For Ever (33 page)

“Wren?”

I look over at Ever and notice that the car
has stopped.

“We’re here,” he says quietly.

I don’t know where
here
is, but I’m
guessing it’s our date. Some of Ever’s enthusiasm that I had sensed
earlier has faded. I can tell just from looking at him. If I’m
being honest, mine has, too. Since leaving the glass fortress in
the hills, I’ve been pretty wrapped up in my own world. More
accurately, I’ve been wrapped up in trying to mesh my world with
Ever’s. It makes me think about the only other time we’ve been to a
restaurant together, and I had been crushed when he referred to it
as
your world
. Now I understand how literally he had meant
it. And that’s a problem, because how long can I fit into his
world? How long can he fit into mine?

He opens my door, and I take his hand and
look around. The parking lot we’re in is lifeless. There’s a
building across the way, but it’s dark and empty looking. I look at
Ever, who just smiles. We reach the door, and I’m surprised to find
it unlocked. Ever gestures for me to step inside, and squinting in
the low light, I scan the space. It’s a restaurant, but there isn’t
a single other person here. Then I notice tiny lights sprinkled
around the periphery. All the tables are dark, but one, which is
illuminated by candlelight. I look back at Ever for some
explanation. He just smiles and leads me to the table, pulling out
my chair. He takes the seat across from mine, acting like a dark,
empty restaurant is completely normal. Looking out the windows, I
see the dark shimmer of water—the Willamette River. I turn to Ever
and lean forward.

“Why are we the only ones here?” I
whisper.

“I wanted to be alone with you.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. “But this
is
a
restaurant, right? Don’t they usually require multiple
patrons?”

“Not tonight,” he says.

He looks amused by my anxiety, and I smirk at
him. The sound of someone clearing his throat next to us makes me
jump and straighten up. I turn in time to see a man to my left
setting down a bottle of sparkling water and a glass. He retreats
into the darkness. Blushing, I turn back to Ever.

“This has to be a dream,” I mutter.

Ever frowns, his features flickering in the
candlelight.

“You think that often.”

“Um, yeah. Because this isn’t supposed to be
my life!”

Ever’s face darkens.

“I’m sorry, Wren. I—”

“Stop apologizing, would you!”

I reach across the table and grab his hand. I
stare at him, trying to sort out my thoughts, which are so
scrambled that I guess even he wouldn’t be able to understand them.
How could he when I can’t?

“Ever, no one has made me feel like you have.
This is like a fairy tale. Wonderful and scary—” his eyes darken
again, and I hurry to finish, “and I keep thinking that I’m going
to wake up, and you will have never even existed. Because this sort
of thing doesn’t happen to someone like me. … And I’m not stupid. I
know you never would have looked at me twice if I hadn’t been some
mind-reading freak of nature. So the fact that you want to be with
me is kind of … amazing.”

I don’t even have time to take a breath
before Ever appears and lifts me out of my seat. One of my shoes
drops to the ground, and it registers that my feet are no longer
touching the floor. Touching my cheek with his other hand, Ever
looks into my eyes. In an unfamiliar rush of sensation, I see
myself through his eyes, a thousand different times. My heart
stutters, and I blink. For several seconds I just stare at him.
Then I notice that he is shaking with tension. Carefully he lowers
me to the ground and then continues to stare at me, like he’s
willing me to understand something.

“Beautiful girl, why can’t you see that I am
impossibly fortunate to have your love, despite what I am and what
I’ve done?”

The sound of clapping startles me, and before
I can make sense of it, Ever is in front of me, blocking my view of
the other side of the restaurant.

“Bravo. Touching. Truly.”

My blood runs cold as I realize that I know
that voice.
Iago
.

“I find I never tire of being one step ahead
of you. As long as we play this game, it never gets old.”

Ever takes a single step forward, and the
movement makes me think of wolves at the zoo stalking back and
forth.

“You should ask the girl first how much she
cares for her friend.”

“
What
?” I yelp, swerving from behind
Ever to get a clear view of Iago.

He’s sitting at a table several yards away,
his posture relaxed. The sight of a girl sitting next to him in the
darkness surprises me. Looking closer, I feel my knees weaken.

“
Ashley
!” I shout.

She doesn’t move or blink.

“What did you do to her?” I snarl at the
smiling young man.

“Oh, I can assure you, she’s quite well. In
fact, she’s not even aging at the moment. Young forever.”

When I lunge forward, Ever grasps my arm in
his unyielding grip.

“Let her go,” I plead. “She has nothing to do
with this.”

For a terrible moment, I know that it could
have been my mom that he had taken as a bargaining chip.

“That is where you are wrong.” His voice has
a lovely cadence, like Ever’s. “You see, the pawn is a valuable
chess piece under the appropriate circumstances, Wren.”

He gestures at Ashley to prove his point.

“And perhaps you have overestimated my sense
of humanity.”

I blink at the words that just came out of
Ever’s mouth.

“By all means, do it,” Iago says, amused.
“One by one, destroy everything she holds dear, and see if she
still holds you in such high regard. She is human, after all.”

No
. That isn’t possible. Ever
wouldn’t, would he? He wouldn’t kill my friend to save me.

“If
either
one of you touches Ashley
…”

I will
what
? What threat could I
possibly make that means anything to those who will live
forever?

“Wren, I feel that my brother,” Ever bristles
at the word, “has misrepresented me. All I ask is that you hear me
out. That you listen to the truth that he has kept from—”

A deep snarl erupts from Ever’s throat,
cutting him off.

“Wren, he is deceptive by nature. He knows he
must turn you against me, and he will say anything to achieve
that—”

I hold up my hand and turn to face Iago.

“I want Ashley returned home, unharmed. And
you have to promise never to touch my mother or any of my friends.
Anything else, I’m willing to negotiate.”

“That is all I ask of you,” Iago says,
smiling widely.

“I will not let him take you,” Ever
whispers.

I shake my head.

“It’s not up to you any more. Unless you’re
willing to kill me.”

He stares down at me, his emerald eyes
blazing.

“Don’t do this. Please. I’m begging you.”

I shake my head and try to hold back the
tears.

“I won’t let anyone get hurt because of me. I
can’t.” I look back at Ashley, who is still staring off into
nothing. “She doesn’t deserve that. And I wouldn’t be able to live
with myself if I made a choice like that.”

The young man with the copper hair and
angelic features holds out his hand to me, beckoning.

“No,” I snap. “Not until I know Ashley is
safe and … after I’ve said goodbye to my mother.”

“Fair enough. I trust that you will hold Ever
to our bargain, but please …”

When he gestures to me, I raise a hand to my
throat and touch the pendant. Reaching up, I unclasp it and hold
the shimmering stone in my palm. Before I can regret it, I toss it
to him and watch as his hand flashes out to catch it.

“Midnight tonight.”

“Only if you have proof that Ashley is home
safe—and I have your word that you will leave everyone else I know
alone,” I finish resolutely.

“Of course.” He smiles. “There is much Ever
hasn’t told you.”

Ever takes another step forward, and I grab
his hand, afraid of what he might do.

“Will you take me home?” I whisper.

He stares down at me for several moments and
then nods with a look of absolute defeat. I glance to the table
across the room. Empty. I slide my foot back into the slipper that
dropped. Then I pick up my mom’s coat and walk outside into the
cold air.

I would have turned seventeen in only a few
months.

As we drive, I don’t allow myself the option
of panic or second thoughts. I can’t change my mind now that the
choice is made. And I chose Ever. I just didn’t think I would have
to pay the price so soon. Looking from the outside in, I’m aware
that some people might consider the decision foolish,
immature—stupid, even. I know this because I think the same thing
each and every time I watch my favorite version of Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet
.

She wakes up in a minute!
I always
wanted to scream.
Wait, you idiot!

But the ending never changes, no matter how
many times I watch it, no matter how badly I want it to change. And
I cry. Every time.

In a few hours I will give up my free will,
my life. I take solace in the fact that Ashley will go on living,
but my decision was not pure altruism. I just know myself well
enough to realize that I couldn’t live with the weight of a choice
like that on my conscience. My muscles tighten as I watch the
darkness streaking by the car window.

“Where are you going?” I hiss.

“I’m taking you to the house,” Ever says, his
tone icy.

“No! Turn around and take me home.
Now
!”

“It’s not too late. With the others, I
can
protect you.”

Ever’s words come out feverishly. He sounds
nearly as out of control as that afternoon on the cliffs. Suddenly
the car skids to the side of the road, and his hand flashes out and
grips my wrist. Everything goes black.

Blinking, I cough and struggle to sit up.
Then I look around at the five pairs of preternaturally bright eyes
watching me. Slowly I recognize my surroundings. I’m in Ever’s
house. My throat is too dry to speak. Someone shoves a brightly
colored drink into my hand as I struggle to put words together.
With a shaking hand, I lift the bottle to my lips and take a sip.
Ever steps forward, watching me carefully.

“You will be safe here,” he says.

“One to five. It isn’t even a challenge,”
Chasen mutters in the background.

I still feel weak, but a sudden rush of anger
fills me.

“And what about my mom? Should I let him take
her next?” I shout angrily, helplessly.

“We can protect your mother as well. She will
be safe,” Ever says.

I pause, feeling myself deflate.

“And Ashley? You really expect me to let him
kill her?” I ask with barely any volume.

“He will not harm her. You have to trust me,”
he continues.

I search his face for some sign of deception.
I wish I could know that this was true, but I have a sinking
feeling that Ever would tell me anything to ease my conscience.

“No. I can’t do that. Not after what you said
back there. Take me home. Now. I want to see my mom before it’s too
late.”

I am suddenly very tired. There are too many
things I wanted to do before I die. Now I’m left with a very short
list: saying goodbye. I pull myself up from the couch, and without
saying anything to the others, I walk outside. I’m not surprised
when I see Ever next to me.

“I understand why you would try to save me.
Can you understand why I have to do this?” I ask.

“Yes.”

He opens the door of Audra’s silver sports
car, and closes it after me when I sit down. As we wind through the
hills, I realize that it was here that I kissed Ever for the first
time. The memory is so fresh that it nearly suffocates me. I shut
my eyes. When I open them again, we’re in front of my house. Ever
opens my door. As I walk toward the house, it bends and shimmers
through the tears gathering in the corners of my eyes.

I stop on the top step and face Ever. Looking
into his eyes, I reach up and touch his face, allowing a vast ocean
of feeling—love, hurt, desperation—to rush out of me for a few
agonizing seconds. As I try to step back, his arm clamps around my
waist with so much force that I lose my breath. He lifts me to him,
his lips coming down on mine. All I want is to stay in this single
instant, but he slowly lowers me to the ground, continuing to stare
down at me so fiercely that it feels like I’m being cut in
half.

“I will come for you,” he says.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not your choice to
make.”

I turn away from him and push my key into the
lock. I don’t look back as I close the door behind me.

“Well, you’re back ear—”

My mom stops and stares at me from the couch.
I rush straight to her, drop down, and wrap my arms around her
waist.

“I love you so much, Mom.”

She rocks me back and forth, holding me to
her.

“I love you, too, baby. …
What
happened?”

Even though she’s right in front of me, I
miss her too much. I can’t even stand it. I just want to die right
now, because I don’t want to feel this pain any more. I hug her
harder as a sob racks my chest.

“I-I-I’m sorry, Mom.”

Taking my face in her hands, she pulls me
up.

“Oh, honey. Look at you.” She wipes my cheek
with the corner of her sleeve. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s over.”

“You and Ever?”

No, just me. There are so many things I can’t
tell her, and I’ll never get the chance.

“Mom, please. Just hold me,” I whisper.

I don’t want to lie to her now. I just want
to spend a few minutes feeling my mom’s arms around me, like when I
was born. Somewhere, deep down, I must remember that moment, my
very first memory. Now I want it to be my last. Before I’m not me
any more.