Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (196 page)

Michael
must have caught my expression because he chuckled as he got into
the driver’s seat. Nervous, I plopped down in the seat beside him
and fumbled with the seat belt. He reached over and took it from me
to click it in. I let out a small gasp as our hands touched. His
hand went from ice cold to searing hot.

A
current of hot and cold seared up my arm, all the way to my
shoulder. My free hand instinctly went to my shoulder. I rubbed it.
The weirdest hot and cold sensations assaulted my palm.

Grace
chattered the entire ride out to the park. I kept trying to listen,
but Michael’s close proximity made it impossible to
concentrate.

“
Rouge?” Grace tapped my shoulder, making me jump. “Are you
going to get out or just stay in the car?”

I
glanced out the window. We’d parked along a line of trees with a
sandy beach off to the right. “Sorry.” I fumbled with the catch in
my seat belt, trying to get out as fast as I could, heat burning my
face and neck.

Michael
got out and held his seat back forward so Grace could crawl out,
their heads bent close, talking quietly. His face was etched with
concern, but I couldn’t miss Grace mutter, “I can take care of
myself -- and Rouge.”

Michael
set his lips in a thin line. “Fine. Have fun.” He jumped into the
Mustang and sped away.

“
Everything all right?” Too bad they fought. I wouldn’t have
minded trying to talk to him, or simply having him near would’ve
been fine with me.

“
We’re good.” Grace pulled on my jacket and pointed toward the
noise on the beach. “Michael’s a little, um, overprotective.
Caleb’s made him that way. Michael worries way too much about me,
and it’s obvious he doesn’t want you to get hurt either. He likes
you. He just won’t admit it yet.”

“
What?” I stopped walking and put my hand on her forearm. My
heart skipped every other beat.

“
He’s my brother. Trust me, he likes you.” She rolled her eyes.
“The look on his face was priceless when he walked into my room.
You’re definitely going to make some first impressions this evening
too.”

I’d
rather hang out by the shadows. However, if Michael might be
interested, I think could handle a little spotlight. My face
scorched. “You sure about Mi—”

“
Positive.” Grace laughed. “Come on. Let me introduce you to
our senior class, and I’ll point out the cute boys. We might as
well make Michael jealous while we’re here.”

We made
our way through the parked cars towards the music. Someone had
attached huge stereo speakers to a pickup backed onto the sand.
Outdoor lawn torches, which also seemed to keep the bugs at bay,
were set up to maximize lighting the area. Lawn chairs lay
scattered around the fire pit and small groups were all over the
place.

“
So, which one of these cliques is yours?” I wished I’d just
worn a sweatshirt and no makeup.

“
I kind of float around. We've lived here three years, and I
still kind of feel like the new girl.”

Definitely a popular
girl
.
Grace had no idea
what being the new girl actually meant.

Skipping
the pathway, we climbed over large boulders and jumped the three
foot drop onto the beach. Somehow, Grace had gotten her shoes off
before we landed, her feet barely making an impression in the sand.
My Mary Janes filled instantly with the cool particles, but I chose
to keep them on.

“
Heads up!”

A
football flew in our direction. I ducked out of the way while Grace
caught it with one hand, not even pausing in her stride. A cute,
dark-haired, athletic-looking boy came jogging up.

“
Nice catch, G!” He skidded to a stop. “Whoa, wait a moment.
Who’s the new hot-chick?”

“
Simon, your ball.” Grace tossed the football expertly. “This
is Rouge.”

Simon
bowed dramatically. “Welcome to Port Q High’s unofficial
before-school-starts official party night.” He held out his
hand.

“
Hey.” This guy babbled like a girl back at my old high school
who drank Red Bull all the time.

“
Let me introduce you to the rest of the gangstas.” He grabbed
Grace’s and my hands, pulling us over to the group of guys waiting
for the football. “This is Tommy, Damon, Sean and Jake.” Except for
one, all were similar build to Simon. The other guy was absolutely
huge with these dark, almost black eyes. He seemed to be shooting
daggers at Grace.

I
stepped close to Grace. “What’s with the big guy?”

“
He’s interested. I’m not.” She rubbed her forehead with the
back of her hand, making an “L” shape with her fingers. “Loser,”
she whispered.

Simon
stuck close by me, trying his best to entertain. Twenty minutes
later, I needed space to breathe. I tried to catch Grace’s
attention, but she was chatting away with Sean or Jake, I couldn’t
remember which one. “Bathroom break. Where are they?”

“
Up the hill. Over there.” He pointed in the direction. “Do you
see the line of trees? Just follow them and where the one big tree
is, they’re just behind there. See a few people heading back? I can
take you.”

“
No!” I’d rather die. “Uh, no thanks, I’m pretty sure I can
find my way.” I stood and made a beeline for the trees. Glancing
back, Grace stood by Simon, blocking my view of him. Quickly
sneaking into the forest, I figured I had about four minutes before
Simon came looking for me.

Simon
was nice but a little overbearing. He seemed the long-term kind of
guy. I planned on bolting after graduation. Now, Michael, he might
be an interesting short-term thing. I scoffed. Who was I
kidding?

The
thick grass and leaves muffled the music and noise from the beach,
making it peaceful. I walked farther into the trees. Enjoying the
moment, I leaned back against a large oak tree, closing my
eyes.

The
cicadas, crickets and every other insect around me abruptly went
quiet. A strange, hushed silence. The hairs on the nape of my neck
rose. Holding my breath, I strained to hear something, anything,
around me. Opening my eyes, I stared into the forest. Eyes not
adjusted to the dark, I couldn’t make anything out but trees and
shadows.

My heart
hammered over-adrenalized and fight or flight screamed. Stumbling,
I suddenly couldn’t remember the way back to the beach. Muffled
music seemed to come from all around. Placing the sound grew
impossible. The blood rushing in my ears made it even harder to
concentrate.

Swallowing hard, I took a tentative step forward and froze.
In front of me, a pair of large amber-yellow eyes with obscenely
black pupils shone crystal-clear in the dark. A low, guttural growl
escaped from the darkness. Hot putrid breath slid across my face. I
nearly gagged.

Whatever
the freakin’ thing was, it was mammoth. I couldn’t find an outline
of its body, just a shadow. Terrified, I was positive if I screamed
the thing would jump out and attack me before I could get the sound
out.

“
Crap, crap, crap…” Body still frozen, I
looked left to right and tried not to move my head.
Hadn’t Grace said
she could take care of both of us
?
“Grace…Michael?” I whispered. Shuffling slightly
around the tree, my eyes never left the spot where the wicked
monster stood. Tears of fear ran down my cheeks when I bumped into
the rough bark of the tree behind me.

This is it.
There was nothing I could do. I’d walked
straight into this den of death. Realizing the certainty, I exhaled
a slow breath, willing my heart to calm. I began to hear and think
more clearly. Someone called my name. The monster’s eyes shifted
slightly, as if it too listened.

I
managed a hoarse whisper, “Over here.”

A snarl
filled the air and the yellow-eyed beast disappeared too fast for
anything that size. Suddenly, Michael appeared, lifting me like a
feather and cradling me tight against him. His hot chest, cool
breath and husky scent distracted me from the terror behind us. In
seconds, we were out of the forest, in the lightened area by the
bathrooms. Grace came rushing over.

“
What the heck happened?” Her brows crushed together and chest
rose with fell in quick bursts.

Too
soon, Michael set me down on the grass carefully, like a flower
that might break.

The horrible eyes wouldn’t clear from my
memory. “I, um, I, damn it! Sorry. Just give me a sec.” I pressed
my hands on my knees, bending over and trying to fill my lungs with
the air I’d forgotten to breathe. “I stepped into the edge of the
trees to give myself a break…from Simon. Everything went all voodoo
quiet, a-and this
huge
thing with funky eyes showed up!” I shivered, looking
behind them to the trees and darkness. It had happened,
right?

“
Stay here. I’m going to have a look.” Michael disappeared into
the forest.

I
reached out. “You can’t –” I sputtered, but Grace held me back. “He
can’t go in there. It isn’t safe.”

She
pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh…It’s all right. Michael’s going
to see if he can catch it.” She gripped my hand.

“
Catch it? Are you crazy?” My voice rose and I pulled away. “I
couldn’t tell where the thing ended or where the shadows
began.”

Michael
emerged from the tree line.

Relief
flooded through my veins. Shaking his head, he looked
ticked.

He
grabbed our elbows and started to steer us towards the parked cars.
“Time to go, ladies. This party’s over.” He turned to Grace,
whispering, but I caught everything. “It’s gone…caught the scent
but it took off as soon as it heard us.” His pace picked
up.

Grace
jumped in the backseat. Michael patiently, but not looking so
patient, helped me into the front and clicked my seat belt
in.

We
pulled out of the parking area.

“
Wait! The rest of the kids. Someone needs to warn
them.”

“
It won’t be back.”

“
You don’t know that for sure.”

“
Positive.” Michael’s curt reply stopped me from asking
again.

I didn’t
argue. For some reason, I believed him. We drove the rest of the
way in silence.

Parking
the Mustang with the same annoyingly-crazy driving skills as Grace,
Michael shoved the car into park. As he ripped the keys out of the
ignition, he glanced into his rear-view mirror. “I need to talk to
Caleb. Take Rouge inside. Get her something sugary to drink. It’ll
take the edge off.”

“
I’m fine.”

“
You’re in shock. Head to Grace’s room. I’ll come up later when
I’m finished.” His fingers raked through his hair, he gave me a
quick smile and then he ran into the house.

Grace
and I made our way at a much slower pace into the house and up the
stairs. I struggled into a pair of jogging pants and a tank top, my
body too numb to function properly. Dropping onto the bed, I lay on
my back, dazed.

“
I’ll grab you something to drink.” She slipped out the
door.

I
thought about the creature and curled up on my side, hugging my
knees. My heart thumped hard and fast again my chest. “What kinda
creature were you?” I mumbled to myself. Something escaped from the
zoo? A wild animal from the mountains? I kept seeing the weird,
amber-yellow eyes flash against the white walls. They continued to
stay there, except set against blackness.

Popping
my eyes open, I forced them to blink and focus. I’d fallen asleep.
The lights were still on in the room, but the house was quiet.
Glancing at my watch, it was after two. I crawled out of bed to
find Grace.

As I
walked out of the room, Michael came up the stairs.

“
You should get some more sleep.” The concern on his face made
me melt a tiny bit.

“
Is everything okay?” I was paranoid I might wake someone. “I
hope I didn’t cause any problems?”

He
smiled and turned me gently back towards the bedroom. Dazed, I
crawled back into bed and watched him sit down on the edge. My gaze
followed the outline of his body. I didn’t realize he’d spoken.
“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that one more time?” I
whispered.

“
Everything’s fine. We’ve been downstairs in Caleb’s office.
You didn’t cause any problems. That’s silly thinking. You don’t
need to worry anymore.”

“
Do you know what that
thing
was?”

He
sighed then finally nodded. “I’ve a pretty good idea.”

“
Would you care to enlighten me?” I tried to read his face but,
apart from a tiny frown, it remained expressionless.

“
Not at the moment, but I’ll explain it when I can.” His answer
was loaded with implications which only created more
questions.

“
Would it have killed me?” My voice was calmer than my
insides.

He sat
silent for a moment, his knuckles cracking as he squeezed them.
“Yes.”