Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (3 page)

“You have the awesomest friends.
 
What did you tell her?”
 

“The truth.”

Rider’s eyes bulged as he gazed at Rachel in surprise. “What do you mean, ‘the truth?’ ”

“I told her I wanted to get birth control from the doctor and I needed my parents permission since I wasn’t 18,” Rachel explained.

A complicated look of disappointment and relief washed across Rider’s face.
 
“Oh, okay.
 
I thought you meant THE TRUTH.
 
About me.”

For years, the only person who had believed Rachel’s secret was Paige.
 
Her attempts to convince others had only led to disbelief and rejection.
 
Rider had longed for people to accept him, though, to validate his existence, but Paige had been the only believer in their secret world.
 
Now that Rider had a body, he was able to live life as a real person and forge relationships of his own, but their secret still haunted him and he longed for transparency.
 
If anyone could accept their incredible story it was Tara, Rider thought, but neither her nor Rachel was willing to risk losing their friend.

“No, it’s not just my story to tell anymore, Rider.
 
It’s yours.
 
And I promise never to tell it unless you want me to.”

Rider breathed a sigh of relief and his hands reached to embrace her.
 
There wasn’t a single day when he wasn’t grateful that, of all the people whose life he could have shared, he got Rachel.

chapter three

An unusual burst of energy surged through Rachel’s legs as she rounded the last lap of the track during P.E. on Friday afternoon, and Coach Klein showed his approval with characteristic enthusiasm.

“That’s what I’m talking about, Masterson!
 
Put those girly little legs into overdrive!
 
I knew you couldn’t possibly be as pathetic as you act!”

Tyler, Tara’s boyfriend, snickered at the jibe as Rachel passed him.
 
“What’s up with you, Rachel?
 
I’ve never seen you break a stroll out here before,” he huffed and strained to catch up.

“I’m leaving right after school to go visit my friend Paige up in Michigan,” Rachel gasped between breaths.
 
“It’s her 16th birthday.”

“That’s cool.
 
I liked her.”
 
Tyler had met Paige at Rachel’s birthday party a few weeks before.
 
Rachel didn’t mention that Paige had liked Tyler, too.
 
In fact, her exact words had been, “What a hottie!
 
Too bad he’s taken.
 
Let me know if they ever break up!”

Rachel waved goodbye to Tyler as she pulled out one last burst of speed to finish the race and headed off for the locker room.
 
She was about to bubble over with anticipation.
 
Her best friend’s birthday party, an illicit attempt at information-gathering, and perhaps, sex with her boyfriend?!
 
How much more excitement could she fit into one weekend?

Rider was waiting for her outside the locker room with a similar look of exhilaration on his face and the two eagerly tossed their book bags into the back of his SUV, next to their overnight bags.
 
It was at least a four hour drive up to Allendale from Indianapolis, so Rachel’s parents had agreed they could leave straight from school in hopes of arriving before the sunset.
 
Rachel punched Paige’s address into the GPS as Rider navigated his way through the maze of traffic in the school parking lot and soon they were on the highway cruising at a comfortable 65 mph.
 
Rachel’s parent’s had made Rider promise not to exceed the speed limit and insisted they stop at least once along the route so Rider wouldn’t get distracted by fatigue.
 
It was a fairly straight shot up the interstate, so they weren’t as worried as they would have been if the trip had involved more complicated directions.
 
The scenery was monotonous, but the conversation between the two of them never was.
 
Rider’s light-heartedness and sarcastic sense of humor always kept Rachel entertained.

As they drove they plotted out every possible scenario of tomorrow’s mission.
 
They had spent the week researching everything they could about the Allendale Women’s Clinic on the internet, but it was a small operation with a very basic website and they hadn’t been able to learn very much.
 
Rachel was doubtful that Rider would be able to learn anything from their visit, but she was growing more and more curious about Rider’s past the more they talked about it and she hoped for his sake that their efforts weren’t a waste.

They arrived at Paige’s house at 7:30, having stopped for gas and chili dogs at a 7-11 along the way, and were greeted enthusiastically by a grinning Paige who grabbed the both of them in a giant bear hug before pulling them eagerly into the house.
 
Paige’s mother Cathy fussed over Rachel, complimenting her look of health and vitality between multiple hugs.
 
Paige’s father, Edward, shook Rider’s hand and started asking him questions about the size of the engine in the vehicle he drove while Cathy cast surreptitious glances at Rider’s muscular physique and whispered murmurs of approval towards Rachel.
 
Paige blushed embarrassedly and shooed her mother into the kitchen with a request for cake.

A few minutes later, Cathy emerged with a triple layer chocolate cake with mocha fudge frosting, alight with a giant pink and purple candle shaped like the number 16.
 
She made the teens huddle together at the table while she snapped pictures until the candle wax started to puddle and Paige begged her to stop.
 
She insisted they sing, though, so the group sang “Happy Birthday” at double speed and then Paige blew hard enough to extinguish a dozen candles, spraying melted wax all over the top of the cake.
 
Cathy managed to scrape most of it off, along with a good portion of the frosting, but the enormous scoops of cookies n’ cream ice cream she piled on their plates made up for the loss.

When Paige felt they had satisfied her parent’s need to be involved in the birthday celebration, she excused herself and her friends and headed to her bedroom to continue the party in private.
 
Paige’s room was painted an eye-searing violet and her rainbow, leopard print curtains made a half-hearted attempt to coordinate with her rainbow, polka-dotted bedding, but the effect was still blinding.
 
You could follow the progression of her childhood infatuations through the posters on her walls: The Powerpuff Girls, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, Wizards of Waverly Place, One Direction.
 
Paige never took anything down, she just added more till practically every inch of wall was covered.
 
Her floor was covered too, with stuffed animals in every corner and discarded clothing in between.
 
Paige’s parents had long ago given up on trying to make her keep it clean.
 
Now they settled for keeping the door shut and only refused to let her take food to her room, since the leftovers never came out.

Paige and Rachel flopped on the bed and Rider wiggled into the hot pink bean bag chair in the corner.
 
His eyes scanned the room intently and his hands plucked items off her dresser to investigate.
 
“You act like you’ve never been in here before, Rider.
 
Everything is exactly the same as it’s always been,” Paige commented, noticing his curiosity.

“Yeah, but before I could only see it through Rachel’s eyes.
 
Now I can experience it for myself, in all its girly freakishness!
 
It’s kind of strange, actually.
 
Like visiting the set of a movie you’ve seen a million times.”

“Huh, yeah, I guess that would feel kinda weird.
 
So how is it, having your own body now?
 
Is it ….better?”
 
Paige asked.

“In some ways, yes.
 
I mean, I have more freedom.
 
I can watch American Ninja Warrior if I want now, instead of Gossip Girl, but it’s harder, too.
 
I have to actually make myself go to class and do homework and stuff.
 
I have to be…responsible.
 
It’s kind of exhausting,” Rider admitted with a comical look on his face.

The girls laughed and threw the bed pillows at him.
 
“Poor thing!” They chimed in unison.

“All of a sudden, I have all these thoughts about the future,” Rider explained seriously.
 
“Before, I didn’t really worry about anything except whether Rachel was happy or not.
 
Now, I feel like I have to plan the whole rest of my life.
 
There’s all these things I want to do, now that I can, but what if I screw up?
 
It’s pretty scary, to tell you the truth.”

Paige and Rachel grew thoughtful at his admission.
 
They both had experienced similar revelations lately.
 
They all longed to grow up and gain independence, but the real world seemed like a hungry monster, waiting to gobble them up if they made one wrong move.

“Enough of this seriousness!” Paige declared, popping up from the bed and reaching for her movie collection.
 
“Tonight, we’re still carefree teenagers, celebrating my 16th birthday with junk food and cheesy movies!”

“Not Mean Girls again!” Rachel and Rider moaned.

“Boo, you whore!” Paige responded with her favorite movie quote and tromped to the TV, DVD in hand.
 

A few hours later, Cathy poked her head in the door only to find the three teens snoozing and the movie menu playing in an endless loop.
 
She switched off the TV, covered them all with blankets, and kissed her daughter on the cheek before quietly exiting the room.

chapter four

Rachel’s appointment was for 10am Saturday morning, but the teens were still sound asleep at 9 when Cathy came up to offer them breakfast.
 
Rachel and Paige reluctantly declined Mrs. Donovan’s homemade apple fritters in favor of a shower, but Rider happily devoured several while he waited his turn for the bathroom.
 
The trio begged Paige’s mother to save them some for tomorrow and promised to be back home sometime before supper, since Cathy had agreed to make Rachel’s favorite fettuccine Alfredo.
 
She didn’t quite understand why all of them were going to Rachel’s doctor appointment, but teens in general were frequently a mystery to her, so she didn’t bother trying to understand their logic.

The trio piled into Rider’s car, chattering anxiously, and Paige gave Rider directions to the clinic where she had recently had her own first gynecological exam, a horror she proceeded to describe in stomach-churning detail throughout the drive.
 
The talking quieted as they neared the clinic, nervousness overwhelming their excitement.
 
The office was unassuming — an older, stand-alone brick building in a quiet suburban neighborhood where most of the houses looked like they were built in the 1980’s.
 
A weathered wooden ramp bordered by azalea bushes led them to the front entrance where a yellowed plastic sign indicated they were open 9 to 5 on weekdays and 9 till noon on Saturdays.
 
Rider opened the door for the girls and the three shuffled in uncomfortably.

Someone had made an attempt to update the interior of the old building.
 
They had painted the wood paneling on the walls a glossy, bright white and covered the floors with a beige berber carpet.
 
The old-fashioned wooden-armed chairs that lined the walls of the small waiting room probably used to have stiff vinyl cushions in burnt orange or avocado green but had been reupholstered in a less-offensive blue and tan tweed.
 
The Norman Rockwell pictures on the walls were probably leftover from the original decor but they gave the now-sterile room a more homey feel.
 
A Glade Plug-In perfumed the air with the sickly sweet odor of apples and cinnamon.
 
A large window was cut into one of the interior walls and a receptionist in cheery yellow scrubs sat behind it, typing on a computer.
 
Rachel hesitantly approached the desk, her lips spread wide in a nervous smile.

“I’m Rachel Masterson,” she squeaked quietly, “I have an appointment?”
 
It came out like a question.
 
The receptionist handed her a clipboard full of paperwork to fill out and asked for her insurance card and ID.
 
“I don’t have insurance; I’ll just pay,” Rachel replied more confidently, handing over the ID Tara had created for her.
 
Thankfully, Rachel had enough forethought to realize that presenting her real insurance card might tip them off to the age discrepancy.
 
She had enough money saved that she hoped she could pay the bill in cash.

Rider was hovering behind her and gave her a little nudge.
 
“I’m not sure I know all these answers about my family medical history,” Rachel blurted, remembering their well-rehearsed plan.
 
Rachel affected an innocent smile and explained, “I think my mom came here a long time ago when I was a baby; maybe you could look at her records?”