Chapter 23
Missing you

"Shhh! Shhh!" a voice hissed.

I it was pitch black in my room, making it impossible to see who the intruder was. I shook and fought against the hand when suddenly, my bedside lamp flashed on.

Blaize stood beside my bed, his face horrified. His pale face was twisted with fright and his golden eyes were widened to the point where I thought they'd fall out of their sockets. He slowly removed his hand from my mouth. I clutched my chest and tried to calm my breathing. His face slowly relaxed as mine did. I jumped up off my bed and stood up. I stared at his face for a long while and then the anger caught up with me. I threw a punch at his perfectly sculpted chest.

As it made contact with him, there was nothing but excruciating pain. I ignored it though and fought back the tears. I waited for his face to turn into pain. But it didn't, he just stood there...having a confused look his face.

"Oh…sorry. Was that supposed to hurt?" he said, fighting a smile.

"You're such a jerk." I hissed. I stormed over to my bathroom. I couldn't imagine that my breath was the best, so I brushed my teeth.

"What are you doing?" a voice whispered at the door.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry? I wanted to see you? I can leave if you—"

I quickly opened the door. "No," I whispered.

I turned on my other lamp, lighting up enough of the room to be able to see him without squinting. He walked over to my bed and sat down. We were silent, just two people in the room together. I glanced over at my iPod and its doc. He looked over at me and then stood up. He slowly picked up the small device and turned it on. The screen brightened to life and he began to tap something onto the touch screen. He quickly guessed the password.

I stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. He thumbed through the lists and began to examine something. He then looked up at me. "You really are a hopeless romantic, aren't you?" he smiled lightly.

I rubbed the top of my scalp self-consciously. I didn't know if he liked that idea or not. "I-I guess…" I stammered. I wondered what he was getting that from.

"It's just that…Your top twenty-five most played is full of love songs…In fact…I think its all love songs." He mused. Then he selected something. "This isn't exactly my favorite, but I think I could learn to love it…" he smiled, placing the iPod back on the doc. The song that I've listened to so many times before came on; with you by Jonah Johnson. He glided over to me and bowed. "May I have this dance?" he whispered, taking my hand and kissing the top of it.

I giggled and nodded. He pulled me to the middle of my bedroom and pulled me close. He wrapped one arm around my waist and held my hand in his. We moved in slow circles as we stared into each other's eyes.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered.

I felt my cheeks turn bright red. I reached up and placed a small kiss on his lips. The last few minutes were silent as we swayed back and forth. "Tell me why this is your favorite song?" he pleaded.

"How'd you know it's my favorite?" I giggled.

"Well…judging by the amount of times you listen to it, I have a pretty fair guess."

I looked up and stared directly in his eyes. "Because it reminds me of you."

He smiled slowly and hugged me closer. "I used to hate that song." I whispered.

"Why?"

"Cause…I didn't have anyone to compare it to." I sighed. I felt him hug me even tighter and kiss the top of my head. "How'd you get in here?" I questioned.

The song ended and we parted. He walked over to the balcony doors. He pulled something out of his pocket and started working with the lock. Suddenly he pushed the doors open, allowing a cold wind to rush through my room. He turned around and smiled, holding up a key.

"How'd you…" I walked over t him and took the key.

"There are eight hours that the Geneas are not in their house." He whispered. "I snuck in and grabbed the key, ran to the hardware store, made a copy, came back, put the key in its original place, and left."

"When did you do this?" my happiness growing.

"This afternoon." He shrugged, examining the key.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I pushed.

He looked at me, his eyebrows pulling together.

"Let's go! I want to go!" I practically yelled.

"We can't!" he whispered.

"Why not?" I protested.

"Well first of all, it's nearly midnight. Second, you're parents come in every hour to check on you."

"They do not!" I argued.

He looked at his watch. "They do, and they're due in five…four…three—"

Suddenly I was in my bed, alone. The lights were off, but footsteps were coming up the stairs. I quickly pulled the covers over myself. My door slowly creaked open, casting the shadow of my mother. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. And with that, the door closed and the hall light went off. I listened as the footsteps padded down the stairs.

When the steps stopped, I flicked my light back on. "Blaize?" I whispered.

Nothing.

"Blaize?" I whispered again.

Then a note appeared on my lap. I looked around for the sender, but he wasn't there. I sighed and picked up the folded paper.

Andrea,

You do realize that you're still in trouble? Of course you don't. You're impulsive, crazy, careless, beautiful, smart, talented, amazing, wonderful, incredible, unbelievable and I love you more than you could ever know. But please, just let your parents adjust to the fact that I'm not going away any time soon. Or…as far as i can tell, I'm never going away. I plan on being with you for…

Well a long time. Ha-ha. As for tonight, well…I'll be seeing you in your dreams I hope. If I could dream, I'd meet you there, but we both know that's impossible.

I love you

~Blaize

I folded the paper back up and placed it under my pillow. I laid back down and closed my eyes.

"I love you," a voice whispered in my ear. I smiled, knowing who it was.

That night was the last time I've seen him. I assume he's gone on a hunting trip with his family.

"Uh..Mom," I started. We were on our way home from school and I'd just gotten two hundreds on a test. She was definitely in a good mood.

"Yeah, Hun?" she answered, turning into a coffee shop.

"Well…my birthday is coming up."

"It is…" she agreed, looking over the menu. "Do you want anything?"

"No…thanks." I whispered. I let her order and then after she'd had her coffee, I brought it up again. "Well I was thinking…"

"Uh-oh…."

"Well I think I've been pretty good about this whole grounding thing…I was wondering if maybe you'd consider lifting it."

She looked at me. "Andrea," she warned. "We decided three weeks."

"I know you did, and I know it's only been two, but…"

"But nothing,"

"Mom! Come on! Can't I have a party? I'm turning seventeen for crying out loud!"

"Okay…let's say that your father and I…say yes to this. Who are you going to invite?"

"Kids from school…" I shrugged.

"Oh you mean your drunken school friends?" she asked sarcastically. "No. Absolutely not. I'm not allowing that crowd into our house."

"Fine, just Blaize's family then." I settled.

She sighed. "Fine. You can invite some school friends." She paused. "But, there are conditions."

"Alright,"

"No alcohol. And we will be there supervising."

"Fine,"

"Deal, so when will this party be? What will it be?"

"Well I was thinking of a bonfire?"

"That'd be fine…"

I smiled to myself. We pulled into our driveway and got out of the car. I ran into the house and went automatically upstairs. Over the past few days, I've gotten my computer cord back and the land-line was placed in my room again. I picked up the phone and dialed Blaize's number.

It's been nearly two weeks, and I haven't heard a word from him or his family.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Hey, is Blaize there?" I asked.

"Andrea, don't you ever get tired of him?" It was obviously Ivan.

I rolled my eyes. "Ivan, give the phone to Blaize."

"Ivan! Stop being a jerk and tell her." A hysteric voice screamed.

My heart began to pound harder in my chest. "What's going on?"

There was complete silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"Give me the phone." Someone ordered.

"No," Ivan argued.

"Hello? Andrea?" Another voice answered. "It's Lawrence."

"Hi, Lawrence, what's going on?" I had a gut feeling that something was very, very wrong.

"It's Blaize…"

"What happened to him?" I felt tears coming to my eyes.

"We don't know where he is." He answered.

"What do you mean?"

"He left a little over a week ago and hasn't come home. It was in the middle of the night. He's not with you by chance is he?"

"No...He's not….Can't you see the future? Don't you see where he is?"

"No, all I can see is fog."

"I'm lost…"

"See, when Blaize is in a weather condition that is full of fog, I can't see anything. For a human, it'd be basically like driving at night with no headlights or any form of light."

"Oh."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?" he was beginning to get worried.

I thought for a moment. "Well, maybe. I'll go look."

"Thank you Andrea."

We both hung up and I ran out of my room and down the stairs. "Mom, can I take the car?"

"Uhm…sure? Is everything okay?" she asked.

"No, it's fine…I just need to drive."

"Alright then…" she sounded suspicious.

I grabbed the keys and flew out the door. I hopped in the Camaro and sped out of the driveway. As I drove down the road, my tears were beginning to roll down my cheeks. I had a good idea of where he was, but I was still worried. When I finally turned down that familiar dirt road, I began to drive faster. The trail began to come into view and I slowed.

I stopped the car abruptly and got out. It was a hot sunny day and I was wearing a skirt, flip-flops, and a short sleeved shirt. It wasn't exactly hike-worthy clothing, but I didn't care right now. I started down the narrow trail and in an instant the sunlight was taken away from me.

I walked swiftly through the dense forest, tripping every once and a while on the root of a tree, or just merely tripping because I was walking too fast. But as the trail faded, it was becoming impossible to see. The fog was so heavy that I couldn't even see the hand in front of my face.

"Blaize?" I called out in desperation.

There was no answer.

I trudged on into the Smokey fog, waiting for it to clear. Suddenly there was a bright light off in the distance. I smiled in relief, knowing that the fog was going to clear soon. I ran toward the light now. I couldn't believe how scary the fog was and I was more than ready to just get out of it. As I ran, I was careful to pick up my feet, making sure that I wouldn't fall. The fog broke in an instant and I was in the grass by the river.

I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. I huffed from the run. Then I stood up and looked around. It amazed me how much the place changed since I was last here. It was barely two weeks and the leaves had already changed to magnificent colors of red, orange, brown, and yellow. Now the grass was beginning to die and leaves were falling to the ground. The river was still beautiful as colorful leaves flowed through it.

I took a step toward it so that I could get across it. I stepped onto the first stone and waited to catch my balance. Then I took a step to the second stone, completely paying no attention to the fact that there was water on it. I slipped and fell into the icy river.

"Shoot!" I hissed.

"Andrea?" someone called out.

I looked up to the tree house. Blaize was poking his head out of one of the windows in the house. The sun glittered off his magnificent face. In a flash he was in the water next to me, lifting me up.

He ran us to the tree house. "What are you doing here?" he asked, setting me onto the warm wooden floor.

"Looking for you." I replied. I looked down at my wet skirt. "You really need to build a bridge there."

"Why?"

"So this," I motioned to my skirt. "Won't happen!"

"I like it when this happens." He smiled.

I looked at him in astonishment.

"I like it because," he paused, grabbing a towel from a cupboard and wrapping it around me as he picked me up into his arms. "I like to take care of you like this. It makes me feel like I'm good for something."

I shook my head as I rested it on his shoulder. He proceeded to the couch and sat down. I rested my legs across his and leaned against the back of the couch.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"What's up? Are you serious?" I asked in shock.

He shrugged.

"Blaize, you've been gone for nearly two weeks!"

He rubbed his face and got up. "I know, I know." He walked to the window and stood in front of it.

I got up and stood behind him. "What's going on with you?" I asked.

He turned around and looked at me. "I've been thinking…and…well…"

I stared at him. His face was twisted in pain…the kind of pain I saw when he broke up with me the first time. "No…" I whispered.

His eyebrows pulled together and he held his arms out with his palms up. "What? You don't want a seventeenth birthday party?"

My mouth dropped.

He burst out laughing. "You should have seen your face!"

"That's not funny." My eyes filled with tears.

I turned around and stormed to the door. I climbed down the ladder and hopped onto the ground. I ran toward the river and stepped onto the first stone. I stepped onto the second stone and fell again.

"Damn it!" I shrieked.

Blaize walked into the river. "Let me help you." He sighed.

"No, I'm fine." I snapped. I tried to stand up and was unsuccessful. I fell right back down. "Ughhhh!" I screeched, slamming my fists down on the water.

There was quiet laughter behind me. I whipped my head around to see Blaize covering his mouth, trying to hide his laughter. "Are you seriously laughing at me?"

He moved his hand and shook his head. "No, not at all." He said with a straight face.

He lost his cool and so did i. We both cracked up and threw our heads back in laughter. When the laughs died down, he reached out with his hand. "Here,"

"You know, for a two-hundred-some year old man, you're extremely immature." I took it and stood up. We went to the other side of the river and started for the trail, hand in hand.