My Soul to Keep (The Soul Keeper Series - Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

     
“There's
my girl.”
 
I get the charming smile
flashed at me, dimples and all. It seems last night’s hiccup has been
forgotten.

     
“You
know, you really shouldn't shoot that thing around so freely.”

     
“What?” he
chuckles as if he doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about.

     
“Your
smile has the supernatural capabilities to melt hearts into puddles and turn
girls into drooling morons.” He laughs and tries to force a straight face. The
pressure builds causing smiles to crack through his lips and he ends up bursting
into chuckles again.

     
“I can't
help it, when I'm around you, I can't help but smile, I think you have your own
super powers.” I shake my head slowly and try to change the subject.

     
“Did you
see the accident site?” He nods. “Well did you see an odd display of debris?”

     
“I just
saw hunks of metal everywhere.”

     
“Okay,
well from where I was standing when the truck hit, there was this perfect
crescent shape with car parts and shards of metal laying around like they were
aiming right for me, but stopped short by some unseen force. Then, there was
this tire flying right towards me like it had a mission to destroy me and it
just missed me.
 
Can you make any sense
of that?” He turns his head back toward the road and bobs it up and down like
he is considering the facts.

     
“I guess
you were just lucky,” he concludes. His answer infuriates me. Why is it, that
no one can see that I have miraculously– luckily– coincidentally avoided death
more than my fair share of times, but me? I let out a squeal of frustration.

     
“I don't
believe in luck. Shouldn't you have been tailing me or something?” I see his
jaw clinch, I am getting to him. Why?

     
“I was
keeping tabs on you.”

     
“Oh? And
why is it you don't carry a gun, ever?”

     
“You sure
do ask a lot of questions.” He sure does avoid a lot of answers.

     
“Don't
patronize me Elijah; are you really in the CIA? How do I know you’re not just
some deranged psychopath stalker?”

     
“Do you
want to see my badge again? Do you want to talk to my supervisor? I don't carry
a gun because I don't need one. I wasn't tailing you because I was in a
meeting, and another agent was on you. He notified me when he saw you get the
flat and I was on my way when you called. He couldn't blow his cover. Are you
through interrogating me?” He grips the wheel, clearly angry.

     
I
fold
my arms over my chest and shut my mouth. Why was he so
quick to be on the defensive? I am missing something and I can feel it. I have
to get my hands on that journal. I have to know for sure I can trust him. I
need him out of the house, but not tracking me either, I play with the possible
scenarios in my head as we drive back home, and I formulate a plan.

     
 
I secretly think this party is just an excuse to fix me
up with someone. Elijah has made it no secret he wants me to find a suitable
guy to date. My only agenda tonight is to have a little fun, de-stress myself
from the recent car crash.

I pull my car up to
the clearing in the woods. There are already several cars here and I see a
bonfire blazing in the distance. My nerves begin to tingle. There are so many
people here. A thousand what if’s run through my head. I put my head on the
seat and close my eyes and turn up the volume to my radio. The pulsing beat
fills the space. I can do this. My stomach disagrees as it vaults over my other
organs. A wave of nausea rolls over me. I take a deep breath and try to quell my
nerves. A series of slaps on my window startles me.

"Come on
Bren!" Emily blasts from right outside my door. Ah, sure just let me
swallow my heart back down first, geesh. I turn off the ignition and exit the
safety of my car. Emily immediately takes my hand and drags me toward the
epicenter of the party. I am dressed in a stark contrast to Emily's sexy mini
and low cut blouse. I have on jeans, Sperry’s and a cozy flannel shirt more
appropriate for the woods, besides I am not here to impress anyone. She pauses
for a second to appraise me. Her hands go up in the air like I am a hopeless
case. She undoes the second and last button on my blouse and shakes her head with
exasperation. My shirt flaps open exposing my belly button as she drags me off
to the edge of the crowd.

Elijah stands out
in the crowd like he is the sun that we lesser desolate planets orbit around.
He couldn't blend in if he were covered in bark and moss. He hasn't seen me
yet. He is greeting his guest and making them feel welcome. He fits in with the
guys, smacking them on the shoulder as he makes some comment that has them all
smiling and chuckling. Emily slaps a drink in my hand and I sniff it
suspiciously. Whoa, it smells strong whatever is in it. I give her a weak
smile. I am not about to get drunk in the woods with
this
crowd. Emily
seems to have a different plan; she gulps down the concoction and hauls me off
toward a group of girls. Elijah should be fired from the CIA. I doubt the
United States Government sanctioned underage drinking, and contributing to the
delinquency of minors.

"Hey Avery, I
want to you to meet my friend Brennen, she has never been to a party out
here." Emily introduces me to a petite fresh face girl with pale red hair
as straight and glossy as a satin ribbon.

     
"Brennen, hi it's nice to meet you.
Let me introduce you to everybody." She takes my hand like she's known me
her entire life and leads me around the circle of girls gathered. "This is
Peyton, she is on the squad." I gather from her impeccable beauty, she means
cheer squad. I smile at Peyton and she returns the gesture. "This is
Maddi, Caitlyn, and Taylor." I assume by their similar attractiveness they
too, are on the "squad".

     
"It's nice to meet you all. Are you
all cheerleaders?" They burst into a round of giggles.

     
"No dear, we are the debate squad,"
Peyton pipes out.

     
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed."
I see Caitlyn and Taylor snickering and whispering to each other. I assume
their gossip is at my expense and I immediately feel embarrassed.

     
"I'll take that." A hand reaches
in front of me from behind and takes my cup. I recognize the velvety voice and
know its Elijah’s. The cup is replaced by a can of soda. The girls all go into
swoon mode as soon as he steps beside me. I give him a daggered expression.

     
"Ladies, how are you all this
evening?" They all turn into bashful children who can do nothing but stare
and giggle for a moment. Peyton is the first to zero in on him. She steps
towards him and takes my former cup from his hand and begins to drink from it
like it is
his
lips, her eyes never leaving his. I see the humor behind
his eyes but he manages to keep a straight face.

 
"We are doing just fine. Thank you for
inviting us." She says the word fine like a girl would say that boy is
fiiine caressing out the syllables as she removes the cup from her lips.

"Good, have
fun tonight and please let me know if anyone needs a ride home." As soon
as he walks away the girls go into a tirade over how hot he is and who gets
dib’s on him. Emily is eyeing me and sees something written on my face that
causes her to pull me away from the group.

"I can't
believe he took your drink away, who does he think he is."

"No, its fine
I am not in the mood to drink and besides I don't want him to drive me home. Apparently,
he will be playing chauffer to the debate squad tonight anyway." I knew he
was a player, why settle for one mousy next door neighbor when you can have a
whole squad of gorgeous girls make you their prized possession for the night?

"Bren, Em! How
are my best girls?" Sam says as he puts an arm around each of us.

"Hey Sam,"
we both say.

"Emily there
is a friend of mine that really wants to meet you, would it be okay if I
introduce you to him?" Sam asks. Emily eyes him with suspicion.

"Who is your
friend?"

"Chris Shaw,
he is a tight end on the football team. I know I'm new here and I don't know
everyone that well but he seems to be a nice guy with a level head."
 

"Um sure, I'll
meet him," she says it more like a question than an answer. Sam returns a
moment later with a nice looking guy built to move people out of the way. He
has light brown hair kept short and neat, dark eyes and a smooth baby face. He
is dressed similar to Sam in jeans, boots, a tee shirt and a ball cap.

"Emily this is
Chris." Emily smiles and pinches my waist so I guess she finds him
acceptable.

"Hi Emily, you
look really pretty tonight but then you always look pretty," Chris says to
her, lighting up her face.

"Thank you,"
is all she manages to say. A few people have their radios set to the same
channel, providing music that pulses out hit pop songs to the otherwise sleepy
forest. I still have the can of soda Elijah shoved into my hands so I drink it.
It is not soda. It is wine, very good wine. I take a few more drinks as our
group walks over to the fire. Sam is quiet. I wonder if he still likes me.
 

Avery walks up to
Sam and asks him something in his ear. He nods and walks off with her, leaving
me all alone. I guess that answers my question. My eyes follow them to the
tailgate of a nearby truck. Sam helps her up and she grabs a beer from the
cooler inside and hands it to Sam and then takes one for herself. I turn back
around and gaze into the fire. Well that didn't take long. I knew he would move
on quickly, guys like him don't stay single for long. Emily and Chris are
talking quietly and I can tell she likes him. They are in their own little
bubble. I feel like a third wheel sitting beside the pair so I take my can and
walk around the party. I feel like I haven't paid much attention to my peers
since I have started the school a year ago, it is as if I am noticing them all
for the first time.

Besides the debate
squad, everyone else in the party is mixed up with different strokes of
people.
 
There are no clicks like at
other schools I have been to, where the jocks all huddle together and the
stoners find a quiet corner. No the students here are all congregating as one
mass body. Here brains are admired more than beauty and geeks are revered by
beautiful cheerleaders knowing their pockets will one day be filled in return.
It is a strange site. I lean against a hundred year old oak tree and watch them
all while I sip on my delicious wine. Before I know it my can is empty and I
want more.

I haven’t seen
Elijah, where has he disappeared to? I leave the large oak in search of a
refill. Sam is engaged in a lip lock with Avery still sitting in plain view on
her truck's gate. I look away quickly, feeling hurt and jealous all at once. It
is my own hand that held him at a distance this entire first week of school, so
I have only myself to blame. But what really bothers me is the fact that they
are making out so soon. I wonder if he knows her from over the summer, or if
like me and Elijah, they have only just met a week ago. I am kind of glad I didn't
say yes to the date now, looking back. Of course Elijah and I kissed after
knowing each other for about an hour. Yet somehow it feels different. I thought
Sam was different than most guys. I guess I was wrong.

Not seeing Elijah
anywhere, I wander off through the trees using my phone as a flashlight. The
music begins to grow faint as I walk. The ground is soft, thick with fallen
pine needles and leaves that crunch under my feet. The moonlight beams through
the branches bouncing off of the leaves turning them to pure silver. I hear a
large bird take flight as I traipse through noisily. It screams an eerie
cacophony into the night sky, suddenly making me feel vulnerable and very
alone.

"Are you
lost?" Elijah's voice finds me. I whip around, only inches from him. How
the heck did he get so close without making a sound?

"No," I
breathe out. "I was actually looking for you."

"And now that
you've found me, what do you intend to do with me?" He puts his arm up
against a tree I didn't realize was so close, pinning me without actually touching
me, a favorite move of his, I’m learning. The light on my phone times out and
leaves us in the pitch black of the forest. My heart begins to pound out in
fear. I fumble for the button to relight the area but I drop my phone somewhere
on the ground. Shit! I bend down and try to locate it, forgetting he is there
and bump into his head. His lips brush up against mine in this split second.
Heat singes through me like a lit fuse racing towards the dynamite.
 

"Looking for
this? Elijah illuminates the screen casting a blue glow onto his face." He
hands the phone back to me. "You know the forest is a dangerous place at
night. There are all sorts of creatures of prey out at this time." Why do
I suddenly get the feeling he is one of them? My nails are dug into the tree
bark gripping it like a cat stuck at the top, unable to back down.