by Lisa Graves
I was confused by his pausing. He really seemed to exude an apologetic aura. “Apology accepted?” I replied. After another pause and squeeze, he went on.
“You were very quiet, except when you were asking me to leave.” Only because I was examining his face did I notice his eyebrows raise and his eyes roll. “I only agreed to leave when you promised to let me see you again within the fortnight. I think near the end of that meeting you were just being shy. I am quite sure I saw you blush in the dim light as I told you how beautiful I found you to be.
“And you added to your mystery, because instead of giving me a time and place to meet you, you gave me half of a small bean-sized stone and told me that you had the other half, and that somehow it would communicate when we would meet again. I didn’t understand how it could, but I figured I could come back down here and find you again if need be. I finally felt confident in my quest. I conceded to leave, and bowed once more. I found the niches in the wall that allowed me to crawl out and leave.”
When Elliott finished, silence fell like a blanket on top of us. The only sound I could hear was a gentle rustling of the nearby leaves being pushed around in the midnight breeze. I didn’t know what to say.
My mind couldn’t come near any sort of reality where what he had just described could happen. Let alone, happen to me nearly three hundred years ago. At the same time, I didn’t think my imagination was nearly creative enough to come up with a story that elaborate either. I was not sure what to do or say, so I contented myself with enjoying the shelter of his arms and looking at the opal.
I couldn’t look into his eyes yet. His eyes always seemed to penetrate my soul and know what I was thinking even if I hadn’t figured it out yet myself. I wanted to understand what I was going to believe before he thought he did.
At that moment, his hand gently caressed under my chin and tilted my head up to his. I shut my eyes.
“Can’t I look into your baby blues?” He purred.
“Nope.”
“Please Miele?” His accent was making me melt.
I could feel his thumb stroking my chin as I continued to protest. A new sensation flowed through me an instant later. There was a warm and energy-filled pressure on my lips. I opened my eyes in shock. Elliott was kissing me.
He smiled down at me, still kissing me softly, and gazed into my soul. Damn. But for some reason I couldn’t feel mad that he tricked me. I was enjoying how everything around us seemed to blur. The only two things that existed in that moment were the two of us.
Elliott must have found what he was looking for in my eyes, because he stopped kissing me with one last gentle nibble on my bottom lip and pulled his face back. He looked up at the sky. I resumed my place, tucked in the crook of his arm, and breathed him in again. My thoughts were a blur.
I felt his arms tighten around me once more in the most amazing magnetic hug in history as he whispered, “That’s enough for tonight, Miele. Time for bed.”
I hadn’t even sat up yet when a strange feeling consumed me, as though my soul was free falling through space. I couldn’t make anything out as the shapes before my eyes blurred by the speed of the fall.
Suddenly, there was no light. Only darkness. It took me a moment to realize my eyes were shut. I opened them to see the familiar shapes of my room slowly come into focus.
Chapter 6. The Triangle
I lay on my bed blinking my eyes. I was still trying to recover from the free falling sensation I just experienced. The fall felt like one of those dreams where you wake up moments before you hit the ground. My head continued to spin and my heart raced.
As my eyes finally adjusted to the familiarity of my blue walls, I felt a soft breeze blow across my face. Out of habit, my eyes made their way to my alarm clock on my desk - 4:02 A.M.
The breeze still streamed in my window, blowing warm, summer night smells into my room, when it dawned on me that my window was cracked open. I felt strangely exposed, and frightened. I was certain I had locked all doors and windows right after Charlotte left here last night. But then again, how did I get to the meadow and back without any memory of it?
I wasn’t sure of much these days, and even less at this very moment, but the window being open felt all wrong. I practically threw myself off of my bed in an effort to close it as quickly as possible.
That wasn’t the best idea.
I landed right on top of a pile of blankets and pillows that had somehow materialized there since I could last remember. They were warm. Then a grumble of a voice made its way from under the sea of fabric.
“Hey! What the- Lilly!”
I fell off the lumpy blanket pile and onto the floor, and watched Nicholas trying to free himself from the mess. “Nicholas?”
“Yeah?” His head broke free.
“What are you doing here?”
His head dropped as though I caught him doing something wrong. He whispered his answer. “Protecting you, hoe.”
“Huh?”
“I was worried about you. Charlotte called me and said you were home alone and that you were acting really strange. But she wouldn’t tell me what’s up, and I was worried. So I came by to check on you, and you were actually sleeping. I didn’t want to wake you so I made myself a bed.” He spoke so fast my brimming mind was having trouble keeping up.
My eyes were swimming with emotion. I tried to casually blink back tears. It seemed I was never able to get a second to catch my breath before something else popped up and knocked it out of me again.
“Are you okay, Lil?”
All I could do was faintly nod. I was certain if I tried to talk it would trigger my tear ducts. Wait a minute! “When did you get here?”
“I’m not sure. Around midnight.” He shrugged, obviously confused by the intensity of my question. “I came over as soon as I got Charlotte off the phone. Do you realize how annoying it is to have her call you and barely talk? Ugh. And yet it’s near impossible to get her off the phone.”
I could only imagine Charlotte and her speech paralysis with Nicholas, but I didn’t have time to think about that now. I realized something most disturbing, and I needed to find out the answer while I still had control of myself. I was a breath away from drowning in my emotions.
I could barely whisper the words. “Did you see me leave since you got here?” I had to ask even though I knew the answer before Nicholas said anything.
“No,” he replied shaking his head, confusion clouding his brown eyes. His shaggy blond hair tickled his nose as he brushed it aside. “You couldn’t have, not without me knowing.”
I couldn’t speak. My eyes spilled over and I started to sob.
Nicholas pulled me back onto my bed and wrapped his big arms around me. I could feel his concern in the careful way he touched me. He rubbed my arms in a way that made me feel like he was handling a porcelain doll. I couldn’t contain it any longer, and I proceeded to fall to pieces, for the second time that evening. I couldn’t even talk. I buried my head in his chest as the tears continued to stream from my eyes.
Was the whole meadow with Elliott tonight a dream? How could I have gotten there, or back, without knowing and without waking Nicholas? I couldn’t see how it could have been a dream. The smells, the sensations, the sweet texture of his voice were much too vivid for a dream. But they were too fantastic to be real, either.
“What is it Lilly?” Nicholas sounded scared and concerned for the broken girl he currently held in his arms.
I buried myself deeper. Trying to hide myself from my mind. I couldn’t seem to trust it these days.
Nicholas rubbed my back, realizing I was in no condition to talk. He laid us back on my bed, wrapped a blanket around me, then tucked me securely within the protection of his muscles. It probably would have felt comforting if it had not been the same exact position I had been in moments ago with Elliott. I think.
A whole new wave of tears started to gush from the endless fountains that were once my eyes. Nicholas continued to hold me tight, g
ently rub my back, and ask me what was wrong. It felt like forever before I could get enough control of myself to construct sentences. When I could finally force air through my mouth in the formation of known words, the act of trying to verbally convey what was making me so upset, set me off again.
“It’s okay Lilly. It’s okay,” was all Nicholas ended up saying over and over again as I fell asleep exhausted, in the safe confines of his arms.
I slept so soundly, having been completely depleted of energy from my crying rant, that I don’t think I moved an inch the rest of the night. I woke in exactly the same position I remembered falling asleep in, huddled in Nicholas’s protective arms.
I felt so thankful that he’d decided to come and check on me in the middle of the night. I don’t know what I would have done had I been alone with my thoughts. Personally, in my opinion, I was thinking too much these days. But the never-ending enigma that was Elliott was an addiction for my mind.
My muscles felt sore after everything, and I was hungry. My stomach growled. I couldn’t recall having eaten anything for dinner. I tried to stretch without waking Nicholas, but as I wiggled he tightened his hold on me and mumbled, “It’s okay Lilly. It’s okay sweetie. I love you,” in his sleep.
I lay shock still. Nicholas had been my best friend since the day he moved into the neighborhood. We were perfect compliments. Our minds often worked as one. More often than not, we would even finish each others sentences. Why! Oh why, was he trying to ruin everything?
I wiggled again. This time with enough force to wake him up. I didn’t want to hear anymore.
“Morning Nicholas.” I smiled through gritted teeth, attempting not to breath my morning breath on him, and trying to pretend he didn’t just talk in his sleep.
He smiled back as though he were the happiest person alive. “Morning.”
This was not good.
I was so completely thankful for his being here, but I was beginning to think it was time for him to go. My stomach growled again.
“Are you hungry?”
“Um hmm. I think I’ll fix myself some cereal or something. Thanks for coming over.” You can leave now, I thought. Especially if he kept thinking what I was sure he was thinking.
“No prob.” He smiled again in a way that made my heart sink as he stretched. “Hey, I’ll go fix us something and then you can tell me what happened last night.” Nicholas jumped off my bed and was bounding down the stairs before I could find a nice way to tell him to go home. I sat there stewing in my predicament.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to think about what to do with Nicholas, for Charlotte appeared out of the corner of my eye, letting herself in through the window. Not good. She would be beyond furious if she found Nicholas here making me breakfast. I had to admit, it didn’t look good. I was thankful that she hadn’t shown up ten minutes earlier.
“Hey Harlet.” I tried to sound casual.
“Morning Lil,” she said as she sat down on the windowsill. “How’d last night go? Looks like you survived.”
“Okay.” Better than okay, but worse at the same time. There was no time to explain now. Charlotte would be mad, thinking I gave in to hallucinations of Elliott, and furious if Nicholas came in from downstairs, happy as a clam.
How did I get myself into this mess?
“You sure you’re okay? You seem. . . anxious or something?”
I caught myself fidgeting and made myself hold still. “No. No, I’m good.” My eyes tried to casually glance around my room for any evidence of Nicholas. I noticed his shoes on the floor by my bed. “I’m tired. My sleeping was. . . off, last night.” I tried to inconspicuously drop my blanket on top of his shoes as I got out of bed.
“I’m surprised you slept at all.”
Good, she didn’t notice.
“Yeah.” I was too distracted to pay much attention. I was trying to keep an ear out for any noise downstairs. “I, yeah.”
“You sure you’re okay Lil?”
“Um hmm. I think I’ll take a shower to help wake up. Can I call you when I’m done?”
Charlotte looked confused. I was only hoping she was attributing my odd behavior to (in her opinion) me being weird or lack of sleep, and not realizing the fact that my best friend, her dream guy, was just one floor down. Finally, she seemed to assess my behavior as a lack of sleep and said, “Sure. Don’t be too long though. I have so much to tell you.”
Whew.
I appeared to have finally dodged a bullet. Charlotte turned her model legs around and was about to climb out of the window when Nicholas walked into the room carrying burnt Pop-Tarts, toast, and cereal on an old t.v. tray.
“Hey Charlotte hoe. I didn’t realize you would be here or I would have fixed you something too.”
Charlotte’s eyes, first shocked at the addition of Nicholas, turned to rage and focused on me. I wished nothing more than to melt into the floor.
“Oh yeah.” I tried to downplay Nicholas’s presence. “Nicholas came over to check on me, also.” It was even true. I didn’t see any reason to tell her when he came to check on me.
Charlotte seemed to believe the stressed insignificance I tried to convey to her, but when she saw the way Nicholas kept looking at me, I honestly thought she might explode.
“What’s the matter with you, Harlet?” Nicholas asked, confused.
I think his question made matters worse. Her face started to turn purple. This was going to be bad. I tried to brace myself for the onslaught of impending Charlotte doom that was about to occur.
“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”
Nothing, but like you are going to believe me, I thought. I don’t know why I couldn’t look her in the eyes as I answered, “Nothing.”
“What on earth are you talking about hoe?” Nicholas couldn’t figure out what was making Charlotte so mad. I almost laughed at how thick-headed he could be when it came to girls, but I held it back in an effort to calm Charlotte down.
“WHY IS HE HERE?” She purposely directed her anger at me. It was kind of funny, that even furious, she couldn’t talk to Nicholas.
“What do you mean, why am I here?”
I looked at Nicholas, trying to send him telepathic messages with my eyes that it would be over a lot quicker if he would just be quiet.
Nicholas was taking a defensive tact. “I came over to check on Lil, like she said. You got me all worked up on the phone last night.”
That wasn’t too bad. Then he said something that turned the conversation upside down and SMACK! into my forehead.
“You wouldn’t say what was the matter, so I decided to come check on Lil myself.”
Charlottes eyes turned from pretty blue almonds to slits, and a sinister smile came over her face. “You want to know what was wrong with little Lilly, huh?”
I could see where this was going.
“Did you happen to find out what was bothering her Nic?” She was too calm.
“Not yet. I decided to make us breakfast first.”
It was quite annoying, the two of them talking as though I wasn’t even there.
“How nice.” She didn’t look like she thought that was nice at all. Charlotte turned to face me.
“Oh, you noticed I’m still here, did’ja?”
“Do you want to tell him what happened last night?”
Please no. Don’t do this. I tried with all my might to shoot spears out of my eyes at her. “No,” I whispered.
She smiled. “Shall I tell him?”
“No,” I said with more force this time.
“Tell me what?” Nicholas looked bewildered at the direction Charlotte’s fit had taken.
“Please don’t,” was all I could say, plead rather, to Charlotte.
Nicholas set the tray of food down on my desk and walked over and put his arm around me. I felt so uncomfortable. Not because of his arm around me, but because Charlotte was getting angrier by the second and I was afraid of what she might do.
“If Lilly doesn’t want m
e to know something, that’s fine. I trust her.”
Charlotte’s head cocked to one side as she said, “Really?”
“Yes.” He squeezed me.
It hurt that I could see the dark cloud above my room about to burst, and have no way to take cover. Charlotte had found a way to stop Nicholas from liking me, even as a friend, and was going to take it even if it hurt someone.
“Lilly was a mess last night because of Ell-i-ott.” Of course she would emphasize every syllable of his name.
Nicholas’s arm fell off my shoulder and down to his side. Even though I saw it coming, it hurt seeing his reaction.
Nicholas looked down at me. “Who’s Elliott?”
I shrugged. I didn’t know what to say.
Unfortunately, Charlotte answered for me. “Oh Elliott is just her boyfriend.”
All Nicholas could do was whisper, “What?” It was as if someone had come up and punched him in the stomach. I could see in his eyes he was hurting inside. Charlotte’s words were stabbing my best friend and I couldn’t stop it.
I was pissed. Charlotte looked happy as a clam. “Oh it gets better.” She smiled.
“What do you mean?” Nicholas could barely talk now. I hated Charlotte for ratting on me, but worse, I couldn’t believe she could purposely do this to Nicholas. All for the trivial offense of liking me.
“Oh, Elliott is imaginary.”
My eyes closed in frustration and I took some slow deep breaths to help calm me down. If Charlotte didn’t can it quick, I was going to chuck a Pop-Tart at her pretty little head.
I opened my eyes and looked at Nicholas. It was hard to tell what he was feeling now. The pain in his eyes flashed confused, then back to pain. Now he was the speechless one. For as much pain as he was in, I was hurt too. He couldn’t even look at me as he picked up his shoes and climbed out the window.
