Kaleidoscope (Faylinn Series) (4 page)

“Hey, Cam.”

“Callie!” He reached out and snatched me into his arms. “How’s my number one?” I hated the butterflies for breaking loose and frantically flying in my stomach when I was in his arms.

Was I really still his number one? It didn’t feel much like it anymore. “I don’t really think you can call me that anymore, deserter,” I said, stepping out of his arms, but not in a way that would imply how jealous I was.

“Oh, whatever. Isla knows how our relationship is.”

Maybe, but. . .”Do
you
?” I smirked.

“Cal, I’m sensing a hint of neglect?” He said it teasingly, but I knew he knew I was serious. He might have been oblivious at times, but he wasn’t insensitive.

I simply eyed him and that was all it took.

“I know. I miss us too. But Isla is important to me too now.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, like I was his little sister. “We’ll get together next week. Isla has been planning this fundraiser with her mom and it takes place next Wednesday. I’ll make time for us. Besides you know how much I love hanging out with a bunch of the PAT moms or whatever they’re called.”

I laughed. “PTA.”

“Yeah. That’s what I said.”

Please just tell me I’m imagining things and that there is nothing lurking in the trees behind my house.

“You promise we’ll hang out?”
Will you tell me I’m not going crazy and that I’m not being lured into the forest by some supernatural force?

“Cross my heart,” he said.

“Cool.”

“C’mon. I’ll walk you to class.” He draped his arm over my shoulder. Instantly I felt safe again.

“Thanks.”
But, seriously. What if someone is stalking me?

My paranoid insecurities could wait. This was the most attention I’d received from him since the beginning of summer. Why taint it with paranoia and make him worry? Or worse. . .tell me I really was crazy.

Even if I was.

“Have you ever had a flying dream?” I asked Lia, crossing my legs Indian style on the lawn at lunch on Friday.

“Yes!” Lia clapped her hands together. “I love those dreams! Did you have one last night?”

“Yeah, I’ve never had one before.” And it felt natural.
Weird, right?

“Those ones are so much better than naked dreams.”

I cringed and laughed. “You have naked dreams?”

“You’ve never had one? They are mortifying!” she squawked. “In my naked dreams I always find myself walking down the halls at school, pant-less. Everyone stares, but no one says a thing or helps. They just watch as I walk by trying to cover my goods. It’s so much worse than being topless. At least when you’re topless you only have one area to cover.”

“Wow.” I chuckled.

“Be grateful for the flying dreams.”

“Someone mention naked dreams?” Cam snuck up behind us, peering between our shoulders.

“Cameron,” I heard Isla playfully scold.

“What?” he asked, chuckling. “I love those dreams.”

“You would,” I said. The tugging suddenly hit me at full force. I arched my back, pretending to stretch and breathed back the urge. I turned back to Lia for a distraction as Isla and Cameron got comfortably settled next to us. “How’s your brother liking Rome?”

“Apparently it’s amazing,” Lia sighed. “He says studying abroad is like nothing else. I’m so jealous.”

“How’s your. . .your mom handling Matt being gone?” I cleared my throat, to hide my stutter.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s like he died. I swear she cries herself to sleep every night. You would think she thinks he’ll never come back. He’ll be back to visit for Christmas and in the meantime I get the house to myself.” Lia smirked, but I knew she missed him. She put up a good front, but when Matt was home he was
her
other half. Most of the time I felt like the third wheel around them, like I’m sure she felt like the third wheel around Cameron and me. Without them it almost felt weird to just be Lia and Callie. There used to always be one of the guys with us at all times.

“The ambition you guys have in your family,” Cameron mumbled. “How many Ivy Leagues are you going to apply to?”

Lia shrugged. “All of them, of course.”

“Of course,” I mouthed to Cam, but smiled at her, admiring her for being unafraid to take what she wanted.

I wiped the pearls of sweat that accumulated on my forehead. The pulsing was taking a toll. There was only one more class for me to get through.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

“You okay, Callie?” Lia asked.

I smiled again when I looked at her to cover up my discomfort. “Yeah. I’m just really hot.” I twisted the cap of my water and took a large gulp, savoring the cool liquid trailing down my throat.

“Huh. I thought it was a nice day today,” she said.

“It
is
a nice day,” Cameron added, backing Lia. “You feeling sick, Cal?”

“Maybe just a little lightheaded. I’m going to head inside. The bell’s going to ring soon anyway.” I snatched my bag. “I’ll see you guys later. Lia, I’ll see you tonight.”

She looked at me with scrunched eyes, not knowing what to make of me. I didn’t know what to make of me. How could I even begin to explain it to them?

“Tonight,” she confirmed.

“Rest up, Cal,” Cameron called and I waved, retreating as fast as I could without making a bigger scene.

• • •

“Dad?” I hollered as I walked in the door after school. There was no answer. He must have either been on a job or running errands. The pulsing had subsided a little when I pulled into the driveway. The closer I was to home, the easier it was to breathe. It wasn’t gone completely though. Not even close.

I plopped on the couch to watch some
brain rotting
TV—as my dad liked to call it—for a cool down before Lia showed up later on to go out. Some romantic comedy was playing that she had been dying to see. Girl bonding time—I guessed I could use a little more of it. As hard as it was to get through my last class, I didn’t know how I could possibly be normal around Lia tonight.

There really wasn’t anything remotely entertaining on. I flipped through the channels, passing over all things boring, trashy, or sporty, which as it turned out was on every channel.

Wait
. It was Friday. Dad was going to be building the fence. He was probably out getting the supplies now.

Suddenly, my attention was directed to the yanking in my heart that I couldn’t suppress any longer. I shook it off and took a deep breath. I was closer to the grove now. Maybe it would go away. I found the movie channels—sci-fi, western, love, classics. . .

Nope
. The feeling wouldn’t subside; it was getting more and more powerful. The overwhelming flame flickered in my chest, heaving me off the couch. I let it push me toward the sliding glass door that faced the woods then shook my head, knowing where my body wanted to go. Trying to conquer the unpleasant feeling overpowering me, I pushed back.
I don’t want to go out there
, I told myself. I could beat this. But the pull was too strong to resist it anymore. The greenery swayed back and forth, needing me to be among it, craving for me to be a part of it.

As soon as I slid open the door and walked out, fresh air wafted in, filling my lungs with sweetness. As I reached the forest’s edge, my eyes trailed the dark brown columns nearly creating their own fence.
What did we need a fence for?
I took my first step over the line, gazing through the feathery ferns and felt instant peace. I smiled to myself and walked in further. A butterfly flew in front of my face, its wings a lively blue, fluttering gently, idling in front of my eyes. It was as if it was greeting me, welcoming me into its homeland. After saying hello, it simply flitted away.

I wasn’t sure what I had been so worried about. It was peaceful in here. Calming.
What could possibly live in here that could harm me?

The deeper I trekked into the forest the greener it was. The tree trunks were cloaked in twirling vines and rich green moss. Thick fallen logs turned into hillsides as moss and ground cover crept over them, bringing the dead wood to life once more. The trickle of a stream babbled to my right. It didn’t bother me that I didn’t know how far I had gone into the canopy of trees. I felt at home.

Without warning a figure flipped down, landing perfectly in front of me.

Startled, I let out a shriek and stumbled back nearly falling to the ground, but he caught my arms easily, steadying me then releasing me just at swiftly.

“Watch your step,” he said melodically.

What the. . .

When I took in his appearance my jaw must have dropped as my eyes flew wide open to take in every inch of him. His eyes were unreal, a mix between violet and blue, unlike anything I’d ever seen in my life. They were deep blue, yet reflected back in an even deeper purple and still bright. His dark chocolaty locks curled right above his eyes, framing them.

Where had he come from?

“You can see me can’t you?” His voice was velvety smooth. Too alluring to be natural. Too silky to be human.

I could only nod. He stood there in all his olive skinned glory with only a pair of dark brown homemade cut offs and a vine twining up one of his sinewy arms. A black band held a small sharp weapon at his hip.
Was this guy for real?

“That’s not possible,” he said, folding his arms across his lean chest. Every time he spoke my stomach tingled.

“Well apparently it is,” I said quietly, wanting to flee. I wasn’t quite sure why, but a feeling inside of me told me to stay put.

“But you’re still human.” He started to move toward me, but I stepped back. Being close to him couldn’t be smart.

“Typically, that’s what we’re called,” I said skeptically.

His gaze deepened, his indigo eyes staring into my soul. Aside from the color there was something unusual about his eyes. They were. . .bigger. Not disturbingly large, but definitely not as small as they should be. I took another step back, losing any confidence I had gained by passing the property line. This had been a bad idea.

“Don’t go,” he nearly pleaded, speedily reaching his hand out to me. The earnestness in his voice stopped me. “Stay.” His voice changed. “I won’t hurt you.” He was more at ease, alluring. My uncertainty must have been apparent because he tacked on, “Please?” which didn’t seem like a word he knew how to use.

“Give me one reason to stay.”
Under the shelter of these trees—secluded—with a stranger. An all too fascinating stranger.

“It doesn’t make any sense.” The strange boy didn’t answer my question. I suppose he wasn’t really a boy. He appeared to be a few years older than I was—two or three years, maybe—but not quite a man.

I wanted to laugh. What didn’t make any sense was a guy without a shirt, dressed in tattered cut offs with vines spiraling up his arm like some wild man, standing in my backyard. I looked back to a wall of trees and vegetation. I couldn’t technically call this my backyard anymore. The reassuring sight of my house was nowhere.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“I should ask you the same thing.” He cocked one side of his mouth up in a half-smirk. “Your father is right. You never know what’s lurking in these woods.”

My stomach churned. How long had he been here. . .watching me? He took a few steps toward me into a spot where the sun streamed through the full branches, casting light across his perfectly sculpted face. A couple things clenched my breath. One, he was striking, more so than the shadows gave him credit for. His rich violet eyes were even more vibrantly intense, beautifully peculiar under the glow of sunlight. I couldn’t find the words. And two. . .two was his ears. They were. . .pointed.

“What
are
you?” I gaped.

Why was I still here?

“Again. I’m the one who should be asking you that question.” He was smiling now, overly confident. “You shouldn’t be able to see me.”

“Of course, I can see you. I’m not blind,” I spat.

“You should be.” He never took his eyes off of me, certainty in his stance. His toned shoulders pulled back, puffing his muscled chest forward.

“I’m about to start screaming in three seconds if you don’t answer my question,” I tried to threaten. My backbone was wobbling. I wanted to be strong, but his confidence was unsettling and yet. . .I wanted to know more, couldn’t break myself away from his hold on me.

He chuckled, unafraid. “Princess,” he said, superiority lining his tone. “I don’t think you get it. Humans can’t see me. If you scream and they come running, they will see you standing alone. I only show myself to those I choose, and if you can see me without my consent, it means there is something not human inside of you.”

I’m sorry?
There was something not human about
him
: his agile movement; his entrancing eyes; his alluring smile; and those freakishly pointy ears! I was being torn in two directions. One wanted me to run as fast as I could away from the trees, never to return, while the other tied me to him and the nature surrounding us.

“Please,” I asked. “What are you?”

“You really don’t know?” He looked at me with a curiously amused expression that I wanted to smack off his face.

I stared at him with an agitated edge. “If I honestly knew would I really be asking?”

He chortled. “Well, well, well. Feisty. I knew you’d have to be.” I didn’t reply. I was waiting and I’d wait all day if that’s what it took. He sighed when he realized I wasn’t as amused as he was. “A faery. I’m a faery,” he said, deadpan.

“I
f you’re a faery then I’m the Easter bunny.” I laughed without humor.

He shook his head and batted his hand at me. “Don’t be absurd. Bunnies are furry and they hop about. You seem to walk perfectly fine.”

I rolled my eyes. This guy belonged in a mental institution. “Shouldn’t you be like three inches tall?”

“I’m afraid you are mixing faeries with pixies. They are the little annoying ones that buzz in your ears and spread pollen on the flowers.”

“I think you are mixing pixies with bees,” I stated candidly.