Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1)

by C. M. Boers

  “I don’t know.” I thought about it for a minute and then suggested, “How about Bailey?”

  “Uh, I guess that could work.”

  “So you’ll double with us?”

  “Yeah, as long as I don’t chicken out tomorrow,” he said faintly.

  “It’ll be fine, you can do it.”

  “Whatever you say.” He didn’t sound convinced. “I should be going. I still have some homework to get done before I go to bed.”

  I walked him to the door where we said goodbye. I felt bad for Eli; he seemed so nervous about asking someone out. I wished he had the confidence I saw when he was around me. If only he could see himself as I see him, then he’d be set.

  After Eli left, I went upstairs to finish my homework. I was so happy that Eli agreed to go on the date with Pete and I, but I decided that I wouldn’t call Pete to let him know just yet. I wanted to see how things panned out with Eli and Bailey. I couldn’t say that I did anything to make a difference, so it would all be on Eli. But I had faith in him.

  I showered and got into bed, but I wasn’t able to fall asleep right away. I tossed and turned until around 1 a.m. My mind would not stop racing from thoughts about what Pete and I would look like as a couple, to Eli and Bailey as a couple, and then to the extreme like if Pete was a murderer or not. My mom and dad would pop in there every now and again too. I briefly wondered how they were each doing without each other. Mostly, I worried about dad.

  Morning came far too quickly when I awoke early with a start and a racing heart. I wished that the nightmare would go away for good—but I also wished for a little insight as to why I was even having it. Up until six months ago, I’d only had a few bad dreams throughout my whole life. Now I felt like I’d had enough nightmares for five lifetimes.

  I was surprisingly excited for school that day. Just four days before I had been dreading it. It was amazing how things could change so quickly. My expectations were high when I thought of Eli asking Bailey to double-date with Pete and I. I truly thought Bailey would love to go on a date with Eli. Who knew, maybe they would hit it off. After all, Eli was quite a catch and as far as Bailey was concerned, Eli would be lucky to have her.

  It was no surprise when I got downstairs and my mom had already gone to work. I was just finishing up the remnants of my breakfast when there was a soft knock at the door. It was Eli, so I quickly grabbed my backpack and we were out the door.

  On the way to my first class I found myself searching every face for Bailey’s in hopes that Eli could ask her, but never found her and Eli didn't linger outside my classroom door. He seemed jittery and not quite himself. I guessed his nerves were getting the better of him.

  “See ya,” he said over his shoulder as he walked out of sight.

  I waved.

  Once Pete walked into class and sat down, he turned around immediately.

  “Hey, did you talk to your mom about this weekend?”

  Wow, he didn’t waste any time. He completely put me on the spot. I was glad I rehearsed what I would say. “I did, but she didn’t give me an answer. She told me she would let me know this morning, but she had to go into work early again. I will call her later to get her answer, but I don’t know if I'll get one today.”

  “Oh, alright.”

  He turned back around to face the front of the classroom and didn’t speak to me the rest of class. I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to pay attention or if he was upset with me in some way, but I hoped it wasn’t the latter.

  We were checking our homework, and lo and behold mine was fairly good. I had gotten most of the answers correct.

  Pete walked me to second period and it was definitely more quiet than usual. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of me or if there was something else eating at him. He certainly didn’t seem like his usual self.

  “I'll see you at lunch?” he questioned.

  “Yep, see you there.” I walked over to where Eli stood waiting for me. He looked happy.

  “Have you seen Bailey yet?” I asked Eli.

  “Yep!” he beamed. “I asked and she said yes!”

  “Wow, that's great!” Now I just needed to convince Pete that a double-date with Eli and Bailey would be fun, which might be harder. He didn’t seem so keen on Eli.

  “I know, isn’t it? Thanks so much for your help! It was as easy as you said it would be! Although, I’m not sure if it would have been so easy if she had said no,” he confessed.

  It felt so good knowing that I helped him. Maybe all he needed was a confidence boost because I didn’t do much more than that.

  “Glad to hear it. Thank you for being willing to go with Pete and I.”

  “Sure,” he said as his face turned from happy to serious. “I wasn’t thrilled about the idea in the first place, and I am not thrilled with it still—but I feel better about it now knowing that I will be with you.”

  He was so protective. I had never known a guy that was so protective of me other than my dad. It was nice and made me feel safe. I wanted to give him a big bear hug, but I refrained. I figured he might think it was weird.

  In third hour, Bailey seemed even more full of energy than usual. I could tell she couldn’t wait to tell me the news.

  “Eli asked me out!” she squealed in my ear as I walked in the room.

  “I heard! That’s awesome!” I responded, relishing her excitement.

  “I can’t believe Eli asked me out!” she gushed.

  Eli went to talk to Mr. Lang before class, and I could only assume it was to give us the opportunity to talk about it. I was sure he knew how much girls liked to gossip about guys. That was half of the fun, chatting about it with your best friends.

  “I know, isn’t it great? You guys are going to double-date with me and Pete!”

  “It’s even better that you will be there too. I have never been on a date before,” she confessed.

  I wondered if she truly liked Eli. If they were dating, then it would make things easier if Pete wanted to continue to date me. We would always have double-date partners. Now I knew I was getting ahead of myself. We hadn’t even had our first date yet—but it couldn’t hurt to dream, could it?

  I couldn’t wait to tell Pete the good news. Ironically, the one thing I did forget was to actually talk to my mom. She was going to think it was a group outing, and it wasn’t completely a lie. I was being extra cautious about her knowing all of the details on Pete. The last thing I wanted was for her to get invested into someone I wasn’t.

  Bailey, Eli and I walked to the cafeteria. Pete, looking amazing as usual, stood there waiting for us. His face lit up when he saw us coming. He seemed to be out of the funk he was in earlier in the day. Gosh, he seemed to be moody earlier.

  “I have good news!” I said to Pete as I walked up to him.

  “She said yes?” he asked.

  “Yep!”

  “Great.”

  “I had an idea,” I whispered as I pulled him aside from Eli and Bailey. He towered over me, and I had to stand on my tip-toes to be as quiet as I could. “What do you think about making it a double-date?”

  “A double-date? With who?”

  “Eli and Bailey.”

  “I didn't even know they were dating,” he said.

  “They aren’t, yet. Eli just asked her out today.”

  “Oh I see. Sure, why not,” he replied with a shrug.

  “Great!” I said, reaching up to give him a big hug. I wasn’t sure what came over me to be so bold, but I went with it and it made Pete chuckle.

  During lunch nobody paid much attention to Pete and I, which gave us ample time to chat amongst ourselves.

  “So what time do you want me to pick you up Saturday?” Pete asked.

  “Well, I was going to ask Bailey to come over Saturday and there is no reason you guys would need to come pick us both up. You and Eli could come over and we can all drive together. What do you think?”

  “Sure, I suppose we can drive together, it’s good fo
r the environment to car pool, don't you know?” he said sarcastically and laughed.

  As far as I could tell, he was so easy-going when it came to just about anything. That fact made it even harder to grasp the thought that he might be trouble. He didn’t even seem like he had an angry bone in his body.

  “Great! I am really looking forward to it,” I blurted out. As soon as I said it, I was questioning whether I had said too much, and I blushed and refused to make eye contact. I didn’t want to sound desperate or too eager. Pete could easily have any girl in the room, so I didn't want to scare him off.

  He reached over and squeezed my hand. “Me too,” he said, giving me a flirty smile.

  Pete and Eli walked me to fourth hour in silence. It was beginning to feel comfortable that way, but I chose to break the quiet.

  “Eli, we’re all going to meet up at my house before the date and drive together. Does that sound okay?”

  “Sure,” he said.

  Pete stayed quiet. I wrote my number down and gave it to Pete before we all split up to go to class.

  For once, I was actually able to pay attention in the last few classes of the day. We received our copies of To Kill a Mockingbird. And in history, we we’re given the opportunity to work on our study guide outlines for the test the following day. I already completed mine, so I used the time to study, which I definitely needed after not paying attention all week. We were still in the swimming section of our P.E. curriculum, and I was looking forward to the end of it.

  Once school was over I was looking forward to going home, especially since I didn’t have any homework to focus on.

  Eli didn’t hang around after he dropped me off, because he said he had some homework and studying to do. That was fine with me; I planned on relaxing and wasn’t in the mood for entertaining. I made some popcorn and put in a movie, and for the first time that week I felt like I was truly at ease. I thought about how it was mom’s night to cook dinner, but since I had extra time on my hands I considered cooking it and having it ready when she got home to surprise her. That would be a nice treat for her.

  Half-way into the movie the phone rang. It was Pete. I didn’t expect to hear from him.

  “Hey Abby, how's it going?”

  I cleared my throat. “Hey, good, you?”

  “Pretty good. I was just calling to see if you were free tonight. I thought that maybe we could study together for the math quiz.”

  “I’m sorry, Pete. I was planning on spending some time with my mom tonight. Thanks for the offer though,” I regretfully told him.

  “I totally get that, don’t be sorry.”

  “Maybe next time,” I suggested.

  “Yeah. Well, I guess I will see you at school tomorrow.”

  For the next several minutes I couldn’t stop thinking about Pete. He seemed so genuine and caring; qualities I thought were great when it came to a boyfriend. Maybe I was blinded by his charm, because I couldn’t see any of the bad things that Eli had told me. Maybe that was why he was so worried about me. I didn’t feel blindsided, but I guess that’s why it’s called that: you don’t see what’s happening right in front of your face.

  It was getting late in the afternoon and I needed to get dinner started if I wanted it ready when mom got home. I checked the cabinets and decided to make homemade macaroni and cheese, with Parmesan-crusted tilapia. Mom loved fish and always talked about how good it was for you, or good for your heart or something.

  Once dinner was in the oven it had 30 minutes to cook, so I went upstairs to put my backpack in my bedroom and decided to check my e-mail for the first time that week. I smiled when I saw that I had one from Kelly.

  Abby,

  I was so happy to read your email today. I will write you back a good long email soon. I hope you don’t think I’m ignoring you. Things are so crazy right now with school just starting up. I already have two essays to write, a book to start, and two tests tomorrow, yikes! I am sure that you are just as busy. I will talk to you soon! Hope things are still going well.

  Kelly

  It was nice to hear from Kelly. I missed my friends in California. Even so, I was having a lot of fun in Arizona. I would love for Kelly to come visit me and meet my new friends. I wondered what she might think of them, or what they would think of her.

  I heard my timer going off; Kelly would have to wait. Mom would be home in about five minutes, and I had just enough time to get everything out of the oven, dished up onto plates, and to the table. I had just finished setting the table when my mom walked through the door.

  I was sitting down at the table waiting when mom walked into the room. Her face lit up.

  “What’s all this?” she asked, surprised and happy.

  “I thought I would surprise you with dinner. Plus we haven’t had a whole lot of time to spend together this week so I thought I would give us extra time.”

  “You’re right; we haven’t,” she smiled. “Thanks honey, this is so sweet. I had quite a rough day and this is the best thing for me to come home to.”

  I was glad she appreciated it—but she always did anyways. To her, if you thought ahead and did something special for her, it melted her heart.

  “I made your favorite, tilapia.”

  “Even better! Yum!”

  “Oh, before I forget to tell you, I made plans to go with some friends on Saturday night and I was thinking about having my friend Bailey over during the day. Is that okay?”

  “Of course! Actually, I was hoping that you would make plans. I was invited to go out to dinner with some co-workers, and some of the girls are going shopping beforehand and I wanted to go. That should give you girls some alone time.”

  “Thanks mom.”

  “So who are you going out with?” she asked.

  “Me, Bailey, Pete and Eli. We eat lunch together every day.”

  “That sounds fun.”

  It was the first time I wasn’t feeling grumpy towards my mom about the move. I hadn’t realized how much I was actually enjoying my time there—that in itself was a huge turning point for me. No longer would I give my mom a hard time about moving, at least for now. She seemed to have enough on her plate as it was, and I was sure I hadn’t been helping with all of my stubbornness and complaints.

  “Well, since you made dinner I will do the dishes,” she said, standing up with an empty plate in hand.

  “Okay,” I agreed. I grabbed my plate and glass to bring into the kitchen. “I was thinking that we could sit down and watch a movie or TV together.”

  I flipped through the channels while I waited in the living room for my mom to finish up in the kitchen. We sat down and watched a chick flick we both loved together. By the end of the movie, as always, mom was crying. We both sat there watching the credits for a few minutes, absorbing the movie, lost in our own thoughts.

  As I stood up to turn off the movie, I tripped on the leg of the coffee table, banging my shin as I fell. Even though pain shot through my leg, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was something so typical of my klutzy self. Even so, Mom immediately jumped up, showing concern.

  “Are you okay?” She grabbed my arm frantically to help me up.

  “I'm fine! Just being my usual self I suppose.”

  “You’re bleeding!” she exclaimed, looking at my head.

  “I am?” I reached up and touched my forehead. It came off with a smidge of blood. I must have bumped my head on the coffee table, too.

  Mom cleaned my forehead and I looked in the mirror. It looked horrible. The cut itself wasn’t too deep, but it was swollen and already starting to bruise. I looked like I’d been in a car accident.

  I headed to bed shortly after we put a butterfly bandage on it, but not before I took an aspirin for the headache I was beginning to feel. I hoped it would be gone in the morning.

  I rummaged through my nightstand drawer for my chapstick, and instead found a picture of my dad, my mom and I at the beach. It made me smile thinking about the fun that we had together, yet it also
made me sad. I knew those times happy times together were over. I drifted to sleep while looking at the picture, my chapstick all but forgotten.

  I awoke Friday morning with a start, though this time it wasn’t because of a dream. It was because my mom was sitting on the bed next to me, watching me sleep.

  “I brought you breakfast in bed. I thought it would be a nice treat,” she smiled.

  “Mom, you were worried about me, weren’t you?”

  “Yes,” she admitted shamelessly. “Can ya blame me?” she laughed.

  I breathed slowly to make my heart stop racing. After all, the only thing she ended up doing was scaring the crap out of me!

  I rolled my eyes. “Well, thanks for the breakfast in bed.”

  “Of course. I’m headed to work. I’m already late but I wanted to see that you were okay before I left. Your friend Eli is going to take you to school right?”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “Good, I didn’t want you to have to walk to school after your trip last night.”

  She laughed at her own joke, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.. “Yeah yeah yeah.”

  She kissed my forehead and walked out the door.

  I sat in bed for awhile, enjoying my delicious Belgian waffles smothered in strawberry syrup and fresh orange slices. I got ready at a slower pace than normal—my head was killing me. I debated wearing a hat to cover the obnoxious mark on my head, but it hurt too badly. I wished I didn’t have to go to school, because all I felt like doing was climbing back in bed.

  I heard a car horn honk as I trudged down the stairs.

  “Morning!” I said as I climbed into his car.

  “Good morning. Oh my God—what happened!?” Eli practically shouted the last word.

  I grimaced. “Oh, this?” I pointed at the cut on my forehead, “I tripped last night on the coffee table and hit my head on the way down. It’s nothing really. It looks worse than it is.” It was going to get undeniably old telling everyone how much of a klutz I really was.

  “It looks terrible. Are you sure you’re okay?” He looked concerned.

  “Yeah, I'm fine, really, everyone worries too much.”

  “I knew there was a reason my mind was pushing to call you last night.” He spoke so quietly that I almost didn’t catch it at all.