CHAPTER 37
Don't Look Back
I awoke to "Love of a Lifetime", Ty's ringtone for me, once again cradled in his strong arms, having slept comfortably through another night. After a long hug and his assurance to return with coffee at the usual time, Ty shimmied effortlessly down the corner column, balanced momentarily on the top of the railing, then jumped silently to the ground. I hadn't thought to ask him where he had left his car.
Thankfully, during my first class of the day, Brit Lit, Mr. Joshua decided to play a movie. He said nothing as I moved my chair alongside Karen's and we proceeded to whisper back and forth the whole time. She agreed to take my shifts at the nursery but made me promise to fill her in on all the details after school.
"What did you think of the movie, Esther?" Mr. Joshua called to me as I tried to sneak out of the classroom after the bell rang.
I cringed and turned to face him. "Sorry, Mr. Joshua. I had something really important to talk to Karen about. I'll try to find it on Netflix."
"Don't worry about it. It won't come up on any future tests. Is everything okay?"
"I told Michael that I won't be able to work at the nursery anymore and I asked Karen if she'd take over my shifts."
"I see."
"Please don't make me feel worse than I already do. It's just that there's so much conflict between Ty and Michael and it doesn't seem right to keep spending time with Michael, knowing how he feels about me and how I feel about him. You understand, right?"
"Of course, Esther. You've chosen Ty. For now."
I shook my head. "I've got to get to my next class. See you tomorrow."
"I'm always here if you need to talk. Don't forget that."
"Thanks."
Ty was waiting for me in the hallway. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing, really. He just wanted to know why Karen and I were whispering during the movie instead of watching it." I still wasn't ready to tell him that I had quit the nursery.
"Hey, I have a favor to ask," I announced, quickly changing the subject.
"Anything for you."
I smiled, believing that to be true. "Jennie likes Jace but, apparently, he doesn't know she's alive and she's literally losing sleep over it. Do you think there's anything you can do about that?"
"As you wish," he grinned with a wink. "Just let me know when."
"I'm pretty sure it'll be at lunch today. I told her to come to our table when she's ready and I'd make the introduction. She told me before school this morning that she thought she could do it today. She's really nervous."
"I'll take care of it."
"Thanks. I'll owe you."
"Ooh, I like the sound of that."
"It was a figure of speech. Don't get your hopes up."
We walked hand in hand to World History and took our usual seats next to each other in the front row. Initially, Ty had resisted sitting there, but caved after I put on my best pouty face. I didn't normally like to resort to such tactics, but I needed to sit in the front in order to minimize distractions. Even in an AP classroom, there were always plenty of distractions.
The teacher droned on about Imperialism and I was having a hard time staying awake, preferring, instead, to think about the past two nights. Rather than paying attention, I chose to daydream about Thanksgiving break when we would return to Sea Island and I could spend every night nestled in Ty's arms without the fear of getting caught.
I had a test in French, which I knew I aced, and was the first one out the door when the bell rang. I met up with Ty in the corridor and we headed for the cafeteria. Halfway through this day. I had been feeling restless as of late and needed a pause from the banality of everyday life.
"What's on your mind, Essie Claire?"
"Nothing, really. Just thinking about how much I need a breather."
"From...?"
"From the day-to-day drudgery of school, homework, chores, etcetera."
"Have you forgotten that your birthday will be here after three more days?"
"I haven't forgotten. It's just that my nights seem to go by all too quickly nowadays while the days flow as slowly as molasses in January."
"Said the Yankee," he teased, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. "I know what will help. Let's blow off the rest of the day and go to Savannah."
"I wish. I don't know about you, but I can't miss Biology. We have that test on Friday and we're going over everything this week."
"Let me take care of that. Come on."
We walked quickly to our Biology classroom. The second bell hadn't rung so Ty opened the door and we walked in together.
"Hi, Mrs. Carroll," Ty said genially, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Essie and I have to leave now and I was certain you wouldn't mind emailing us your notes from class today."
"Of course, Tyrus. Will you be back tomorrow?"
"Yes. And one more thing. Be sure to mark us as present, okay?"
"Of course, Tyrus," she repeated compliantly.
"Anything else?" he asked me smugly after we were back in the hall.
"That was awesome. I don't need notes on any of my other subjects, but can we stop by the rest of my classes and tell my teachers to mark me present?"
"As you wish."
We sped out of South Effingham High School's parking lot, hair metal blaring through the Ferrari's speakers. Our first stop was the shop on River Street that sold my favorite ice cream. Although we hadn't eaten lunch, Ty said that it was an emergency and drastic measures were needed. We brought our ice creams back to the car to eat them "on the way", although he wouldn't tell me where "on the way" was.
I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at a beach front restaurant on Tybee Island. Understanding how the beach calmed me, Ty asked for a table on the deck to which, of course, the hostess was only too happy to show us. It was a beautiful day, but the place wasn't crowded at all, probably due to the fact that it was a Tuesday in November. Ty ordered for both of us, as usual, always seeming to know what I wanted. Today it was fish tacos with grilled pineapple kabobs for an appetizer.
"Thanks again for taking care of things at school. You were right. This really helped," I smiled contentedly.
"I'm glad you're finally starting to take advantage of my abilities."
"When you say it that way," I grimaced, "it doesn't portray me in the best light. I don't ever want to take advantage of you. Or Mara."
"Now, you know that I didn't mean it that way."
I turned my head to look at the ocean.
"Essie Claire," he said in a stern voice, waiting for me to look at him. When I relented, he took both my hands in his. "I wish more than anything that you had abilities, too. I want you to want me to use my abilities to benefit the both of us. Ever since that Sunday night in Savannah, I've never been happier. I don't have to hide who I really am when I'm with you. Besides, what good is it to have cool abilities if we don't use them to have days like this?"
For a split second, I thought of Michael. He didn't use his abilities for fun; he needed a reason. Heck, we're only young once. This is the time when we're supposed to be carefree and maybe even a little reckless from time to time. Technically, we weren't doing anything wrong and we certainly weren't hurting anyone.
"You're right," I concluded, smiling broadly. "Let's go for a walk on the beach."
"That's my girl," he beamed, seemingly pleased with my approval.
? ? ?
Barely having made it through the door, Jennie ambushed me before I reached the staircase.
"Where were you today?" she demanded. Before I could respond, she accused, "You skipped school, didn't you? I'm telling Mum. You were supposed to introduce me to Jace at lunch, but, instead, I looked like an idiot looking all over for you and asking everyone if they had seen you."
"Calm down, will you? Take a breath."
"You're not going to talk your way out of this, Essie. I'm telling Mum that you skipped school. You're gonna be in trouble."
"Come up to my room with me. Ple
ase?"
"Why should I?"
"I want to talk to you, Jen. I'm sorry about today. Just give me a chance to explain, okay?"
"Fine. And it better be good," she huffed. "I'll be there in a few minutes. I'm getting dinner ready."
"Okay," I yelled behind me as I sprinted up the stairs to my room.
"I need you to come back right away," I ordered without bothering to say hello after Ty answered his phone.
"Miss me already?"
"Yes, but that's not the reason. Have you turned around yet?"
"Just doing that now," he said slowly, his words spoken concurrently with his u-turn. "What's going on?"
"Jennie's giving me a hard time about skipping school today. She's angry because I wasn't around to introduce her to Jace and she's threatening to tell my mother."
"So? Would you be in that much trouble if she found out?"
"I don't know. I just don't want to give her any reason to not trust me or to be less lenient. You know she thinks we spend too much time together. This could be just the excuse she needs to put a limit on it. Besides, there the matter of being marked present in all my classes. If she called the school, that could open a big can of worms."
"Well, why do you need me there? Do you want me to try to talk to Jennie? I mean, do you really think she'll listen to me?"
"I was thinking that you could may-be," I stretched out the word for added emphasis, "do a little more than just talk..."
"Essie Claire, do you want me to push your sister?"
"I think so. I don't know. Yes. I just don't want her to ruin everything. I feel awful even suggesting it, but she's leaving me no choice, really. Do you think I'm terrible?" I said in one breath.
He laughed. "Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way," he said in his best James Earl Jones impersonation.
"Oh, my gosh. You're right. What was I thinking? I can't do that to my sister. That would be so wrong of me. I'm sorry for bringing you into this. It's fine. Really. My mother will underst..."
I heard the doorbell. "You're here," I said flatly, running back down the stairs to get to the door before any of my siblings.
"I was only teasing you, Essie Claire. There's nothing wrong with a little push," he whispered reassuringly, holding my chin between his thumb and finger, after I let him in. "We just talked about using my abilities more this afternoon. I thought you were okay with it."
"I am. It's just... well... this is my sister we're talking about. It's like I'm crossing an imaginary line and I'm not sure how I feel about it."
"It'll be fine. Stop worrying about it."
"Ty," the kids squealed in unison as they came running into the family room, interrupting our conversation.
"Are you gonna eat dinner with us, Ty?"
"Not tonight. I just ate a little while ago. Maybe another time, okay?"
"Okay, Ty," they sang happily as they clung to his legs.
"All right, you guys. You need to wash up for dinner. I think it's just about ready," I judged from the aroma wafting in from the kitchen.
"What is he doing here?" Jennie asked in a snarky tone, appearing suddenly in the family room. "I thought you and I were going to talk."
"Hi, Jennie," Ty said calmly, walking toward her, waiting for her to make eye contact. When she did, he continued, "It was good to see you at lunch today. You should sit with us more often. I'm sorry Jace was absent but I can't wait to introduce you to him when he's back in school. I'm sure you two will hit it off; you have a lot in common."
Jennie nodded.
"I'll let you get back to fixing dinner now, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," she smiled.
He took my hand and led me out of the kitchen.
"Oh, Ty," I sighed, feeling guilty and happy at the same time.
"Problem solved. That's all that matters."
"I know you're right. It's harmless to her and helpful to me. Win-win." I forced a smile.
"Exactly."
"Thanks. Well, I'd better get started on my homework."
"Yes, you'd better. See you later," he winked, as he left me alone, standing at the bottom of the stairs.