Dark Realms (32 page)

Tyler sighed. “You didn’t need it in the
first place. You look fine.”

“Well, not to most of the
twelfth grade,” I mumbled. “If I looked
fine
, they’d just leave me
alone.”

“Kendra, there are more important things in
life other than worrying about how others view you,” he said.
“Anyone who makes fun of the way you look isn’t worth trying to
impress anyway.”

“Easy for you to say,” I mumbled. “You’re in
good shape and are too cute to worry about things like that.”

Wow, did I just blurt that out?

He grinned. “You think I’m cute?”

My face turned red. “No, I mean… you blend
in well with everyone.”

“So, I’m
not
cute and I look like
everyone else.”

I groaned. “You are cute, okay? Quit teasing
me.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, I just couldn’t
resist.”

“Did you ever find the item you wanted to
show me in the store yesterday?” I asked, changing the subject.

His face became serious. “I did,
actually.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s still at the shop. Can you come by
after school again?”

“I think so. I’ll check with my mom and see
if it’s okay.”

“If you want, I can stop by and introduce
myself.”

I stared at him. “Really? You’d do
that?”

He nodded. “It’s probably a good idea,
especially if we start hanging out and everything.”

Hanging out? Did he mean
as in dating or just friends? My mom’s going to love this guy
regardless
, I thought.

I smiled. “Sure. That would be cool.”

“Okay, I’ll just get off the bus with you
after school. Then we can walk to the shop afterwards.”

“Isn’t your mom going to be watching for
you?”

“Nah.”

“Okay.”

When the bus pulled into
the school parking lot, I was
so
giddy that Tyler was coming over. It might not be
a date, but it was the closest I’d ever come to one.

Chapter Eleven

I went to the bathroom before first period
and studied my reflection in the mirror. I was still amazed by the
transformation that a little makeup had created. Luckily, it had
weathered the tears Tyler had created with his potion talk.

“Wow, what’s the special occasion?” asked
Hailey Bates, stepping into the bathroom. She was with the two
other girls from our health class. “Look at you… makeup and a new
dress? Where’d they find the tent to make thing?”

The other two girls burst out laughing and I
rushed out of the bathroom, feeling totally humiliated. I hurried
through the hallway, my face streaked with mascara and tears,
trying to ignore the smirks and giggles of the other students.

Damn, Hailey
Bates
.

I hated her more than anything at that
moment, and all I wanted to do was escape and go home. As I made it
to the exit at the back of the school, someone called my name.

“Kendra!”

Tyler.

I stopped and slowly turned around.

“What… what’s wrong?” he asked walking
towards me.

I shook my head as he got closer and tried
to wipe away the tears with the back of my hand. “Um, nothing.
Don’t worry about it.”

He removed his sunglasses and stared into my
eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

I answered without hesitation. “Hailey Bates
made fun of me and I lost control of my emotions.” My voice sounded
weird, almost robotic, even to myself.

His green eyes burned into mine. “She’s an
idiot. Do not allow yourself to feel belittled by her ignorance.
You are beautiful, Kendra, inside and out.”

A warm rush of pleasure spread throughout my
body and I felt tingly all over. My heart lifted and I didn’t care
about Hailey’s cruel words anymore. I smiled at him and sighed in
relief.

He thought I was beautiful!

Tyler put his sunglasses on and took my hand
in his. “Now, come with me.”

~~~

“Where are we going?” I asked as he pulled
me out of the school.

“It’s a surprise.”

My head was beginning to clear as I followed
him through the football field. It had been fuzzy before, but now
that I was breathing in the fresh air, my mind was racing with
questions.

I stopped walking. “What exactly did you do
to me back there, Tyler?”

He stopped and turned around. “What do you
mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You did
something to me with your eyes.”

He shrugged. “Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t answer my question.
What did you do to me, and why are you always wearing those dark
sunglasses?”

“If I told you now, you’d think I was crazy.
I’ll explain it all later.”

“I’m kind of thinking that I’m crazy right
now for following you out of this school.” I shook my head.
“Especially after what just happened. God, I just know my mom is
going to kill me.”

He began to remove his glasses again.

“Stop that!” I hollered, pointing to his
face. “Don’t you dare do that thingy with your eyes again.”

He pushed them back down and smiled. “What
are you afraid of? Don’t you trust me, Kendra?”

“That’s just it! I don’t know you enough to
totally trust you. Just please, leave your glasses on.”

“Fine.”

I sighed. “So, where are we going?”

“Just a place I found recently. I think
you’ll like it. It’s quiet and peaceful.”

I actually did sort of trust him, but I
wasn’t even sure why. For all I knew, he could be taking me
somewhere to slit my throat or take advantage of me. Of course, I
wouldn’t have minded the latter so much. He was cute and certainly
had a way of making me feel good about myself.

As we walked away from the school grounds
and into the nearby woods, I was amazed that nobody seemed to
notice us leaving. Not even the gym class that had just stepped
outside and onto the soccer field. Nobody even glanced in our
direction.

“Here we are,” he said, stopping
abruptly.

I slammed into him and he steadied me. “Oh
crap, I’m sorry,” I said.

He let go of my elbow. “No problem. What do
you think of this place?”

We were in the middle of the woods in a
small clearing. “Well, it’s certainly nice and peaceful.”

He smiled and then surprised me by grabbing
both of my hands. “You’re not that impressed, I can tell. But, I
want you to humor me for just a minute.”

As long as he kept holding my hands, I’d
humor him as much as he wanted. “Okay.”

“Now, I need you to close your eyes, inhale,
and take a deep breath of fresh air.”

I nodded and then closed my eyes.

“Okay, now clear your mind and think of
something that makes you truly happy, whether it’s something from
your past or present. Just remember to keep your eyes closed and
concentrate. I’ll tell you when you can open them back up.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t forget to breathe,” he said
softly.

I inhaled the fresh air and tried to clear
my mind, but all I kept thinking of was his warm hands holding
mine.

“I’m going to release your hands,” he
said.

Rats.

“Kendra? Are you thinking of something that
brings you joy?”

I thought about the half-gallon bucket of
cookie-dough ice cream in the freezer at home and nodded.

“Make sure it’s something that brings you
pure happiness. I’m not talking about superficial things, either.
Something you really wouldn’t want to live without.”

An image of my dad popped into my head and
my chest tightened.

“Focus only on your happy memories. Clear
your mind of everything else.”

I thought about my dad and
how he used to take my sister and me to the ice cream parlor on
Main Street on Sundays. Just like me, he loved ice cream and used
to order this gigantic bowl with endless toppings, one that could
feed a dozen people. Then, all three of us would grab spoons and
eat until we couldn’t stand to look at the bowl anymore. It was a
simple memory
, but it was one I’d cherish
forever.

“You’re smiling, so it must be good,” he
said softly.

I nodded.

“Open your eyes.”

When I opened my eyes, I didn’t know exactly
what to expect. Part of me had this fantasy that Tyler would
somehow produce my father and he’d be holding out a giant bowl of
ice cream.

“Wow….” I whispered in awe.

The woods appeared to be glowing
iridescently and every color of flower, leaf, and rock seemed to be
magnified. Even the grass under our feet seemed to sparkle.

“Watch,” he murmured as a beautiful doe
stepped through the woods and slowly edged towards us. Tyler held
out his hand and the deer came close enough to nuzzle it.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” I whispered.

The doe looked at me with her honey-colored
eyes and my breath caught in my throat. I could have sworn she was
smiling at me.

Tyler removed his sunglasses and the doe
turned to him. “Transform,” he said.

A bright light surrounded the doe and I
watched in stunned silence as it began to slowly change from a
four-legged creature to one who stood on two legs

Tyler turned to stare at my reaction as a
beautiful girl, her long blond hair glowing slightly as the light
receded around her, stood before us. When I looked into her eyes,
they stared back with the wisdom of someone much older than the
teen standing before us.

“What?” I asked in disbelief. “What just
happened? Am I dreaming?”

The girl chuckled and then curtsied. “Hello,
my name is Trixie.”

My head was spinning. “What are you?” I
whispered.

She giggled again and clapped her hands.
“I’m a Shape-shifter, silly.”

Chapter Twelve

I must have fainted because the next thing I
knew, they were both staring down at me and I was looking up at the
clouds.

“Are you okay?” asked Tyler, grabbing my
hand and helping me up.

I was a little dizzy and my mouth dry. “I
think so,” I croaked.

“I can’t stay very long, Tyler,” said
Trixie, looking around anxiously. “Like I’ve told you before, it’s
really not safe here.”

“Okay, Trix. Thanks for showing yourself to
Kendra.”

She nodded and then turned to me. “I’m so
glad that they found you.”

I put my hand on my chest. “Found me? What
do you mean?”

Tyler smiled, sheepishly. “She doesn’t know
yet.”

Trixie covered her mouth. “Oh, I’m
sorry.”

“What’s going on here?” I asked, taking a
step back. “What don’t I know?”

“I’ll explain everything tonight at my
mother’s shop. Right now, we’d better get you back to school.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Do you really think
I’ll be able to get through this day normally after everything I’ve
just witnessed here?”

“You’re going to have to try, Kendra,” said
Tyler. “It’s too dangerous to keep you out of school any longer,
and you have to act like nothing’s happened.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me? Too
dangerous? What in the heck are you talking about?”

Tyler grabbed both of my
hands as Trixie slipped back into the woods. “Just like I showed
you here, everything is not as it seems. There are others at school
that can’t be trusted. When we return, you have to act normal and
don’t tell anyone of the things I’ve shown you. Tonight, I
will
explain everything,
and I promise you, it will make more sense. Just trust me,
okay?”

“I… I guess. This is just so crazy. Tyler,
seriously, I feel like I’m dreaming. Wait a second,” I said,
pulling away from him. “Is it that potion your mom sold me? Was it
some kind of hallucinogen or something?”

“No, of course not,” he answered, looking
wounded.

I rubbed my forehead. “Okay. Fine. I’m sorry
I said that, but you have to admit, this is some pretty intense
stuff you’re laying on me.”

“I know.”

I sighed. “So, what do we do now?”

“We need to finish out the day and then
tonight, after school, I’ll explain everything.”

“Won’t it be easier if you just told me
now?”

He shook his head. “No. I have something to
show you. It’s the only way you’ll truly believe what I have to
say.”

I mulled this over and nodded. “Okay. Well,
then, let’s go back to the school and get this day over with. I’m
dying to find out what all of this is about.”

He took my hand in his and led me back
towards the school. When we reached the school grounds, I stared at
the building and bit my lower lip. “I just hope we don’t get
detention for ditching class.”

“Believe me, the teacher won’t even notice
we weren’t in class when I’m done with him.”

Sure enough, when we
returned to the
school, Tyler spoke to Mr.
Henry in private for a couple seconds and the teacher seemed to
have forgotten that we’d missed most of the class. We then snuck
back to our seats with the other students watching in
disbelief.

“Where did you go?” whispered Amy.

“Uh, left my homework at home,” I mumbled,
not wanting to get into it with her.

She motioned to Tyler. “What – and he left
his home, too?”

“I don’t know. We just arrived at the door
at the same time,” I whispered. “I don’t know what’s up with
him.”

When the bell rang at the
end of class, several students got up and then did a
double-take when they looked at me. It was then
that I realized in horror that I had never bothered to check my
makeup after crying. The mascara was probably smeared all over my
face. I probably looked like a clown.

“I’ll meet you in Math,” I whispered to
Tyler, who was also staring at me oddly.