Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (25 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

           
Eli and Ren weren’t at school the next day, but
Bailey and I knew they were off handling the riffraff. I couldn’t wait to see
Eli again. A spark had been ignited inside me, and I just couldn’t get enough
of him.

 I
also couldn’t wait to hear what the elders had to say at their meeting. I knew
it was something Eli was nervous about, and his nerves made me slightly uneasy.
After all, the elders’ decision is what held our future. If they were too
lenient on Pete then we might have more problems, but if they really threw the
book at him then we should be set.

Bailey
seemed to be adjusting well to all of the news she had received over the last
few days. While it was a lot to take in, it seemed like she was handling some
of it better than me. She even seemed to be back to her old self again. Ryan
was beside himself when he saw her. He picked her up in a giant bear hug. I was
happy for them. They walked to their next class hand-in-hand and it made me sad
that Eli wasn’t there. I don’t know what Bailey told Ryan about where she had
been, but I figured it was better that way. I was tired of lying to people.

After
a pop quiz in third hour, I was more than ready for lunch. I walked alone, a
first for me during that school year. Until then I always seemed to be
surrounded by people all the time at school and come to think about it, even
when I wasn’t in school. It felt good that being alone was a rare thing for me.
It meant that I had a good web of friends to count on. The only problem was
that when I was alone it was harder on me.

The
lunch line was quiet without anyone to talk to and seemed to take longer than
normal to make my way to the front. It had to be just my imagination. I picked
a salad for lunch and made my way through the crowds of students to the table
where we usually sat.

I
looked up from my tray as I made my way through the tables and there he was.
Eli stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the table and smiling right at
me. He looked breathtaking. I closed the gap in two strides and almost dropped
my salad when I flung my arms around him. He laughed.

Ren
was still missing. It worried me and I wondered where he was. Maybe he had gone
back where he came from? A part of me hoped he hadn’t. I would have really
liked having him around permanently. He was a breath of fresh air that we
needed around.

“You
didn’t miss me or anything did you?” he mocked lovingly as he nuzzled my neck.

Our
friends were surprised by it. They were out of the loop so to speak and hadn’t
heard that we were now together. It had happened so quickly even for us, but we
didn’t explain the details. There was more to it than anyone needed to know, so
we simply said that it happened the night before and left it at that. I
couldn’t believe that the explanation sufficed for everyone at the table. Maybe
they had been expecting it. Bailey just grinned at me—knowing the whole truth
gave us a little secret from the rest of the world.

“How
did this morning go?” I asked Eli in a hushed voice.

“It
went fine, but not quite as we expected it to,” he answered.

“Why?”
I asked.

“I
can’t go into detail now, but I'll tell you after school okay?”

I agreed.
I knew it wasn’t smart to discuss at the lunch table. I also just wanted to
enjoy the afternoon without having to worry about anything except school.
Having Bailey back made me realize once again how much she took charge of our
group’s conversation. That day, things felt more normal than I thought they
would, even though she had fabricated a story about where she was the day
before. We also talked about how she was looking forward to our sleepover this
weekend. In all of the craziness, I had completely forgotten about it, though I
would never tell her that. It gave me something to look forward to.

Now
that Bailey knew all about Eli, I would have someone to talk to about it and
the girl talk I had been craving for so long.

It
was a different feeling walking through the halls holding Eli’s hand. Nothing
had ever felt more right. His touch still sent shivers through my body and I
wondered if it always would. It was as if his hand sent an electrical current
rapidly coursing through my body.

Afterschool,
Bailey, Eli and I met at Eli’s car. We decided it was best to get together
after school to talk about the events from that morning that Bailey and I
missed. Eli hadn’t mentioned anything about Ren yet and I didn’t have an
opportunity to bring him up until we got into his car.

“Where’s
Ren?” I finally asked.

“He’s
back at that house. You know, Pete’s house,” he paused, as if he were waiting
for a reaction. I gave him nothing. “That’s where we're headed. I’ll explain
everything when we get there,” he added cryptically.

I
didn’t want to go back there. Things must’ve not gone the way we had hoped if
we had to go back there. I wondered what Bailey was thinking. I was sure it was
the last place she wanted to be again.

Walking
through the door gave me a sense of déjà vu that made me dizzy. I grabbed Eli’s
arm for support.

“You
okay?” he asked.

“I’m
fine, just got a little dizzy.”

I
wasn’t going to explain why and for once it seemed like he didn’t have a clue.
He helped me inside and we sat down.

We
were all sitting around the newly familiar living room before the conversation
began.

“The
elders would like to talk over their options before they make their final
decision, so they have asked Ren and I to keep watch over Pete until then.”

“What
about his friends?” Bailey asked.

“His
friends were lucky. They were told to leave town and not to talk to Pete or any
of us again,” he responded. “But, I doubt that will be the case. Pete and those
two go way back.”

It
was not the news I
I
had hoped to hear. I couldn’t
wait to be rid of Pete for good, but obviously we were going to be burdened by
him for a while. But how long?

It
was as if I had spoken my question aloud.

“It’s
only for a week, maybe two. Things will be back to normal very soon. I
promise.”

He
was so sincere it was hard to not feel better just looking into his eyes. He
was right. After all two weeks wasn’t so long, and it would be even better if
it was only one. I could do it. I had to do it. It was time I was strong for
Eli. I knew he wanted the situation to be over just as much as me, maybe even
more.

“Okay,”
I said. “How do you plan to do it?”

“Ren
and I will trade out. He will take a 12-hour shift, and I will take the next.”

“But
you will miss school…” I sounded whiney and that wasn’t at all how I intended
for it to come out.

“We
will be switching out at 11 each morning and night. I will only miss the
morning of school, and I think I can stand to miss a few days of school,” he
was laughing as he said it.

Why
was he laughing at me? Probably because I sounded downright childish. The truth
was, I didn’t like not having him at school. Again, my thoughts were on myself.
I had to change that. We were a couple now, and I had to start thinking of us,
and not just myself. I doubted Eli would find it to be a turn on if I was only
thinking of myself all the time.

He
put his hand on my knee and went on. “When they have reached a decision, they
have asked us to bring him to Colorado for them to explain their decision to
him and us.”

Here
I thought him missing school was the worst part. Now he was having to going
away, and he was going with Pete? I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“I
want to go.” The words were out of my mouth before my brain had even caught up.

“I
want you to go too,” Eli said. “But you can’t. What would we tell your mom?”

I
should be going, but he had a point. It wasn’t fair. I hadn’t thought about
work either, there was no way that we both would be able to get off at the same
time for more than a day or two.

“How
long will you be gone?”  

“Probably
two or three days,” he answered solemnly.

I
knew that those few days would feel a lot longer than they really were, and I
could feel myself already dreading it. .

“It’s
okay Abby, you and I will have lots of girl time!” Bailey piped up smiling at
me and winking at Eli.

I
was thankful for such a good friend. I squeezed her hand to say thanks.

“Did
they give you any idea what they had in mind for Pete?” I questioned.

“No,
they didn’t, but I got the feeling it would have something to do with his
immortality,” he answered flatly.

“Where
is Pete now?” Bailey asked.

This
time it was Ren that answered. “He’s getting the same treatment you received.”
He smiled and pointed to the door off of the living room.

That
made Bailey smile. I couldn’t blame her, as I felt the same way. It served him
right. I really had done nothing to deserve the harsh treatment from Pete, and
Bailey shouldn’t be involved at all. I still had no idea how Pete had dragged
her into it, and I never asked. I wasn’t sure that Bailey really wanted to talk
about it anyway. Personally, I would rather leave it in the past and move on.

“After
this is over, we all need to go out and let off some steam. All this stress is
really hard,” I said with more force than I needed.

“Agreed,”
Bailey, Eli and Ren said in unison.

Eli
started rubbing my shoulders. I felt the stress melt away, and I felt more
relaxed in seconds. For once he didn’t have to use his gift to help me, just
his hands did wonders for my aching back. How did he always know how to make me
feel better? I wondered if I would ever make him feel the same type of comfort.
I didn’t know how I could. I didn’t have any gifts to help me either.

We
didn’t have much time to waste hanging around. Eli and I had to go to work at
5, and Bailey had to go to work at 6.

After
we took Bailey home, Eli and I had some much needed alone time. It seemed like
the chaos was never going to end, and it was so nice for the two of us to be
together and have a one-on-one conversation. 

“After
this is all over, you owe me one really great date!” I teased.

“You
got it!” he said laughing.

“Eli?”

“Yeah?”

“When
did you know you had feelings for me? As more than as friends, I mean.” My curiosity
was getting the better of me.

“You
really want to know?”

“Of
course,” I answered.

“From
the first time you walked in the classroom on the first day of school,” he
admitted, avoiding eye contact.

“What?”

 “I
have loved you from the moment I saw you,” he uttered, almost looking ashamed.

“Wow,”
was all I could muster.

“Remember
when you asked me if there was anyone I had a thing for?”

I
nodded.

“It
was you. It was always you.”

Nobody
besides my parents had ever cared for me as much as he did right at that
moment. I kissed him hard. I didn’t know what I had ever done to deserve such
passionate affection.

“I
have to say, it was really hard going on double dates with you and Pete. And
then trying to pretend I had feelings for Bailey that didn’t stem deeper than
just friends. I tried, I really did to like her as more, but when it’s not
there you can’t force it,” he said.

“I’m
so sorry!” I said, trying to imagine what he must have felt. I also didn’t want
to know, because it must have been awful being put in that position.

I
felt guilty for having made him feel that way. All I had been thinking of was
my own selfish needs. Though, to be fair, I didn’t know he had feelings for me
then. It still felt indescribable that he had any feelings for me at all.

Working
with Eli that night was... well... interesting to say the least. Management
didn’t look kindly on employees dating, due to the fact that some have a hard
time separating work and play. Eli was absolutely not one of them. Secretly, I
laughed at just how “professional” he was behaving. We didn’t even interact
that politely before we succumbed to our feelings, and I wasn't the only one to
notice. One of the other waitresses mentioned it to me.

“Did
something happen between you guys?” she asked.

I
laughed, feeling like I had to tell someone. “Keep a secret?”

She
nodded.

“We’re
dating,” I whispered. “Apparently, he’s taking the rules very seriously,” I
added, making a stern face.

She
giggled right along with me. “Wow!”

The
rest of the night I couldn’t even walk by Eli without laughing out loud. He
actually started to look at me strangely because of it, which made me to laugh
even harder.