Evolution (Evolution Series Book 1)

by Kelly Carrero

  ***

  We arrived at Baxter’s ten minutes early; neither Ben nor Chelsea were there. There was one booth left, which was amazing—they were usually snapped up first by the after-school crowd. I slid in first and Aiden sat beside me, leaving the opposite side for the hopefully blossoming lovebirds.

  The waiter came before I had a chance to look through the menu, but thankfully I knew it by heart, which I knew probably had something to do with my ‘brilliant mind.’

  I ordered my favourite, reef ‘n beef pizza, and Aiden ordered meat lover’s pizza, garlic bread pizza, beef nachos, and a side of chips covered in a creamy bacon and mushroom sauce.

  “You know they’re going to catch on to you sooner or later,” I said. He would always pretend that he liked to have a bit of everything, but I knew better. What Aiden was really doing by ordering such a spread was making sure there was enough food for everyone to share. He had money, and the majority of our friends did not. So rather than being turned down when he offered to pay for the meal, he would just order enough to go around. Surprisingly, nobody had caught on yet. They were so used to Aiden sampling almost everything on the menu and thought they may as well not let his leftovers go to waste.

  “And until then, I’m gonna keep buying.” He flashed me one of his devilish grins, making me think that maybe that day would never come. For all I knew, they had already worked it out but were feigning ignorance. I mean, they got a free meal, and Aiden got to pay for it like he wanted.

  “Hey, guys,” Ben said, sitting down opposite Aiden. “Is Chelsea here yet?” he asked, looking around the café.

  I shook my head. “Nope. Sorry.”

  The look of disappointment that came over his face was almost too much. He obviously couldn't wait to see her. God, he was a lovestruck puppy.

  “Calm down, mate, you don’t want to seem too desperate,” Aiden said with a laugh.

  “She’ll be here soon.” I looked up towards the entry. “Actually…” I couldn’t finish my sentence because as soon as I laid eyes upon her, my stomach twisted in knots. I couldn’t explain it. Why was I okay around everyone except Chelsea? Even speaking to her on the phone had made me feel sick.

  “You don’t have to wait any longer,” Aiden said, finishing my sentence. He put his arm around me, giving me as much of a comforting embrace as he could without everyone wondering what was up with me.

  Ben followed our gaze, and the moment he laid eyes on Chelsea, his face lit up.

  “Sorry I’m late,” Chelsea said, trying not to look at Ben, but also trying not to look like she was purposely not looking at Ben—it was a funny thing to watch.

  “Don’t worry, we only just got here, too,” I lied. “Move down and let the poor girl sit down.” I motioned to Ben to wiggle down so that he would be sitting in front of me.

  I didn’t have to be able to read minds to guess the profanities that Chelsea was swinging at me in her head. But I didn’t care. At the moment, I wanted to be as far away from her as possible. And if that meant only one extra seat away, then that’s where she was going to sit. I really didn’t get why I was feeling like that. Normally, Chelsea and I were practically joined at the hip.

  “Thanks,” she said through gritted teeth. I could tell she wanted to sit opposite me so that she would be able to get swept up in a conversation with me and not have to focus on Ben. Bad luck for her. Besides, I knew the two of them would be perfect for each other—even if she didn’t agree.

  Once Chelsea was seated, she started quizzing me. “So, you look okay… How is that possible?” She was looking me over, obviously wondering how I’d managed to escape death twice in two days.

  “I’m fine, I—”

  Aiden cut me off. “You don’t have to worry, she’s fine,” he said, trying to get her off my back. Chelsea looked like she didn’t really believe him, so he added, “I’ve seen for myself.”

  Her face turned bright red. I knew exactly what she was thinking, and I knew Aiden did, too. And that was the exact reason he had said it. Right about now, Chelsea would be living her love life through me, which was another reason why she needed a nudge in the right direction—towards Ben. She needed her own love life, and maybe then she would stop obsessing over mine.

  The waiter brought over our assortment of food and, as usual, everyone dug in without any thought about who had paid for it all.

  Thanks to the unexplained sickly sensation I got around Chelsea, I no longer felt like eating. I sat and picked at my food, not really listening to the three of them rambling on about something that had happened at school.

  Before I knew it, Aiden squeezed my leg, letting me know they were finished and getting up to leave.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Chelsea asked with a concerned tone.

  “I’m just a bit tired. Sorry.”

  “Well, I guess we can count you out on ice cream,” she stated more than asked, looping her arm through Ben’s. I had to look twice. Yep, I saw right, Chelsea really was snuggling into Ben. What the hell had I missed?

  Chelsea noticed my open mouth. “Bet you never thought you’d see this, hey?” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Ben was… glowing. I thought that description only applied to pregnant women, but sure enough, he was glowing.

  You’re going to have to fill me in on what the hell happened there, I thought to Aiden.

  When I turned to leave, Chelsea grabbed a hold of my arm. “Wait—”

  I didn’t hear the rest of what she said because the moment our skin touched, flashes of Chelsea strapped to a chair went through my mind. She looked terrified, as if she was scared for her life. She was shaking her head, begging someone not to hurt her.

  Tears were streaming down her face; seconds later, she let out a blood-curdling scream as her face contorted into absolute agony. A split-second later, the same searing pain that had engulfed me in the science lab ripped from the bottom of my right ear and across my throat, ending just below my chin. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt, then it was over just as quick as it started. The image of Chelsea was no longer there. The pain in my neck was gone, too.

  I looked down at Chelsea’s hand; she was no longer holding on to me. She was holding her hand out wondering what the hell was going on. “What the hell did you do that for?” Chelsea yelled at Aiden. Ben was standing there with the same confused look on his face that was plastered on Chelsea’s.

  I didn’t see what Aiden had done to deserve that reaction from them, but if I had to guess, I would say Aiden had broken her hold on me not so subtly. Within seconds, though, they were no longer looking at Aiden like he was crazy. Instead, they were gazing into each other’s eyes like the closing scene out of some romantic movie. It was as if the previous fifteen seconds never happened.

  I turned to Aiden, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but his facial expression told me nothing.

  Nothing was making sense anymore. It was as if two days ago, I’d woken up on some other planet.

  “Okay, we’ll leave you two lovebirds to it,” Aiden said as he picked up my bag with one hand and ushered me out with the other.

  At first I didn’t budge. I wanted to work out how I had somehow landed in the Twilight Zone. But Aiden had other ideas, and seeing as he was the stronger of us, he won out. Unable to find my voice, I waved a good-bye and let Aiden lead me out onto the esplanade.

  We didn’t go home right away. Instead, we headed to the beach.

  “So, what happened back there?” I asked as I sat down on the sand dunes, hugging my knees to my chest as I looked out at the sea.

  There was the usual after-school crowd trying to get in a surf before sunset. I had never learnt to surf, which was kinda crazy since I grew up in the surfing capital of Australia. And at that moment, I wished so badly that I had learnt. Apparently, it was good for the soul—a way to release the stresses of the day. Boy, did I need to let go of some of mine.

  Aiden sat down behind me so that I was sitting in-betwee
n his legs. “I don’t—”

  I cut him off. “Don’t give me any of that crap about you not knowing, or that it would be best if Anna tells me, ’cause I don’t want her to tell me. I want you to explain it to me now.”

  “Look,” he paused, pulling me back so that I was leaning against his chest. “I really don’t know what happened when Chelsea grabbed your arm. From what I was able to get from your thoughts, it kinda seems like you had a vision of some sort—but I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”

  “A vision? Does that mean that… Is it really going to happen?” I shuddered.

  He didn’t answer. I turned my body so that I could see his face. His expression was that of someone about to give the worst possible news.

  I buried my head in his chest, tears spilling down my cheeks. I felt like I was going to throw up. I had just pre-emptively witnessed what was probably my best friend’s murder. How could that be possible? How could that happen to her? Who would do that to her? No one hated her enough to do something like that to her. I didn’t even know anyone who was capable of such a thing.

  “Hey, hey, come on,” Aiden said, trying to console me. “I don’t think the future is set in stone.” He stroked my hair. “And I know you don’t want to hear it, but I think we should speak with Anna.”

  He was right. I needed to speak with someone who could help me save Chelsea, but I couldn’t stop crying. The fear in Chelsea’s eyes kept replaying over and over. The way her face contorted in agony was just too much for me to handle, so I stayed wrapped in Aiden’s embrace until my eyes ran dry. In the end, it wasn’t that long, because Aiden sent waves of endorphins pulsating through me.

  Chapter 5