Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (10 page)

“It’s
okay this time, but if it happens again I am not sure that I can look the other
way.” She smiled at Pete and then glanced at Eli for his approval.

He
nodded and said, “I agree,” giving Pete a stern look. He must have been putting
on the act for Bailey. There was no way he would have been so forgiving if it
were just he and I. But there was more; there seemed to be something more that
passed between them, something unspoken that seemed to scream volumes. But I
just couldn’t put my finger on it. Exactly what was Eli up to?

“Agreed,”
Pete said, smiling without letting on that he sensed something more. Then he
turned to face me. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”

“I
guess,” I said shrugging.

We
walked over to the side and could see Eli and Bailey talking to each other
closely. Pete held out his hand with something inside it. I resisted the urge
to put my hand out to take what it was he was trying to give me. I stared up at
him, trying to gauge what he was trying to do.

“Take
it,” Pete said, nudging me along. “I wanted to give you something to show you
how sorry I am.”

Hesitantly,
I reached my hand out and a small silver bracelet feel into my palm. It was
magnificently crafted with one perfect charm, a heart. It was beautiful.

“A
bracelet?” Surprise didn’t cover what I felt. It wasn’t something I would have
expected as an apology gift, especially since we had only been on one date and
I wasn’t exactly sure if I would let it happen again. It was extravagant, and
far more than he should have given me.

“Yeah,
do you like it?” He sounded hopeful.

“It’s
beautiful.”

“Good,”
he said, smiling proudly. “I hope that you will forgive me. Even if you choose
not to give me a second date, I would still like to be your friend.”

I
thought for a second, staring at the sparkling bracelet in my hands. At first
no words came to me, but when they finally did I felt I had no other choice. “I
have not decided yet whether I will go on another date with you but...” I
paused, looked up at him and smiled. “I will be your friend, if nothing else,
but only if you promise not to lose your temper like that in front of me again,
agreed?”

He
laughed, “Agreed.” With that he swept me off my feet and gave me a big hug,
swinging me around in a circle.

It
wasn’t until that moment I realized just how strong Pete was. He squeezed so
tight I couldn’t breathe. The thought scared me.

“Can’t...
breathe...” I gasped.

“Oh,
sorry.” He carefully dropped me back on the ground.

“I
don’t think I can accept this,” I said solemnly as I held the bracelet out to
Pete. “It’s too much and not necessary.”

“You
have to, I won’t take it back. It’s yours,” he said, turning to walk away.

Ugh!
Lost that battle
.
It was a pretty bracelet, but I couldn’t say for certain how often I’d actually
wear it, if ever. That would all depend on how things ended up going with Pete
in the long run.

 Lunch
was quieter than usual, at least between Bailey, Eli, Pete and I. Everyone else
couldn’t seem to run out of conversation, but I didn’t offer any tidbits to
start any discussions. My eyes never left my lunch. I tried to make it seem as
though I was thoroughly interested in the food on my plate as I pushed it
around in various directions between bites. Eventually the awkwardness was
bound to go away, wasn’t it?

My
prediction that the awkwardness must cease at some point proved to be right.
The very next week everything seemed to be back to normal between all of us. It
had been quite an intense week trying to get through lunches, but in the end
enduring it seemed to have paid off. The horrendous date seemed to be forgotten
by all but me and of course Eli, though he didn’t show it.

I
was still undecided about what I should do. I was physically attracted to Pete,
and his outgoing personality was something that really drew me towards him. But
when I thought about his temper after the accident, it immediately turned my
thoughts around. I was teetering on the edge of danger and safety, and I had to
make up my mind quickly. The Homecoming dance was this weekend and he’d already
asked me.

I
made plans to go dress shopping at the mall with Bailey, who was going to the
dance with Eli. Fortunately for them, they were still dating. My suggestion had
panned out to be better than I expected; they had gone on a date together the
prior weekend, and Bailey was beaming when she came to class on Monday.
Although Bailey was very interested in Eli, it seemed as though he was just
dating her because she was there. To me it didn’t seem like he truly cared for
her as more than a friend like she did for him, but I knew he didn’t want to
hurt her either. Maybe he thought that with time and getting to know her those
feelings would grow, as they typically do. I felt like there was someone else
he was more interested in, I just couldn’t figure out who it was.

CHAPTER Six

Eli
continued his role as my ‘body guard’ from Pete, and our friendship continued
to flourish. For some reason, he still didn’t feel comfortable discussing his
love life, so to speak, even though I felt more than comfortable discussing
mine with him. Guys were always different than girls about opening up with
their feelings and emotions. Why was that? It was a lot more interesting to
have a deep conversation with a guy who was completely open. It fascinated me
to see their inner workings.

I
sat in my bedroom working on my homework. It was only Monday night, but I
already had three assignments: math, science and history. We were having our
first quiz on the first two chapters of
To Kill a Mockingbird
. I had
chosen to read it over again, and after I read assigned chapters, it was well
after 11 p.m. I went straight to bed, but tossed and turned despite being
exhausted from homework and reading. Reading was one of my favorite things to
do before bed. It made my eyes sleepy and usually made it easier to sleep. Apparently,
tonight was not one of those nights.

Once
I was able to fall asleep, it didn’t last long; I woke up screaming in fear
from my dream. It was still dark out, so I knew Mom was still home and probably
in bed. I hoped that I didn’t wake her up, but my hopes were dashed moments
later when my door slowly opened. Mom peeked her head around the door and
peered at me through her sleepy eyes.

“Is
everything okay, honey?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“Yeah,”
I sighed. “Just a bad dream.”

It
was the first time since my recurring nightmare started that mom knew about
even one of them. I would have liked to keep her in the dark about them
forever. I figured they were something that would eventually go away on their
own—or at least I hoped they would.

“Do
you want some warm milk?” she asked.

“No
that’s okay, Mom. I’m fine, really, I am. Go back to bed.”

“Are
you sure?”

“Yes,”
I reassured.

“Okay,
but let me know if you need anything.”

She
left quietly, and I hoped that she wasn’t worried about me. I slowly fell back
asleep, but at least I slept peacefully until my alarm went off. I grudgingly
got out of bed, thankful for the last bit of sleep I was able to get after my
nightmare. I wasn’t sure what kind of confrontation would come about from mom
about my dream, and knowing she was downstairs made me get ready much more
slowly. I could hear her shuffling around. When I finally got downstairs, I was
relieved when she wasn’t at all concerned about it.

“Good
morning,” she said happily.

“Morning,”
I replied.

To
my astonishment, mom never even mentioned the mishap from the night before. I
was so relieved I wouldn’t have to lie to her. I knew one of her questions
would have been if it was the first time, but I guessed she assumed that was
the case since the problem had never happened before.

I
continued to cheer up, and when Eli got there to pick me up, I could tell he
was in a high spirits as well. I went through the first half of the day
blissfully happy, and by lunchtime I decided to throw caution to the wind and take
Pete up on his offer to take me to the dance that Saturday. I suddenly couldn’t
wait to tell him, and I knew that Eli wouldn’t disagree on doubling with us
because he was already going with Bailey.

As
soon as I saw Pete standing by the cafeteria waiting for us, I ran up ahead and
pulled him aside. I couldn’t help but blurt out the good news.

“So...
I’ve decided I will go with you to the dance on Saturday, if you still want me
to,” I said in such a rush it almost sounded like one long word. 

He
stared at me in amazement. If I didn’t know any better it looked as if he had
to clamp his mouth shut so not let it flop open.

“What?
Really? What made you change your mind?” he asked in bewilderment.

“I
don’t know,” I laughed.
                            

“Well
I’m glad you did,” he said, putting his arm around me as we walked into the
cafeteria to join Eli and Bailey. Eli caught sight of his arm around me and his
eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t say a thing.

Throughout
lunch our good spirits persisted and the rest of the day went on without a
hitch. I couldn’t see how the day could get any better until I got into P.E.
and was proved wrong. The teacher announced that we would be finished with
swimming that Friday, and moving onto volleyball the following week. Although I
wasn’t very good, I loved volleyball. I was smiling as I walked up to Eli at
our usual meeting place.

“So
you’re going to the Homecoming dance with Pete, huh?” he asked in a
sarcastically annoyed tone.

“Yep,”
I said with a guilty smirk on my face.

“When
did you plan on telling me?” he asked.

“Right
now?” I questioned.

He
chuckled. “Oh! Well, okay then.”

We
walked slowly to his car as we discussed the dance, figuring out how we were
going to work around me going with Pete. We decided that it would be a good
idea for me to just meet Pete at the dance. Pete and I weren’t planning to go
to dinner beforehand, so that would make things easy. Eli was going to drive
me, but we weren’t going to tell Pete, and Bailey was going to catch a ride
with another friend.

Now
more than ever was I looking forward to going dress shopping with Bailey the
next day. Bailey’s dad was going to pick us up from school to drop us off at
the mall, and then my mom was going to pick us up on her way home from work.
Bailey was going to have dinner with us and then we would take her home.

Everything
was so much more complicated when you didn’t have a driver’s license. I was
seriously considering applying for a job so I could get a car soon. I mentioned
it to Eli and found out he was planning on looking for a job too. Neither of us
knew what kind of a job we wanted, but we both agreed that it would not be a
fast food restaurant. I liked the idea of working with clothing and Eli liked
the idea of working as a cashier. Most of it depended on what we found close
by, and who would offer to hire employees with no prior experience.

Mom
got home early. She was making dinner when I arrived and I went straight to my
room after letting her know I was there. I was hard at work on my homework when
my mom came in with the cordless phone in hand. It was my dad. I had been so
busy with everything else that it had been almost a week since I spoke to him.
I instantly felt guilty for not thinking to call him sooner.

“Hey
honey,” he said cheerfully. “How’s it going?”

“Hey
dad, it’s going well. I’m just working on some homework right now. How are you
doing?”

“I'm
good, but I’ve been missing you. It feels like it’s been months since I have
seen you,” he said sadly.

“It
almost has been,” I responded. “I’ve missed you too. I can’t wait till you come
and visit me. I want you to meet my friends too.”

He
was coming in two weeks, and I couldn’t wait. To my delight, he and my mom
talked it over and he was going to stay in the guest room. I was shocked to
find out that it had been my mom’s idea to have him stay with us. She had been
so specific about getting a fresh start somewhere new that I would never have
guessed she would be so open to having him invade our new space. Then again,
they had been married for more than 17 years, and that had to mean something to
both of them. Of course, they had me to think about too. My mom knew how much
it meant to me to see my dad and to him as well, so she wanted to make it as
easy as possible—and for that I was grateful. If my dad had to pay for a hotel
every time he came out, it would surely limit the amount of times he would be
able to visit. He planned to leave early in the morning before the sun rose to
drive down to Arizona. It was a seven-hour drive and he didn’t want to get in
very late.

“I
can’t wait either. I already started tying up loose ends here at the store for
when I leave. The store has been really busy, and I probably will be even
busier as hunting season gets closer.”

“I
know what you mean. I remember how crazy it gets,” I said.

We
talked for a while longer, mostly about his visit. I told him I wanted to take
him to the pizza place that Pete had taken me, but I left out the fact that it
had been a date. I told him I was going to the Homecoming dance that weekend
and was going with a friend, but only as friends. I didn’t feel that it was the
right time to tell him or my Mom about my feelings for Pete. I wasn’t sure our
relationship was ever going to go anywhere. We finally got off the phone and I
was able to finish my homework just in time to eat dinner.

Mom
and I discussed dad’s upcoming visit. She admitted that she was nervous about
him staying with us, which I’d guessed anyway. It was inevitable. I mean, they
had been married for a long time and it ended badly, but there had to be some
feelings still left in there too. You don’t just stop caring about someone just
because you get divorced.

While
I was cleaning the kitchen I thought of Pete. I wondered if by the time my dad
came to visit, I would want him to meet Pete. I was getting ahead of myself,
but it was nice to dream. That was something I didn’t do often enough. I’d love
to go back to the normal nerve-wracking days of “this is my boyfriend”
introductions. It always seemed so daunting, thinking maybe my dad wouldn’t
like whom I brought home. Now it was way worse, and it didn’t help that I
wasn’t completely sure about how I felt about him. Sure he was slick as butter
when you talked to him, but then again that was how con men were too,
right? 

The
nightmares seemed to have become a consistent unwelcome habit, because that
night I had yet another one. I constantly wondered if I would ever get to the
end instead of continually waking without answers or relief, always ending just
before what I am running from is revealed. Each time I came to know the desert
around me better and better, memorizing new details: the clearing, the dust
billowing up from my footsteps, the cactus that seemed to be only inches from
me. I was becoming angrier every time I had the dream. It was one thing to have
a nightmare; it was another to have the same nightmare haunting me. Each and
every time, it started my day with a foul mood.

That
day went by slowly and I figured it was because I was deeply anticipating my
dress-shopping trip that afternoon. It couldn’t come soon enough, but my mood
hadn’t lifted much from that morning. I hoped that once it came time I would
forget my troubles and enjoy my time shopping.

 My
mom gave me $60 to spend, but I never dreamt my dress would cost that much.
Bailey told me at lunch that her dad was going to give her the same amount, so
we both had more than enough to find beautiful dresses and maybe shoes to
match.

Bailey’s
dad picked us up right on time, and Bailey was the spitting image of her dad
(in girl form, of course) right down to the personality. I could tell that
Bailey and her dad had a very close relationship. She said that there was very
little she didn’t disclose to her dad, but she did admit that she didn’t tell
him about Pete’s outburst after the accident for fear of him not allowing her
to hang around him again. I didn’t blame her; I’m sure my parents would feel
the same.

I
briefly wondered what it would be like only having a dad. I couldn’t imagine having
to have ‘the talk’ with my dad. I don’t think I could have stomached it. I’m
not sure my dad would have made it through the conversation either. There were
some things that were just easier to discuss with a mom, but Bailey seemed to
be doing just fine.

Bailey
found her dress first—a gorgeous, short, pink strapless dress with rhinestones.
The bottom was hemmed diagonally from one side to the other, and it hugged all
of her curves in just the right ways. Eli was going to love it. To top it off,
it was only $40. Bailey was ecstatic, as was I when I found mine a half an hour
later. My dress was tight-fitting as well, though it was slightly longer than
Bailey’s. It reminded me of the perfect little black dress, and it was still in
my price range at $50. We decided to diddle-
daddle
around the mall for a little while after finding our dresses, and when 5 p.m.
came, we called my mom to come get us. Ten minutes later we were climbing into
my mom’s car. It was like she stood by the phone with keys in hand waiting for
my call, though I knew that wasn’t the case.

“Hey
guys, how was shopping?” she asked. We both gushed about the perfect dresses we
found.

“That’s
wonderful! You guys will have to put them on and show me tonight,” she said.

Once
we were home, Bailey and I put on our own fashion show to show off our new
dresses to my mom.

“Wow,
you two look terrific!” she exclaimed.

 The
doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of our Chinese food order, so we ran
upstairs to change our clothes for dinner. We were back in a flash, and mom was
already waiting at the table with plates, napkins and sodas.