Eden (12 page)

“
Oh, yes. To banish her to
the file room.”

“
Her ridiculous crush is
costing me money,” I grumbled. “She hired a calligrapher to write
names on the new client packets!”

Jared made a strange face, unsure how
to react, and then turned the wheel toward Titan. I practiced what
I might say to Sasha during the drive. Part of me wanted to smash
all of her hopes and dreams like she deserved; the other insisted
on breaking it to her gently. By the time Jared pulled up to the
curb, I had given up on my dastardly plan of revenge, instead
settling on a gentler speech. That decision put me in a less than
amiable mood.

“
See you soon,” Jared
said, kissing my cheek.It took some doing to find Sasha, but after
looking everywhere else, I headed to the file room in the basement.
The room was missing several lights; the only one fully lit was
blinking. I stepped in, the concrete echoing under my
feet.

“
Sasha?”

I slowly walked down the aisle,
looking to each side of me.

A small, muffled noise came from a
dark corner of the room. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I was alone, but something was inside that room with me.

I took a breath, and then walked as
quietly as I could to the end of the aisle, turning toward the
noise. A dark, huddled figure was slumped with its back turned to
me. In the failing light I could see it shivering.

“
H…hello?”

The figure froze. Adrenaline seared
through my veins. Immediately every move, every act of defense I
had learned replayed in my mind. My hands balled into fists, and I
braced myself for a fight.

“
Go away,” Sasha hissed.
She gasped, and her body shivered again.

Every taut muscle in my body released,
and anger served as an outlet for the adrenaline. “What the hell
are you doing down here?”

Sasha turned, wiping her eyes. “Peter
said Grant was out for the day, and that I needed to straighten up
down here until you came in. Does he think I’m stupid?” She stood.
“Why would I want to work for someone that doesn’t appreciate me,
anyway? I wouldn’t. I am far too talented to be sentenced to the
file room.”

“
Sasha. You misused
company resources.”

“
It was
approved!”

“
You’re an intern. Interns
don’t hire calligraphers or order cappuccino machines.”

“
Grant loves
cappuccinos!”

“
Then he can buy one for
his office.”

“
He’s the CEO!”

“
No,” I breathed. “He’s
not. Report to Peter when you’re finished with the file room so he
can give you a list of new duties. You will work in Peter’s
department, now, so he is your immediate supervisor, and he will
handle your evaluation. If you need anything, Peter will be happy
to address your concerns.”

“
Nina!”

I walked out of the basement and took
a deep breath. It was the first time my lungs felt like they were
getting air. I noticed another, newer, male intern walking down the
hall, and called him over.

“
Yes, Mrs.
Ryel?”

“
The lights in the file
room need attention. Call maintenance and have the bulbs replaced
or repaired immediately, and please help Sasha with whatever she
needs. You’ll find her at the end of the third aisle. And do not,
under any circumstances, leave her alone.”

The intern frowned with confusion.
“Y-yes, ma’am.” He stood there for a moment, every thought
scrolling across his face.

“
Well? Go.”

He nodded, hastily making his way down
the hall to the file room, and I paused, disturbed by the distinct
Cynthia-like tone in my voice just then.

I rushed up the stairs, squinting from
the bright sunlight bursting through the windows of the lobby. When
I made it to the Escalade, Jared watched me warily.

“
Was there a problem?” he
said.

I took his hand. “They were in
there.”

“
Who?”

“
They, Jared,” I sighed. I
put my elbow on the console and covered my eyes with my fingers. “I
could feel them.” Jared was quiet, so I peeked up at him. He seemed
confused. “You couldn’t feel them?”

“
What makes you think they
were there?”

“
I was creeped out, for
one. I’ve been around them enough to know what it feels like when
they’re around. Sasha was down there crying; negative energy in the
air; it was cold.”

Jared’s mouth pulled to one side.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean that—,”

“
Just,” I sighed,
irritated, “this one time, trust me. I’m not a Hybrid, but they
were in there. Not many, but I could feel them.”

“
But…
I
couldn’t feel them. It doesn’t
make sense that you could and I couldn’t.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand
it.” I thought for a moment. “Could you sense me?”

“
Yes. You were just
fine.”

“
I was not just fine. I
genuinely believed something was about to attack me. You didn’t
sense that?”

Jared shifted to face me, his face
darkened with concern. “You were afraid.” His tone was more of a
statement than a question.

“
My adrenaline was about
to shoot through my eyes! I thought your senses were
heightened?”

Jared eyes bounced around the cab of
the Escalade as his mind tried to work out the details of this new
development. He was clearly not taking it well. He faced forward,
and shoved the gear in drive.

“
Jared,” I said, my voice
low and soothing. It didn’t work.

He slammed the gear back into park,
and his hand flew to his head. He hit the steering wheel. “Just
when I think I’m ahead … something else gets thrown at
me!”

“
Honey, we’ll figure it
out.” I reached to touch his arm.

He gripped the steering wheel. “How
can I keep you safe from Hell without being your shadow if I can’t
trust my senses? If I don’t have any to trust?” His eyes were
desperate.

“
So be my
shadow.”

Jared laughed once, and then shook his
head. “I can’t go to class with you. I can’t follow you around
Titan, Nina.”

“
You can be within
earshot. You said it yourself. You can hear me through the crowd at
the Superbowl.”

Jared nodded, putting the gear into
drive once more, but he was beyond listening to reason. He
negotiated the one-way streets of downtown Providence without
effort, and then pulled next to the curb behind Andrews Hall. He
opened my door, and gestured for me to cross the street.

“
What are we
doing?”

“
I’m walking you to class.
You’ve only got a few weeks left. I’ll wait for you in the
hallway.”

“
Do you really think
that’s necessary?”

“
I’m fast, but so are
they. They are capable of a lot of damage in the few seconds it
would take me to get to you from here. Without being able to sense
when something’s wrong, I would feel better being closer than
not.”

I thought a moment, and then nodded.
Anything that was safer for Bean had to be the right
answer.

The last few weeks of school came and
went without incident. Jared stood in the hallway during my
classes, and joined me, Beth and Chad for lunch. Without Ryan
around, Josh found another table, and Kim was too angry with Jared
to tolerate him.

The crisp air was just a memory by the
time my junior year at Brown ended. The Main Green bustled with
students who made their way to the Van Winkle Gates to see the
graduating class make their last march through.

Before the last stragglers made their
way through the gate, Beth, Chad, Jared and I walked to College
Hill to beat the rush. Beth prattled on about her family begging
her and Chad to visit over the summer. She barely noticed the
congested traffic. She had become a true East Coast woman. Even her
accent had diminished. She sounded more like Ryan than her
family.

“
So what’s for lunch?” I
asked, tapping Beth’s arm.

Jared squeezed my hand. “I thought we
would revisit the place of our first date.”

Beth slipped me a box, a
bit larger than her hand, and without warning, I tossed it to
Jared. I loved throwing things at him, because he
always
caught them. It
had become our little inside joke.

“
What’s this?”

“
Your birthday
present.”

“
It’s my
birthday?”

“
It’s the ninth, isn’t
it?” I said with a mischievous grin. “I wanted to surprise
you.”

“
Then I guess it is,” he
said. He kissed my cheek, and then pulled on the ribbon. “A book?”
He thumbed through the pages. “A blank book?”

“
A journal. You were down
to the pages of yours, and I thought it would be a good time to
start a new one.”

Jared’s eyes turned soft, and he took
me into his arms. “It is the perfect time.”

Chad rolled his eyes, and Beth sighed.
“I remember that,” she said, her thoughts lost in the sweet,
mysterious first days of my relationship with Jared.

“
Come on, Ryel. You’re
making me look bad.”

We walked across campus, taking in the
atmosphere. Electricity seemed to be in the air, along with the
smells of summer. The chatter was louder than was normal; the young
faces of students more animated. They would all embark on
vacations, travel home, or spend their summer break on the beach or
by the pool. I would most likely fill my summer trying to land
punches on brother-in-law, or watching Jared read over the
Naissance de Demoniac. The beach sounded much better.

Jared stopped in his
tracks.

“
Oh, no,” Beth breathed,
looking up at the building that was once Blaze.

I glanced at her, and then followed
her gaze. “Shanghai? I thought you said you wanted to go to
Blaze?”

Clearly disturbed, Jared let go of my
hand. “Did you know about this?” Jared asked Chad.

“
No,” Chad said, shaking
his head. “But I’d never eaten at Blaze, either.”

I looked around, and realized we were
standing in front of what used to be Blaze. The location of our
first date was gone, replaced by sushi takeout. My jaw
dropped.

“
Seriously?” I said to no
one in particular.

Beth’s mouth pulled to one side. “I
was looking forward to their sweet potato fries.”

I felt my eyes bulge.
“Jared!”

Chad huffed. “They still have one on
the east side. On Hope Street, I think.”

“
I can’t believe this. I
just can’t believe they….” My voice trailed off, too upset to
finish.

Beth rubbed my shoulder. “That has to
be upsetting. I’m sorry, honey.”

Chad grabbed Beth’s hand and stomped
up the stairs. “This is not a tragedy. It spoils the
sentimentality, yes, but it’s still the same building. Make new
memories. I’m hungry.”

Jared pulled me to his side. “It’s
bothersome, but Chad’s right. We can’t do anything about it. If we
are in the mood for sweet potato fries, we can go to the east
side.”

I nodded. “They have them at Cuban
Revolution downtown, too.” Jared nodded, and then led me up the
stairs. I trudged behind him, unwilling to let go of my
disappointment.

We stood in line with Beth and Chad.
Jared reminded me that because I was pregnant, I should skip the
sushi, so I grudgingly looked for something else. Double
disappointment for the day. I silently hoped Bex wouldn’t be busy
later. I had a sudden urge to take a swing at someone.

We went to Shanghai. It still
overlooked Thayer Street just as I remembered, and it still had
some leftover lighting from Blaze. Beth giggled at Chad’s
overzealous appetite. Jared smiled at them, and reached under the
table to touch my knee. Life seemed so ridiculously laid back that
the only issue I had to complain about was the closing of our
favorite restaurant. That thought caused the corners of my mouth to
turn up, and I continued shoveling my chicken and shrimp Pad Thai.
As much as I wanted to hate their food out of spite, it was good.
So good, in fact, that my plate was empty before Chad’s.

Beth stared at me. “You should have
mentioned earlier that you were hungry, Nigh. We wouldn’t have
waited until you were starving.”

“
I didn’t know I was
starving,” I said, leaning back in my chair. I looked down,
noticing that my stomach had already started to pooch
out.

Beth rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. If
you even think about saying you’re fat….” Her words fell away as
she noticed my protruding belly as well. “Food baby?”

I looked to Jared, and nodded. “Real
baby.”

“
What?” Beth
wailed.

“
That was a productive
honeymoon,” Chad said.

“
When were you going to
tell me? I’m your best friend, and I had to find out because you
started showing? How long have you known?” Beth was obviously
upset, but her high-pitched whines had garnered the attention of
everyone in the restaurant.