The Price of a Gift (The Price of Secrets Series) (19 page)

I all but sobbed the last word. He wrapped his arm around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder. It wasn't the zap of electricity that surprised me, I have gotten use to that,
it was the connection I felt to him by being in his arms. I inhaled the musky scent of his skin mixed with the lingering smell of soap. I let out a sigh before I could stop myself. That brought me back to my senses and I sat up, putting distance between us. There was no way I could concentrate while having physical contact with him.

"Hannah, she will realize you are just trying to look out for her and she will see for herself that he's scum."

"I just hope it's not too late when she does."

After Daniel left I decided to take a long shower to help relieve the throbbing headache that was threatening to turn into a migraine. I put on my fluffy robe and matching slippers and went into the kitchen for some 'mom time'. I found her making a pot of coffee.

"Hey kiddo. I hope you had a wonderful day."

"The party was great. Thanks again for letting me have it. I'll take a cup of that when it's done. My head hurts. I don't think I've had my caffeine intake for the day."

Mom studied me for a moment then turned around and got a coffee cup out of the cabinet and sat it down in front of me. "I've known you for almost 16 years now. It's not caffeine withdrawal that is giving you a headache. What's wrong baby girl?" I still adore it when she calls me that. It always makes me feel loved.

The coffee was finished perking and she poured me a cup while I told her about what happened today. With the exception of laughing when I told her about Kayla and Jacob, she sat in silence until I was through. "Your Dad and I were watching. We couldn't hear what was going on, but we saw it. You handled it very well. I know it doesn't make you feel better, but you did the right thing. Honey deep down Phoebe knows that too. But some people just won't listen. They have to learn from their own mistakes. I give you a hard time about her because I had a friend just like her when I was your age. Just like Phoebe, she was being raised by a single mom and got to do whatever she wanted to. She had a good heart but she would say and do things without thinking. It didn't matter the consequences or who she hurt. If it was something she wanted, she would find a way to justify it. She didn't mean to, but she hurt my feelings on more than one occasion. I have always been afraid Phoebe would hurt you too. Now, that being said, I like Phoebe and I hope she wises up before she does something she can't take back. Is she already sexually active?"

"I don't think so but I honestly don't know. She jokes around about being a slut but she has told me before that she is still a virgin."

"Let's hope she stays that way. Now, I saw something else through the window. What's going on with you and Daniel?"

Crap.

That night I had a dream about the fight with Phoebe. It was like I was standing on the sidelines and watching myself. It played out just the way it really happened.
With one exception. We were arguing through the worst thunderstorm I have ever seen. I was sure that any minute I would see a tornado form out of the dark, heavy clouds. Lightning was striking with every word although Jaycee, Phoebe and my dream self, didn't seem to acknowledge it. I wasn't alone on the sideline for long.

Samantha materialized beside me. "Why aren't you doing something? You have to help her Hannah. You can't let him hurt her! You promised!" She was hysterical.

"Samantha calm down. I tried to warn her." That was all I was able to say before she disappeared. Then I woke up. I grabbed my diary and wrote it down. I might not know what it all stands for or what it means, but I know that it's the next clue.

Chapter 14

"I'm so sorry. I feel like I'm stuck in the middle." Kayla was standing with Jaycee and me at our lockers telling us about her talk with Phoebe last night.

She basically tried to give Kayla an ultimatum, wanting her to choose sides. Kayla told her she was not going to pick between her best friends. Kayla was apologizing to us because Phebs was having her be the messenger and tell us that Phoebe would no longer be sitting with us at lunch. She is now gonna sit with Ash, Brittany and Olivia and she was very upset to hear Kayla tell her that she would be sitting in her usual seat with us.

"I just can't believe she’s being like this. She has been acting so
crazy, I haven't even got to tell her about Jacob yet. When we do speak, she doesn't let me get a word in. All she talks about is either you and Jaycee, or she's trying to convince me of what a great guy Brad is." I knew Phoebe was mad but I was hoping she would have calmed down some over the weekend. I didn't want it to get this out of hand. To quote Jaycee, she is starting to piss me off.

"I'm the one who is sorry Kayla. I should have waited until I could talk to her in private before I told her what I thought about Brad. If it makes you feel any better, Jaycee and I are thrilled that you and Jacob are dating. We think you are a great match, now you and Jaycee can double date."

Jaycee put her arm around my shoulder. I knew she was gonna say something sassy. "And if Hannah here could put a fire under Chief we could triple date." I started to make excuses for Daniel and myself but her compliment left me speechless. "Because we can all see that you two belong together, Han. And I'm very picky on who I give my best friend seal of approval to. Besides, Mike says Daniel stares at you all the time and stumbles and stutters whenever your name comes up."

My stomach started to twist, turn and flutter. I couldn't tell if I had butterflies or needed to use the bathroom.
"Really? Mike said that?"

"Yep.
And I bet Jacob knows even more since they hang out more than Daniel and Mike does."

Kayla, taking her cue from Jaycee, spoke up. "Jacob hasn't told me anything but I will ask him."

That made me stomach turn sour. "No. I mean thank you, but please don't. I know I butted into yours and Jaycee's love life but that was different. Daniel and I both know we like each other. We are just taking it slow. It will happen if and when it's supposed to happen. I have no clue how this conversation turned to me. We were talking about Kayla and Phoebe." I gave the floor back to Kayla. The thought of them pushing me and Daniel together didn't feel right at all. I know that sounds so double standard since I’ve done the very exact thing to them.

It felt weird sitting at our table and seeing
Phebs sitting at the next one. We were all trying to pretend we didn't notice, but I could feel that she was on everyone's mind. But on the bright side, the rest of my friends were here. Jaycee and Mike were sitting beside me and Kayla and Jacob was across from them. Daniel had made one of his famous baby steps and decided to sit across from me today. I might be giving myself too much credit for that. He sat down between Jacob and Chase so it might not even have anything to do with me.

I felt my phone vibrate and saw I had a text from Daniel.
-You haven't been sleeping well.
Another dream?
He is so thoughtful. Slow in the whole relationship department, but very thoughtful. I text him back about my dream Saturday night and asked him if he had any ideas of what it could mean
. -Actually I do. Take a break from worrying about it for a while and let me
do some research. It's better if you don't know yet
. I knew what he meant. The shadow demon keeps lingering around me to find out what I know. So it's smart thinking for Daniel not to want to fill me in on his hunch.

-
Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without your help.
I really wanted to say 'what I'd do without you'. But I didn't want to freak him out.

-
Hopefully you will never have to worry about that
. He replied. I cut my eyes up to take a peek at him through my lashes. Those beautiful matching dimples were smiling at me. Wow. If a smile from him can make me forget all train of thought, I wonder what would happen from a kiss. I would probably forget my name. Or how to talk. Or how to breath. Or all of the above. I could feel heat rise from my toes straight to my face. Even though his expression looked as if he could read my mind, I couldn't stop gazing into those gorgeous deep brown eyes.

That gave me an idea. I'm
gonna see if I can take a look. I haven't tried in a while to get into his head. I had to make myself break eye contact with him cause I need to concentrate. And that ain't gonna happen if I'm looking at his eyes and dimples. I could feel it when I reached his mind, but that was as far as I could get. I kept hitting a wall. I pushed until I could feel a headache coming on. I was about to give up when I felt the wall give, then I was looking at myself through his thoughts. I look dang good. I mean, I'm pretty but the way he sees me, I could be a freakin model!

My phone vibrated. It's Daniel.
-That's enough. You can stop now.
Crap! I looked at him expecting to see anger in his eyes. But all I saw was humor. I mouthed the word sorry to him but that just made his smile get even bigger. Yum was the first word to pop into my head.

I was dreading gym class all day. I knew that it was going to be so awkward to be around Phoebe and her invisible line in the sand that she has separated us by. Luckily we were given options of what we could do today. Jaycee and I figured we could take this time to catch up on the things that we can't talk about in front of anyone else. So we let Kayla off the hook and suggested that she group up with Phebs to play basketball while we walked laps around the gym.

"I can't believe she is still being such a bitch." Jaycee was hurt by the way Phoebe was acting. Being mad was an easier emotion for her to deal with.

"I know, but there is nothing we can do about it until she comes to her senses. So let's change the subject. I told Daniel about the dream I had. He seems to think he might know something about Samantha."

Jaycee kept her eyes straight ahead. "I know. He told me." What? "And don't even ask
cause I can't tell you anything. Except that I think he is on the right track. But don't worry, and no peeking! We will tell you soon. He has this theory...well I can't tell you that yet either. So let's just change the subject again. Let's talk about me."

It was stupid, but I was a little jealous. Not over them talking, but because I feel left out. "That is always your favorite topic." I wanted to throw a tantrum, right there on the shiny wood floors, until she told me what was going on. But I had to put on my big girl panties, because I knew she's right.

Oblivious to my pouting, she kept talking. "I can't wait until the Grandfather Mountain field trip. I'll get to spend the whole day with Mike." She sighed. I think that must be contagious.

"For your birthday I will make you a shirt that says 'I heart Mike' on it." I snickered.

"Haha very funny. But speaking of birthdays, your's is coming up soon. Are you still gonna have a sweet 16 party?"

"I want to, but I don't want to have the same old lame costume party. I know! Why don't we have it together? That would be perfect since your birthday always falls during Christmas break and it's hard to get everyone together for a party then."

"We could rent out the rec center and split the cost." I was glad to see she was on board.

"And instead of a costume party we could have a fancy masquerade party!" I added.

"Ok," Jaycee beamed, "talk to you parents tonight and I will call you after I talk to mine. Then the four of us can get together and shop for dresses!"

That busted my happy bubble. "You mean the three of us."

I could see that hers busted too. "We have time. Phoebe will come around." She said trying to act confident, but she failed miserably.

Mom picked me up after school. It was all I could do to keep from asking her right there in the car about the party. But I thought it would be best to get Mom and Dad together first, then ask. When we got home I helped her fix supper. Trying to earn brownie points, but I wasn't fooling her at all. She kept giving me the 'I know you're up to something' look. For someone who wasn't psychic, it was hard to get anything past her.

With both of us cooking it wasn't long before the three of us sat down to eat. When we were almost finished, Mom finally broke her silence. "Ok Hannah, what's on your mind?"

I tried to give my best innocent look. "What do you mean?"

She laughed. "You helped my cook supper without me having to ask. You offered to load the dishwasher after we eat. AND you asked me how work is going. So out with it already."

I told them about the party idea and was shocked when I didn't have to beg. They were all for it. Mom even said she would make a call after supper to find out if there were any available weekends in November. I did my happy dance and hugged both their necks.

I started to dance my way out of the kitchen, when I was stopped. "Um Han, the dishwasher is calling your name." Crap. Making promises is much easier than following through with them.

I started on the dishes while Mom made a call from the living room. By the time she walked back into the kitchen I was finished loading the dishes and was wiping down the counters. "Ok I just talked to Christy and she said she doesn’t have any Saturdays available. The entire month is full with people having Thanksgiving gatherings. But, as luck would have it, Saturday October 31st just came available because of a cancellation.
The day before your birthday. I went ahead and booked it, but if you change your mind after talking to Jaycee, we can cancel it."