Hidden in the Stars~{Book 1 in the Emerald of Annihilation Trilogy}

Chapter 3

Lily's POV

As we filed on the bus home, I could not take my mind off the new boy. Jayden. He so amazing. His hair, his smile..... "Are you ok? You look sick." I looked up to see Buck's face. He looked worried. "Are you sick?" He repeated his question. 

I shook my head. "No. I'm fine." I let my head rest on my arm, as I smiled like an idiot to myself. With a confused but careless face, by brother turned back to chat with his friends. How would I tell this to mom. Simple. I didn't have to.

Mom had a habit of knowing things. It was creepy sometimes. She could tell what happened and who did it. I raised an eyebrow as Maddie plopped down beside me. "did you see the new boy?" I nodded. "Jayden? Yeah." 

She sighed dreamily. "He is so handsome!" I nodded. "Uh,huh." I tried not to sound too interested. If she knew, she would go crazy, and with her big mouth, the whole school would know. 

I listened as Maddie rambled on and on about how perfect he was. I agreed with her completely. He was perfect of course, but something seemed off about him. He was.....too perfect. His smile was charming, but his eyes seemed to be hiding something. 

We reached home, and I ran to my room throwing my bags in the corner. I pulled out my phone and texted Maddie. 

About an hour later, I got bored, and went down stairs. "Mom, I'm going for a walk!" "OK, honey. Be safe!" I pulled on a jacket and exited the house. I loved home, but I enjoyed being out in the fresh air better. I began walking the streets alone, passing people and parked cars. 

I was startled when I heard a sharp bark. I looked to the ground next to me.  A puppy with light yellow fur sat, panting, with adorable eyes staring up at me. "Kado!" A little girl about five, yelled from a few feet ahead of me. 

The puppy looked at her, and wagged his little tail, before bounding out into the busy traffic. "Kado!" The little girl turned and ran into the street. "Anna!" A middle-aged woman screamed. Without thinking, I rushed into the busy traffic, toward the girl, who had her arms around her precious dog. A large eighteen wheeler swerved, honking, towards them.

There was no time to try and get them out of the incoming truck's way. The swerving trailer made it's way closer and closer to them. I pushed the young girl down, and dropped down flat beside her, my upper body shielding her.

The trailer skidded above us, the bottom of it scraping my back. But I didn't worry about that. I reached out my hand, and it passed us, stopping it from skidding anymore. I breathed a sigh of relief, and stood.

The little girl clung to me with one hand, with her puppy safely in her other. "Anna?!" Her mother rushed out to us. "My baby! Are you hurt?" She felt all over the girl making sure she was unharmed. Anna nodded. "Kado is not hurt....."

I smiled. She pulled her dog closer then looked at me. Her mother hugged me. "Thank you, thank you!" I nodded. "No problem." I stood, and ruffled Anna's hair. "try not to get in the way of any more trucks ok?" She nodded. 

I walked to the other side of the street and continued on my walk. As I walked, I found my self in the darker park of town. I wasn't worried, though. I could take any danger. But a part of me told me I was being followed. 

Turning, I clenched a fist. Nothing. I saw nothing. It was quiet.... Too quiet. But I was smart. I played it cool and pretended like I didn't suspect a thing. With my hands in my pocket, I rounded a corner and waited. My back firmly pressed on the cold brick wall. 

Footsteps sounded on the pavement, echoing in the empty alleyways. My heart thumped, anticipating what would happen next. My keen ears caught the sound of a blade's thin 'shing' and I swallowed. 

I took a deep breath, then leapt from my hiding place, ready to punch the mystery follower. "WH-wha- whoa! Lily?!" I blinked, and lowered my hand. "Jayden?" He backed up a few steps. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

I was confused. "You were following me!" I countered, confused myself. "I was not. I was walking home from school. I missed the bus. So I walked." I blinked, and leaned back on the wall, calming myself down.

"You live around here?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. I shook my head. "No, I was just walking." He raised an eyebrow. "In this kind of nieghborhood?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "How could you know this is a bad part of town? I thought you just moved here?"

He started sweating but recovered quickly. "L-lucky guess....I guess?" I nodded, not buying one word. "Uh, huh...?" I shook my head. "Anyway, I better get home." He nodded. "See you at school tomarrow." I nodded, and waved. 

Jogging home, I played thoughts of what had just happened through my mind. He had been following me. He knew the town, though he had 'just moved here'. I had heard the unmistakible sound of a knife. 

But he was Jayden. The most amazing guy ever. I was probobly wrong. Mabey I had just heard things. I shrugged and opened the door of the house, to find mom standing there arms crossed. "You smell....strange.." I was surprised. "Huh?" She shook her head. "You were in the dark part of town....again." 

I shrugged. "I didn't notice." She nodded, unimpressed. "Dinner is on the table." I nodded. "OK." I found no one at the table though. "Where is dad? And Buck?" She walked over to the tv, where a cartoon was blaring. Buck was asleep on the couch, snoring. 

Turning the tv off, the ignored my question, and leaned off the wall. "I'm taking a leave of absence from work." I put my fork down. "Thats good. right?" She shrugged. "Yeah. Duke will cover my responsibilities, and I'll have more time with you guys." 

I nodded. "So it is a good thing." She nodded. I could tell she was hiding something from me. "Your father is spending time with is brothers." I shrugged. "OK, that's fine." She sighed, and walked to the staircase, resting one foot on the first step. "And Lily?" I looked at her, stil chewing. "I hope you'll be able to tell if he's the guy for you." 

With that, she assended the stairs to her room. I blushed, and turned back to my food. See?! She can tell! But I could tell something was off about Jayden.....something, not perfect....

Hope you enjoy this chapter!!!