HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (6 page)

“I’ll yell when supper is ready.” 

“Thanks.”  I turned and made my way to my room.  The whole conversation with Nicole had me a little on edge.  Why did people think I needed a boyfriend?  Why did Cade think he needed to drive me?  Even Cassie and Bree weren’t very helpful on the topic.  They just accepted how things were and didn’t seem to question them. 
Could I do that?
  I shook my head.  No, I couldn’t just let people decide things for me.  I was going to have to fight tooth and nail until Cade realized that he couldn’t make my choices for me. 

The first week seemed to fly by in much the same manner as the first day.  Sure I was starting to have homework, but the constant companionship from Cade or one of the others was a new experience.  I always had someone to walk to classes with, someone to sit by in class, and a lunch table all our own.  In all my other schools I tried to keep a low profile and not talk to anyone.  Cassie and Bree didn’t allow that this time around.  I came to realize that it was nice to have people around who you could laugh and talk with.  Maybe this school year wouldn’t be too bad. 

On the other hand, I couldn’t seem to shake this thing with Cade.  He continued to act as my “protector”.  Driving me to school, escorting me to classes.  I was pretty sure he discouraged some of the boys in our grade from talking to me as even I noticed a significant decrease in the number of looks I received throughout the week.  I would have chalked it up to my “newness” wearing off, but I overheard Cassie and Cade arguing about Cade scaring off all the prospective good guys for me.   I didn’t ask either of them about it, but I had to wonder why he thought he should.  I could handle unwanted attention myself just fine. 

It was finally last period on Friday and we were gathered around our table in the lunch room for study hall.  Bree and I were trying to finish some of our homework while Brody and Cassie laughed and joked around.  Hunter and Cade looked on in amusement.  I looked up when Cassie called my name.

“Hey Kendra, Dad and Mom said it would be all right if you came with us tomorrow to White River Falls, that place I told you about.  Do you want to go?”

“Yeah, sure.  Is it supposed to be nice tomorrow?”

“Sunny all day,” Brody commented with a grin.

“Who’s all going?”  I asked without looking at Cade, who I could tell watched me for my reaction.

“All of us.  Since we don’t have anything else going on.”

“Oh.  Ok.”  I smiled weakly before I looked down at my incomplete homework.  It was almost time to leave anyways.  I sighed and packed up my things. 

“Cade will pick you up tomorrow at ten, if that’s not too early?”  Cassie added. 

“Sure, but I can probably borrow the truck from Nicole.”  I hedged.

“I’ll pick you up.”  Cade said with finality.  “We wouldn’t want you getting lost on your way to our place.”

“Fine.”  I gritted.  I turned back to Cassie.  “Anything I need to bring?”

“Just wear comfy clothes to hike in and tennis shoes.  We’ll bring lunch.”  She smiled excitedly. 

“Okay.”  I grinned in return.  Our class was dismissed and I made my way to my locker.  Just as I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and shut my locker, Tyler leaned against the locker next to mine.

“Hey Kendra.”  He smiled.

“Hi Tyler.”

“Hard to get you on your own this week to talk.”

“Yeah, this week’s been crazy.”

“Is Stalker Boy around?”  Tyler made a show of looking around.

“Who?”  I scrunched my nose in confusion. 

“McCoy.  He’s always walking with you or two steps behind you.  It’s kind of creepy.”

“I guess he took it upon himself to look out for me.”

“I guess.”  He shrugged.  “Hey, a bunch of us get together on Saturday nights at my house for a bonfire as long as the weather holds.  I was wondering if you’d be interested in going.”

“Oh, well I’m going out to Cassie’s tomorrow.  I’m not sure if I’ll be back in time.”

“You’re going out to the McCoys?”  He asked, shocked.

“Yeah, why?”  I asked slowly, wondering why he would be surprised. 

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked, seeing as you are a part of their group now.  Anyone outside of their group has never been invited to their place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  No clue why.”  He shrugged.  “What time are you coming back to town?  I could pick you up then?”

“Oh, I don’t really know.”  I bit my lip then had an idea.  “Give me your phone number and I can text you if I get back to town in time.”

“Well, that’s one way to get a girl’s number,” he grinned as he took out his phone.  I couldn’t help the blush that heated my face.  I glanced around as the students moved around us leaving for the weekend.  I caught sight of Cade at the end of the hall, watching both of us with a scowl on his face.  I turned back to Tyler with my phone in hand.  We exchanged phone numbers and he left with a smile.  I shook my head and headed toward the door myself. 

I didn’t glance at Cade as I passed him but he fell into step beside me as we made our way to his car at the end of the lot.  I didn’t fight him anymore about the door, it was a nice gesture after all.  I slid into the seat and placed my bag behind me.  Without a word, he shut my door, rounded the car and folded himself inside.  He dumped his bag in the back, started the engine, and pulled out of the lot. 

Without preamble, he asked, “What did Lunt want?”

“Who?”  I asked confused. 

“Tyler, Tyler Lunt.  Don’t tell me you gave a boy your number and you don’t even know his full name.”  He scowled disapprovingly at me.  I rolled my eyes.

“How do you know I gave him my number?”

“I saw you both with your phones out.”

“Why were you watching?”

“I was waiting for you.”  I didn’t have an answer to that so I looked out the window.  He waited a few seconds before he huffed in annoyance.  “Well?”  I turned back to him.

“Well what?”  I asked.

“What did he want?”

“He invited me to a bonfire tomorrow night.”

“What time?”

“Didn’t say.”

“Cassie will probably have you at our place late.  You won’t have time to go to the bonfire.”

“I told him I was going to Cassie’s and that I might not be back in time.”  I admitted. 

“What did he say?”  Cade asked as he pulled into my driveway. 

“He said to text him if I needed a ride to the bonfire.”  I replied at the same time wondering why I was telling him all of this.  I reached around and grabbed my bag from the back.  I was just about to open the door when his next statement stopped me.

“You should tell him upfront that you aren’t interested in a boyfriend.  That way you aren’t leading him on.”  I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What I do in my relationships, or lack thereof, is none of your business.  Understand?”  I threw the door open and slammed it behind me without waiting for his reply.  He always waited until I was inside the house before he left and this time was no exception.  I heard his car back up and pull away as I shut the door behind me.  I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped.

“Uh oh.  Boy troubles?”  Nicole asked, walking down the hall.

“What?  No.  Of course not.”  I scoffed.  My original good mood for a Friday was gone, once again due to a certain overbearing male.  “He is such a caveman.”  I muttered as I made my way to the kitchen.  Nicole followed in my wake.

“I assume we are talking about the McCoy boy?”

“Yes,” I sighed as I grabbed an apple and sat at the counter. 

“What did he do this time?”

“He’s trying to dictate who I can hang out with or talk to.”

“Meaning everyone?  Or just boys?”  I thought about that and he seemed to be aiming just for the male population.

“Just boys,” I said as I frowned.

“Well, that should tell you something.”  Nicole grinned. 

“What exactly?”

“Cade obviously likes you if he doesn’t want other boys talking to you.”

“He doesn’t like me.”  I scoffed.  “He just thinks it’s his job to look out for everyone.  Since I am now with their group, that ‘job’ has been extended to me.”

“So you’re telling me he does the same for Bree and Cassie?”

“Yeah, of course.”  Although I wasn’t as sure in my head.  My phone beeped alerting me that I had a text message.  It was from an unknown number.

Ur relationships r ur business.  As ur…friend…it’s my responsibility to look out for u.

I reread the statement a few times before the words finally sank in.  They had to be from Cade, who else would make a statement like that?  I wrote back:

How did u get this number?
  Because I would have remembered exchanging phone numbers with Cade.

Cassie

Traitor
, why did she have to go and do that.  I didn’t answer and looked up to see Nicole watching me. 

“Not good news?”  She asked around her cup of coffee as she took in my scowling face.

“No, just annoying.  I now not only have to contend with him at school and driving me home, he has my phone number now to text me.”  I could tell Nicole was trying not to laugh so I rolled my eyes and stood up.

“I’ll be in my room.”  I turned to leave then remembered Cassie’s invitation.  “Oh, Cassie invited me out to their place tomorrow.  Hope that’s ok.”

“Yeah sure.”  She waved it off.  “Just let us know when you plan to be back so we don’t worry.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Before midnight, remember?”

“Yep.”  I said as I walked out of the kitchen and made my way to my bedroom.  I dropped my bag beside my desk and grabbed my sketch pad from the top.  I walked over to my window seat and curled up in my pillows and blankets which overlooked the back yard.  This really was a fantastic place to think and draw.  I liked to draw anything, from animals to landscapes.  My love of cars also came to life in my drawings.  I started doodling while my thoughts wandered back to Cade. 

Was he trying to be a friend?  Something more?  I recalled our conversation in the lunch room just after I ran into Tyler last Monday.  He said he didn’t date.  What did that mean?  Like, at all?  Because I was sure there were a number of girls in school that would be all over him in a heartbeat if he so much as looked in their direction. 
Now why did that thought hurt?
 

I finally registered what was on the page before me since my hand had continued drawing as my mind had wandered.  I’d drawn a rough sketch of a wolf standing in the woods.  Wolves had always been my thing.  They were majestic, beautiful, family oriented, and intelligent.  They lived as a pack, worked as a pack, and thrived as a pack.  Each member had a role to play within the hierarchy and without each one of those members, the pack would have a hard time surviving and fending off other packs from encroaching on their territory. 

I critiqued the sketch and worked on finishing out the rest of the drawing.  An hour later, I had a respectable depiction of a black wolf staring straight out from among the trees.  The look on the wolf’s face was intense but I didn’t know why I drew the animal with such concentration emanating from him.  Shrugging but still satisfied with the drawing, I looked out the window and watched the wind blow through the trees.  The drawing reminded me a lot of my dreams lately.  I was starting to remember bits and pieces.  They were mostly of the woods as dark, swift shapes moved through the forest.  One reoccurring thought kept coming to mind, however.  Why did Cassie have to give Cade my number?  Deciding that I needed to know, I pulled out my phone and called her.

“Hey, you!  What’s up?”  Cassie chimed as she answered her phone.

“Why did you give Cade my number?”  I asked bluntly.

“Uh…just a sec.”  I could hear her moving around and a few seconds later a door shut.  “Ok, first of all, give a girl some warning next time.  And second of all, why wouldn’t I?”

“Warning about what?  And why would you?”

“I was sitting next to Cade when you called.  Pretty sure he heard your question.”

“Oh.”  Oops. 

“Yeah, ‘oh’,” she chuckled. 

“Well why did you?”

“Give him your number?  Well, he’s picking you up and he seemed like he had something left unsaid.”  I could almost feel her shrug across the line.  “I didn’t see any harm in it.”

“Well, I need some distance from him.  He’s just too…much.”  I admitted lamely.

“Yeah, I can see how you would feel that way.”  She sighed before continuing.  “Look, I’ll talk to him but I’m not promising that it will help.  And I don’t think I’ll be able to convince him to not continue picking you up for school.”

“What about tomorrow morning?”

“Uh…no, he’s not giving that up either.”  The way she said that had me frowning.

“He’s back in the same room as you, isn’t he?”  I questioned. 

“Maybe?”  She answered. I sighed and shook my head.

“I’ll just let you go.  See you in the morning?”

“Yep.  And things will get better.  I promise.” 

“We’ll see.”  I replied.  “Bye, Cassie.” 

“Bye, Kendra.”  I disconnected the call.  I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.  Why was this such a big deal?  I mean, Cade was nice and all, but it had to be his overprotectiveness that was rubbing me the wrong way.  It couldn’t be anything else, could it?  I shook my head, not wanting to think about it.  I went back downstairs to help Nicole with supper. At least that would be a good distraction to get my mind off Cade.