Branded (The Branded Series) (3 page)

“NOOO!” I
screamed, breaking loose from the invisible hold. My eyes adjusted to the
darkness and I found myself standing in the middle of my bed, dripping with
sweat and gasping for air. It was another nightmare. My blankets were thrown
across the room, in the same way I usually found them after having this
recurring dream.

I checked the
time and cringed when I saw that it was only three o’clock in the morning. I
still had more dark hours, and possibly more horrible dreams, to endure.

Why was I
having these horrible dreams? I knew if I told my mother, the self-proclaimed
“dream reader,” she wouldn’t hesitate to offer her interpretations of them, but
something told me I wouldn’t want to know anyway. I laid my head back down and
closed my eyes, trying hard to rid my mind of the awful images.

My curtains were
closed all
but an inch where the sun shone in and splashed a beam of warmth onto my face.
I forced one eye open and then another as the fog in my head slowly cleared.
Mom and Abby were scurrying around getting Abby ready for school. I flipped
over and checked the time—seven thirty-eight. Crap! I forgot to set my alarm. I
hopped out of bed, jumped into the shower and got ready for school.

“You’re
running late,” Mom noticed as I rushed into the kitchen and threw a bagel into
the toaster.

“Uh-huh,” I
agreed.

“How was
Anna’s flight? You got her home okay?” Mom poured a glass of orange juice and
set it down on the table in front of me as she planted a quick kiss on my head.

“Flight was
good. She’s home safe and sound.”

“How is she?”

“Fanificent,”
I answered without thinking.

“Fan what?”
Mom asked.

“She’s great.”
I smiled.

“I’d love to
hear about her trip and see pictures, so make sure she comes over soon, okay?”
My bagel popped and Mom told me to sit while she buttered it for me.

“Do you think
you could drop Abby off at school for me today?” Mom asked as she placed the
bagel down in front of me.

“Why? Did she
miss her bus?”

“No.” Mom
leaned in and lowered her voice. “I think she’s a little nervous to take the
bus today for some reason. She suddenly has a tummy ache and is trying to
convince me that the bus ride will make her sick.”

“Are you
serious?” Although Abby was usually no trouble, and I knew she’d do anything for
me if I asked, I was really looking forward to the drive to school alone with
Anna today.

“Please?” Mom
begged, which she hardly ever did. “I’d take her myself, but I’m not even
dressed yet and I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour.”

As nice as it
was that Dad’s job took him away each week from Monday to Thursday, it had its
drawbacks too. I was now the man of the house and felt the weight of having to
take care of Mom and Abby while he was gone. It was only Wednesday, so Dad was
still not scheduled to be home until the following evening.

I sighed.
“Fine,” I agreed as I pulled out my phone and dialed Anna’s number.

“Thanks,
tiger.” Mom kissed my head again and scurried out of the kitchen and up the
stairs.

“Hi,” Anna
answered in a delightful voice that reminded me of a bird chirping.

“Hey, you
almost ready? I’m running a bit late and we have to drop Abby off at school,
but I can be there in about ten minutes.”

“Actually,
Lexie just showed up. She wants me to ride with her today. I figure it’ll give
us some time to catch up. Is that cool with you?”

What?
“Oh, yeah,
sure—that’s cool,” I lied. “See you at school then?” An emptiness suddenly
plagued my stomach.

“Tell Abby
I’ll see her soon,” Anna added before I hung up. “I have something for her from
Africa. I think she’ll like it.”

“What’d
I
get?”
I teased.

“Me,” she
giggled, making my heart do something strange and fluttery. “Aren’t you lucky?”

How should I
answer that?
Strangely, I
did
feel lucky to have her.

“I was
kidding,” she said, reminding me that I had left an air of awkward silence.

“I know,
sorry, I was just thinking about something.”
I’m such an idiot!

“I’ll see you
at school,” she said before hanging up.   

What was going
on? Why did I get tongue-tied talking to her? We were used to talking for hours
on end about nothing. Why was I suddenly nervous to see her again?

“I’m ready,”
Abby called from the front entry, sounding a lot like a faker.

“Feeling
better?” I teased as I met her in the hallway and gave her a little jab to the
stomach.

She pulled
away quickly and put her serious face on. “Hey! Don’t mess with the look!” She
straightened her outfit and fixed her hair.

“Come on, you
faker.” I pushed her out the door and chased her to my car.

I pulled up
next to
Noah’s car just as he was getting out and we walked the path to the school together.

“Where’s
Anna?” he asked casually.

“She’s coming
with Lexie,” I answered with as much indifference as I could muster.

“I didn’t see
Lexie’s car, so I don’t think they’re here yet,” Noah said. With this new information,
I stopped searching for her and focused on the school which was getting closer.

“So how did
last night go after you dropped me off?” Noah asked, nudging me slightly.

I rolled my
eyes and took a deep breath. “Listen, man, you have
got
to stop talking
like that. You’re messin’ with my head and it’s not cool.”

Noah held his
hands up. “
Sorry
! But seriously, it’s bothering you for a reason, dude.”

“Apology
accepted,” I said, ignoring his follow-up.

“Hey, gents!”
The annoying voice of Eric Hartlen echoed across the parking lot. He jogged
over to us as Noah and I both let out a simultaneous groan.

“What’s up,
Eric?” Noah said. I just nodded.

“Big party
this weekend, boys!” Eric pushed his way between us and slung his arms over our
shoulders.

“Oh yeah?” I
said, uninterested and annoyed with his cocky presence.

“Wentworth
Lodge. My parents scored us some rooms for the last official ski weekend of the
season,” he bragged. “It’s gonna be rockin’!”

We had spent
many weekends at Wentworth after Eric’s parents bought the ski lodge a few
years back. That’s where most of us learned how to ski and snowboard. All of
our trips were next to free because of Eric’s connections, which was one of the
few things that Eric was good for.

“Who’s going?”
Noah asked.

“Monica and
Tyler, Lexie, you guys, and I’ll ask Anna when she gets here. She’s back now,
right?”

“Got back last
night,” Noah said. “She’s coming with Lexie today. They should be here soon.”

“So you coming
or what?” he pressed.

It was a tough
one to answer as it was honestly going to come down to whether or not Anna was
going. My mind was still on her and on figuring out why I couldn’t stop
thinking about her.

Noah nodded.
“Sure, I’m in.”

We sat down on
our usual benches, along the school wall, facing the football field. Eric kept
talking about the Wentworth weekend and how much fun it would be.

A few
irritating minutes later, Lexie’s car pulled into the parking lot. I stiffened
as Noah nudged me. “Nervous?”

“No!” I
snapped. “Shut-up about it, would ya?”

The girls got out
of the car and slowly walked toward us, apparently talking about something
amusing.

Eric suddenly
stopped in mid-sentence and gawked in their direction. “Is that
Anna
?”

“Yup,” Noah
answered with a grin. “Africa was good to her, eh?”

“It sure was!”
Eric slid off the bench and jogged over to meet the girls.

“What the hell
is he doing?” I demanded, standing up. The hairs on the back of my neck were
stiff and sending chills down my spine. My teeth were pressed together and a
faint growl escaped from the pit of my stomach.

“Relax, it’s
just Eric being Eric.” Noah stood up and we headed toward the girls. “Besides,
I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I’m not!” I
snarled. “But does that mean I shouldn’t care when she’s about to be victimized?”

“He’s
harmless,” Noah laughed.

“He’s a dog,”
I mumbled, and then we were within earshot.

“Hey guys,”
Lexie said as we approached. “Doesn’t she look fab?” She flipped her hand
toward Anna.

“She sure
does,” Eric cooed, giving Anna a wink.

Anna shifted
her weight and smiled painfully. She hated being the centre of attention.

“So, Anna,”
Eric said, “big party this weekend at Wentworth Lodge. Can you make it?”

“Oh!” Anna
hesitated, having been caught off guard. She looked to me for help, but I
couldn’t think of what I should say so I just shrugged.

“You have to
come, Anna,” Lexie begged. “It’ll be so much fun!”

“Isn’t the ski
season over?” Anna asked, turning her attention back to Eric. A stall tactic.

“This is the
last weekend. Big party weekend.”

“I see,” Anna
said. “Are . . . are you guys going?” she asked, looking to Noah and me.

“Probably,”
Noah said nodding his head slightly.

I shrugged,
because honestly it depended on whether or not she was going. I didn’t have any
real desire to go, but if she was going, I definitely had to go and keep an eye
on things.
Why, suddenly, do I feel so protective of her?

Anna’s eyes
locked with mine and we exchanged the silent words: “If you go, I’ll go.”

“I’ll have to
ask,” Anna answered.

“That’s a
yes,” Lexie said, excitedly. “Your parents are in Africa. I’m sure they won’t
care about an innocent weekend at Wentworth with your friends.”

“It’s her
nanny that might mind,” I pointed out, still trying to create an “out” for her.

Eric put his
arm around Anna. “You can ride with me if you want.”

My skin
crawled and my stomach tightened. I wondered if my face was showing the same
agony. “Come on, Anna,” I said quickly as I took her arm and led her toward the
school.

“What are you
doing?” she whispered.

“Uh,” I
hesitated, “you’ll be late for class.”

“It’s her
first day back, Jake,” Eric called after us. “No one’s gonna care.”

What had come
over me? Another second with Eric’s arm around Anna and I would’ve lost my mind.
Why?

As we walked
into the school Anna stopped in her tracks, turned on her heels and faced the
door. “Did you see that?”

I looked
around the hallway, then toward the principal’s office on our right. “Lots of
people?” I guessed. “What did
you
see?”

Anna’s hands
gripped my forearms and her eyes were squeezed shut. “It’s that girl from the airport.
The pink luggage girl!”

I scanned the
hallway again and noticed the slender diva prancing out of the principal’s
office. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked around to see who
noticed.

“I think
you’re right,” I laughed. “But I’m sure she doesn’t recognize you.”

Anna slowly
turned around and locked eyes with the new girl. The girl smiled and came toward
us.

“Hi, I’m
Rachel. I’m new here.” Her personality was as electric as her smile.

“I’m Jake,” I
answered when Anna stalled. “This is Anna.”

Rachel’s eyes
scanned me up and down, making me feel slightly violated, and then she turned
her attention to Anna. “You look really familiar.” She studied Anna’s face for
a few seconds and then smiled. “Right,” she slowly added. “The girl who
wouldn’t be caught dead with my luggage.” She showed her perfect teeth and then
winked. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t be caught dead with yours either.”

Anna bit her
lip as her right eye twitched slightly, an early sign of a certain face-off. I
quickly cut in. “So, where you from?”

Noah appeared
at my side. “And I’m Noah Morgan,” he said with newfound enthusiasm.

Rachel gave
one last smile to Anna then turned her big brown eyes to Noah and me. “I’m from
California, actually. We just moved here so I haven’t met anyone yet. I was hoping
maybe you could introduce me to some people?” She tilted her head to the side
and puckered her lower lip. Anna’s fingernails dug deep into my arm and I
fought hard not to react.

“Noah can help
you,” Anna said confidently. “We’re going to be late for class, Jake. Let’s
go.” She pulled my arm as she led me away. “Maybe we’ll see you around later, Rachel.”