Ever (The Ever Series Book 4)

by C. J. Valles

  “Good morning,” I offer dryly.

  “Hi.”

  Taking her book bag, I set it in the car and motion to the open door, resisting the urge to take her hand. By the time she reaches for the safety belt, I have arrived behind the wheel.

  “How do you do that?” she demands in awed annoyance.

  “Magic.”

  She smiles knowingly.

  “Ri-ght.”

  As the car starts, Wren studies her hands.

  Are we still maintaining the same level of honesty during daylight hours? she wonders.

  She looks out the window, noting with a humorous smile that the sun has yet to rise. With more than a little regret, I accept that I must tell her the truth—before Audra and Chasen appear unannounced with their typical flare for the dramatic. I look over at Wren, reluctant to disrupt our newfound familiarity.

  “I apologize for not telling you last night, but I thought I had given you enough to digest. … The truth is I had an ulterior motive in offering you a ride this morning.”

  Of course he did, she thinks, her expression wilting into despair as I look at her again. Her ability to consistently assume I feel nothing for her abruptly incenses me.

  “That is not the way I meant—”

  She lifts her hand.

  “Stop!” she cries desperately. “I told you last night. It’ll be better if you just ignore what’s going on in my head. Please, Ever.”

  She turns away, refusing to look at me until I say her name. She turns to face me with a wary expression.

  “I have company.”

  Her eyes widen.

  “You mean people—like you?” she gasps.

  I nod.

  “You will have to forgive me if I seem excessively cautious.”

  I frown at my understatement of the threat that Audra and Chasen pose, and she offers a tense smile.

  “You mean more than usual? They’re not here to initiate world destruction or to assassinate me, are they?”

  At this moment, Audra and Chasen are more dangerous than Victor. I have betrayed them; now I can only hope they will honor me enough to hear me out. Wren continues to watch me with growing unease.

  “You’ll be safe, but I wanted you to be prepared. I don’t know what their reaction is going to be—”

  “To me,” she finishes.

  “Yes.”

  She remains quiet, meditative for the remainder of the short drive to school, and as we come upon Springview’s campus, the sun is rising over the West Hills.

  Post-apocalyptic wasteland, she thinks as she looks across the empty parking lot.

  She is noticeably relieved that no one is here to see our arrival, and when I open her door, she accepts my hand. I release her as soon as she stands.

  Feels like we’re navigating some distant future as the last two humans left. Only Ever isn’t … human, she thinks.

  We reach Gideon’s classroom, and Wren sets down her belongings before retrieving her supplies. When she returns, she takes the seat beside me that she had previously abandoned. Again, I regret my actions, the manner in which I attempted to keep a distance from her. However, now, she is in even greater danger.

  “Wren, I never wished this for you.”

  She refuses to look at me, choosing instead to stare at her canvas.

  “I didn’t intend to alter your life this way. I am truly sorry for that.”

  She deserves better than this—better than to be at the center of a war she knows nothing of. Her fingers curl against her jeans, and she finally looks over at me.

  “Yeah, and I wouldn’t be alive if you hadn’t—”

  Audra and Chasen are here, and their intention is clear: eliminate the threat. In an instant, I am towering above Wren, whose eyes widen with confusion. I pull her against me.

  “What … is it?”

  “Close your eyes,” I command.

  In an instant I am standing on a tiny uninhabited island in the middle of the Indian Ocean in the dead of night with a young human girl slumped in my arms. No matter how much energy I put into shielding her from the shift through the time-space continuum, her human form is too delicate for her to remain conscious. When she regains consciousness a few moments later, her neurons inform her medulla oblongata that she remains in a vacuum devoid of air.

  There’s no air, she thinks desperately.

  I press my hand to her chest, flooding her body with a surge of energy. She gasps as I lower her to the sand. Blinking in the darkness, she reaches to the side, flinching when her fingers skim the sand.

  “You will be safe here,” I promise her.

  With Wren virtually invisible to them, Audra and Chasen will track my energy trail. Shifting to the classroom, I speak.

  “When we meet again, it shall be on my terms, or never again.”

  I wait, and when they do not appear, I know they have accepted my ultimatum.

  “And if you touch the girl, you shall be my enemies.”

  I shift to the unpopulated island in the Maldives. Wren is several meters from where I left her, lying in the sand. In the moonlight, her skin bleached unnaturally pale, she appears lifeless. Everything in me stills as I watch the breeze lift her hair. Walking to her, I drop down and watch her chest rise and fall with each breath. When I touch her shoulder, she starts and sits up, staring at me. Rising, I lift her with me.

  He looks like a ghost, she thinks with a chill.

  “What happened? Where are we?”

  “Exactly where you think we are,” I tell her.

  “You mean an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean?” she asks skeptically.

  When I nod, she looks around in a panic.

  “No. … That’s not possible.” She stops and stares at me. “Well, maybe it’s possible for you—wait! How are we going to get back?”

  “Do you trust me?” I ask softly.

  I reach out, allowing my fingers to caress her cheek. The simultaneous pleasure and pain of being so close to her burns me as my fingers slip around the nape of her neck. She shivers, staring up at me breathlessly. A moment later, she loses consciousness, and I shift to the classroom just as Gideon is about to reach the door. Lowering her to the floor, I press my hand to her skin, and she startles into consciousness. Gideon rushes over and drops his belongings.

  Dear God. Twice in one semester? There goes my tenure, he thinks as he takes out his mobile phone.

  Wren moans.

  “Did she lose consciousness at all?” Gideon enquires, nervously worrying his tie.

  “I don’t believe so—”

  “For Pete’s sake, I hope not. Because I’ll have to call the paramedics if she has a concussion. And there goes my tenure!”

  Wren turns her head and sees Gideon with his phone.

  Not again. No more trips to the hospital, she winces.

  “No!” she gasps “I’m fine. I was just a little dizzy.”

  When she struggles to sit up, I slip my arm around her waist and lift her, keeping her weight supported with the knowledge that she will collapse to the floor if I release her. Gideon stares nervously, debating.

  “Would you mind taking her to the nurse’s office?” he asks, turning to me.

  “I’m all right,” she coughs.

  A student walks in, distracting Gideon and Wren long enough for me to shift to the car, retrieve a bottle of electrolyte supplement, and return just as Gideon sighs.

  “Fine, Wren. Stay if you want. But please, for the love of all that’s holy, go to the nurse’s office if you’re not feeling well. I don’t need the paramedics in my classroom twice in one semester.”

  She nods, and I help her to her seat. When Matthew Turner enters the classroom, his eyes dart in our direction. Wren notices as well, but turns away in exhaustion.

  Of course. The hottest dude in school has to be straight. Well, at least Wren doesn’t seem like a complete bitch, but am I ever going to catch a break in this lifetime? Matthew Turner wonders morosely.

 
Wren turns to me, her eyes full of questions.

  “Later,” I tell her.

  “But …”

  Ashley Stewart walks in next, distracting Wren by chirping like a small woodland creature and hurrying across the room. When she grabs Wren by both arms, wrenching her from the seat, I rise, briefly tempted to grasp the overly excited girl by the neck and forcibly disengage Wren from her grip. I watch in annoyance as Wren’s countenance begins to turn greenish while her friend dances to and fro. At last, Ashley Stewart’s protracted paroxysm ceases, and she releases Wren.

  “I can’t believe he asked me!” the girl squeaks.

  Wren, appearing ill, manages a smile as her friend continues dancing with glee. Finally the girl’s excitement wanes enough for her to notice me. I watch with some amusement as her expression disintegrates into shock. She glances at Wren.

  Something’s different about him.

  Ashley Stewart turns back to me, staring in disbelief.

  “Hi,” she says warily.

  When I smile and nod at her, she looks at Wren, who takes her by the elbow and begins to propel the girl across the classroom. Taking a seat, I listen to their hushed conversation.

  “Here,” she smirks at Wren, thinking me unable to hear her. “You left this in my mom’s car Friday night—when you disappeared with your boyfriend.”

  Wren accepts the article of clothing, overlooking her friend’s comment.

  “Thanks. So? You didn’t tell me yesterday whether you and Marcus are going out on a date, date before the dance.”

  “Yeah, Saturday night. And you guys are going to come over to help me pick out something to wear. Right?”

  “I’m probably not the best person to offer advice, since I’ve never actually been on a date,” Wren says. Her friend casts another skeptical look in my direction before Wren taps her shoulder. “But I’m definitely coming over. I want to see what you’re going to wear.”

  “Are you sure you guys aren’t secretly hooking up?” Ashley Stewart asks suspiciously.

  “No! Ash, seriously, you would be the first to know if anything happened.”

  And by anything, I mean a date—not finding out that our classmate isn’t human, Wren amends silently.

  Wren returns to her seat, looking down in surprise at the sports drink waiting for her. I watch as she swallows, suddenly becoming aware of how depleted she feels. Picking up the drink, she twists the cap and looks in my direction, wondering how I made it appear. She drinks the entire bottle as Gideon begins his lecture, and I continue to watch her for signs of ill effects from the shift. Apart from dehydration, however, she appears unaffected. Fifteen minutes later, as Gideon continues talking, she sits up straight, adrenaline flooding her veins, her cheeks flushing.

  I was just on a tropical island.

  Images of the island flood her mind. Then she briefly closes her eyes, recalling my touch. I watch, frozen, as her breath skips and a shiver runs through her. She opens her eyes and looks at me, flushing bright pink when she comprehends that I was likely reading her thoughts.

  Stay out of my head! she snaps angrily.

  I am immeasurably relieved to be seated among sixteen adolescents and their instructor. If I were not in their company, I would cross a boundary I cannot uncross. Trembling, Wren turns her attention to Gideon, though her pulse remains riotous and drowns out his words.

  “While the fieldtrip is not a requirement for your grade, I think most of you would benefit from a little culture at the museum. The fee for your admission will be waived, and those interested in going can pick up a permission slip after class. And if you’ve never had the chance to go to the Portland Art Museum, I highly encourage you to participate.”

  I smile as she continues to sneak glances in my direction for the duration of the lesson. At the close of the period, I accompany her to her mathematics classroom, frustrated when I find she is, again, cloaking her thoughts. She pauses at the classroom door and looks up at me. Grateful that she has continued to welcome me despite all I have told her, I take nothing for granted.

  “I’ll see you at lunch?” I ask, aware that she has every reason to reject my presence.

  For a moment, she thinks of my behavior the last time I asked her to join me. She swallows before nodding. Smiling sadly, I turn away, unwilling to tell her that I will be shadowing her movements for the remainder of the day in the event that Audra and Chasen ultimately decline to accept my terms. Walking into a vacant classroom, I shift to the rooftop above Wren’s classroom and wait, entertained and nonplussed in turns by Wren’s random thought processes.

  I stay out of sight as she joins her friends during the nutrition period. As Ashley Stewart chatters about her upcoming outing with Marcus White, Wren puzzles over the status of our improbable relationship. Watching as she becomes increasingly distressed by the prospect of what is coming for her, finally I relent, knowing I already have delayed too long.

  Seconds before the lunch bell, I shift to the empty hallway outside of Wren’s chemistry class with the repugnant Jeffrey Summers. Looking through the window at the top of the classroom door, I see her staring toward the trees beyond the parking lot.

  If I were given a choice, if I could undo things now and erase the memory of Ever, would I? … Even if he disappeared tomorrow or if I ceased to exist, I can’t deny that from the first moment I saw him Ever changed my life.

  While I cannot deny the truth of her thought, I still feel pained by my role in changing her perception of reality. The bell sounds, and I step forward as she packs her belongings. When Jeffrey Summers sees me, he scowls. Looking up, Wren notices his expression and tracks his line of vision until she sees me. As she stands and begins to approach me, smiling tentatively, Summers jumps up and follows behind her. The moment she reaches me, he jams himself between us, smirking lasciviously at her.

  Stupid, little tease will be begging for it as soon as he drops her.

  Her expression falls when she hears his thoughts. At any other point, I might have allowed his transgression to pass. Not now. I send out a small pulse of energy, only enough to send his possessions flying from his hands. When he looks around, seething, Wren catches my eye.

  “Did you … ?”

  I raise an eyebrow, neither affirming nor denying my culpability.

  “Shall we?” I ask her, gesturing forward.

  As we walk, I cannot help the smile from emerging on my lips. Wren, however, is wholly preoccupied with the curious glances from other students. She looks at me as she opens her locker.

  “Is it always this bad?” she whispers. “I mean people watching you.”

  “Never like this,” I tease with a straight-faced expression.

  When the color drains from her cheeks, I smile.

  “Oh, that’s great,” she smirks.

  Slamming her locker door, she strides toward the cafeteria with feigned confidence. Amused, I follow her as she walks purposefully toward the line.

  Not hungry, but I know I’ll regret it if I don’t eat something.

  She places items on her tray and removes her wallet to pay. As we move toward the seating area, she nervously glances around the space for her friends. Then, failing to find them, she relaxes.

  Can’t imagine sitting down at our table with Ever like it’s no big deal.

  I gesture toward my usual table, and she nods.

  “Would you like to meet the others?” I ask as we reach the table.

  She briefly frowns before a look of terror crosses her features as she takes the seat across from me. Students arriving at surrounding tables have begun to stare in our direction. Fortunately, Wren is too distracted to take note.

  “You mean they’re here?” she asks in disbelief.

  I nod for the sake of simplicity. There is no sense in telling her it matters not where they are—if I say the word, they will be here instantaneously.

  “And anxious to make your acquaintance,” I add with more acrimony than I intended.

  Was tha
t the reason for my tropical vacation this morning?

  “Why do they want to meet me?” she asks.

  I make an ambivalent gesture.

  “They are curious, I suppose. They think I’ve been hiding you from them.”

  Curious, I have decided, is a better portrayal than murderous. However, in truth, if they knew what I know about Wren, she would not be breathing.

  “Have you?”

  When I fail to answer right away, her eyes glaze over as she has an epiphany.

  Oh, no. It’s going to get worse—there’s more bad news he hasn’t told me.

  When my hand covers hers, her eyes focus on me. Suddenly she wonders if anyone has noticed us.

  “I told you, Wren. I will not let anything happen to you.”

  She swallows. The fact that I have told her this multiple times is, perhaps, scaring her more than anything else.

  “What if you’re outvoted?” she asks quietly.

  I smile at her with the conviction of one who finally has seen light after an eternity of darkness. Nothing will happen to her—because I simply will not allow it to.

  She looks down.

  Doesn’t he owe more allegiance to them than to me—a stranger and a human? she wonders, posing the same question I have had to ask myself several times since I first laid eyes upon her.

  “I had all these questions for you last night. Now I can’t remember a single one,” she mumbles

  At the moment, I am more concerned with her eating something to maintain her energy.

  “You should eat something,” I tell her as she continues to scrutinize the slice of pizza before her.

  Nodding, she takes a small bite, followed by juice, before looking around the room with a sense of dazed detachment. When she sets down her fork, I study her face, knowing that I am preparing to pit myself against those closest to me.

  “Are you ready?” I ask her.

  She bites her lip and nods.

  I may as well get it over with, she thinks with nervous anticipation.

  “Come.”

  A single word, spoken faster than any human in this room could conceivably comprehend. I watch as Audra and Chasen step through the entrance of the cafeteria. Wren follows my gaze, turning in her seat to stare. Suddenly boisterous adolescents fall silent one by one as they watch Audra and Chasen pass them. Wren, too, stares with rapt fascination at my brethren.