Aftermath (16 page)

With the edges of my
heart burning, I started walking across the parking lot.

“Do you need to go to
the hospital?” I turned around to see Zack’s back toward me,
locking the front door.

“No,” I said with
more sadness than stubbornness.

He finished and turned
toward me with a surprised expression. I waited for his sarcasm. When
he didn’t deliver it fast enough, I turned to continue walking. My
footfalls were so angry a path of broken shells trailed behind me.

“C’mon, I’ll give
you a ride.”

My body spun around to
face him. “What, you ran out of snide comments?”

“Do you want a ride
or not?”

I bit my lip as I
considered my options. In the end, fatigue won over pride. I walked
to his truck and got in without another word. “Thanks,” I barely
whispered as he turned the key to start the truck.

Zack wasn’t trying to
start a conversation on the drive back and although I wanted to ask
him about the accident, I was relieved. I stared out the window,
watching the blur of lights as we drove by. I was briefly aware of my
phone vibrating in my backpack before my eyelids fluttered closed.

“Ana, wake up.”
His voice was soothing as it led me out of the fog of sleep. With a
smile on my face, I stretched my arms out to wrap them around
Hayden’s neck. When he wasn’t lying next to me, my eyes shot
open.

“Oh my gosh.” I
looked around and realized I wasn’t lying down, and I wasn’t
alone. I finally calmed down when the recent memories came back to
me. “Oh.”

“Sorry to disappoint.
But you’re home.”

“How did you know
where I lived?” I said, suddenly alarmed. Last time someone brought
me home without directions, well…

“Uh, I have been here
more than a few times with my pops?” He looked at me with suspicion
and craze.

“What?” Desperation
came out on my tone and he held my gaze until I looked at the house
we were parked out in front of. It was my Dad’s house. Of course he
knew that. They didn’t need to know I had moved out and I didn’t
see the need to tell them that tonight. I let out a weak laugh.
“Right. Sorry, still waking up. Well, I’m going to go.” I
pulled the door handle and the car door flew open. I grabbed my
backpack and stumbled out of his truck. I was not used to the height
differences.

“Careful.”

I listened for mockery
in his voice but found it surprisingly absent. “Yep, I’m fine.
Thanks for the ride, Zack.”

“Anytime.”

I looked at him, giving
him one last chance to dare to make a comment about why he had to
give me a ride home and why Hayden was a no-show. When he didn’t, I
said goodnight and shut the door.

I took baby steps up to
the front door of my dad's house. Zack still hadn’t left by the
time I got to the front and I tensed, hoping he wouldn’t want to
see me go inside. I turned back, giving him a wave to signal he could
go. He didn’t. And I waved again until he finally got the picture,
shook his head and left rather too abruptly. I let out a breath when
he was finally gone. I realized I was just standing on the front
steps like a stranger. I peeked through the sideline window. Inside
looked warm and cozy. A perfect place to be on night like this. But
this wasn’t my home anymore. The sounds of laughter from inside
confirmed that. I turned away, walking back the few blocks to where I
lived now.

When I got close, I saw
Hayden running out into the driveway, obviously hearing me approach.
He scooped me into his arms and I was all too eager to fall into
them.

After kissing me
frantically, he spoke. “Where were you?” Then as if realizing
something, he looked around the street suspiciously.

“Where was
I
?
You were supposed to pick me up.” The wind blew and I shivered
again.

Hayden led me inside,
not releasing my arm the entire time. When we got inside he turned to
face me. “I’m so sorry, Ana. I got called,“ he paused, “and I
didn’t know if Luke would be there or how that would work out, so I
had to go. Elizabeth said she would be happy to pick you up from
work. When she got there, she said you were gone. It turned out to be
nothing, so I came back home to see if you got a ride. My parents are
still out looking for you.” He finished frantically searching my
face for any signs of injury before finally resting on my eyes. Then
my lips. “If anything had happened to you...”

“Shh... I’m fine.
But I need to tell you what happened.”

I took a warm shower
and then explained everything to Hayden as I was getting ready for
bed. When I finally lay down for the night, I vaguely remembered
Hayden saying he had to go out. I had no energy to form a protest. I
had school in the morning and I knew Nikki would say something about
getting beauty sleep. Whatever tried to kill me, Zack, Mr. Christian,
Marie, Luke... all that could wait until the morning.

It was Friday, and
finally the day before the ball. Tonight would be the celebratory
‘night parade’ and all the people running for court would be
given one last opportunity to sway voters by being on Ecole’s
float. Since I was officially on the ballot, thanks to Nikki, that
included me.

I woke up early,
feeling more energized than I thought possible after the night
before. I even went on a run around the neighborhood. I felt so alive
afterwards; I could hardly remember that I had been so close to death
in the first place. Hayden’s parents were there when I woke but
Hayden still wasn’t back. We had a nice, yet quiet, breakfast
together and I tried to cheer up Elizabeth by cooking with her. They
gave me a ride to school and assured me Hayden would be back soon.

When I got to school,
the atmosphere over was ecstatic, but I had a lot more on my mind
than just the parade. Luke was gone and Hayden skipped school. Marie
seemed like she was avoiding me and Nikki was everywhere, bouncing
off the walls in her excitement. I felt alone and regretted telling
Hayden about my diving accident last night. He would have been here
with me instead of out searching for ghosts if I hadn’t.

I dragged myself to my locker before
first period to kill time. When I opened it, something fell out. My
heart stopped as I, once again, automatically suspected the worst. I
looked at the floor, and my mood instantly improved. Laying on the
floor by my feet was a single rose whose petals looked blood-red
against the shiny linoleum. I picked it up between my thumb and
forefinger, removing with my other hand a scrolled note tied to the
stem. My heart filled with warmth and spread to my smile as I
unfurled the note. The handwriting showed it was not from whom I
expected it to be from, but was familiar nonetheless.

You are safe with me. Meet me in
the parking lot during lunch.

Love yours and forever,

Luke

Why did I still have a
ridiculous smile on my face as I walked to English? Why didn’t I
leave the rose in my locker? Why did I keep rubbing the soft petals
of the rose against my lip, inhaling the smell of flowers and the
lingering scent of autumn? It didn’t even bother me how foolish I
looked as I sat in my usual desk in Mr. Atkins' class, my daydream
only interrupted by someone calling my name.

“Hayden is so sweet.
You’re so lucky, Ana.” Bailey was smiling at me in a similar
day-dreaming state when I finally woke out of mine.

“Hayden?” I
wondered why she had brought him up.
Did she know something?
I
thought briefly before realizing the rose I still held in my hand.
“Oh. Right. Yes, yes he is.” I smiled at her reassuringly before
Mr. Atkins started and she took her seat. Of course that was why she
had brought him up. I was fondling a rose that wasn’t even from my
boyfriend. Why on earth would that make me feel so giddy? Because
that was exactly what I needed. I felt alone today, and after last
night, scared. To know he was watching and I would be safe had given
me the same feelings deep in my stomach that I get with Hayden.
Wasn’t that one of the things I loved about Hayden? Did I even know
what love was anymore?
What was wrong with me?

As much as I wanted to
listen to and distract myself with Mr. Atkins' lecture, I failed
miserably. I even tried to get a head start on our final paper but
couldn’t get past the first sentence. I thought about Nikki and
Marie, but didn’t want to bore them with my problems. I didn’t
have the heart to spoil Nikki’s good mood and Marie still seemed
distant.

My heart leaped when
Marie came to my side in the hallway during passing time. She nudged
my shoulder and I smiled at her unspoken apology.

She examined my face
and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

I explained to her my
near accident at work and she instantly pulled me into a hug. “I’m
so sorry I was acting weird the other night. I just needed some alone
time; you needed me and look how I acted.”

“No, its fine Marie,
you had a lot on your mind and I’m alive, aren’t I?”
For
now,
the somber thought flashed in my head.

“Yeah, but you don’t
look okay. Is there something else bothering you?”

“It’s not a big
deal, I’ll be fine. Tell me what’s going on with you and, well,
you know,” I tried to casually mention the voodoo. If she didn’t
want to talk about it, I was okay with that, too, but I needed her to
know I was there for her.

“Don’t you dare
change the subject,” she said with a smile and a gasp. I was glad
my mention of the other night didn't turn her cold. “Tell me what’s
bothering you. You know I won’t judge you.”

“I…nothing, it’s
fine.”

“Adriana Rae. I will
not let you go to your next class until you tell me what’s up.”

I quickly clamped a
hand over her mouth and drug her to the other end of the hall. “Shh!
People are going to hear my middle name!” I stared at her, knowing
that was her intent. “Fine,” I spoke as I exhaled. She smiled
satisfactorily. “I feel so stupid saying this, but, well, you know
Luke, right?” Of course she knows Luke. Gosh, I am not good at this
sharing thing. “Well, I know you guys haven’t gotten the best
impression of him, but you don’t see the side of him that I do. The
fact is, he has a good heart, and he’s very sweet…”

“Oh my God, Ana!”

I hushed Marie before
she could say anymore. “It’s not like that at all. But I do care
about him. And everything that’s happened has just made my brain go
in circles. I have felt more in the past few months then I have felt
in my entire life. I guess I just don’t know what to do with it
all.”

“I don’t know what
you want me to say…”

“Nothing. I don’t
want you to say anything. I’m sorry I even brought it up. I guess I
just needed someone who would listen. Please, don’t think badly
about me. I love Hayden, I know that for sure. I just don’t know if
I love Luke as well.”

“Wow, that’s pretty
serious, Ana. I have never,
obviously
, been in a situation
like that. But I know that love is a powerful thing. It is also
infinite. You can love another person without loving someone else
less.”

My thoughts spun over
her words. “But if I did, what does that say about me? What kind of
person does that make me?” Marie said nothing as I answered my own
question.

If Hunters really only
had one person they could love, only one person their entire lives
were meant for, then either Hayden or Luke would live forever alone.
But it wasn’t fair to be doing what I was doing with Luke. I
shouldn’t have given him hope that we could ever possibly be
together. I did care about him but if he couldn’t see the
difference between our friendship and something else, then we
couldn’t be friends at all. I had made my choice, and in the
beginning he'd made his. It could never be different, couldn’t he
see that?

I got to my locker to put my books
in before meeting Luke for lunch. When I opened it, I had yet another
surprise inside. An oversized box now filled my locker. I pulled off
the attached envelope and read the card. My heart fluttered again at
the familiar penmanship.

Bring this with to lunch. You’ll
need it.

Love yours, always and forever,

Luke

The excitement to know
what lay in the box pushed any thoughts of canceling the lunch with
Luke completely aside. I pulled out the giant white box and slowly
popped the top off. I set the box down, shaking out a plush velvet
blanket that was as red as the rose. I shook my head in awe and
wonder at what exactly he had planned for lunch. I clutched the soft
blanket in my arms.
This is not a good idea
I thought as I
walked toward the parking lot in excitement.

Luke was standing
outside his car waiting for me, just as I'd imagined.
I hope Nikki
won't be too mad I'm skipping out on lunch with her
I thought as
Luke opened the passenger door for me. As the car door shut with me
in it, I kept telling myself to stop. But I couldn’t. I was like
the proverbial moth to a flame. My head said one thing and my body
did the other.

Luke was smiling
victoriously as he drove away from the school's parking lot. I hit
his arm to knock off his annoying expression. That only made him
smile further.

I looked in the back
seat to see a neat wicker picnic basket and my heart stung. “So,
what, a picnic? Oohh, how original,” I tried to sound like I wasn’t
impressed.

Luke laughed at my
attempt at sarcasm. “Yeah, something like that,” he said around a
laugh.

When we didn’t stop
after a while, I became skeptical. “Where are we going?”

“Just relax.”

“Please don’t tell
me were going to Lafitte.”

“God, no.” He shook
his head and I was glad he was as bothered by the memory as I was.
“Just calm down. You’ll see in about ten minutes.”