Discern (28 page)

The light from the sun began shining through the slits of the dark curtains. “What time is it?” I asked.

“It’s almost four in the morning in
Boulder
,” he said, raising from the floor and causally stretching.

“Wow, time passes by quickly when your boy…” I paused. “I-I mean your friend is discussing his journeys through history,” I smiled nervously, trying not to look in his direction. I quickly stood up attempting to turn and walk away out of pure embarrassment, as I assumed with his abilities he heard my slip up.

He quickly reached out for me. “You’re adorable,” he chuckled lightly.

“Not funny,” I grumbled.

His warm hand gently lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I’m whatever you want me to be. Nothing else matters but you,” he whispered as his lips pressed against my forehead.

“I’m not sure what I want you to be…” I paused.

He began to speak, but I gently placed my finger over his lips. “I wasn’t finished,” I smiled.

“Go on.”

“I just know I want to be with you, no matter the cost.”

He pulled my body in close, leaning in to press his soft, warm lips to mine. We gently kissed. My hands moved from my sides, carefully running my fingers through his hair. As our bodies pushed up against one another, my guard dropped, getting lost in the heat of the moment. Our kiss became more intense as we fell back against the couch.

If this was the kiss of death, then it was worth it—no kiss could compare. His hands moved from my face to my hips. I froze, instantly stopping. I kept my eyes closed, ashamed to look at him. He released his hands from my hips and the heat dissipated. I reluctantly opened my eyes. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” he grinned. “I’ll always follow your lead,” he said, gently lifting my hand and pressing his lips against it. “We should get going before your father grows worried and alarms the whole city.”

He pressed my body against his, and I braced for the swirling sensation to return as we were once more traveling his way. I closed my eyes and we began to move. Before I could adjust to the sensation, my feet gently touch the ground.

We were back at the old burned down gas station, right outside of
Boulder
. I inhaled deeply trying to unwind the knots in my stomach. I tried to move, but stumbled as I took a step. His hand caught my forearm, before I could fall to the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

He swept me up into his arms, and we glided over to his car. He gently placed me in the passenger seat. “Rest your head,” he instructed.

He quickly disappeared and the driver’s side door opened. He smoothly slid inside.

“I’m all right,” I insisted.

“You don’t have to pretend to be strong for me,” he smiled gently.

“I feel I should.”

“You don’t. Nothing you could do or say would make me feel or think any less of you.”

I stared out the windshield trying to focus. The spinning began to subside. “I feel better.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I reassured, slowly buckling my seatbelt.

He started the car and began reversing; nonchalantly looking over his shoulder. I wasn’t even sure he needed to look behind him. In fact, I wasn’t sure of too many things at this point, except one—I was falling in love.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head is better if that’s what you’re wondering about,” I half-heartedly smiled.

“That’s good. I have to admit, I’m a little shocked,” he mentioned casually.

“About?”

“You accepted the whole reincarnation explanation better than I expected.”

“I have an open mind about many things, and it’s always seemed plausible to me. I figured you wouldn’t make up some elaborate story like that if it weren’t true.”

“Why not?” he asked intrigued.

“I’m quite sure you can have any woman you want, so there has to be a reason why you would choose me.”

His head snapped in my direction. “Haley,” he said softly. “I would’ve been attracted to you even if you didn’t have her soul.”

“You said my soul was the initial attraction,” I reminded.

“Yes, it was, but I believe I would’ve fallen for you regardless.”

“Will our time together be short lived, like with her?” I asked, on the verge of tears.

He clutched my hand tightly. “No, not this time,” he said determined.

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“I’ll do everything in my power.”

His reassurance wasn’t comforting. There were many obstacles in the way of our happiness. Doubt in our ability to be with one another weighed heavily on my mind. “I guess just spending this time together is better than never knowing you,” I murmured.

“Haley, please stop. The outcome will be different than what happened to
Alexandria
and me.”

“Apparently, my luck in love follows me in each life, so bear with the gloomy outlook I have on our chances this time around,” I grimaced.

The car came to a screeching halt on the side of road, almost giving me whiplash as my head jolted forward and my seatbelt tightened crushing my chest momentarily. My head slammed back against the headrest; leaving me dizzy and disoriented as I tried to understand what just took place. Immediately placing my hand against the back of my head to ensure everything was still intact; I horrifyingly looked over at Andrew; noticing he was perfectly unharmed and sat glaring in my direction. “What happened?”

“Haley, you’re absolutely correct in having doubts about this whole situation, but I cannot allow you to be so pessimistic about our chances. What happened centuries ago and your relationship with Braden and our chances this time cannot be compared with one another.”

There was a brief moment of silence as I watched his eyes eerily change from bright crimson red back to his usual beautiful emerald green.

“I was foolish centuries ago and trusted my family. I no longer have that trust for them. As I stated before, I will know when they’re near. And as for Braden, you admitted the love you felt was not genuine because you were hiding from your real feelings, so this situation cannot compare, correct?”

I closed my eyes, trying to gain insight in to my feelings. “What I feel for you cannot be compared to any other feeling I’ve ever experienced. I wasn’t speaking about Braden. He isn’t even a factor anymore. I don’t want to lose you or be away from you,” I admitted.

“Then why are you so doubtful?”

“I lost my mother, whom I loved dearly.” I began weeping uncontrollably.

He clutched my hand again. “I won’t die,” he whispered softly.

“You can’t guarantee that,” I challenged.

“I can guarantee my love, and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure our future together,” he breathed.

 
He continued to grip my hand as he pulled back onto the main road. The rest of the drive was silent as I processed everything that had occurred, not only tonight but also for the past few days.

We entered into the front gates of my house. “Will I see you tomorrow evening?” I asked dreading the time apart.

“Of course, we have class tomorrow night and a quiz,” he reminded.

“Oh yeah, I need to study.”

“I can give you all the answers,” he winked.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It just wouldn’t feel right.”

“Wow, you’re integrity is remarkable,” he said, softly brushing his hand along my cheek.

“Thanks,” I blushed. “We’ll see each other outside of class, right?”

“Yes, of course, there’s nothing I look forward to more.”

He carefully leaned in and pressed his warm, soft lips against mine. I reveled in the incredible feeling of our kiss. The sparks we both felt were reassuring that somehow, everything happening between us was meant to be.

“Tomorrow,” I breathed, touching his face one last time.

“Tomorrow.” He whispered back.

I carefully unlocked the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible. Glancing over in to the living room, I noticed my father still asleep on the couch. I tiptoed upstairs.

I was exhausted and ready for bed. Gently laying my head upon the soft, cool pillow, I stared up at the ceiling with thoughts of Andrew swirling around in my head. This feeling I had for him was very powerful, but another one was starting to creep in. It was the sick feeling that our time together would be limited, and I was positive that my death would be the reason. “The kiss of death,” I murmured one last time before closing my eyes.

14

Little White Lies

Wow, I figured you had died!” I heard a familiar, voice shout across the room.

My head shot up from its current resting place, the same laminate desk I loathed at the beginning of the school year was now somehow exciting and reassuring. Ryan was angrily heading my way.

“Hey.” It was all I could muster.

“That’s it?”

He slammed his books down on the desk behind me, and I reluctantly turned in his direction. “I’m sorry.”

“You ruined my Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning. I almost skipped class because I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing you tonight,” he hissed.

“Ryan, please don’t be mad,” I said calmly. Ryan’s anger was upsetting. I hated to see him like this.

“How’s your boyfriend?” he snarled.

“He isn’t my boyfriend.” No, he wasn’t—he was much more than that. He was truly my soul mate. I almost snickered at the thought of that phrase.

“Then what is he?”

“He’s just a friend, well sort of, if that even,” I lied horribly.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that he likes me, but I don’t feel the same way as he does.” More lies.

“Did he try to touch you? Because I’ll hurt him if he did,” he threatened.

Ryan had no idea what he was really up against or the fact that he wouldn’t survive such a fight. “No,” I snapped.

“Just making sure.” His voice lowered.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

“You took off with him while I was making you lunch, doesn’t that seem a bit rude?” he asked angrily.

I thought back to that day and instantly felt ashamed. “Sorry, he surprised me. I had no plans of leaving early until he showed up.”

“Were you supposed to see him later that day?” he asked still irritated.

“Yes, but not a date,” I insisted sternly.

“Why don’t I believe you?” His voice was sharp.

“I don’t know why,” I said, rolling my eyes, as I started to turn back toward the front of the room.

He grabbed my arm. “Stop—I’m sorry I’m being a jackass, but you hurt my feelings.”

I turned back around. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings; that wasn’t my intention.”

“I know.”

We both stared at one another briefly, before I broke the silence. “What did you do the rest of the weekend?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Not much, just played a few video games and watched football on Sunday. You?”

“Watched television with my dad and went to my mother’s grave.” My voice dropped.

“You did?”

“Yes,” I sighed heavily. “It was time to finally say goodbye.”

He lightly patted my shoulder. “I’m sure that was difficult, but necessary,” he said softly.

“Yes, it was,” I said looking down at my feet, not wanting to meet his stare. It had been difficult and necessary, but it was also a relief—my heart no longer ached as much.

“I understand now why you didn’t call,” he said compassionately.

“Yes,” I lied.

He did not need to know all the juicy details of my falling in love with a mystical creature with magical powers. I almost broke out in laughter just thinking about it how it sounded. I would surely be locked up if I were to ever speak of this.

“If you want to talk about it after class, let me know, I’m free,” he offered.

I was tempted to say yes, just to ease his worries, but I was too eager to be close to Andrew once more. “I’d love to, but my dad wants to talk with me this evening.” I lied again.

“About?”

“My mother.”

“Oh,” he sighed.

There was nothing he could say or do. He knew that my father and I needed this time. Just as I thought of it, I realized that my father and I really did need some time to talk, but it wouldn’t be tonight. Tomorrow at work would be the perfect time.

“Where’s the teacher?” he asked.

I quickly spun around in my seat to check the clock at the front of the classroom. It read 6:40. Andrew was never late. I reactively began biting my nails. “I don’t know,” I mumbled nervously.

“Did he quit?” he said hopeful.

“No,” I snapped back at him.