in annoyance that this little show would soon be on record, and wiggled out of his embrace to land my feet on the ground.
"You work for the 7th Circle, so you should know the rules. And I thought we already talked about this flirty crap yesterday. Do you really think I'm that naïve?" This was getting offensive, as if his phony, flirtatious games could sway my opinion toward wanting him here. I began to walk away, but he caught my wrist, spinning me around to face him.
"Like you said, Dani. This isn't The Basement; this is high school. So as far as I'm concerned, all the rules have changed. And if I recall, you seemed very inviting toward me yesterday at the dugout," he mused, and I nodded in sarcastic agreement.
"Yeah, remind me again, was that before or after I kicked your ass?" I said with an inquisitive tilt of my head.
"That's not exactly how I remember it. I think you're just lashing out because I wasn't stupid enough to fall for your anti-vamp blood," he countered, and I stumbled back a few steps with my mouth hanging open in shock, and Alec kept his hold my wrist matching my steps to keep me from falling.
"Who are you?" I asked through a quiet breath.
"I told you, Dani, the sooner you trust me the better." He leaned into my ear and his hand holding my wrist glided down until our fingers wove together.
"You don't have to hide with me," he whispered and strangely, our hands seemed to reluctantly untangle when he stepped past me and started moving through the parking lot. I stood there frozen, watching him walk into my school, right into my life, and my stomach clenched with uninvited butterflies. How could he know all my secrets?
*****
After another excruciating lunch of Harper hitting on Alec right in front of Evan, it was clear he was going to have a difficult time getting along with my new shadow, despite his scouts’ honor last night to try to, if only for my sake. Although I could hardly blame Evan and his lack of effort, as I was sure watching your best friend getting intense attention from an obvious player, while your girlfriend looked on longingly, as if she wanted to trade places, couldn't be easy. Especially for the captain of our baseball team who never had trouble with the ladies, and now suddenly found himself in competition with his soon-to-be catcher.
I finally had a minute away from them both when I left Alec to meet Kate at our next class. I was relieved to have a class alone with Kate and not have to deal with Evan, or Alec, or Harper, or any other melodramas which were making these last two days feel like lifetimes. Kate waved at me when I walked into AP History, and I promptly found a desk next to her in the back. Since this was our only class together with just the two of us, we liked to hide in the back, and tried to get away with texting throughout the period. It was the perfect set-up since Mr. Anglewood's glasses were getting thicker each year, and as long as we were discreet, he couldn't see us using our phones.
"Hey, I heard lunch didn't go so great again. I guess a bromance between our new catcher and star pitcher is out of the question. It’s a shame…" Kate trailed off, worried about the future of our division-leading baseball team, but I was more worried about the onset of a future fight that would leave Evan without a pitching arm at all.
"Who is telling you all this?" I asked, astounded at how plugged in she could be to the gossip, when she didn’t even have the same lunch.
"Please, Bennet's practically texting me the table talk verbatim," she said with a wave of her hand, as if it were obvious. Of course, what was I thinking by not assuming that half of our school was ziplined to our table via cell phone. She was right about Alec and Evan, though. I didn’t see the tension getting any less uncomfortable, unless Harper could keep her paws off Alec, which was unlikely. It didn't help that she had Senior Sculpture with Alec and me either, giving her a topic for conversation, like it was suddenly her favorite class. Wait, did I just say Alec and me, like we were some sort of couple? The bell rang, and I shrunk in my seat as I shook out the unnerving, mental slip-up, but Mr. Anglewood had yet to make an appearance. Kate and I looked at each other curiously because he was always on time.
A minute of silent wonderment passed and the students were becoming antsy in their seats, contemplating how much longer they’d have to wait before they could ditch and have a free hour. Finally, the classroom door opened, only it wasn’t Mr. Anglewood, and my mouth hit the floor from this mindboggling twist. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me, and I squinted at the person before me, as if my brain wouldn't accept the image. Eli came strolling in, holding a briefcase and wearing a Calvin Klein suit, looking so confident, you would think he'd been walking in and out of these halls for years. He set his briefcase on the desk and picked up the dry erase marker, writing “Mr. Powell” on the board, before he turned and smiled knowingly at me, my mouth still agape. What was he doing here?!
"Hello class, I'm Mr. Powell." Lie one, because his last name was not Powell.
"Mr. Anglewoo
d abruptly decided to retire." Lie two, because Eli obviously Tranced him.
"I'll be taking over as your substitute teacher until they find a suitable replacement." Lie three, because he was definitely not a teacher! My cell phone buzzed in my lap, and I looked down at my text message.
"Hallelujah for retirement!!! My next boyfriend just walked in." Kate's enthusiasm over this attractive change in scenery made a giggle of hysteria escape my throat, like a mental patient who needed to ease up on the meds. If any more super-humans, day-walking vampires, or any other unannounced creatures, like a werewolf, walked into my school, that I had to lie about, I felt sure I was going to crack!
"You can't hit on our teacher!" I texted back to Kate, and the sound of a ruler whacking my desk almost made me scream with a start, I was so jumpy these days. I looked up to find Eli tapping the ruler in his hand, like a deranged Catholic nun from the fifties. I think he might need a few tips on how teachers acted in the present era.
"I know I'm just a sub to you, but there will be no texting in my class. Is that clear?" Eli said, holding back a smile, and I sighed, not particularly loving his little game of teacher’s pet. A heads up that he was crossing over into my human life would have been nice.
"Yes sir," I said through my clenched smile, and he practically started shaking as he tried not to laugh, clearly, much more amused than I. He turned around and walked back to the front of the room.
My lap buzzed again when I got another text from Kate. "He can spank me with that ruler any time." I slapped my palm to my forehead. What was happening to my life?
After an hour of not paying attention to Eli's history lecture, the bell finally rang, giving me sweet release from the ludicrousness of being forced to watch him teach my class. I took my time re-stuffing my books, while Kate stood up and waited.