CHAPTER SIX
I opened my eyes and saw only darkness. I held on tightly to the mysterious figure until my feet brushed up against the ground. I moaned as the weight of my body sent a throbbing pain through my legs as I found my footing, but the strong hand on my back, steadied me.
Feeling a little bit stronger I stepped back, letting my protective shield slip away from me.
Carter.
He stared at me with his intense hazel eyes, and I noticed the thin sapphire ring around the iris. It was unique and entrancingly beautiful.
My body shook, my veins coursing with adrenaline. The world seemed to wave ever so slightly all around me. Every muscle in my body ached trying to hold my ground until I could no longer deny the force of gravity acting on me. My knees gave way and I fell into his arms.
He caught me and pulled me into his embrace. “I’ve got ya.”
I closed my eyes, unable to fight the exhaustion sweeping over me. With my head pressed against his chest, his heart beat was my lullaby. I wanted nothing more than to let go and fall into an eternal sleep within the safety and comfort of his arms.
Suddenly, the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs echoed into the night. Carter pulled away from me just as Jane, Alec, and Cruz burst into the clearing.
“What the hell happened?” said Cruz.
I surveyed the damage around us for the first time.
We were still in the circular clearing, but it was destroyed. The grass was blackened and the trees boarding the circle were singed. The whole area still smoldered and tiny clusters of red embers glowed on the ground.
Strangely enough, the fire did not extend passed the first line of trees, making almost a perfectly circular burn on the face of the earth.
“That was you screaming?” Jane asked. Her eyes bulged as she took in the destruction. “You weren’t in here when this happened, were you?”
I glanced at Carter and he shook his head ever so slightly.
Was I supposed to lie?
My clothes were darkened with soot and smelled like smoke. Clearly, I wouldn’t be able to deny my involvement.
“No,” I said. “Not really. I mean, I saw the fire and ran to get Carter. He put it out.”
I smiled at him gratefully. Had it not been for him I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.
Jane looked me up and down. “We should get you home before your uncle gets there first. It’s one thing to sneak out and get caught, but it’s a whole other thing to get caught with burned up clothing and smelling like smoke.”
In all the commotion, I hadn’t even thought about Uncle Felix.
“Oh no,” I gasped. “He’ll be home soon.”
Jane frowned. “I told Trish I would give her a ride home since somebody,” she paused, glaring over her shoulder at Cruz before continuing, “brought her here and is refusing to take her home.”
“That’s what she said?” Cruz scoffed. Cruz turned on his heels and flung his arms into the air. “Do you know how many texts I ignored before I found her sitting in my truck bed asking me for a ride here?”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Whatever!”
“Let’s just find her and get out of here,” I grumbled.
Jane started back towards the beach and I followed her. My legs were sore and my body ached with every step, so I didn’t try to keep up with her. After a few minutes, she was so far ahead of me that I could only see a glimpse of her silhouette whenever she stepped into the light.
I stifled a sigh when I came to a fallen tree trunk laying across my path. Climbing over this was going to hurt.
I lifted my leg only halfway, wincing from the pain radiating down my side. I tried again, this time I felt a strong hand on my back guiding me forward.
“Here, let me help you,” said Carter.
I wrapped my arm around his shoulder as he held my waist.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling my cheeks redden.
“It’s the least I could do after…”
I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.
I stopped and looked up at him. “What happened? One second I thought I was dead for sure, and then the next you were there and the fire wasn’t.”
He looked away, but it was too late. His eyes betrayed his secret, not its depth, but its existence.
He tried to push on, but I resisted. “You know something, don’t you?”
He paused. “Annabelle, how did the fire start?”
This time it was my turn to look away. What was I supposed to say? I’d wandered into the forest in pursuit of a little blue light that actually turned out to be a little fire, which erupted into a mad blaze that I somehow got stuck in the middle of.
“I don’t know.”
Carter narrowed his eyes. “Did you start it?”
I stepped back. “No! I wouldn’t do something like that. What kind of person do you think I am?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you were directly in the center of it.”
“I know!” I shook my head. “I can’t explain how that happened, but I didn’t start it.”
He smiled at me, looking both amused and slightly cocky.
I looked away. “Do you see Jane anywhere? I really need to get home.”
“I can take you.”
I paused, eyeing him.
“Look, I’m sorry for accusing you of being a pyro. I’m sure whatever happened in the woods tonight had nothing to do with you,” he said.
I tried not to laugh, but the way he smiled at me made it impossible.
“Okay, you can take me home.”
I followed him to the cluster of cars in the corner of the lot. He stopped next to a shiny black Charger and opened the passenger door, motioning for me to step inside.
Slowly, I lowered myself into the seat. “Nice car.”
“Thanks.” He smiled and patted its roof ever so gently. “I worked all summer for it the year before I turned 16.”
He closed the door and walked to the driver’s side, slipping into his seat beside me.
“Wait,” I said. “Isn’t this a Hemi?”
He grinned and nodded proudly.
“And you only had to work one summer for it?”
“Only?”
“Where on earth did you find a job that pays that well at the age of 15? Sign me up!”
He laughed.
“You know, Jane has a nice car too. And Cruz’s truck was pretty nice as well,” I said. “I’m starting to see a pattern here.”
His face flattened of all expression. “You’ve seen Cruz’s truck?”
I frowned. “I helped him get Alec inside after he passed out on the ground, though he seems to be doing alright now.”
He shrugged. “You were making a point about our cars?”
I considered addressing the not-so-subtle change of subject, but I decided to let it go. “Right. You all have nice cars and none of you seem to have jobs.”
“I have a job. I work at the bookstore in town.”
I straightened in my seat. “There’s a bookstore in town?”
He nodded. “It’s been in my family for generations.”
“That’s incredible… a whole store full of books to yourself.” I leaned back in my seat and stared out the sunroof at the starlight sky.
He chuckled. “I take it you like to read?”
I smirked. “Is it that obvious?”
“I’d say so. Your eyes kind of glazed over at the word bookstore.”
I smacked him on the shoulder. “They didn’t glaze.”
He laughed and leaned to the side to avoid another swing. “I swear they did.”
I shook my head and turned to the window so he couldn’t see the smile pulling at the edges of my mouth.
Carter slowed the car to a stop.
I looked out the window at the house next to us. “Are we here already?”
“This is it, isn’t it?”
I stared at the house for a moment. “Yeah,
I think so.”
Burnwood’s Victorian-style homes made it difficult to distinguish one block from the next. I looked for the little blue gnome I had set in the garden along the front of the porch, but it was too dark to see it.
“You think so? Maybe I should walk you to the door.” He turned off the car and stepped out.
I searched for the door handle, sliding my hand up and down the panel, but before I found it the passenger door swung open.
“Thanks,” I said, taking his outstretched hand and letting him help me out.
“You know, you really don’t have to thank me so much.”
“Well, you know, you really don’t have to keep helping me so much,” I said, returning his warm smile.
“Funny,” he said, but didn’t laugh.
He walked me to the door where we both stood idly on the porch. I didn’t know what to say. The night had been so surreal that I wasn’t sure how to put it into words. Besides, having been saved for a fire he thought you started made everything awkward.
I pulled my keys from my jeans pocket and dangled them from my finger, the clinking noise easing the silence between us.
“I guess I should go inside and get cleaned up.” I scanned my clothing from head to toe, taking in the singed patches and black stains.
“Of course,” he said, stepping back to give me clear access to the door.
I unlocked the door and opened it a crack. “Thank you for getting me home. And, thank you for what you did tonight… in the woods.”
It was the first time either of us openly acknowledged the danger we had miraculously escaped. I had expected him to say something, but he just shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets.
I stifled a sigh and turned back for the door. I felt a hand grasp my wrist and spin me around. He closed the space between us in one step and placed one hand on the side of my face. His fingers gently stroked my cheek, sending an intense shiver through my body. He leaned in and kissed me, his lips sending a pulse of heat surging through me.
He stepped away and pushed the front door open with his hand. The light from inside the house poured out onto the porch as he slowly backed down the porch stairs.
“Goodnight, Annabelle.”
I smiled. “Goodnight.”
I leaned up against the closed door and slowly sank to the floor. I traced my lips with my fingertips and smiled at the tingling sensation his kiss left upon me.
I let my hand fall from my face and I saw traces of black soot on the tips of my fingers. My mind raced with images of the fire, blazing hot against my skin.
I hurried upstairs and into the bathroom, stripping my clothes off in a panic. I jumped into the shower and scrubbed until the water washed clean and the scent of apricots and mangos filled the steamy air. I tossed my clothes into an empty grocery bag and tied it up so the smell wouldn’t escape the garbage.
I had to make sure that Uncle Felix could never find these clothes.
Now that the evidence had been taken care of, I sat on my bed trying to make sense of the night. It all happened so fast that I couldn’t decipher between what was real and what I must’ve imagined. The most logical explanation is that I had imagined it all, but it felt too real.
I remembered the heat and the wall of fire encircling me. After that, everything went dark. When I opened my eyes again, he was already there.
Carter had to know what happened after that. He had to have the answers.