Golden: A Paranormal Romance

by Ellis Marie

  If he keeps regretting what he’s doing, then why is he saying those things to me? Why is he pulling at my heartstrings and making me lose my mind?

  We arrive at Mrs. Grenway’s. I feel angry upon seeing the front porch, the dying sunlight dusting the wooden steps.

  Why is he doing this to me? Is he even meaning to make me feel like this?

  When I notice my father’s car parked only a few metres away, reality washes over me, bringing the fantasy day to an end with its putrid colour and memories that follow.

  Obi trots up the steps happily, leaving us behind. I only hesitate for a moment before following him.

  “Thanks for today,” I mumble flatly, irritation dripping with every syllable. “Goodnight.”

  I don’t even look at the boy as I make my way to the front door, tears stinging my eyes as I dig my fingernails into my palm while trying to prevent them from falling.

  I will not let him see.

  “Hey, wait!” he calls, his hand bringing me to a screeching halt as it wraps around my bicep. “What’s wrong?”

  His voice is soft and full of confusion. Although I know that on some level, he hasn’t done anything wrong. My mind is screaming at me to tell him what I’m thinking, to let him know what he’s doing to me.

  “Elle?” he urges, bringing me around to face him, but I keep my head down as I stare at his chest with my determination strong. He curls his fingers under my chin, and he pulls it up to him.

  “Please tell me, I’ve had such a good time. I don’t want to ruin tonight. I don’t want to taint this.”

  Finally, I snap and shove his hand off me. The tears pool in my eyes as his hand falls from my jaw, shock evident on his face.

  “And what exactly is this?” I ask, pained laughter spilling from my lips as I step back while fisting my hair with my hands. “What are we doing? I mean, it’s not as if we’re f*cking friends! It’s not like we can actually hang out together.”

  He freezes, his hand still reaching out towards me as if I’ve clicked pause.

  “I can’t do this,” I cry. “I can’t keep acting like how we are being is normal and I understand it, because I don’t.” I take a deep breath, looking straight at him with my arms crossing over my chest.

  “So tell me right now, what do you want? Because I can’t keep doing this. It’s too confusing and I have a boyfriend who I love, so you need to explain to me what it is you think is going on here.”

  Silence echoes around us. Slowly, his arm falls down to his side while his jaw clenches. His eyes never leave mine, but I watch them flicker through emotions, the thoughts in his head running wild as his fists clench before they finally settle on something.

  He unfurrows his brows and the lines on his forehead disappear as his face relaxes, his mouth a straight line. The air around us seems to still and an uneasy feeling washes over me. I have never seen his eyes look so dead.

  “Nothing is going on,” he answers simply, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. “I wanted to show your assh*le of a boyfriend that I’m better than him and that we’re not ‘scum’. What better way than to make you dump him?”

  A feeling like I’ve just been hit by a truck knocks the air out of my lungs, and I suddenly have the urge to throw up the contents of my stomach onto the street in front of me.

  I look for any sign of regret on his face, but it’s as if the Trent that I had seen before disappeared. The emotionless clone of him took his place, their eyes like glass as they watch me.

  So that’s it.

  I smile tightly at him and nod, a chuckle slipping from my mouth as I sigh. I curl my lips between my teeth.

  “Thank you,” I grimace, trying to hold back the tears that threaten to pour from my eyes. “Thank you for bringing me back to reality.”

  Trent rolls his eyes and I watch his arms flex as he shrugs in a nonchalant way, not even looking at me. Suddenly, the idea of him being made of stone doesn’t seem entirely unrealistic.

  “You wanted the truth; you got it.”

  The knife in my body twists deeper at his uncaring tone, and I start walking backwards, needing to put space between the two of us.

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Trent,” I say. He scoffs at my words. “Goodnight.”

  I take one last glance at him. My eyes drift over his ruffled hair and the black leather jacket that I have come to love so much, but now only makes me feel painful memories. I want to scream at him for making me fall for his charm . . . for the way he made me feel.

  As I walk up the steps, I stop, my body hesitating at the doorway as I open the door and let Obi inside. My fingers brush over his soft fur. When I hear silence behind me, I know that Trent hasn’t moved.

  “By the way,” I whisper. “I never thought you were scum . . . not until now.” My words are quiet, but somehow, I know that Trent will hear them. He always does.

  I don’t look at him, and I don’t wait for a response. There’s only so much I could take, and so, I walk through and slam the door behind me, shutting out Trent and any feelings that I thought I had for him.

  I know it’s too good to be true.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Look, there he is! He’s home! Cam! Cam! Cameron!”

  I follow Kristie’s gaze and rise up on my tiptoes, attempting to see the boy that she’s pointing out with an eager grin.

  It is now Monday morning. After having spent the entirety of yesterday closed off in my house cleaning and avoiding my father, I’m almost excited to come to school. I know that Cameron is due back today, and the fact that Matt wouldn’t return until this evening makes it all that much sweeter; it means I could actually spend time with Cam without suffering the consequences.

  “I don’t see him!” I whine, frowning at the groups of people pushing past us as I stumble about. “Does he see us?”

  Kristie nods excitedly before grabbing my hand and then she starts to drag me through the crowd, barging past bystanders on the way who seem to be invisible to her.

  “Out of the way! Best friends reuniting here!”

  Maybe they aren’t so invisible then.

  Cameron Reid is the third wheel to our tricycle. Having met him when I was only six, we grew up together and he knew basically everything about me—the stuff with my grandmother, my mother, my dad, even some of the things to do with Matt. Although I never told him outrightly that he sometimes scared me, I think Cam figured that out for himself.

  He’s like a guardian angel put down on earth to make sure that I never get into too much bother. When I introduced him to Kristie a few years ago, they slowly grew on each other, although they did start out pretty much hating one another. Although Kristie is certain that that was because Cam was jealous of me having a new bestie, and I suppose I kind of understood it.

  I’m just glad we all now love and appreciate each other so much.

  After a few seconds of being caught in the line of freshman girls with their arms linked like fish in a net, Kristie and I finally make it out of the rush. We sprint directly for the person standing as he watches us with his mouth open in laughter.

  “Cam!” I squeal, launching myself at him. I feel Kristie follow suit, her body landing on top of mine.

  Cam stumbles for a few steps before steadying himself. He wraps an arm around each of us, squishing us together in front of him and we scream in happiness.

  “Well, there’s my two favourite girls!” He chuckles while his hands rough up our hair. “How are my angels doing today?”

  I roll my eyes at his comment and yank myself away, attempting to flatten my hair out.

  “You know Tom is the only one who embraces that nickname, Charlie.” I giggle as Kristie pulls away from the hug. “No one else here is your fan girl.”

  Cam smirks and opens his arms again, motioning for me to hug him. I only have to think about it for a split second before I fall back into his embrace. My hands dig into his back, and I inhale the scent of his aftershave, the comforting feeling washing ove
r me as I do. He wraps his arms around me in return, his chin resting on my head.

  “I missed you,” I murmur into him, and his arms tighten slightly as he places a kiss on my hair.

  “Careful, don’t want your boyfriend to kill me,” he jokes but I know he means it a little seriously. He’s always looking out for me to make sure nothing happens for Matt to get annoyed at.

  “He’s not back until tonight,” I tell him, pulling away a little to look up at his grin. “I’m free for the day.”

  Cameron smiles at me but his eyes are soft with sympathy, and it makes a knot form in my stomach.

  “Well, then, I am taking this advantage and walking you to class.”

  “Oh yeah, I’m just a stranger,” Kristie grumbles beside me. Cam laughs, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

  “You meet Tom on a Monday morning, you jealous nugget.”

  Kristie huffs and crosses her arms across her body, a nonchalant shrug following. “Whatever. It’s not like I enjoy either of your company. Toodles!”

  “She would have been believable if she hadn’t started grinning about halfway through that,” Cam jokes. I nod in agreement, watching her walk away.

  Cam nudges me in the side, and I look to see him holding out his elbow to me, pretending to tip a fake hat.

  “Shall we, milady?” he asks, and I can’t help but laugh as I curtsy in return.

  “Indeed, we shall, good sir.”

  With that, we link arms and begin to head for the main doors of the school. Cam talks to me about his holiday, and although the Caribbean seems like an exciting place, he doesn’t have much to say about it. I have to laugh. It’s just like Cam to keep everything basic and not know how to describe one of the most gorgeous places on the planet.

  As we walk, I look at him and notice how much he’s changed over the month he had been away. His usual brown eyes look the same, but his skin is a much deeper tanned colour, and his ginger hair looks a lot lighter than it had when he left. His body also looks a lot bulkier. Although I’m not checking out my best friend, he has definitely been hitting the gym. Even his bone structure seems to be stronger and more defined.

  We arrive at my classroom, and I can’t stop the laughter bubbling from my lips as he finishes telling me a story about him and his mother and a bottle of tequila on holiday.

  “I’ve always said your mom is more fun than you,” I tease with a giggle. Cam swings his arm around me, tickling my sides. I scream in response, trying to push him off me.

  “What was that, Williams?” He smirks. “Do you want to take that back?”

  “Yes!” I gasp, wriggling in the confinement of his arms. “I admit defeat!”

  He stops the attack and I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down my racing heart as he leans on the wall beside me with his eyes lit up with laughter.

  “I really missed you, Elle,” Cam mumbles and my heart warms at his words. “You have no idea how much.”

  I smile softly and rise up on my tiptoes, giving him a kiss on the cheek as I do before wrapping my arms around his body again.

  “I’m so glad you’re back.” I sigh as he returns the hug. It’s true; Cam being away hurt my heart, he has always been there. Whenever he disappeared on these holidays, I feel like a part of myself is missing. It’s hard to talk to him when Matt hated it, and I had to sneak texts to him and talk to him in passing throughout school, but it’s even harder when he’s away.

  As I pull back from Cam, I notice his body has gone slightly stiff. When I’m far enough back to see his face, I can see his jaw is clenched and his eyes are glaring straight over my shoulder.

  “Cam, who are you—” My words are cut off as I turn and see exactly who he is looking at.

  The last time I had seen him, I left him on the front porch of Mrs. Grenway’s garden, my parting words like knives being thrown. He stood outside for all of ten seconds after I shut the door before he took off. When I went to look out the window, he disappeared.

  That night, I cried myself to sleep, which isn’t unusual for me to do. However, for once, it isn’t because of Matt or my family; it’s because of him and how much it broke my heart when he said those words to me. I still couldn’t get them out my head, even after trying to force them out.

  As his hard glare swings from Cameron to me, I quickly look away, knowing that one look in his eyes would crush any strength I had in me not to cry.

  Trent would not make me cry at school.

  I focus my eyes on Cam’s torso and grip his shirt in my hands, which brings his attention to me. He furrows his brows when he sees the pained expression that I’m sure is plastered across my face.

  “Elle, are you alright? Do you know that guy?”

  I nod hesitantly, resisting the urge to peek over my shoulder at him and see if he’s still watching. Of course, he is. I could still feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing upright.

  “That’s Trent Night,” I mumble, trying to not raise my voice above a whisper. “He’s from East Bay.”

  At his name, Cameron’s eyes widen as if in shock and his body goes rigid. He straightens his back as he pulls me into him more, gripping my shoulders tightly.

  “Has he done something to you?” Cameron asks, his voice basically a growl and I hesitate on what to say.

  I’ve never really kept anything from Cameron apart from some of the fights Matt and I had, but for some reason, I don’t want to tell him the truth. Maybe I’m just embarrassed that I’d been used and rejected.

  Or maybe I don’t want to admit it.

  “No,” I answer shakily. “He’s just spoken to me a few times.”

  Cameron’s gaze shoots down to me, and I have to hold back a gasp at the ferocity of his stare.

  “You stay away from him, Elle,” he orders, his voice hard. “Promise me you won’t talk to him or go anywhere near him.”

  I frown at his words, an uneasy laugh coming out of my mouth. “Cam, why would I go—”

  “Promise me.” His tone of voice stops me from continuing to question him, and he bends down slightly to get closer to my face.

  I nod slowly, realising how serious he is. “Okay, I promise.”

  He lets out a sigh and raises his hands slowly as he softly places them on my cheeks, forcing me to look straight into his eyes. “Thank you.”

  I decide not to ask why he’s asked me to do this, or question whether he actually knows Trent or not. Instead, I decide to just trust my best friend and his instincts and go with what he says. Trent already proved that I mean nothing to him, and maybe if Cameron had been here this whole time, I never would have gotten my hopes up about him in the first place.

  “I love you,” Cam sighs, pulling my forehead to his lips. I smile at the feeling, loving how safe he makes me feel.

  Although I could still feel a heated gaze on my back.

  “I love you too,” I reply honestly. He loses the serious expression it had before as his one dimpled smile spreads across his lips.

  “Now, get to class,” he jokingly commands, pointing to the door. I roll my eyes at him but salute in response, yanking my bag over my shoulder.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I told you only to call me that in the bedroom,” Cam replies, wiggling his eyebrows. I let out a whine, making puking noises as I pretend to throw up. It’s extremely weird to think of him in any way other than my best friend.

  “Now, go!”

  I laugh at him as I duck under his arm and head through the classroom door with my shoulders still shaking.

  “I’ll see you at lunch!”

  ***

  After filling Kristie in on what happened with Trent and what he said to me, it’s safe to say that she’s no longer his biggest fan.

  “What a self-centred, manipulative assh*le!” she screeches as we leave our class. “Do you just attract them?”

  I laugh at her words, but there’s still a sting at the truth of them. I have to push down the rising feeling to vomit as we walk to
the lunch hall.

  Maybe I did.

  “I don’t know. I have you as a best friend, so maybe I do!”

  She gasps at my words and knocks her hip with mine, her glare not at all serious.

  “You’re lucky I love you,” she grumbles. I giggle, swinging my arms through hers.

  “Yes, yes I am.”

  We arrive at the cafeteria laughing, but when we enter, Kristie stops.

  “Speak of the devil,” she grumbles. “Why the fuck is he talking to Cam?”

  My eyes immediately snap to the two large figures over in a corner of the room basically pressed against each other with their chests puffed out and fists clenched. Behind one person, there are two other boys, and they all have the same threatening expression on their faces.

  “Oh, hell no,” I mutter and immediately drop Kristie’s arm and make my way over. My feet pounds on the ground as I propel through the room, anger rising in my chest.

  Hurting me is one thing but hurting my friends is another.

  I arrive at the two males, and I can’t help but notice how Trent still manages to tower over Cameron even though Cam is considered tall. The boy has giant genes for sure.

  As I stop in front of them, neither of them even look at me, but Trent takes a step into Cameron as if to make a threat. I quickly push myself between them, shoving Trent away as I do. He obviously didn’t expect that because he stumbles back a few times, his eyes blazing with anger as they snap down to me.

  “Who the fuck—” He freezes when he realises that it’s me. His eyes go wide, his angry expression slipping into a shocked one. “Elle.”

  His voice is like a whisper and my skin still shivers as I hear it, but instead of caving, I cross my arms over my chest and stand my ground while gritting my teeth together.

  “What do you think you’re doing, Trent?” I hiss, venom dripping from my words.