“You would be assuming wrong,” I said, slightly annoyed.
Why do boys instantly jump to the conclusion that a girl must be putting out to be in a relationship with another boy? I mean really, it is just so annoying.
“Really?” He seemed shocked. “I just thought… since he is always fawning over you.”
“Yeah, well, it’s only happened once, and that was by accident,” I grumbled, noticing that he had somehow managed to change the subject.
“Only once, huh? Was that about the time you found out Wesley was still seeing that redhead he ran off with?”
I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, but what he had just said jabbed holes in my heart. I had to choke down the lump in my throat.
“Yeah. The same day, in fact,” I admitted, with a sigh.
I didn’t want to relive the day that I had taken another soul as mine. The pain of it all was slowly dulling now, but it had taken months to get there.
“You ever hear from Wesley?” he asked.
“Nope, not a word,” I replied. Emptiness threatened to overtake me, so I sought to get back to the original subject. “So, are you going to tell me?”
He tensed again. We were back on track.
“Why do you care so much?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably.
“Because you are just so pure and sweet.” I shot him an expression of disgust. “The thought of you doing anything reckless is quite intriguing.”
I ran my fingers together and smiled evilly at him. He broke out into laughter for a moment then adopted a serious expression once more. He hung his head and threw up his hands.
“Pretty, please,” I said as sweetly as I could, to encourage him to speak.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.” He caved.
I waited, hugely interested.
“I don’t know if you remember me talking about a girl I knew two years ago. The one who had eyes similar to yours? Except hers weren’t the result of vision impairment; her eyes actually changed.”
He put his hands between his legs and a look of pain swept across his face. I wondered if this girl he was telling me about was his first love.
I nodded. I remembered that conversation. It had taken place while we had lunch at the hospital after Wesley was attacked by the vampire coven. The girl had been on the scene for about a year and then she had disappeared. I had always believed there was more to the story. He had never been forward with a name, only information on her eyes.
“There is more to her than just her eyes changing,” he said, avoiding my gaze. “It was right after my mother had left my father. I was lost, not only in my loyalty to my family but also to my faith. I couldn’t find my way back to salvation, no matter how hard I tried. I hated him for splitting my family, and I hated my mother for leaving. It wasn’t long after I started questioning my faith that I met her.” He paused.
Question after question was forming in my mind, but I knew that it was too soon. The story had only just begun.
“She came out of nowhere.” He smiled at me.
“Nowhere?”
“I mean, one second she wasn’t there and the next suddenly she was. It was like she came just for me. She had this way of making me feel important, of making me feel peace and not pain.” He stopped and took a long breath. “Her name was Helen Price, and she was a senior when I was a freshman.”
I smiled in what I hoped was an encouraging way.
“I found a comfort in her that I hadn’t found with anyone, and I told her everything. She did the same with me. She was my first kiss, my first date, my first everything really.”
“Did you love her?”
“In a way, I suppose I did. I don’t know though, as I have no idea what love is supposed to feel like.” He frowned.
“I know the feeling.” I looked away for a second then focused back on him. “Continue.”
He nodded and fumbled with his hands. “One evening we were sitting on the couch in the living room. Dad had gone out for the night with his brother, trying to find the right way to get over my mother, I assume. Our make-out session was getting pretty hot when she stopped me and told me she had to tell me a secret. So, I obliged her. I thought this secret was something petty, like all the others. However, I was wrong.”
“Goodness. What was wrong with her?” I asked, fascinated.
He gave me a funny look like he was perturbed by the interruption.
“She stood up in front of me and pulled her shirt off.” He blushed. “Then she turned her back to me. It was nothing but smooth flesh for about ten seconds, then suddenly these huge wings burst from her shoulder-blades. I screamed like a little girl, to be honest. When she turned around to face me though, it was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen.”
Oh God! There was another one!
“Her eyes were this brilliant blue, and she looked so scared, standing there with her hands across her chest and these massive wings taking up most of the space in the room.”
I let out a gasp.
“She told me that her father was an angel, but that her mother was unknown. I had to believe her. I had seen the wings! Right there was proof enough that God existed. I took it as a sign, and I vowed to get back into the church. Just like that, she delivered me back to my faith. After that, I rarely saw her. She had finished what she was destined to do.”
“But that’s so sad.” I felt a flutter of pain for Adam.
“She moved two months before graduation. I assume because of something important; she never told
