Atlantis (38 page)

“
Really?”

I caught him rolling his eyes. “Yes.”

“
What makes you say that?”

“
That other energy I mentioned before is all around you. I know I shouldn’t Miele, but I’m getting jealous.”

“
...of Nicholas?” That made no sense.

Elliott brushed my face with his hand. Never breaking contact he traced circles down my arm with his fingertips until he took my hand in his and clasped it tight. The hair on my arms stood on end, as his touch sent tingles through my body. He smelled so good. Between his scent and the meadow, it was as if I had landed right in the center of a giant bouquet of flowers.

I noticed he didn’t answer my question.

I nibbled my lip as I looked up at the glorious array of stars, planets, and galaxies unbelievably close overhead and I searched for the right words in my brain. “You don’t need to worry about Nicholas.”

Silence. This was obviously really bugging Elliott.

“
We are just friends, promise.”

Again, no response. But now that I was paying attention more closely, I could tell Elliott’s energy was sad, like before.

I took a deep breath and found the courage to look him in his sad and soulful eyes. Giving his had a squeeze I said, “What can I do to make you feel better, mio amore?”

“
I don’t like having to depend on another man in order to see you Lilly.”

In all honesty, if the tables were turned that would bug me. “But I can’t seem to project without him.”

“
Learn,” he whispered into the starry night. “Please, learn.”

I snuggled into his arms and a hug that encapsulated my body. Elliott held me like that for an immeasurable amount of time. I let him hold me and just absorbed the tingles of electricity our bodies produced when they touched and breathed him in. Our hearts seemed to beat as one.

Eventually I was the one to break the silence. “So since I am projecting alone next time,
hopefully
, any tips other than the usual advice?”

He seemed to think for a moment before answering me. “Every way is a bit different. Once you find yours it will get progressively easier. But you alone must find a way. No one can help you.”

Crap. I was never going to see him again if that was the case!

“
For me, tapping into mother nature and the energy of the earth helps me.” He looked down in my blue eyes and ran his fingers through my hair. “Does that help at all?”

“
I guess it’s going to have to.” I shrugged. “Can I have a kiss for luck?”

“
Sempre (always) mia amore.”

Elliott always kissed with such an intensity that it left me speechless. He never rushed it. His hands found my neck, gently guiding our lips towards one another’s. As our lips made contact, the electricity that sparked between us jolted my heart. Slowly his lips parted mine as the kiss became more intimate, more sensual. I found myself lost in his kisses. I was always saddened a bit when he would start to nibble my lip and pull away. I never wanted the magic to end.

“
Good luck Miele” he breathed into my ear.

My heart raced as I tried to find the words. But they didn’t come. I barely got my eyes open when the falling sensation pulled me from the best place in the universe.

When I opened my eyes this time, I was frustrated, and a bit angry. And what made it worse was that Elliott was right, for Nicholas was fast asleep right beside me. Peeking up at my clock from within my best friends bear hug grasp I got even more annoyed. Only 7:02 in the freaking morning. Ugh!

I wiggled and elbowed a bit to get Nicholas to wake up. Finally he yawned and went to roll over and ended up rolling off the bed and landing with a thump.

“
What the!” he yelled.

“
Shhh!” I reminded him. “Meredith will hear you.”

We both held our breath while we listened for sounds of movement in the house. The creaky stair, three steps up, gave my mom away.

My heart seemed to pound louder and louder the closer she came. “Hurry! Out the window!”

“
I’m trying.” Nicholas pulled on his shoe as he frantically looked for the other.

“
Get it later. Hurry. Get out!” He had barely crawled free of the window pane when my door flew open. I saw him duck down, lying flat against my rooftop, to hide.

I jumped up to head off my mom and give Nicholas more time to get away. “Good morning mom.”

She looked around the room, suspicious. “I heard a loud thump. What was it?” I tried to keep the frantic look out of my eyes. “Oh that. It was... me. I fell out of bed.” I bit my lip as I waited.

“
How did you fall out of bed Lil when you hardly sleep?”

“
That is an excellent question mom. I don’t know. I must have been having some dream.”
Understatement of the century.

That’s when she noticed my window wide open. “You really should have the screen on this since you like to keep it open so much. Too many bugs will get in otherwise.”

But how will I sneak out?
I thought it wiser not to respond. She was just looking to trick me into having to put the screen back on. I noticed her stick her head out the window. My heart dropped and my eyes mimicked golf balls. My thudding heart drummed out the seconds in slow motion.
Had Nicholas gotten away?

As she pulled her head back in she looked disappointed. She looked at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “What?”

“
Nothing.”

Honestly, I don’t even think she would be mad if she did catch Nicholas in here. She would just want all the details. Meredith walked out of my room and I got to work.

Chapter 18. Falling

I decided to take Elliott’s advice and try to use earth energies to help me project. And the best place I could think of to do that was my meadow.

In the midst of tossing blankets and clothes about my room looking for something to wear, I happened across Nicholas’s missing shoe. I sat it outside my window in case he came back for it. I’d call him later.

I couldn’t pull on yesterday’s jeans and the first tank top I saw fast enough. I grabbed my hoodie as I ran down the stairs. It might come in handy. Plus, it was a convenient cover for my crazy hair. The one downside to short hair was that it was always gravity defying when I woke in the mornings, and a shower was low on my list of priorities.

Meredith caught me in my getaway. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“
Secret rendezvous?” I crossed my fingers behind my back hoping that answer would suffice.

Our eyes connected as she was trying to discern the level of truth in my statement. I refused to be the first to speak. I nibbled on my lip instead.

She sighed, “Well, at least have something to eat first.” She tossed a couple granola bars at me.

“
Thanks.” And I was out the door.

I was too hyped up to walk. I was so excited to try and project the way Elliott said he does, that I ran all the way to the meadow. A few squirrels were caught off guard by my sudden appearance and had to quickly scamper off the dirt trail through the trees as I made my way to the clearing. As I broke free of the shadows and the sunlight hit my face I realized I wasn’t alone in my secret garden.

Nicholas was waiting.

“
Hey hoe.”

My face gave away my disappointment of not being alone. “Hey.”

“
Lilly, what is up with you? I’m getting more than a bit confused by your signals.”

My first thought was to play dumb. “What do you mean?”

“
You love me. You hate me. Yesterday you were happy as a clam that I was around, and now you look upset that I’m here. I don’t get you these days.”

“
I’m sorry Nitch-o-las. I don’t mean to look upset. I was just really looking forward to some alone time. I can’t seem to get enough of it these days.” I could only hope my eyes conveyed the truth of my words.

Nicholas walked towards me and took me up in his massive arms for a hug. “If you need some alone time to figure things out, that’s okay with me. Just call me, okay?”

“
Kay.”

He gave me a tender kiss on the cheek and left me alone.

Instead of hiding in my cove, which I recalled didn’t seem to work for me last time, I lay down on the lavender and let the sun shine down on me. Bringing my security blanket hoodie turned out to be a good idea, for it doubled as a make-shift pillow scrunched up against one of my favorite tombstones.

This time I let my fingers play with the leaves and flowers of the lavender. To softly dig my fingers into the dirt below me. I tried to be as close to the earth’s energy as I could be. Then I started.

I closed my eyes and began to take slow, deep breaths. I relaxed and let my mind run free. I didn’t feel the falling sensation I was getting accustomed to, but I did feel different. There was a swirling wind around me. I opened my eyes and sat up.

I was still in the meadow, but a mist was surrounding me. It was so thick I could barely make out the silhouettes of the headstones that were all around me. The sun no longer shone bright. The smell of lavender grew stronger. The swirling of the cloudy air was making the hair on my arms stand on end. I was hyper aware of my surroundings. I could feel
everything
. And Elliott wasn’t here.