Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1)

by C. M. Boers

  “What’s happening?” I asked, turning to Eli.

  “It's time for you to be on your way Pete. I don’t want to see the likes of you in this city again. Find a new place to live, got it?”

  Pete slowly opened his eyes and stood. “This isn’t over Jacobs!” Pete grumbled as he got into his car and sped away.

  I was surprised that Pete used Eli’s last name, but I didn’t get a chance to wonder why.

  Eli’s arms were around me in seconds. “Are you okay? I was so scared I wouldn’t make it in time.”

  I pulled away and pushed him back. “What? You wouldn’t make it in time? How did you even know where we were? I can’t just trust you anymore… too much has happened…” I trailed off, still unable to understand or grasp everything that had just happened. It was too late for him to explain. I needed answers an hour ago. Days ago. Weeks ago. I stood there looking into his eyes, searching for something I couldn’t find. He looked saddened and defeated.

  “Abby, I don't even know where to begin,” Eli said, suddenly shy.

  “Well, start with how you always know… know where I am…” I said with uncertainty.

  We walked slowly to the car as Eli thought. I leaned up against his car and crossed my arms protectively around myself. I couldn’t get into his car yet. I didn’t want to feel trapped inside his car while we were talking. It was bad enough I was in the middle of nowhere and my only way home was with someone I wasn’t exactly sure I trusted at the moment.

  “Well, I guess I can't hide it from you anymore.” He paused and looked at me questioningly.

  I gave him a snide look, daring him to try.

  “Okay, well I’m from a group that we call the Protectors. We are assigned a person to protect, and we protect them for as long as they may need, whether that’s for a few days or even their whole lives. We are there for them to make sure they are safe from anyone that may try to harm them maliciously. We get intuitions as to what may happen sometimes, and it may not even be from someone intentionally hurting them, but maybe from an accident when it isn’t their time yet.”

  “What? I don’t understand. Are you saying that you are my Protector?” My head was spinning. Why was I so important to protect? Why was protection even something that I needed? I knew with Pete I obviously needed it. I was embarrassed to admit it, and I probably wouldn’t actually admit it out loud, but did that mean Eli would be gone now? He did his job, he protected me and Pete was gone.

  “Yes.”

  “That's crazy. Sure Pete was aggressive and out of line, but why the heck would I need a Protector?”

  “I can’t tell you. All I know is that I have been assigned to you and that for the foreseeable future I am needed.”

  “The foreseeable future? What... like I'm still in danger?” I started to feel panicked.

  “Not from Pete. And at this point, I don’t see anything problematic for quite some time. It could change, but for now no, there’s no danger.”

  “So you’re telling me that you are ‘assigned’ to me and you didn’t just befriend me because you liked me?”

  “Abby—it’s not like that. You are my friend and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I didn’t choose this. You are my first assignment. I’m not completely sure how to go about this.”

  “I want to go home. Now,” I said hastily, climbing in his car. He was talking about it like I was his homework or something. I couldn’t take it. I needed space to think. I needed to be as far away from this place as I could get, and to be alone.

  Eventually, Eli made his way around the car and climbed in. “I'm sorry that I couldn’t tell you sooner Abby. I never meant to hurt you. That’s—”

  “Just take me home,” I cut him off curtly.

  We drove in silence all the way back to my house. I was so angry at Eli, at Pete, and at myself. I had trusted Eli and now I felt like I had nobody to turn to. He was my best friend, my rock, but now I was left only with Bailey and I couldn’t even begin to talk to her about the situation. Ultimately, I hadn’t even trusted her enough to tell her about any of the issues I had been having with Pete in the first place. It would only hurt her now that I hadn’t opened up to her sooner. I felt so stupid.

  Eli started to get out of his car to walk me to my door, but I stopped him. “Don’t. I don't need to be walked to the door. I can take care of myself. Just leave.” I turned and walked to the front door.

  “Abby, please don’t be angry. I want to be there for you. Please call me. I will give you the space you need, but please don’t cast me aside because of this. I’m sorry…” The door shut and I couldn’t be sure if he said any more than that.

  What was I supposed to make of all the information being dumped in my lap? My thoughts raced from one thing to the next. What had he done to make Pete stop dead in his tracks, in what looked like apparent physical pain? I had never really given much thought to supernatural things like vampires, werewolves and witches, but now I wish that I had. Maybe I could have prepared myself for that night. That’s what it was, wasn’t it? Something supernatural? I couldn’t really be sure. I wondered what else there was to the story that I didn’t know yet. Did I even want to know? Between his news and the realization that my dream came true, I was beginning to wonder if every supernatural myth I’d ever heard was true.

  I went upstairs to clean up my cuts. Upon closer inspection, I determined that there were only two cuts on my hands and one on my elbow that needed medicine and bandages. They were very minor and would heal in no time at all. The last thing I needed was for my mom to find out about what had happened. I didn’t know what to make of it yet, and I wanted to have the chance to figure it out before she knew any of it. Luckily, I doubted my mom would even be concerned if she saw them. I was so klutzy all the time anyway, she wouldn’t think twice if I told her that I fell and scraped them at school.

  Regardless of it all, I was feeling surprisingly calm. It was the strangest thing; I had zero anxiety about it. The anger directed at Eli was still there, but all my anxiety and fear had seemed to leave my body. It was as if it had evaporated into thin air when I was with Eli right before Pete dropped to his knees, and those feelings hadn’t returned. The anxious feelings were replaced by a sense of tranquility. I ran myself a hot, steamy bath to help clear my thoughts enough to sleep.

  I knew one thing for certain: my life had changed forever that night. It would never be considered boring or mediocre again.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Days passed before I spoke to anyone besides my mom. I didn’t want to let on that there was a problem at school or with Eli, so I pretended that everything was as it should be. It was a good thing that my mom wasn’t home in the mornings; I was now walking to school every day despite the fact that Eli followed behind me in his car, hoping one day I might just hop in. I guess it was his way of showing that he wasn’t going to give up hope. I felt isolated, even though I had other friends. I couldn’t talk to any of them about the situation—they would think I was crazy. I thought I was crazy. My life had turned into a real life movie set, and I wasn’t thrilled about being the main character.

  The only person I felt like talking to was Bailey, and I couldn’t even do that. Needless to say she was worried about me. She even knew my problem involved Eli, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that I wasn’t exactly speaking to my best friend. Thankfully, she left it alone. I believe it may have been because she thought that it had to do with something romantic between Eli and I. Given their history, I could imagine that would have been quite awkward for her to discuss.

  After a week of not speaking to Eli, he was getting desperate. He tried harder than ever, calling and texting multiple times a day, passing me notes in class—but all of his efforts were unreturned. I had to admit it was getting hard not talking to him. I really needed my best friend back. It didn’t help that I still had a lot of unanswered questions, and they swirled through my mind, overwhelming me. My wall was weakening, and I didn’t just want a
nswers; I needed them. But was I really ready for those answers? Would he give me the answers? I didn’t think he was in a position to be particular about what questions he answered if he wanted to be friends. As far as I was concerned, I had the upper hand.

  On another level, I couldn’t believe Eli had kept something so big from me. It made me wonder about our entire friendship and if I could even believe anything he had every said. How had I not known something was going on? I should have realized. Even though he had lied to me, and I was miserably upset about it, part of me knew that if he felt like he could have told me he would have. At least that’s what I made myself believe. I decided I would talk to him that day after work.

  It was Friday, and I had already finished school for the day. I walked home with the same thoughts clamoring in my head, and it made me anxious for the end of my work shift. I had just enough time to walk home, change, and grab a snack before I had to walk to work.

  When I stepped outside into the warm, sunny day, Eli was waiting in his car again, just as he had done the rest of the week. Suddenly, a last minute decision came over me, and this time I did not give him the cold shoulder. I marched right over to his car, opened the door, and climbed in. I wouldn’t let him know, but I was thankful for the ride to work. I was sick of walking.

  “Hi Abby,” he beamed as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

  I didn’t have a warm greeting for him in return. “I have questions,” was all I said.

  “I imagine you do,” he said calmly, but the smile never left his lips.

  “Can we talk after work?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he answered. “I was hoping you would want to talk today. Well, that’s what I have hoped every day this week, but I had a good feeling about today.”

  I could tell that he was ecstatic, and for some reason it made me happier than I had been all week. I hadn’t formulated all of my questions for him yet. There had been so many sweeping through my head all week that I wished I had written them down as they came to me. I was nervous that I wouldn’t like the answers I received. I think that was why it had taken me so long to reach out to Eli—fear.

  We were nearing the restaurant’s parking lot and I suddenly felt compelled to tell Eli that I didn’t blame him. “Eli, I just want you to know that I know if you could have told me, you would have, or at least I hope I can believe that.” I said the statement quickly so I wouldn’t lose courage.

  Maybe I had been too rash in completely ignoring him all week. I already felt bunches better after speaking to him again. Sometimes feelings did have a way of getting in the middle of things, making you lose sight of what really mattered.

  He looked at me with a smile that could light a dark room. “Thanks, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.”

  Work was… well, work. We were steadily busy throughout the night, so my mind was kept occupied with pizza, salads and drink orders instead of the buzz of questions that I’d been stressing over for the past week. The steady stream of customers helped the five-hour shift go by quickly, and when 9 p.m. rolled around we were both more than ready to leave.

  Eli and I walked out of work together, each clutching our own personal pizza and soda. Mine was pepperoni as usual, but Eli liked to change it up so his was bacon and mushroom.

  “Do you want to go to the park to eat?” Eli asked.

  “Sure,” I answered.

  The park was completely deserted, but was well lit for those who ventured there at night, like us. We sat at the closest ramada to the parking lot, next to the playground. On the other side was a pond surrounded by lush green grass, and all around sat large pine trees. In the distance I could see a basketball court awash in lighting as well.

  After we were settled Eli was the first to speak. “I know that this is all new to you and you probably don’t really understand much, but I want you to know I will answer any questions you have as long as I can answer them. There are some things I can’t say. I wish that wasn’t the case; I wish I could tell you everything from start to finish. But I have been sworn into service and there are things that they don’t allow us to divulge. Actually it is frowned upon to speak of any of it unless absolutely necessary, which in this case it is.”

  “Ok…” I said unsure of what to ask first. “Why me?”

  “I don’t know,” he said quickly. “We don’t know first off what the danger may be, it is a surprise to us most of the time, sometimes there are ways that we may know in advance. You came to me in a dream, just like my dad said you would. I saw you, but I couldn’t see anything else.”

  “Your dad? What did your dad know about all this?”

  “Everything, he is a Protector too.”

  “Is? I thought your dad died?”

  “No…” His eyes pleaded with me to be patient. “I’m sorry I lied to you about him. I had to. He had to move to where his new assignment was. I don’t even know where he is and I don’t know when I will see him again, if ever,” he said sadly.

  The first series of corrections to his lies was tumbling out and I was already feeling confused. Nothing seemed as it once was. I was happy to hear that his dad wasn’t dead, but why did he tell me that in the first place? I knew it must be hard for him not being able to see his dad.

  “What about the dream?”

  “It was just a dream, I was walking along, and there you were, you looked up at me at the very same moment I saw you, and smiled. Then I woke up and that was it.”

  The thought that he could have dreams that told him about me brought my thoughts back to my nightmare and Pete. I hadn’t had a nightmare since that night. It was like it had been a warning all along. I didn’t want to think about it, as it brought up so many questions about myself. Was I different too? I couldn’t be.

  “How do you become a Protector?” I said the word as if I had never said it before, and I pushed my nightmare thoughts away.

  “I guess you are just born into it. Sometimes one or both of your parents are Protectors as well, sometimes they aren’t and it just happens upon you. In my case, my dad is a Protector so therefore so am I.” “Oh. Is your mom?” I asked.

  He shook his head sadly.

  “Ok,” I said. It seemed that there were an endless amount of questions I could ask. I wasn’t sure if I should ask them all at once. I didn’t want to overwhelm him or myself, but my mind already felt as if it was on overdrive. All of it was so foreign to me. I knew it must be normal for Eli, if there were such a thing. I felt bad for him. He was the one that had to live like that, permanently obligated to protect people.

  “How long have you known I was your assignment?” I asked, sounding disgusted by the mention of that word. The truth was I was disgusted with the whole situation. Eli thinking that I was some kind of damsel in distress irritated me to no end.

  “For about six months,” he said quietly. “Six months before you moved here that is…” he corrected as he trailed off.

  Six months. I didn’t even know we were moving here six months before we moved. How? My chest tightened. I felt dizzy.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” I said, trying to breathe through it while I put my head down.

  Eli closed his eyes. I felt a breeze on my face and my nausea faded as quickly as it had come on. The tightness in my chest released and I suddenly felt calm, relaxed, and level-headed.

  I looked up at Eli. “Did you do that?” I asked wide-eyed.

  “Yes.”

  What?

  After giving me a moment he gently explained. “I can calm you. We are connected.”

  “Connected?” I asked in bemusement.

  “Yeah—that’s the easiest way to describe it. I can feel what you are feeling; if you are scared I can sense it. If you are happy, I know that too. If you are angry, it comes through to me red hot. When needed, I can help you, make you feel at peace. I can change how you feel. I can help make you feel better.”

  “That's how you knew…” I whispered. Realiz
ation was finally clicking into place, like the last piece of the puzzle.

  “Yes,” he answered before I even finished my sentence. “I’d never spy on you,” he added, looking deeply into my eyes.

  I completely believed him. Did that make me crazy?

  “But how did you know where we were?” I asked.

  “Well…that’s where it gets a little more complicated. Our connection runs pretty deep; so deep in fact that if your feelings are strong enough, sometimes I get a flash of what you are seeing. It’s as if I am seeing through your eyes. Does that make sense?” he asked.

  “So if I’m really upset, you can see glimpses of what is making me feel that way?”

  “Yeah I guess so. When Pete took you the first glimpse I saw was the inside of a car, I didn’t recognize that it was Pete’s car at first, I only saw the vague outline of a dashboard. The second glimpse I saw was an overpass sign. I knew right then where you were and based on how I felt I knew I was right. By then I had come to realize that you must be with Pete. He was the only one that had presented a problem up until that point so it was only logical.”

  I didn’t say anything for a while. It seemed too farfetched to be actually happening, especially to me. Boring girl, mundane life—but it wasn’t boring in any sense of the word. I would have killed for a little boring right then.

  Eli let me think for a while before he spoke again. “It takes some getting used to, I know. I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is make life complicated for you.”

  “I think we passed complicated a long time ago!” I chuckled.

  “Yeah, I guess we did.”

  So we were connected and he could feel and change my feelings. It was a surreal feeling to know that you weren’t the same as everyone else. But wait—what had he done to Pete? He seemed to cause him physical pain without even moving a muscle. I thought I had imagined that part, but if he had the ability to help me, there must be more to it than that.