Revelations (The Revelations Series Book 1) (28 page)

Arlene arrived home a few minutes after she finished. “Where are we putting the cake?” she asked as she came into the kitchen.

“I guess, over there on the counter.” Jenna pointed to an open space by the coffee maker.

Arlene set the cake down. “I see you’ve been busy. It looks good.”

“Thanks. What time did you have Alex tell everyone the party starts?”

“Well, I figure Dylan should be getting back around one so I had Alex tell everyone to be here by twelve just in case he’s early.”

“Good idea.” Jenna opened the cake box and peeked at the cake. “What kind is it?” she asked as she closed the lid.

“It’s marble cake with butter cream frosting.”

“Well, since everything is pretty much ready I’m going to go find something better to wear.” Jenna headed out of the kitchen then paused. “Arlene, have you seen Alex. I figured he’d be here helping.”

“He told me he forgot to invite someone and that he’d be back before the party started.”

Jenna thought it was weird that Alex slipped out right before the party. But, lately he was so unpredictable she didn’t know what to expect from him anymore.
Well, at least he’s not here bugging me,
she thought as she headed upstairs to her room to get ready.

The rest of the morning seemed to fly by and before she knew it, kids were starting to arrive. Dean and Tommy arrived first, followed by Carla and Jasmine. They were the only kids she knew.

“Does Dylan really know all these kids?” Jenna asked Jasmine, as she watched what was possibly the twenty-fifth kid come through the door.

“He’s very popular in school.”

“I see that, I hope we have enough food.”

“Make sure you order extra pizza,” Jasmine joked.

“Aunt Arlene already placed an order.”

“He’s almost here,” Arlene announced as she came up beside Jenna. “I’m going to go hide in my room while you guys enjoy yourself.”

“Wait, you’re not going to be at the party?” Jenna asked Arlene.

“No, it’s for you kids to celebrate with Dylan. I’ll come down if his parents decide to show up.”

“What do you mean decide to show up?”

“They were supposed to come, but his mom called this morning and said something came up and that they might not be able to make it.”

Jenna shook her head. She couldn’t believe his parents wouldn’t be here. But, then again by looking at the amount of kids she was sure Dylan wouldn’t even notice.

“Have a good time. You know where I am if you need anything. The pizza will be here any time now. It’s already paid for including the drivers tip,” Arlene said, and then headed upstairs to her room.

“Hey, Jenna,” Alex said coming up beside her. “The pizza guy just called and wanted to know if we could meet him at the end of the driveway, something about not being able to get up the driveway. Can you go get it?”

Jenna turned and looked at Alex. “Why me, why can’t you?” she asked annoyed.

“Listen, sis,” he said putting his arm around her shoulder. “You see that girl over there?” Alex pointed to a girl sitting on the couch. “I think she’s into me. I don’t want to leave and have someone else make their move on her.”

Jenna shrugged his arm off her shoulder. “Whatever. I’ll be right back.” Jenna grabbed the Jeep keys and headed out the door. Inside she was secretly hoping Alex and that girl would hit it off. Then maybe he would get off her back about dating Dylan. She drove down the driveway and looked for the pizza car but didn’t see it anywhere. But, what she did see crushed her. There, at the end of the driveway, was Dylan’s truck… and Sandra’s car. They were both standing in front of the car. Sandra had her arms wrapped around Dylan’s neck and they were kissing.

Jenna’s heart sank. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid to believe that Dylan really liked her. She threw the Jeep into reverse, spun around and sped back to the house leaving behind a spray of gravel and dust.

JENNA
slammed the Jeep into park, jumped out and ran into the house as Dylan’s truck pulled up behind her.

“Happy Birthday!” all the kids yelled as he got out of the truck, but he seemed to not even hear them as his gaze followed Jenna into the house and he quickly ran after her.

“Jenna, wait,” Dylan pleaded as he tried to get through the crowd of kids wishing him a happy birthday.

“Damn it,” Jenna whispered as she gathered her courage and slowly turned around. “What!” she exclaimed as he caught up with her and grabbed her arm. “You made your choice. I saw you with Sandra,” she hissed at him.

“Is that what you think?” Dylan asked.

“I saw you two kissing at the end of the driveway. What am I suppose to think?” Jenna turned to walk away, but Dylan stepped in front of her.

“Wait, we need to talk. You owe me at least that.”

Jenna glared at Dylan. “I owe you
nothing
! Now let me go!”

“Not until you talk to me. I won’t leave you alone until you hear my side!”

Jenna noticed the other kids were starting to stare, and the last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene. “Fine, but not here, we can talk in my room.” Jenna led Dylan up the stairs to her room and shut the door behind them.

“I need to talk to you about what happened earlier today,” Dylan said before Jenna could say anything.

Jenna’s pulse quickened, she needed to get away from him before something bad happened. “There’s no need. I can take a hint. I tell you I love you and you can’t get away from me fast enough. Now, please leave me alone so I can get on with my life without you.” She turned to leave, but Dylan stepped in her path.

“I’m not going to let you leave until you hear me out. Please, just give me five minutes,” Dylan said with a note of pleading in his voice. “And, if you still want to leave after that I won’t stop you.”

“Fine, five minutes. But, that’s it.” Jenna folded her arms across her chest and glared at Dylan, sure that anything he had to say wouldn’t change her mind.

Dylan took her hand and led her over to the window seat. He sat close to her keeping her hand in his.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you before,” he began. “It’s just that you threw me for a loop. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that someone as great as you could love someone like me.”

Jenna pulled her hand free of his. “I know why you left. You don’t have to tell me you don’t feel the same way, I already know that. So, why don’t you just leave and we don’t ever have to talk again.”

“You don’t understand. I didn’t leave because I don’t love you.” Dylan ran his hand through his hair. “I left because I do! I wasn’t ready to admit it until you said it first. I needed to get some air. I’ve never told a girl I loved them before. It’s a big deal for me. The moment I drove away, I regretted it. When I got back here, Sandra flagged me down and asked me to help her change her flat tire. I told her to find someone else but she begged me.”

“You know how I feel about her. I don’t trust her,” Jenna spat.

“You were right not to trust her. She set the whole thing up. She knew if you saw us together, you would be mad. She didn’t have a flat tire. The moment she saw you coming down the road, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. What you didn’t see was me pushing her away. I told her the only girl for me was you.” Dylan grazed Jenna’s cheek with his hand. “Please, you have to believe me. I can’t bear the thought of losing you. I love you way too much. I never knew I could care for someone as much as I do you. I want to be with you and no one else.” Dylan moved closer to her until there was no room between them.

Jenna’s heart skipped a beat as Dylan pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Before she knew it, she was kissing him back. She did love him, and he loved her. Right now, that was all that mattered. She would deal with Sandra later. She thought back to the time when her mother had told her how it felt when she had fallen in love with her father. She now knew that although they both had known it was dangerous they couldn’t help but be together. She never wanted to leave the comfort of Dylan’s arms.

“Do you forgive me?” Dylan whispered in her ear.

Jenna knew she should tell him no, that she should leave him because staying with him meant endangering his life. She just couldn’t imagine having to give him up, when every look, every touch, even every thought drew her closer to him. It made her want him even more.

She loved Dylan. The question was, could she be with him and keep him safe from those who sought to destroy her and all those she was close to. Could she finally accept what her heart was telling her, that Dylan was her soul mate and no matter how hard she tried she could never stop loving him.

Then there was her secret. What would he do when he found out who she really was? Or to be exact,
what
she really was. Would it drive him away? Or, would he choose to love her for who she truly was?

“Yes, I forgive you,” Jenna whispered as he held her tight. “But, you need to promise me that no matter what you’ll stay away from Sandra. Let someone else be her knight in shining armor.”

“That’s not a problem. Now come on, let’s go enjoy my party.” Dylan took her hand and they headed down stairs.

****

Jonas crunched the cup he was holding as he watched Jenna and Dylan come down the stairs hand in hand. He couldn’t believe it; Jenna had forgiven him. What was it about that boy that she couldn’t resist? After all the trouble he had gone through with Sandra to get her to believe she still had a chance with Dylan and that she just needed to push a little more. He thought for sure when Jenna saw Dylan and Sandra kissing she would dump him once and for all.

He couldn’t understand how Dylan could resist Sandra; she was so beautiful. But, for some reason Dylan didn’t care; he wanted Jenna.

Jonas knew this wasn’t good. If Jenna chose Dylan then that kind of love would push her to heaven’s side. It was inevitable. He knew this wouldn’t end well. It was up to him to fix the situation once and for all. Time was running out, and Jenna needed to trust him above all others. He couldn’t have anyone else persuading her to turn her back on him. He would be damned if he had done all of this to risk having it ruined by some southern redneck.

Jonas shoved his way through the crowd and headed for the front door. He had to take care of this before Shenna informed Dango of what was happening.

“
HEY,
buddy, great party. Too bad it’s over,” Dean told Dylan as he came up beside him.

“Thanks, I have Arlene, Jenna and Alex to thank for it.”

Dean looked around the room. “Where is Jenna? I’m surprised you let her out of your sight after that fight you two had earlier.”

Dylan shook his head. “You heard about that?”

“Dude, I think by now everyone here knows. Jenna was pretty pissed. What the hell happened?”

Dylan turned toward Dean. “Sandra happened. She set it up so Jenna would see her kissing me. Jenna flipped and thought I decided that I wanted to date Sandra again.”

“Damn, Sandra just doesn’t give up, does she?” Dean drank the last of his drink and set the empty cup on the coffee table.”

“I’m hoping I got my point across to Sandra when I yelled at her today. It took me a few minutes to calm Jenna down, but once I explained what happened she understood. I’ve been keeping her and Sandra in separate rooms all day to avoid any more drama.”