Part One: Chapter Eight
I began to keep a log about everything that was happening. It started with the name; Ariel. I wrote down every strange dream I had had, everything I had seen or heard when Eric touched me. The way he seemed to be connected to it all. The letter, the locket, the note, the shoebox, the visions. I kept it all down on paper so I could read it over and over again to find some way they all aligned.
On Friday morning I honestly wished I was heading to homeroom instead of boarding the school bus. I sighed audibly as I climbed the steps and sat down towards the front. People filtered in and sat around me, engaging me in idle conversation. I laughed and smiled when I was supposed to and pretended I was okay with everything. This definitely wasn't the right mood to win a competition in.
My phone buzzed twice and I retrieved it from my pocket.
I was sure that everyone could hear my heart about to spring from my chest when I saw who it was from.
Break some legs today with that singing voice you won't let me hear. I'll be waiting when you get home.
I didn't miss a beat.
Well breaking the competition's legs will help for sure.
I know how bad it was, but I stared at my phone for five whole minutes until the bus started moving out of the parking lot and Brody, Alex, and Lily started talking to me again. Every few minutes I checked my phone until I eventually turned it off, not wanting to feel desperate.
In the dressing room at the theatre, I, along with all of the other girls got dressed in our deep blue satin dresses. They cut just above the knee and were puffed with matching tulle underneath. There was a sash of the same color that tied in the back with a big bow and the matching fitted bodice was a halter that exposed a triangle of my chest and the top half of my back. They were gorgeous as far as show choir dresses go.
"So are you really going out with Brody?" Lily asked me suddenly while tying my halter.
"No. Where did you hear that?" I asked, trying not to be outraged.
"Brody said you guys were going out tonight when we got back." She said matter-of-factly.
"Well he was lying. I'm not interested in Brody." I replied.
"That's too bad cuz he's definitely interested in you."
"Yeah, I'm aware."
Mr. Schwartz eventually gathered us in the hallway and warmed us up doing tongue twisters and scales.
"Are you ready, you two?" Mr. Schwartz asked me and Brody. I nodded but my hands were shaking and butterflies made my stomach flip flop. My voice stuck in my throat and Brody clapped his hands over my shaking ones.
...
The day carried on like molasses coming out of a jar. I wasn't focused or into what I was doing at all. I thought for sure it would show, but as soon as we were finished performing, Mr. Schwartz and the rest of the choir congratulating me. My head just wasn't in it.
When they finally started announcing the awards I was beyond ready to go home. I almost told the judges to pick someone else for highest overall soloist, because I sure as heck didn't deserve it, but I didn't. I held the trophy and smiled.
I was vaguely aware of being lifted into the air and onto the shoulders of Alex and Brody who were also holding a first place trophy and all-expense paid tickets to New York for Nationals.
Getting changed and packed up as quickly as possible, I proceeded to linger in the hallways, impatiently awaiting the rest of the group, when I felt the smallest of taps on my shoulder.
I turned to see a beautiful girl, definitely older than me, standing behind me. She looked like she was in college and had long, ink black hair that curled at the bottom. Her eyes were dark, endless pits. She was wearing a fitted, tight black and deep purple dress that hugged her curves. At first glance she was endearing, but upon closer inspection there was something menacing about her.
"You're Elena, right? Elena Williams?" Her voice was slightly raspy, like she had been smoking.
"Yes that's me. Can I help you?" I asked politely.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you!" She stuck out her hand and I reluctantly grabbed it. It was slick and clammy like she had been sweating but there was no evidence that she had.
"I'm sorry, do I…?"
"You're singing voice is just…" She trailed off as if racking her brain for the right words. "There are simply no adjectives to describe how sublime it is. Congratulations!" So she was just someone who felt it was her personal duty to congratulate a total stranger?
"Thank you very much, I truly appreciate it." I tried really hard to sound sincere but I was just so, done.
The girl's eyes glinted and caught the light almost menacingly. "You should. You should really appreciate the full scale of your amazing voice. After all, you never know when you might lose it."
For a second I was astonished beyond words, and then I was able to say something. "Excuse me?" But the girl was already turning away, her huge heels clicking against the floor as her dress swayed beneath her. "Wait, who are you?" I called after her. "What do you know?" Because something in my heart told me this wasn't just some friendly fan. Right then, Lily was at my elbow.
"Who are you shouting at?" She asked curiously.
"That girl. The one in the black dress and huge heels." I said, pointing at her disappearing figure in the crowd.
"I don't see anyone."
"She's right there."
"There's no one in a black dress, Elena." But I could see her still.
"You can't see her?" I asked feverishly.
"Are you feeling okay?" She replied, feeling my forehead. Suddenly feeling sick I didn't look at her.
"I'm not sure I am."
...
We sang the entire way home. Well, they sang, I stared at my trophy and continued to count down the minutes until I would see Eric. When we pulled into the school parking lot, Mr. Schwartz gave us some crap speech about having our fun this weekend and being ready for hard work come Monday. As soon as the bus stopped I darted off, not waiting for his reply. I searched the lot in the dim streetlights, but the crappy purple scion was nowhere to be found. It was then that I noticed the familiar metal glint of Andy's junk car.
I approached the car evenly, trying to keep my cool. Eden hopped out of the passenger seat as I got closer.
"Elena get in the car, we need to talk."
"Where's Eric?"
"Andy and I called him and told him not to come." Eden answered.
Suddenly outraged I replied with malice. "Why the hell would you do that?"
"Get in the car and we'll talk."
"I'll get in the car when you answer me."
With a sigh, Eden silently agreed. "Elizabeth told me earlier that Brody had told her that the new kid Eric was picking you up tonight and taking you home."
"Okay?" Anger was pulsing through me. This was the only thing I had wanted all day long, and my sisters had snatched it away without my consent, without my knowledge.
"You don't know who Eric is, Elena. You don't know the things I know about him." Eden reasoned, her voice almost desperate.
"According to what?" I shouted, "Some stupid made up rumors floating around school?"
"Elena will you just listen to me?" Eden snapped.
"No. I won't. Because for once since Mom died, I feel something. I've found something to let me know that my heart is still inside of my chest and it makes me happy. So, no. I will not let you take that away from me." I yanked the car door open and climbed in before jamming my headphones into my ears and blasting music the rest of the way home. When we got there, I locked myself in my room before Eden had a chance to say anything, crawled into bed, and hung onto the promise of tomorrow and Eric before falling into a dreamless sleep.
...
When I woke up the next morning, my first thought was everything happening that day. I rolled over onto my side and saw that the clock said 9:34. Two hours and twenty-six minutes left until Eric would be here. Eric.
All of my memories of the night before came flooding back and something wrenched inside of me at the thought of the way I had spoken to Eden and the way she had acted. I was grateful to remember that Eden was on a family outing with Andy and his family all day long and wouldn't be home until late that night. Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I began to start my day.
I couldn't help but jump in joy when the doorbell finally rang. I had been trying to keep myself busy for the last half hour, unsuccessfully. Grabbing my purse and keys, I yanked the door open to reveal the handsome face I had been waiting for.
"Hey." He said brightly, waving slightly.
"Hi there." The smile I shot at him was easy and natural.
"So, to the library we go?"
Shutting the door behind me, I laughed. "Yup."
...
Our community library was huge for small town standards and filled with tons of dusty old books, but only a select few were from this century.
Eric and I were like two little ants that crept up to the huge front desk. At first, there was no one to be seen, and then there was a tiny tinkling voice that sounded from behind the desk.
"Oh where is it?" Ouch!"
"Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly. A head bobbed up from beneath the desk before revealing the girl who spoke. She was beautiful. That was the only way to really describe her. She had wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders and bright blue eyes that lit up behind her glasses as she focused on us. She looked about our age.
"Oh! You're Elena!" She said suddenly. This took me by surprise.
"Yeah. Have we met?"
"I go to Ridgeview too." My perplexed look must have made her want to say more, "I'm in your study hall." I felt horrible at first but after she said study hall I understood.
"That explains why you don't look familiar! I'm always grocery shopping online for my Dad in study hall."
Eric was trying desperately to hold back his laughter. "Grocery shopping?"
"Shut up." I grumbled, playfully slapping his arm. "So you are…?" I asked, turning my attention back to the girl.
"Bryana Gold. You can call me Bree, though."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Eric." Eric extended a hand.
"I know." She blushed, taking his hand. Anger shifted inside of me that I somehow couldn't push down. "So is there something I can help you guys with?"
"Yeah, we have this number. We think it's a barcode for a book and were wondering if there was any way you could find it?" I explained, handing her a slip of paper with the number on it.
"Should be easy enough." Bree replied, typing something in the computer before taking the slip from my hand. Seconds ticked by, and then minutes before she finally said something. "Here it is!" I was all too eager. "Oh, it's in the West Wing." Her voice was almost a whisper.
"Where's the West Wing?" I asked happily.
"Well, I call it the West Wing because it's on the West side of the building but, it's also the restricted section."
"There's a restricted section in a public library?"
"Well it's not so much restricted as protected. The books in that section are super old and delicate. They only let certain people in there and likewise, certain people check the books out. You have to be 'trusted' in the library system. It's weird, I know, but you can only check out a book out from the West Wing if you have a good reputation with the library." She was already typing something into the computer. "I'll check to see if you're elegible now."
I felt like I was being sworn into a secret club of some sort. Eric and I exchanged a playful smile while we waited. He looked so easy-going in his faded jeans and light green V-neck. His eyes wandered around the room with his arms crossed and a faint smile. I couldn't help the fluttery feeling I got in my heart as I stared silently up at him from underneath my lashes.
On the car ride over, I caught him up on everything he missed. Including the strange girl who had approached me at the competition and the way Eden acted, minus all of the horrible things he said about Eric.
"Did you consider that maybe the girl was someone from another school you'll be competing with and that she's just trying to shake you up?" He had suggested.
"Maybe." But I tried my best to shrug off his suggestion. There was something we weren't getting, but if that girl meant to shake me up, she succeeded. Just not in the way she might have meant to.
Bree broke me from my reverie. "Okay we're good to go." She said it with so much enthusiasm that I couldn't help but smile.
We followed her down the hall where she led us to a locked door marked, EMPLOYEES ONLY. She unlocked the door to reveal another, slimmer hallway. "This is where it gets really cool." At the end of this hallway, there was a heavy wooden door that revealed a spiral metal staircase.
Climbing the stairs, I couldn't help but feel like the air was charged with magic. At the top where a heavy door lay, my breath caught as Bree moved it to reveal the smallest room I had ever seen filled to the ceiling with shelves stocked with books. Old and worn and covered with dust, but that didn't make it any less cool. Bree knew exactly where she was going and headed to a shelf on a wall across from the door. I followed close behind in total awe. Her fingers ran lightly across the spines of the books, as if they were her best friends. "We're not really supposed to let people in here, but I have the overwhelming feeling that I can trust you two."
But just like that, I wasn't paying attention anymore. My mother's locket, which only seconds ago had lain cooly against my skin and neck, was now in the air, filling the space around me with a soft yellow light. Shock closed off my body to motion until I saw Eric's equal look of disbelief. The glow was warm and enchanting, but also terrifying. Eric nudged me and I became aware of the fact that locket, along with itself, was pulling me closer to Bree. She had her back to us and was thankfully blissfully oblivious.
With a flash of movement the locket was off my neck and stuffed in my pocket where I held it there with too much effort. Eric and I exchanged a look that proved we weren't crazy.
"Here it is!" Bree plucked a small, time worn book carefully off of the shelf. "Aww! I love this story!" She turned to face us and held out the book for us to see.
"The Little Mermaid?" Eric handled the delicate book carefully in his hands.
"A Disney book? This is what my Mom left behind for me to find?" Disbelief settled in my heart. We must've gotten something wrong.
"You're Mom?" Bree asked.
"She was the one who gave me the number. In a letter she wrote before she passed away. But now I'm starting to think this isn't what she wanted me to find."
"Well for those books we don't use the electronic system to check them out, since so few do. There should be a book card," her hands flipped through the pages quickly, turning to the back of the book. "Yup, just like I thought." Bree handed me the card.
The edges were worn with time an there was small script all over it, but at the bottom of the card written in a delicate hand was what I had been looking for. "My mother did check this book out." Squinting at the scrawl I was able to make out the date. "A week before she…" I trailed off, letting the silence fill the holes.
"Did you want to check it out?" Bree was hesitant.
"What's the point? It's just some stupid book." The edge in my voice was rough.
"I think you should. We already know your Mom liked to leave strange clues, this is just another one of them." Eric protested, trying to reason with me.
Shaking my head I started towards the stairs, pulling out my locket as I went. It wasn't glowing anymore.
"Elena, come on! Seriously, don't freak out." Eric caught my arm.
"I'm not freaking out, I just don't want that stupid book." My eyes wouldn't meet his.
"At this point it's not like it'll hurt us to check it out." He wouldn't let go of my arm until I finally looked into those deep blue eyes and resolve dissolved in seconds.
"Fine. We'll get the goddamn book." I mumbled.
I kept a distance as Bree checked out the book for me. Eric made small talk with her so that I could wander around in circles, bitter at the thought of the stupid clue that my Mom had left behind.
"I promise you that Elena didn't mean to act that way." Eric said quietly, my ears perking up at the sound of my name on his lips.
"I figured the thought of her Mom was probably still very overwhelming." Bree's response, to my surprise, was not filled with pity. It was genuine with a hint of worry. It was…refreshing.
"Yeah it seems like it." Eric seemed distracted.
"You've known each other less than a week and you're already able to tell when she's acting out of character?" Bree's voice suddenly shifted to light and taunting.
Eric seemed to be taken aback, words not coming to the surface. Their voice lowered even further and the conversation, much like my head at that moment, was lost.
I gingerly stepped towards the desk, "Thank you, Bree. For all of your help." I said quietly.
"Oh it was my pleasure." The smile that lit her face was enchanting. "And besides, I know you'll love that book!"
"I already do." Taking the book from her hands I marched out of the library quickly, not willing to elaborate.
HELLO PEOPLE OF THE FANFICTION UNIVERSE. This is my gift to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorite during my overextended vacation. To be honest, I was really just lost with this story for the last few weeks. Really, it was my own fault because the last four or so chapters were written months ago and it was hard for me to get into something I wrote months and months ago. That may not make sense but its 12:42 in the morning and I usually don't make sense around this time of night/morning. Anyways THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for the continued support through my lull and I promise I have another update coming by the end of the weekend for my faithful followers!
I LOVE YOU GUYS TO THE MOON AND BACK!
Love, Love, Love,
LalaLisa23
PS: Tell me what you think in a review please! (:
