Blue Moon (Colors of the Moon #1)

Chapter 10

I dug my nails into my palm and continued to count. One thousand six hundred and ten. One thousand six hundred and eleven...

My eyes flickered to my left and right, where Conner and Larry were sitting on either of my sides in the back of the SUV. Or more exactly I glanced at the shut windows on both of their sides. More than anything I wished I had the ability to shatter the glass with my mind and allow the fresh air to invade the closed space.

Yet the windows remained stubbornly shut.

I turned to the front and took in as deep of a breath as I could. The only reason why I could still fight against the tightening of my throat was the open window next to the front passenger seat, through which a nice breeze broke in.

Next to the open window sat Elena, with her face tilted toward the speeding forest on the other side of the car. Just as fiercely as I wished the back windows to open, I also wished for the two of us to switch places. But that was only because of the fresh air she was experiencing, and not the fact that Jared was also sitting right beside her behind the steering wheel.

Despite driving down a run-down forest road, we were moving with the speed of a race car. And I wasn't even exaggerating. From my position in the middle, I could see exactly how fast we were going. It was the only thing able to distract me from the ringing in my ears.

I seemed to be the only one worried about the speed we were driving with though. The others were comfortably chatting amongst themselves, even Jared, who was supposed to by paying attention to the road.

At six thousand one hundred and fifteen we finally arrived at our destination when Jared stopped the car close to a massive building. The moment he shut the engine, people of all ages appeared out of the surrounding forest. And for some reason they were all smiling.

When the others climbed out, I instantly followed them. There was no way I was staying trapped inside the small space longer than I needed to. A wave of relief flooded my veins the moment my feet touched the solid ground and my lungs took in the fresh forest air.

I was out.

With each slowing heartbeat my body relaxed, until I became aware of the curious eyes scanning me from the top of my messy hair to the tips of my muddy sneakers. Instinctively I allowed a curtain of my dark locks to hide my face, while I peeked around for the four familiar faces.

I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but the first person my eyes landed on was Jared. He was standing several feet away from me, with his back turned to me. I was about to take my first step closer to him when a girl about my age wrapped her arms around him. What had my stomach sinking, however, was the fact that Jared returned her hug.

A wide smile stretched the girl's mouth as they parted and then it began to move. Because of the distance between us and the surrounding crowd, however, I wasn't able to catch a single peep.

Her dark brown hair was at least a shade darker than mine, but my eyes were more drawn to her firm but still soft in the right places figure. A figure most women, including me, would kill for.

A burning sensation spread through my throat the longer I watched the two of them interact. Just before I could tell myself that I needed to look away, the girl turned her eyes over to me. My immediate response was to freeze, while she began making her way toward me.

I didn't fail to notice Jared's attempt to hold her back. Yet she was too quick for him, and she easily slipped out of his hold.

"Hi, there" She stopped a couple of steps in front of me, still smiling with the same wide grin. "You don't need to be afraid. We're all friendly here."