by Rachel Hera
“Like a knight on a white steed?” he suggested.
I rolled my eyes. “I was thinking more ‘so out of place.’” But a knight on a white steed came a close second, I guess. You know… if horses were meant to be a tenth of the size of their riders.
“But?”
“But what?” I asked, my heart leaping into my throat.
“It sounded like you wanted to say more,” he replied.
“No,” I shook my head.
“Admit it. I look like a knight on a white horse,” he pressed.
“No,” I laughed. “You’re wrong.”
“Then what do I look like?”
I looked at him for a moment, feeling the smile slowly fade as my brain acknowledged that strange feeling again. “Nothing. Like I said, you just look really out of place.”
The five of us got off the ride, shuffling to the small exit gate.
“So, how was your first Merry-Go-Round experience?” I asked Kaya.
“It’s a cute ride,” she said. “And it put us at a good time for lunch. What do you say?”
“I say that I’ve actually made lunch plans with a few of my friends,” I told them. Blake nodded, already knowing this since I’d told him yesterday. “So let’s split up for an hour or two, and we’ll meet… I don’t know, by the grandstands?”
“Well… alright,” Kaya frowned. “I’m really enjoying getting to know you, Evelyn.”
“You mean getting to know my screams with every ride you force me to ride?” I countered.
“What screams? You keep your mouth sealed shut. You, my friend, are clearly not a screamer,” she said, reaching out and patting me on the back. “We’ll find you in two hours, then.”
“Are you meeting Maddie somewhere?” Blake asked me.
“By the Ferris wheel,” I nodded. “Don’t worry about me –worry about your stomachs. You guys haven’t eaten all morning, and don’t think I didn’t hear all of your tummies rumbling.”
“Busted,” Jason grinned. “I wonder if they have deep-fried twinkies here.”
“I just want fries. Lots and lots of fries,” Dante said.
“I’m sure they have some kind of deep-fried food to satisfy your cravings,” I told them. “So –grandstands at one thirty?”
“See you there,” Blake said, looking, for a moment, like he was going to bring me in for a hug. But he awkwardly rubbed his hands on the front of his pants, shoving his hands into his back pockets as he walked away with the others. I walked towards the Ferris wheel, glancing back to see Dante shove Blake’s shoulder playfully.
I exhaled loudly as I continued on my way. I got to the Ferris wheel before Maddie, and I shot her a text in case she’d forgotten. Standing there alone was a complete change of pace from the rest of the day so far. Blake and his friends were loud and full of energy. It felt like the first moment I’d gotten time to myself.
“Sorry I’m late,” Maddie appeared to my left. “Maegan, Kristy and Chantelle went to the bathroom. They’ll be along shortly.”
“Before I forget,” I pulled out her bag of books and handed them to her. “Hope you have room in your purse.”
“I always have room for books,” she smiled, taking them gratefully. “Thanks for bringing them.”
“You would have gotten them eventually.”
“Well, the sooner the better,” she shrugged. A devious grin fell upon her lips; “So… dare I ask?”
“Dare you ask what?” I countered.
“How’s the group-date-thing going?” she smacked my arm. “Really, what else would I be asking about?”
I didn’t correct her about it being a group date. I had assumed that Kaya had been Jason’s girlfriend, even Dante’s, but I’d learned quickly that they’d just all grown up together. Besides, Jason had a pregnant girlfriend back home –though why he lived with Blake and his father instead of being there for her was beyond me. I didn’t really consider him to be flaky. I wondered what he’d do in the future.
“It’s going good. Better than good. I’m having a lot of fun,” I told her. “But…”
“But what? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m a little worried,” I looked down at my feet.
“What’s there to be worried about?”
“Blake being too good to be true?”
“You said the same thing about Shayne,” she pointed out.
“It’s different. With Shayne… I tried so hard to be comfortable, but I couldn’t. It’s why I let things just… fall apart. And if Shayne cared, clearly he would have called or something. But Blake –Blake understands me better than almost anyone –excluding yourself, of course. And that kind of scares me.”
“You act like Evan just fell off the earth, you know?” Maddie said.
“I haven’t forgotten about Evan,” I told her. “But I can’t help but feel like that ship has sailed. And for some reason, I’m not upset.”
“Because of Blake?”
“If I could explain it, maybe I wouldn’t be as scared as I am,” I told her. “I’m overwhelmed. And then I have to turn around and ask –why me? Why do I catch his eye and not you, or Kristy, Maegan, or Chantelle?”
“I think you’re thinking too hard about it,” she patted my arm.
“It’s unnatural, Maddie.”
“For someone to like you, Evelyn? Hardly.”
“For me to feel this way,” I corrected. “I don’t like it. I feel… like I’m being consumed.”
Those weren’t the right words, but I didn’t know how else to explain it. Half of me wanted Blake in the worst of ways –and I wouldn’t call myself a horny person by nature. The other half of me wanted to keep him at arms’ length because I feared the changes that would come from letting him in. I was torn by him.
“I’m at a loss for what to tell you,” she sighed. “Love him or leave him –you’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so,” I murmured.
“Have you kissed him yet?” she asked.
“No,” I said honestly.
“Then kiss him,” she looked at me surprised. “I assure you it’ll help figure things out a helluva lot sooner.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I laughed.
“I wonder what’s keeping the girls,” she said, looking around. “I did tell them the Ferris wheel.”
“Should we go look for them?” I asked.
“I’ll shoot Kristy a text,” she pulled out her phone.
“Wait –there’s Maegan,” I pointed, grabbing her arm and pulling her along. Luckily, Maegan spotted us, too.
“Where’re Chantelle and Kristy?” Maddie asked.
“Talking to Jason and some other guy –Blake ran off suddenly, according to them. I heard he pushed a kid –though rumors are flying that he full on beat this guy up. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“That doesn’t sound like Blake,” I shook my head.
“Well, being wha– who he is, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Maegan said.
“Well, the kid must have done something ridiculously stupid to get on his nerves, because there is no way that Blake would push a kid for no reason. He may seem like a jerk, but he has a good temperament.”
“Where is he?” Maddie asked.
“Jason said a girl named Kaya was looking for him,” Maegan answered.
“Do you think he’ll get suspended?” Maddie asked.
“For pushing another student? No. If anything, the guy has a bruised tailbone. He might get a warning from the principal tomorrow, though.”
“Can we find the others?” I urged them.
“Yeah,” Maegan nodded. “This way.”
Maddie and I followed her back to Chantelle and Kristy –Jason and Dante were nowhere to be seen.
“They said they’d handle it,” Kristy shrugged. “Anyway, I’m hungry. Can we eat something?”
“Do you want to find them?” Maddie asked me.
Hesitating only a second, I shook my head. “I’m mee
ting up with them again. I can wait to get some answers.”
Chapter 22: Blake
Evelyn leaned against the wall, waiting patiently by herself. Her brow was furrowed as she stared at the ground, looking a little anxious. A small sigh, then she stretched, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments. When she opened them, she spotted us and a smile replaced her worried look.
“Hey,” she greeted, pushing herself off the wall. She looked at the three of us before asking, “Where’s Dante?”
“He had to go home,” Jason answered before I could.
Just after we’d left Evelyn, I thought I’d spotted my brother. I chased him, but he’d disappeared. Jason and Kaya told me that Evelyn’s friends had heard that I’d pushed someone –but it couldn’t have been me, since I never laid a hand on anyone. Dante went home to do his computer voodoo to figure out if he could attain Keegan’s last known location. Could it have really been him?
“Oh. So how are we going to get home?” she asked.
“He’ll come back to pick us up in a few hours. Before dinner,” I told her. We’d been here all day. Surely she’d be sick of everything by now. The mixture of smells and sounds had been beginning to get to me –but with her being so close, all I could smell now was her, and the small headache that had been forming slowly began to disappear.
“Damn. This place is amazing at night,” she said.
“I thought you’d be tired by now,” Kaya said.
“That’s part of the fun,” Evelyn shrugged. “So what do you guys want to do?”
“I’ve been wanting to go on the Ferris wheel since you mentioned it earlier,” Kaya piped up.
I thought she’d complain about going on another ride with heights, but to my surprise, she agreed easily. “But afterwards, let’s play a few games. Change it up a little. And stay away from the more nauseating rides.”
We headed on over and got in line for the ride. The Ferris wheel was modern: instead of only two people being allowed on and sitting side by side, it was a gondola. I was a little disappointed, since I did want some alone time with Evelyn. She wasn’t as talkative as she was this morning –and I wasn’t the only one that noticed. Kaya and Jason exchanged looks with me when she wasn’t looking, but I only shrugged.
“So, the Ferris wheel,” I said feebly, trying to strike up a conversation. “Are you sure you’re okay with it? The height, I mean?”
“I’m sure. It’s not as fast as some of the other rides. Not to mention it doesn’t turn me upside down,” she responded. She grew quiet again, but then said, “So, you all know my biggest fear. What about you guys?”
“Fire,” Jason said. “Big fires, though. Not fireplaces and matches.”
“And you, Bl–?”
“Nothing,” I shrugged. Death didn’t scare me. Why should anything else?
She snorted, “Why am I not surprised? Kaya?”
“I’m a tad claustrophobic,” she said simply, with a small shrug. But it wasn’t just a tad. If there was no room for her to stretch out, she would get restless. So while the Ferris wheel was okay, places like a closet wouldn’t be. That stemmed from our childhood, as did Jason’s fear.
“Are you –?”
“I was the one that suggested it, remember? I’ll be fine,” Kaya interrupted Evelyn.
Eventually it was our turn to go on. But just as Jason was about to follow Evelyn and I, Kaya yanked him back. Never underestimate a girl’s intuition, I guess –I was grateful. Evelyn also looked a bit relieved. But that could have just been me getting ahead of myself.
“We’ll take the next one,” Kaya said, waving as the guy closed the door behind us.
Evelyn sat across from me, looking out the window. Neither of us spoke as the gondola rose and stopped, letting Jason and Kaya get on. I wanted to know what was wrong –what was bothering her? But I knew she didn’t like me prying, either.
Was it Cole again? Was it the foxes in general? Or had she and Maddie gotten into another argument?
“So,” she said suddenly, as the ride began to move again. “I don’t know how else to ask this, so I’m just going to say it –did you push a kid for no reason earlier, Blake?”
I almost laughed. That’s what’s bothering her? Or was this a bigger problem than I was making it out to be? Did she believe that I pushed a kid? Would that taint the image she had of me?
“It wasn’t me,” I told her.
“I didn’t think so,” she breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Someone got a video –and the guy in the video wasn’t wearing the striped shirt you are –but I had to ask. Sorry.”
“Someone got a video, huh?” I wondered if I could get my hands on it. We could see if it was actually Keegan. “What was he wearing?”
“A gray shirt,” she answered –just like I’d seen. “On it was a white and black silhouette of a wolf.”
It sounded like something Keegan would wear, even if just purely for the irony. My heart began pounding –Evelyn might really be in danger. The things my brother would do to hurt me were unmeasurable. I would have to hunt him down –to protect her. I knew I shouldn’t have just stopped looking for him. But Kaya said she hadn’t smelled his scent anywhere.
“That’s weird,” Evelyn said as the gondola went down again. I looked up to see her looking out the window.
“What?” I asked.
“Cole’s wearing that shirt,” she said, pointing out the window.
I crossed over to her side to see where she was pointing. Warmth spread through my chest when my skin met hers. Even if her body temperature was lower than mine, having her that close made my heart beat faster. A turn of our heads and our lips could touch. Would she reject me? What if the vampire was right? What if his friend knew her in her last life and could still claim her as his soul mate? Where would I be then? Back where I started? I’m sure my Pack brothers would love that.
My gut churned, replacing the warmth with a slight nausea, but not at the thought of Evelyn loving someone else, though that wasn’t a pleasant idea either. There he was, my brother. She’d been right, of course. He was wearing a gray shirt with the wolf silhouette. “Cole?”
“Right there –by the cotton candy stand,” she said. But that’s where my brother was standing.
“What?” I rubbed my eyes –there was no way I could mistake the ginger-haired freak as my brother. But now that she’d mentioned it –the smells. I might have smelled the fox as I was chasing my brother earlier.
“That’s Cole?”
“I’m supposed to be the one with the poor eyesight.” Her hand rose to her glasses as she pushed them further up onto the bridge of her nose, looking at me as she did so. “Unfortunately. But more importantly, that’s the shirt.”
Part of me, with Carlos’s teachings etched deeply, whispered that I shouldn’t leave it at that. It would be more reliable to make sure it was Cole, whether by scent or by my own eyes. But I believed her. If she saw Cole, then I wouldn’t press it any further than that.
So I didn’t have to worry about my brother. Relief crashed over me like a wave hitting the beach. I laughed loudly, framing her face and –in all my excitement –kissed her.
Alright. I might have just taken the opportunity presented in our close quarters –excitement or not. Being in such close proximity was driving me insane –I had to. And she didn’t push me away. After the surprise wore off, her hands rose to my shoulders, lightly pulling me closer –down to her level. I moved my hand from her face to the seat beside her to support me, not wanting to break contact to better my own position.
“Whoa,” she said suddenly, pushing me away. Her hand instantly flew to her lips as she turned to face the window, her cheeks red.
“Sorry,” I told her.
“No –thank you,” she said, wincing as the words came out. Evelyn turned away once more, mouthing the words again and silently cursing at herself.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re welcome.”
She was silent for a moment befor
e she said, “You were supposed to wait until the third date.”
“I saw an opening –I took it. I’m only, uh, human.”
She covered her face with her hands. “I feel like such a dork. You took me by surprise.”
Was that her first kiss? Suddenly, I felt triumphant.
“Was I horrible –you know what? I don’t want to know,” she said, shaking her head.
I chuckled again, “You were perfect.”
“You must not have a lot of experience either then,” she muttered, turning to look at me. It was true –she was the first girl I’d kissed. She was the first girl I wanted to kiss. Growing up, the girls annoyed me. Girls still annoyed me –even Kaya It was also possible that girls annoyed me because of Kaya, since growing up with her had been quite the hassle. But nothing Evelyn said, or did, could made me feel that way. “There’s no way, though.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to keep from grinning from ear to ear.
“You know what –I don’t know. I just want to stick my head in the sand and disappear. Can’t we rewind, like, two minutes to the time before I lost my composure?”
“We could,” I spoke slowly. “But, then I’d have to kiss you again.”
A look of surprise crossed her face momentarily before she quietly murmured, “I think I’d be okay with that.”
* * *
“She said it was the fox?” Carlos asked me as we sat around the table for dinner. “Not Keegan?”
“Maybe that’s why the foxes are playing mind games with her –if she can see through their disguises…” Dante rattled off before hitting a few keys on his laptop.
“Dante has looked into Evelyn’s past,” Carlos told me. “But her family is completely human.”
I looked at Dante, “You didn’t tell me –”
“I told him not to,” my father interrupted.
Dante shrugged it off. “Everyone in her family is human and they’ve lived fairly normal lives –though well off in the last couple of years due to her father’s job. But the weird thing about Evelyn is that anything before she turned three years old is non-existent. Same with the rest of her family. Everything before 1997 is just… gone. So I don’t know if she has any relatives outside the ones that live here. They could all be dead, or –”
