The Zeuorian Awakening (3 page)

“What are you talking about?” Angie asked.

“Oh, it’s you,” Lexi said, her shoulders sagging forward.

“Thanks a lot.” Angie huffed. “I gather you hadn’t spoken to your aunt yet about changing?”

“No. I have to wait until she gets off work. That’s if she doesn’t rush back as soon as she arrives home.” Lexi leaned against the kitchen table wondering if today will be another sixteen hour work day for Irene. The longest she seen Irene the past week had been a couple of hours at the most.

“You can come to school and talk to Tyler,” Angie offered. “Then you don’t have to worry about getting hold of your aunt.”

“I already told you—” Lexi’s muscles clenched when she noticed something moved outside her kitchen window. “I-I think someone is outside my house,” she said, slowly walking toward the sink and leaning over it to look out the window.

The morning fog obscured her view. There appeared to be someone standing by a small tree in her front yard. Her mouth went dry and breathing slowed. Maybe her instincts had been correct and Tyler knew she had changed and told someone who couldn’t handle her being different. Now they came to kill her?

Her head jerked toward the living room when the wood floor creaked. Someone was inside her house. Scenes from different episodes of Stalked on the ID channel flooded her mind, all of them ending extremely badly for the poor unsuspecting girl.

“I have to go, someone’s inside my house,” Lexi whispered into the cell phone microphone.

“Meet me at school,” Angie said, her voice shaking. “S-so I-I know you’re safe.”

Lexi hung up her cell phone and slid it into her back pocket while backing up toward the kitchen door. All the while she kept an eye on the opening to the living room, hoping and praying no one would appear.

Carefully she stepped into one of her hiking boots sitting next to the door with caked on mud from hiking in the woods the other day. Then she stepped into the next boot. Not once did anyone appear in the doorway, but she could hear the floor creaking as if they shifted their weight from one leg to the other.

Quietly she removed her car keys from her backpack front pocket. Slid the backpack strap on her shoulder and turned the door knob. The floor stopped creaking and she had a bad feeling they were preparing to do something to her. She tore open the door and rushed outside without looking back.

The fog appeared thicker than a few minutes earlier and made it difficult to see past the two tall bushes on the side of her house, but from what she saw, the coast was clear.

It took her a few seconds to rush down the small paved path to her black 1970 Chevelle, or “Black Beauty,” as her father had called it.

Then she slipped into the driver’s seat, gripped the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. The eight cylinder engine came to life, purring with a deep rumbling noise. She threw the car in reverse and tore out of the driveway.

After shifting into first gear, she glanced over at her house. A shadow of a figure stepped away from the pine tree and disappeared into the fog.

Damn, they must be preparing to chase her. They can try, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for them to catch her. She tore out of her neighborhood at ninety-five miles per hour, traveling north on highway 101 along the S curved road.

Lexi’s eyes drifted from the highway toward the rearview mirror. A pair of headlights beamed through the thick white mist and disappeared behind the mountainside.

Damn, they were determined to keep up with her. What did they want with her? Did it have something to do with her glowing and transforming? Or were they just an average day psycho and they had no idea what had happened the other day. Either way, it couldn’t be good if they were chasing her.

She pressed harder on the gas pedal. The ocean cliffs morphed into a blue blur as she hugged the curve a few inches from the mountainside. The headlights in her rearview mirror faded into the distance and continued until only white mist swirled along the deserted highway.

Fifteen minutes later, she slowed down a mile from school and entered the parking lot. The only spot left was in the back. She pulled in, killed the engine and looked toward the road. Not a car in sight, but she had a feeling they were still on her tail.

Her only hope of avoiding them—She had to hang out at school. Nowhere in town would be as safe as there. Although, should she go inside? ‘Cause if Tyler told whoever broke into her house about her being different, he could’ve told other people too.

She didn’t need another psycho chasing after her from him gossiping about her glowing and appearance changing. One was enough.

So her only option, she had to keep everyone from recognizing her. But how?

A smile formed on her lips when she picked up a pair of sunglasses from her dashboard and slipped them on. No one would know it was her if they couldn’t get a clear view.

Once she tucked her hair under an old baseball cap and pulled her hoodie hood over it, she flung open the car door and made a beeline to Angie standing next to the entrance dressed in a designer outfit.

Angie’s short brown hair whipped around in the breeze as she threw her arms around Lexi, pulling her into a tight embrace. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” She let go of Lexi. “So did you see who was inside your house?”

“No.” Lexi grounded the toe of her hiking boot into the sidewalk. “I rushed out of my house before I had a chance to see them and I only saw an outline of the person standing outside my house in the fog.”

Angie gave her the look, the one questioning if she overreacted again. “So you never actually saw anyone inside your house or outside for that matter. Is it possible you’re mistaken? Because if someone truly wanted to get you, they would’ve done something to you right away.”

Angie had a point. “Okay, maybe I assumed someone had been inside my house, but I’m not mistaken about someone standing outside.”

“Are you sure? You do, um, let your imagination get the best of you. And I totally understand why. Who wouldn’t be a little paranoid after all the horror movies you’ve watched and, well, after what you went through. Honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about that man trying to kill you last night.” Angie shivered. “But you don’t have anything to worry about. There’s no psycho’s living here.”

“Just because Brookings isn’t big enough to have a mall, doesn’t mean it’s too small to have psycho’s. Actually, our town is more dangerous than a large city since tourists pull over to check out our beaches everyday while grab something to eat and maybe an unsuspecting victim to go. The guy who tried to kill me had been visiting the Redwoods when he saw me showing off my telepathy to the boy in the grocery store.”

“Despite scaring me to death.” Angie eyed a boy walking by as if he might jump her any second. “Could you have mistaken a shadow of a tree as a person?”

“No.” Lexi huffed. “Whoever was outside my house also followed me to school.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been me,” Tyler said, behind Lexi. “Why did you run from me last night?”

She hadn’t expected him to come by her house and wait outside. She just assumed a psycho learned about her transforming and came to kill her as ridiculous as it seemed. It could happen. She freakin’ transformed the other night and what were the odds of that happening?

“So,” he said, urging her to answer him.

“I-I thought you were some weirdo and freaked out.” She kept her back toward him while blocking him from seeing her face. “Um, so why were you waiting outside my house this morning?” She hoped it had nothing to do with her glowing and changing.

“I wanted to see how you were after I saved you from drowning. I knocked on your door and no one answered. I saw your car in the driveway and knew you had to be home so I decided to wait for you to leave, but you took off instead.”

Damn, Tyler had saved her from drowning. Had he seen her glowing and know she changed? She better find out.

She turned toward him, keeping her head angled down and hair covering her face. “I guess I owe you an apology for freaking out and assuming you were some psycho stalking me.”

“Well, I’m glad to clear that up. I hate for you to think I’m some type of stalker.” He brushed his hand across her face and removed her hoodie. “Because you may take this the wrong way if you did. I can’t stop looking at you. You were always beautiful, but now,” he smiled, “it’s hard to believe how much you changed.”

Changed? She scooted away from him. Oh, no. Did he know she transformed? “Exactly what do you mean by changed?”

“How your looks changed over the summer as well as your figure.”

Her cheeks warmed at the mere mention of her body. She turned away from his hungry gaze, but she couldn’t stop smiling, since he had no clue she transformed or ever would figure it out.

Tyler slowly removed her sunglasses. His blue eyes locked onto hers and the corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “You know it’s customary if someone saves your life, you owe them a favor. I thought of a great way you can repay me. You can go cliff diving with me after school. I know you like diving. I see you jump from the rock close to my house practically every day since you moved—what the hell, Dillon?” He’d stepped between them. “I was talking to Lexi.”

Dillon ignored Tyler and said to Lexi, “Hey, gorgeous. I have something for you.”

Lexi lifted her head, craning her neck all the way back to see his cute boyish face with big brown eyes and hair cut tight above his ears. He had to be at least six-foot-seven. Well over a foot taller than her with large biceps that would take both her hands to wrap around one of them. No wonder why the football players called him, Grizzly Bear. He was the size of one.

“So what did you want to give me?” she asked.

“Your backpack. I found it in the parking lot,” Dillon said, sliding the strap on her shoulder.

It must’ve fallen out of her car when she jumped out of it. “Thanks. I don’t know what I would’ve done without it and my wallet inside.”

“I’m glad I could help out.” Dillon glared at Tyler. “And warn you about Tyler trying to claim he saved you last night as a way to trick you into going out with him.”

“What are you talking about?” Lexi backed away from Tyler. “He didn’t save me last night?”

Dillon gave her a strange look. Oh, no. She heard his thoughts. He had one of those minds where it sounded as if he was talking to her instead of thinking to himself. It was the main reason she avoided talking to him. She would only have to slip up a few times and answer his thoughts before he would notice.

“Ah, I mean, um, I don’t think I owe you any favors, Tyler.” She glanced at him. “Since I thought someone else pulled me out of the water.” Aw, man that was a lame excuse. Hopefully they don’t realize she heard Dillon’s thoughts.

Tyler took her hand. “I didn’t pull you out of the water, but I did stop the guy from carrying you away into the woods. Just that alone deserves one small favor.”

Her hands trembled and she choked out, “What do you mean some guy tried to carrying me into the woods?”

“You should sit down.” Tyler gripped her waist and helped her sit on top of the half-size brick wall next to the school entrance. “I saw a guy watching you on the rock. He was the one who pulled you out of the water. If I hadn’t rushed over to see how you were, he would’ve carried you away.”

Someone had been on the rock and had a perfect view of her glowing body in the water. Then he’d tried to carry her away to—where? The hospital or just away? She gulped a mouthful of air and forced herself to exhale.

Maybe he was the person inside her house. He wanted to try and grab her a second time. Then he hesitated when he noticed Tyler standing outside. He would’ve been able to see him from the other side of the kitchen door.

Tyler squeezed her hand. “You should stay close to me for the rest of the day. I think he goes to school with us, but I’m not sure. I didn’t get a good look at him before he ran away.”

Her heart beat faster, thumping against her chest. Did he have classes with her? She scanned every boy in front of the school and in the parking lot to determine if one of them could be him, but they all seemed suspicious to her.

“Come on.” Tyler tugged at her hand. “I’ll walk you to class. You have Mrs. Miller’s English class with me right?”

Lexi nodded and reluctantly followed Tyler into the school. All the while, she eyed every boy watching her. None of them made a suspicious move toward her, but she knew better. One of them had to be him. If he had been brazen enough to try and carry her away on the beach and then later break into her house to grab her, he wasn’t going to stop there.

Lexi peeked over at a boy seated in the far corner in her seventh period physics class. He had dish water blond hair that curled up on the back of his neck and desperately needed to be trimmed. The surfer T-shirt he wore clung to his long, lean body and tucked into his faded jeans. His tan, muscular arms were lean too, but the muscles were hard as a rock and cut to perfection.

She smiled. Damn, he was hot and didn’t look like anyone she seen before, but then that could be said about most of the boys at her school, since she avoided looking at them so she didn’t give them a reason to talk to her.

He didn’t seem like someone who would follow her. Actually, he looked kind of cocky the way he sat with his arms behind his neck and feet propped up on the chair in front of him. Not particularly a good trait in her book, but his muddy hiking boots made up for all of it.

But he had been in all her previous classes. What were the odds of that happening? It couldn’t be a coincidence unless he was a math wizard like her and wanted to get into a good technical college.

He winked at her.

Damn, he saw her checking him out. Her face warmed and she jerked her head toward the window. Hopefully he hadn’t assumed she had been flirting with him. He was good looking, but she wanted to avoid giving him any reason to approach her just in case he was the guy who tried to carry her away on the beach.