Arianna's Tale: The Beginning (16 page)

“Oh?” I managed, pulling out my phone and
clicking the screen on long enough to see that I didn’t have any
new messages, “I already sent him a text… just to say thanks for
last night, but he hasn’t replied yet.”

“I think he was heading into some
not-so-great-reception-territory today. I’m sure he’ll answer as
soon as he can, don’t worry about it,” Jack assured, but his eyes
were distant again and I bit on my lip.

“So… something really funny happened when I
called you last night,” I started, watching his eyes flicker to me
from the tree line, “I stopped on the side of the road… I don’t
really like to mess with my phone while I’m driving… and when I
called you, like right after I hit send, there was music out in the
woods, and then it just stopped. It was so weird!” Oh that brief
panic, he really needed to work on keeping that out of his eyes…
But then he just lifted an eyebrow and laughed.

“That’s really strange… I wonder what it
was,” he answered with a chuckle, “So why did you want me to come
over?”

I just stared blankly at him.
Why did I
want him to come over? I just kind of blurted out the invitation…
but why…?
I guess I stared too long, because he laughed and I
refocused my attention on him, startled.

“Do you want me to stay?” he questioned
calmly and I chewed on my lip but barely nodded my head, “Then I’ll
stay. What are you doing outside anyway?”

I lamely held up the book I was ‘reading’
and shrugged my shoulders while his eyes scanned the title
The
Winter Woods
and he looked at me curiously.

“What is it about?” he wondered and I chewed
on my lip more, suddenly embarrassed.

“It’s just supernatural stuff… werewolves,
vampires, shapeshifters…” I murmured, watching the amusement in his
eyes, “I know, I know… it’s stupid… I just think they’re cool
stories….”

“Do you believe in that stuff?” he asked,
restraining laughter as I sighed and stared down at the book in my
lap and shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know… maybe…” I mumbled, only
briefly looking up at him, “Why would it matter if I did or
didn’t?”

“Just don’t come across that many people
that believe in that kind of stuff is all,” Jack chuckled softly,
“I’m not making fun of you, I promise. I think that stuff is
probably all relatively true.” The smile he gave me relaxed every
tension I had and I smiled faintly back at him.

“I thought I heard a growl in my trees
earlier,” I laughed, watching the panic slide through his eyes.

“All the way over here? This close to a
house? Maybe it was a hungry rabbit or something and you heard its
stomach growling,” Jack reasoned with a laugh as he fell back to
lie on the grass and stared up at the sky, “Or if you really think
it was something dangerous, I can go check.” He moved enough so his
emerald eyes were looking over at me and he was serious, so serious
that my heart skipped.

“What sense does that make? If I thought it
was dangerous, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” I uttered and his
eyes sparkled as he laughed.

“Do you want me to check or not?” he pressed
and I shook my head.

“It’s probably just a hungry little animal,
like you said,” I decided, even though I didn’t fully believe it
and he laughed again as he jumped to his feet and I looked at him
wide-eyed. He had been lying on the ground, and in one move, was up
on his feet. That flash of panic crossed his eyes before he
shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m pretty athletic… I forget you haven’t
been around much,” he remarked before he walked off toward the tree
line, exactly where I had heard the growl earlier despite my not
telling him that’s where it had come from.

“Hey, Jack…” I started and he called a
‘hmm?’ over his shoulder to me, “How did… I mean…” I sighed and he
paused to look at me, “Every time I’ve seen any of you since that
first day I met you… Alex has been there… so… I guess… I
mean….”

“How did I get over here by myself without
my chaperone?” Jack chuckled as he walked into the tree line and I
tensed my shoulders, “You didn’t invite Alex… you invited me.”

“And he let you come over alone?” I
wondered, watching him stop mostly out of view.

“Like I said, you didn’t invite him, you
invited me. Alex isn’t going to be rude and show up uninvited at
your home,” Jack announced, turning around and starting back
towards me, “Nothing dangerous out here.”

He walked back towards me, all lean muscle,
and his eyes settled on me as a smile slid onto his lips.

“So nothing dangerous you say?” I reiterated
his words as I forced my attention to his eyes, “That’s good since
you just went walking out into the woods unarmed.”

“Anna…” Jack began as he stopped in front of
me, but he smiled and shook his head. I kept watching him as he
crouched down right beside me on the ground, his eyes searching
mine were curious. “Do you want to go see a movie?” he quietly
asked and I heard the hesitation in his voice.

“Like a date…?” I whispered barely audibly,
not even entirely sure how he heard me as he smiled a tentative
smile and barely nodded his head. My heart skipped and I glanced
back at the house.
My first date… that hadn’t been stolen from
me yet. But if I tell Jason where I’m going and who I’m going
with…
“I…” I stammered, looking back at Jack, “I… it’s Jason…”
I faltered, seeing the pain in his eyes, “I can only imagine what
he’d do if I actually went out on a date….” That hurt in his eyes
made my heart skip and I chewed on my lip, glancing at the house
again, “We could go inside and watch something if you wanted….”
Hurt was almost instantly replaced with hope, excitement, “I can’t
promise Jason won’t join us inside though….”

“Okay,” Jack chuckled softly, standing up
and holding his hand out to me. I took it and he gently pulled me
to my feet, “I don’t have a problem with the littlest Gray.”

When we got inside, I let Jason know what
was going on, and he instantly shut off his video game in his room
and ran downstairs. I made us a big bowl of popcorn, despite Jack’s
initial shock, we watched a scary movie, and I ended up seated
between the two of them.

Does it count as a date when you’ve got a
guy that clearly likes you sitting on one side of you and your
little brother sitting on the other side?

I decided after a while that it wasn’t
actually a ‘date’ because Jack didn’t try to hold my hand or
anything, and he seemed a little startled when I laughed at the
gory parts of the movie.

“Okay… I don’t get it?” he remarked after
the movie ended, while Jason was putting stuff away and I walked
Jack to the front door since he said he had to get home.

“It’s just so fake,” I laughed, biting my
lip when I found him staring at me, “I mean… stuff like that
doesn’t really happen, and even if it did, people aren’t actually
that stupid, and even if they were, blood doesn’t look like that.”
He was still staring at me and my gaze fell to the ground as I
twisted the hem of my shirt through my fingers.

“So do you think I could take you on a real
date any time soon?” Jack quietly asked and I looked at him out of
the corner of my eye.

“J… Jack… you… you know I like Rayne…” I
stuttered, seeing the hurt enter his eyes, “A… and I like you… too…
but….”

“It’s okay, I’ll ask again later,” he
decided with a distant laugh as his hand slid under my chin and he
gently lifted my face back to him and softly kissed my cheek. “But
you have to understand something, Anna,” he continued in a whisper
beside my ear, “Alex won’t let you be with Rayne… he doesn’t have
that same problem with me.”

“Wh… what?” I stammered but he smiled softly
and shook his head.

“I’ll see you later. Is it okay to text
you?” he queried and I barely nodded my head before he slipped out
of the door and walked off down the driveway.

“What happened to Rayne?” Jason wondered
when he walked up beside me and I flinched. “Now you like
Jack?”

I looked over at him and shrugged my
shoulders. “Jack is a friend… that asked me out on a date… and I
don’t know how I feel about that….”

“You can’t,” Jason insisted, lightly
grabbing my arms and spinning me to face him as I looked at him
wide-eyed, “You can’t date some other guy when you won’t even give
me a chance.”

“Jason… you’re my brother…” I reiterated my
argument, but something hardened in his eyes, “Jason… I’m serious…
you’re my brother, and that’s how I’m
always
going to see
you.”

“No,” he muttered, shaking his head, but he
let go of my arms, “I’ll get you to change your mind….” His smile
was distant as he walked back upstairs and I inhaled a shaky breath
before I walked out into the backyard and sat back on my chair. I
suddenly remembered I had put my phone on silent while we were
watching the movie, and pulled it out of my pocket only to spot a
text from Rayne as my heart skipped and a smile slipped onto my
face.

Sorry my reply is so delayed. I didn’t have
any service where I was today. Can I see you, Anna?

My heart was thudding so loudly that I could
hardly hear the crickets beginning to chirp as night was
falling.

Yes. When?

My thumb hesitated over ‘send’ for a second
before I just clicked it and bit on my lip.

Now if you’ll let
me.
He replied almost instantly and I found myself nodding
before I sent another text that just said ‘yes.’

A moment later he walked into view from the
side of the house and my heart skipped as I looked up at him.

“Hi,” he chuckled while I stood up and
fought to keep myself from running to him.
Why do I like him so
much when I don’t know anything about him?

“Where were you?” It came out as a whisper,
but even seeing him couldn’t stop the confusion in my eyes and he
knew it.

“Let it go,” he pleaded, “
Please
, let
it go.” His hazel eyes flickered as he watched me, but my eyes
scrunched in thought.

“Where did you come from last night? Where
did Jack really go last night?” I pressed while he walked
closer.

“I’m begging you to let it go,” he quietly
reiterated, “He will never let you go if you don’t drop it….”

He
. He means Alex…
But…

“I can’t, Rayne,” I whispered as his hands
slid down my arms and into my hands, “I can’t let it go… Not when I
know something is going on….”

“Please, Arianna,” he begged, “You don’t
understand what will happen if you don’t let it go… I don’t want
that for you, so please.”

I bit my lip and stared down at the ground.
I couldn’t make a promise I knew I wouldn’t keep, but I decided to
let it go for the time being.

“Wait… how are you here? Alex doesn’t want
you around me,” I suddenly blurted, looking up at him and finding
mischief on his face.

“He probably doesn’t know I’m here then,
does he?” Rayne chuckled, looking around the back yard, “But he
knew Jack was here earlier….”

“And so do you… how?” I wondered, his eyes
darting back to me as he barely shook his head, “Do you know how
annoying all of this is?” He nodded his head the tiniest bit. “Why
did you want to come over?”

“I wanted to see you…” he whispered softly,
“I just… I like you, Anna… And I’m sorry for that… because Alex
isn’t going to let anything happen between us….”

“Why does he control you?” I queried but he
smiled a distant smile at me, “How are you here without him
knowing? He seems to know everything about you guys….”

“There are always ways around surveillance.
But I can only be off the radar for so long before he starts to
wonder what’s going on…” he quietly added, “So I can’t stay for too
very long….” His hazel eyes stared at me for a long moment before
he smiled and nodded his head toward the house. “It’s starting to
get dark, you should get inside.”

“Will I see you again?” I wondered and he
chuckled and nodded, “Alone…?”

“I’ll let you know when I can manage it,” he
assured, his eyes scanning across my face, “Go inside, Anna.” I
only nodded and he followed me to the back door, waiting until I
locked it before he walked out of view.

And like I said earlier, my days settled
into a kind of routine… I took the chair out back, I ‘read’ my
book, I texted Jack and Rayne, and eventually Lissa, Sage,
Michaela, Tobias, and Caiden, and always felt those eyes on me in
the trees. The funny part was that I would get up and walk toward
the tree line every once in a while only to have my phone ring with
someone calling to talk. It never failed that if I tried to go into
the woods, my phone would ring, or someone would show up at the
door (that happened in later weeks), but I never could get to the
woods. Austin started working that week, and when he wasn’t
working, he was hanging out with Amy. Jason, on the other hand,
wouldn’t leave the house unless I was with him, and even when we
were home, he tried to spend all of his time with me….

I explored the town a lot, with Jason of
course, and started laughing when Alex still appeared everywhere I
went. I even tested it once, which confused the heck out of Jason,
by going to the mall, turning around and running to the grocery
store, and then going back to the mall, and Alex was at each stop,
but I spotted amusement mixed with annoyance in his eyes when I had
gotten back to the mall and found him again.

Over the next two months there were five
random bonfires that I had to beg Austin to go to, even though he
clearly wanted to go spend time with Amy. At the bonfires, I was
able to find some friends for Jason, and actually got him to hang
out with them while we were there, at least, but I couldn’t get him
to hang out with them outside of the bonfires.

It got to be July, and I had really honed
down my ideas of what was going on to being directly involved with
Alex’s group. Actually, there were others, less directly involved,
and I found myself really curious about all of that, but of course
no one would tell me anything. I could count the number of times I
got to see Rayne alone on one hand, and every time, he was begging
me not to ask questions.