August (The Year of The Change Book 2) (6 page)

Just then, it dawned on me where I’d seen Eli. I shook my head and tried to clear it in hopes this would shake out and wouldn’t be true. At the same time I hoped it would be. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop staring at Eli’s broad, muscular back. I remembered where I’d seen him. Destiny was going to freak, but not nearly as freaked as I was at that moment. My stomach jumped up and down and I thought maybe my knees might collapse. The light bulb in my brain clicked on high beam and I couldn't have closed my eyes if my life had depended on it.

Another thirty minutes and we stumble, in Destiny’s case literally, across the correct trail. Mike helped her stand as he grinned at her. She blushed and turned a dazzling smile of gratitude on him. He didn’t miss it and reciprocated with an impressive smile of his own.

Oh, just gag me! Envy lifted its ugly head and I had to beat it back down.

I stole a glance at Eli. He’d been staring, but quickly looked away. Was he affected, or hoping he wouldn't get stuck with me?

What would it be like if I’d fallen and Eli helped me up? Our eyes would meet. I would smile up at him as he looked deep into my eyes where we would find a bonding connection. Now there was a fantasy! I snorted at myself. The reality was that if I wasn't going through The Change, he would’ve cringed back, not wanting to touch me. I liked my fantasy better.

Eli pointed down the dirt lane. “Follow this path and it’ll take you all the way to the trail head.”

He turned without another word and disappeared into the trees. Literally. Man, he was quick. He was gone so fast I didn’t have time to thank him.

Mike smiled with a shrug. “Eli’s in a hurry. We have to be going. I’ll see you around, at least at school. Just four more weeks until we have to go back. The new school is great, I’ve seen it.”

From somewhere deep in the trees: “Mike!  Let’s go!” Eli wasn’t a patient person.

Turning to Mike, I placed my hand on his arm – not thinking of what could’ve happened -- before he could run off, too. “Thanks so much for coming along and saving us. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Too bad I couldn’t have gotten this close to Eli. I wanted to see if he really was who I thought he was. If he was, how did I know him? Or was the real question, why did I know 'of him'?

Mike grinned and looked down, a little embarrassed. “Hey, no worries, glad we were here to help.”

“Please tell Eli thank you.” I smiled and Destiny leaned over and hugged him.

“Mike!” Still impatient.

“Gotta go, bye.”  Mike backed into the trees, turned and was gone, too.

They both disappeared so quickly it was as though it were a dream. And what a dream it was!

We turned the direction Eli had pointed and continued on down the trail. Fear lurked in the back of my head that we would get lost. I didn’t have the kind of luck needed for Eli to be there again to rescue me … us.

Destiny talked about how cute Mike was, while I stayed deep in thought. She jabbered on, barely making reference to Eli. That was okay, because I had Eli on the brain enough for the both of us.

When we arrived home, I dragged Destiny up to my room. She came even though she was exhausted. When we were in the attic with the door securely closed, I went to one of the boxes that hadn’t been completely unpacked yet. Inside was the manila envelope I was looking for. I pulled out all the pictures I’d drawn of my Native American men and spread them across my bed. Destiny gasped. Before her were at least fifty pictures of Eli. They were all different poses. She looked at the dates on them, then looked at me with wonderment. My smile broadened as she understood what I showed her. She noted that Eli’s hair was longer in the earlier pictures and that I had his hairstyle from today in the pictures drawn in the last two weeks. We shuffled through each one. Now, more than ever, I wanted to display them.

At the bottom of the box were the push pins. My very good friend helped me hang them up. Along with Eli’s pictures I decided to hang up the other dark haired man, with the tawny stripe, as well. Not with Eli’s pictures, but on the other side. There weren’t as many. They could hang on the smaller space between the closet and the bathroom. Finally, my room began to look like home. With the last picture up, I studied the second man. Maybe, just maybe, he was real, too. Wouldn’t that be something?

Spies

The birds chirping outside drew me awake. I’d been dreaming about Eli. The images shimmered and became an echo in my brain. Groaning, I rolled over. Try as I might, I just couldn’t hold onto the Eli, in the forest, in my mind. I squeezed my eyes tight and willed it to come back. It was so faint now. It was like a light fog in the morning. The birds sang louder, dispersing what little of the fog there was. The dream had been something about running down a mountainside. Now it was smoke in my fingers and there was no use trying to hang onto it.

Last night I’d taped the drapes to the wall to keep the light from leaking in. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.

Untangling the covers from around me I sat up with a moan. All my muscles screamed at me. Ouch. They were far from quieting down when I felt for the edge of my bed. Oh no, not again. I peeked through my lashes as a breeze blew over my head. I sat under the back window of my room. I did it again. How did I end up here? Slowly, I rolled onto all fours before groaning my way to my feet. Oh, man, I hurt.

In the almost-dark I felt my way to my bed.

On the other end of my room was a hot shower and hope for relief. I limped to the bathroom and turned on the water. What I wouldn’t give for a twin who could massage
my
pain away.

In the shower, I listened to my body tell me what a stupid thing I’d done yesterday, as the hot water loosened my muscles. A cool breeze blew into the shower stall. With two fingers I pulled the curtain back just enough to peek out. My window was open and the heavy curtain moved with the breeze. It had been closed and locked before I went to bed last night. Dad even come up, to make sure, before he retired for the night. Vaguely, I remembered how stuffy my room was as I drifted off to sleep.

It hurt too much to dash to the window and the screen was latched, anyway. There were no sounds of men working outside, so I allowed myself more time and turned up the heat until the whole shower stall was foggy.

Before I was ready to face the world, the hot water ran out. Still, no sounds of workers floated up to me. I bucked it up when the cool breeze from my window, combined with the cold water, to freeze me out. Drying quickly, I wrapped myself in a towel before closing and locking the window. Shivers rippled through my body as I dressed. It wasn’t until I removed the tape and stood in the sunlight of my back window that my fear settled down. The warmth quieted my complaining muscles and I put my shoes and socks on.

I was ready for the day, but was the day ready for me?

There was no putting it off any longer. I had to leave my sanctuary for another day of banishment at the Peterson’s. Not that I was complaining about being next door. The Petersons were great! Their warm, loving home and the closeness of their family was everything I’d always wanted. I was just grousing about being forced out of my house by The Change.

Each aching step down the stairs reminded me of my failed attempt at finding the allusive spring. I hated to fail. I would have to convince Destiny to go with me again. Soon. Well, maybe not too soon. I'd have to give her enough time to forget about the bugs and the wolf scare. Plus, she had to be as sore as I was.

The smell of bacon and French toast greeted me as I stepped off the second floor landing. My mouth watered, which triggered my aching legs to go faster. My stomach growled at me to hurry up and get to the kitchen. The twins were at the table eating when I entered.

"Hey, Tim, after yesterday I figured you'd still be in bed." I messed up his hair.

He frowned while smacking the strawberry blonde mop back in place. "Yesterday's walk was nothin'! Eddy and I have walked further." He puffed out his chest. "We've done so good, Richard promised to take us on an overnight hike."

I got a plate and loaded it with six French toast and four slices of bacon. I slathered on butter and poured the syrup. "That sounds like fun."

Tam perked up. "I want to go on an overnight hike."

"No girls allowed. It’s only for boys."

"No fair!” She spun in her chair to face where Sue had left the room. “Mo-om!"

Sue came in from the pantry with another loaf of bread. "Now, what?" Sue looked tired.

"Tim gets to go on an overnight hike and I want to go, too, but he says it’s only for boys!"

Sue raised an eyebrow. "And who's taking you on this overnight hike?"

Tim glared at his sister before he launched into an all-out sales campaign. I tuned them out. This happened every time one of us wanted to do something fun. Sue would have to be convinced before she would 'think about it'. Besides, my stomach demanded my full undivided attention today. It intended to make up for yesterday.

I was shoveling as fast as I could when Sue announced, "I'll think about it."

Tim huffed and dragged his fork off his plate to finish his cold breakfast. He eyed his plate, but his attention slid to mine. "How many?"

"Twelve."

"Cool. Bacon?"

I held up five fingers when Sue wasn't looking. He smiled as I took four more French toast.

Tim was fascinated by how much I could eat. He once tried to eat as much as me and ended up with a bad stomachache the rest of the day. He hadn’t tried that since. But he still liked to watch, always counting. He would let me know when I broke a record on something. Today felt like it might be a record breaking day. Yesterday’s hike had been real torture for my overly pampered stomach and it wanted to make up for all the lost ground.

Tim was antsy and rocked. He could feel the new record as though it hung in the air. He eagerly watched me finish off the stack and Sue put six more on my plate.

Tam got bored and left. She, like me, didn't understand her twin's fascination with my outrageous appetite.

I shook my head as he kept count. Sue brought out a package of grocery store sweet rolls. I was the only one in the house who would eat them. She cut the rolls apart and put the whole paper tray in front of me. The rubbery icing and the partly dried bread weren't my favorite, but they were filling, so I wouldn't pass them up. Sue liked them because they were cheap.

Tim looked disappointed, as though that small morsel could deter me from a new record. I smiled at him as I devoured the first roll and washed it down with a cup of orange juice. Sue put the jug on the table as she left the room.

He watched closely as I dug in. When The Change was over, we would have to help him find a life since I wouldn't be so entertaining any more.

I stopped mid chew.

At least I hoped I wouldn't be. Would I be? (Choke)

When I pushed my plate away, Tim declared another record broken. Sue shook her head and I helped her clean up from breakfast.

“I’d best be going to Peterson’s.” I scooted my chair under the table and hung up the dish towel.

Sue wiped the table. “Why are you going to Peterson’s?”

“To be gone for the painters.” I looked at Sue, surprised she’d forgotten. She never forgot anything.

She grinned at me.

I stopped and listened. There wasn’t anyone outside working.

She chuckled. “It’s Sunday, they don’t work today. Enjoy it because they’ll be back Monday.”

I smiled, a day without torturing Zach. “In that case, I’m going back to my room and opening both windows. Maybe I’ll go out on the roof.”

Sue’s head snapped up to look at me.

I grinned and shook my head. “Nahhhh.” I wasn’t that crazy.

She forgot herself and smiled with relief. After the joke faded, she frowned at me. Probably for scaring her, or some other reason I didn’t know about. There were a lot of those.

Upstairs, I did just what I’d said I would, minus the roof. The air flowed through the bathroom when I opened the sash. The screen was locked in place. Not that a little bit of material could stop anyone who was determined. It would give me a minute to react and get downstairs, though. Because I had to keep my windows locked at night, afraid someone (a.k.a. Drew) might climb up the scaffolding, my room was stuffy and too warm.

I leaned on the sill and looked at the front yard below. Past the scaffolding, I could see where the guys had stomped down the weeds as they went to and fro. Tuesday, the sod guys would be here to give us a real lawn. Today I was free to come and go as I pleased. It always surprised me what I took for granted. After this year, I doubted there would be anything I wouldn’t be thankful for.

The neighborhood looked great from this vantage point. All the yards were neat and trimmed. I looked forward to our yard fitting in and not being such an eyesore.

Movement across the street caught my attention. I didn't think too much about it at first, but when it happened again, it had my full awareness.

Someone was hiding behind a tree in front of Sammy’s house. From this vantage point I couldn’t tell who it was, but whoever it was, was spying on our house. Some Affected was probably planning an all-out attack. Okay, so I was overreacting.

I ran downstairs to my father’s room. He would know what to do since he now had so much experience with odd behavior in others. Mainly his experience was in odd guy behavior.

He was at his desk reading some papers, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. With very little stealth, I scurried to the window.

The spy was still there when I peeked out the drapes. “Dad, there’s someone across the street snooping on us.”

He joined me just in time to observe a head bob around the side of the tree, obviously watching the house. No red hair, so I doubted it was Sammy. Besides, Sammy doesn't hide. He just comes right over and makes a nuisance of himself. It would be nice if he did hide once in a while.

Normally, with this person not on our property, Dad wouldn’t have done anything. But since nothing is normal this year, Dad went to confront the local secret agent.

I followed him as far as the living room curtains where I peeked through the smallest slit I could manage.

Sue came in. “What’re you doing, Sylvia?”

My eyes stayed on my father as he crossed the street. “I’m watching Dad confront a spy.”

Sue went to the drapes and pulled the cord, opening them all the way. I objected, but that didn’t stop her. She obviously didn't understand the art of espionage.

Across the street, Dad talked to whoever it was behind the tree. He stood, arms crossed over his chest, straight and rigid. Soon, he relaxed his stance and looked like he might be listening. Eventually, he unfolded his arms and did the talking. He smiled and walked behind the tree coming back out with someone in his grasp, patting him on the back.

I gasped. “It’s Zach!” Why in the world would Zach be here? He couldn’t have gotten another whiff of me.

Sue frowned. It had really scared her when Richard and Cy dragged the young man downstairs. She mumbled something as Dad walked Zach down the sidewalk and out of my line of vision. There was no way I was letting them out of my sight. I went outside and peeked around the garage.

Half way down the road, Dad and Zach stood beside a small, red car parked on the other side of the street. Zach got in and rolled down the window. They continued to talk a while longer. I grew antsy for Dad to get back so he could tell me what they discussed. It was awful not being able to hear what was said. I needed spy equipment.

The motor roared to life, it needed a muffler, and Dad waved as Zach drove away. I came out of hiding to meet my father halfway and walked him back to our house.

“Okay, Dad, please tell me what he said.” The suspense was killing me.

Dad smiled, still in thought. “Zach’s a good kid.” His silence aggravated me.

“That’s it?! He told you he was a good kid?” I was incredulous and bereft of details.

Dad chuckled. “No, he can’t figure out why he behaved the way he did. He was trying to see what it was about you that made him crazy.” He shook his head.

I knew what made him crazy.

The sidewalk under my feet had a crack through the middle. I straddled it so as not to step on it. “Poor Zach. I feel terrible he’s going through this.”

Dad patted my back. “Don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” There wasn’t anyone to tell me, with certainty, whether I caused permanent damage. Gram and I never discussed that part. Hopefully, that was only because we didn't have time to get to it and not because Gram didn't want to tell me the bad details. If there were bad details, then surely Aunt Betty would’ve told me, if she knew.

He hugged my shoulders. “Yes, I'm sure. I explained to him it was an episode that would probably never happen again.” Dad chuckled. “I convinced him that sometimes, when there’s been too much X-box, caffeine and everything is perfect, it can happen. I told him it was very rare.” My father grinned at the absurd explanation. He was having too much fun with this.

“And he bought it?” My mouth fell open. Zach looked smarter than that.

“At this point, I think he’s willing to buy anything.”

I shook my head. “Poor Zach.”

At the front door, he put his hands on my shoulders. “You must stay away from him at all costs. If it happens again he’ll be convinced he’s in love with you.”