Once Jarod and I entered our room, I finally allowed myself to relax. I came to the conclusion that he was right. If someone had been out there, the alert would have been sounded and I'd be busted by now. I sighed as I readied myself for bed, yanking off each shoe and letting them fall to the floor with a dull thud.
"What are you going to do tomorrow?" Jarod asked, pulling a paint-stained shirt over his muscular chest. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled grimly.
"Same as always: wake up at four a.m., go to class, and pretend like I'm not in love with my best friend." I ran a hand through my short hair and immediately missed the extensions, as well as my beloved bra now laying in a bag buried underneath Raye's bed.
He chuckled low in his throat, and I resisted the urge to join him despite my gloomy disposition. "But you had fun, right?" he wondered.
I nodded, sighing again. "A little too much fun," I admitted. "But it was nice to see everyone was enjoying themselves as much as me…"
He grinned good-naturedly. "Yeah, what was up with that? I've never seen the guys so interested! But," he put in, "you do have some really pretty friends."
"They're more than just pretty," I pointed out, and he rolled his eyes. "They're also brilliant, kind, and wonderful."
"Don't get all girly on me now," he muttered, and I laughed.
"Turn out the light," I ordered, throwing a pillow over my face as I threw myself back on the bed. "I have an early start tomorrow!"
He nodded, and headed over to the door. Just as he reached for the switch, however, I felt a sudden lump at the small of my back, and jumped visibly.
"Hold on a minute!" I murmured, reaching underneath me. Much to my surprise, my fingers closed over the forgotten box Mina had given me earlier. I smiled and gently traced its blue surface with my fingers, gently caressing the soft pink ribbon around the outside. I shook it gently, and heard something rather substantial clanking inside.
"You going to open it, or what?" Jarod demanded sleepily, his hand still on the light switch.
I ignored him and gently lifted the lid of the box instead, only to find a note on top of tissue paper.
Serena,
Knowing that this situation has been a huge pain in the neck for you, I wanted to get you something to make the ordeal a little more bearable. I thought of all the obvious things: flowers, chocolates, jewelry… but then decided to give you something that would not only grant you access to Darien, but to all of us as well. Enjoy it little sister, and may it give you more insight into the great love you seek after!
My Love Always,
Mina
PS: It's already been activated, and the number's on the back of this note… Be sure to pass it on to dear Darien, but I better be the first one you call!
I smiled in puzzlement as I read her last words, but as I pushed aside the folds of tissue paper, my quizzical grin quickly widened to one of delight. Inside the box was a small silver cell-phone!
"What is it?" Jarod asked, peering over my shoulder, and I raised it higher so he could get a better look. "Nice," he murmured, chuckling a little. "Looks like she thought of just about everything!"
"It's what she's good at," I commented, flipping the phone open and turning it on. Mina, Amy, and Raye's smiling faces suddenly appeared on the opening screen, and I smiled as unshed tears pricked at the back of my eyelids. "Gosh, I miss them already!"
"You'll see them again soon," Jarod soothed, patting my shoulder awkwardly. I smiled softly and nodded before turning around to look at him.
"You can shut the light off now," I said, reaching down to pull the phone charger from the box. I leaned over and plugged it in just as the room went dark.
"Tomorrow's a new day, Serena," Jarod murmured tiredly from across the room. I heard the rustle of his bed sheets as he slipped between them, and I smiled into the blackness.
"I guess," I answered.
"You'll probably be quite popular," he muttered, and I giggled softly.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure the guys will be just dying to talk to me in the morning!"
We both laughed, but a few moments later Jarod fell silent, and not long after that his snores filled the room. I laid in the dark for a long time, my mind filled with thoughts of Darien and everything that had occurred during the day. It had been the greatest day of my life, and although I was exhausted now, I knew I was never going to get to sleep with all this stuff running through my mind. I needed to think, and I knew just the place to go for it.
I rose slowly from my bed, wincing as my weight sent a strong creak through the floorboards. Jarod snorted across from me, and I heard him shift around in his bed. I held my breath for a moment, and finally released it when his snores resumed once more. I crept slowly to the door, and opened it, leaving Jarod's noisy sleeping pattern behind me.
I found the door to the attic easily in the dark, and it took me only a minute to get up the stairs. As I reached the top threshold however, I was surprised to see moonlight already shining through the trapdoor leading to the roof. Dimly I could hear soft whistling from above. The tune was oddly familiar, soft and mournful, and although it belonged to no song I recognized, I knew I had heard it somewhere before.
"Darien?" I called softly, and the whistling suddenly stopped. A second later, his head popped into view.
"Ren?"
"Yeah, it's me," I whispered. "Can you give me a boost up?"
His arms reached down in answer, and with his help, it wasn't long before I joined him on the roof.
"Feeling better?" he asked, and I grinned nervously.
"Yeah, sorry I worried you…" I apologized, and he leveled me with a slightly resentful gaze.
"You just kind of disappeared on me, that's all," he explained. "And I knew your sister and your cousin wanted to see you. I don't know, it was just a little irritating I guess."
I flinched guiltily at his somewhat harsh words, but I couldn't ignore the truth in them. We were silent for a while, but finally Darien sighed.
"Look, I don't want to lecture you. I'm actually in a pretty good mood."
"Oh really?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "How come?"
"I got to see Serena," he offered, and I grinned excitedly.
"Did you have fun?" I asked, trying my best to sound innocent.
"I had a blast," he admitted. "She's really amazing: smart, funny, beautiful, everything a guy could want in a girl. I'm starting to wonder if this whole thing is too good to be true!"
I beamed at him and shook my head, struggling to hide the blush rising into my cheeks. "Would you like to call her sometime?" I asked casually, trying to stifle the giddy laughter that was quickly rising into my throat.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "You have her number?"
I grinned. "I've got it lying around here somewhere," I quipped, and he smiled widely at me.
"What would I do without you, man?" he asked, casually tossing an arm around my shoulders. I struggled not to shiver at this friendly display of affection, but he didn't seem to notice my strange reaction. "How long have you had her number, anyway?"
I shook my head, and shrugged nonchalantly, forcing him to remove his arm from its comfortable rest. "Not that long. It's a new cell phone, and Mina gave me the number when she came up to see me."
"Well, I definitely want it. We had such an amazing connection, and I really want to see where it goes."
We were quiet for a long time, but Darien broke it with deep sigh, and proceeded to lean back, folding his arms behind his head.
"She's wonderful," he said softly, and I turned away as the roses in my cheeks began to bloom. "Today was so awesome, like a movie, you know?"
"I can imagine," I murmured.
"You must think I'm a loser, being so mushy about a girl…"
"I'd never think you were a loser," I replied honestly, and he smiled up at me.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed. "It's just awesome that I can talk to you. I mean, you know what it's like to be nuts about someone… I could never say this stuff around the other guys."
"Yeah," I muttered sarcastically. "I'm just so sensitive!"
"Hey!" he protested, sitting up and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that. I like the fact you can be honest with your feelings. It's a good thing!"
We stared at each other for a long time, and suddenly I felt strange… There was something in his eyes, an odd flicker that I hadn't seen before. Suddenly I was very aware of our surroundings. The wind rustled through the pines, the stars shone brightly above us, a crescent moon glowed dimly from the horizon, and I was on a secluded rooftop with the man I loved. If I wasn't careful, this could go very badly, but was it my imagination that Darien seemed to be thinking thoughts along the same line?
"We should get to bed," he said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I blinked once, and then nodded, rising to my feet. "You'll give me Serena's number tomorrow, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure," I promised, relieved. "Remind me tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good. Night!" he called over his shoulder before disappearing through the trap door.
"Night," I murmured, and lifted my eyes to the night sky, frowning slightly.
I couldn't get rid of the troubled feeling in my heart. Was it just me, or had Darien and I had a moment? I didn't really want to think about it, so after a few seconds of deliberation I decided to push it aside, and slipped through the trap door, landing with a soft thud on the attic floor. I made my way through the dark effortlessly, descending the stairs with practiced ease, and reached the door to my dorm a few minutes later. Making sure not to wake Jarod, I entered silently, but flinched as my bare foot brushed against something on the ground.
"What the--?" I muttered, and reached down to recover the offending object.
My fingers closed around a smooth, fibrous surface, and I immediately recognized it as an envelope. Puzzled, I picked it up and headed for my bed, turning on my small lamp as I sat down. Jarod groaned from the other side of the room, but I ignored him as I took in the name spread across the surface of the envelope in elegant cursive: Ren.
I lifted an eyebrow, and felt my heart quicken. I opened it hurriedly, and as my eyes scanned the words on the page inside, my entire body went cold. The papers fell from my fingertips as terror gripped me, and I released a strangled cry, immediately waking Jarod from a deep slumber.
Ren,
I know who you are, and I know what you are… The question is, can I keep it a secret?
The note wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Someone had seen me outside earlier tonight, and that one moment could blow my whole cover.
"Serena!" Jarod called sleepily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Someone knows," I croaked, pointing at the papers littering the floor.
"What?" he asked fearfully, and rose from his bed. He bent down and gathered the papers quickly, and paled as he read them.
"What are we going to do?" I whispered.
He raised his blue eyes to me, and for the first time I saw doubt within them. He didn't know, and it was then I knew I was ina lotof trouble.
Like it? Hate it? Review please!