He followed closely behind carrying my mom. “You can put her on the couch for now.” I said pointing in the direction of the couch. My mom had purposely bought a furnished house. We would still have to buy a couple of things and replace others but for now this would have to work. He went into the family room and disappeared as I went into the kitchen. I opened a couple of cabinets hoping there were drinking glasses somewhere. I finally found them behind the third cabinet I opened. I filled the drinking glass with ice and then water. I carried it to the living room and put it on the end table next to the couch. I then turned to look at the guy. He was sitting in the arm chair his body relaxed. He looked so natural as if he belonged there but his beautiful face looked troubled as if there was an internal war raging inside his head and he wasn’t sure which side was winning.
“I’m Kylie Lyons.” I said extending my hand.
“Jonathon Pulmer.” He said accepting my hand. His hand was smooth like glass but harder like a diamond and his hand was cold. I mean ice cold.
“Jonathon, do you by any chance know of a private school anywhere near here? My mom said it was really close. I can’t remember the name. Something with a P, I think, and I don’t know how to get there and I’m supposed to start tomorrow.” I started rambling. I was still mad about the fact that I would have to start school tomorrow. I mean this was my first day here and it wasn’t even going to be a full day. My body would have no time to adjust. But this was the way it was and I was not about to get into another fight about it with my mom. I was worried about her and I didn’t want to stress her any more than she already seemed to be.
“It’s about two miles from here,” he answered simply.
“Great. My mom’s Range Rover isn’t going to be here for another week. And I don’t even have directions so it’s not like I can walk,” I said with a sigh.
He looked up at me. “I can drive you.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said. “I don’t expect you to. I didn’t bring this up so you would offer because I can walk. I don’t want to be an inconvenience,” I said rambling nervously. He was just too gorgeous. He made me way too uncomfortable but in a good way.
“Shhh,” Jonathon said putting his cold index finger to my lips. The simple touch of his finger sent an electric current flowing through my body. I shivered from the contact. “I’ll be here tomorrow at eight in the morning and I’m offering because I want to. Not because I think I have to.”
At his sudden touch a jolt went through me.
I suddenly knew where I had seen him.
He’s the one from my forgotten dream.
Chapter Two: Starting New
After the beautiful boy named Jonathon left it took a while for my nerves to settle down. My heart wanted to beat right out of my chest.
“Calm down, Kylie,” I chastised myself as I paced a hole in the floor. “He’s just a guy. An insanely gorgeous guy, but a guy nonetheless. You can’t lose your head like this.”
I took a deep, steadying breath, and new that if I didn’t do something productive I would never stop thinking about him. I had never been so swoony over a boy before and I didn’t like the feeling. I was a smart independent woman and I did not need a man to complete me. But oh, how badly I wanted him to complete me.
I finally sat down on the floor and pulled one of the moving boxes towards me. I was exhausted but I didn’t want to go to sleep yet. I knew my body would handle the change better if I just jumped right into the time change. After all this was my home now. I had to get used to it.
After I had unpacked several boxes I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I yawned, stretched my stiff muscles, and headed into the room that I assumed was mine.
It was small and had an old, unlived in, smell to it. The mattress was dirty and the walls were stained. I sighed. This was not the warm, comforting, home I was used to but it would have to do. I disappeared back down the hall looking for the box that was labeled: sheets. It was already open. I had fixed my mom’s bed for her and before he left Jonathon had carried her back. His concern had surprised. Surly, someone that gorgeous couldn’t be kind too? He was just too much to handle.
I grabbed my sheets and began to make my bed. My muscles protested. But just because my body was tired didn’t mean my mind was. I showered, changed, and climbed into my bed but I couldn’t sleep, not yet, my mind was on a constant spin cycle. Around and around it went. Mom. Jonathon. Mom. Jonathon.
I was extremely worried about her. She wasn’t herself. Not by a longshot. She was a stranger to me.
And then there was Jonathon and my impending ride with him in the morning. The thought brought butterflies to my stomach. For some reason I wanted him to like me, to think I was special, and it wasn’t just because he was good looking. There was something different about him.
Back and forth my thoughts went until finally, exhausted, my eyes closed.
I had forgotten to set my alarm clock but by some miracle I woke up on my own with plenty of time to spare.
I let the hot water from the shower beat down on my sore back. That mattress would have to go. I dressed in the white button down shirt, tucked into khaki pants, with a navy blazer that had the schools emblem across the breast. Luckily my uniform had arrived a few days before we were scheduled to leave otherwise I would have had to have gone to school in my regular school. I shuddered at the thought. I could see it now, me in jeans and a t-shirt while everyone else wore the school uniform. I would have stuck out like a sore thumb and everyone would have known I was the new girl. I hated being the new girl. This was a new experience for me. In California I had went to one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. I had never been the new girl.
I checked my hair in the mirror again. The ends were already curling. I dabbed on a little makeup and went in search of breakfast.
I finally found a box of cereal and since there was no milk I ate it dry.
I heard no stirrings coming from my mother’s room so I decided I better check on her. My, how the roles had been reversed. I was now the concerned parent and she was the angst ridden teenager.
She lay in her bed curled into a ball as if she was trying to hold herself together. She looked so fragile, like a china doll. It broke my heart into a million pieces to see her this way.
“Mom . . .” I whispered.
“Not now Kylie not now.” Her voice cracked on the last word so I could tell she had been crying. I left her room closing the door behind me.
I still had plenty of time until Jonathon showed up so I started putting the stuff away that I had already unpacked. All too soon I heard a light tap on a car horn. My heart thudded and skipped a beat. He was here. I straightened my clothes and checked my hair one more time before grabbing my backpack and running out the door.
I slipped out the door locking it behind me trying to hide my smile. He was in his black car and my earlier assumptions were correct. The car was a ford mustang. Jonathon was behind the wheel and looked more like a god than any one person had a right to. No one should ever look that perfect. Especially when wearing a uniform. When he saw me coming he slipped a book back in his bag which he then threw into the back seat. I climbed into the passenger seat which was on the side I was used to. I grinned at him.
“You have an American car?” I asked surprised.
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s just surprising . . . comforting to see something familiar.”
“I’ve always liked American cars more than European. I guess because they are foreign to me. Americans probably like European cars better because it’s something different and unexpected.” He said his accent more prominent today than yesterday. But I felt like he wasn’t talking about the car anymore and I blushed. I tucked my hair around my face so he wouldn’t see the red flaming vibrantly there. He began to back out of the driveway.
He went down another hill and turning left getting onto another smaller highway with only one lane for each side. Of course he wa
s driving on the opposite side and it freaked me out. He laughed at my expression.
“I’m not going to hit anything you know that right? This is Rome.” He asked me with a grin.
“I know. But it’s . . . scary.” I said blushing again. That made him laugh. I looked up at his perfectly sculpted face. “You really don’t mind driving me do you? I don’t want to impose.”
“I don’t mind. You’re funny, it’s a nice change,” He said. Funny? Most people thought I was way too serious and in my opinion I was way too nervous around Jonathon to be considered anything near funny.
“Good I don’t want to infringe on your driving ability. My beauty might distract you. ” I said joking, emboldened by his comment.
It was so easy to talk to Jonathon. Natural. He made me laugh which was something I hadn’t done in a long time. I felt comfortable around him.
He parked in a place smoothly. He turned to me. I noticed his hands clenched the steering wheel tightly.
“What class do you have first?”
“Um. . . English with Mr. O’Connell.”
“It’s your lucky day I just so happen to have that class and an empty seat next to me.”
“Cool.” I said blushing as he turned his face on me with that adorable grin that I couldn’t resist. We entered the school and began walking down a bright hallway. From the outside the school looked like a castle. So the modern inside surprised me. I gasped. Jonathan looked down and laughed at my expression.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” His face became dark and distant as he pondered some thought.
“It’s so beautiful. It doesn’t look like a school.”
“Yeah it’s newly refurbished.” He turned to the right and headed down another corridor. He stopped in front of a door labeled English, O’Connell, 708.
“After you,” He said with a swish of his hand motioning me to go first. I looked at him bewildered. “Ladies first,” He said continuing to hold the door open for me now grinning.
I turned and said, “I’ve never had a guy hold a door open for me.”
“Well some of us were raised to treat women with respect.” I blushed and went in.
He came up behind me. Jonathon put his hand on the small of my back and began to guide me. This simple gesture sent electric shocks through my body. He seemed to notice this and removed his hand. “Over there.” He pointed to a desk made for two. It was in the very back of the room on the right hand side. My heart began to thump madly.
I looked around at the modern décor. This had to be the coolest school ever and not just because I was sitting next to Jonathon, though that did add to the whole appeal. Jonathon then came and sat down next to me after talking to the teacher.
“Class it appears we have a new student. Kylie Lyons she is from Santa Barbara California. So give her a warm welcome from Patrick Pulmer Private Learning Institution.”
The class replied by saying, “Welcome.” I turned to Jonathon. He was rigid.
“Patrick Pulmer is he a relative of yours?” I whispered. He didn’t relax.
“He was my great- great-great grandpa. He is the one who had the school built. And my uncle the current Patrick Pulmer paid for the renovations.” He whispered back his breath cool against my ear. It sent shivers down my spine. He noticed and returned to his original stance. I could tell he didn’t want me to ask any more questions. And if I did he wouldn’t answer. So I turned back to face the front of the classroom.
Mr. O’Connell began teaching and I sank into a dreamlike state. Out of the corner of my eye I glanced at Jonathon and saw that he was looking at me too. It was as if our eyes were drawn to each other. I smiled, blushed, and looked away. I had never before been so fully affected by a person as I was by Jonathon Pulmer. It was as if he had some kind of magnetic pull over me.
When class was over I stood and stretched. I was still exhausted from the move. Jonathon asked, “What do you have next?”
“Science with Ms. Cappet,” I answered.
He groaned and then gave me a small smile. I quirked my brow in question. “We don’t have that class together.”
I blushed and gathered up my books. Was it even remotely possible that this god-like creature had feelings for me? I was normal, nothing special, but the way he looked at me made me feel like a princess.
He led me to class and we kept up polite conversation along the way.
“My class is right here,” he said pointing to the door next to the one he said was my classroom. “I’ll see you after class,” Jonathon said grinning.
I opened the door to the classroom and found it practically full already. A few stragglers coming in behind me. The teacher was young, she didn’t look any older than twenty-five, and had her hair tamed back in a severe bun. Wire rimmed glasses were perched on the end of her nose giving her the look of a librarian.
I introduced myself and then Ms. Cappet put me next to a boy named Isaac. He was nice but quiet. I knew we’d get along well.
When I left the classroom Jonathon was waiting for me, leaning against the wall looking dreamy. He was twirling a pencil between his long chalk white fingers so fast it was a blur. When he saw me he stuck it behind his ear. A smile broke out across his face when he saw me like I was the air and he needed me to breathe.
“Where to next?” he asked, still leaning against the wall.
I rattled off the name of the teacher, Mrs. Fisher.
“I have her too. But I might have to do some rearranging.” I looked at him dumbfounded so he added, “There isn’t an empty seat next to me so I’ll have to use my charm to get her to put you next to me and knowing who my uncle is she probably won’t refuse. Plus, I’m extremely charming.” He looked down at me unleashing the devastating gaze of his eyes and his smile. I had no doubt that he could get Mrs. Fisher to change her mind about the seating arrangement. All he had to do is give her that look and she would be jelly in his hands. The poor woman didn’t stand a chance.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Part of it probably had to do with having all my classes except one, Science, with Jonathon. We were walking to his car smiling and laughing like old friends. I felt like I had known him my whole life. It was as if he filled a void in me that I hadn’t known I was missing until now. He opened the passenger car door for me ever the gentleman. He had even held the cafeteria door open for me.
“Thank you.” I said as I slid onto the smooth black leather.
“You’re welcome,” said Jonathon closing my door. He climbed in turning the car and air conditioner on. The day was quite warm for October. He backed out and pulled into the exit line smoothly. He left the school easily and we were soon on our way home.
“So. . .” I began as Jonathon soared down the road. “Do you know of any open jobs around here?”
“Yes. But why would you need a job? Doesn’t your mom have one?”
“Yes. . . she has a job but I’m worried about her I don’t think she will be able to work for a while.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Jonathon asked clearly interested.
“I don’t know. You saw her yesterday she’s just acting weird. It’s not like her.” I said looking at my hands so I could avoid his questioning gaze. When I finally looked up we were in my driveway.
“If you need me before tomorrow morning . . .” He said handing me a piece of paper neatly rolled up. “Call me.” He said showing all his shiny white teeth.
“Thanks. I might have to take you up on that . . . Depending on how my mom is.” I said shuddering.
“If you need anything call me.” Jonathon said again putting emphasis on the word anything. “Don’t hesitate at all.”
I got out of his car grabbing my backpack. Jonathon got out too. He walked me to the door. I dug around in my backpack for my house key. Jonathon waited patiently. I pulled the key out and looked up at him. He had to be at least six feet tall, probably six foot four, compared to my five feet eight inches. He looked into my eyes and leaned closer.
For a moment I thought he might kiss me.
“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered and his breath tickled my face. I closed my eyes and inhaled.
When I opened them he was already in his car pulling away. I waved weakly.
I put the key in the door, held my breath, and braced myself for what I might find.
Chapter Three: Help
The house was dark. I turned to the left going into the kitchen. I turned the light on and put my backpack on the kitchen table. “Mom,” I called.
I began to worry. Has something happened? I looked in the sink. No dishes. My mom hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch. No new packing boxes had been opened. Only the ones I had done last night. Had she even left her bedroom?
I ran to her bedroom banging the door open.
Surely, nothing bad had happened. Please, please, nothing bad.
“Mom!” I screamed my voice going hoarse with fear. She didn’t stir. I shook her.
“What?” she said opening her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked looking her over.
“Mhmm. Fine,” she said from within the mounds of blankets. I let out an inner sigh of relief.
“I’m going to go make dinner. You haven’t eaten anything all day. You must be starving.”
“I’m not hungry,” she mumbled.
“Well you’re eating. . . Whether you like it or not.” I added.
I walked out upset. Before starting on dinner I dug a glass out of the box and filled it with ice and water. I took it back to my mom’s room.
“Mom? You need to drink, you’re dehydrated.” I received no reply. I placed the glass on the night stand and left the room. I went back to the kitchen and realized I hadn’t gone grocery shopping. This meant we had zero food. Damn. If my mom had wanted to eat she wouldn’t have been able to. I let out a frustrated breath and tugged at my hair.
I dug my cell phone out of my pocket along with Jonathon’s number. I typed them in, my hand flying across the key pad like a bat out of hell. I felt pathetic calling him already. He’d been gone for like two seconds.
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