Katie's Glimpse (The Glimpse Series) (3 page)

When his mouth fell
open, I kept a straight face. “What! You think I look thirty-one? I’m only
twenty-five,” he protested and slumped back in his seat.
Oh my, even pouty
Levi is gorgeous.

I tried to hold in
my laughter but couldn’t. He narrowed his eyes. “You were joking, right?”

I laughed even
louder but managed to nod my head.

Relief washed over
his face. “You had me worried there for a second. I thought I was going to have
to start checking my head for gray hairs,” he said, straightening in his seat.

 With my laughter
under control, I replied, “I promise I was just playing. I knew you were
probably in your twenties.”

“Probably?”

 I shrugged my
shoulders, but he continued to eye me expectantly.
I should have never
opened my mouth.

 “I could tell you
weren’t a college kid the first time I saw you.”

 He suddenly looked amused.
“Oh really? And how could you tell that?”

 I felt a huge blush
coming on. “College guys still look like boys but you looked like a.....” I
cleared my throat, “a man,” I blurted out.

He gave me a cocky
grin. “A man, huh?”

I rolled my eyes.
Thank goodness our waitress chose that moment to bring out the drinks and food.
I don’t think I could’ve handled much more conversation like that with him. I
had a hard enough time keeping the butterflies at bay just looking at him.

We ate, and Levi
told me more about the nursery and the different things there were to do in
town. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I felt around a man I had only known a
week. After dinner, he drove me home and walked me to the apartment door.

“Do you want to go
to church with me tomorrow?”

I considered it for
a moment but knew I wasn’t ready. “No thanks,” I replied softly.

Levi reached for me,
and out of instinct I flinched. It was a small movement but enough for him to
notice. He hesitated for a second before patting me on the shoulder.

“Thanks for coming
to dinner with me.”

I smiled, trying to
hide my embarrassment. “I’m glad you asked me. I had fun. Uh, I better go in.
I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

I unlocked the door
and gave him a little wave as he got into his truck. He waved back, but waited
until I was safely inside before pulling away. I flopped down on the couch and
took a deep breath. I had to remind myself that Levi was only going to be my
friend. I was living a total lie and could never involve such a wonderful man
in that. No matter how much I wanted to open my heart and mind to the
possibilities of a better future, I knew it was no use. My secrets would destroy
anyone I let in, just like they were destroying me.

***

I woke up later that
night drenched in sweat, the nightmare and memories still fresh in my mind. I
curled up on my side, screamed into my pillow, and cried until exhaustion
finally took me under.

                Springfield,
Tennessee

                   16
Months Earlier

Hallie stood at our
locker with her hands on her hips and an impatient look on her face. Her
strawberry blond curls bounced as she jogged to my side.

  “Where the heck
have you been, Katie?” she asked, her big voice not matching her petite frame.

  “Well good morning
to you too, sunshine,” I grumbled, pointing to my hair. “This mess of mine
wouldn’t act right.”

  I liked my thick,
chestnut brown hair, but it was a hassle to style. It went past my shoulder
blades and desperately needed a trim. I had wasted twenty minutes attempting to
tame it so I could wear it down, but it wouldn’t cooperate. So once again, it
was a ponytail kind of day.

  “Well, you just
missed him,” she hissed.

I groaned, rolling
my eyes. She was referring to JT again. JT Grant was the hottest guy in the
12th grade. He was tall and well-built with blond hair and bright blue eyes. He
looked like he’d just gotten off of a surfboard, which made him really stand
out here. He had a face and body he was proud of, and it showed. He wasn’t my
type, or rather, I wasn’t his. He was our quarterback, which along with his
looks, made him super popular. There were also rumors that he liked to party. I
tried not to judge anyone based on gossip, but there was plenty to go around
about him. I wasn’t popular or athletic, and preferred to hang out at home with
Hallie rather than go to a party.

I was a good
Christian girl, and didn’t fit in with his crowd of friends. I spent most of my
free time at church doing activities with my youth group. I wasn’t a
cheerleader or on the dance line, but liked to stay in the background with my
nose buried in a book. I wasn’t unattractive- actually, people often called me
pretty, but that wasn’t important to me. I stood at 5’7” and weighed 122 pounds
so I had curves, but made sure they were kept covered in modest clothing. I
wasn’t a prude or anything, but I already had something that drew attention to
me, and I didn’t want any extra.

My parents told me I
was born with brown eyes but as I got older, they slowly changed to a golden,
coppery color. They called them amber. I called them weird. They made me stand
out when all I wanted to do was blend in. I liked to think of myself as just a
regular girl, with strange eyes and a heart for Jesus.

  “Hallie, I love ya
honey, but I couldn’t care less if he walked by. He doesn’t know we exist, even
though we’ve gone to school together for the last two years.”

  She just sighed,
grabbed my arm and pulled me towards class. Neither one of us could afford
another tardy.

***

  Time seemed to
stand still during my morning classes. If I hadn’t stayed up so late on the
phone with Hallie the night before, maybe I could actually pay attention. She
was so excited though. She went on and on about how JT brushed against her arm
in the lunch line. I made all the required best friend oohs and aahs, but I really
didn’t think it was a big deal. He’d brushed against her arm as he reached for
a nasty cafeteria burrito. It wasn’t like he’d asked her to marry him, but in
Hallie’s mind- he’d done it on purpose. She had a serious crush on him, and I
had accused her before of being boy crazy.

  I was definitely
not boy crazy. I’d only had two boyfriends in my eighteen years. The first was
in elementary school. He was nice but a little chubby. Our relationship
consisted of sitting next to each other at recess. He would ask me to save him
the cupcake my mom packed in my lunch, and after four days, I figured out he
was just using me for my desserts. Boyfriend number two came along in the
seventh grade. That relationship lasted a month but wasn’t more than some
smiles at each other in the hallways and a peck on the cheek after a school
dance. He was cute and sweet, but I didn’t feel anything in my heart for him. I
mean nothing, not even a little bit.

In high school, guys
began to approach me and comment on my eyes. I was told they looked like a
sunset, a blazing fire, and one guy even compared them to a wolf’s eyes. I
wasn’t sure if this was a compliment or not. I was always polite and somehow
managed to smile but was never impressed.

The worst thing
though, was when the
Twilight
movies were released. Some of the kids
thought it was funny to start calling me Katie Cullen. I didn’t think it was
funny and was relieved when the last movie finally came out and that ridiculous
nickname faded away.

I wanted someone who
saw past my looks, someone who saw the real me. I had a passion for Christ and
wasn’t afraid to show it. I didn’t stop kids in the hallways and browbeat them
with my Bible or anything. I just didn’t do or say anything that reflected
poorly on my faith. This wasn’t a good thing for my social life, but it didn’t
bother me too much. I had been asked out a few times, but the guys seemed wrong
for me, so I had politely declined.

Hallie thought I was
shy, but that wasn’t it. I thought my heart was oblivious to those kinds of
feelings, or maybe I was destined to be single. There was nothing wrong with
that. I had a great best friend, a church youth group that kept me busy and a
family that loved me. It didn’t matter that there was no guy for me to walk
with in the hallways, or take me out on dates. I was just fine on my own.

***

  I made it to third
period with a few minutes to spare. We were reviewing for a section test, and
it was boring. I slumped into my seat at the back of the class, resting my chin
in my hand. I made good grades and had already applied to the college I wanted
to attend, so I figured it was okay to zone out for a few minutes. I must have
fallen asleep though, because I never heard the teacher calling my name. I felt
someone’s fingers brush tenderly down my arm, and my eyes flew open. I glanced
up and found the teacher staring at me.

 “Miss Crane, am I
boring you?”

I straightened in my
chair, feeling my cheeks begin to redden. “No sir,” I replied.

  “Do you think
you’ll be able to stay awake in my class now?” he asked snidely.

   “Yes sir, Mr. Reid.”

I was mortified. No
teacher had ever called me out in class before. I heard someone clear their
throat beside me and slowly turned my head. It was Seth Turner, and he was
looking right at me. He was the second hottest guy in 12th grade and was JT’s
best friend. He wagged his fingers at me, and gave me a charming smile.

 
No way! That was
him? He was the one who’d woken me up.
I mouthed the words “thank you”, and
he nodded his head. I turned back towards the front of the class but still felt
his eyes on me, and I kind of liked it.

***

  I sat with Hallie
at our usual table near the lunch room doors. She rushed in right after her
last class to get us the good seats so we could people watch, as she called it.
I generally ignored everyone and pushed the food around on my tray. If someone
spoke to me, I would speak back but that was about it. I mainly just waved
occasionally and smiled.

 As I intently
picked at my lunch, trying to determine the ingredients of the mystery
casserole, I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I raised my head, locking eyes
with Seth Turner.

  “Are you awake now
Sleeping Beauty?” he asked, a sly grin spreading across his face.

The speech part of
my brain apparently stopped functioning, as I sat there groping for the words
to say. I wasn’t very experienced with flirting, like not at all. There were guys
in my youth group that I talked to some, but they were not the flirting kind
and definitely not at church.

  I finally opened
my mouth but all that came out was, “Yeah.”
Awesome Katie! Wow him with your
conversation skills.

He chuckled and
gazed at me a moment longer before walking out the lunch room doors. I turned
to Hallie, her mouth hung wide open.

  “Close your mouth,
girly,” I muttered, squishing her lips together with my fingers.

She swatted my hand
away. “What did he call you?”

I shrugged and proceeded
to tell her about the incident in third period.

  “Oh, maybe he
likes you,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Nah, he was just
being nice.” I wasn’t about to let myself think it was more than that.

***

  I made my way to
my locker after last period, replaying the events from the lunch room.
Was
Seth calling me beautiful?
This was too weird. I had known him since the
fifth grade, but he had never shown any interest in me before. Actually, I
couldn’t even remember him saying more than the occasional “hi” as we passed in
the hallways. I’d always thought he was attractive, not as attractive as his
best friend JT but honestly, nobody in this town was.

I’d glanced over at
him occasionally in class when school first began, but after we made eye
contact a few times, I got embarrassed and quit. I refused to be one of those
girls that mooned over him. I was sure he got enough of that hanging out with
JT.

  Seth was around
six feet tall with light brown, wavy hair that was just long enough to curl at
the collar of his shirt. He had beautiful, forest green eyes with little flecks
of brown mixed in. He had an athletic looking body, not muscled-up like JT but
lean and fit, like a runner. I knew he played football, but I didn’t have a
clue what position. And even though he hung out with JT, I’d never heard
anything negative about him.

  When I reached our
locker, Hallie was already there with a huge grin plastered on her face. “What’s
with that creepy smile?” I asked, a little startled.

She huffed and
reached up, turning my head to the side. I noticed Seth in the distance, and it
looked as if he was headed in our direction. She’d obviously already spotted
him. I gently pried her hand from my face and tried to compose myself. As
I
watched him get closer, I thought maybe he was just walking by. I didn’t want
to get excited over nothing, but I was wrong. He walked right up to me and stopped.

  “Hey,” he said,
tipping his chin up.

  I was a little
more prepared this time, so I managed to reply, “Hi, Seth,” without sounding
like an idiot.

He noticed Hallie
behind me and smiled at her. “Hey, Hallie. How are ya?”

  She smiled back sweetly.
“I’m good.”

He opened his mouth
to say more, when he was interrupted by a hard punch to the shoulder. It was JT
Grant.

  “Hey, Seth, what’s
up?” he asked, his voice already grating on my nerves.

  Seth rubbed his
shoulder and shot him a dirty look, before jerking his head in my direction. JT
finally noticed me standing there.

“Whoa! Your eyes are
freaky. Wait, I know you. You’re that Katie Cullen girl,” he said, giving me a
cocky grin.

  I resisted rolling
my eyes, afraid he might comment on them again. “It’s Crane, Katie Crane.”

 Would that
stupid name follow me forever?
I
watched as his eyes drifted from my face, went all the way down my body, and back
up. I glanced over at Hallie, but she was too awe struck to notice his
disturbing once-over of me.

  I felt a sharp
pinch in my back, like the kind Mom used to give me in church when she thought
I wasn’t paying enough attention.
Ouch! I’m probably going to have a bruise.
I turned my head, glaring at her, but her stare never faltered. She jerked her
head towards JT. I assumed that meant she wanted me to introduce her. I huffed
and looked back at JT. “This is my best friend, Hallie,” I said, gesturing to
her with my hand.

   “Yeah, I’ve seen
her around,” he replied, never taking his eyes from me.
Wow! He is a real
charmer
.

  He stared intently
at my face with a look of curiosity. “So, what’s up with your eyes?”

   With no
hesitation and a serious face, I replied, “I thought you already knew. I’m a
vampire.”

  Seth chuckled and
elbowed JT out of the way. He reached out, running his hand down my ponytail.
“A really cute one too.”

I blushed and
lowered my head to hide it, but Seth wasn’t having that. He placed his fingers
under my chin, lifting my face back up to his. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll be
seeing you around,” he said, gazing into my eyes. It sounded more like a
promise to me.

  I watched as he
and JT walked away. JT laughed as Seth punched him in the arm. I didn’t care to
know what that punch was for. If I went by my first impression of JT, I would
guess it was probably for something crude.

I turned back to
Hallie. She looked heartbroken and already had her things together, ready to
leave. I knew she was hurt by JT’s reaction to officially meeting her. I
decided right then to let the little pinching incident go, even if it left a
bruise.

  I walked her to
the parking lot and watched as she threw her things down in the passenger seat
of her car. She turned to me with tears shining in her eyes. I pulled her in
for a tight hug as I felt my own tears rolling down my cheeks.