The Hidden (The Hidden Trilogy) (16 page)

“I need to know your whole life story,” he said. “That’s the kind of thing a friend would know, right?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess… What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with the basics. When’s your birthday?” He leaned in and listened intently, like what I had to say was vital information.

“You just missed it.” It was amusing how seriously he took this. “It was August twentieth.”

He frowned. “Oh. That’s too bad. How’d you celebrate?”

“I didn’t. I was stuck in the car, driving up here from Dallas.”

He grimaced. “That’s rough. So that makes you…eighteen or nineteen?”

“Nineteen. What about you?”

“Twenty and my birthday is April twenty-first,” he said. “What’s your favorite color?”

Lost in his impossibly pale blue eyes, I murmured, “Blue,” without really thinking. I really liked that color before I met Thomas, but since I’d met him…well, I think it was my favorite color now. “What’s yours?”

“Gold.” He got a wicked look about him, like he had a secret no one else knew.

“That’s an unusual answer.”

He shrugged. “It’s a color. And it’s breathtaking, if you ask me.” That faint smile tugged on his lips before he moved on. “Next question. Where were you born?”

“Dallas. You?”

“Brentford. It’s a suburb of London.”

My head tilted. “You’re British?” He didn’t
sound
British.

“We moved to the States when I was pretty young.”

I nodded. “Oh.”

He grinned. “My turn. Any siblings?”

I shook my head. “I’m an only child.”

Surprise crossed his face. “Really?”

I nodded again. “I’m adopted, and my parents can’t have kids of their own, so...”

“Do you know anything about your biological parents?” he asked.

When I bit my lip, he said, “I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He looked embarrassed. 

I shook my head. “It’s not that. I just don’t know very much.” I crossed my arms. “My mom was a teenage runaway, and I don’t know anything about my dad.”

Thomas frowned, like he was deep in thought. 

I shouldn’t have said anything.

I shifted, irrationally ashamed of the way I came into this world. I knew it was pointless–I had no control over the circumstances surrounding my conception–but it still made me a little insecure. 

I cleared my throat. “So, yeah… That’s all I know. Oh, and I know what she looks like. I keep a picture of her in my wallet.”

“Do you look like her?”

“She’s beautiful, so I’d like to think so.”

The corners of his lips lifted. “You’ve got nothing to worry about there.”

My cheeks reddened. I toyed with the straw wrapper, balling up the paper as I asked, “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

“I have a twin sister.”

“Really?” Now it was
my
turn to be surprised. “Does she go to school here?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Apparently.”

I opened my mouth to ask what that meant, but he cut me off. “What’s your middle name?”

“Grace. It’s kind of ironic, I know.”

He frowned. “Why is that ironic?”

I laughed. “You’ve met me. I have none.”

He shook his head. “Nonsense–you have plenty of grace. It suits you perfectly.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re lying out your ass, but thanks anyway.” I smiled at him as he laughed. “What about you? What’s your middle name?”

“Thayer. It’s my father’s name. All right, let’s see…next question…” His brows drew together in deep concentration, his fingers tapping the table. It was flattering yet weird how he took this so seriously. “I’ve got it,” he continued. “What’s your favorite flower?”

“Roses. They’re generic, I know, but they’re so pretty… I don’t suppose you have a favorite flower?”

He laughed lightly. “You suppose right. Uh… What’s your major?”

“I’m still undeclared. You?”

“Art history.”

My eyes widened a fraction. “Really? That’s not what I would’ve guessed.”

He smirked. “What would you have guessed?”

I shrugged. “Maybe business or something…” I took a sip of water. “Are we done with the questions yet?”

“Of course not,” he replied, smiling. “Who’s your favorite author?”

I mulled it over and frowned. “I’m not sure if I could pick just one.”

“Favorite genre, then?”

That
I could answer. “Science fiction and fantasy. Pretty much anything that’s not in the realm of reality.” I looked out the window next to us. “Reality is pretty boring.” At least it
was
, up until I met Thomas.

“Why’d you pick a school so far from home?” 

I knew that question would come up eventually. “My grandma used to live here, and I loved coming up to visit her. We don’t have woods like these in Dallas, and this place always seemed kinda...magical.” I shrugged and let out a soft laugh. “Does that sound crazy?”

“Not at all... So your grandma doesn’t live here anymore?”

I shook my head and looked around the restaurant. “She died when I was nine.”

His face paled. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. “My turn. Do you have a girlfriend?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No.”

“Why is that so funny?”

He shrugged. “If you knew me better, you’d think it was funny too.” He leaned back and crossed his arms, his jovial mood slowly vanishing. “What about you? Is there a Mr. Emily back home I should be worried about?”

The weight of his stare made me want to look away, but I held my ground. “Not anymore. We broke up over the summer.”

“I’d say that’s too bad, but I’d be lying. Was it serious?”

“Not for me.”

Thomas cocked a brow, but didn’t get to say anything as Amber returned to our table with our food. I was glad for the distraction. I didn’t want to talk about Derek.

“Here you go, sweetie,” she said to Thomas, placing his plate in front of him as she flashed him a huge grin. She placed my plate in front of me without saying a word. “Enjoy your meal,” she said before leaving to attend to another table.

“This burger smells awesome,” I said, trying to ignore Amber’s obvious distaste for me. I picked it up and took a bite. “Oh my god,” I said, completely forgetting that I had food in my mouth. I swallowed and took a sip of water. “This is
really
good.”

Thomas grinned. “Best burgers in town.”

Amber came to take our empty plates after we’d finished. “Would you like any dessert?” she asked. The question was intended for Thomas and the dessert was clearly a metaphor for sex.

I kind of wished they’d just do it on the table and get it over with already.

“You want anything else?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “Thanks, though.” I forced a smile at Amber, trying to be the bigger person.

Thomas politely smiled up at her. “No, thank you.”

Her face fell, but she quickly composed herself. “All right then.” She set the bill on the table. “Have a good day,” she said before stalking off.

I pulled a twenty out of my pocket and reached for the bill.

“Put that away.” He set cash down on top of the bill. “I invited you, so I’m paying.”

I shrugged and stuffed the money back in my pocket. I had to watch Amber throw herself at Thomas for the past hour, so I might as well get a free meal out of it.

My pocket vibrated and I pulled out my phone. It was a message from Beth:

@ the library. Don’t c u…

I bit my lip and ignored her text, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

“Is something wrong?” Thomas asked.

I shook my head and stuck my phone back in my pocket. “It’s nothing.”

He smiled. “You’re a terrible liar.”

I looked out the window at the passing cars. “I told Beth I couldn’t make lunch ’cause I was going to the library instead. Well, apparently she went there and saw that I…wasn’t.”

“Why didn’t you just tell Beth you were having lunch with me?” He didn’t seem offended, just amused.

Amber came over and leaned across the table to pick up Thomas’s empty glass, practically shoving her tits in his face in the process.

“
That’s
why,” I muttered after she left.

He looked confused. “What’s Amber got to do with this?”

I crossed my arms. “Oh,
come on
. You can’t honestly tell me you never had a thing with Tits McGee over there,” I said, hitching my thumb towards Amber.

“No, actually, I haven’t.” He seemed sincere–he looked me straight in the eye, his face dead serious. Something flickered in his eyes and he looked away. “I get it. Someone’s already filled you in on all the details of my supposed sex life.” He slid out of the booth. “You know, you really shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” He brushed past a waitress and made his way to the exit.

Damn it…

I followed him outside, trailing behind him to his car. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean– I’m sorry.”

He opened the driver’s side door, but paused before getting in. “Why are you here?” he asked me across the roof of his car. “If you
really
thought I was the hit it and quit it type, then why are you here?”

I lowered my eyes to the ground and kicked a pebble with my flip-flop. “I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. You said you wanted to be friends, and I figured I could at least
try
to be your friend…even if I thought you were a whore–”

He cut me off by getting in the car and slamming the door behind him. I pulled on the handle and opened my door, climbing in next to him. He sat there for several seconds, looking down at the keys in his hands before shaking his head to himself. “I can’t believe you think so poorly of me,” he murmured. “You really weren’t kidding when you called me an asshole.”

God
, I was an awful person. I’d never felt so horrible in my entire life. It broke my heart to see his beautiful face so sad. 

I reached out, but paused. “Thomas, I–”

He looked up. “Did I ever do
anything
in there to encourage Amber?”

I pulled my hand back. “Well, no, but–”

“Exactly.” His jaw clenched. “I never led her on in
any
capacity, and you–”

“
Thomas
,” I cut in. “I’m sorry. I assumed you went from girl to girl based on what some idiot told me. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

His jaw slowly unclenched. After a couple seconds of silence, he smiled. “So you’d be my friend even if I was a whore?”

I rolled my eyes as laughter bubbled out of me. “
That’s
what you choose to focus on?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? It caught my attention.”

I buckled my seat belt, glancing at him. “Yeah, I would. Turns out you’re not quite the asshole I thought you were.”

He grinned and started the car. “Told you.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Friday, September 4
th

EMILY

I paused before leaving my bedroom, doing one final check in the full-length mirror hanging on the back of my closet door.

Hmm, not bad.

I grabbed my bag off my bed, slung it over my shoulder, and went out into the living room. “Are you ready?” I called out to Beth.

She came out of her bedroom, eyes down as she dug through her backpack. “I don’t know what the hell I did with my–” She glanced up, stopping when she saw me. “Oh my god.” 

“What?” I looked down at my clothes. Was there a stain I’d missed? What the hell was she gawking at?

A huge grin spread across her face. “You dressed up for him.” There was an accusatory tone to her voice.

“What?” I pretended my face wasn’t redder than a fire truck as I walked to the front door. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, grabbing my keys off the table next to the door.

“Liar!” she squealed. “I
knew
it. I knew you liked him.”

I rolled my eyes and walked out into the hall. I didn’t need to hear this. I didn’t have
time
to hear it. If we didn’t leave right now, we’d be late for sociology. Well, Beth would be late for sociology.
I
was already on my way.

The door slammed behind me and I heard Beth lock it before she ran to catch up with me. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, squeezing into the elevator before the doors closed. “Why are you pretending not to like him?”

“I don’t even know who you’re talking about,” I lied. 

“Oh,
come on
. Look at you. Your hair and makeup are flawless, you’re wearing a miniskirt, your legs have this kind of sheen you only find on models, and your boobs… Well, quite frankly I’m jealous of them. You might as well have it written across your shirt, in big, bold letters–I LOVE THOMAS.” 

The elevator doors slid open. I continued my trek to class, and continued to pretend we weren’t having this conversation. 

“Don’t get me wrong, you look hot,” Beth continued. “But it’s obvious–at least to me–that you’re totally into him.”

I stopped walking and whirled around to face her. “I’m
not
–” No, I was not going to be sucked into this. I started walking again, quickly crossing our building’s lobby and exiting through the double doors, squinting when the sun hit me in the face. “What, I can’t look nice?”

Beth scoffed as she trailed after me, using her hand as a visor. “Emily, you have a face and body most girls would kill for. You can’t ever
not
look nice. It’s disgusting, really.”

I smirked. “Gee, thanks for calling me disgusting.”

She laughed. “No problem, you’ve really earned it. And Thomas is disgusting too, with his perfect…
everything
. You two will be very happy together.” 

“We’re not–” I sighed. “We’re just friends.”

“Like I haven’t heard
that
before,” she said. “By the way, I am
loving
your shirt. It makes your boobs look awesome. It’s got a nice balance between being tight and low-cut, but without being too slutty. Do you think I could borrow it tomorrow night?”