Remembrance (The Transcend Time Saga) (16 page)

“You really haven’t,” I laughed, surprised by how at ease I was with him. Then a cold burst of wind blew through the air, and I moved closer to Drew to keep warm. “But everything’s changed now.”

He grabbed hold of the wheel again. “Let’s go inside,” he said, twisting the key and turning the boat back in the direction of his house. “You’re cold, and I’ll get to give you the tour I could see you wanted earlier.”

The boat sped towards the dock, and I watched the house grow larger, aware of how little the speed was affecting me. I was beginning to enjoy the feeling of the wind running through my hair. He slowed down as we got closer, the engine lowering to a mere hum.

“Is it weird living in such a big house with just you and your mom?” I asked, hoping he didn’t mind me asking about his personal life. So far we’d only talked about the two of us, but I wanted to know more about what his life was like before he met me. 

“Sometimes.” His voice was distant—it was clear he didn’t talk much about the split between his parents. “It’s been different without my dad around. My mom and I get along fine, but she’s been emotional since the separation.”

I scooted closer, feeling like a part of him wanted to share it with me. “What happened between them?”

“Their marriage just sort of fell apart.” He paused, thinking about how to explain. “She didn’t care much for the City or the people in New York society, and he started working longer hours. I think they just realized they weren’t in love anymore. She offered to stay in New York for me, but I could tell it wasn’t what she wanted. So I told her I didn’t mind a change of scenery, and now we’re here.”

“You
chose
to move here?” I leaned back and looked at him, widening my eyes in shock. “I always thought you were forced.”

“Don’t be so surprised.” He chuckled, bringing the boat to a stop when we reached the dock.

“I’m not surprised,” I explained, shaking my head in amazement. “I’m just glad you told me. I loved you from the moment I saw you, but now I’m finally beginning to understand why.” 

“Because I left Manhattan for a town in the middle of nowhere?” he asked, the smile on his lips hinting that he knew what I meant. He just wanted to hear it from me.

“No.” I laughed, shaking my head. “It’s because as much as you try to hide it, you’ll do anything for the people you love, even if it’s not something you would choose to do yourself.”

He walked over to the side of the boat to attach it to the dock. “I think you’re forgetting how much I’ve hurt you for the past few months,” he said, turning to face me when he was done. 

“I didn’t forget.” I frowned, upset that he brought it back up. “I don’t think I could forget. Every time you ignored me or told me we shouldn’t be around each other tore me apart inside.” I blinked away tears, trying to wipe the memories from my mind. “But I know you must have had some sort of reason, especially if it hurt you half as much as it did me.” I paused, hoping I could get him to say whatever it was that he was holding back. “You can tell me, you know. It doesn’t have to be now, but I want to understand.”

“I already told you,” he said, holding a hand out to help me out of the boat. “I don’t know why we’re here right now, but it didn’t end well back then. All I know is that it was bad enough for me to not want you to have to go through all that pain again.”

“We must be here because we have a second chance,” I insisted. “Whatever happened then is over. All we have to worry about is what we have right here and now, and that’s each other.”

His dark eyes studied me so intensely that I had to remind myself to breathe. “You’re the light of my life, Elizabeth.” He reached his hand to touch mine, holding it protectively. “I love how much you trust people and want to believe in them. All I hope is that you can still trust me.”

“I’ve always trusted you,” I said without a second thought. “That’s what made everything so hard. I felt how close we could be and didn’t know how to handle dealing with the possibility that we would never have the opportunity to be together. It still feels so surreal … I can’t help but think that I’ll wake up tomorrow and tonight will have been a dream.”

“That’s not going to happen.” His eyes turned dark at the prospect. “I would say you should stay here tonight; that way you’ll know the moment you wake up that you weren’t dreaming, but I don’t think your mom would be too happy to discover you gone in the morning.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, imagining the horrified look on her face upon finding me missing. “She might think I was kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” he questioned, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “I’m going to kidnap you inside.”

In less than a second he lifted me in his arms and started to run towards the house. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he ran across the backyard and leaned into his jacket, inhaling the sweet smell of leather mixed with musky pine, capturing the moment in my mind to ensure that it would remain there for all eternity.

CHAPTER 26

The inside of the Carmichael house felt larger than the outside, if that was possible. It turned out that the part I saw walking in was only one “wing.” Yes, the house had wings, like what you might read about in an old novel. The winding staircase in the foyer led to Drew’s room on the second floor, and while the room was large, the decorations looked “normal” compared to all the others in the house. A set of French doors opened up to a large balcony overlooking the front yard, and there was a king sized bed on the opposite wall. All of the furniture was the same mahogany, and a sleek silver stereo system sat on the right of the window with a flat screen television above.

“I like your room,” I said, adjusting my weight from one leg to the other as I looked around.

“Thanks.” He shrugged like it was nothing special, walking across the floor towards a small door in the corner next to the stereo. I followed him, watching as he opened it to reveal the bottom of an iron spiral staircase that looked like something from an old Victorian home. “Now for the surprise I wanted to show you,” he said, holding the door for me to enter. “Come on.”

The stairs led up to a tower-like area in the shape of a hexagon above his room. It reminded me of a secret passage from a mystery book, except that instead of being dark and musty, windows filled three of the walls. A large flat-screen computer sat on a mahogany desk that looked out of one of the front windows, and a brown leather couch lined one wall across the room. On the other wall a built-in bookshelf stood tall enough to touch the ceiling, filled with titles ranging from old philosophy to the newest thrillers.

“I didn’t know you liked to read,” I mused, walking over to examine the spines of the books. “Have you read all of these?”

“Not even close.” He laughed, scanning the length of the bookshelf. “I didn’t have a lot of time to read in the City—there was always so much going on. But I’ve gotten through a bunch of them since moving here.”

“I guess New Hampshire is kind of boring compared to New York,” I said, smiling slightly.

He was silent for a moment. “Nothing’s been boring since I met you.”

I lowered my eyes, heat creeping up on my cheeks. “Yeah,” I said, glancing back up at him. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“I didn’t bring you up here to show you the loft,” he said after a few seconds. I nodded for him to continue, and he walked over to the desk and opened large drawer on the bottom, pulling out a square object and placing it next to the computer. “A woman at a store in England gave this to me when I was there two summers ago.”

I went to get a closer look, standing inches away from Drew. His breathing slowed when I got close to him, and I smiled, happy to sense that he shared the same feelings while near me that I did with him.

I looked down at the box to see what it was. There was glass on the top and front sides, and the rest of it was a medium-colored wood. It was divided into two sections—the top was an inch tall and opened to reveal what appeared to be a miniature golden record player with small raised dots scattered on the disk. I kneeled to see what was inside the larger section, my lips parting in surprise at the scene inside.

Porcelain figures appeared to be dancing inside a miniature ballroom, and while they weren’t actually moving, it looked like they were dancing to the imaginary music of a pianist in the corner. The yellow walls displayed elegant carvings, and the floor was an off-white marble, the lightness of the room making the space appear larger than it actually was. The women’s flowing dresses created movement in the still piece. It was like the dioramas that I made in elementary school, only much more detailed and elegant.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, lifting my fingers to touch the glass, like I was trying to reach into the scene.

“That’s not all.” He moved his fingers to the back, winding a small handle that I hadn’t noticed before. It clicked with each movement until it couldn’t go any further. “Listen.”

The gold plate on top started slowly spinning, sending clear notes through the otherwise silent room. A section of the floor inside the box rotated when the song began, making it look like the figures were dancing to the music.

“It’s ‘Minuet.’” I recognized the piece instantly. 

He knelt on the floor beside me, watching the figures revolve inside the small room. “I knew it was important when I heard you playing it on the piano,” he said, looking over at me. “It’s our song.”

The conversation I’d had with Jeremy in the beginning of the school year popped into my mind. At the time I didn’t realize why I cared so much that Jeremy and I didn’t have a song, but now I knew why. Music is powerful; it transforms emotions and experiences into something tangible. Every time you hear a familiar song, the feelings from it bubble to the surface, bringing back memories you might have otherwise forgotten.

We listened for a minute longer, the distance between the notes elongating and eventually coming to a stop.  

“I can’t believe you have this,” I whispered. “It’s too much of a coincidence. Don’t you see that none of this would be here if we weren’t meant to be together?”

“You’re so optimistic, Elizabeth.” He pushed himself off the desk to stand, holding out a hand to help me up. “I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“You won’t,” I insisted. “I know you won’t.”

Doubt crossed his face, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was so bad that he felt like he had to keep his distance to protect me. It was noble, yes, but I wanted to know more than what he’d told me so far.

I also didn’t want to push it. Something about our relationship felt fragile, like if I touched it in the wrong way it would shatter into a million little pieces. It wasn’t worth the risk to sacrifice losing how far we’d come this night because I was too impatient to wait for him to be ready to open up.

“The sun’s rising,” he said, interrupting my thoughts. “I should get you home.”

“Right,” I agreed, remembering that I wasn’t even supposed to be there. I felt terrible about sneaking out, but I still didn’t want to get in trouble. I also had no idea how I was going to be able to comfort Chelsea without feeling like a terrible friend, since I was the reason behind Drew’s breaking up with her.

His eyes brimmed with concern. “Everything will be fine with you and Chelsea. She’ll just need some time to adjust.”

“How do you know?” I asked. “And how did you know I was thinking that?”

“It’s because I know you, Elizabeth,” he said, like the answer was so simple that I shouldn’t have needed to ask. “I know how hard this is for you. If it helps, Chelsea talked a lot about what a great friend you are to her, especially when she needed you after her mom passed away. I loved when she talked about you. I want you to remember that whatever happens with you and Chelsea, I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere, at least not anytime soon.”

“I just don’t know if I can do this to her,” I said, trying to push the image out of my mind of the anger in Chelsea’s eyes as I told her about Drew and I being together. “But we have to be together after we’ve come this far. I don’t think I could take it any other way.”

“You don’t have to do anything yet,” he said, his eyes softening in understanding. “This is a lot to handle at once. I’ve been trying to figure everything out since I met you—no, since I went on that vacation to England—and I still don’t know what we’re supposed to do. I’ll figure out how to deal with whatever decision you make.”

“And what do you want?” I asked, flashing back to when I asked him the same question in the hallway at school a few weeks ago.

“I want you,” he said. “Just you. I used to go through every day without thinking about the future, but with you all I can see are the possibilities of the experiences we could have together.” He paused, clasping my hands in his. “But remember that whatever you choose, I want you to do what will make you the happiest.”

I nodded, deciding to take his advice and think about what to do before making anything final. It didn’t seem possible to decide not to be together, but then I thought about why I had to make a decision in the first place. Chelsea would feel betrayed when she found out about me and Drew, and it would devastate Jeremy even more to know that Drew was the reason why I didn’t put more effort into fixing our relationship. 

The ride back was peaceful. Mellow music played in the background, and we watched the sun rise higher in the sky. When we arrived in front of my house, I didn’t want to leave, still afraid I was dreaming and reality would slam down on me when I woke up. However, we eventually had to say bye, and Drew promised me again that he wouldn’t discard what had happened that night and revert to the way he’d been acting towards me for the past few weeks. His words were consoling, and I believed him.

It was easy to sneak back inside, and despite knowing that I would have to deal with Chelsea the next day, it only took seconds to fall asleep.