Unfaithful (28 page)

What are you doing?
I mouthed. Evan had taken my hand and rested the tip of a black felt-tip pen on my skin. The teacher was explaining something, his back turned to us. Evan moved the pen across my palm, drawing a little heart.

“You’re the only subject I can focus on.” He smiled.

I raised my pencil to my lips and nibbled on it. “That’s because languages are easier for you. You know more than the teacher does,” I said, trying to follow the class.

Evan smiled at me with his eyes.

“So tell me, how many do you know, exactly?”

He laughed under his breath, counting on his fingers. “Hmm . . . Let’s see . . . There’s English, Italian, German, Nahuatl and—”

“Nah
what
?”

Evan shot me a sidelong grin.

“You’re just making fun of me,” I said resignedly, nudging his shoulder.

“You said it, not me.” He laughed again and then tried hard to be serious. “I know
all
languages, even the extinct ones. We need to in order to communicate with the souls entrusted to us,” he explained softly. “We acquire all knowledge with our first bite of—”

“A-
hem
.” The teacher cleared his throat and shot us a threatening glance.

Evan craned his neck toward me and I looked at him warningly. “I can always help you study . . . on the condition that you accept my proposal.” He batted his eyes at me, his face inches from mine.

“What proposal?” I whispered, puzzled.

“That we skip school. We still can.”

“You know, you were right about that business of being crazy,” I said, grinning, “but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until after school to be alone with me.” I shot him an alluring look.

He leaned toward my ear and breathed words through my hair, giving me goosebumps: “I’ll hold my breath until then.” His tone was sensual and provocative.

My eyelids fluttered and it took me a few moments to regain the power of speech. Evan seemed to enjoy causing difficulties for me; he was well aware of the effect he had on me. “Ooh, what a sacrifice,” I stammered, trying to come across as sarcastic. “You don’t need to breathe.” We both smiled as the teacher began to write letters with strange symbols on the board. During the silence that followed, Evan sought my hand under the desk and squeezed it. I returned the gesture, feeling a shiver run down my spine.

Empty.

How was this possible? I was stunned. “Gin! Remember to restock the fridge after you empty it!” I yelled from the kitchen, smiling to myself. Ginevra had finished all the food again.

“Order whatever you want, hon,” she replied affectionately from her place on the red leather couch as I continued to smile. “Home delivery!” she exclaimed, amused, as she abstractedly stroked Iron’s wrinkly head. Ginevra had been bringing him home with her ever since I started spending most of my time with them and now she couldn’t live without him.

“A cheese pizza wouldn’t be bad, actually.” I peeked around the three overlapping walls that separated the kitchen from the living room to look at Ginevra. Simon was lying on one end of the couch, his leg thrown over the back of it, and Evan was sunk into the cushions.

“One cheese pizza coming up!” she chimed.

I opened the fridge again and jumped back as a package of chocolate muffins tumbled from the top shelf, pushed forward by the mountain of food that had appeared. I blinked in surprise. “Don’t you think you overdid it a little? I’m not
that
hungry!” I said teasingly.

“Oh! Don’t worry, some of it’s for me.”

I shook my head and chose a carton of pineapple juice from the second shelf along with two candy bars and a slice of pizza. I shut the refrigerator door but heard Ginevra grumbling from the next room. “Hey!” she complained. I got the hint and opened the fridge again, taking out a second helping of everything, then awkwardly nudged the door shut, trying not to drop the food I was holding.

“While you’re at it, get some popcorn too! It’s in the top cabinet,” Simon called. “Oh, and don’t forget the soda! Hurry up! The movie’s about to start!”

“I’ve only got two hands!” I protested, joining them in the living room, my arms full of food. “You could help, you know.” Juggling the various containers, I shot a look at Ginevra.

“All you have to do is ask,” she murmured with a laugh. They all got a kick out of my human awkwardness. Sometimes I wondered if they asked me to do things just to have fun watching me do them. Relaxed, she continued to stare at the screen in front of her as the food floated out of my hands. Alarmed, I tried to grab it, but then saw it drifting through the air toward her and realized it hadn’t fallen—she’d taken it from me. I still wasn’t completely used to her magic and often felt like I was in a Disney movie.

Ginevra’s food moved straight toward her and she plucked it out of the air as the rest of the things continued to hover, waiting for someone to claim them. With a tinge of uneasiness, I reached out, took the slice of cheese pizza, and sank my teeth into it. “French fries would be good on this.” I sat down next to Evan and watched the food arrange itself on the crystal coffee table in front of us. Although it was all so unusual, I’d come to feel I was part of the family. Our closeness reassured me.

“Oh, I forgot to turn off the light,” I said. “Gin, would you mind?”

Ginevra gracefully flicked her pointer and middle fingers as if shooing away a pesky insect. It was an automatic gesture she didn’t need to make—she could exercise her powers using nothing but her mind—but sometimes she liked to be a little theatrical. The room instantly went dark though we were all still in our seats.

The movie was almost over but I’d only managed to pay attention to a few scenes. Having Evan’s body so close to mine distracted me from everything else. The way he stroked my hair and never took his eyes off me spoke volumes. A sort of static electricity surrounded us and in his eyes I saw the desire to leave the others in the living room and shut ourselves up in his room to break the rules a little.

That afternoon I’d turned down a trip to our hideaway so I could dedicate myself to a nobler pursuit: studying. I’d soon abandoned that, however, in favor of Ginevra’s far more enticing proposal that we all watch
Vampires Suck
.

“Anybody know what happened to Drake?” Simon asked as the credits filled the screen.

“I haven’t seen him since yesterday,” Ginevra said. “To tell you the truth I have the funny feeling he’s avoiding me. Is it the same with you guys?”

“I saw him a few hours ago. Why would he avoid you, G?” Simon asked.

“Feel like going out for some air?” I whispered to Evan, taking advantage of their conversation.

He had one foot on the floor and the rest of his body on the couch, his other leg draped over mine. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, the gleam of desire in his eyes mirroring his thoughts.

“I don’t care. You choose. Anywhere’s fine,” I said in a low voice.

An unspoken proposal glinted in his gaze. “Don’t tempt me,” he whispered, tilting his head. “If you do, I’ll have to take you up to my room.” He raised an eyebrow, his expression provocative.

“I was thinking more of getting some ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s.”

“Do you ever think about anything but food?” Simon looked at me, amazed.

“Yeah, Gemma, what’s been going on with your appetite lately?” asked Ginevra, who was sitting next to us.

“She’s been spending too much time with you,” Simon told her, grinning.

“This was actually supposed to be a private conversation,” I said in a mock-threatening tone.

“What a witch you are!” Ginevra accused me, pinching my side.

I opened my mouth, taken aback but smiling. “Look who’s talking.”

“Want to come with us?” Evan asked them, but only to be polite.

“Spare me the pleasantries—I’m not buying it.” Ginevra rolled her eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. In fact, please spare me that too!” she said sardonically. “Just, when you get back, can you take a look at my car? There’s something wrong with it.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Evan asked.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be asking you, would I?”

“Very funny! You might as well admit you like the idea of me being the one to take care of it,” her brother scoffed. Ginevra threw a piece of popcorn at his back. “I’m sure I’ll have to change the brake pads too,” he said. “Last time you literally burned up the brakes. Again.”

“Make sure not to add too much pressure to the back tires to try to destabilize me or I’ll burn the tires again too.”

“I don’t need to sabotage you when I can beat you fair and square.”

“Don’t be so sure about that. The drifting brakes I had you install will help me beat you around the curves, little brother.”

“I’ve told you a thousand times you’ve got to downshift before entering a turn. When are you finally going to start heeding the advice of an expert?” he asked with a grin of satisfaction.

“Just as soon as an expert gives me advice,” she shot back.

Evan laughed out loud. Ginevra would never give in.

“Were you really serious about going to Ben and Jerry’s?” Evan whispered as if hoping to hear a completely different proposal.

I nodded as we left the house. “Why not? Let’s go for a drive, soldier,” I replied, making my way down the walk.

“As you wish,” he murmured, holding back a smile as he opened the door of the BMW for me.

I looked out the window as we drove back from Mirror Lake a couple of hours later. It was strange how the place I was born and raised appeared in a new light now that I was sharing it with someone important. What was even odder was how everything appeared normal and unchanged. The shop windows, the people walking down Main Street . . . nothing seemed to have altered in the Lake Placid I’d always known. And yet nothing about the way I perceived the world was the same, as if Evan had lifted the veil from my eyes that had prevented me from seeing the reality hidden behind the appearances. Evan was an Angel, Ginevra a Witch, and I knew the true purpose of human life. I knew the answers mankind had sought for millennia. I’d seen Eden; I knew what awaited us. I’d been given a gift. If only I could share it with others, spread the incredible awareness. How would it change the lives of every other person on earth? The world would never be the same again.

“What are you thinking about?” Evan’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. His expression was serious, his hands gripping the black leather-covered steering wheel. Not knowing what was going on in my mind frustrated him.

“Just people-watching.” I paused, staring through the closed window, my eyes unfocused. “They have no idea what’s actually happening.”

“Just like you not so long ago.” He smiled, but I remained serious.

“What’s so special about me? I don’t deserve to know more than anyone else does,” I acknowledged, my tone pensive.

Evan smiled again in satisfaction. “You deserve it because of what you just said.” There was a long silence. “Hungry?” he asked, tilting his head and deliberately changing the subject as he turned onto Main Street.