Son of Eden, a Paranormal Romance (Tales of the Guardian)

by Brianna Merrill

  Chapter 3

  * * *

  Surprises

  The next morning Emily woke up only to see from the time on her clock that she had slept in. Emily feared she wouldn’t be able to sleep last night because the attack would give her nightmares. Instead her dream was of Alexander’s bright green eyes and soft warm hands.

  She felt refreshed from a long night’s sleep, but was now in a frenzy attempting to get ready. She applied some makeup to mask the now blue and purple bruise on her forehead. The bump was still about the same size. She knew the cover-up would not hide the injury but hoped it would make it seem like less of a battle wound. Emily rarely wore makeup. She only put it on when she got dressed up for charity events. Her father was bound to notice that she had it on which might end up drawing more attention to her goose egg, but she was willing to take the risk.

  Emily didn’t have any time to rethink her story, as she had hoped. While she dressed she rehearsed in her mind what she had come up with the night before. Her father was already out there. His footsteps were loud, and she could hear him shuffling around in the kitchen. Emily took a deep breath, bracing herself as she made her way out of her room.

  Her father had his eyes centered on the television when she entered the kitchen. Emily took the opportunity to make a sharp left and open the fridge. She pretended to hunt for the milk, knowing very well that it was on the counter right next to him.

  “I’ve already got the milk out, sweetie, the cereal is over here.”

  Emily slowly shut the fridge door. “Thanks,” she mumbled as she kept her back to him, moving slightly to the right. She eyed the cabinet for a juice glass.

  “It’s not like you to run late. I was about to come wake you up when I heard you moving around in there. I thought I’d help you out by having breakfast ready.”

  Her father also had the apple juice out and on the counter. She had stalled as long as possible. Resigned to the inevitable, she sat down at the island where her father was eating. He looked over at her when he heard the chair scratch against the wood floor.

  “Holy cow, Emily! What on earth happened to your head?”

  “That didn’t take long. Well here it goes, I hope he buys it.”

  “I tripped yesterday at school and fell into one of the brick walls outside.” She poured the milk onto her cereal, acting as though the incident was no big deal. “It looks worse than it feels, really.”

  “So you let your forehead break your fall?” Her father was concerned. It was hard to tell if he bought the bogus story.

  “I was carrying all my books and I didn’t have time to react. My hands were full and, yeah I guess my forehead broke my fall.”

  “Ouch. Are you sure you’re okay? Did you have the school nurse check it out?”

  “It’s just a bump, no big deal. It’s not like I had a concussion or anything.”

  “You sure about that? You must have gone to bed pretty early last night. I got home at a quarter to eight and peeked in your room. You were out cold.” He still sounded worried but it was obvious she had him convinced.

  “I’d been tired all day. It wasn’t because of the bump on my head. Really Dad, I’m fine.” Emily emphasized the last word.

  “Okay, if you say so. But if your head is that bad, how is that wall at school? Do I need to send money for the repairs?” Emily’s father was joking, that was a good sign.

  “You’re such a comedian. I think the wall won so there will be no need to pay for damages.” She gave an annoyed smirk.

  Her father chuckled and went back to eating, as Emily did the same. She ate quickly not waiting for her father to finish. She would be late if she didn’t leave now.

  “I have to go or I’ll miss first period.” Emily grabbed her book bag, threw it over one shoulder and leaned over to give him a kiss.

  “Hurry, but do me a favor and watch out for those walls.”

  “I will.” Emily was relieved that she had gotten away with her lie.

  “At least he’s joking about it, he certainly wouldn’t be if I had told him the truth.”

  School turned out to be just as bad as she had expected.

  Candice immediately noticed the bump and asked her about it. Other kids just stared or gave her a quick glance. Only a few of them bothered to ask her about what happened. Emily gave them the same story just reversed; she had fallen while on her way home.

  To her surprise, the day passed quickly. Before she knew it, school was out and the homework for the night would only take a fraction of her time. She was looking forward to just relaxing and maybe watching a movie.

  She hadn’t gotten too far into her English paper when her cell phone rang. She answered it without looking up from her book, instantly regretting her hasty action.

  “Hello?” She didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hey Emily.” It was Rob.

  “Oh, hey Rob.”

  “How are you? Your dad said you took a nasty spill yesterday.”

  “I’m glad he feels like he needs to share the insignificant occurrences of my life. I’m fine. It wasn’t as bad as I’m sure he made it sound.”

  “You really shouldn’t pick fights with walls. They’ll get ya every time,” Rob teased.

  “I’ll try to remember that… So what’s up?” Emily acted dumb like she didn’t know the real motive behind his call. It was Tuesday and she hadn’t responded to him yet about his invite to lunch this Saturday.

  “Well, I was wondering if you had a chance to check your schedule yet. Are you free Saturday?”

  Emily didn’t have much time to think. The conversation she’d had with Candice rolled through her mind. Her friend had made a good point and Emily had wondered if maybe she should just give dating a try.

  “Umm, yeah, it turns out I’m free Saturday, so lunch would be great.” Emily tried to put a little excitement in her voice but she wasn’t so sure she sounded convincing.

  “Great! What time works best for you?” Rob had true enthusiasm in his voice.

  “Whenever really.”

  “Okay then. How about noon?”

  “Sounds fine with me.”

  “Do you like Italian?”

  “Sure, I’m a pasta kind of girl.”

  “Awesome. I’ll pick you up at noon.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

  “Take care, Emily.”

  “You too Rob. Bye.” Emily hung up the phone.

  “Well I did it. Now I just have to make sure I follow through.”

  Emily wasn’t excited about the date. But there was a confidence growing within that reassured her all this was a good idea. The date could be one step to leading a normal social life again.

  The rest of the week passed like any other. Each day Emily’s bump and bruise got better. By Saturday the goose egg was gone. A yellow and green bruise still remained, but was camouflaged with a little makeup and allowing her hair to sweep past the corner of her forehead.

  Emily stared at the things in her closet. She felt like she couldn’t wear her jeans and t-shirts, they were too casual and frumpy. However, she didn’t want to wear a dress or skirt. That seemed like too much, and she would be wearing a dress tonight at the charity concert; once a day was enough for her.

  She settled on a pair of black slacks and teal v-neck sweater. The color made her hazel eyes look greener, she liked that. Suddenly she was picturing another set of green eyes. She had thought of Alexander often throughout the week, but had convinced herself to stop obsessing.

  For the moment, Emily allowed her self-control to lapse and give way to her daydream. She was snapped out of it when she realized time was slipping away. She hurried to the bathroom and pulled her hair half up using bobby pins to secure it into a slight twist.

  “Good enough.”

  She gave herself one last look over and then grabbed her long gray tweed coat.

  When Emily entered the living room where he father was, he lowered his newspaper.

  “You l
ook very nice.” He smiled big.

  “Thanks.”

  “Where are the two of you going?”

  “I don’t know exactly. Some Italian restaurant.”

  “That should be nice.”

  They were both silent for a few minutes. Content to just be in the same room and wait.

  “You know Emily,” her father offered to break the stillness of the air. “I think this is great that you’re going out. You haven’t really done anything like this since your mother died.”

  “Yeah I know.” She still had mixed emotions.

  Staying home and doing the usual—watching a movie, reading a book or playing the piano—still appealed to her more than the thought of this date. But she also knew that she had experienced plenty of time to mourn and hide away from the world. Change was long overdue. She needed to take some baby steps now before she headed to college in September. An effort to re-socialize would prove more daunting if she waited until after she graduated.

  “This might be hard for you, but it really is a good thing. Rob is a good guy, he’ll make a great friend.”

  Emily was relieved to hear her father refer to Rob as a friend and not more. Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “That must be him.” He got up from the chair and followed Emily to the door.

  “Hey Rob, good to see you again.” Her father went to shake his hand. “You planning on being at the charity dance tonight?”

  “Yes sir. It sure is good to hear that you aren’t getting sick of me yet.”

  “Well, we’ll give it a few more months for that to set in,” James joked.

  “You know Emily, your father has been a huge help to me these past few weeks. He’s one amazing man,” Rob said as he turned his attention toward her.

  “There aren’t too many men like him, that’s for sure.” Emily rubbed her father’s shoulder.

  “Okay, that’s enough.” James threw his hands in the air to signal he had received enough praise. “So where are the two of you headed?”

  “I was going to take her to Beto’s,” Rob replied.

  Her father’s face lit up. “Ah, yes, that place is excellent.”

  “Do you want us to bring you something back?” Emily asked.

  “No, no, I’m fine. There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge. Besides, I need to be watching my weight a little better.” Her father patted his belly. He was a fit man and only now in his early fifties, was starting to show the signs of a soft belly. But, by no means was he over weight.

  “Well, enjoy yourselves.” Her father opened the door for the two of them.

  “We will Daddy.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before exiting out the door.

  The restaurant wasn’t far, which made for a short car ride. Emily was feeling a bit uncomfortable. She hadn’t really been on a date before. Her parents had the rule of no dating until she was sixteen. Right after Emily’s sixteenth birthday was when her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was already stage four and even surgeries and chemo weren’t enough. Six months after being diagnosed, her mother passed.

  Emily never had the opportunity or the desire to date. Not with all that had gone on in her life. Every spare moment of her time was spent by her mother’s bedside. At sixteen, most teenagers were discovering their freedom, branching out and taking the first steps to adulthood. Death and sadness denied Emily those experiences.

  Rob motioned forward, pulling Emily from her thoughts; they were ready to be seated. The atmosphere of the restaurant was bright and open. It made her feel a little better. She wasn’t ready for dim lights and small private booths, especially during a casual lunch.

  “I need to give Rob more credit. He knows this is new for me.”

  She took the menu offered by the hostess and glanced over it a few times.

  “Do you see anything you like?” Rob questioned.

  Emily looked up. “It all looks so good, I’m not sure if I can eat a whole plate of pasta though.”

  “Well you should fill up now because you know how it’s going to be tonight at the concert. They always pass around those frilly little hors d’oeuvres. No one gets full on those.” Rob patted his stomach with a grin.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Emily agreed.

  Emily settled on the Chicken Alfredo, it was always a favorite dish. Rob ordered the same and told her to save room for dessert.

  They kept the conversation light and casual. Emily had always known that Rob was smart and confident but she learned some things about him that surprised her. He grew up with six other siblings and being family-oriented was a priority to him. There was also a compassionate side to him that she hadn’t seen before. Rob expressed how inspired he was by her father’s charity work and that he too had a great desire to help others.

  By the end of the meal, her opinion of Rob changed. He wasn’t some handsome self-absorbed guy; a stereotype she now determined was unfair to place upon him. Emily was grateful that she had accepted the invitation to lunch. It was apparent to her that she had a true friend in Rob. However, she was aware that he was still hoping for more.

  Rob escorted her all the way to her door again and this time Emily was in no rush to get inside the penthouse. It was a nice afternoon.

  “I had a great time. I would love if we could do it again sometime.” Rob moved in to close some of the distance between them.

  “I had a great time too.” This time Emily gave him a genuine smile.

  “We’ll be seeing each other tonight, but that doesn’t count, because tonight is all business.” Rob tightened his face and folded his arms.

  That made Emily giggle. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “But that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy your company.” Rob’s humor vanished as he reached for Emily’s hand.

  Her first reaction was to pull away, but she stopped herself. Rob was slowly growing on her and there was no harm in him being closer than she was used to. It was almost comforting to have another person’s touch besides her father’s.

  “Guess I’ll see you later tonight then.” Rob’s grin widened. “Look for me. I’ll be the one in black and white.”

  “Well that’ll make it easy for me to find you,” her words heavy with sarcasm.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll have something that makes me stand out from the crowd.”

  “And what will that be, fewer grey hairs?” Emily teased, although it was the truth.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see. What is it that you’ll be wearing so I’ll be able to find you?”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see,” Emily responded, mimicking the tone of his voice.

  “Touché. The hunt is on.” Rob flashed that attractive smile of his.

  Emily thought she felt a little spark inside her, but she couldn’t be sure.

  “Since it sounds like this is turning into a safari, I better go figure out what I’m going to wear.” Emily was finding that her sense of humor was coming more easily now.

  Rob burst into laughter at her remark. He leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. He had done it quickly enough that Emily didn’t have any time to react. She wasn’t ready for that. She was speechless.

  “Until tonight, then.”

  “Yeah,” Emily responded with a hint of apprehension. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  When Emily got through the door her father was waiting in the exact spot he was in before she left.

  “Did you have a nice time, sweetie?”

  “Umm, yeah, I did. It was good to get out, just like you said.” Emily still felt a bit flustered from the unexpected kiss. She hoped it wasn’t showing.

  “That’s good, I’m so glad.” Her father gave her a quick embrace. “We don’t have much time before the concert. I’m going to go make a few phone calls to make sure that everything is in order.” He started down the hall. “Be ready by six,” he called out over his shoulder.

  Emily went into her room and closed the door. She ploppe
d down in her chair by the window. It was where she liked to be when she wanted to think.

  “That was a lot more than baby steps.”

  Surprisingly, she was okay with that. She was feeling a little more like the girl she was before her mother died, and that was a good thing.