Discern (44 page)

“What?!” I half-shrieked.

“I know, but they didn’t give me much of a warning.”

“Are you planning on going through with the original plan?” I asked angrily.

He shot me a dirty look. “No,” he growled. “But I can’t blow my cover at such a critical moment for our safety.”

“This isn’t fair.”

“Life will never be fair, no matter what advantages one may have.”

“When tonight?”

“We’ll have a few hours after class to say our goodbyes,” he answered sullenly.

“I see.”

He pulled my body against his. He pressed his lips against my cheek and softly moved them along my face until he reached my lips. Our lips locked and we began to kiss passionately. He smashed my body against his. I grabbed his shirt, pressing forcefully against his body.

He pressed back almost pushing me against the opposing wall. “Sorry,” he whispered, as he placed his hand behind my back.

“I don’t mind,” I grinned widely.

He looked down at his watch. “We better get back to class.”

“It doesn’t seem important anymore,” I pouted.

“We have to stay the course for now.”

It was difficult to understand why he insisted on continuing with this façade. I understood our safety was his main concern, but teaching class would seem to distract, rather than help with our situation. His black, cold eyes had transformed to a beautiful amber color with the touch of our lips, but the warmth of that shade soon faded as we cautiously stepped out from the janitor’s closet. The halls were empty, as most students had already taken their seats.

Andrew entered the class after I took my seat. Every girl’s face in the room was lit up with delight as they watched him stroll along the front of the classroom. His differences from humans seemed so obvious, but then again I was aware of things that no other human was.

Every now and again he would look in my direction and flash a quick smile and wink. Although he had thousands of years experience on me, this all seemed new to him, which was comforting.

As the time grew closer to the end of class, my stomach knotted. The sooner class let out; the sooner he would be gone. Just being near him, even at a distance, was reassuring. We had not been away from each other for more than a few hours, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle it. His experience with absence was greater than mine.

Everyone began gathering their things and standing. I hadn’t even heard him dismiss class. In fact, I hadn’t heard one word he had said during his lecture. I frantically closed my notebook and shoved it in my bag. I watched as the last student filed through the door.

“You weren’t paying attention tonight, Miss Helms,” he smirked from across the room.

“No, I wasn’t,” I frowned.

“Haley,” he said as he drew closer to my desk.

“What?”

“It’s just a couple of days. You never know, it could be sooner than that before I return,” he said, attempting to raise my spirits.

“Or it could be never,” I muttered.

His warm hand instantly lifted my chin forcing me to look into his cold, dark eyes that did nothing to reassure. “I will be back. Do you actually believe that I’d fail?” he asked hurt.

“No, but what if the others grab you while you’re gone and you never return.” The words burned as they came out. Nothing in our situation was constant. Anything could happen at a moment’s notice that could potentially tear us apart forever.

“They won’t. Remember they have no desire to disappoint our parents and one disappearance could cause serious damage with our mortal relations.”

“I guess,” I agreed, but not willingly. I would have loved to keep challenging his confidence, but it would not have made him stay any longer and only would have ruined the little time we had with one another this evening.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand and lifting me up from my desk effortlessly. “We have a few hours to enjoy, and I don’t want to spend them here, in the classroom.”

“My house?” I asked, assuming it would be the place as it was the safest.

“Not tonight.”

“Where then?” I asked, pleased with the change of scenery.

“I have something I’d like to give you. I’ll meet you at your house, and we shall go from there,” he smiled, closing the classroom door behind us.

He walked a little behind me as we made our way down the stairs. I would casually glance back at him. He would flash a quick grin, but seemed to be consumed with thoughts other than our current situation.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Sorry, I’m speaking with Alec and Holden at the moment.” His voice was distant and flat.

I had almost forgotten about his ability to speak with the others telepathically. “Anything important?” I pried.

“Nope,” he said quickly.

Something was definitely amiss, but I could not decipher the true reason, and he didn’t seem to be offering it either.

“That’s good,” I said as we neared the parking space where my car was parked.

“Haley, don’t worry so much. Nothing about my feelings for you has changed. I’m just consumed with the thought of my mission and eventually letting my other siblings in on my findings. I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it weren’t for you. You’re my whole reason for stopping this, so that we may be together without worry,” he said, lightly pushing me up against the cold metal door of the car.

My lips opened to speak. But before I could, he softly placed his finger over them. “Everything I do is for you,” he whispered. “Nothing in the world compares to the love I have for you.” His lips gently brushed along my cheek as he continued to whisper.

His lips stopped on mine. He pressed his body up against mine a little harder, but I could feel him restraining from pushing too hard. My knees slightly buckled as the sparks continuously flowed throughout. I slipped slightly from his grip, but not too far with his impeccable reflexes.

He slipped the keys out from my hand. “I’ll bring your car home after we’re done.”

“I can drive,” I assured hastily.

“Do I detect something wrong?” he asked, cautiously pulling away.

I wasn’t sure if it was pure embarrassment of almost falling or if it was the confusion from his words and his actions. “You’re so cold one minute, and the next you’re conveying your feelings for me. It’s like you’re schizophrenic,” I said, ripping the keys from his hand.

“I’ll meet you at your house if you still want to spend what time we have left together,” he said miffed.

“Of course, I want to spend time with you.”

“I’ll see you at your house,” he said stiffly, as he opened my car door and turned away.

“Andrew!” I called out for him, upset with the timing of my statement.

He turned around slowly. “I’ll see you at your house,” he repeated coldly, quickly disappearing.

As I drove, I replayed our conversation in my head. I was unclear as to why my words had struck such a chord with him. I really did not believe he was schizophrenic, but his actions tonight had upset me, and I could not shake that something else was happening that he did not wish to discuss.

Pulling into my driveway, I could see the light from my bedroom on through the window. This was a glimmer of hope that he was already here, and I hadn’t upset him so much that he had decided to leave early.

I hastily pushed open my bedroom door. There stood Andrew, leaning against the wall like a statue—a stone statue of an ancient God. His dark eyes flickered in my direction. I could tell he still wasn’t pleased with my last statement.

I slowly walked over to him; watching him carefully to ensure he desired my company. “I don’t really believe you’re schizophrenic,” I said softly.

“I know you don’t.”

“But you’re quite temperamental,” I said, lightly cracking a smile.

“I am,” he agreed, but no smile appeared.

“I’m sorry if I upset you in anyway.”

“I know you meant no harm with your words. I’m not upset with you. I’m more ashamed of myself for the poor job that I’ve done of expressing my feelings for you,” he sighed heavily.

“I know you care for me.”

He rushed to my side and swept me up like a rag doll, placing me on the bed. My head swirled a little as I tried to gain composure and my sight. His eyes brightened in to a golden citrine color.

“That’s just it,” he gasped.

His actions startled me a little and my body stiffened. “What is it?” I croaked.

“You really don’t understand my feelings, do you?” he asked almost in disbelief.

“I know you say that I’m everything to you, but I guess I don’t really grasp what that means,” I said ashamed of my inability to accept his true feelings.

“I curse Braden for making you so skeptical,” he said, gritting his teeth. “If I’d come sooner, then none of your skepticism would be present in our situation.”

“It isn’t his fault,” I disagreed. “It’s no one’s fault, but my own. I analyze things too much.”

“I know you do. I see it in your eyes. It saddens me that I can’t make you realize that you’re everything to me. There’s no other mortal or immortal—nothing—that I desire more than you.” His voice begged for me to understand.

“There isn’t one woman in the world that would not love to have a man tell her these things, even if just for a day, and I have you telling me that you’ll love me until the end, but it just doesn’t seem possible.”

“But it is—it is possible.”

“My own mother even bailed on me, so forgive me for being skeptical, but I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job at believing all of this.” I could feel the tears, but I refused to look weak at this moment.

“Oh, Haley, you’ve been wonderful at accepting me for who I am, but you don’t accept my feelings for you. You want to, but you don’t,” he sighed heavily.

“I’ve read several books on love like this, but I never dreamt that they could come true. I’ve read many books about history, but I never dreamt that I would meet a major player in those books either. I believe you’re real, but when you tell me that you’ve tricked humanity for your own pleasure, misleading us for centuries, please understand my concerns,” I said, unable to hold back the tears any longer.

A twisted look was upon his face. His lips parted, but I placed my finger over them.

“I know for sure that I feel more for you than I’ve ever felt or ever imagined—and I don’t want that feeling to go away—but I know it could at any moment. You could disappear, and I’d be left with yet another piece of my heart missing.”

“I know how you feel.” His warm hand wiped away all my tears in one swipe. “At any moment, I fear you’ll decide that this is too much for you to handle. All the centuries of pain that I once endured because of your absence come to mind, and I never want to go through that again. But even if I knew today that you’d walk away someday, I wouldn’t regret this time we have, for every minute I’m with you is worth all the pain that I’ve ever suffered,” he said breathlessly. “I don’t want to leave you for any amount of time, but understand that I must in order to secure our future.” His voice quivered ever so slightly.

“I’d never leave you.”

“I hope not,” he smiled gently.

“I think you underestimate my love and commitment to you.” I cracked a slight smile.

“Wow, this is not what I expected tonight.”

“Me either.”

“Are we good now?”

“Yes, I was never upset with you, just worried.”

“Are you worried now?”

“No, I’m good.” I faked a smile, but the worries were still there—they probably always would be.

“Can I ask something of you while I’m gone?” His voice deepened.

The mood suddenly changed. “Yes,” I said warily.

“I can’t ask you stay hidden in your house for the next few days, but can you please stay close to home as much as possible?” His voice filled with concern and hope that I would agree.

“I have to close up at the shelter Saturday evening, but other than that, I don’t have any real plans now that you’re going to be gone,” I sulked slightly.

“Why do you have to close up the shelter?”

“Ryan and his mother are going to
Denver
that night for some charity event.”

“When did this occur?” he asked stunned.

“Ryan texted me yesterday and asked if I could.”

“And you think my telepathic abilities are frustrating,” he smiled. “Your phone buzzes so often that I never know what’s going on.”

I never thought Andrew would be jealous of my phone, but he was hard to read sometimes. “I guess that’s fair.”

“I’m not keen on the fact that you’re going to the shelter alone. I might not like Ryan, but he’s a big enough guy to be a deterrent,” he said with worry.

“There’ll be other workers there that night.”

“If you’re trying to reassure me, it’s not working,” he said, rolling his beautiful emerald eyes.

“I tried.”

It was comforting to see his eyes back to normal and all was well with us once again.