Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1)

by C. M. Boers

  “What?” I asked.

  “Oh nothing, I’ll leave you alone about it. Let me know if I can do anything.”

  “Alright, I will. I think you’re doing plenty already though, don’t you think?”

  “Friends do whatever they can for each other right?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “So there is always more that I can do,” he stated.

  I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. He was cut from a different breed and that was rare to find—a diamond in the rough—if you will. I smiled to myself, thinking about how lucky I was.

  We got to school in record time, though it wasn’t necessary. I was in no hurry to get to class for my math quiz. On the other hand, I was happy to see Pete.

  Pete was very worried about my head when he saw it. He grabbed my backpack from my shoulder and helped me into class, as if I was having trouble walking or something. I assured him I was fine, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Then again, it was nice to have him fawning over me.

  Bailey was the only one that didn’t completely go off-kilter about my head. She seemed surprised, but she didn’t freak out. She even admitted she had the klutz gene too.

  “I hope it doesn’t leave a scar,” she worried aloud.

  I never even considered a scar, but I hoped it didn’t either. I looked at it more closely in the mirror during a bathroom break, and it did look pretty nasty like it might leave one, but only time would tell. I sighed, thinking of how ugly it would be to have a scar right in the middle of my forehead.

  The entire day consisted of tests and reading, but I was lucky enough to get out of swimming. I found a note in my backpack from my mom to my P.E. teacher, excusing me due to my head. I hadn’t thought about it, but guessed it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to get it wet. So I ended the day on that good note, without any homework.

  I asked Bailey to come over Saturday so we could get ready together. She was ecstatic and, after a call to my mom and her dad, we made plans for her to spend the night as well. She was set to arrive at my house just before lunch. I had no homework for the weekend, so all I had to worry about was buying the ingredients for the homemade pizza we were going to make for lunch.

  Eli dropped me off at home, and left as quickly as he had come. I could tell he was as anxious for the date. So was I.

  Mom said that she would be home early, so I hurried to get an early dinner on the table so that we could go to the store. I cleaned, poked, and threw some potatoes in the oven, and started marinating a couple steaks. Then I went upstairs to put away my backpack.

  Before school had started, I was against the idea of being away from my friends. Thankfully, things had changed completely once I started school. And now I needed to finish unpacking all of my boxes. I wanted my room to look nice for when Bailey arrived. Plus I needed the space for the trundle bed; unless Bailey preferred to sleep in the guest room.

  I opened the first box, which was full of clothes. I had already unpacked most of my wardrobe, but there were still a few boxes left. That specific box contained my dressier clothes, and it was the precise box I had hoped to find. I would need to pick out an outfit to wear the next day for the date that was prettier than my normal everyday clothing. I hung each piece in my closet, and before I knew it the box was empty.

  I checked my watch and saw that it was 5:14 p.m. I needed to get the steaks and corn on the grill. Recently my mom taught me how to make things on the grill, and I thought it tasted so much better that way.

  Mom must have arrived home sometime while I was cooking outside, because she came out onto the porch to greet me, just as I was taking the steaks off the grill.

  “Hey there! Steaks tonight?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Sounds like a delicious Friday night dinner to me.”

  “Good; I’m glad you think so,” I said, grabbing the plate of steaks and corn. I handed it to mom. “Can you bring these in while I shut off the grill?”

  “Of course. Anything else I can do?”

  “If you want, you can take the potatoes out of the oven.”

  Soon enough we were sitting at the dining room table to eat.

  “So I hope you don’t mind, but I was hoping we could go to the store and pick up some groceries for Bailey and I tomorrow.”

  “Sure. We can go when we’re done eating. I’ll clean up later.”

  My mom was so accommodating, especially when it came to my social life. She always wanted to make sure I was surrounded by friends as much as possible. She stressed the fact that friends were important; people that stayed by your side when you needed them. Everyone needed a little support now and again.

  I finished eating before my mom, so I began clearing the table while she finished up. I was putting the last dish in the sink when she came in carrying her cleared plate.

  “Ready to go?” she asked.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Bright light streaming through my window woke me from a deep peaceful sleep. I knew it had to be late if that much light that was shining through my window. I rolled over to look at the clock: 11:10 a.m. I had just under an hour to shower and get dressed before Bailey arrived. I had to hustle.

  I quickly went downstairs to check if Mom had left yet. There wasn’t a note this time, only a piece of paper with an arrow pointing to the handle of the microwave. Inside there was some bacon and toast; a small breakfast that was just the ticket in a time crunch. I gobbled up the little bit of food and ran upstairs to shower.

  I was ready just five minutes before Bailey arrived. We started making the pizza right away, and it didn’t take long to get it into the oven.

  I had felt like the ultimate girl the night before when I picked out three outfits from my wardrobe. Of course, in typical girl fashion, I wanted Bailey’s opinion. She had felt the same and brought her choices with her. It was exciting thinking about the night ahead of us. After about 20 minutes of trying different outfits, we had both decided. I was going to wear a black knee-length skirt and a red v-neck shirt that had a shimmering, silver heart in the center. It was one of my favorite shirts. Bailey chose a cool blue dress with sequined flowers. It came midway down her thigh and looked beautiful on her. Eli would be impressed.

  I heard the timer for our pizza going off and ran downstairs. Bailey was right behind me.

  “So what do you want to do with your hair tonight?” I asked while eating my first slice.

  “I don’t know! I was hoping that you might have an idea. I am totally lame when it comes to doing my hair, especially thinking of new hair styles,” she admitted. We laughed.

  “I know a few hairstyles, and I know that I have seen you in some cute ones too. We can experiment when we’re done eating. Either way I think we should both go with straight hair. What do you think?”

  It was rare that I actually straightened my hair; but this would constitute a rare occasion, so it deserved the extra time.

  Girl talk flowed abundantly with topics ranging from boys to cars to jobs. I didn’t realize how much I missed being able to gab about all of my favorite things. Even though I never seemed to run out of things to talk to Eli about, this was different.

  “So do you know how to like surf and stuff?” Bailey asked.

  “Well, of course. You don’t live in California and not take full advantage of the beach!” I exclaimed.

  “Wow, that’s so cool. I’ve never been to the beach,” Bailey admitted.

  I had just finished straightening Bailey’s hair when the phone rang. It was my mom checking in. After hanging up I went back into the bathroom.

  “Was that your mom?” Bailey asked.

  “Yeah, she was just checking to see how we’re doing.”

  “That was nice of her. My dad doesn’t think of doing that kind of thing.”

  “What about your mom?”

  “My mom died when I was four.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. How did she die, if you don’t mind me asking?”


  “Car accident. Someone ran a red light.”

  “That must have been so hard.”

  “I don’t really remember anything from back then. I don’t even really remember her, just little images here and there. It was harder on my dad of course. I can see he still misses her, he never dates either.” Her expression was somber as she fiddled with the clips and hair ties in her hands.

  “I couldn’t even imagine.”

  “What about your parents?”

  “Divorced. My dad lived in California, where we just moved from.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “Officially? About a month ago, but it was six months ago that they separated.”

  “How do you feel about it? I’ve heard divorce is really hard.”

  “It’s been a little hard adjusting, but I’m okay with it as long as my parents are happy. They hadn’t been happy for a quite a while. I just wish I didn’t have to move out away from my dad. I am going to miss him the most.”

  After my hair was straight, Bailey started trying a hairstyle on me that I remembered seeing her wear on the first day of school. It was about an inch of hair from the front of each side pulled back with a clip. It was simple yet elegant. I had a beautiful black clip with rhinestones that made it even better.

  “It’s perfect. I think it was exactly what I was looking for. You need to give yourself a little more credit,” I said encouragingly. “Let’s get started on your hair.”

  I wanted to take her side-swept bangs and pull them back to give her some volume. I always thought that it was cute, but I had never been able to pull it off on my own hair. Back in California, a friend showed me how to do it with another friend’s hair, so I was sure I could pull it off on Bailey. I started working with her hair, and before long I was finished. It looked fantastic and turned out exactly as I hoped it would.

  “Finished. Do you like it?” I asked.

  “I love it! I haven't been able to figure out how to do this on my own.”

  By then we only had an hour and a half before the boys were going to pick us up.

  I applied shimmering silver eye shadow on Bailey that matched her dress, along with mauve berry-colored lipstick. After seeing Bailey’s finished makeup, I decided that my make up should be done the same.

  My forehead hadn’t healed yet, but was looking a little better. I helped Bailey make it look less noticeable by dabbing the make-up around it so she didn’t hurt me.

  We were ready with 30 minutes to spare, so we went downstairs to watch TV and wait for the boys.

  “I’m so nervous!” Bailey squealed.

  “Sounds like you’re excited too though,” I giggled.

  She laughed. “Yeah, that’s true too.”

  “I’m right there with ya!”

  A knock sounded on the front door. My stomach flopped.

  “They’re early!”

  I answered the door. It was Eli. I assumed it was him when I heard the knock so early. He was such a worry-wart and had to be there before Pete, even though he knew Bailey was here too.

  He was wearing a button-up blue, red and gray plaid shirt with dark blue denim pants and black shoes. He was holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers. He looked amazing.

  “Hey Eli! Those are beautiful, Bailey will love them.”

  “You really think so?” he whispered.

  “Of course she will,” I said reassuringly. He seemed nervous. “Bailey, Eli's here,” I called.

  As soon as the words left my lips, she glided around the corner and I could see Eli’s face light up.

  “You look beautiful,” he said shyly.

  “Thanks,” she said, blushing.

  Everything between Eli and Bailey seemed to be working out well so far. I thought he seemed to really like her, though it may not have occurred to him until he had actually asked her out.

  Another knock sounded on the door; Pete was early, too. What was with these eager beavers? Didn’t they know that women typically ran late? It was a good thing we had both been ready. I answered the door quickly.

  “Wow that was quick! You must have been standing there waiting for me,” he teased.

  I shoved his shoulder as I laughed.

  “Eli got here just before you did.”

  “Sure he did,” he winked. “You look nice.”

  He hadn’t brought me flowers like Eli, and I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of Bailey, even though I knew she had nothing to do with it. Why hadn’t Pete been as thoughtful as Eli? I tried not to let it bother me.

  “Shall we go?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Pete, Eli and Bailey all said in unison.

  “Where are we going?” Bailey asked.

  Pete jumped to answer the question. I figured it was only fair that he planned the date since he had been the one to suggest the date in the first place.

  “I know I mentioned going to a movie, but I figured that we wouldn’t be able to talk much. So I was thinking we could grab something to eat and go mini-golfing.”

  “That sounds like fun!” Bailey chimed in.

  “What about pizza?” I suggested. Even though Bailey and I had eaten it for lunch, I still thought it sounded good. I hoped Bailey thought so, too.

  “That’s actually what I was thinking. I know a great place,” said Pete as he smiled and winked at me. “Great minds think alike.”

  He slid his hand around my back, guiding me through the doorway. He kept his hand resting there as we waited for Bailey and Eli to exit the house so I could lock up. Eli and Bailey were a little more shy towards each other. They didn’t touch the whole way to the car.

  We left in Pete’s Honda since Eli’s Camaro was only a coupe. I sat in the front seat with Pete, while Eli and Bailey sat in the back. I glanced back at them after we headed to the restaurant, and saw they were holding hands. I felt another twinge of jealousy and couldn’t understand why. I brushed it off, figuring it was probably because I wanted Pete to hold my hand too. Of course he couldn’t at the moment, because he was driving.

  Pete took us to a small casual restaurant I hadn’t heard of called Rosali's. We ordered two medium pizzas to split between the four of us. I was impressed by how quickly the pizza was ready.

  “I have never been here before, but this pizza is so good!” I said after a few bites.

  There was only one pizza place that even came close, and it was my favorite spot back in California.

  “I love eating here. It’s one of my favorites,” Pete said.

  Bailey and Eli were engrossed in their own conversation.

  “I enjoy going to these types of places; you know the kind that aren’t like big chain companies. I think they usually have the best food,” I said, chewing thoughtfully.

  “I completely agree.”

  I smiled and our eyes met. It was one of those moments you only see in movies. The intensity of it made me blush and I had to look away quickly. Moments later I looked up at Pete through my eyelashes, hoping he wouldn’t see. He was looking down at his plate smiling to himself, and a moment later I found myself doing the same thing.

  As we drove to play mini-golf, everyone was in great spirits. Pete turned up a popular rock song and we were all singing along. Nothing could compare to the freeness we felt in that moment. We were having the time of our lives.

  We came to a stop at a red light, and Pete took that moment to lean over and place the most gentle kiss on my cheek. Self-consciously, my hand came up to touch where his lips had just been. I looked up at him, our eyes met, and time seemed to stand still.

  Then we heard screeching tires.

  Before we even knew what was happening, we felt an impact jarring us forward as a car slammed into us from behind. Luckily, we were all wearing our seat belts.

  Pete turned to me, immediately concerned. “Are you okay?”

  “I... I think so,” I stammered, scared from the impact.

  “You guys?” He turned to face Eli and Bailey.

  Eli spoke for
the two of them. “I think were alright, just a little shaken up.”

  Once he knew everyone was okay, Pete’s anger started to boil over. “That moron! He could have hurt us all with his carelessness. I can’t believe how stupid some people are...”

  As his outburst continued on, Eli interrupted. “Bailey, Abby—I think we should get out of the car to see if everyone else is alright and give Pete a moment alone to collect himself.”

  The fact that Eli was pointing out he was acting inappropriately made Pete embarrassed, and then even more angry.

  “I don’t need a moment alone, thank you!” Pete shouted sarcastically as he jumped out of the car. “What in the world were you thinking?!” He continued to shout at the driver of the other car.

  Pete was already at the back of the car by the time the rest of us got out. I started heading towards him, but Eli grabbed my arm and held me back.

  “I think you and Bailey need to stay here. Pete is out of his mind right now and I don’t want you two to get the brunt of it,” he whispered.

  I couldn’t say that I disagreed with him; it scared me to see him that way. I willingly stayed behind with Bailey, who was slightly panicked. She had borrowed Eli’s cell phone and was talking to her dad to let him know what happened and that she was fine. I didn’t even know Eli had a cell phone or I would have called my mom too. Unfortunately I didn’t know the number for where she was.

  By the time Eli reached Pete, he was still yelling at the other driver, and his voice was only getting louder. The driver of the other car was completely submissive and apologizing profusely, trying to calm Pete down. I could see that Eli wasn’t sure how to handle the situation with Pete.

  “Did you call the police yet?” Eli asked the other driver in between Pete’s outbursts.

  “Yeah, I did.” The other driver looked relieved to have someone calm in the conversation. “They should be here soon. Is everyone okay?”

  “We’re all alright. Are you okay?” Eli asked the driver.

  “Glad to hear it. Yeah I’m fine. I just wish the cars looked better.” The driver had stopped talking to Pete and was only paying attention to Eli, but that didn’t stop Pete’s endless rant as he checked out his car. “I’m so sorry. I looked down for one second, and the next thing I knew you were stopped.”