My Soul to Keep (The Soul Keeper Series - Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (3 page)

Sensing my defeat Ari
bombards him with questions until the bell rings. I learn from her inquisition
he is in the horse ranching business, on the swim team, and hopes to make
baseball in the spring. He has two younger sisters— twins—ten years old. His
favorite music is country but he likes a little bit of everything. And he
thinks Ari is annoying. I could hear it in his voice; she was too self-absorbed
to notice. I smile inside at the small victory, maybe she’s not
every
guy’s fantasy.

Mrs. Cohen begins
taking roll call. I like hearing everyone’s name spoken in her accent.

“Samira Acharya?”

“Present.”

“Arianna Campbell?”

“Here”

“Brennen Hale?”

“Here”

“Keri Lee?”

“Yes.”

“Sam Montgomery?”

“Here ma’am”

He says ma’am I like
that.
You can’t like him Brennen. You
have secrets to keep. You are to remain invisible
. My subconscious likes to
keep me in check. I give her a British accent and wire rimmed glasses as well.
But I’m lonely
. She doesn’t reply. I
rest my chin on my hand and sulk in silence. I don’t look back at him for the
rest of class. Instead, I busy myself with perfect penmanship. The realization
that out of sight, is not necessarily out of mind, keeps testing my will.

Mrs. Cohen has doled
out quiet of list of books we will be covering this year. I mentally groan when
I see Shakespeare is on the list. The bell finally rings and I gather my things,
taking my time to watch Ari’s last ditch efforts. Ari pauses in front of me to
ask Sam where his next class is. I scoot past her and I can physically see her
confidence level draining as she makes her move.

“I have Neal for
Agricultural Economics.” He tips his imaginary hat to her and glides out the
door with his long strides

“Oh,” was all she could
manage to spit out. Ha! Fail.

~
August 28, 2012 Journal of E.M~

Brennen,
you're having the dream again. You murmur “I’m in here.” I enjoy watching you
sleep. You look so comfortable being devoured by your down comforter. Lovely
golden locks adorn your pillow like ivy on a trellis. Your lips a fresh picked
raspberry. Your beauty is impeccable.

You
are crying now, tears dampen your pillow and you curl into a ball. I am so
sorry my dear sweet girl. I wish that I had the power to wash the memory away.
There are two things I am certain of. Someone wants you alive and something
wants you dead. You must have a very special destiny to warrant my protection.
Most people would be lucky if they just got a glimpse of an intervention from
one of us. Especially from me, being the most highly ranked in my field. I have
protected kings and presidents and even a few popes. Oh how I wonder what this
life has in store for you. Evil wants to break you, wants to destroy that
goodness in you. Evil is very powerful but I will keep you safe.

Today
I will let you see me. I wonder if your soul will recognize mine. I know you
don’t know my face; I have kept it hidden from you. I have to be very careful
that you never find out who I truly am.

Yes
Brennen, head straight to class. Be invisible like me. I notice many of these
boys have their eyes on you, however you pay them no mind and that’s good. You
have grown up this summer, perhaps all of the stress you’ve had to overcome in
the last few months, has matured you. Nonetheless, you are no longer a girl. Your
figure is flattering and you have blossomed into a delightful young lady.
 
You seem to have an old soul and if the same
is said for me then perhaps we are comparable.

A
boy sits next to you. What’s this? You, you find him attractive? He finds you
absolutely mesmerizing. Be invisible Brennen. Yes, that’s it, pay attention to
your teacher. Even though you’ve turned your focus elsewhere, he is still enamored
by you. This is not good. A low flame is lit deep within me… I believe I am
jealous and this is not good either.

My second period class is
government, which is right down the hall; I can appreciate that. The campus is
large despite its small class size. Washington High, home to the Soaring Eagles
has birthed multiple renowned governors, senators, mayors and even a president
back in the day. Emily spots me in the hall and joins me.

“So how’s your day
going so far?” Emily asks as she slings her backpack over her other shoulder. I
have a feeling she wants us to be better friends this year. I could use a
friend after the lonely summer I’ve had. I give her a genuine smile, which is
hard to come by these days.

“Oh it’s been
interesting that’s for sure. Ari has it bad for this new guy in my Lit class.
It was pretty funny to watch her throw herself at him, she did everything but
ask him out on a date.”

“That is funny that she
even had to, she can have any guy here she wants.”

“And
has!”

“You’re wrong!”

“Am I?” I ask coyly.
She grins and shakes her head. This is how girls my age make friends isn’t it,
ridiculing other’s lack of chaste? Next thing I know, I’ll be pointing out the fashion
don’ts of my unsuspecting underclassmen.
 
Better yet, judging the merit of a guy based solely on the assessment of
his ass.

“See ya Bren.” She
waves and goes into her class. I hope we can be better friends this year. It’s
about time I make friends in my life now that I am planning on sticking around
this little town for a while. My dad and I have lived all across the globe,
Texas, Cali, Hawaii, Italy and Japan. I made friends in each of those places
despite knowing I wouldn’t be there long enough to develop the kind of
relationship that could span both time and distance.
 
 

I take a seat in the
next to last row since the back is already filled. The teacher is not in the
room yet and the chatter is growing louder. A few minutes go by and the bell
rings and still no teacher. The person behind me taps my shoulder so I turn to
face him. Is he another new boy? No, I think I’ve seen him before but I can’t
think of his name. Good God, he is gorgeous too. He is line-backer large. I
wonder if he failed a few grades to still be in high school. Blue eyes pool
under long black lashes, his short dark hair is shiny and soft looking. His
face is shadowed like he didn’t have time to shave this morning.

“Hello, sorry but can I
borrow a pen? I must have dropped mine somewhere,” he says with a smile that belongs
in People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue. My cheeks fill with a rush of
color again, without my permission. I fumble through my bag and hand him a pen.
Our fingers touch for the briefest of moments sending a wave of heat up my arm
and into my core. I rotate back around like a whip. What is going on with me? I
have never been affected by a boy before, much less two in the same day.
Hormones!
Dr. Drew chimes in my ear, geeze.
I gaze at the boy next to me to test if
he
has an unwarranted gravitational pull on me. Charlie acknowledges the gesture
and smiles up at me while he retrieves his spiral from his bag.

“Hey Brennen,” His
smile holds a twinge of hope. I smile politely back feeling no blush or urge to
giggle stirring from within, thank God. Mr. Potter bustles through the door
carrying an arm load of newspapers. He passes out a N.Y Times to each of us.

“Good morning class,
sorry I’m late. I trust you have behaved like the adults you are about to
become.” He has a no nonsense way about him, I like that. “Now then we’ll get
right to it. This is Government and there is no better way to learn the subject
than to be the subject. You are going to run a campaign, elect a head of state,
and run a country. For your assignment this week I want you each to prepare a
speech that would put you in the running for your nomination of President. You
should address at least three current issues our country faces. We will begin
hearing the speeches on Thursday. You may begin now.”

Oh is that all, solve
the deficit by lunch? Maybe we could cure cancer by Monday.
 
Mr. Potter sits at his desk and unfolds his
newspaper, leaving us to fend for ourselves throughout the remainder of class.
This will be interesting, and I do enjoy a good challenge, American schools can
be so straight forward sometimes. I look around to gauge my opposition. Brice
Sanchez was the quarterback and very popular. Ed Nguyen was already the class
president and highly competitive. What he lacked in charm and charisma could only
be made worse by his snarky attacks on our western society.

The guy behind me leans
forward and whispers in my ear, “I’ve got my money on you Hale.” His breath on
my neck sends shivers down my spine. I don’t dare turn around, my face is
scarlet red. How can he have this effect on me? And he knows my name, how? I
try and think of his, he looks so familiar, but for the life of me I can’t
place him and now it is bugging me.
 
I am
frozen in place the duration of class and when the bell rings it takes me a
minute to gather my bearings.

 
In the hall a
hand is put on my shoulder, it’s him, I tense. He is easily six foot four and
even though I am five seven, I feel dwarfed next to him.

“Here is your pen, thank you.” His voice is languid
and velvety smooth. I take the pen, giving him a curt nod as I turn back. He
glides up next to me and walks with me. Despite his size, he oozes grace. I hug
my books for moral support.
Invisible
means no boys Brennen Elizabeth
. Tell that to hunky what’s-his-name still
keeping my hurried pace.

“Stalk much?” I ask. Rude, yes but I’ve got to get
rid of him somehow.

 
He scoffs. He
holds his hands up like he means no harm. “Just going to class Brennen didn’t
know that was a crime.” I shake my head in disbelief and slip into the ladies
room. Take that stalker. I gaze into the mirror looking for the difference that
is gaining me all of this extra attention. I reapply my lip gloss and throw it
in my bag. I don’t see anything different this year at all. Maybe they’re the
ones who have changed. I fluff my waves with a shake of my fingers and head out
the door. The halls have thinned, and he is nowhere in sight thank heaven. Well,
I guess he’s not much of a stalker.

 
I swing the
door open to my calculus class and the only seat left in the auditorium style
room is next to him. Of course this would be my luck. I sigh. He is humored I
think. His blue eyes stalk me all the way to my seat. I can’t help but notice
how his white button down shirt can barely contain his arms. Okay so he is
attractive, but it takes more than looks to make my head turn. However,
something about his face makes him seem trustworthy. The way he holds himself
with a dignified air is more mature than his fellow peers. Sitting this close
to him I can smell his appealing scent. He smells like warm chocolate chip
cookies mixed with something musky and sensual. It draws me closer to him, mm
delicious. What is that? In my daze I drop my pencil. He bends and retrieves it
for me with ease. His fingers graze over mine and the same sensation radiates
warmth within me yet again. I feel like I am in a dream and I don’t want to
wake up. Everything has slowed down and it’s just the two of us.
 
I am lost in his eyes, his perfect features. His
magnetic pull has me on the edge of my chair.

“Thanks, I am sorry but do I know you?” I ask
pulling my hand away as I realize we are still touching, a second longer and I
fear I would have been in his lap.

“In a way,” he states, giving nothing to mind. What
does that even mean?

“What’s your name?” For some reason my question
comes out sounding more like an evil queen interrogating a known heretic. His
lip is pulled upward slightly– smirking at my lunacy, no doubt.

“Elijah Morgan,” he whispers into my ear. I see the
class has begun and I am reminded that the world is still spinning. His velvety
voice repeats in my head…
Elijah,
I don’t know anyone
with that name. This seating feels like a movie theater, unfortunately the only
show now playing is- The Extreme Value Theorem. Starring our own older than Methuselah,
Mr. Yates, it’s not even in HD. I wish I could rest my head on Elijah’s broad
shoulders and ladle his scent into my nose.
Brennen
get your head out of the clouds woman
, my subconscious blast. Fine, I’ll do
calculus.

 
I peek over
at his notes. He writes like no boy I’ve ever seen, each word is like a little
work of art. Hmm, you smell like cookies, you have excellent penmanship and the
body of a NFL player. The line from my favorite movie plays in my head. – “I
know what you are… Say it!” I stifle a giggle. He looks at me with his head
cocked to one side, wondering what’s wrong with me. I narrow my eyes in return.
It’s the first time I’ve laughed in months and it feels good.

By the end of class my stomach is growling. Sitting
next to him has given me one hell of a craving for chocolate. I could easily
polish off a vat of Toll House morsels right now. Lucky for me, I get to go to
lunch. I make my way out the jam packed exit. Elijah is using the other one.
Maybe my stalker comment scared him off. I am still wondering where he knows me
from.