by Regan Ure
"We need to talk," he told me as he started to drive.
The tell-tale sign that he was agitated was the continuous tap of his fingers against the steering wheel. He remained completely silent. It wasn't long before we pulled up in front of my house and he switched the car off.
"Can we talk inside?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of my house. I shrugged and got out of his car and walked to my house. I opened the door and invited him inside, dropping my school bag in the hallway before I walked into the kitchen.
"Do you want something to drink?" I offered. I opened the cupboard and got myself a glass out.
"No thanks," he replied as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
I poured myself some water in a glass and took a sip before putting it back down again on the kitchen counter, looking at him expectantly.
"Okay, what do we need to talk about?" I asked. My patience was running out.
"I don't want you going out with Andrew anymore," he stated as his eyes bore into me.
"Excuse me?" I asked when I got over the initial surprise of what he'd said. At first I thought he was joking, but his serious features told me otherwise.
"You heard me," he said with a determined look.
I couldn't believe it. Who did he think he was?
"You don't get to tell me who I get to go out with," I informed him as the anger began to build inside of me. He didn't get to control me!
"I need you to keep a low profile," he explained. His features softened slightly.
"Why?" I was agitated. There was something up.
"The Hue that you saw the other night are still in town. For some reason they haven't left yet. It's easier keeping an eye on you at school and I can post someone to watch over you outside your house. You're going to have to keep your after-school outings to a minimum; nonexistent would be better," he explained calmly, his eyes never leaving mine.
"I don't understand why you need to keep an eye on me," I said, feeling unsettled that he felt he needed to protect me. Why was I in danger? I wasn't one of them so why would I be a target?
He let out a sigh. "I don't know for sure that I was the only one who saw you at the clearing. So until they leave, I need you to be careful."
"Oh." If one of the Hue had seen me, would that put me in danger?
"I'm not trying to scare you," he assured me. My fear must have been evident in my widened eyes. "I just need you to be a little more careful until they're gone."
"Okay," I managed to say. Despite his words, he'd managed to scare me. I remembered what Jared was capable of. The scene from the clearing replayed in my mind. If the Hue did the same to me, I wouldn't be getting up and walking away from it with just a burn mark on my shirt.
"I think it's also time to tell the others that you know about us," he said, watching me for my reaction, and it was hard to not feel frightened of what their response would be. I was pretty sure Felicity wasn't going to be thrilled about it.
"Why?" I asked, suddenly feeling an anxious twist in my stomach. I brushed a stray hair out of my face.
"They can help keep an eye on you at school." Well, when he put it like that it sounded like a brilliant idea.
"All right," I said.
"I think it's also a good idea if you come over tonight when we all meet up. My mom and the others will want to meet you," he told me as his eyes scanned my face. "You don't have to be scared. No one will harm you."
I don't know what made me believe him. Was it his words, or the tone that he said them in that made me feel like he meant it? I was pretty sure I'd need protecting from Felicity. She'd never liked me from the start and this would just add to it. Perhaps I was lucky she was the only one who was human and didn't have the power to zap me.
"What time do you want me to come over?" I asked.
"Seven," he said.
"I'll see you then," I said, nodding my head before he turned and left. The front door shut as he left the house.
A nervous fear settled in my stomach. I was scared that their enemy, the Hue, might be after me, and I was nervous as to how the Archaic would react to me finding out I knew their secret. I gripped my glass and lifted it to my lips to gulp some water down. I set the glass back down on the counter and took a deep breath in and held it for a while before releasing it.
Anne arrived home at six. It was late so we made sandwiches and salad.
"So how was your day?" she asked.
"It was okay." I couldn't tell her that because I'd discovered a secret my life could be in danger. Just the thought of a Hue attacking me with a bolt of energy was enough to send a shiver of fear down my spine.
To ensure my safety I would do as Jared asked and make sure I didn't go out after school. The part of me that didn't want to believe the reality of the danger soothed me with the thought that maybe Jared was just overreacting. Discovering that the Archaic and the Hue existed had made my life complicated and with that the fear that there would be repercussions for my knowledge of their existence.
I had a quick shower and dressed casually in a pair of jeans with a white T-shirt with sneakers. I tied my hair back in a ponytail and threw my favorite blue hoodie on, since the weather was still cold. It reminded me suddenly that I still had Jared's hoodie, so I got it out of my closet so that I could give it back to him. I made up some excuse to Anne about having to get some notes from Jared. She bought it hook, line and sinker.
My nerves set in just before seven when I walked up to his front door. I could hear voices coming from inside the house. I hesitated for a moment, trying to build up the courage to face a room full of mutated humans before I knocked.
A beautiful woman opened the door. She smiled at me and said, "You must be Ava." She ushered me in with a warm and friendly smile. She was smartly dressed in a suit jacket and matching skirt with a white blouse and black high heels.
"I'm Catherine, Jared's mom," she introduced herself. She was open and friendly. I could see the family resemblance. She had long, wavy black hair and the same shade of green eyes that Jared had.
The hallway was empty. All the activity was coming from the living room that was just off to the right side of the hallway. My nervousness increased. If I didn't have Jared's hoodie in my hands, I would have been twisting my hands nervously. I took a hesitant step toward the room before I stopped. I couldn't do this--I was too scared.
At that moment, Jared walked out of the living room and nearly walked straight into me.
"You're here," he said, and I nodded my head. Had he expected me to chicken out? His eyes went to his mom, who motioned for us to go into the living room.
"Here's your hoodie that you lent me the other night," I said as I handed it to him.
"Thanks," he said, taking it and putting it down on the small table in the hallway. "Everyone's here."
He waited for me to follow him, but I hesitated.
"It'll be fine. There's nothing to be scared of," he assured me. Anyone in their right mind would be scared.
Jared took my hand in his and pulled me toward the room. All conversation stopped when I entered behind him. I looked nervously around to see that all eyes were on me, my hand still in Jared's.
I spotted Neve and Felicity first. They were sitting together on a two-seater sofa near the window. Felicity, as usual, didn't look happy. Her eyes bore into mine. I wondered if her face would crack if she tried to smile.
Across from them sat two adults on a matching two-seater sofa, a man and a woman. They smiled at me, and I felt a little less nervous. Jared introduced them. The man who had light-brown hair with hazel eyes was Felicity's dad, Nathaniel. He was a little taller than Jared, but he had a similar build. The woman who had fiery red hair that fell in curls framing her face was Danny's mom, Sarah. Her pale-aqua eyes looked friendly.
Tyler and Danny stood behind them. They were watching me carefully.
Next to the two-seater sofas were two single chairs. Catherine occupied one and another woman occupied the other
. The other woman had medium-length dark-brown hair that framed her oval-shaped face, and her brown eyes were hard. Jared introduced her as Tyler and Neve's mom, Jennifer. She was the only adult who didn't smile at me. Another Felicity.
Once the introductions were done, Jared pulled a chair from the adjoining room and motioned for me to sit down. He stood beside me.
"Why is she here?" Felicity asked angrily from where she sat glaring at me. It was nothing new. I probably wouldn't know how to handle her if she actually smiled at me or attempted to be friendly.
Jared cocked his head in her direction, fixing his hard eyes on her and calmly explained, "She knows about us now, so we need to keep an eye on her, at least until the Hue leave."
"We don't know that the Hue even know about her," Danny argued.
"I'm not taking that chance," Jared said as he swung his gaze to Danny.
"She's not our responsibility," a non-smiling Jennifer stated. I wondered if it was a good sign that she wasn't glaring at me anymore, at least.
Jared had been casually standing beside me, but at that comment stepped in front of me slightly as he straightened, looking more foreboding than before.
"She's my responsibility," he told her fiercely, his voice commanding and intimidating. He flashed them a look that dared them to question him again.
That shut Jennifer right up and she clamped her mouth shut. Catherine tried to hide a smile. I'd been sitting quietly, watching the whole thing play out. For some reason, which made no logical sense, Jared seemed to be in charge. Surely one of the elder Archaics should be in charge. I was used to the fact that in the human world it worked that way, but for some reason it didn't seem to work like that in theirs.
"Have we managed to track the Hue?" Nathaniel questioned, changing the subject.
"No, we lost them a couple of days ago," Danny informed him, not looking happy about the situation.
"Then how do we know they're still here?" Jennifer asked.
"Because if they'd left they wouldn't have needed to cover up their tracks," Jared said confidently. "They're trying to hide their movements."
"So what's the plan?" It was the soft voice that belonged to Sarah that asked the question.
"Tyler and Danny will continue to try and track them, at least until we're able to pinpoint them. Until then, everyone needs to be careful. No one goes anywhere alone." Everyone nodded in agreement. They'd clearly done this before.
One by one they started to rise and began to leave. The meeting was over. I made a move to get up and leave with them, but Jared put his hand on my shoulder.
"Stay," he instructed.
I watched the rest of them walk past me and out of the door. Neve was the only one who attempted to smile at me as she left, while the rest of them ignored me completely. Jared followed Danny and Tyler into the hallway. I twisted my hands.
"Don't be nervous."
I glanced up and realized I wasn't alone. Catherine had moved closer--she was sitting on the two-seater couch that Felicity and Neve had just vacated. I gave her a nervous smile.
"Jared will be back in a few minutes. He's probably giving Danny and Tyler some last-minute instructions. Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thank you," I replied politely, shaking my head.
The more time I spent with his mom the more relaxed I became. I actually really liked her. She was warm and motherly, and reminded me of my mom.
"How much has Jared told you about us?" she asked.
"Not much," I admitted.
"I'm sure you've got questions," she said, and I nodded.
"You can ask me anything, so ask away," she offered.
I have so many. Where should I start?
"Why is Jared in charge, instead of an adult?" I asked curiously. That was the most burning question at the moment.
"Jared is a descendant."
I remembered he'd already told me that. And that meant he was more powerful.
"But if he is a descendant, then so are you?" I asked, still confused.
"The most powerful descendant leads. We are both descendants, but men are more powerful than woman."
I could see she wanted to tell me more but stopped herself. I got the distinct feeling she was keeping something back.
"Where's Jared's dad?"
Her relaxed face and friendly smile slipped from her features, and I got a brief glimpse of sadness before she composed herself.
"I'm sorry, Ava, but that's something I can't talk about," she told me. I'd overstepped some line by broaching the subject of Jared's father.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," I mumbled quickly, reaching out and touched her arm.
She gave me a sad smile. "I know."
She covered my hand with hers. Jared walked back into the living room, and he looked between us.
"Everything okay?" he asked, his eyes narrowing on the tight expression on his mother's face.
"Yes, everything is fine," she assured him, fixing a smile back on her face. He continued to study the two of us. It was obvious that he didn't believe his mom.
"I need to give you something," he said after a few moments and he motioned for me to follow him. He led the way upstairs to his bedroom.
"Do you have your phone on you?" he asked while he started looking for something in his desk drawer. He took out a little black box.
"Yes." I pulled my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and gave it to him.
He put my phone on his desk and opened it. He took something out of the box and put it into my phone, and then put my phone back together.
"It's a tracker," he explained. Why did he need to keep track of me? He sat down at the desk and proceeded to open up his laptop and start up some programs.
"I'll be able to find you if I need to," was all he said on the matter, as if the answer were obvious.
A map of streets in our town popped up on the screen. I could see a little flashing light on our street. He put his finger to the screen of his laptop, where the light was flashing. "This is you."
"I would've thought you guys had some type of power to find each other."
"No. Only Archaic couples have that type of a power."
"Oh," I said. When he didn't elaborate, I took it as a sign that he didn't want explain further.
"Is this all necessary?" I asked. He was really starting to scare me.
"It's just a precaution. We all have them." He swung his chair around and stood up. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and handed me my phone back.
"Don't worry, Ava, we'll be keeping an eye on you," he said. My breath stalled in my lungs when I experienced the full effect of the devastating smile he shot me.
Stupid girl! I hated my immediate reaction to him, which I had no control over. Trying to pull myself together, I moved my gaze away from him and tried to remind myself to breathe.
His smile turned into a knowing smile, as if he knew what effect he had on me, and I felt the warm embarrassment creep into my cheeks at the fact that I wasn't good at keeping my true feelings hidden. It had been a long day and the meeting had been nerve-wracking. I stilled a yawn. I was tired.
"Are we done here?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes.
"Yes."
He walked me to his front door. He was about to open it for me when his mom walked out of the kitchen. Whatever she was making smelled mouth-watering.
"You're not leaving already, are you?" she asked, sounding disappointed.
"Yes."
"Don't you want to stay for supper?" she invited. I shot a look to Jared, but his face was unreadable.
"Thank you, but I ate before I came over," I admitted.
"Are you sure? There is more than enough."
"Maybe next time," I offered. She gave me a hug goodbye.
I expected for Jared to close the door behind me; what I didn't expect was for him to close his front door behind him too.
"I'm not letting you walk home alone at night," he answered my questioning gaze.
&
nbsp; "I only live five houses down," I reminded him.
He shrugged as he stepped past me and began to walk. After a few steps he turned back.
"I don't have all night," he quipped and it jolted me into action, putting one foot in front of the other.
For the rest of the short walk to my house, there was silence. In front of my door to my house, I turned to face him.
"Thank you," I said nervously.
"You're welcome."
He didn't leave until I was inside my house and the front door was closed. Anne was already getting ready for bed. Happily, I made my way to my room and did the same. Thoughts of the Archaic kept my mind busy as I got into bed and pulled my comforter to my chin. I was so tired, but I just couldn't drop off into a restful sleep.
From Catherine's reaction to my question about Jared's dad, I guessed that his father most likely wasn't alive anymore. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to lose a parent. I didn't even want to think about that. I couldn't stop thinking about how complicated my life had gotten. Trackers on phones. Blue-eyed psychopaths. And the green-eyed boy who made me want to throttle him and kiss him at the same time.
CHAPTER NINE
The next couple of days went by quietly. Even though Jared and the Archaic hadn't been able to find the Hue, things had quieted down into some sort of normalcy. I was still careful, just like Jared had asked me to be. I didn't go out after school. I hadn't seen much of Jared. I only saw him in class and in the cafeteria with his friends. I kept myself occupied so that I wouldn't spend all my time thinking about him. It was annoying how much he monopolized my thoughts.
Felicity still threw me dirty looks whenever she could. I shrugged them off. There was nothing going on between Jared and me, and she had no reason to be jealous.
Andrew was great. He still came and sat with us at lunch, and sometimes his friends would join us too, including David. Who still, much to Stacy's disappointment, hadn't made a move to ask Stacy out. Andrew treated me just like his other friends. He laughed, smiled and was his usual easygoing self. I'd made a really good friend in him.