I took care of that, I laughed to myself triumphantly. It was exciting to have the power to change things. If I could change flowers and the way I look then there was no telling what else I can change.
All of this could come with high consequences as well as rewards. What if I messed up and done something I’m not supposed to do? I was never told that there were any rules to my new life. I was most certainly going to have to ask the Queens the next time I was with them. I don’t want to risk doing anything that might upset them and make them think that I’m not good enough for their gifts to me.
I was startled when I heard someone call my name. I turned in the direction from where I thought it came from. No one was there. I heard it again, closer this time, so I walked around the side of the house expecting to see someone there. Not a soul was to be seen. Powerful and crazy, I thought to myself.
“Bailey.” the sheer power in the voice shook my deep into my soul. It sounded like Eric in a way, but I wasn’t sure. I looked over to his house. He was standing in the window looking at me. I waved at him and shyly turned away.
If you only knew how beautiful you are, the voice said softly.
I looked around confused, but again saw no one.
I love you already, I heard the voice say.
This time I noticed the voice wasn’t coming from someone outside. I wasn’t hearing the voice with my ears either. It was in my mind, but I wasn’t imagining it.
The whisper lingered with me. It was his sweet voice. His words were soft and careful as they entered my mind. I could hardly stand to hear them. The feeling that gave me was unexplainable. If I were a normal person I would be in a dead run to the phone to call a shrink because I would be certain I was having some type of mental disturbance.
But I’m not normal. I’m gifted and I know his words were meant for me. The truth from him was as if I had heard it with my heart. It sent a jolt of electricity through my entire body. I hope that someday soon he would be able to say those exact words to me with his mouth instead of not knowing I can hear them in his thoughts.
But, for now, I'll settle with this. I’m not sure it will make a difference. As soon as he finds out the truth about me he will, without a doubt, change his mind. The thought of him doing that made me sick to my stomach.
I don’t know why I felt that way. I mean, hell, I don’t even really know this guy well enough to be thinking about him this way. I can’t picture myself not being able to see or talk to him. I’m drawn to him so strongly. No matter how hard I try not to, I’m always thinking about him. I can’t control it. He's in my dreams every night. He's the first thought in my mind when I wake up and the last one when I go to bed. I was turning into a hopeless freak.
As I made my way back inside I could feel his eyes lingering on me. I had to force myself not to turn around and look at his perfection as he stood in the window looking at me.
The stairs to my room seemed longer than usual. The door to my room creaked as I entered it. Boredom had set in. There is nothing left for me to do to keep myself entertained. Grumbling noises from my stomach let me know that I had waited too long between meals.
The doorbell chimed as I was coming down the stairs. Who in the world could this be? Mom was at work and Dad was at some kind of conference in Florida. I wasn’t expecting anyone to come by either.
I opened the door, assuming that it was one of those church people that go door to door. To my surprise, it was Eric. He was standing there looking utterly delicious with some DVD’s and a single long stem white rose. I wonder why he chose white. You would think that he would have just picked a red one like every other guy would.
He nervously held out the rose to me. I smiled at him. Taking the rose, I made sure that my hand touched his lightly. I stood there holding the door with my other hand. The truth be told, I was using it for support. Eric has a way of making me weak in the knees when he is around. I seriously have to get that under control.
“I thought that if you aren’t busy we could watch some movies. That is if you like doing that.” He said trying to control his voice.
“Sure. As long as you don’t mind that I’m in my pajamas.”
“I don’t mind at all. Actually, I find them rather attractive.” He couldn’t seem to hold his laughter any longer. I wasn’t sure if I should be offended by his remark. With a face like that who would care? I’d let him make fun of my pajamas anytime.
After he caught his breath, I invited him in. “Will your parents mind that I’m here? I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”
I explained that Dad was out of town and Mom was working late again tonight. “I’m sure she won’t mind. But just to be on the safe side, I'll let her know anyway.”
Eric followed me into the kitchen. I found one of Mom’s vases that she kept in the cabinet. She uses them from time to time for fresh cut flowers. I filled it water and put the rose in it. It was so eye catching. A single rose in a vase has a certain appeal to it.
I sat the vase in the middle of the kitchen island and showed Eric to the living room. I walked behind him as we entered the hallway. His movements were as graceful as anyone could imagine. I couldn’t help but to stare at him as he walked.
I pointed in the direction of the DVD player and he walked over to put the disk in. I excused myself and ran up to my room to make sure I looked at least presentable. After straightening my tangled ponytail I headed back downstairs.
When I entered the living room, he was sitting on the couch. I picked the other end of the couch, making sure that I did nothing to overstep my boundaries. I didn’t want to give him the impression that I was just another easy girl either.
“Are you ready?” He asked smiling.
I nodded in reply, afraid my voice would crack when I answered him. I was so nervous that my palms had begun to sweat.
As the previews played, I sent Mom a text. I wasn’t sure how I should word it so I wrote, Hey Mom, Eric came over and we are going to watch some movies. I hope that’s ok. Love you.
It took no time at all for her to reply. That's fine sweetie. Have fun.
I happily closed my phone and put it on the end table. Eric asked, “So how was your day?”
“Good so far. Yours?”
“Great.” Eric cleared his throat. “Better than that now.”
I smiled. When the movie started, I noticed that he had brought one of my all-time favorite horror movies, A Nightmare on Elm Street.
As the movie played, we continued talking. I didn’t mind not watching it. I was more interested in what he had to say.
He asked me a lot of questions. He asked about what my parents did for a living. He seemed pleased that Mom was a lawyer and that Dad was a doctor.
His parents were very wealthy. They had worked for many years as business consultants to oil companies. Their work kept them away from home the majority of the time. More so than my parents, I realized. I felt sorry for him because I knew how hard it was when my parents weren’t home. I got the impression that he was very mature because of that.
He told me that his parents had hired a live-in nanny when he was younger. From his explanation, I drew the conclusion that she wasn’t the greatest person in the world. She hadn’t been mean to him or abused him or anything like that. She had just been I guess you could say, very distant from him. She did her job proficiently. The cooking and cleaning was always done without fail. She wasn’t the type of person who prized children, but she didn’t dislike them either. He said she had been very professional.
His parents had let her go when Eric turned fourteen. They didn’t see any reason that he would need a nanny anymore. He was plenty old enough and was mature enough to stay by himself. And from then until now he has basically taken care of himself.
Out of the blue, my phone rang. It was Mom. I hadn't realized that the time was passing so quickly. She was on her way home and asked if we would like to have something to eat from town. I asked Eric if he would stay and eat with us a
nd he agreed eagerly. I was glad because I wasn’t quite ready for him to leave.
I asked her what she had in mind to get.
“Just whatever you kids want will be fine with me.” she said.
“Does a cheeseburger sound good to you?” I asked Eric.
“Sure does. A Whopper meal from Burger King would be great.”
Actually, I had been thinking the same thing. What a coincidence, I thought to myself. I told Mom what we wanted and she said she would be home shortly.
Eric thanked me for inviting him to stay and eat.
“Well, I could hardly eat in front of you knowing you were just as hungry as I am.”
“Was my stomach really growling that loud?” He laughed as his face turned bright red.
“Yep, sure was.” I laughed uncontrollably.
The movie was over so Eric got up and took it out to put back in the case. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. And I was having fun. I enjoyed Eric’s company. He gave me a sense of comfort like coming home when you had been away for a week. He seemed to be just as comfortable with me.
I saw Mom's car pulling up the driveway.
“Mom’s here. I’m going to go out and help her carry her things in.”
“Oh, I'll help too.” He replied as he opened the front door for me. “Ladies first.”
My heart melted.
“Thank you.”
Mom had just got out of the car when we reached the driveway.
“Hi sweetie.” she said as she hugged me.
“Hello Mrs. Sims.” Eric said politely.
“Oh. Hello. You must be Eric.” Mom replied giving me a wink.
As we got the food out of the car, I noticed Mom hadn't brought her briefcase home with her. She was smiling when I looked up at her. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“I have absolutely, no intentions of working tonight.” she said. Her face was set with a determined look. I bet she has no intentions of working, but I don’t think I would mind if she did. At least for tonight. That was awful of me, I know, but I wanted to spend my time with Eric.
We carried everything into the house. I was so hungry that I could hardly wait to eat. Eric took the burgers and fries out of the bag and placed them on the table in order. I thought that was strange. I guess he likes to be organized, but I’m thinking it looked more like obsessive compulsive disorder.
I got three plates out of the cabinet and put them on the island. Eric, surprisingly, took two of them and put them on the counter in front of him. I watched him as he unwrapped two of the burgers. Putting them on each of the plates he asked me for a knife. I shot him a confused look.
“I’m going to cut your burger for you.” he said as if he’d done it forever.
“Ok.” I said as I handed him the knife. I stood there watching him and for once in my life I was completely speechless. He poured my fries out onto the plate and stabbed my straw into my drink. He was smiling like he had won the lottery. The fact that he had fixed my plate for me was unbelievably attractive. If he keeps on with all this sweet stuff I will for sure end up head over hills for him in no time at all. He already gives me the nervous jitters, but in a good way, of course.
We all sat down at the table to eat. We joked and laughed as the other would make silly faces. Eric was seemingly comfortable around Mom. That would turn out to be a good thing I’m sure. It gave me a true sense of happiness. A feeling of peace and from that moment on, I knew that this was where Eric belonged with me.
I was getting extremely sleepy as Eric announced that it was time for him to head home. Nothing could prepare me for these moments of separation. It hurt me physically as well as emotionally and the pain of not being near him was excruciating, to say the least.
It was getting late. Mom had already gone upstairs, but I knew that she would more than likely come back downstairs to make sure that Eric had made his way home. He lingered at the front door, holding my hand, and I could tell that he did not want to leave. After he cleared his throat, he thanked me for the meal and for my company.
“Call me when you wake up. Goodnight Princess.” he said as he bent over and kissed me on the cheek.
“I will. Goodnight.”
I locked the door behind him and turned off all of the downstairs lights. As I walked by my parent’s room, I could hear Mom snoring lightly. When I got to my room, I immediately turned off the light.
Eric’s bedroom light came on and I watched him as he moved around his room. He had a stack of laundry lying on his bed. I wanted to talk to him so bad, even though he had just left.
I opened my phone and sent him a text. I see you.
I watched as he picked up his phone and read the message. Spying on me again, are you?
NO! I’m just observing. I sent a reply as my heart pounded almost out of my chest. I watched him as he faced the window and slowly pulled his shirt over his head. My phone buzzed again.
Do you like what you see?
I thought of a million different ways to answer his text, but all of which sounded ill-mannered. The only thing I could politely say was ABSOLUTELY!
What I really wanted to say was can I come over. My hormones were obviously running wild. I took a cleansing breath to erase the tension in my body that he was causing. All I could think of was putting my hands on his bare chest. To touch him, exploring every inch of his body.
As soon as I realized what I was thinking, I hurried to clear my thoughts. All I needed was to mysteriously show up in his bedroom. That would really freak him out. He would never be able to look at me ever again.
Calm down Princess, was the last message I remember getting before I fell asleep.
The sound of a plate shattering woke me from my wonderful dream of Eric and his shirtless chest. I could smell bacon and eggs and it instantly sent a pain through my stomach. I was starving.
Mom hadn't been home enough to cook breakfast in so long that I had almost forgot what it was like. Most of the time I would go down to the diner and get scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. It was good, but not as good as hers. Nothing ever seemed as good as when she does it.
I jumped out of bed and hurried to brush my teeth. I made it to the kitchen in record time. At the doorway it was like I had ran into a brick wall. Eric was sitting on the stool by the bar sipping a glass of orange juice. His plate was already empty. Obviously, Mom had fed him before I had made it downstairs and I was not very sure as to how I felt about that. I wasn’t sure about how I felt about anything for that matter. It is just way too early to be giving too much thought to anything.
“Good morning sweetheart.” my mother said in a very teasing tone.
“Hmmm…” is all I could make myself say.
It was strange to see Eric sitting in my kitchen without me inviting him over. “Your mom asked me to come over for breakfast. I thought you were already up, but I guess I was wrong.” he said smiling at me. His smile could melt away the ice on a frozen lake in January, but I knew that it could not break through my morning pessimistic ways.
Mom sat my plate down in front of me. Eric had already poured me a glass of orange juice, and at that moment I felt incredibly loved. My morning was off to a wonderful start, and if I could ever break free of my usual grumpiness it would be so much better.
It was great to have mom home. She looked like she had slept well. We talked some, but it was about nothing of any great importance. Mostly it was just casual things like the weather and how Mom was excited for Eric to be starting school. She knew that I wasn’t up for much conversation when I was in my mood.
I became a bit annoyed when I noticed Eric was watching me eat. That is just so rude. I turned my head in his direction and glared at him.
“Sorry. I just can’t help myself.”
“Well you better try and figure out how to help yourself before I poke your eyes out. I hate it when people watch me eat.” I grumbled as I stared at my plate.
“Since I like my eyes, I don’t think I'll bo
ther you while you eat.” he smirked.
I’ll admit I was being a little uncivil this morning. It wasn’t any different than any other morning. I’m just not little miss sunshine when I wake up. He was just going to have to get used to that fact if he was going to be brave enough to be around me before I had taken my morning shower.
Until I get fully awake, I have a habit of biting people’s heads off. The most important thing that Eric could learn was to give me some time to wake up before talking to me. Intelligent conversations with me before I ate and took a shower were almost impossible. It was like talking to my mother before she had her first cup of coffee. Some things a person should just not do.
I got up and put my plate in the sink and staggered to the stairs. I heard Mom telling Eric that I wasn’t a morning person so don’t take my savageness personal.
“Has she always been like this?” Eric asked her.
I heard her laughing as I climbed the stairs to my room. “Yes. And I don’t think she will ever change.”
I guess it was a good thing that Mom liked him. Hell hath no fury like my mother if she didn’t like you.
I, finally, made it to my room. It felt like it took an hour to get there. I jumped in the shower. Trying to wake up was the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I had slept so good last night. Maybe a little bit too good, it seemed like. All I wanted to do was get back in bed and go back to sleep. I forced myself to end the hot shower and to get dressed.
Eric was waiting for me downstairs. He was obviously nervous about starting school. I mean, what was the use? This week is the final week of high school for both of us. We were seniors and about to graduate on Friday. He held the door for me as we left. I could get used to this.
CHAPTER 4
“I’m going to be so bored this week.” he cackled. I pushed him in a playful way and we left for school.
Walking up to the school entrance, I told Eric that I would show him the way to the main office. I felt bad for him in a way because he wouldn’t have much time to get to know people and make friends. It all felt useless to me in a way. What's the point in trying to make friends here this late in the year?
Eternity (Circle of Light) Page 5