Cherry Red Summer (Emely and Elyas Book 1)

by Bartsch, Carina

  I stubbornly walked on, ignoring his sign language as he signaled to take out my earbuds. When he tried to tug on the cord himself, I caved.

  “Small world,” he said grinning.

  “Yes, shocking,” I said, panting. “Anyway . . . have a nice jog.” With those words, I took off jogging down a different path.

  “Hey, wait a second!” he called, jogging close on my heels.

  “What do you want?” I snapped, feeling how seriously short of breath I was getting. Maybe I’d better stop.

  “I don’t like jogging by myself,” he said, smiling, as he continued jogging next to me, breathing as casually as if he were taking a freaking stroll. I could not even express how much that frustrated me.

  I gasped for breath. “You don’t like to jog by yourself, you don’t like to sleep by yourself—for the love of God, what does any of that have to do with me?” I grumbled, trying with great pains to keep running, while Elyas evidently found my outburst funny.

  “So small, yet so snippy,” he said with a smug smile on his face.

  God, why was I even talking to him? Ignore him! Just ignore him! Block him out and focus on your legs. Those legs were demanding mercy. But mercy would come only when I’d reached my objective. So, right, left, right, left.

  A few minutes later, the world’s most inspiring mantra couldn’t have helped me anymore. I was totally and completely out of breath. The pace Elyas was setting was just too fast. My head started spinning, and I got an odd pins-and-needles feeling in my mouth. Goddammit! I didn’t want to come off as weak in front of him—not in front of anyone, but definitely and absolutely not in front of him.

  Keep going, keep going, keep going were the only words going through my head, and with each step, it got harder.

  “Hey, are you feeling OK?” he suddenly asked me.

  “Oh . . . I . . . feel . . . great . . . ,” I mumbled. Keep going . . . keep going . . .

  “Your face is bright red. I think we’d better take a break,” he said.

  Arrogant jerk. I definitely won’t be giving you the satisfaction.

  “No . . . need . . . ,” I panted back, hardly enough breath left in me to speak.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah . . . now . . . stop . . . bugging me.” I’ll show you, I thought with conviction.

  Keep going . . . keep going . . . keep going . . .

  “Emely?”

  Someone was calling my name.

  “Emely!”

  I slowly opened my eyes and was overcome by an unbearable headache. I grabbed my forehead. Where was I?

  I squinted because the pain kept me from fully opening my eyes. Slowly the fog around me cleared, and my surroundings started coming together more and more. I saw something light blue, gigantic, infinitely wide—which, after a brief hesitation, I identified as the sky. After several more seconds of blinking, I finally made out the crowns of trees overhead.

  What had happened? Why did everything in my whole body hurt? I wrinkled my forehead trying to force myself to remember, until suddenly the memory flashed back into my head.

  Oh God, no!

  I hadn’t—

  “Are you feeling any better?” a voice asked.

  With difficulty I turned my head, looking for the voice’s owner. It confirmed my worst fears. Elyas was standing by my feet, elevating my legs, and scrutinizing me with a worried look.

  No. This could not be true. Where was the goddamned button I could press to rewind everything?

  I was mortified. I wanted the earth to swallow me up. Right here. Right now.

  I had fainted. In my pathetic attempt to continue jogging, I had actually fainted. Was there anything more embarrassing? Yes, there was. Fainting in the presence of Elyas Schwarz, and it had happened. I could only make whimpering sounds as I put my hands over my face. I thought I could somehow vanish that way, but—much to my disappointment—it didn’t work.

  Death . . . Yes! Death wouldn’t have been bad right at this moment.

  But since wishes never really come true, I didn’t die, either. Instead, I peeked through my fingers as Elyas continued to hold my legs, turning me slightly, and leaning my heels on a tree trunk to keep my legs up.

  Maybe if I wished he would vanish? Just as a tiny glint of hope emerged that my new wish might come true, Elyas knelt beside me and took hold of my wrist to check my pulse.

  “Don’t worry, Emely,” he said with a wink. “It’s not that bad.”

  It’s all very well for him, I thought. He wasn’t the one lying in the grass like an idiot.

  “It looks like you’ve got a case of heat exhaustion, which can occur if you’re not used to being active in temperatures like this. We need to get some fluids and sugar into you. I’m going to get you a soda, and then you’ll be good as new.”

  I turned my head to avoid eye contact with him. The only answer he got was a barely audible “Uh-huh.”

  “If I leave you here for a minute, do you promise to stay lying down with your feet up?”

  Was he joking? Did he think I was going to run off and squeeze a round of shopping in while he was away? Though I wanted nothing more than to stand up and make a quick getaway for all eternity, I was nowhere near able to do so. So I nodded, continuing to hope my wish for death might still somehow come true.

  “Good,” he said. “I’m counting on you to stay put, and I’ll be right back.” With those words he ran off.

  Geez! Why couldn’t someone else experience something like this for once? Why on earth did it always have to be me? And why did it always have to be me when he was around? He was going to tease me about it for the rest of my life. That much was sure.

  I felt sorry for myself and cursed my fate until Elyas returned with a bottle of Coke, and to my even greater chagrin, sat down next to me. “Do you think you can sit up?”

  Easier said than done, jerk.

  I pushed myself up on my hands, disgruntled that Elyas was helping me. Once I was finally sitting up, everything spun, and my head felt like it would explode at any minute. Elyas handed me the opened bottle, which I took and started gingerly sipping.

  “You’ll be feeling better in no time, you’ll see,” he said.

  Although I didn’t put much faith in anything that came out of his mouth, in this case he ended up being right. After I had drunk half the soda, I started feeling better, though still not good. After fifteen more minutes, I thought I could at least stand again.

  “What exactly do you think you’re doing?” Elyas eyed me as I made my first attempts.

  “I’m feeling better. I’m going to go home,” I replied, straightening with some difficulty and trying to balance my weight on my still-wobbly knees. They turned out to be wobblier than I had expected.

  “Let me help you,” Elyas said, suddenly at my side.

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” I mumbled, waving him off—but then I started to sway.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  Without asking permission, he held my arm to keep me steady, and because I knew I’d just make a fool of myself if I didn’t let him, I clenched my teeth and bit my tongue. I was furious at myself. How had I even come up with the shitty idea of going for a jog?

  “I should probably drive you home. My car’s parked just up there,” Elyas said, pointing, after we’d walked a few yards.

  Um, did he just say he was going to drive me home in his car?

  That got my brain going again.

  Was it worth sitting next to Elyas in such a tight space if it meant riding in the car I’d dreamed my whole life of having?

  I nodded OK, trying as hard as I could to hold myself up on my own. Naturally, my pigheadedness made our progress toward the car much more sluggish, but increased body contact with Elyas would have been the worse alternative by far.

&nbs
p; “I can still help you,” he said, walking close to me as I tottered.

  “Dream on,” I mumbled. “You’ve taken plenty advantage of the situation already.”

  “Yeah, this is my dream come true,” he said with a soft laugh. “If I had seriously wanted to take advantage of the situation, the first thing I’d have done is shove a gag in your mouth.”

  “No one’s forcing you to talk to me,” I said, and then kept my mouth shut until we had reached the Mustang. I took in the sight.

  “Like my car?” Elyas asked.

  “I love it, to be exact,” I said. “The only thing I don’t like is that it’s yours.”

  He laughed softly again, annoying me. No matter how mean I was to him, all he did was laugh. Couldn’t he take something personally even just once?

  He put his hand in his pocket, pulled out the keys, and held them out in front of him. “Wanna drive?”

  I stared at him. Had he seriously just offered to let me drive his car? “Really?” I asked, about to jump for joy, though that would not have been the best idea, given my condition. I was about to jump, mind you, because with his next breath, Elyas started belly-laughing, and my joy vanished like a grain of sand in the wind.

  “No way,” he said. “No one drives this car except me. Sorry, sweetums.”

  My jaw dropped. At some point I was going to kill him! One day he would drive me too far, and then the party would be over! Still grinning, he held the passenger door open, and I climbed in, still annoyed.

  But my annoyance quickly passed as I checked out my surroundings. I liked them. I liked them a lot. Sitting inside my dream car for the first time was better than I’d imagined. Just the scent—I took a deep breath of new-car smell and smiled. Not even Elyas, sliding into the driver’s seat, could distract me from my contentedness. And that was something.

  “Here,” he said, handing me the bottle of Coke. “You should still be drinking a lot of liquid.”

  I nodded and, as I waited for the car to start, even briefly forgot the embarrassment of my fainting spell. When he turned the key and the engine roared loudly, a sound I loved more than anything, it was as though I were drunk. The revving even vibrated my butt—and, damn, I loved it!

  The only thing that marred my excitement was that Elyas drove like a lunatic. He had apparently never heard of speed limits, and why take soft turns when you can cut them sharp just as well? Though I should have been terrified, I felt at peace. Despite his maniacal driving, Elyas radiated confidence and seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I couldn’t explain why I felt I was in such good hands.

  The breakneck speed had one disadvantage: our spin was over all too quickly. Still, I had fully savored every single second in that car.

  When we got out, Elyas insisted he should accompany me upstairs. I objected because it would require spending even more time with him. But no matter what I said, he would not be swayed. He stayed right on my heels. By then I felt considerably better—mostly thanks to the ride in the Mustang—but I was still shaky on my legs. That didn’t keep me from pushing Elyas away every time he tried to help.

  After a long struggle, we finally reached my room, and Eva was visibly surprised to see who I had in tow. In fact, she was so into Elyas that she didn’t notice my shaky condition.

  “Hi,” she said in a breathy voice, twirling a long strand of black hair around her index finger. “I’m Eva. Who are you?”

  I rolled my eyes, walked away from the two of them, and let go of my last bit of strength, dropping onto my bed like a wet sack.

  “I’m Elyas,” he said, offering her his hand. “Nice to meet you, Eva.”

  “The pleasure is all mine,” she said.

  He smiled at her in his charming way, the smugness twinkling in his eyes again. Then, most regrettably, he turned back to me and came to the side of my bed. “Do you need anything else, Emely?”

  “Um, yes—to be left alone,” I growled.

  He raised an eyebrow. “How about: ‘Thanks, Elyas. You saved my life. How can I ever repay you?’” I grumbled and bit my lower lip because everything inside me resisted thanking him. Sadly, though, he was right. I was being ungrateful, which wasn’t like me at all.

  “Thanks, Elyas,” I managed to make my mouth say, trying not to show how much it took for me utter those two stupid words. In response I got a proud smile.

  Now please take your red life preserver and get lost, David Hasselhoff!

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “Same time tomorrow?”

  “Very funny,” I mumbled, still feeling like a total fool.

  “What’s the matter, Emely?” Eva said, interrupting. Her face still showed the shock of seeing me, of all people, bringing a male visitor to the room.

  “She kind of overdid it jogging,” Elyas said.

  Eva probably thought she had misheard him. “Jogging?” she repeated.

  “Yeah.” Elyas grinned. “She was trying to impress me, probably.”

  I glared at him in fury, and would have loved to throw something at him, but nothing was in reach.

  He kept up his stupid game with his stupid comments for the next ten minutes, until he finally said good-bye. Eva could hardly wait for the door to click shut behind him before she leaped like a madwoman struck by lightning to sit next to me on the bed.

  “That’s Elyas?” She was bug-eyed.

  “Yeah.” I shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was.

  “The same Elyas who’s been hitting on you for, like, ages?”

  “Yes, unfortunately.” I scrunched up my face and cuddled into my duvet.

  “You could have maybe mentioned how freaking hot he is!”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” I said, sighing and hoping Eva would just let me take a nap. My body needed to recover, and I could hardly keep my eyes open.

  “It has everything to do with everything now that I know what he looks like!”

  “Eva, you should know by now that I think a person’s personality is way more important than how they look.” I yawned, and my eyelids became heavier.

  “He didn’t come off at all like an assh—,” she started to say, thinking aloud. Of course she had instantly fallen for him, the way most girls did.

  “You know what they say: Smile if you want to have sex,” I mumbled.

  She nodded, at first confused. Then she seemed to get it. I was already drifting off, exhausted, into dreamland. What a crappy day was my last thought before I finally fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 5

  IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

  Dear Emely,

  Did you know I’ve been running to my computer every five minutes all day to see if maybe you wrote back? Pathetic, huh?

  Plus—sorry to disappoint—but I’m nowhere near done with my questions. For instance, I was just wondering what your favorite books are, or who your favorite writers are.

  What does a lit major read in her free time? I’m sure you’ll surprise me.

  And why did you tell me to remind you not to go jogging again? Now I’m curious about that.

  Hope to hear from you soon! (Ideally within the next five minutes so my next check of the computer won’t be for nothing.)

  Yours,

  Luca

  Sitting in my room in front of my laptop, I sighed contentedly. I counted my good graces that I was alone and no one could see me, because the whole thing was starting to become genuinely embarrassing. I don’t just mean the humiliating fact that I, at age twenty-three, had an Internet boyfriend, no. It was also the stupid grin I got on my face whenever I received an e-mail from him.

  Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I replied right away.

  Hi Luca,

  Actually the question is, what’s more pathetic? Your running to the computer every five minutes, or my reading e-mail with a stupid grin on m
y face? As far as being pathetic goes, let’s just roll with the assumption that it’s not like either of us to be so pathetic.

  And here I was worrying you wouldn’t think up more questions. How did I ever suppose that you might run out of them?

  But unlike your other questions, this one is easy to answer.

  My favorite writers are Chuck Palahniuk, Edgar Allan Poe, and Franz Kafka. With that information, you should know my favorite books, assuming you’ve heard of those writers.

  What do you like to read?

  And as far as the topic of jogging goes . . .

  God, I wish you hadn’t asked.

  Let’s just say when klutziness was being handed out, I got way more than my fair share. I’m guessing I was in line for boobs but tripped and ended up in the klutz line twice. So no boobage here, just klutziness.

  Maybe it’s good you asked, since I can at least give you fair warning: If we ever meet in person, don’t be surprised if I randomly fall over and break a leg or other essential limb. This is normal for me.

  I’m not exaggerating, either, when I say I know my local emergency room workers by their first names (knowledge that is quite practical, it turns out).

  Now you can never claim I didn’t warn you.

  So today is Saturday. What are you up to tonight?

  Yours,

  Emely

  P.S. Sorry you had to keep running back to check your computer for nothing!

  Was it possible to like someone you’d only known for two weeks and had never—at least not knowingly—seen in the flesh? Though it was hard for me to get used to the idea, apparently it was in fact possible, since I had started to like Luca.

  I wasn’t head over heels, but I had enjoyed our several daily e-mails more than I had ever expected.

  As I contemplated whether this was a positive or negative development, my cell phone rang me out of my reverie. I got up from the desk and ran over to my bed. The name ALEX blinked on the display.

  “Yes?” I answered.

  “Hey, baby. I’ve got some good news for you!”