Raven's Rose (Charity Series Book 3) (11 page)

              His eyes danced in amusement. “What are
you
doing out here?”

             
“How did you get here?”

             
He smirked. “How did
you
get here?”

             
“I asked you first,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

             
“Very well. I came out here to explore and got here same as you—I walked. Your turn.”

I was once again distracted,
but this time by his voice. It had a smooth but confident tone to it, and yet also playful. “Um, I go to school right there, and I—I—was ditching, of course.” I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I’m sure he already thought I was a nut job. ‘Are you real?’ What a stupid thing to say.

             
His eyes narrowed. “You were ditching? Really?”

             
I squared my jaw but fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. “Um, yes.”

             
He stared me down slowly from head to toe. “You don’t look like someone who’d ditch.”

             
I gulped a little louder than I meant to and felt heat rush into my cheeks. “And what does someone who’s ditching look like, exactly?”

             
“Well, not like you that’s for sure. If you’re ditching then why did you come out here? Shouldn’t you go home, or something?”

             
I smoothed my shirt and looked at my feet. Lying wasn’t my specialty. “I’m—I’m looking for something.”

             
“Looking—found someone you have, I’d say,” he said, doing his best at a Yoda impersonation.

             
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Very funny. So what are
you
exploring for, exactly?”

             
“Why a girl. And I’ve found one, how extraordinary.” He giggled like a silly school-girl. He was clearly enjoying himself at my expense.

             
“Can you answer anything seriously?” I asked, becoming slightly annoyed.

             
He approached me then, stopping right in front of me. I could feel his breath on my forehead. “Well, maybe, when you ask the right questions.”

             
“Okay. What kind of girl are you looking for?”

             
He studied me then, looking first at my hair then drifting his gaze down to my eyes. His eyes fixed there for a long moment. “Well, she would have straight, blonde hair. She’d be about yay high,” he said, holding his hand out to reach the top of my head. “She’d have a cute little nose, full, pouty lips, and possibly the most compelling and unique eyes I’ve ever seen.” As he finished studying my face, he smiled.

             
He was so beautiful I couldn’t quite concentrate. “What’s your name?”

             
“You first.”

It seemed he lacked the ability to stop himself from toying with me.

              I huffed. “My name is Shaeleigh Leoni, or just Shae. Now you.”

             
“I don’t know you well enough to tell you my full name. You could be a stalker, or something.” His eyes widened slightly.

             
That got a laugh out of me. “Yeah, I guess I could be. Well, if I were going to stalk someone it’d be you.”

             
His eyes sparkled with delight. “And just why would you say that?”

             
“You know, something tells me you already know the answer to that question.”

             
“Fair enough. So, Shae, what is it that you were really looking for?”

             
“Well, I don’t know you well enough to answer that.”

  
                                              * * * * * *

                      
           The Boy’s POV

I was mesmerized by the blonde girl with the strange colored eyes. I had spotted her weeks ago and couldn’t stay away, but today I met her in the forest and everything had changed for me. I could no longer watch her from afar. I had to get to know this girl. No matter what it took. I had to know her.

                                          
Chapter Four

      
                                      Shae

Try as I might, I couldn’t stop thinking about the boy from the forest. The pure beauty of his sculpted face was haunting me. I’d never seen anyone so handsome in my entire life.

During supper my mom asked me several times what was consuming my thoughts, but I couldn’t tel
l her, for obvious reasons. She and Dad just looked at each other and shrugged. I finally excused myself and went up to my room to be alone with my thoughts.

             
My thoughts again returned to the boy. His slightly messy hair was a beautiful shade of brown, but with an odd, red streak running through it. And his eyes, oh my, they were a lovely, deep shade of blue, almost purple. I saw them every time I closed my eyes.

I hoped I’d get a chance to see him again. I had so many questions to ask. Like where was he from? Where does he go to school? And most importantly, what was his name? Well, at least the thought of this boy took my mind off my nightmares, for now anyway.

I went over and sat down on my window seat and picked up my journal. I began writing down my encounter with the boy in the forest, trying to record every detail. I soon found myself staring out the window toward the trees.

I began fantasizing about the beautiful boy. He was standing at the edge of the forest beckoning me. I dropped my journal and ran from the room. Within seconds I was running through my backyard toward him. He opened his arms for me and I ran into them, without hesitation. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. He was warm and strong against me. I could feel his muscles through his shirt, flexing as they held me close. He asked me to look up at him. He wanted to see my eyes. I obeyed. Then, slowly he inched his lips closer, finally pressing his lips against mine, kissing me deeply, passionately.

My mom knocked on my door, snapping me out of my fantasy.

I glanced
down and noticed I was stopped in the middle of a sentence. I was in the process of describing his lips, of all things.

“Shae,
honey, I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but your father and I are leaving now.” She looked beautiful. Her brown hair was pulled up behind her head and her make-up was light with just a touch of pink lip stick. She was naturally beautiful, and her skin was flawless, so she never needed much make-up. I was grateful to inherit that feature from her.

“Leaving?”

“Yes. Remember, we have a school board meeting tonight. We won’t be home too late, though we might stop afterwards for coffee. Are you going to be all right?”

“Yes, of course. Have a nice time.”

“Okay dear. See you in the morning.”

“Okay. I’ll see ya then.”

I decided to take my journal over to the bed to finish so I could concentrate better, but within minutes I was fast asleep.

Though my brain seemed foggy, I was somehow aware of the boy as he slowly approached my bed, gently taking my journal from my hands and setting it aside. He towered over me, one knee on the bed. His hand brushed my hair back from my face as he studied me. He took his finger and traced the shape of my lips. I parted them—waiting. His face inched closer and closer until I could feel his breath in my face, causing a recollection to come to me. I gasped and bolted straight up in bed. I looked around, but there was no one there. Again I was alone in the quiet. Only my loud breathing was audible.

                                             * * * * * *

I frequently scanned the forest as I walked from my car through the school parking lot. What are the odds that he would be in the forest a second day, but I couldn’t help but wonder. There’s no way I could cut class another day. I shouldn’t have done it yesterday, but yet I couldn’t quite regret it either.

I was wondering if I made as big of an impression on him as he’d made on me. But he was gorgeous while I was just—weird.  Then again, maybe he likes weird. He purposely described me as the girl he was looking for, but it was also hard to take him seriously.
Okay, enough of this already. Back to life, Shae
.

“Shae! There you are. I’ve been missing you the last few days. What’s up?” my best friend Sara asked, as she approached. She looked particularly put together with her straight, auburn hair tucked behind both ears with her books gripped against her chest.

“Oh, hey. Sorry. I’ve had some things going on, no big deal. What about you?”

“Oh, you won’t believe what’s been going on with me.”

She proceeded in telling me a long story of which I only comprehended parts. My mind just wasn’t with it, until she said something that brought me back into focus.

“I just heard about what Karen and Darcy did to you the other night. That was cruel of them to leave you in the clearing like that. And on the night of a full moon of all things. We have to think of a way to get back at them. And it’s gotta be good.”

My jaw dropped as I gawked at my friend. So my suspicions were right. The other night had really happened. That meant all of my other dreams had really happened as well. My mind was reeling. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but somehow I was going to find out.

                                         
       * * * * * *

For the next two days I walked through my life with unexpected normalcy. Everything seemed to be back in order as it should be, but I knew it was only a facade. At some point things would start to change again and I would be thrust back into the confusion which had become my life. A confusion that had been haunting me and making me question my own sanity. But I had a plan.

  
                                   Chapter Five

         
                                    Shae

After school, I sat at my desk in my bedroom and tried to focus on the homework in front of me. I didn’t have time to daydream; Mrs. Eccleston expected this report to be finished by Monday, and I had barely started. But my eyes kept drifting past my window to the forest. I had a thought. I got up and left my room. I exited the house and crossed my backyard, headed right for the forest. Funny, but it didn’t look so menacing in the daytime. I stepped boldly into the thick brush, determined not to be intimidated by the memories of my dreams.

             
I walked a little ways, trying to keep my house in view, when I heard a soft laugh. I spun around. “You.” It was the beautiful boy from the forest, leaning against a stump rolling a coin through his fingers. My heart skipped in my chest at the sight of him.

             
“Hello again.”

When he smiled I noticed dimples.
Lord, help me
.

             
“What are you doing in my forest?” I asked in surprise.

             
His eyes widened. “Your forest? The last I checked this forest belonged to my brother.”

             
“Your brother? Who is your brother, and how can he own an entire forest?”

             
“Wow, a lot of questions. What if I don’t want to answer?” He stepped closer, causing me instant nervousness.

             
“Please,” I pleaded, making myself bat my eyes flirtatiously.

             
He laughed. “How could I deny you now? Well, my family has owned this forest from the beginning. My brother is the oldest, and it’s in his name now.”

             
“Where are your parents? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

             
“I don’t mind. They’re here too. Actually, I have two sets of parents. I was adopted, but have recently reconnected with my birth parents.”

             
Well, he is certainly more verbal today
. “That must be nice.”

             
“Yes. It’s very nice. Would you like to take a walk with me?” He motioned deeper into the forest.

             
I instantly felt clammy. “Um, you mean go in there? I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. It could be dangerous in there.”

             
He stepped closer, taking my hand in his and peering down into my eyes. “I’ll protect you. I’m scarier than anything in there.”

             
“I-I”

             
“Oh, come on.”