The Emerald Talisman (19 page)

“This is insane,” I said as I shook my
head.

“Welcome to my life.”

We pulled into the deli parking lot and I
noticed my car was one of the last ones parked there. The thought
of driving home alone made me nervous. I couldn’t stop the flashes
of the hungry eyes of the vampire that attacked me and I pictured
others waiting in the dark at home. This was worse than the
imaginary boogey man I used to be afraid of. Vampires were real and
quite possibly everywhere.

“Do you think you can drive?” he asked, as he
parked next to my car.

“I think so. I’m feeling a little better
now,” I lied.

“I’ll follow you home if you want.”

“Please?” I asked, grateful he sensed my
hesitation.

Once I got into my car, I immediately locked
the doors behind me, even though I knew there were no vampires
around. With a turn of the key, the engine revved to life and I
waited for it to warm up while I blew hot air into my hands. My
Quantum paled in comparison to Nicholas’ Chrysler.

I pulled out a compact mirror from my purse
and added powder to my eyes. I didn’t have a clue how I was going
to get past my dad without being noticed. Maybe they’d be in bed
already.

After a few minutes, I looked in my rearview
mirror to back out and noticed Nicholas’ concerned face in the
reflection. My heart warmed at the revelation of the truth. All
along, when I thought he’d ditched me, he was still there,
agonizing over our separation too.

I cranked the heater and drove. Nicholas
followed closely behind and his headlights shone through the back
window. He couldn’t drive stealth following me and it made me
grin.

Quickly, I formulated an excuse in my head
for why I was late, just in case. Nicholas’ superb driving did
shave off precious minutes and instead of being an hour past
curfew, I was only about a half-an-hour late. But with all the
drama, I knew he’d be counting every minute and exponentially
adding them.

I figured out a decent story when I noticed
we passed the spot it all happened and my car lurched a little,
almost as if it recognized it. I couldn’t believe my late night
mishap was just days ago, when it felt like ages – back when I was
still naïve.

I turned on my quiet street and felt my
tension release when I found my house dark and my family sleeping
peacefully inside. Nicholas was at my door just as I shut the
engine off. It was as if he’d read my mind.

“Thank you,” I said as he helped me out of my
car.

“I can’t imagine what you must be going
through,” he said his face full of concern.

“I’m glad I know,” I said, trying to sound
brave. I looked up at him in the moonlight; his beautiful face and
amazing eyes sparkled down at me.

He reached out, pulled me gently toward him
and hugged me. I melted into his strong chest and inhaled the sweet
aroma of his skin. His arms were warm and comforting. He rested his
chin on the top of my head and took a deep breath.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise,” he said
as he held me tighter.

I vowed not to cry anymore in front of him,
but I couldn’t help it this time. A little tear trickled down my
cheek.

“So, now what happens? I mean, I know I’m not
supposed to be seen with you, but how can I contact you?” I asked
softly, not wanting him to let me go. “What if there’s an
emergency?”

He held on for a second longer before pulling
away to look down at me.

“You can call me,” he stated simply.

“You have a cell phone?”

I didn’t know why I assumed he didn’t and
scolded myself.

Of course he has a phone.

“I don’t get many calls, but I do,” he said
with a snicker.

My cheeks grew hot and I felt sorry I doubted
he’d be part of the 21
^st
Century like everyone else. He
ignored my faux pas and quietly told me his number and I told him
mine.

“Memorize it. Don’t store it in your phone.
Call me only in an emergency. I don’t want anyone to find out we
are connected in any way.”

He scanned the forest line again and then
ushered me closer to the house. I reached out with my own powers
too. As far as I could tell, we were alone.

“Do you think we were followed?” I asked once
we reached the porch, wondering if he sensed something I
didn’t.

“Not tonight. But you can never be too
careful.”

He looked at me wistfully and put a stray
hair of mine back into place. My heart erupted in a flutter when
his hand brushed my cheek and I tried to control my breath which
came out a little quicker than normal.

“But one thing I forgot to tell you. Never
invite a vampire into your house. They can not cross your threshold
uninvited. Understood?”

“Really?” I said with a snort. “Like I’d do
that.”

“It’s just a precaution, and during the
evening, stay in heavy populated areas, just in case.”

“I will.”

“Try to get some sleep,” he said as he
gathered me to his chest once more and kissed the top of my head.
His feelings were paternal at the moment. I took in a deep breath
and hugged him back, hoping we could stay like this forever.

“I need to go,” he whispered and loosened his
arms.

I looked up at his chiseled face and
frowned.

“I’ll see you soon, I promise,” he said in
response.

His tender eyes made my stomach burst into a
nervous flutter once again.

“Okay,” I choked out, unsure how he was going
to keep that promise, but knew he meant to.

“Bye,” I nervously said and let myself into
the house. I shut the door quickly, hoping it would lessen the
sting this time.

In the hallway I stood with my eyes closed
and felt the bitter separation. The tremendous sense of loss
flooded my senses like it did the first time and I ached. Luckily,
this time I didn’t get the warning Nicholas was never coming
back.

I tried to analyze why it physically hurt so
much to leave his presence. Maybe it was because he helped me
survive the nightmare of my mother’s death that connected us or
some other weird nuance of my secret power. Whatever it was, I knew
I would always need to be a part of Nicholas’ life.

“Julia, is that you?”

My insides jumped at the sound of my dad’s
gruff and half-awake voice.

“Yes. Did I wake you?”

I walked over to the foot of the stairs and
fearfully looked up.

He stood at the top in his pajamas and a
frown on his face.

“Julia, you’re late. Where were you?”

“I was talking with my manager. I know, I’m
sorry,” I said, my rehearsed speech rolling easily off my
tongue.

“You promised to call.”

“I didn’t realize the time, Dad. Sorry.”

He turned, mumbled something and shuffled
back to his room. I heard the door shut.

I stood in the dark and realized I hadn’t
heard Nicholas pull away. When I went to the window to look out,
the only car that remained on the street now was mine.

Exhausted, I drug myself up the stairs and
got ready for bed. I knew I’d have issues falling sleep. My raw
hands ached and my body felt fatigued, but my mind was alert,
racing with new information.

I decided I’d try to fall asleep on my own
before taking a Tylenol PM. I pulled the covers up to my neck and
turned off the light. The moonlight shone into my room and I turned
towards the night sky.

My phone buzzed with a message on my
nightstand. It was from the number I’d just tucked into my memory
bank.

-
Goodnight and don’t worry. I’ll
stay close by tonight.

I blinked in astonishment and instantly felt
better. I sent a message back.

- Thank you. Goodnight to you too.

I wanted to look out the window but didn’t
want Nicholas to see me. If anything was ever to happen between us,
I didn’t want to appear too eager.

Happy with the new tidbit of information, I
snuggled up in my covers, reenacting his arms and to my surprise,
quickly drifted off to sleep.

. . .

13
– YEARNING

I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning and
found I’d slept soundly the whole night through. The sweet aroma of
freshly brewed coffee drifted under my door and I heard pots
clanging in the kitchen.

The light of the bathroom hurt my eyes as I
examined the puffy marshmallows that were my eyelids. I slathered
them with special cream and hoped Dad wouldn’t notice.

I threw on my favorite tattered robe and
bunny slippers and scuffed down the stairs to the kitchen.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Dad said with a
quick glance over his shoulder. “Want some coffee?”

“Yes,” I mumbled and made my way to the
pot.

With my mug in hand, I slid into a seat at
the kitchen table and put my lips to the rim to take a long slow
swig. I felt the warm liquid go the length of my throat all the way
to my stomach and let out a sigh.

“That good,” Dad said as he continued
voraciously dicing zucchini, onions and broccoli into slivers.

Within seconds, the veggies hit the wok with
a sizzle and filled the room with a mouthwatering garlic aroma. I
waited for a lecture about coming in late the night before, but he
said nothing about it.

“Things going better with you?” he finally
asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I wanted to share what I remembered about
Mom, but knew this wasn’t the right time. He seemed happy today,
like everything between us was patched up. Why would I want to ruin
it?

“Has Phil come back yet?”

“No,” I said quietly. “Not yet.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said with a
twinge of worry. I guessed it wasn’t for Phil’s welfare, but my
own.

“They cancelled the homecoming game because
of it.”

“Really? That’s a shame,” he said sounding
surprised, but I knew he wasn’t. Probably something else Mr.
Brewster revealed after I left the meeting.

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to go anyway.”

“And you
are
still grounded,” he said
in a fatherly tone.

I sulked down in my seat, hoping he’d
forgotten.

Before I could pout, he slid a steaming hot
gourmet plate of scrambled eggs with sautéed vegetables and
seasoned potatoes to die for in front of me.

“Looks really good, Dad,” I said.

The skin around his eyes crinkled up when he
grinned. He was unsure about his parenting skills, except when it
came to cooking. It was one area he could be successful at every
time.

“What’s cooking?” Luke said as he sauntered
into the kitchen.

“Sorry, it’s all gone,” I said with a
mouthful of food.

Luke made a face at me before dishing himself
up a plate.

We sat and enjoyed our breakfast quietly. It
had been a while since we’d all been together for a meal and I
treasured the moment.

“So what are your plans for today, Jules?”
Dad finally said, after taking his last few mouthfuls.

“The homecoming dance is tonight and I’m
going to help Sam get ready, if that’s okay with you, Dad.”

“Aren’t you going?” Luke asked
innocently.

“No,” I said with a tiny hint of disdain.
“I’m grounded, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Luke said, hiding his smirk while
keeping his eyes on his plate.

“Did you want to go?” Dad asked.

I sensed the dance, unlike the game, might
have been something negotiable if I really wanted to go, but I
didn’t, at least not with anyone from my school. And Nicholas was a
little busy hunting down the vampires of the world.

“I don’t have a date.”
That’s entirely
human, half-vampire actually, but he doesn’t drink blood or
anything gross like that.

“You don’t seem too upset about it,” Dad said
catching my mysterious smile.

“I hate dances, Dad. You know that.”

“Ah, hey that reminds me. Whatever happened
to that boy that helped you home last week?” Dad asked while
picking up the newspaper off the table.

I froze.
Had he seen us together last
night?

“Yeah, what was his name? Nicholas?” Luke
asked.

I shot Luke a look and shook my head back and
forth, wide-eyed to plead for him to shut up.

“I think he’s been busy,” I stammered.

“Oh,” Dad said, suddenly absorbed at
something in the news.

Luke looked back with apologetic eyes. I held
my breath hoping the subject would pass. I didn’t have a good
excuse prepared and the chances of getting caught in a lie were
greater since we just hung out the night before.

“Anyone need anything else?” I asked in a
planned escape and stood to clear my plate.

“Hmmm?” Dad said while perusing the stock
page. “You can clear my plate.”

Luke handed me Dad’s plate along with his own
and gave me a wink.

Normally, I would have told my brother to do
his own dishes, but said nothing and moved to the sink unsure of
what he was going to do. To my delight, I heard him ask Dad about
the status of some of his favorite stocks. When I turned, I caught
his eye and mouthed a thank you. He smiled.

When I took out the trash, I looked around
suddenly feeling inconspicuous.

What if he’s watching me right now?

I tried to see if I could sense his presence
realizing I never felt watched in the past, but the surroundings
were void of feeling, so I didn’t know. But to think he might be
made me a little uncertain. I wondered if I should feel more
violated. Was he spying or just easing his conscience?

This must be how people with bodyguards
feel.

I decided I wasn’t going to worry about it,
or I’d make myself crazy. We’d have to work out all the gritty
details later because one thing was for certain; I wasn’t going to
have some invisible guardian in the shadows my whole life –
especially one whom I wanted to spend more time with.

I went back inside and immediately got busy.
My insurmountable to-do list consisted of house cleaning, laundry
and homework. I’d gotten buried in dust bunnies and dirty clothes
since my accident and I had to get most of it done before going to
Sam’s house tonight.