Rise of the Moon (Moonlit Series Book 1) (3 page)

“You should stop,” I told him. “There are other people to hang out with.”

“Like who?”

“Well, you have Philip,” I answered. More courageously I said, “And, come on, aren’t we friends?”

“Best friends,” he nudged me, and I felt a little dissatisfied with the brotherly motion.

I didn’t get a chance to respond, because the class was getting too loud, and Mr. Jordan had to come out and tell us to quiet down. When he went back into his office, I changed the topic.

“There’s a new person living down the street from me,” I told him, not knowing what else to say.

“Cool,” he replied, borrowing my eraser. I noticed Maegan glancing over at us, but didn’t say anything to her.

“They have a son about our age,” I went on.

“Is he here today?” he asked.

“I haven’t seen him,” I shook my head.

“Hmm,” Evan murmured. “Well, if he moved in recently, perhaps he’s still unpacking.”

“Is it that vampire kid?” Maegan asked. “I’ve heard stories about him already. Jody said she saw him at the grocery store with his younger brother. She said she saw
fangs
. And not fangs, like Andrew in physics has, like honest to god
I vant to suck your blood
fangs.”

“Well, he does have fangs, yes, but I’d hardly call him a vampire,” I muttered.

“Evelyn would know,” Evan teased lightly.

“Whatever,” I rolled my eyes, elbowing him in the side. When I knew he wasn’t looking I cast a quick glance his way. I felt my heart squeeze, knowing that despite our good relationship, it probably wouldn’t go any further than this. Neither of us wanted to risk our friendship.

Stupid boys.

*              *              *

“I’m going to grab a bite to eat,” Olivia told me, wallet in hand. She was one of the girls I commonly closed with at the ice cream parlour. She was thin and tall, and apparently absorbed the sun like a sponge absorbed water. I was more than a little jealous of her even tan. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Stop,” I said monotonously. “Don’t go. Don’t leave me to all this chaos.”

She just laughed as she pushed open the doors and headed into the September night; the bell above the door dinged. I wished I could have followed her, considering I wasn’t even supposed to be working that night. If only Kathy, the other key holder, hadn’t gotten sick.

I sighed, looking around at the empty store. The ice cream parlour, cleverly named “The Parlour,” was unoccupied while the entire town, including Olivia, seemed to be eating dinner, much like Olivia. It’d pick up a little bit later for those who wanted a little something to cool them off in the late-summer heat.

I grabbed paper towels and the spray bottle, going to clean the tables for the second time this hour. Then, maybe I’d sweep, or wipe down the machines. Restock the cones. Anything to make time pass just a
little
bit faster. An entire week of school had flown by faster than this shift.

As I wiped down the tables, I noticed dried drops of ice cream on the pale blue vinyl seating of one of the booths. I sprayed it with the watered-down cleaner, wiping the seat spotless. I noticed something on the far side of the booth, and I crouched to get it. It was a small toy, a yellow T-rex probably left here by one of the groups of kids that had been here earlier. I’d put it behind the counter. If they didn’t come back to get it, I was sure Harry, the owner, would add it to the collection in the back room. Once a year he would get them professionally cleaned and donate them to the local hospital.

The door chimed and I crawled out from under the booth, “I’ll be right with you.”

“No worries, I’m in no hurry.”

My heart skipped a beat, recognizing the voice. I straightened up, hitting my head on the underside of the table.

“Shit,” I winced, both in pain and embarrassment.

“Are you okay?” he asked, approaching me. I looked at him, confirming that this was indeed the guy from the driveway. The accent had given it away.

“I’m fine, fine,” I muttered, waving him off as he drew near. “I wish I could say I’m not always this clumsy, but unfortunately I’m used to it…” I got to my feet, meeting his gaze, “You’re… To think I never caught your name.”

I was trying to keep my cool. Internally, I was having a cow; my heart was pounding, loud and hard. Though I wondered if that was just from bumping my head. I had taken to walking home from Maddie’s whenever I had the chance, because I felt I was more likely to run into him there than here, at work. Especially since another week had passed without seeing him in the hallways at school. And now that I was looking at him, he could be a few years older than me, and perhaps that was the reason why he wasn’t attending our high school. Or maybe he was going to one of our rivalling schools.

“And to think I never caught yours,” he countered.

“Well, I asked you first,” I shrugged, smiling a little.

“That’s true,” he smiled. Holding out his hand he introduced himself; “Shayne Van Owen.”

“And I’m Evelyn,” I shook his hand, “Evelyn Rae Laverne.”

We lapsed into silence, and I took a moment to gather myself. “So you’re here to get some ice cream, I take it? What can I get for you?”

He looked at the menu behind the counter as I went around to the other side, tossing the toy underneath the counter and washing my hands quickly before turning back to him.

“Two scoops, vanilla and chocolate,” he finally decided.

“Ah, a traditional man,” I felt my face go warm as I spoke. I was embarrassing myself further, wasn’t I? “And, uh, how are you adjusting to the area?”

“I’m so used to living in the city, but a little town like this is a nice change of pace,” he gave an easy smile, and I relaxed a little.

“It’s a pretty easygoing town,” I agreed. “Cone or cup?”

“Cone. Lived here your whole life?” he asked, taking out a ten dollar bill and placing it on the counter.

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” I scooped out the ice cream. Sydney once told me we moved here when I was three, and that we moved around a lot prior to that after I came into the family. Sophie was the only one that was born here in our family. Handing him the cone, I asked “What brings you here?”

“I have a friend that lives here. But, I know if my mom had it her way, I would have stayed in New York with her.”

“So you’re here with your father than?”

“No, an old fellow named Mr. Smith. My father’s in New York with my mother,” Shayne didn’t meet my eyes for a moment. I handed him back his change. “They travel a lot, though, so James, my brother, lives with me and Mr. Smith.”

“So, who is Mr. Smith?” I asked.

“My butler.”

“Butler,” I could almost feel my mouth fall open –I hadn’t seen that one coming. “People still have butlers these days?”

“More than a butler, he’s like a guardian; our caretaker, per se.”

“Does that come with being British? The butler, I mean?”

“I lived in the United Kingdom for the vast majority of my life,” he laughed. “Well, damn. My secret is revealed.”

“Not a very good secret,” I said.

“True,” he agreed.

“So, your butler?” I encouraged.

“He’s more like our guardian –but he disapproves of the term ‘nanny.’”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t imagine why.”

“Right?” he chuckled.

“And you have a brother?” I was trying hard to avoid awkward pauses in conversation. Thankfully, he went with it.

“Yeah, he’s three years younger than me,” he said. “What about you –siblings?”

“I have three sisters. Two of them moved out a long time ago, and one lives Alberta while the other lives up North. Sophie, the one that still lives at home, is two years younger than me,” I told him. “She’s such a—”

“Pest?” he suggested. I nodded. “Yeah, James is the same. Every time I go somewhere at night, he just wants to come.”

“I
wish
Sophie was like that, it’d be easier to deal with her, but I don’t have a car –although I’ve just recently gotten my driver’s license –so I can’t go anywhere anyway. She’s always bugging me, pressing my buttons on purpose, butting heads,” I rolled my eyes. “Sometimes ‘pest’ doesn’t describe her, she’s more like a sister from hell.”

“Honestly, it’s the same with my brother,” he nodded. “I don’t know if it’s the age gap, but we don’t see eye-to-eye very often. But, at the end of the night, he’s my brother through and through.”

“I’ll admit I don’t understand Sophie,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “We’re the same generation, but how do we have so many differences in the two year gap?”

“Spoiled,” he shrugged. “The youngest ones are always the most spoiled.”

I wouldn’t say that was necessarily true within my family. Whenever I got into an argument with Sophie, our parents took my side. It was the same with my older sisters, and I think they all resented me for it. But I’d been fighting my own battles since I got my first period, so I didn’t know what their deal was.

“Maybe they should hook up,” I suggested. “Two of a kind, you know?”

He laughed, but didn’t deny or agree with me.

“Here’s a question. How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” he replied.

“Seventeen,” I said before he could ask. “So you’re out of high school then?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I currently help with my father’s business.”

“Which is?”

“Politics of sorts,” he said simply. His eyes seemed to be looking past me as he spoke those words.

“Politics… ouch… it must boring,” I teased. I hated politics, probably due to the fact that I never understood anything in class. I got the basics, but that was about it. And, to be honest, that’s all I needed for a passing grade.

“Yeah, excruciatingly so,” he nodded, his gaze coming back to my face, a slight smile gracing his lips. “But, my father insists I help. I think he just likes having someone to do his footwork.”

“Understandable,” I said. “Every politician has a footman, eh?”

He laughed again, and suddenly my insecurities were sneaking back into my mind. He thought I was awkward and weird, didn’t he? Lost his interest in me now that he was beginning to know me better?

“I should get going,” he said, glancing at his watch.

“Oh,” was all I could muster up. But instead of leaving, he leaned on the counter.

“So, I’ve had a few weeks to explore the town,” he began. “So I think I have enough confidence to take a girl on a date without feeling like an idiot.”

My disappointment was instantly washed away with a slight giddiness that I would never admit to aloud.

“That sounds good. But you’ll need this,” I told him smoothly, grabbing a pen and printing a blank receipt. I jotted down my phone number. “Here.”

“Perfect. I’ll message you later,” he told me, smiling as he looked down at it.

“I… look forward to it,” I said slowly, a small smile finding a home on my face. For the second time, I found myself watching as he disappeared into the night.

I sighed, content as I looked around the store, which was empty once again. Part of me wondered when he’d get around to messaging me. I’d never been on a date before. Wait until Maddie heard about this.

Olivia walked back into the store, carrying a sub and a bag of chips.

“Anything exciting happen while I was away?” she asked.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” I lied.

She laughed, heading into the back room to eat her dinner. “Story of my life.”

Chapter 4: Maddie

“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to make it. I can’t lose you.”

I opened my eyes slowly, the male voice sounding close and familiar. Sitting up quickly, I grabbed my phone and used it to shed light on the rest of my room. But no one was there.

“Remnants of a dream forgotten,” I murmured, taking a deep breath and letting my head fall back into my pillows. My heart pounded in my chest. I repeated the words, “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to make it. I can’t lose you.”

They sounded so familiar. Like I’d heard them before. But I couldn’t place a face to the voice. Nor could I put a timeline to the feeling of déjà vu.

I rolled onto my stomach, grabbing my notebook and flipping to the page with other dream notes on it. I glanced at my phone for the date. Two in the morning.

“Will I ever have a full night’s rest again?” I yawned and scribbled the date down, before jotting the words I’d woken up to underneath it. For three weeks, I’d been having these weird dreams, where I wake up with words, or a very, very specific mixture of feelings, or the image of something I’d never seen before. And I wrote them all down. Mostly, though, it was words. Sometimes one. Sometimes many.

“Apothecary,” I whispered into the darkness; it was the word from the night before. I looked it up on my phone during the day. It was a medicine maker of sorts, though I had no idea what it meant for my dreams, but I had a strong feeling that they were all connected.

What I’d gathered from everything so far was that someone had been rushing me someplace –presumably the Apothecary. The dreams were always fast paced. I’d wake up breathless, heart racing. Tonight, if anything, confirmed it.

“I can’t lose you,” I said again, closing my eyes. Waves of a dampened sorrow washed over me, the words sounding more heart wrenching than they had originally.

I wanted to tell Evelyn. I’d debated it constantly, but she’d laugh and chalk it up to reading one too many vampire stories. And maybe I had. Perhaps four years obsessing over the supernatural was finally paying its toll. However, my dreams had never been as intense, nor as repetitive as they were these days.

But who knew? Maybe everything meant nothing in the end.