Eternal Choice: (The Cursed Series, Book 2)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  He mimicked my position—which was quite the sight considering the steering wheel was in his way. But he’d managed it, and every movement was graceful. He could make a ballerina envious with the way he moved.

  “It means I’m drawn to you, Chloe. Completely and inexplicably.” He coursed his fingers along my cheek, leaving a trail of goose bumps. “And I can’t stand that you’re with Simon.”

  I laughed—I couldn’t help it. The way Trent said Simon’s name was equal parts disgust and jealousy.

  “Simon’s actually really nice, but we’re not together.”

  “Nice is boring.” Trent shifted over onto his back again and folded his hands on his stomach.

  We fell silent, and I let his words tumble around my mind. Simon was nice, and until Trent showed up, Simon was literally my only friend. And while I liked him—a lot—he didn’t set my insides on fire like Trent did.

  “Was your brother telling me the truth? Do we know each other?” I asked.

  My breaths were sharp, each word harder to speak than the last. While I was desperate for the truth, I wasn’t really sure I wanted the answers. What if I did know Trent? What if I had forgotten him? If I had, then that had to mean something was wrong with me, because what normal, healthy teenage girl just forgot things like this?

  “Are you happy here, Chloe? Happier than you were in New York, I mean.”

  His question stunned me, and I wracked my brain trying to remember if I’d ever told him I’d moved here from New York. Is that where I knew him from? Had I met him in Keene Valley?

  “Um, yeah, I guess. I mean, at first it sucked big time, and I hated everything about being here. But it’s getting a little easier being here.” I smiled faintly.

  Then it hit me that he once again avoided my question. He seemed to be good at doing that, but I wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.

  “What do you like about living here?” he asked before I could question him further.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t like school all that much.” I paused. “My stepmom is pretty cool. Oh, and my baby brother. He’s so cute.”

  Trent’s head whipped around so fast I swore I got whiplash from it. “You have a baby brother?”

  I nodded. “Little Frank. Not very original, but yeah. He’s two.” I put my seat upright and rummaged around in my bag for my cell phone. When I found it, I turned it on. “Here, I have a picture.” I scrolled through my gallery until I found the picture of me and Little Frank that Larissa had insisted on taking.

  Trent righted his seat, too, and took my phone. His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes darkened. “He’s cute.” He handed the phone back.

  “Told ya.” I ignored the notifications on my phone and shoved it back into my bag.

  “You look really happy in that photo.”

  “That was a good day. Probably the first really good day I’d had after moving here.” I smiled at the memory.

  It hadn’t been a particularly special day. The four of us had been at home, lounging in the family room when Little Frank climbed onto my lap and pressed his chubby hands against my cheeks. I’d laughed and removed his hands. That’s when Larissa had snapped the picture—both me and Little Frank were laughing.

  Without another word, Trent started the car and pulled onto the highway. Disappointment was a heavy weight on my shoulders. Had I said something to upset him?

  Whatever disappointment I had quickly morphed into panic. I couldn’t let him take him home yet. I still hadn’t gotten any real answers from him about anything. I shifted in my seat, my heart beating hard against my ribs.

  “You never answered my questions,” I said. “Do I know you? If so, how? When and where did we meet? Why don’t I remember you? Or Jaxon? And why is he pretending to need a tutor? What game are you two playing with me?” The questions rushed out of me on a large whoosh of breath.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said so softly I almost didn’t hear him. “Not anymore.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked, my gaze momentarily leaving him to take in my surroundings. We were almost back to my father’s house. Impatience thickened in my veins.

  “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Not anymore.”

  I let out a groan of frustration. “If you and Jaxon aren’t willing to tell me anything, why did you even show up in my life? I was doing okay without the two of you barging in and messing things up.” I sat back and crossed my arms.

  “I know,” he said with a frown. “I’m sorry. We never should’ve come here.”

  “Then why did you?” I asked, but he didn’t bother to answer me.

  The rest of the drive to my dad’s house was made in utter silence, and with each passing mile, my dread intensified. Trent stopped along the side of the road rather than into the unnecessarily long driveway. He shifted into park but didn’t turn off the car.

  “You going to make me walk up to the house?” I teased, but it was a weak—and failed—attempt at lightening the mood.

  “No. I just…” He sighed heavily. “I’m glad you’re happy, Chloe. You deserve to be. And no matter what’s been happening, you’re not crazy.” He pinned me with a pleading look. “Don’t ever doubt that, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, drawing out the word.

  That was probably the closest thing to an admission I was ever going to get from him, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I knew him, yet, I didn’t. Not really. Talk about confusing.

  He turned into the driveway and slowed to a stop in front of the house. I reached for the door and then hesitated. I didn’t want to get out of his car, but I also didn’t want to stay. Indecision warred inside of me. Reluctantly, I got out of the car and swung the door shut.

  A second later, the window eased down, and Trent leaned across the console. “Chloe?”

  “Yeah?” There was way too much hope and expectation in my voice, and I wanted to kick myself.

  “Promise me something?” he said.

  “What?” I leaned down so I could see him through the window.

  “Be careful. And trust your instincts, okay?”

  I blinked, confused. That was a really bizarre thing to say. “Um, yeah, sure.”

  “Promise me, Chloe.”

  “I promise.”

  He smiled, but it wasn’t the smile that made my knees weak. It was sad, and that clutched at my heart.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  And then he sped away, leaving me to stare after him. Only when his car was out of sight did I go inside.

  “Who was that?”

  I yelped with surprise and put my hand over my now racing heart. “You scared me.”

  “And you didn’t answer my question.” Larissa stood in the foyer, arms crossed. I’d never seen her mad before. It was kind of intimidating. “Who was that?” she asked again.

  “That was Trent.” I set my bag on the floor.

  “Trent who?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, then snapped my jaw closed. How was I supposed to answer that? “I don’t know,” I said honestly.

  She lifted a single, perfectly arched brow. “You don’t know?”

  I shook my head. “He’s a friend from school, but I don’t know his last name. It’s not a big deal, okay?” I moved around her and headed for the kitchen.

  “Don’t walk away from me young lady.” Her stern voice stopped me in my tracks. “You’re getting rides home from strange boys—boys whose last names you don’t even know—and you expect me to just be okay with that?”

  Rolling my eyes, I turned toward her. “It was one boy, Larissa. One.” I held up my finger to emphasize my point. “Not multiple.”

  “Do not get mouthy with me, Chloe.” She shook her head.

  “Stop making it so easy,” I mumbled.

  “Excuse me?” Her voice rose several octaves. “What did you just say?”

  “Nothing.” I sighed.

  “I think it’s best if you just go to you
r room until I call you down for dinner.”

  “Fine. Whatever.” I snatched my bag from the floor. “Just remember one thing, Larissa. I never asked to be here, so if you don’t like my attitude, tell my father to let me go home.” I turned and stomped up to my room.

  Who did Larissa think she was? She wasn’t my mother, and she had no right to yell at me when I didn’t even do anything wrong.

  I tossed my bag into the corner and flopped down on my bed. So what if I didn’t know Trent’s last name? He wasn’t some stranger, and he wasn’t a bad guy. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did. A short laugh escaped, and I slapped my hand over my mouth. Maybe I really was crazy after all.

  LATER, WHEN I HEARD someone standing outside my bedroom door, I rolled onto my side and pretended to be asleep. The last thing I wanted to do was sit through dinner with Larissa and my father—a lecture about how I’d spoken to Larissa earlier was inevitable, but the longer I could put it off, the better.

  “Chloe?” Larissa said softly.

  I kept up the charade of sleeping, and after a moment, she left, closing the door with a soft click. Blowing out a breath, I flopped over onto my back. I really shouldn’t have been so mean to her—she was only trying to be a concerned parent—but that was the problem. She wasn’t my parent.

  I wondered how Ellie was doing. She said she’d call me later, but she hadn’t yet. At least, I didn’t think she had. I climbed out of bed and dug around in my backpack for my cell phone. No missed calls and no new messages. If that didn’t scream loser… I shook off the self-pity and called Ellie.

  “Hello?” she answered, her voice low and strained with emotion.

  “Hey,” I said, returning to my bed. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Ugh. What a ridiculous thing to say. Of course she wasn’t okay. Her parents were getting divorced, and her life as she knew it would never be the same.

  “Yeah.” She sniffled. “They told me they’re not making any big changes until the school year is over.”

  “That’s good, right?” I asked, trying to give her a little bit of hope.

  “Maybe.” She paused. “I mean, they’re both still living here, just in separate bedrooms. That’s not really anything new.” She huffed, her pain and fear loud and clear in that one small sound.

  “I’m so sorry, Ellie.” I stood and paced, unable to sit still.

  I hated that I was stuck here, that I couldn’t even give my best friend a hug when she needed one the most. Fresh anger toward my father bubbled to the surface. Didn’t he realize how much he was ruining my life by forcing me to stay here? Did he even care?

  “They also said I’d get to graduate from Keene Central. They’re not going to force me to move, unless I want to,” she said around another sniffle.

  I stopped pacing. “That’s great! I mean, that they’re not going to make you switch schools. Trust me, that sucks so much.”

  Ellie gave a small laugh. “I really wish you were here right now.”

  My heart sank. “Me too,” I whispered. “But I’ll be home soon. I promise.”

  And I’d do whatever it took to keep that promise, not to just her, but to Abby as well.

  “So, distract me. What’s going on with you?” she asked. “Meet any celebrities yet?”

  I laughed. “No. I literally go to school and come home.” I sat in my desk chair and spun around. “I did start tutoring, though, so that’s been keeping me busy.”

  “Like, kids from your school? Isn’t that weird?”

  “God, no,” I said on a rush of breath. “Kids at my school are awful. Well, except Simon, but his sister is the worst.”

  “Um… who’s Simon?” she asked.

  I cringed, only now realizing I hadn’t told her about Simon. In fact, I hadn’t told anyone about him. Or Jaxon. Or Trent. She said she needed a distraction, and if I was going to trust anyone with what was going on, it was her. I took a deep breath.

  “Hope you’ve got time, because I have so much to tell you,” I said, settling comfortably in my chair.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

  Missing?

  “HEY!” SIMON’S SMILING FACE GREETED ME when I arrived at school the following morning.

  “Hi.”

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  I gave him a confused look, and then remembered the lie I’d told him. “Oh, um, yeah. Just family stuff. You know how it is.” I laughed and stepped around him to open my locker.

  Guilt gnawed at me. I hated lying to Simon—he didn’t deserve it, but he also didn’t deserve to have his feelings hurt because I’d spent yesterday with Trent.

  Speaking of… I tried to glance around without being too obvious, but I didn’t see Trent anywhere. I didn’t sense him, either. But Simon was here, leaning against the wall of lockers, waiting patiently for me to finish getting my stuff. When I finally had what I needed, I closed my locker and smiled at Simon.

  “Everything okay with you?” I asked, tilting my head. “You said something came up Saturday…”

  He rolled his eyes. “Just Livi causing trouble again. Mum and Dad made both of us stay in the house all weekend.” He started to reach for my hand, then suddenly stopped and shoved his hand into his pocket instead. “I can drive you home today, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  “We’re stopping for ice cream first, so you might want to let your dad and step-mum know.”

  I laughed. “What is with you and ice cream?”

  I’d never known anyone who ate as much ice cream as Simon—and he never seemed to gain an ounce, either. If only I were that lucky.

  “It’s good.” He shrugged.

  We arrived at the door for my first class, and Simon tugged me toward the wall, out of the way of students rushing down the hallway. My heart stuttered. He wasn’t going to try to kiss me, was he?

  “I really am sorry about this weekend,” he said, a frown pulling at his lips. “Can I make it up to you?”

  “You don’t have to,” I said, then quickly added, “I mean, yeah, I’d love to hang out, but don’t feel obligated or anything.”

  He laughed, and my face heated with embarrassment. Why did I ramble like that when I was nervous?

  “I like hanging out with you,” he said.

  “Okay then.” I nodded. “Just let me know when.”

  “How about today?”

  My jaw dropped. He really wasn’t kidding about wanting to hang out, was he? Considering I’d quit, I didn’t have to tutor Jaxon this afternoon, and I didn’t really have anything else to do, either. All the pictures I still needed to scan weren’t going anywhere.

  “Sure,” I said with a smile.

  “Good.” Simon winked and then sauntered down the hallway, drawing the attention of every girl within eyesight.

  Once again, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was wasting his time with me when he knew I was leaving. And when it was so obvious that there were a hundred other girls in this very building who’d kill for the attention Simon gave me.

  With a heavy sigh, I turned and walked into class. Olivia glanced up, gave me a dirty look, then returned to gossiping with her friends.

  I took my seat, intent to ignore Olivia and her posse when I heard one of them say Trent’s name. Curiosity piqued, I pretended to rummage through my backpack while listening to their conversation.

  “He’s not here today,” Olivia said. “His car isn’t here, and he wasn’t at his locker this morning.”

  “Maybe he’s just late,” Nichole said.

  Olivia shook her head, and not a single strand of hair fell out of place. I huffed, which earned me a nasty stare. I averted my gaze, face heated.

  Trent wasn’t here because of me. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did. Discontent burned deep in my gut and quickly spread until I couldn’t sit still. I fidgeted in my chair, unable to get comfortable.

  What had I done or said to cause Trent to skip school? I’d been nothing but honest with hi
m, and I’d even promised him to be careful and trust my instincts—whatever that meant. His words were loud in my head, though. We never should’ve come here…

  Had he and Jaxon left for good? Or maybe it was like Nicole had suggested, and he was just late. But that wasn’t the case.

  And it wasn’t the case the following day, either. Or the day after that.

  By the end of the week, rumors were spreading that Trent had gone missing. I’d laughed when I heard that the first time, but I began to wonder if that were true. Unless he was really sick—which I doubted—something was wrong. Why else would he just disappear from school?

  Part of me wanted to ask Olivia if she’d heard from him, or if she tried to call or text him. But having a civil conversation with her was about as likely as a snake and a mouse becoming BFFs. She probably said something to Simon about it, but I didn’t dare ask him about Trent. Simon hadn’t mentioned him at all, and he really didn’t seem all that concerned.

  But deep down, I knew I was the reason Trent wasn’t here. I considered texting Jaxon to find out if my suspicion was correct, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because what if I was right? Or worse, what if he never answered me? Or told me something I didn’t really want to know?

  “Hey there.” Simon draped his arm around my shoulders.

  I smiled as he guided me out of the school.

  Next week was the final week of classes, and then it was officially summer break. I still hadn’t worked up the courage to ask Dad about going to Keene Valley as soon as school let out, despite Abby’s repeated pleas to do so. I missed her like crazy, and I couldn’t wait to see her again.

  “Chloe?” Simon’s voice snapped me from my thoughts.

  “I’m sorry. What?”

  He chuckled, the sound so light and carefree. “I asked if you talked to your parents about my party next weekend.”

  Oh. Right. Simon’s end of the school year party. “Not yet.”

  He frowned.

  “I will tonight. I promise.”

  He dropped his arm from around me and dug his car keys from his pocket. He pushed the button on the key fob. A moment later, he opened the passenger’s side door for me.