“Yes, I will go to prom with you.” I answered him with tears in my eyes.
We sat in our tree top talking awhile longer as nightfall started to fall upon us. Evan suggested it was time to head back to the house and then back to the school so I could get my car and head home. I always hated when it was time to leave him. Our way back down the trees to the ground was scarier than the way up. It was like riding a rollercoaster and the downward fall only a hundred times scarier. Evan swears he was being easy with me on his back and trying to go slow, I didn’t believe him due to the little chuckle I heard when I screamed on the way down. I think he enjoyed scaring me. All of the Blake’s except Cameron came to see me off before I left. Payton invited me to a shopping trip soon with her and Grace and she told me I couldn’t say no. I politely said yes and Payton gleefully clapped her hands and stuck her tongue out at Evan. Evan only shook his head at her. Grace and Neville both told me I was welcome anytime and hoped I would be back soon.
When I got home Gran was waiting for me in the kitchen, which was unexpected since lately she was hardly even home. “Did you have a good time Emma?” she asked.
“Yeah, it was nice.” I replied as I quickly went off to my bedroom. Trying not to give too much away, I didn’t like lying to Gran. But I knew she didn’t approve of me spending time with any of the Blake’s.
“Emma!” she called after me.
“I will be right back Gran.” I yelled back down as I continued to make my way towards my bedroom. I needed to compose myself before I faced her. To get my story straight, I had told her I was eating dinner at Sami’s house tonight and I hope she hadn’t figured out I was lying to her. I put my jacket on my bed and took a deep breath and made my way back downstairs. Gran was still in the kitchen in her usual spot when I got back downstairs “Hey Gran. How was your day?” I asked as my heart raced.
“It was fine dear. How was yours?” she asked.
“It was okay.”
“Emma, I know I haven’t been around much. And I am sorry.” Gran reached over and took my hand. I hadn’t noticed how aged Grans hand was. I looked up and noticed her face was the same. The look of worry in her eyes was there. Something was bothering her and I didn’t know what it could be.
“Gran, is something wrong?” I asked. Gran leaned back in her seat letting go of my hand.
“No dear.” She paused for a moment. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” I shook my head. Maybe I was imagining things since I felt guilty for lying to her about where I had been tonight. “I think I am going to go to bed now. It’s been a long day. Maybe we could have dinner together tomorrow night if you are going to be home?” I asked.
“That would be nice Emma.” Gran smiled. “You let me know what you would like and I will make it for you.” She said without hesitation. I kissed Gran goodnight and went upstairs and got ready for bed. Before I fell asleep I sent Evan a quick text to let him know I had a nice time tonight and that I would see him in the morning. He responded within seconds as though he had been waiting for me to text him and let me know he had a good time to and that he would be waiting for me by his car when I got to school in the morning. Now that I heard from Evan I could hopefully get some much need sleep. The last thing I remembered was turning off the light and thinking about Evan and him asking me to the prom, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep until morning.
Chapter 15
It had been weeks since Evan and I had started dating. We spent nearly every minute that we possibly could together, mostly at the Lighthouse that we now called “Ours”. Gran was barely even home anymore. She had been spending most of her time with Marie, which I was grateful for so I could spend all of my time with Evan and not feel so guilty. My plans with Levi to go to the movies had been getting pushed back each week due to me. I hated to keep breaking our plans on him but I hated losing time with Evan also. I started to feel guilty, so I sent Levi a text last night and promised that this weekend we would go see any movie he wanted to see. Evan was going hunting with family and I would have some free time to myself. It made me feel somewhat guilty that the only reason I was going to go to the movies with Levi all at was so it would past the time until I was able to be with Evan again.
It was Sunday and I had gotten up early and meet Evan at his house. Payton of course meet me at the door. “Evan said to come in, and that he will be down any minute.” She said as she grabbed my hand and led me to the family room.
“Okay.” I said as I was being dragged along to sit on the couch. I was becoming a lot more comfortable being here at Evan’s house now. Everyone made me feel welcomed. A few minutes later Evan came into the room with a basket. “What’s that?” I asked.
“My mom made us lunch.” He said as he held up the picnic basket in his left hand.
“Where are we going?” I asked. Evan just smiled at me and took my hand and led me to the front door. As we got out the door Payton follow suit and yelled out. “Have fun you guys.” I blushed crimson as Evan opened the car door for me.
I immediately noticed where we were once we reached Ecola Road. “Are we going to the Lighthouse? I asked Evan. He looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and nodded.
When Evan opened the door to the lantern room to the Lighthouse I was amazed. Candles lit the entire room. There was a blanket on the floor with a small vase that held a single red rose. I turned to look at Evan and wondered how he managed to do this. Before I could ask he answered my unspoken question. “My mother was here and done this.” he said.
“It’s beautiful Evan.” I said as I looked around.
We sat there for the rest of the day eating and just talking about anything and everything. I watched the sun set as I lay in Evan’s arms. I couldn’t image my life without him now. He is who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Now and Forever!
*****
I stared into the mirror longer than normal, wondering what Evan Blake saw in a girl like me. I was plain and boring. And to top it off, one day, I was going to get old and die. I was nothing but human and Evan was a Vampire and he was going to live forever. How could he love someone like me? I really never questioned it until now. What did he see in me? What was it about me that interest him? I mean he could have anyone he wanted. All the girls at Astoria High wanted him. Any girl or woman for that matter would die to be with him. But yet he chose to be with me. I sigh and told myself I couldn’t worry about this right now. I needed to hurry to get to school if I was to be on time. I grabbed my book bag and went downstairs. My plans to eat a quick bowl of cereal fell flat when I saw Gran had made breakfast. “I figured since I hadn’t been around much I would make you a decent breakfast.” She said as she fixed me a plate of food. Gran had made sausage gravy and biscuits and scrambled eggs. It looked amazing but I was in a hurry to get out the door and to school so I could spend every few seconds I could with Evan. I ate in a hurry. Gran watched me as I ate in a rush. She tried to catch up with me as I ate in a rush. “So how has school been?” she asked as she stared at me stuffing a bite of biscuit and gravy in my mouth.
“It’s been great.” I said covering my mouth as I tried to swallow my food and talk at the same time. I kept eating as fast as I could, all I could think of was getting to school so I could spend time with Evan before class. It was strange that we had only been going out a few weeks, but I felt like we had been together forever. I couldn’t imagine my life without Evan now. As I finished my breakfast I rinsed my plate off in the sink and I hurried towards the door. “Did you decide what you wanted for dinner tonight Emma?” Gran asked as she followed me outside and I walked off the porch.
“How about your awesome chicken and dumplings?” I asked as I opened the car door. Gran nodded and waved goodbye at me as I got into my car and started it up and pulled off in a rush out of the driveway. As I turned out of the Reservation onto the main road I noticed a car that was pulled off on the side of the road that pulled out onto the road and sped quickly behind me. My heart sta
rted to race as the car got extremely close. Then I noticed it was only Evan. My heart returned to a normal pace as Evan followed behind me. But then I wondered why Evan was following me to school. He normally only followed me home, when it was really late at night. Why was Evan following me to school? What was wrong? Evan must be worried about something if he went out of his way to wait for me outside of the Reservation early in the morning and then to follow me to school. “I’ll find out once I get to school” I thought to myself.
As I pulled into the school parking lot I noticed Evan pull into the only other spot open a few spaces over. Evan was out of his car and at my door before I could even get my car turned off and get my things together. Although his face today wasn’t all smiles as it usually was. “What’s wrong?” I asked him as he opened my car door for me.
“Nothing is wrong!” He said as he tried then to fake a smile.
“Evan, something is wrong. What is it?” I demanded.
“It’s nothing to worry about.” He said. Although I could tell there was. “Come on, let’s get inside.” He said as he put his hand on the small of my back and hurried me along, looking over his shoulder the whole time. I could tell something was wrong and something was brothering Evan, but he wasn’t going to tell me. For now I would let it go, but only for now, later Evan would have to fill me in on what was going on.
The rest of the day Evan seemed to be distanced. He walked with me to class as normal. He stayed as close to my side as he could, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else. “So I totally thought I was busted by my grandmother last night when I got home.” I said to Evan as we walked towards the lunchroom, but his mind must have been elsewhere because his response was “That’s awesome.” I came to a stop in the middle of the hallway and Evan barely even noticed I had even stopped. I stood there with my arms crossed, once Evan noticed I wasn’t walking beside him anymore he turned around and walked back towards me. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You didn’t even hear what I said. What is going on with you? Have you changed your mind? About us-?” Before I could finish talking he stopped me.
“Emma. For God sake no! You are the love of my life! This has nothing to do with how I feel about you! You have to trust me right now. Can you do that for me? Please?” He was pleading with me, begging me to trust him. And I wanted to, I needed to. But I wasn’t sure I could trust that this had nothing to do with his feelings for me. I was insecure. I was this ordinary girl in love with a beautiful boy, who is a Vampire. He could have anyone he wanted, but he chosen me. It didn’t make any sense to me. “Okay, I’ll trust you. But can you please tell me what’s going on later?” Evan just nodded his head as we walked to the lunchroom. Somehow I had a feeling I would never get the truth from him.
We sat with our usual group of friends, Sami, Amy, Collin and Brady. But today Evan’s siblings Everett, Payton and Cameron sat with us, squeezing in as best they could at the small table. Which was abnormal for them, they didn’t normally sit with humans. Evan and I usually alternated turns sitting with my friends and with his family. But today, we all sat together.
Sami was her usual chatty self and I tried to keep up with her, but my mind was on Evan and whatever secret he was hiding from me. Everything today that he had done was abnormal. And the last straw was his siblings sitting with the common folk. It seemed as though he felt I needed extra protection. It was just the feeling I got. Amy seemed okay with the current seating arraignments, since Cameron was sitting next to her. She seemed giddy about it, although Cameron wasn’t paying her any mind. She stared at him anyways and smiled every time he slightly looked her way. Sami noticed and laughed under breath and nudged my arm. I tried to seem amused, but my mind kept going back to whatever mystery Evan was hiding from me. Payton joined in a lot on the conversation with Sami and Amy, and I didn’t know if it was to be polite or to seem less conspicuous. She even asked everyone at the table to go out one night. “I think we should all go out to the movies. What do you think?” she asked in her bouncy perky way. Everyone suddenly stopped talking and their focus was on Payton. The look on her face was priceless. “Well-?” she said as everyone’s gaze was still locked on hers.
“Really?” Sami asked.
“Sure, sounds great!” Amy exclaimed. Collin and Brady just nodded their heads in excitement. The Blake’s didn’t seem too enthused at the idea. Cameron rolled his eyes at Everett. I sat thinking all this seem to be for show. Something else is going on and I was going to find out as soon as school was dismissed.
Evan stayed quite during lunch, which didn’t go unnoticed to Sami, who asked me about it when I was changing for gym class. “Emma. Is something wrong between you and Evan?” she asked in a low tone.
“No.” is all I could say. Sami left it at that and didn’t push the issue, which I was grateful for, because I couldn’t give her an answer when I didn’t know what it was myself. During gym class Evan made sure to get pick on my team for basketball. And he made sure to stay very close to my side. Every time I turned he was next to me or behind me, and he was always looking over his shoulder and his surroundings. He was making me nervous, so nervous in fact that as I went to run down the court with the ball I fell flat on my face. The whole class laughed at me, my face turning red as Evan rushed to my side. By now I am furious with him and his unwanted silence today that I pushed his hand away and got up on my own. I could see the hurt in his eyes as I pushed past him. But he still kept close to my side. Which told me something was definitely going on that he felt the need to be overly protective today. Maybe he had seen a vision in a dream? I didn’t know, but I would find out today after class.
After gym class was over I hurried to change clothes. I wanted to hurry so I could meet up with Evan so I could find out what was going on. That was even if he would tell me after I pushed him away during gym class today. I rushed to get my clothes on that I nearly tripped over my own two feet. Sami and Amy laughed at me as they saw my feet caught up in my jeans as I stumbled and tripped onto the bench in front of my gym locker. “Emma, watch out, you trying to kill yourself?” Sami said as she laughed at me. Amy just laughed as she was brushing her hair out of her ponytail she had her hair in during gym class.
“No, just in a hurry that’s all.” I said as I slammed my locker shut and grabbed up my book bag and ran out of the locker room. I was in such a rush I didn’t even tell Sami or Amy bye. Evan was waiting for me as usual by the girl’s locker room doors. I swear it must only take him like five seconds to change out of his gym clothes back into his regular clothes. It takes me at least ten minutes to change and that’s pushing it.
His expression was the same it had been all day, cold and worn. He led me out of the school with his hand on the small of my back. Looking over his shoulder and walking faster than I could keep up. Usually when he touched me a spark of electricity was felt between us. Today that was void. And that concerned me. I didn’t ever want to lose that feeling. I waited until we reached my car before I spoke. “Evan, I know something is wrong.” It was more of a statement that a question.
“Everything is fine Emma.” he said without looking me in the eye.
“Why are you lying to me?” I snapped.
“Emma, just drop it. Please.” Evan demanded in a sharp tone.
“Fine.” I said harshly as I opened my car door and I sat in the driver’s seat of my car.
“Emma, please just trust me that I will tell you anything that you need to know.” He said as he bent down to meet my gaze. I could tell there was more to it than that.
“And this is something that doesn’t concern me?” I asked. When he never answered me I knew somehow whatever was going on concerned me also. “Evan? Please!” When Evan still never answered, my next reply was cold. “Fine, whenever you decide to tell me what is going on then you can call me, until then, don’t!” As I went to shut my car door, Evan spoke.
“Emma, Destiny is back.” His words hit me like someone punched me in the stomach and k
nocked the breath out of me. Right then I figured out that was why Evan had been acting so strange. Destiny, his ex Vampire girlfriend, whom I would assume was as beautiful as he was, was back in his life and he was ending things with me. I sat there waiting for the blow to come. For him to break up with me, to shatter my life in a million little pieces, but what he said next was not what I expected. “She knows about you, and she wants to kill you.” Those words were almost as devastating as what I was thinking.
“I- I” was all I could manage to get out. The look on Evan’s face matched mine. He was just as frightened as I was.
“Emma, I am going to do everything I can to protect you. Do you understand me?” Now Evan was as close as he could be to me in the close quarters of my car. “I will do whatever I can to make sure you are safe.” I still couldn’t find the words I needed to, to answer Evan. I was in shock. How could someone that didn’t even know me want to kill me?
“I need to go home Evan.” Was all I finally managed to get out when I finally spoke, Evan nodded his head. The look on his face told me he was sorry he ever got involved with me.
“Emma, I am going to follow you home. Once you are there, I do NOT want you to leave the Reservation for ANYTHING, okay?” I nodded to him as he continued to speak. “I will meet you outside the Reservation every morning to follow you to school and I will follow you home every day. That is the only time I want you to be outside the safety of the Reservation. You will be safe there when I cannot be with you. Okay?” I nodded again and Evan kissed my forehead. “My family and I are going to make sure you are safe. She will not get near you, I promise.” I never said anything to his promise. My mind was in a haze.
We pulled out of the school parking lot. Payton and Cameron drove Evan’s car as Evan drove mine with Everett in the back seat. Payton and Cameron stayed a close distance behind us. I sat in the passenger’s seat looking out the window. My mind was racing with thoughts of what if’s. Why did Evan feel I was safe at the Reservation? I didn’t know. But once we got to the edge of the Reservation Evan pulled over on the side of the road. “Emma.” he said as he touched the side of my face with his hand. “Listen to me carefully. Once you drive into the Reservation, DO NOT come back out of it until in the morning for school for any reason, okay?” I nodded my head. “And I will be right here waiting for you in the morning to ride with you again.” His tone was as serious as ever.
Astoria: Secrets, Lies and Vampires Page 12