Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series (17 page)

Me: Ok.

Well that was an odd conversation. My mother
looked up at me from the book she was reading and nodded.

“Go if he wakes up I will call you. You have
to be starving.” I threw my legs off the couch and rubbed my eyes
again.

I went to the bathroom and looked at myself.
I looked like I had been run over by a mac truck. My sweater was
torn from the tree limbs, and my eyes were a deep blue. This would
be fun, looked like another contacts explanation was in my future.
I smoothed my hair back and washed my face before taking one last
look at Wesley and leaving the room.

****

Adam was standing outside the cafeteria when
I came sauntering up. He smiled when he saw me, his concern was
written all over his face. He gave me a hug when I got close enough
to him. Odd, I’m not one to usually like hugs but his was warm and
friendly.

“So glad you are ok.” He said his cheek on
the top of my head.

“Yeah, all I did was assist my mother in
finding him.” I shrugged and he let me go pulling me out to arm’s
length and looking at me.

“Something is different here. I just can’t
put my finger on it.” He was searching my face intently trying to
figure it out.

“I’m an enigma, just when you think you know
me I change.” I joked linking my arm through his and walking into
the cafeteria.

Hospital food is not the greatest by all
means. In fact it ranks up there with school lunches. I was hungry
so everything looked perfect for eating. We got our food and sat
down at a table in the corner. He had insisted on paying even when
I handed my cash to the cashier. In fact, he’d very politely
exchanged my bill with his and put mine back in my pocket, a stern
look on his face.

“I asked you to lunch so I pay.” He said
softly. I had just stood there looking at him with a confused grin
on my face.

“What happened?” He asked me after a few
moments of silence.

“He has been under a lot of stress lately.
Sleep-walking from what his dad said. He wound up in the woods.
Somehow got a nasty gash on his leg and lost a lot of blood.” I
tried to make it sound like it was much less than what it really
was.

How do I tell someone that has never seen a
supernatural thing in his life that we had fought vampires? That my
mother was an angel and had incinerated four of them with just a
blink of the eye and snapped the last one like a twig with a
stare.

I just totally made my mother sound like a
Heavenly bad-ass.

“That boy has everything, what could he
possibly be stressed about?” Adam looked at me and put his fork
down. “I mean he has the car, he has the girl. What else could he
want?”

“I can be quite stressful.” I joked.

“Naw, I don’t see that. You are far from
stressful. Either way I’m sorry to hear that you had such a scary
night.” He said taking a drink. “I’m equally glad that you were
able to locate him.”

“Yeah, those woods are thick, and lord knows
what’s in them,” I swallowed a bite of something that looked like
mac n’ cheese.

“There are rumors of course about them.
Stories that a hundred years ago some farmer murdered a group of
women from town.” He laughed. “Of course they are just rumors there
are no solid facts that it ever happened.”

“I would hope that they are just rumors.” I
shivered.

“What Weathers, are you scared of ghosts?”
He eyed me.

“Anyway! We found Wesley in the woods. Mom
called the ambulance, and they took him here.” I changed the
subject away from the woods.

“I would say he is a lucky guy. I mean I
don’t think any of my ex-girlfriends would look for me if I went
missing.” He shook his head and suddenly a moment of clarity hit
his face. “Your eyes! That’s what is different!” He exclaimed
making me jump.

“What about them?” I asked my heart
pounding, he’d figured it out.

“They are blue now. At school the other day
they were brown.” He smiled politely a sense of pride illuminating
from his expression.

“I wear color contacts to go with my style.”
The lie came out smoothly. After telling it so many times it felt
natural to just say it.

“I knew a girl once whose eyes did that.” He
was staring, and I was becoming uncomfortable. “It was, I think,
two years ago. She went to school with us for a year. She started
out with brown eyes, by the end of the year they were this
beautiful blue. She moved that summer, her family was military or
something, just in town to do some recruiting. I think that is what
she said.” He was rambling.

One thing that I have learned is that people
tend to ramble when there is more to a story than what they are
really wanting to tell.

I was intrigued by this story. There had to
be far more to it than just her eyes changing and miraculously
disappearing. This was something that I would have to look into.
Behind every mystery is an answer.

After lunch Adam gave me another hug and
told me to call him when Wesley woke up. I climbed into the
elevator my stomach feeling better after my meal. As I was hitting
the button for the third floor my phone started to buzz. I reached
in my pocket and pulled it out.

Mom: How much longer? Wes has been awake for
a while he just didn’t want me to tell you so you could eat.

I smiled at the message, leave it to my
mother.

Me: In the elevator now will be up there in
a few seconds.

It felt like the longest few seconds of my
life getting from the ground level to the third floor. I walked
into Wesley’s room he was sitting up eating from a tray of food a
smile on his face.

“How was lunch?” He asked taking another
bite.

“Great. If I would have known you were going
to wake up I would have stayed.” I walked over to the bed and he
reached for my hand.

“No, no you needed to eat. I’m fine. Your
mom said Adam came up to meet you.” He put down his fork and looked
at me. There was no judgment in his eyes.

“Yeah, he wanted to make sure you were ok.”
I said squeezing his hand softly.

“That was considerate of him. Remind me to
thank him later.” Wesley smiled.

“How you feeling?” I asked focusing the
conversation back to him.

“Great.” He said his eyes dancing. “Even
better now that you are here.”

I blushed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He pulled me close to kiss
me briefly on the lips until he heard my mother clearing her throat
behind me.

“Sorry Ms. Weathers.” He blushed as I broke
out into laughter.

“Wesley if I have to remind you one more
time to call me Angie I’m going to force you to break up with my
daughter.” My mother teased.

“Yes, ma’am.” He said muffling a laugh of
his own.

“So how you feeling?” I asked pushing a
stray strand of hair from his forehead.

“Sore.” He laughed.

“They said you would be.” I pointed out as
he took a drink of his tea.

“I wish I knew what happened.” He said
softly.

“Well what do you remember happening?” I
asked.

My mother perked up from where she was
sitting.

“I had this dream. I swear I heard voices
calling for me. I don’t remember talking to my father and I don’t
remember going into the woods. The only thing I remember is seeing
your face.” He smiled and reached up to caress my cheek.

I heard my mother’s book slam closed, and
she stood up and left the room. There was something going on that
seemed to be far more than just a dream. I said nothing to him just
stood there and looked at him fondly.

“It will all be ok again.” I said brushing
my lips to his.

“How is it that you found me? They said I
was pretty far into the woods.” He looked at me and raised an
eyebrow.

“Luck of the draw I suppose.” I laughed
nervously.

“I think there is far more to you than mere
luck.” His eyes softened as he looked at me. “How did I ever become
so lucky?”

“You stalked me.” I teased him.

“I wouldn’t call that stalking.” He kissed
me again.

The Talk

The hospital had decided to keep Wesley for
four days for observation. Apparently he was pretty traumatized by
the whole ordeal and would wake up screaming from a dead sleep. It
didn’t help matters much that his fits would reopen his wound and
it would have to be re-stitched.

Several times the doctors threw us out of
the room to calm him. It wouldn't work, the only way that he would
calm down is if I was lying next to him my fingers touching his
face or running through his hair. They figured his reaction to a
familiar touch is what caused the nightmares to subside.

My mother and I slept at the hospital. She
stayed with him during the day while I went to school. Wesley and I
would do our homework together when I showed up. I would turn it in
for him the next day. It’s amazing how many of the teachers were
willing to do this once they got wind that he was in the
hospital.

So on the fourth day imagine my excitement
when I was told that they were going to be releasing him. Knowing
that he would be home sent a thrill through my body. It was one
thing to share him with the nurses it would be another to have him
alone to myself again.

****

I was watching a documentary on Word War II
when my phone started to ring. I pulled it out and looked at it,
rolling my eyes, I answered.

“Hey Adam.” I said quickly turning down the
volume on the TV.

“Hey Dawn, I need to talk to you for a
second.” There was a momentary pause, “So, I have a date with a
girl I met in Branson tonight.  I need you to tell me what I
need to do tonight to not scare her off.” I could hear the car door
open and then shut again in the background.

Adam is what one might call a goody-goody.
The boy had barely ever made it to first base so him on a date with
a girl was actually a pretty big deal. I was shocked that he hadn’t
dated anyone at school even more surprised that he had asked a girl
out that lived over an hour away. I guess it would give him time to
figure out what to do on the way there.

“Already replaced me huh?” I teased him. I
had been unable to keep out planned outing due to Wesley being in
the hospital.

“I could never replace you.” He teased back.
“I just need advice.”

“Just be yourself.” I sighed. “It’s pretty
much the best thing you can do.  She’ll love you,”

“You seem so sure of yourself Venus.” He
mocked me.

“Well women are not as complicated as we
appear.” I paused and looked at the clock I had to hurry or I would
be late.  “Make her laugh.  Don’t spend the whole night
talking about you. Keep her talking about herself.  If she
isn’t selfish she will return the questions to you, but let her
lead.”

“I hope you know if none of this works I’m
going to hold you responsible for the down fall of my love life.”
He said monotone into the phone.

“If your love life fails I don’t think I am
to blame.” I laughed. “I got it though.”

“You just think you are so funny.” I heard
the sarcasm in his voice.

“Good because I have to get dressed for a
date of my own.” I said walking into my bedroom and beginning to
rummage through my closet.

“He coming home today?” Adam asked me.

“Yeah, we are going to sit around eat salty
popcorn and watch cheesy movies.” I opted for a black corset style
shirt and a black skirt.

“You lazy bitch!” Adam teased me. “I suggest
getting out of the house not finding ways of staying in it. The boy
has been cooped up in rooms for the last week!”

“I’ve had to share him with nurses and
doctors for the last four days.” I paused and pulled out my black
boots from under my bed.  “I really don’t want to have to
share him with all the other people that are going to want to know
what happened.”

“You are still a lazy bitch.  Alright,
well go wow your boyfriend. I’m going to do my best not to botch my
date.  Again if the advice you gave me is wrong I’m blaming
you.” He sounded so serious, but I had a feeling he was just
kidding with me.

“Fair enough,” I said laughing as we hung
up.

****

I was blaring old school Pantera when I
pulled into Wesley’s drive that night. I turned off the car,
grabbed my phone, and stuffed it in my skirts front pocket.  I
was about to round the corner to the back of the house when I heard
Wesley’s voice. So I did what any good girlfriend would do, I
stopped and listened.  I could hear there was someone on the
other end of the phone but I had no idea who it was.

“I appreciate your concern
about me, really I do.  However, my
girlfriend
is on her way over now
and I would like to be off the phone when she gets here.” I heard a
female’s voice but could not make out what she was
saying,

“I don’t care if you think there is
something wrong with her. You don’t know her so how can you come up
with that assumption?” He sounded pissed. “No Miranda, listen, we
broke up what two years ago?”

There was a muffled girly scream.  The
type we get when we are frustrated.

“I recall your reason for breaking it off
was artistic differences.” I had a distinct feeling he made air
quotes, and I giggled to myself. “I don’t care if you think
you were stupid for doing it. No, no I’m not going to come and see
you.  I don’t care if you are going to school just up the
road. I’m not going to come up there and spend time with you.”

There were more girly screams.

“You know what Miranda, I’m happy.  I
finally found the person I’m supposed to be with.  I’m sorry
you wasted your time getting into a school closer to me, but it’s
never going to happen between us again.”

 
I felt bad enough
hearing that much of the conversation so I coughed and came around
the corner.  Wesley gave me a weak smile and kissed me on my
cheek.