Eternal (Eternal series)

by Chantelle Nay

  Emma didn't feel too deprived—nobody in this town had a paved driveway. What good would it do when most of the surrounding roads were dirt? There was only a half-mile stretch of blacktop in Eden. It ran right down the little main street where the General Store and the tuff-shed post office were located.

  “Cody, get those nails picked up off the ground before I swat your behind!” Catherine yelled from the backyard. “We don’t need to be getting any flat tires!” The back door swung open and Emma's mom appeared in the kitchen carrying five grocery bags and three gallons of milk.

  “Let me help you with that Mom…” Emma scrambled to relieve her of some of her burden. “You know you didn’t have to carry all that in. I would have gone out and gotten it.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I got it all,” Catherine said breathlessly.

  Emma’s mom had become very independent since the divorce. She refused to let anyone think she needed help with anything. She was stubborn that way. Emma was a lot the same. She didn’t want to depend on anyone either, just in case they didn’t stick around. The divorce had affected her too—trust wasn’t one of her big virtues anymore.

  “It looks like the teachers are still piling on the homework.” Catherine laughed as she nodded toward the stack of books piled on the counter.

  “Apparently they enjoy torture,” Emma sighed.

  Emma pulled the corn out of the microwave and dumped it in a bowl. She shoved a large spoon in it and a glob of butter then grabbed for the oven mitts. She placed the meatloaf pan on the table then grabbed a bag of salad and Ranch dressing out of the fridge, placing them on the table next to the rest of it.

  “Dinner’s ready,” she called out to make it official.

  Her mom peered out the back door and called for Cody to come and wash up for dinner.

  “I told you I ain’t eatin’!” He smarted off from the backyard.

  “Oh yes you are young man! Now you get in here this instant. I don’t need any more guff from your grandma about you being too skinny,” Catherine huffed.

  Gram was always giving her a hard time, saying if she didn't make Cody eat, he was going to blow away in the next windstorm. Catherine didn’t particularly like being told her business by her out-of-date mother, but she knew better than to argue with Gram.

  Everyone in the whole town knew that Grandma Lettie could be mean when she wanted to be. It was best to stay on her good side or stay out of her way all together. More than one of Gram’s laying hens had gotten their necks wrung just for irritating her. She just wasn’t having it.

  Cody came into the house, stomping his feet for dramatic effect, and slammed himself down into the chair. He didn’t want anyone to doubt that he was put-out by being made to eat dinner when he had more important things to attend to.

  Catherine shot him a scowl then ignored his sour attitude setting her focus on Emma.

  “So how was school today Emma?” Catherine asked as she dished up her plate.

  “Same as always, I guess,” Emma said in between chewing. Her mom had only asked about school, no need to bring up the little “brush-with-death” that had clearly taken place after school was over.

  “Nothing exciting?” she probed. “It's spring. There's less than three months of school left. There should be lots of fun stuff coming up.”

  Emma wasn’t sure what she was getting at, so she just nodded and kept chewing.

  “Aren't there any parties planned for graduation, or any dances maybe?” Catherine continued.

  “No Mom,” Emma huffed. “As far as I know, I haven’t been invited to any parties or dances.” Emma stabbed her meatloaf dramatically with her fork.

  “That's cuz you're a dork,” Cody interjected under his breath. Catherine gave him a disapproving glare then turned back to Emma.

  “Don’t you have any plans with your friends?”

  “Nope,” Emma said plainly. Her mom knew she didn't have any friends that she ever did anything with. Why was she rubbing it in?

  “I just want you to have some fun Emma,” her mom sighed, “you spend too much time alone. I know you have a lot of responsibilities put on you around the house, but high school's almost over. I don’t want you to look back and wish you'd been more involved…or had more fun.” Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m serious Emma, have fun while you can. Don’t grow up too fast—you'll regret it later.”

  “Okay Mom, I’ll try harder to have fun just for you,” Emma said sarcastically. Now it was Catherine's turn to roll her eyes.

  Dinner continued in silence. When it was finished Emma washed the dishes and set them out to dry. There were still chores to be done so she headed out the back door.

  The chickens were pecking around in the barnyard, excited by every little seed or bit of green they came upon. Life seemed pretty simple for a chicken. Their only job in life was laying an egg when the mood struck them right.

  Emma opened the wide, wooden door of the barn and stepped inside. Sunlight filtered in through the tiny cracks and knot holes in the graying, weathered wood lighting up each tiny fragment of dust that passed in front of them.

  “Alone once again,” she sighed.

  The dried alfalfa hay which had been stacked to the rafters just 5 months ago had been diminished by the long winter. Emma walked over and laid back in a pile of the scratchy hay. It had been a long day. She closed her eyes and listened to the creaking of the ancient wood around her and breathed in deeply letting her body relax. The smell was no bottle of perfume, it actually smelled like manure, but it was familiar and homey.

  Emma suddenly sat up with a start. Her whole body tensed. Something had brushed up against her arm, but what?

  Dang, I hope it wasn’t a spider! She recoiled at the thought. No, not a spider, it had been more of a soft, warm feeling. Oh crap, a mouse is even worse than a spider! Emma rubbed the tingly spot on her arm shuddering and looked around for the culprit. But there was something else nagging at her sluggish brain. She had the strangest feeling that someone else was in the barn.

  “Hello,” she called out hesitantly. “Is there anyone there?” There was no sound, it was completely silent. But Emma couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t alone. “Cody, are you in here?” she demanded. “If you’re trying to freak me out, you’ve succeeded, now get out of here before I catch you and pummel you!” There was no response. She peered around trying to discover if Cody was hiding somewhere in the shadows, but there was nowhere to hide. No one else was here.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to pull herself out of the daze and rid herself of the uncomfortable feeling. She ran her hands up and down her arms trying to erase the goose bumps that covered them.

  Suddenly a gentle, yet powerful voice pierced the air…“You are not alone. I am always with you. And I always will be.”

  She stumbled to her feet. It was the voice from the car! The perfect angel’s voice! He'd spoken to her again. He was here! She could feel him. Had he touched her arm?

  “Who are you?” she asked timidly. She waited for a response but nothing came, so she spoke more clearly. “What do you want?” But everything remained quiet. Why wasn’t he answering?

  “I know I’m not crazy. You’re here, I can feel you.” There was still, no reply. “Fine, you don’t have to answer but I know you can hear me, and we both know I can hear you, so I just want to thank you again for keeping me safe yesterday. I hope I’m worth all the trouble. Anyway, it made me feel like I matter.” She stood there a moment longer and then turned and walked slowly toward the door.

  “You do matter, and you are worth it,” the warm voice whispered from behind her. And then he was gone.

  Chapter 2: NEW BOY

  Emma entered the wide double doors of the school Monday morning. Her confusion about the incident in the barn hadn't worn off yet. For some reason that she couldn’t explain an angelic being seemed to be stalking her. Nothing else had happened, but for the remainder of the weekend she’d had the feeling that she was being watched.


  She was barely aware of anything or anyone around her until she noticed all the whispers and giggles floating through the air. She glanced around to see what the fuss was about, her eyes landing on someone she'd never seen before.

  A new student!

  It was a rare event to get a new student in Eden. Not many people moved here. A newcomer was something to be excited about—especially a male newcomer.

  The silver haired secretary, Mrs. James, was showing him to his locker, and handing him a class schedule.

  From her safe distance, Emma took a moment to study the new boy from head to toe. He was rather attractive. His hair was a golden blond and wisped perfectly around his face, flipping up slightly at the ends.

  His skin looked perfectly tanned, even though they were just coming out of winter. His eyes were a sky blue, and he seemed to have a slightly crooked smile which appeared, thus far, to be a constant fixture on his handsome, boyish face. He looked strong, athletic and lean.

  Other girls had noticed the new boy as well (there went any hope for Emma). It was dog-eat-dog when new meat was involved.

  Emma's only chance was the possibility of having him in one of her classes. That would at least give her the opportunity to study him more closely and maybe even talk to him.

  She had something in common with this boy—he was a newcomer, an outsider. Emma was still considered an outsider, even after four years.

  She turned quickly and headed toward her first class trying her best to push the new boy from her mind. She didn't have time to think about him. Right now she was focused on finding out what to do about this angel voice thing. She needed to get him to speak to her again. There were a few questions that needed answering.

  

  Destry McQuade looked around, taking in the new school and new faces of the kids he'd be expected to become friends with in these last few months of his senior year.

  Moving away from his old school so close to graduation was an inconvenience but nothing to have a fit about. Starting over wasn't a hard thing for him, he'd never been shy.

  Destry wasn't the same as most boys his age. He'd had a few hard life lessons already in his short seventeen years. It had made him grow up fast and look at life differently.

  Where other teenage boys seemed to be obsessing over girls, the size of their biceps, and what kind of car they drove, Destry was more interested in having a job, finding a place to call home and being useful and independent.

  He felt like he was meant to do something specific in his life, he just didn't know what it was yet.

  "Hey man, how's it going?" the voice came from behind him and he turned to see a boy about his age getting some books out of the next locker over.

  He was big, built like a football player and had a friendly, yet mischievous look to him. His large round face held a pair of green eyes that looked as if they were laughing at you. He had thick, curly brown hair and a few scattered freckles.

  "I'm good, how 'bout you?" Destry answered, trying his best to keep his slight southern accent from coming through. Nebraska natives didn't necessarily have a real noticeable drawl, but he didn't want to sound different and draw any extra attention.

  "Good," the boy answered with something that was not quite a smile. "My name's Chuck...Chuck Hendricks. Did you just move here?"

  Destry knew the answer to that question was more than obvious. This school was about one fourth the size of the high school he'd come from. It wasn't likely that many students had missed seeing him getting the “first-day tour." He was glad someone had been brave enough to make the first move to talk to him though. He had to admire this Chuck Hendricks for that, at least.

  "Yeah, I just moved here from Nebraska. My name's Destry McQuade," he confided. "Looks like a pretty cool place so far."

  Chuck raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. "Yeah, it's alright," he said smoothly. "Nebraska huh, that's pretty far away, what brought you to Eden?" Chuck asked, fiddling with some stuff in his locker.

  "My dad got a job working for one of the big ski resorts," Destry said indifferently.

  "Cool, so... are you a senior?" Chuck was looking at him now, obviously deciding that this kid was okay to be seen with.

  "Yeah," Destry said, looking into his own empty locker.

  "That must suck—changing schools your senior year I mean." Chuck looked as if he actually felt bad.

  "It's not so bad," Destry said in an even voice, then smiled, "I'll get to meet a lot of new girls this way, right?" That wasn't anything that actually excited Destry, but he knew Chuck would probably relate to it, and he wanted to make him feel comfortable.

  "Yeah, new hotties make it all worth it," Chuck said nodding his head with exaggeration, a sly smile on his face.

  The five minute bell rang, releasing Destry from the conversation. He shoved his jacket and his backpack into his locker, taking his class schedule, a pen and a notepad before shutting it.

  "See ya later then, huh?" Destry said as he gave Chuck a friendly nod and then headed down the hall in the direction the secretary had pointed out earlier.

  

  Lunch could not have come soon enough. Emma was so hungry she thought her stomach was going to eat itself. The aroma was less than desirable as she walked into the lunchroom, but that was normal so she wasn't deterred. She needed food so her stomach would quit growling at her.

  As the line moved slowly forward, Emma passed the time formulating a plan to get the angel voice to speak to her again. She'd always prayed to get God’s attention. But this was entirely different. She wasn’t going to pray to her angel voice; that would be disrespectful to God. But she had no way of knowing if the angel would come back on his own like he had last night, or if she’d have to bait him somehow.

  She didn’t want to put herself in any danger to make it happen—she wasn’t suicidal in any way. Maybe if she sounded desperate, like she really needed his help with something, he would feel inclined to come to her aide. But what could she say that would convince him of her need for help? She didn’t know for sure—all she knew was that she longed for the warm sound of his voice again. She secretly liked the attention.

  

  Upon entering the lunchroom, Destry was thinking he needed to find somewhere else to get lunch in this town. The smell that wafted all the way down the hall, smelled like cooked garbage. Today would have to be his first and last visit to the school lunchroom. He'd make it a point after school to look for other places to eat.

  He got in line and began studying the different groups of kids already seated at the tables in their little cliques. He could easily pick out the jocks, the cheerleaders, the smart kids, the rednecks, and the druggies. It was interesting that no matter where you went, all high schools had pretty much the same types of kids in them.

  "Hey Destry, hands up!" came a loud familiar voice from somewhere further back in line.

  Destry turned around just in time to see a football hurdling through the air toward him. He shot his hands up instinctively to catch it, stumbling backwards into the person in front of him.

  He gave Chuck—who was smiling widely—a look of disapproval, then tossed the football back to him, turning to apologize to the person he'd just run over.

  Emma turned around, annoyed at being nearly shoved to the ground and losing her train of thought on her angel situation. Her agitated stare met Destry's as he turned toward her at the same time, their eyes locking.

  She was unable to deliver the scolding on the tip of her tongue that she had ready. It’s the new boy, she thought with some excitement. She’d heard girls saying his name all morning, Destry McQuade.

  Now that he was practically right in her face, he was even better looking up close than he'd been from far away. His eyes were a deeper blue than she'd first thought and they looked as if they were as wild as the sky before a storm. Small flecks of gray and a darker shade of blue swirled through them in a dizzying pattern. His blond hair was almost touching his ey
es and it looked windblown and feathery.

  He had beautiful, soft looking lips, which she suddenly noticed weren't smiling anymore. Actually, he looked as if she had just smacked rudely into him instead of the other way around.

  His eyebrows were furrowed together in confusion or anger, she couldn't be sure which, and he looked like he was going to be sick. His body was completely rigid as if he had been turned to stone, and he was hulking above her like he might crush her to smithereens at any second.

  Emma stood there astonished. His apparent anger couldn’t have anything to do with her; this boy didn’t even know her. But the longer she stood there with him looking at her like that, the more she began to question if it was something about her that had caused this reaction in him.

  She cringed back from him and then gathered her wits together enough to squeak out an almost silent, "hello," hoping to ease the tense atmosphere.

  He shook his head back and forth almost imperceptibly but said nothing as if he hadn't heard what she'd said and continued to glare at her.

  She quickly turned back around, going red in the face and suddenly feeling as if there were a ten pound bag of rocks in her stomach and a pair of unfriendly eyes burning into the back of her head. She stood perfectly still for a moment, running options through her mind, trying to decide the best way to handle the situation.

  There was nowhere to go no place to hide from the intense hostility that seemed to be pouring off of him in waves. She made the cowardly decision and ducked out of the lunch line. Skipping lunch altogether felt like a better idea than standing there enduring his stare for even a second longer. Obviously she'd done something to make him angry, or else he just wasn't the friendly type. Either way she wasn't going to hang around and try to figure it out.

  With her head down and her eyes on her feet, she headed quickly towards the lunchroom doors without looking back.

  I can't believe I did that, Emma chastised herself mentally as she finally made it out of the lunchroom and turned the corner into an abandoned hallway. That was stupid! Why do I always end up looking like a total idiot? I was there first; if anyone should have left it should have been him.