Blue Violet (7 page)

Ellie kept her
word and didn’t go near the Jenner and Pierce properties, although she couldn’t
resist occasionally turning her powerful sight in their direction, hoping to
catch a glimpse of any of them. She had no luck, however. Cold and tired, she
eventually turned back for home. Once she reached the clearing where she’d
started, Ellie quickly morphed back into her human form, fully clothed. The
control of her shift happened in her mind, and so when she returned to human
form, it was exactly how she’d left it. She’d always been entertained by
descriptions of shifters in stories showing them as naked when they turned back
to human, thankful that that wasn’t how it worked.

“That was
stretching it a bit, don’t you think?” Griffin called out the second she walked
in the door. So he
had
been watching.

“If you don’t
want me to block you from reading my mind completely, I suggest you keep your
nose out of my business and have a little faith,” she replied using the fake voice
she knew drove her brother nuts. She found him in his room reading a book. She
paused in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “I stuck to the plan.”

He grunted and
narrowed his eyes.

“I’m going to
get some homework done, and then I’m going to sleep,” Ellie continued, too
tired to argue. She knew he didn’t approve of her decision to come here,
despite his agreeing to help her. In Ellie’s mind it was too important to pass
up this chance. More important than keeping the peace with her twin.

The next
morning at five-thirty on the dot, Alex pulled into the parking space beside
Ellie’s car.

Ellie didn’t
need Griffin’s mind reading ability to know that the bleary-eyed, I’m-so-tired
routine Alex gave her was a pretense. He was Svatura after all. He needed just
as little sleep as she did. But she grinned and played along.

“Come on, sleepyhead.”
She grabbed his sleeve, careful not to touch him directly, and pulled him on to
the path. “Time to wake up and get moving.”

They both
started jogging. Alex adjusted his pace to stay beside Ellie.

“So do you
compete in track at school?” Alex asked after a few minutes of comfortable
silence while they jogged. 

“Nah.”

“Do you
participate in any extracurricular activities?” he prodded.

“Not yet. I’ve
only been at this school a little while,” she reminded him.

“Well, what
about at your previous school?”

“Yeah, a few,”
she answered.

Alex chuckled.
“There’s that vagueness again.”

“Ugh. Sorry!”
Ellie snagged a loose lock of hair and tucked it behind her ear. “I mostly
participated in academic extracurricular activities like scholastic
competitions and language clubs.”

“Ah! So you’re
a brainiac rather than a jock?”

“Not really.”

“Because…?”
Alex prompted after a lengthy pause.

“Mostly
because we move so much.  It’s easier to get into academic activities because
the seasons for athletic activities are very specific, and I’d frequently miss
try outs.”

“You move a
lot, huh?” Alex almost sounded disappointed at that news, but glancing at his
face Ellie could only see mild curiosity and so dismissed that thought as
wishful thinking.

“Yeah, family
reasons.” Ellie shrugged.

Alex cocked an
eyebrow at her, mouthing, “
Vague
.”  Ellie responded by wrinkling her
nose at him.

“What about
you? Law intern, huh? You must be some sort of brainiac yourself.”

“Nah,” Alex
shrugged modestly. “I just worked really hard in school. I plan to go into
environmental law like my dad.”

“Any sports?”

“Not really.
Like you, we’ve moved around a lot.  You know… family reasons.” Alex winked.

Ellie just
pursed her lips and shook her head at him.

They chatted
easily the rest of their run, and eventually made their way around the lake,
arriving back at the point where they started. As they leaned against their
cars to stretch out their muscles Alex said, “Breakfast?”

“Sorry. Can’t.
I have some more studying to do for class.” Ellie lied.

“Maybe
tomorrow, then,” he said, trying not to appear disappointed. 

Ellie’s heart
rate picked up and she smothered a dorky grin. “Sure.”

“Same time and
place?”

Ellie nodded.
“See you here.”

They hopped in
their cars and with a wave, both drove away.

*****

Alex headed
home from his run with Ellie with mixed feelings. She really was adorable,
although a little reticent about her background. When he’d seen her at the
coffee shop the previous morning, he’d thought about walking away before she’d
noticed him. But something about her drew him to her, and he’d approached her
despite all the reasons he knew he shouldn’t. And then he’d gone and not only
asked to run with her, but he’d practically insisted on it. And now he’d made
it a standing thing between them.

What are
you doing Alex?
He questioned himself. As much as everything in him
insisted that he pursue her, it simply wasn’t possible. And beyond stupid.
Regardless of the age difference, he might be putting her in danger based on
Lucy’s latest premonitions.
I have no choice. I’ll keep everything light and
casual with Ellie, and walk away if things got intense.
He made the mental
vow.

And then he
immediately went back on those few good intensions by texting her again later
that night.

“Hey.”

“Hey back atchya.”
Alex
chuckled. He loved her sassy little text comebacks.

“Had fun on our run this morning.”

“ : ) Me too.”

“We still on for tomorrow?”

“Same bat time, same bat channel.”

Alex shook his
head, completely confused.
“Huh?”

“Didn’t you ever watch that old hokey
Batman show on TV?”

“Lol. Can’t say that I did.”

“Sheesh. I thought everyone knew that
expression. You missed out.”

“Sounds like it. See you tomorrow.”

“With bells on.”

Ellie’s life
fell into a pattern. At school, there were a few more people she recognized. A
few more friendly faces in the halls. Her days of being the focal point of
everyone’s curiosity were over. Now she was just another regular student.

Meanwhile, she
was becoming addicted to her mornings with Alex. They’d take a quick run around
the lake and then breakfast at the little shop where they’d bumped into each
other the first time. They chatted about any and everything, a casual comfort
stealing into their interaction that had Ellie opening up a little bit more
each day.

She felt a
little thrill when she thought about their time together, despite the fact that
he treated her more like a little sister than anything else. A disappointment
she chose to ignore for the time being. And he’d stopped the flirty little
texts. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that either. Thankfully, Griffin
had kept whatever thoughts he had about the situation to himself. 

Ellie spent
time with the Adelaide, Lila, and Nate at school, and felt like they were
becoming true friends. Although they never mentioned how Alex and Ellie met
every morning to run. After the first day, Griffin informed her that Alex
hadn’t shared this fact with his family yet. So Ellie kept their secret.

One day, as
she was just about to get into her car, Ellie heard someone calling her name
and turned around.

 “How’s it
going?” Adelaide asked once she made her way over. She searched in her purse,
pulled out sunglasses, and popped them on.

“Same ol’,
same ol’.” Ellie grinned, leaning an arm along the top of the car door.

Adelaide got
straight to the point. “So, I know it’s been a while since I asked…” She gave
Ellie an apologetic look. “But things seem to have calmed down at home since
Alex got back. So how about that study session we talked about?”

Ellie had been
patiently waiting for this invitation. Griffin had assured her that it would
come eventually, but it had been almost two months and she’d started to lose
hope. “Sure! That sounds great!”

“Okay. So how
does Thursday night sound to you?”

They had a
French test coming up, so it was perfect timing. Ellie had a ready answer this
time, and, for once, was thankful for the recent snowfall.

 “Um…” Ellie
feigned remorseful surprise. “I’d love to come over, except my family doesn’t
feel comfortable with me driving all the way to your house in the dark while
it’s snowing. We didn’t have snow very often where I was in Texas, and I’m not
very good at driving in it yet.”

“Oh.” Adelaide
bit her lip, clearly disappointed. But Ellie had a plan. She couldn’t invite
them to her house; Griffin needed to stay off their radar for as long as
possible. Plus, she’d have to explain about having no parents. While she and
Griffin already had their story prepared, Ellie didn’t want to lie to her new
friends. But there were other places they could study.

A little
hesitantly she asked, “Would your parents be okay with you staying in town and
studying at the library with me?”

Adelaide
perked up. “Yeah! At least, I think they’d be fine with that.”

“We could
study after school, and maybe get some pizza for dinner before you go home?”

“Sounds
great!  I’ll ask my parents tonight. Is tomorrow still okay?”

“Sure.”

As the two
girls exchanged hugs, a car horn sounded close by. Adelaide turned, raised her
hand and waved. “There’s Alex.” Turning back to Ellie she explained, “He had to
borrow the car today so he’s picking us up. Gotta go, see you tomorrow.” She skipped
away to join Lila and Nate.

Ellie fought
with herself for a moment. She wasn’t quite sure what to think about the fact
that her friends didn’t appear to know about her morning runs with their
brother. Not wanting to turn around and see him and unable to resist it at the
same time, she lost the battle and glanced over her shoulder, her gaze
immediately colliding with Alex’s.

She had no
idea why, but a blush crept slowly up her face. Annoyed with her lack of
self-control on so many levels, she moved to get into her own car, only to be
stopped by Jill. They’d become friends over the last few months. Jill was a
sweet girl, but a little boy-crazy.

 “Did you see
Alex Jenner?” Jill gave a dramatic sigh. “He is just
so
gorgeous!”

Ellie grinned
her mutual appreciation. “Do you know him?”

“No.” Jill’s
expression was hilariously tragic. “He graduated a few years ago. Before I was
in high school. I think he’s a sophomore in college now.”

 “Oh…” Ellie was
at a loss for words. “Well, I’d better get home. See ya, Jill!” And with a
wave, she hopped in her car and drove away.

The following
day as she was pulling into the school parking lot, Ellie saw Adelaide’s car pull
in behind her. Once again, Alex was driving his siblings to school. He parked
in the spot next to hers and came over to her door.

“Hi, Ellie.”

“Hi, Alex,”
she replied, mimicking his casual attitude. Ellie looked around, unable to
think of anything else to say since she’d just seen him earlier that morning,
and became aware of the three pairs of curious eyes watching them.

“Hi, guys!”
She gave Lila and Adelaide quick hugs, as always making sure she was careful
not to touch their skin.

“Bye, Alex,” Lila
called over her shoulder.  They turned in tandem to walk into the school.

“Bye,” he
called back. “See you later, Ellie…”

Ellie turned
to smile back at him, and found him watching her with an oddly intent look. And
the blush, the one that she was beginning to truly hate, flamed up her face
again and she turned away as quickly as she could. She thought she heard his
soft chuckle as she continued to hurry away. She just barely suppressed a hum
of frustration.

I must’ve
looked like a blithering idiot,
Ellie thought. She couldn’t believe how she
could be so awkward with Alex now, but so comfortable with him when they met in
the mornings. Lila linked an arm through Ellie’s, pulling her away from her inward
contemplation.

“If it’s okay,”
Lila started, “Can we get a ride with you to the library after school?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks!  Alex
is using the car again today. He’ll pick us up when we’re done with dinner.”

“Sounds like a
plan,” Ellie said.

The day
dragged on. Ellie found that even her favorite classes, English and French,
were particularly boring today. She spent a lot of time absentmindedly doodling
Alex’s name with little hearts in her notebook and watching as the hands of the
clock seemed to cease all movement.

Ugh…This
day is just never ending!

Sometimes,
just to amuse herself, Ellie would tap into Griffin’s mind reading power and
idly listen in on the high school gossip. Usually she didn’t like to invade
people’s privacy, especially his. And if she did stumble on anything personal
or anything mean, she always immediately moved away from those thoughts. Today
there was apparently very little going on.

A bit of a
competition was brewing between two of the girls Ellie sat with at lunch, Kayla
and Rose, over Brian, the boy from Ellie’s economics class.

“Kayla just
needs to back off. She’s soooo obvious, coming on to Brian that way,”
Ellie
caught Rose’s thoughts during lunch.

“Jeez. Rose
should get a clue that Brian is not remotely into her,”
Kayla was thinking
during economics.

Brian tended
to be the focus of a lot of the girls at the school, and Ellie could understand
why. He was hot, outgoing, genuinely nice, smart, and athletic. A good catch
for
anyone
. Brian didn’t tend to show favoritism for any one girl, which
led all the girls interested in him to think they had a chance. It was silly,
but this small bit of drama managed to keep Ellie’s mind occupied to get her
through the day.