The Awakener (2 page)

“
So, what was up with you and that girl today?” Megan asked, hands on hips.

By the way she stood
in front of the couch glaring down at him, Micah had one guess why he’d gotten the silent treatment the entire drive to his house after school.
She’s upset about Eden still.
He sighed. “I already told you—she’s my best friend. Or was,” he added, seeing his girlfriend flinch. “Why are you being like this anyway? What’s the big deal?”

Megan let out a short blast of air from her mouth, making a face at him.
He hated when she did that; it really wasn’t attractive.

“
What’s the big deal?
Micah, you’re leaving me in like two weeks!” Her voice hitched up in a hysterical sob.

G
reat, now everything’s my fault because she’s crying.
He cringed.

“Sorry, Meg.
I know you’re upset I’m going,” he soothed. He patted the seat cushion next to him. “Come here.”

Pouting,
she sank down beside him. She sniffed and then leaned her head against his chest. “Why do you have to leave? Just stay here with me.” She sniffed again.

Irritated, he rehearsed the same lines over again. “My parents already paid for the semester.
My cousin gets here next week. I’m only going to be gone three months.”

“And you’re probably going to flirt with every girl in Rome too, right?”

“Meg, don’t you trust me at all?” Now he didn’t hide his irritation.

“No, not after how you acted today with that Eden girl!”

Ironically,
what was irking her was the same thing bothering him too. He’d been happy to discover the tall blonde bowling him over was Eden. His parents told him the McCarthy’s were moving back to Bon Air and he’d been hoping he’d get to see his old friend again before leaving. What he hadn’t counted on was how rude his friends would act.

“Yeah, about that.
What was up with you guys today?” he asked.

Megan stared at him.

“You all acted like jerks,” he reminded her.

Her eyes bulged.
“I can’t believe you’re making this all about
her
. You’re totally dodging it.”

“Dodging what?”

“You were holding her arms like forever! I saw the way you looked at her. Don’t even try to deny it!”

Micah threw up his hands.
“Meg, really? Are you
that
jealous of Eden?”

“Yes, well, no…
I don’t know! So you swear you don’t
like her
like her?”

“No more than Chase or any other of my friends.
She’s just a friend to me, I swear.”

She smiled and then giggled.
“Ok.” She laid her cheek against his upper arm, too short to reach his shoulder. “Guess I just want you all to myself until you leave.”

He moved his hand to the top of her head, brushing her hair back.
Normally, he’d kiss her forehead or utter some reassuring nonsense, but not today. Since Megan was engrossed in the TV show, he let his eyes wander the living room.
Hard to believe I’m actually leaving.
With football done for the season, he didn’t mind being gone the last half of his junior year. Megan minded.

Knowing his parents were out to dinner with
friends, a movement in the front entry caught his eye. Rotating to get a better look, he disturbed Megan. She peered up at him.

“Sorry, I thought I saw
—” He froze, staring.

Poised in the
entryway, a woman appeared out of nowhere. Her pearly white skin contrasted with the form-fitted crimson gown she wore. Her face was beautiful: a straight nose, red full lips, and riveting, onyx eyes. Black hair reached the leather belt at her waist.

Megan spun
around, searching the room. “Micah, saw what?”

His eyes flickered to Megan and then back to the woman in red.
She’s breathtaking.
His jaw went slack, his mouth gaping open.

“What is it? Why won’t you answer me?” There was panic in Megan’s voice now, but he felt transfixed.
The woman’s lips slowly parted, opening. His breath caught, waiting for her to speak. Instead, her head inclined, her body bowing, and then she was gone. Disappearing into the nothingness she’d come from.

“Sorry,” he
said, exhaling, his shoulders slumping forward.

Megan was either going to cry or scream, he wasn’t quite sure yet.
“I thought I saw something,” he explained.

“What?
What’d you see?”

“Uh, nothing, really.”
It sounded lame.
I’m a terrible liar.

“Nothing?
You’re totally freaking me out! That wasn’t
nothing
.”

“Sorry,” he repeated.
He didn’t know what else to say.
Man, I feel like I just did football drills
. He noted Megan’s scowl.
I’m not sure I can handle her hysterics. I just saw a freaking ghost!
Somehow, he knew Megan would
not
be able to handle
that
truth.

“Sorry?
You’re sorry! I swear, Micah—”

“Megan, please.
I just can’t do this with you right now.”

Her mouth snapped shut, her eyes
narrowing.

When he remained
quiet, she stood in a huff. “Fine, be that way. I’m going home.”

He forced himself to his feet, but she was already storming from the room.
Do I even want to follow?

“Meg, wait,” he called, stepping after her.

“First the flirting and now this… I just can’t take anymore.” They were by the front door now. She whirled around, facing him. “Go to Rome and forget all about me.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “We’re through, Micah!” She threw the door open and slammed it behind her, leaving Micah speechless.

Wow, didn’t see that coming…
Chase wasn’t kidding about her being the jealous type.
Feeling guilty, yet relieved she was gone, he returned to the couch, sinking down into its cushions. He kneaded his eyes with his knuckles before staring back at the entryway.

Who was that woman?
he wondered.
Will she come back?

“Lacey Hawkins invited us over for dinner tomorrow night,” her mom announced
just as Eden threw popcorn into her mouth. Startled, she clamped down on a hard kernel. It lodged into her gums.
Ow…

“That’s great,” her dad said, passing her mom the popcorn bowl.

Losing her appetite, Eden set her popcorn
aside, only to have her younger brother, Brendon, take it. After the movie ended, she ran up to her bedroom and changed into her favorite boxer shorts and t-shirt before climbing into bed with a fantasy novel in hand. There was a soft knock at the door.

“Come in,” she called.
She already knew it was her mom. Brendon was thirteen and would never knock that softly, or even knock at all.

Beth McCarthy came into the room and sat at the end of the bed, wearing a fuzzy nightgown.
One Eden was sure she’d prefer for her daughter to wear as well. Stretching her legs down into her covers, Eden knew she’d hate being twisted up in that during the night.

She set her book aside and waited.

“Sweetie, how are you doing?
With the move and all?” her mom asked, her hazel eyes penetrating.

Eden knew what her mom really wanted to ask.
Are the kids teasing you again? Are you finding friends this time?

When her dad’s engineering firm went
bankrupt, their family downsized, leaving their home next to the Hawkins to move into a small apartment two hours south. Her dad had found work as a water treatment engineer in the naval shipyards. Eden had been ten at the time and had never given any thought to popular verses unpopular. She’d only known Micah, her best friend. Hitting a growth spurt that left her lanky, and needing glasses as well as braces, changed everything. Receiving the brunt of jokes, she turned inward, escaping in books and academics.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You haven’t said much about your first week of school.” Her mom tilted her head to the side, her dark brown curls framing her chin. Eden wished she’d gotten some of her mom’s natural curls, but Brendon inherited that gene. Already taller than her mom and sharing the same blue-gray eyes as her dad, the only one thing she’d gotten from her mom was a wide smile.

“It’s been great
,” she lied. Since running into Micah, she’d yet to see him the rest of the week at school, though she’d seen Megan one too many times, each time receiving a fake smile. She saw Willow and Chase less frequently, but it was equally uncomfortable. Being a sophomore, her locker was upstairs, along with most of her classes, but to get to trig, she had to cross the junior hall, the longest walk of her life. The only highlight so far was her new friendship with Jessie, who was indeed her neighbor, living two doors down.

Her mom continued to gaze at her.
“Just know you can tell me anything and I mean anything, ok? I moved a lot as a kid and I know it’s tough.”

“Ok, thanks
, Mom.”

Her mom kissed the top of her head.
“Good night, sweetheart.”

“Night
, Mom.”

She left, closing the door behind her, and Eden stared at her bulletin
board, counting the number of pushpins on it. She slid off her bed and began pacing back and forth.

I’m faking sick.
There’s no way I’m going tomorrow night. I’m almost sixteen, old enough to stay home by myself.

The ride over to the Hawkins was quiet as Eden pressed her face against the glass.
So much for faking sick.
Since she rarely was ill, she knew it’d look suspicious if she tried, and probably raise questions of why she wouldn’t want to see Micah.

Surrounded by
tall, arching trees, the highway was more like a tunnel of thick foliage pressing down on them. The sun was setting, dripping down from the sky like a magical paintbrush, smearing its hues across the trees. Then, as the sun sank beyond the horizon, the vibrant colors were gone, leaving the forest dark and ominous.

Eden shifted away from the window, goose bumps crawling down her arms.
She saw the Ram’s Gate sign as her dad slowed the car. This was the Hawkins’s neighborhood, her old neighborhood. Memories flooded in her mind as lights pierced through the trees’ silhouettes, the shadows of the night hiding the southern mansions tucked deep in the woods. They passed the Johnson’s, the Moody’s, the Myers—homes she knew well and had targeted with Micah for toilet papering on more than one occasion.

As the SUV veered right, her pulse quickened.
The circular drive leading to the colonial estate with white wicker furniture on an oversized porch was all too familiar.

I cried so many times to come back here as a kid,
she thought.
But Micah’s not my partner in crime anymore.
He’s a stranger to me. His social life’s a polar opposite to mine.
Obviously handsome and popular, he was ashamed of his nerdy friend’s return.

The car stopped and she sighed, yanking the door handle back.
Guess I have no choice but to get this over with.