Golden: A Paranormal Romance

by Ellis Marie

  Finally, she asks it.

  “What are you going to do, Elle?”

  Unlike before where the question would most likely have made me go into hyperventilation and fall into an early grave, I only now find it a little worrying and even more confusing.

  What am I going to do?

  “I don’t know,” I reply truthfully, frowning at my words. “Carter will have told Matt by now. I haven’t looked at my phone, but I can only imagine the messages . . .” I trail off, looking at my jacket that contains my phone with the material heaped on the ground covering it, but I can still hear the vibrations.

  “Don’t look at it tonight,” Kristie orders, getting out of the bed and heading over to it. “It’ll do no good, and I’m turning it off.”

  She plucks it off the ground and walks back over to the bed, the screen on it flashing before she turns it off and puts it in the drawer beside her. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

  I laugh at her shrug and nod in agreement, strangely feeling a little more at ease without the constant thought of it being right beside me.

  “Are you going to speak to Trent?” Her question surprises me, and my heart falters at his name as soon as it leaves her lips, the goose bumps on my arms rising as if anticipating seeing him.

  “I’m not forgetting what he said to you, and I still don’t like him,” she explains, holding up her hands as though they are weights. “But I do think you need to say something to him, whether that be thank you or f*ck you; that’s up to you, but I don’t think you’re totally done with him.”

  I look at the girl in front of me in shock, not knowing how I made my emotions too obvious when I became so good at hiding them when it comes to everything else.

  Does Trent really make me that weak?

  “I’m just saying that I’ve never seen you like that before. In the cafeteria? I’ve never seen you stand up to somebody like that and have that kind of passion before.” She shrugs with a smirk on her face. “He kind of brings out a fire in you.”

  I scoff. “Yeah, an angry one. Are we forgetting that he only spoke to me to try and prove something to Matt?”

  For some reason, saying that name alone leaves a worse taste in my mouth than anything Trent has ever said to me.

  Kristie shakes her head and frowns. “No, but I also think you need to talk to him about it because the boy that I saw before he said all that did not speak to you for any reason other than that he liked you. And the way you laughed with him? I haven’t seen you like that since we were kids.”

  I feel a small smile flicker onto my mouth, and I try to push it away but even the thought of him makes it impossible.

  “Why don’t you sleep on it?” Kristie suggests, already fluffing the pillows underneath us. It hits me for the umpteenth time tonight how truly grateful I am to have her as my best friend. “I’ll tell my mom tomorrow that you and Matt broke up, and we need a day off. She’ll probably be so happy that she’ll offer us the week.”

  Her joke makes me laugh but it also hits the pit in my stomach. Kristie seems to notice it as I wince at the thought of Matt and I breaking up.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Kristie mumbles, pulling me into her as we get under the covers. I snuggle into her, relishing in the comfort.

  “You’ll see, everything works out in the end, and if anyone deserves some good luck, it’s you.”

  Amen to that.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  I don’t think I have ever seen someone react in such a positive manner to a breakup in the way Linda Kennedy does.

  Well, I say ‘see’; however, it’s more like I hear it echoing through the house as she gasps and cheers in response to Kristie’s news. Her encouragement to stay at home and “get past it” is also greatly appreciated. We have the house to ourselves for the day as she’s visiting her mother with Benjie.

  And so, Kristie and I spend the day in her bed, watching yet more TV, eating more junk food and crying . . . yet again, but it’s good; it’s like a breath of fresh air. It has been years since I had been so open with someone, let alone been able to spend this much time with my best friend, and it honestly might be one of the best days of my life so far.

  At around lunchtime, Kristie informs me that she wants delivery and leaves the room to order it, much to my amusement. God knows what she’s getting.

  I shout my order of a burger and fries at her, excited to be able to order whatever I want. I sit back again to watch the TV, slurping down the milkshakes that we made a few hours before.

  As I laugh at my favourite character as per usual, some of my milkshake slips out my mouth and onto the sweatshirt of Kristie’s that I’m wearing. I glance down at it for a second before quickly wiping it with my finger, most likely just rubbing it into the material, but I shrug and settle into the comfort again, not caring about my appearance for once.

  Kristie reappears with a gleeful grin on her face and throws herself onto the bed, half-landing on top of me.

  “Food is on its way,” she sings like a child. I giggle with her, the two of us rolling about the bed as she starts to tickle me. The fight turns into a full-out war with pillows getting involved at some point.

  “Prepare to die!” I scream at her, holding up a hairbrush in one hand and a pillow in the other. “Your mortal body is no match for me!”

  She scoffs at the accent I’ve put on while whipping out an umbrella from behind her cupboard door. “Oh please, you can’t begin to reach my level of power!”

  I pause, looking at how big her weapon is in comparison to mine.

  “I feel like this may be an unfair battle,” I announce, slowly stepping back. “Distraction!”

  Without hesitation, I throw the hairbrush at her pillow-clad body and dive onto her bed, looking for a way to protect myself.

  “Did you just throw my hairbrush at me?” she shrieks, standing in shock. I burst out laughing at her fake scowl as she comes charging towards me. “You’ll pay for your disobedience!”

  Before she can reach me, a ringing plays throughout the room. She freezes mid-attack, her eyes zoning in on her phone, which sits vibrating on the table while the tune alerts us of its presence.

  “FOOD!” we both scream at the same time and jump up from our positions—me eagerly running towards the window and her towards her phone. She reaches the phone much quicker than I reach the window. She answers it straight away, still panting from running. I laugh at her exhausted expression.

  “Hellooo,” she answers with a grin and then I see it slip off her face after a moment. “You what?” she asks, her eyes darting worryingly to me. I pause, panicked by her expression. “A little bit of warning would have been nice,” she hisses, shooting me an apologetic look and my eyes widen.

  Who is she talking to?

  “Right, fine. Okay, okay, we’ll be down in a second,” she sighs and hangs up the phone, immediately grimacing.

  “What?” I ask accusingly, not knowing what she’s going to say but knowing I’m not going to like it.

  “Don’t freak out,” she states. I shoot her an incredulous look, which she sighs again at. “I know, I know, that’s what people say when they know they’re going to freak out.”

  She walks towards me and then looks past my shoulder towards her window.

  “So, I asked Cole to bring us the food because the delivery time was really long . . .” she begins, trailing off. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. “And I phoned him when he was at school and he was with other people and a certain one of them might have heard.”

  My heart pounds in my chest as I race to look outside, my hands shaking as they press against the glass. I watch as two people step out of a sleek black car—a very familiar car.

  “Trent.” The name leaves my mouth almost breathlessly, but his head shoots up to the window as if hearing me. I scream in surprise, shooting back from view and stumbling further into Kristie’s bedroom.

  “What is Trent doing here!” I yell, knowing the answer al
ready but freaking out nonetheless. “Why has he gotten out of the car? Why did Cole not warn you?” I spin around and point at her. “Why didn’t you tell me you were asking Cole!”

  Kristie grabs both of my arms and shakes me, bringing me out of my rambling state as she looks at me in panic. “Because I didn’t want you to freak out!”

  “Well, I’m freaking out!” I exclaim. She rolls her eyes, stepping away from me. “What do I do?”

  “Calm down,” she orders. I stop pacing back and forth and actually listen to her. “Deep breaths.” She watches me take a few and then smiles. “Good. Now, chill out, walk downstairs with me, and maybe also run that brush you threw at me through your hair.”

  I gasp, realising how much of a mess I look. I quickly do what she says, brushing it quickly before yanking it into a bun.

  “Let’s go.” I nod. She starts walking out of the room, my hesitant steps right on her heels.

  What am I going to say to him? What is he going to say to me? Would Scarlette have kept her promise or is he going to know?

  This is fine. This is fine. This is fiiine.

  Deep breaths seem to help my shaking hands. Kristie gives me one more look of confidence before she opens the front door and smiles brightly at the people behind it.

  “Hi, boys!” She gleams. My mouth pops open at how happy she is to see the two of them.

  That little—

  “Elle, come say hi.” She grins, smirking at my gobsmacked face. I glare at her a little before moving forward slowly, everything seeming to slow down.

  You can do this, Elle. Stay annoyed, stay strong, and don’t crack under his beautiful face.

  I gulp loudly as I step into view. The first person I see is Cole who basically doesn’t give me a chance to breathe before his arms are around me and he’s pulling me into him, thrusting the bags of food into Kristie’s unprepared arms. The gesture hits me off guard, and I’m puzzled for a moment before I remember that the last time he saw me, I was running away from them all in a pretty bad state.

  At least, I hope that’s why.

  I softly wrap my arms around him, squeezing in return. It’s like he breathes a sigh of relief.

  “I’m glad you’re alright,” he mumbles into my ear before pulling away and pressing a quick kiss to the side of my forehead. I’m immediately touched by his kind gesture, and I look at him softly, smiling at his now bashful face.

  “Were you worried about me, Mr. Edwards?” I tease. He rolls his eyes, shoving me out the way as he walks into the house.

  “Save that worrying for someone else,” he shouts, pointing over his shoulder. I follow his thumb’s direction to the person still standing on the path, their eyes not leaving me. Their body looks as though it hasn’t let out a breath since I stepped into the doorway.

  “Hi.” Their whisper makes all the hairs on my body stand alert, and a shiver makes its way down my back, the familiar feeling almost welcoming when I have been away from him for so long. How could it have only been a day since I had seen him? My heart aches as though it has been months, and my mouth seems to pop open at the mere sight of him.

  You thirsty b*tch.

  “Trent,” I reply, clearing my throat of the hesitation that has built in it. “Do you want to come in?”

  My voice comes out shakily, and I curse myself for not sounding more uncaring. I don’t want him to see how he affects me; I don’t want him to know the hold he has over me even after his horrible words.

  “I was actually hoping I could talk to you.” His eyes never move. “If you’d let me.”

  His answer isn’t one that I’m expecting, and I struggle to not gape at him. How is he now so outright and bold when he’s always been so mysterious and confusing before?

  I clear my throat and glance down the hall at Kristie and Cole who are unwrapping all the food.

  “How about after?” I offer, not knowing why I’m agreeing to this when I promised myself I would be strong. “I’m kind of starving.”

  Trent’s lips curve up in a smile at my words as he walks past me, nodding. I blush when his arm brushes against mine, and I almost sigh in happiness.

  “Don’t want you wasting away now, do we?” He chuckles. I roll my eyes, shutting the door behind him before following him through to the kitchen where the other two people are already tucking into their food.

  I quickly grab a burger and fries and start unwrapping it as my mouth waters at the scent and the sight of it.

  “I can’t believe you guys skipped to stay at home and order food.” Cole chuckles, shoving basically an entire burger in his mouth. It’s only now I’m realising how much food there actually is. “Honestly, you slackers.”

  Kristie laughs while my eyes widen at all the juicy goodness surrounding me on the island.

  “How much did you order?” I mumble, mesmerised by the perfect buns and golden fries glistening back at me. Cole laughs, shaking his head.

  “Just a couple for everyone. You’re acting like you haven’t eaten a proper burger in years, Elle.”

  I know he’s joking, but the embarrassing reality of it makes the smile slip off my face. I quickly try to stop ogling the food and just start eating what I have, not wanting to draw more attention to myself.

  As soon as the food hits my lips, I forget all about them and relish in the taste flowing over my tongue, the greasiness a welcomed addition to my baron mouth. The conversation stills around me as I come out of my haze, and I want to curse myself when I realise that my attempt at subtly hiding my reaction from before didn’t work at all, and now, Cole is looking guiltily at his food with Kristie is glaring at him and Trent . . . well, Trent is just staring at me softly. He’s watching me eat a burger like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

  “What?” I ask through a mouthful of food, which makes him smirk at me and chuckle, plucking another fry from the bag before tossing it in his mouth.

  “Nothing. I just like watching you enjoy things. You seem to be able to make such a little thing seem so pure.”

  I glance at Kristie who is already grinning at me with a smug smile the size of the Cheshire cat. I quickly look away from her, not wanting anyone to see the blush coming over my entire face.

  We continue to eat, a conversation beginning to flow again. We all start joining in, our laughter continuous as we catch up on stories and share ones that we haven’t heard before. It’s nice to hang out like this; I can’t remember the last time I felt so at ease.

  After finishing eating, I immediately stand up from the table and gather the empty containers sitting around.

  “Elle, you don’t have to do that,” Kristie chastises, making me smile.

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to.” I shrug, although I know she knows it’s not entirely the truth; I had indeed only stood up from the table out of habit. I’m never allowed to not clean up. “There’s some dishes, and I want to do them, so your mom doesn’t have to when she comes home. It’s the least I can do.”

  “I’ll help,” Trent announces and stands up, grabbing the rest of the wrappers. I try my hardest not to smile at his politeness. Instead, I choose to focus on the dishes in front of me.

  Kristie and Cole continue their conversation, their laughter echoing through the room. I enjoy the background noise it provides that allows me to get lost in my own thoughts.

  Is this what it’s like to be normal?

  Could I have this? Could I have a normal life that allows me to spend time with my friends without worrying about the repercussions of it?

  “A penny for your thoughts?” I jump a little at the voice appearing right beside me and almost drop the plate resting in my hands, but Trent grabs it before I can. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He chuckles, but it trails off, his words holding more meaning to them than just the plate that almost shattered.

  “It’s alright,” I reply, avoiding looking at him and busying myself with cutlery. “I was just a little zoned out.”

  “I coul
d tell.” My heart beats a little faster in my chest as his arm brushes against mine. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

  I pause at his words, his soft and caring tone confusing me when all I can think about is the same voice spitting hateful words at me.

  You wanted the truth; you got it.

  I don’t reply to him. I finish putting away the clean dishes, his eyes on me the entire time. I can feel my breath halting, waiting for what is going to come next.

  “Can I talk to you?” he mumbles, his hand covering my shaking one and lowering it to the counter, the cloth in it dropping gently. Tingles erupt over my skin as I look up at him, his eyes watching me in a way I’ve never seen before. The tiny crease between his brows lets me know that this is hard for him and the resolve in me melts a little.

  “Please?” The one word is uttered with such pleadings that my lungs constrict at his downturned face. I feel myself nodding, wanting to just make him feel better. His lips curve upwards slightly, and he squeezes my hand in response before turning around quickly and beginning to walk to the back door.

  “Elle and I are just going outside for some fresh air,” he tells our friends who immediately stop their conversation and look at us in shock, but it quickly changes into grins.

  “We’ll be back soon,” I tell my best friend, who looks like she’s about to combust with excitement. I roll my eyes, smiling at Trent as he opens the door and motions for me to go through.

  “Take as long as you need!” Kristie shouts behind us.

  “We can keep ourselves entertained for hours!” Cole adds. I hear Trent scoff in response.

  “Cole, maybe start with a couple minutes. You don’t want to set her up for disappointment.”

  I can hear Cole’s objections even after Trent has shut the door, his chuckles the only sound surrounding us. I can’t help but join in laughing as we walk further into the garden, heading towards the swinging hammock that sits in the middle with the sunlight streaming down on to it.