Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) (15 page)

Chapter 21: Evelyn

I lay on my bed facing the ceiling as I spoke to Maddie on the phone. She’d just gone home an hour ago, but talking to her so soon was never unusual.

“I forgot my new books at your place,” she groaned.

From where I laid, I couldn’t see them. I pushed myself up onto my elbows to spot them by my closet, “Ah, there they are.”

“Can you bring them to me tomorrow?” she asked. “I was really looking forward to reading that one book I bought –what was it… You know, the one with the girl that quit her job?”

“Ah, that one,” I flopped back down onto my bed. “Well, if I remember to bring it tomorrow, you’ll get it.”

“If not tomorrow, then bring it to the fair on Tuesday. I’ll make room in my purse for it. And, let’s face it –you can spare a little room for me in your Blake-filled day.”

“I’m sure we can work something out. We’ll grab lunch or something. Speaking of food, I’ve been waiting all year for the taffy.”

“And the elephant ears,” she added.

“I’m not too fond of them,” I admitted. “Besides, you can get them at any fair –I’ve yet to see another fair with taffy as good as –”

“Mom just told me that Dad’s going to be home next weekend,” Sophie popped her head into my room.

“Maddie, I’m going to have to let you go,” I said, swinging my feet off the bed and getting up. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

I hung up after she said bye, and I passed my little sister the phone as I walked by. Down the stairs I went at lightning speed, swinging around the corner into the kitchen when I reached the bottom step to see my mother sitting at the table on her laptop.

“Dad’s going to be home?” I asked, excited.

“Only for two days,” my mother said slowly, “But yes, he’ll be here.”

“Why only two days?” I asked, letting a small whine hint the words.

“Work,” she sighed. “It’s always work. When you have a husband and he asks you whether he should take the promotion and be away all the time, or stay at the same level and be home more often –ask him to forfeit it.”

I didn’t need her to tell me that. I saw the strain on their relationship –though they spent the time they had together like it was fine china. They went out on a date each and every time, treated themselves to make up for all that time apart. At least they put in the effort. But sometimes he would call and my mother would be shouting at him. Sometimes she’d hang up abruptly and call him an asshole. Long distance took its toll.

“Do you know when he’ll be getting home?” I asked.

“His flight lands at six pm on Saturday. He leaves at three pm on Monday,” she said.

“I want to be there when you pick him up,” I said. “But I’m working.”

“Did you want to try and switch shifts?” she asked.

“Harry’s away this weekend, and the girls are bitches when it comes to switching shifts –two of them have booked it off for the fair.”

“He’ll understand. Do you have Sunday off?”

“Fortunately,” I nodded.

“Then you can spend all of Sunday with him,” she said. “Maybe we’ll stop by for a cone.”

“I’d be happy if you did,” I told her, going around to the back of her chair and wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

“I think we can make it happen,” she said, reaching over her shoulder to pat my cheek. “Going to bed?”

“Thinking about it,” I replied, releasing her and going to the fridge. I grabbed a cold bottle of water and closed the refrigerator door behind me.

“Don’t stay up too late,” she warned.

“Me? Never.”

*              *              *

The thing I liked about fair day: our school got the day off to go and cheer on the teams.  The thing I didn’t like about fair day? I still didn’t have a chance to sleep in.

I was up at six so that I had enough time to get ready. The outfit was already planned out –it wasn’t too hard to dress in white and blue. Our grandstand theme was ‘apocalypse,’ which meant that the outfit was purposefully dirty and torn. Maddie, and the rest of the girls, would be dressed similarly.

Speaking of Maddie –I had forgotten her books the day before. I grabbed them, wrapping the plastic bag around them carefully, bundling them tight before putting them in my purse. I sent her a quick text confirming that I had them and that I’d give them to her later.

As I moved around my room, I pulled my hair back, braiding it tightly. I caught sight of myself in the mirror, and I smiled. ‘Peppy’ and ‘full of school spirit’ wasn’t usually the way I dressed, but it was nice, once in a while.

Would Blake think this was lame?

The question wandered through my head just as I glanced out the window to see his truck pulling into the driveway. Guess there was no point in changing either way –but I wasn’t ashamed. So really, what did it matter what he thought?

“Bye, Mom,” I called as I slipped on my running shoes.

“Evelyn, can I get a ride?” Sophie asked me as she hurried down the stairs. She was dressed similarly to me, showing her school spirit. “Mom’s still sleeping, and you know how long it takes for her to get ready and I want to get there in time to see the races. Andrea’s running and –”

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded, grabbing her own shoes and putting them on.

“Then let’s go,” I said, hoping this was okay with Blake.

“I’ll get Mom to pick me up later,” she promised as we left the house. Shadow rushed us, and she scolded him as she continued to the gate. I paused to give his head a good rub.

Sophie waited awkwardly by the gate, not knowing the people in the truck.

“I thought you were getting a ride with Maddie,” she mumbled as I passed her.

“Not this year,” I replied, smiling as Jason opened the front passenger door. He wore jeans and a black t-shirt with a grey graphic design –no school spirit, but I hadn’t expected it, either. “Hey –is there room for a stowaway?”

“She can lie flat in the back –the cops never actually look there, right?”

“And, let’s face it, if it was allowed ten years ago, why isn’t it allowed now?” I retorted.

“Safety hazard, hello,” Sophie muttered.

“Lucky for you, this is a six-seater,” Jason said. “Kaya –shift on over. Let Sophie get in beside you.”

“Alright,” Kaya chimed from the back as Jason opened the door for my sister. I looked at Blake in the driver’s seat. He flashed a small smile and patted the seat beside him. I climbed in.

“Morning,” he said, his voice rough early in the morning. It was always this way when he picked me up on the way to school. I loved it.

“You’re wearing the school colours,” I teased, looking at his blue and white striped shirt.

“Coincidence,” he stifled a yawn as Jason got back into the truck. “Everyone buckled in?”

Kaya giggled from directly behind me. “Yeah. Long time no see, Evelyn.’

“Yeah, you, too, Kaya. And you, Dante.”

“Dante’s not a morning person,” she said.

“It doesn’t seem like any of you are,” I replied.

“No, we are not,” Kaya chimed. “What I wouldn’t do to still be sleeping. You’re awfully quiet. Sophie, was it?”

I glanced back to see Kaya trying to strike up a conversation with her.

“Yeah,” Sophie looked at me.

“Sophie, this is Kaya, Dante, Jason and Blake,” I quickly introduced her. “They’re, uh, relatively harmless.”

“Your sister’s hanging with some pretty cool kids,” Kaya grinned.

“My sister? Cool?” she snorted.

Blake looked at me, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing. I smiled, but didn’t say anything. He’d called it, after all.

“I didn’t say she was cool. Just the people she’s hanging out with,” Kaya responded.

“You all suck,” I crossed my arms.

“So, do we really have to watch our school compete? Or can we just use that time wisely to go on rides instead?” Jason asked.

“We don’t
have
to watch it,” I murmured. “But don’t expect me to go on the zipper, or the scrambler –and not that swinging ship thing where you practically go upside down. And I don’t do heights.”

“We do,” the four of them said in unison.

“Well, I refuse to go on the rides,” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Blake and Jason exchanged looks. I frowned, narrowing my eyes and looking between the two of them. “I
refuse
to.”

*              *              *

I closed my eyes, and then opened them. Unable to decide which I preferred in that moment, I closed them again.

I needed to grow a backbone. One that allowed me to say ‘no,’ and stick with it. Because if I had had that backbone I wouldn’t have given in to Blake and the others; I wouldn’t be on the swinging ship at the far end stuck between Blake and Jason. Kaya and Dante sat directly opposite of us, on the other end of the ship. Through the small slits I allowed my eyes to open up into, I could see them waving and grinning. There was pleasure for them in my discomfort. I wondered if they realized that if I threw up, it would land on them and the unfortunate souls nearby.

“You know, if you threw up when we were on the high side, it’d probably land on Kaya and Dante,” Blake commented, moments after the thought had crossed my own mind.

“Are you encouraging me to throw up, Blake?” I clenched his arm as we came back up to the high side.

“Of course not,” he laughed.

I didn’t reply as the ship swung back down and we were looking up at the sky. Kaya and Dante mocked me by yawning. I decided I might strangle them after we got off –if I was alive, that is.

“It’s almost over,” Blake told me.

Thank goodness. I gripped his arm tightly, keeping my eyes closed until the ship slowed down. The height it rose to decreased gradually and I could feel myself relaxing slightly. When it finally came to a stop, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. I was shaking, and as Blake helped me to my feet, my knees were weak. But I had to get off the ship before it started moving again.

Jason grabbed my bag as Blake led me off the ride and to the nearest bench. Kaya and Dante caught up with us.

“I hate you guys,” I murmured over and over again as I sat with my head between my knees. “I
really
,
really
hate you guys.”

“At least you didn’t throw up,” Jason comforted.

“And the ride didn’t fall apart,” Blake added.

“And you didn’t throw up while the ride was falling apart,” Kaya combined the two answers.

Dante sighed, “You know the probability that anything like that would actually happen is –”

“I don’t care about the probability,” I raised my head. “
Final Destination 3
has basically scarred me for life.”

Blake patted my back, “Well, the next ride is your choice.”

“My choice?” I looked at him. My hands were shaking slightly from adrenalin and fear –but I was okay. “And you’ll definitely go on it?”

“Yeah,” they all agreed.

“Anything?” I grinned slowly.

“Sure,” Blake nodded. “Anything you want.”

They had to be regretting it five minutes later as we stood waiting in line at the Merry-Go-Round. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as twelve year old kids walked by and snickered at them. The children that surrounded us were less than half our size.

“I’m so getting you back for this,” Jason said, sighing loudly and folding his hands behind his head.

“I’m actually a little excited,” Kaya giggled. “I’ve never been on a Merry-Go-Round.”

“Really?” I asked. “You just made this so much less satisfying for me.”

“It’ll take more than a horse on a stick to make us embarrassed,” Dante said.

I let out a slow breath. “Damn. Too bad we’re too big for the pony rides.”

“A darn shame,” Jason said, smiling a little.

Finally, it was our turn. I stepped onto the ride, strolling through the animals leisurely. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Blake was right behind me. I didn’t know if I was disappointed or relieved that this date of ours was accompanied by the others. It took a bit of the pressure off, that’s for sure. But I was a little wary about Blake, too. I was almost… too aware of him, and it was an overall strange feeling –one that I’d never experienced before.

I didn’t like being out of my comfort zone.

Settling on a beige horse with a red saddle, I watched as Blake climbed onto the white one beside me. I couldn’t see the other three from where I was, but I heard their laughter. There was a small lurch, and the ride began to go around in circles.

The more I glanced over at Blake, the funnier it was that he was even on this ride.

“What?” he asked, catching me as I stared.

“You look…” I searched for the right description.

“Like a knight on a white steed?” he suggested.