by M. H. Soars
I stopped pacing when I heard steps outside. I quickly went to my bedroom door and opened it slightly. Even in the darkness, I recognized Zach.
“Zach, where are you going?” I whispered.
He walked toward my door and stood in front of it as I opened it completely. “I’m going to bed. What are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I thought you were staying with Matthew.”
“He woke up, we talked, and he sent me away,” Zach replied.
“What do you mean he sent you away? You were supposed to stay with him until morning. What if something happens?”
“Sam, Matt is fine. Go back to bed and stop worrying.” He walked away without giving me the chance to ask more questions.
I bit my lower lip and wondered if I should check on Matthew myself. He was probably sleeping already, otherwise Zach wouldn’t have left, so I could check on him and he would never know.
I closed my door and tip-toed toward Matthew’s bedroom. I opened the door slowly, trying to avoid making any sound. He was sleeping on his side with his back to the door, so I couldn’t see his face. I walked in and closed the door, flinching when it clicked shut. As I approached the bed, my heart sped up. It sounded so loud that I thought for sure Matthew would hear and wake up.
“Zach, what are you doing back here? I’m fine. I don’t need a nanny.” Matthew rolled over. I froze, and his eyes widened. “Sam? What are you doing here?” he whispered.
Feeling like a complete idiot, I went to his bed and sat down on the chair next to it. “I couldn’t sleep and I thought I should check on you.” I avoided his eyes.
Matthew stared at me without uttering a word, like I was a puzzle he was trying to decipher. Feeling uncomfortable with his scrutiny, I got up and turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Back to bed. I see that you’re fine, so now I can try to sleep.”
He reached for my hand. “Please don’t leave. Stay with me tonight.” The catch in his voice undid me, and I found myself unable to refuse.
All of my reservations about our relationship, all of the protective barriers I had put in place, fell away. I forgot that Matthew and I weren’t friends anymore, and that I was still supposed to be mad at him. None of that mattered, because I wanted to stay. Tonight I would accept any little scrap of affection he threw my way.
I was about sit on the chair when he pulled the blanket back and tapped the empty space on the mattress next to him. “The bed is big, and I promise I’ll stay on my side of it.”
I hesitated. Sleeping next to Matthew was probably a bad idea. But the box where I kept my feelings for him locked away had cracked open after the events of tonight, and I couldn’t resist being near him, so I gave in. I was in bed with Matthew. God help me.
I heard him snicker so I asked, “What’s so funny?”
“You’re all stiff. Relax. It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”
I was glad I had my back to him so he couldn’t see me blushing. We were nine years old the last time we slept in the same bed. I managed to relax after a while and closed my eyes, but sleep would be hard to come by. I was too aware of Matthew’s body next to mine.
“Thank you,” he said after a moment.
My eyes snapped open and I took a deep breath before I rolled over to face him. I was taken aback. Despite the fact that his nose was still a bit swollen, the vulnerable look on his face took my breath away.
“So you remember,” I whispered. I was all too conscious that we were very close.
My mouth became dry, and I found that I couldn’t breathe properly. Matthew’s gaze shifted to my partially open lips, and I could have sworn that his breath caught, but I was probably imagining things. When his eyes found mine again, they were filled with such longing that it broke my heart.
“No, I don’t remember exactly,” he finally said. “But Zach told me it was you.”
I couldn’t keep the disappointment from showing on my face. I wanted Matthew to remember something; at least the part when his mind opened up to mine.
He continued, “I wish I did, though. Remember.”
I closed my eyes and felt moisture behind my eyelids. Great, now I was crying like a baby. “I wish you did too,” I said in a broken voice before the tears started flowing.
Matthew pulled me to him in a tight embrace and ran his fingers through my hair. “Shhh, don’t cry Sam. It’s okay. Everything is fine now.”
I don't know how long he held me like that. All I remember was that I fell asleep in Matthew’s arms. For the first time in years, I felt safe.
CHAPTER 10
Alexia
Sunday morning came, and I woke up with a smile on my face. I stretched languorously in bed like a content cat, recalling the last tendrils of memory from a pleasant dream. Then I remembered how the party had ended, and my morning bliss vanished.
I had no idea what had happened, only that Matt had gotten into a fight with some guy and that they had both passed out before things got too out-of-hand. I was still mad at Zach and Sam for not taking Matt to the hospital. What if he had a concussion? But they had completely ignored me. The worst part was that Uncle Gary had agreed with their decision.
I quickly got out of bed. To my dismay, I realized I had not bothered to put on my PJs last night. Yuck, I had slept in piña colada-smelling clothes.
I ran to the bathroom, jumped in the shower, and emerged from it five minutes later. Even if my spirits weren’t completely lifted, at least I smelled nice.
Normally I would have stayed in the shower longer, but I needed to check on Matt. I wouldn’t feel completely at ease until I saw with my own eyes that he hadn’t suffered any lasting damage. While I was getting dressed, I heard my phone buzz. When I checked it, I saw a message from Ethan flashing on the screen. “How is Matt?” the message said.
I was texting him back when I heard voices coming from the hallway. I recognized my uncle’s familiar tone, but there was another male voice that I couldn’t place. It definitely wasn’t any of the boys. I opened my bedroom door slightly and saw my uncle in a corner of the hallway, near Matt’s bedroom, talking in a hushed but urgent tone to a young man.
He was the same height as my uncle, but the similarities stopped there. He was wearing jeans and a tight t-shirt that showed how muscular he was. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, which only made his muscles bulge more. He had long and wavy hair in a light-brown color. By his body language I could tell that he was definitely angry about something.
“Durgin, I’m just as surprised by these new developments as you are. I assure you I had no idea this was happening,” I heard my uncle say.
“It doesn’t matter if you knew about it or not. Do you have any idea what kind of catastrophic consequences this careless act could provoke? Especially after last night’s events, we can’t have those two involved. It could ruin everything,” the stranger said as he pointed at Matt’s bedroom door.
“I’ll talk to them. Whatever it is, it will stop now,” assured my uncle. What the heck were they talking about, and who was that man?
“You’d better. I was planning to take Matthew to Arcadia myself, but considering what I just saw in there, I think it’s wiser if you take him.”
My uncle nodded in agreement, and an uneasy feeling took hold of me. I was so confused that I failed to notice their conversation had ended. My uncle and the stranger were coming my way.
The stranger was walking ahead when he saw me standing there, spying on them. I thought he was going to rat me out, but all he did was put his index finger to his lips in the universal “silence” sign. Before my uncle could see me as well, I quickly shut the door. My heart was racing, and it only calmed slightly when I couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore.
I walked toward my window, hoping to catch another glimpse of the stranger when he left the house, but he never did. Was he still here? Who was he? Where was this place called Arcadia, and why were
they taking Matt there?
The stranger had been even scarier up close. He had the most unusual eye color, bright purple, and it made me think that he wore colored contact lenses. There was something about his unnerving stare that still gave me goose bumps. What had my uncle called him again? Durgin? An unusual name. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing, and I needed to talk to Sam about it.
Matthew
I woke up to a sea of white, tangled hair. I still had Sam in my arms, but we had shifted to a spooning position during the night without realizing it. I buried my face in her hair and inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo, a mix of coconut and vanilla. I smiled thinking how right this moment felt, and my heart swelled with emotion.
How could I have been so blind? Sam and I, together like this, was how it was always supposed to be. We belonged together. That was the reason I had reacted so badly when I saw her last night with Julian.
I held her tighter, but she didn’t stir. She was still in a deep sleep, and that was okay by me. It gave me time to organize my thoughts and find a way to confess that my feelings for her had changed, evolved. The knowledge might create an even bigger chasm between us, but how could I not risk it? There was no way that I would be able to carry on with my life without admitting that I was utterly and irrevocably in love with her. Maybe I always had been.
It didn’t escape my notice that it had all started with the seed Alexia had planted in my head just before the party. She showed me something that I couldn’t see for myself, and in that moment she had changed me forever. Sam’s presence in my mind last night had just been the final push toward enlightenment. I felt like a fool for taking so long to recognize the signs.
I closed my eyes again, enjoying Sam’s warmth, when I heard my door opening. There went my short-lived contentment. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to see us like this and draw the wrong conclusion.
Not wanting to wake Sam and create an embarrassing situation for both of us, I pretended I was still asleep. I could kill Zach or Sean later; they were the only ones who would come into my room without bothering to knock.
My entire body tensed up when I realized that it wasn’t either of them. Fate - or bad luck, more likely - would have it that Gary and Durgin were the ones to discover Sam in my bed. I recognized their voices when they started to whisper outside my door.
I didn’t even want to think about what kind of lecture I would receive for what they thought they saw. But the most important question really was, why was Durgin here in the first place?
Their brief discussion outside only lasted a few minutes, but that was enough to change my mood from happiness to gloom. Durgin had been clear – Sam and I couldn’t be together. And the Council would agree with whatever Durgin said.
His word was pretty much law with anything related to Earth, and since we lived on the planet, we fell under his jurisdiction. Durgin was a powerful and dangerous Arcadian. He had the strongest compulsion power on the planet, a power we had experienced ourselves. He was the one who had compelled us all to keep the Prophecy a secret from Alexia. No matter what we did, we could not bring ourselves to reveal anything to her.
Even if Sam felt the same thing for me and we decided to keep our relationship a secret, we would still run the risk of being found out by Durgin. He could make us forget each other with one simple glimpse. That I couldn’t risk.
Feeling too restless and anxious to stay in bed, I got up slowly, careful not to wake up Sam. I paced my room, trying to figure out what to do. I still had a burning need to tell Sam how I felt about her, but would that be fair to her? If she felt the same way I did, we would both be suffering because we wouldn’t be able to be together. If she didn’t feel the same way, I would just put her in an awkward situation, and for what? Before, when there was a chance of happiness for us, I could risk telling her. But now? I wasn’t so sure anymore.
Despite my reserved nature, I needed to talk to someone about this. Normally my go-to person would be Alexia, but I didn’t know how she would react if I told her that I was in love with Sam. Yes, she had already noticed something was up, but for all intents and purposes, Sam and I were first cousins, and a relationship between us would not be understood by a lot of people. I didn’t need Alexia to condemn me or pity me on top of everything else.
I decided to talk to Zach instead. He was level-headed and would help me come up with a sensible solution. I walked toward my door, glanced one last time at Sam’s sleeping form in my bed, and died a little.
Alexia
I didn’t find Sam in her bedroom, and her bed was still unmade. It was pretty early, and I was surprised she was already up. I wanted to look for her, but I was afraid of bumping into the stranger again. I didn't see him leave, so he was probably still in the house. I went back to my room and texted Ethan, asking if he could talk on the phone. I was feeling unsettled, and I needed to share it with someone. I was probably breaking all the dating rules now.
My phone rang a second later and I jumped. Yes, I was definitely feeling skittish. Ethan’s name flashed on the screen, and I allowed myself a brief second to gain my composure before I answered it.
“Hey,” I said, still sounding too needy for my taste. “Thanks for calling me.”
“No problem. Is Matt okay?” He asked, concerned.
I had completely forgotten about the party incident, which was stupid. That stranger had totally deranged my thoughts. Ethan, of course, didn’t know that the reason I wanted to talk to him had nothing to do with the fight. That, in a way, was good. At least he wouldn’t think I was a desperate girl who needed to talk to him merely hours after I had last seen him.
“Yes, no. I don’t know.” I sat down heavily on my bed, feeling utterly ridiculous. Now that I had Ethan on the phone, I didn’t know if I should tell him about the conversation I’d overheard.
“You sound upset. What's bothering you?”
Just by hearing Ethan’s soothing voice, I could feel my anxiety melt away. I was still worried about Matt, but somehow Ethan made me feel like everything would be okay.
“There was a man in the house I didn’t know and I overheard a conversation between him and my uncle. They were talking about taking Matt to place called Arcadia but I have no idea where that is, or if Matt is all right. Nobody listened to me when I begged them to take him to a hospital last night, and now…” I couldn’t finish my sentence, but I didn’t need to. Ethan understood my frustration.
“Have you asked your uncle about it?
“No. I’m afraid the stranger is still in the house, and he sort of scared me,” I replied.
“Maybe this guy is a doctor and Arcadia is a private medical facility. I think you should talk to your uncle,” Ethan reasoned. But he had not heard their exact words or seen their body language.
“Trust me, he’s not a doctor. He’s way too young, and as I said before, creepy.” At that last comment, Ethan actually chuckled.
I wanted to be mad at him, but I was being a bit melodramatic. I could just ask my uncle what was going on. I trusted him; he would never let anyone hurt Matt. What was I thinking? I was indeed ridiculous. I hoped Ethan didn’t think so, as well.
“Are you still there?” Ethan asked when I didn’t say anything for a few seconds.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to laugh at you, but you sounded so cute, all worried and all.”
“I’m glad I amuse you,” I replied. I should have been a little upset with him but he did help me gain perspective of the situation. Just because the stranger gave me some creepy vibes didn’t mean he was bad.
“I know it’s sort of a bad time for you, but I was hoping we could see each other today,” Ethan said. The sudden change of subject left me speechless for a moment. I would love to spend time with him, but until I figured out what was going on here, I couldn’t see myself having a good time.
So with regret I replied, “I would love that, I really would, but I don’t think
I can leave the house today. Too much going on, you know?”
“Of course. Don’t worry, we can do something during the week,” Ethan was trying to be cool about it, but I still heard the disappointment in his voice. There was nothing to say after that, so he made me promise to keep him updated, and we said goodbye.
Matthew
I went into Zach’s bedroom without bothering to knock and found him with a towel wrapped around his waist, drying his hair with another.
“Knock much?” he asked as he passed me to reach his walk-in closet.
“I need to talk to you before I’m summoned by Gary.” I sat down on a love seat surrounded by books.
“Yeah, he couldn’t get much from you last night, with you passed out and all,” Zach replied before he emerged from his closet fully dressed. He went back to his bathroom and I took the opportunity to drop the bomb on him.
“Durgin and Gary caught Sam in my bed this morning.” My comment caused Zach to run back to the room looking stupefied, round eyes, arched eyebrows and all.
“Come again? Durgin caught Sam in your bed? First of all, what was she doing in your bed? You guys didn’t, you know, fool around, did you?”
“What? No! What made you think that?”
“Do you really have to ask?” When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “How blind are you, Matt? Sam’s been in love with you since I-don’t-know-when. It’s so obvious that everyone already has it figured out. The only reason Gary and Alexia haven’t noticed yet is because they don’t spend that much time here.”
I closed my eyes and let the information Zach had just dumped on me sink in. Was it possible that Sam had been in love with me all this time and I hadn’t noticed? How pathetic was I for not realizing it before?