Hue - Archaic #2 (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 4 - Part 2

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath which I held for a few seconds before I opened my eyes and I exhaled the breath. Tyler remained silent on the other end of the phone while I was trying to get myself together.

"Are you feeling better?" he finally asked after a couple of minutes and a few more deep breaths later.

"Yes," I replied. I'd managed to calm myself down a bit but I still needed to get myself together.

"Okay. I need to get hold of Jared to keep him updated. You call me straight away if it gets worse, okay?"

"Okay." I ended the call. At the mention of Jared's name my heart squeezed in my chest. If it hurt like this when we weren't talking to each other I didn't want to experience what it would feel like if he weren't in my life anymore.

I took another deep breath before I headed downstairs.

I can do this, I kept chanting to myself. When I got downstairs I could smell the pizza coming from the kitchen, our takeout had arrived. Anne already had the paper plates out and was putting a piece of pizza on a plate for herself.

"It smells good," I said as I pulled the sleeve tighter over my hand.

"It does," she said before she took a bite of the pizza and then through a mouthful of food said, "It tastes so good."

I tried to act as normal as possible as I got some pizza and joined my grandmother in the lounge. It was too early to go to bed and Anne would definitely get concerned if I tried to disappear to my room right away so I sat next to her on the sofa. In-between mouthfuls of pizza she told me how her trip went and how busy they'd been.

I still couldn't believe Nathaniel had been able to put that whole trip together so quickly. He was very resourceful but I supposed the money had helped. He probably had plenty of experience at coming up with ways of keeping their secret safe.

An hour later Anne and I were sitting on the couch and watching some new series on TV. It was about vampires and werewolves. Before meeting Jared I never would have believed it was possible but now, after what I'd seen, anything was possible. I could feel the tingling on the skin of my hand had spread up my wrist. I held the sleeve of my shirt tightly over my hand.

"I'm off to bed," I said as I stood up. I wanted the safety of my room where I could relax and not be on a nervous edge waiting to be discovered.

"So early?" Anne questioned glancing at her wristwatch.

"Yeah.., it has been a busy week with school and stuff," I replied faking a yawn. It was really a weak excuse and I waited to see if she would believe it.

"Okay," she said as she got up. She leaned closer to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Instinctively I held on tighter to the sleeve wrapped around my tingling hand when I returned her hug briefly.

I felt relief as I went upstairs and I loosened the sleeve over my hand. I opened the door to my room and stopped in my tracks.

Standing by my window with his back to me stood Jared. My heart fluttered to life at the sight of him. I wanted to run and throw my arms around him instead I quietly entered my room and closed the door. He turned at the sound of my entry and set his deep green eyes on me. The breath stilled in me as I gave him a weak smile but he didn't return it. His face was expressionless and difficult to read. It was the first time he'd looked directly at me since finding out about the blue energy and my deception.

"Hey," I said not sure how to start this conversation.

He studied me for a moment before speaking. "Tyler called me and told me about your arm. I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I am. It doesn't hurt," I assured him. The anxious need to touch him increased. Once touch of our skins would ease it immediately but I kept my distance. I was unsure of how to handle him.

As if sensing my internal thoughts he walked to me and touched my cheek as he came to stop in front of me. Relief flooded through me as the anxious feeling disappeared and I felt normal again. He kept his hand on my cheek and I looked at him unsure of what to say. He took another step to me. He was standing so close I wanted to reach out and touch him. This need to touch him wasn't driven by the anxious feeling but my feelings of love towards him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He was sorry? I was a little taken aback. I was the one that had been at fault so why was he sorry?

"I shouldn't have gotten so upset earlier on. What you did was wrong but I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"You had every right to be angry with me," I said. His finger trailed down my cheek as he held my gaze.

"Yes, I had every right to be angry but I also need to understand you're new to all of this. You haven't been hiding this secret as long as we have. To us it has become second nature. You've handled all of this so well, I don't think I or anybody else would have handled this as well as you have." He was right they had a lot more practice at hiding their secret then I had.

"I still shouldn't have kept it from you," I admitted, "I was being selfish and only thinking about myself. I didn't intentionally try to endanger anyone."

"I know. Just promise me no more keeping things from me," he said. He was so close now I could feel his breath tickle my face. His eyes flickered to my lips and then back to my eyes. "I care about you and I want to keep you safe."

"I promise I wont keep things from you again," I whispered gazing up to him. His face lowered to mine. My eyes closed at the touch of his lips against mine. My arms snaked around his neck while his arms wrapped around my waist. I moved my lips under the demand of his. His tongue glided into my mouth and I felt the butterflies flutter in my stomach. I held onto him tighter, I was pretty sure if he let me go I wouldn't be able to stand.

When I felt his lips leave mine I opened my eyes. He smiled at me. That sexy, I know what affect I have on you, type of smile. I smiled back at him. This boy had my heart firmly clutched in his hands. I didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as I loved him. Human or not he had my heart.

The tingling intensified on my hand and wrist. I could feel it spread to the top of my forearm. I stepped out of his arms and pulled my sleeve up. The energy enveloped my entire right forearm.

"Can you feel it?" he asked in awe.

"Yeah. It feels tingley," I explained.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said quietly as he ran his fingertips over my arm. My eyes followed the motion of his fingers on my skin.

"Have you had any other symptoms?" he asked before he pulled my sleeve down to cover my arm.

"Physically I haven't noticed any other changes other then my skin. I can't bring myself to drink soda or eat anything sugary. It's almost like I crave plainer options like water and bread."

"I picked up on that already," he said distantly. A puzzled frown settled on his face.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said more to himself then to me.

He was deep in thought when I felt uneasiness fill me. The thought of changing into something I didn't know was terrifying. Could I possibly be changing into something worse then a Hue? My panic rose.

Taking in a deep breath I pushed against the panic beginning to overwhelm me. I couldn't give into it but the fear of what was happening was too much to fight. The air in my lungs froze and I couldn't expel it.

My hand fisted Jared's shirt.

"Breathe," he commanded when he saw my alarmed features. I wanted to but the fear inside me had taken hold and wasn't letting go.

This time the panic attack won and I felt myself slip as the darkness enveloped me.