Waken (The Woods of Everod Book 1) Read online

  His smile spread. “You have no clue what is happening do you? Let’s just go.”

  Ignoring the disgruntled murmurs of the people in our row, we snuck our way out. He held my hand clasped in his and for the first time I could remember, I felt safe. It was like being in my bubble with no one else was around. Except there was Tristan and the feelings rushing through me.

  We walked out of the theater and we headed towards the strip mall, the parking lot lamps lighting a path across the lot.

  He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well, you’re so quiet,” he said.

  I couldn’t help the curl of my lips. “I’m just enjoying being with you.”

  “Good,” he said smugly.

  I laughed at his response, this little bit of conceit was unexpected but it was nice that he had a silly side. I didn’t feel as self-conscious knowing he liked being with me.

  “Your dad does a lot of moving for work, doesn’t he? Do you like that? Going from place to place, I mean?” he asked.

  “It’s alright. A bit frustrating since high school credits don’t transfer so easily between countries or even states sometimes.”

  He stopped under one of the street lamps. The lamp rays from overhead bathed us in a soft yellow glow. I gazed up at him, drowning in his icy blue eyes. I blinked rapidly, hoping to break the intensity of the look. The fluttering slowed as I watched his face come closer.

  Our mouths met somewhere in the middle. I rose up on my tiptoes and let him take my weight. His arms wrapped around me, lifting me effortlessly and I wove my fingers though his curls, loving the smooth thickness.

  A moan escaped from between our lips, separating us, and I couldn’t tell if it came from him or me, but it gave me the courage to reach for him again. This time I moved to him. He put me back down on the ground, not breaking contact, and trailed his fingertips along the curve of my waist. My stomach quivered and I pulled back, letting him catch my lower lip with his teeth before he let me go. I breathed in heavily, letting the cool air fill my lungs. I dropped my forehead to his chest, taking in another shaky breath.

  I wanted this moment to last forever.

  Chapter 11

  The world surrounding me felt different. I was different.

  In the four weeks since making that bet with Justin, everything had taken on a completely different quality. It had been ages since I went to the library. Instead, my days were filled with Tristan, and when I wasn’t with him then I’d found that Lisa and even Seth were fun to hang out with. While the gym had been interesting the few times I’d gone, it wasn’t anywhere I wanted to go regularly. But being with people was nice. The only time I had issues was when Rachel came around. She still hung out with the others, though she always made a pointed effort to leave when Tristan and I showed up.

  Tristan sat beside me, holding my hand as we drove back to Everod. We’d gone up to Telluride for the annual music festival, which had been amazing. My ears were still a bit fuzzy from the loud music, but it had been worth it to see Tristan do a little shuffling dance. As cute as the boy was, he could not dance.

  The windy roads were deserted and the dark night created an intimacy that had me leaning closer to Tristan. The only thing spoiling it was Justin in the back seat. He’d shown up at the truck, begging for a ride. He’d caught a ride up with Seth and some of the other guys in town, but somehow Seth’s car was fuller on the way back than it had been going, and lucky me, they’d spotted us and ditched Justin.

  Darkness encompassed the truck and the headlights beamed brightly, lighting our way. I’d turned the music off when we veered off the highway and the stillness of the evening filled the truck. The dirt road narrowed and the trees closed in on us. Justin gave a loud snore from the back and Tristan and I looked at each other, having a hard time containing our laughter.

  The impact was sudden. I slammed sideways into the door, my seat belt cutting into my stomach and shoulder. The window cracked under the sharp blow of my head. The airbags exploded out from the dashboard and the doorframe, clouding the air with a fine white powder. I flailed like a rag doll, unable to control any part of my body. The high-pitched grinding of metal shattered the night, and then stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God.” I couldn’t say anything else, the words forming a prayer, a thanks.

  I was stunned, unable to rationalize what had happened. A trickle of wetness oozed down my face. I swiped it away. Blood. I looked at Tristan. He was slumped in his seat, the airbag deflated in front of him. Blood was flowing freely from a large gash on his forehead, and his nose was bleeding as well, but he was breathing, barely. I quickly unbuckled my belt and turned to look in the back at Justin. He was sitting up, dazed, trying to get his seatbelt off.

  “Are you okay?” I asked shakily.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Tristan’s hurt. Oh God, he’s not moving and he’s bleeding badly.”

  “I think we should get out. I can smell gas.”

  Justin opened his door, jumped to the ground, and yanked my door open. I hopped out and we ran around to Tristan’s side, which was completely crumpled.

  Tristan still hadn’t moved. Through the smashed window, I could see the gash across his forehead. The tear was ragged and gaping. Blood etched a crimson path down his temple to his neck. His cheek was a mess of small cuts, some with glass still imbedded. I frantically tugged on the door, but it was damaged too badly, it wouldn’t open. Justin shoved me aside and began pulling, but refused to budge.

  “Open it!” I yelled with a sob, my fear transforming into terrified frustration. Justin raced back to the passenger side, but as he scrambled into the truck, the driver door flew open.

  I gave a cry of relief as Tristan hopped out. I went limp as he enfolded me in his arms.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, but you’re bleeding.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Dude, what happened to the other car?”Justin asked, looking around the area, searching for the vehicle that hit us.

  “They must have taken off.” Tristan said.

  “How is that possible?” I asked, feeling as confused as Justin looked. Tristan ignored the questions. Instead, he opened the back door and grabbed the first-aid kit from under the seat.

  “Sit down,” he said, firmly pushing me toward a fall tree a few feet away.

  “You’re the one bleeding.” I tried to snatch the first-aid kit from him, but he held it high above my head. Justin joined me on the tree and grasped my hands, restraining any more attempts to get the kit.

  “I’m not bleeding.” Tristan opened the kit pulling bandages and alcohol swabs.

  “You are,” I insisted. “You’re covered with it.”

  “It’s not mine, Janie.” He swiped at his forehead showing his smooth, unmarred skin. “It must be yours. From when I got out of the truck.”

  “That’s not possible.” I hadn’t imagined it. There was no way I could have imagined such a horrible injury. “I saw the cut on your forehead. There was bone.” Was that my voice? Was that hysteria coming from me?

  “Calm down.” He placed his hands on either side of my neck and gently rubbed his fingers along my skin. His touch instantly soothed away the panic. Magic fingers, I thought, closing my eyes. Such a simple touch and he could take away any stress or fear.

  “Justin, are you hurt?” he asked.

  “Nah, man,” Justin answered in a trembling voice. “But I may have shit my pants.”

  I gave an involuntary laugh. That was such a Justin thing to say.

  “Where’s the other vehicle?” he wondered again.

  “They must have taken off,” Tristan replied distractedly. He released his comforting hold on me and opened a swab. Dabbing at a cut above my eye with one hand, he used the other to brace my head, preventing my instinctive evasion of the stinging alcohol.

  “I ca
n’t believe they just drove away.” Justin picked his way around the truck, inspecting the massive damage to the driver’s side. “Damn, this thing is totaled.”

  “That’s what insurance is for.” Tristan continued cleaning the blood from my face, using the hem of his shirt to wipe away the remaining blood. I didn’t move, enjoying his tender ministrations.

  “How far are we from town?” I asked.

  Tristan looked up the road, staring into the darkness. “About fifteen miles.”

  “Should we walk? Or just wait for somebody to come along?”

  “Don’t worry.”

  Not worry? We’d just been in a huge accident, the other driver had taken off, we were stranded in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, the three of us were covered with blood and none of us knew where it had come from. At this point, worrying was at the top of my list.

  I shivered beneath my cardigan. I was cold. Freezing. The loss of sunlight had lowered the temperature, but not enough to explain my chattering teeth or the numbness spreading from my toes and fingertips. Tristan ripped off his hoodie and wrapped my legs in its glorious heat.

  “N-n-no, you’ll get cold,” I protested.

  “I’ll be fine.” He tucked the edges of his hoodie under my legs. My entire body was convulsing and despite the shivers coursing through me, I could feel the sweat beading along my forehead.

  “She’s going into shock,” Tristan told Justin. “There’s a blanket under the backseat.”

  Justin jogged back to the truck, yanked out a wooly blanket, and tossed it to Tristan who replaced his hoodie with the itchy blanket and then prevented my insane urge to scratch by rubbing my hands between his larger ones.

  “You sure we shouldn’t try to get to town? I could head that way,” Justin offered.

  Tristan gazed down the darkened road, his eyes narrowed. “No. It’s safer if we stay together, besides it’s Friday night, half the town is either heading out of Everod or back in. Someone’ll be by.”

  He was right. Ten minutes later, a dark SUV approached. They came to a stop inches from the mangled truck. Tristan didn’t wait for anyone to get out, he simply picked me up and carried me to the vehicle, threw open the door, and stepped up, still holding me close. Kyle was in the front seat with an older man I’d never met.

  The independent side of me wanted to sit on the seat under my own strength, but it lost out to the comfort of Tristan’s lap. I was safe and warm. And after facing a moment of near death, or as near to death as I’d ever been, I clung to those feelings with everything in me. I kept my eyes closed. His voice rumbled through his chest and I focused on the deep vibrations within him, letting them lull me to sleep.

  It was the soft notes of a piano resonating around me that woke me. My eyes fluttered open and I blinked rapidly to clear my blurry vision. An old mahogany coffee table was directly in front of me, faint scars marring its glossy frame. I sat up and winced as the soreness of my muscles screamed in protest. Glancing around, I realized I was at Lisa’s house. Behind the couch was the upright piano where the man from the SUV sat. I tried to place the song he was playing, but the arching notes wouldn’t give themselves a name, despite the vague remembrance of their melody.

  “Hey, Sleeping Beauty awakes.” Tristan, followed by Lisa and Justin, came into the room and wrapped his arms around me. The man at the piano stilled his hands, letting them hold the last note until it faded.

  “Janie! Are you alright?” Lisa’s arms enfolded me, drawing me away from Tristan. At the loss of his touch, panic returned, but I fought to keep it down, refusing to be a clingy girlfriend.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” There was no way they could see my hands trembling so slightly, or hear the quiver in my voice.

  “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” she asked again. “Do you want to go to the hospital?”

  “No!” I nearly shouted. Then softer, “No, Tim would just worry, and I’m fine.” I was beginning to sound like an echo, constantly repeating the same words and I wasn’t entirely sure if I wasn’t trying to convince myself of it.

  “I can’t believe Tristan didn’t see them coming,” Lisa said.

  “They came out of nowhere. There’s no way they had their lights on.” I shook my head in disbelief then turned to Justin. “Did you call Tim?”

  “No, he’s out for the night, remember? Some kind of night photography project he was doing. I’ll call him later and let him know we’re going to stay over here.”

  Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Lukas suggested it in case Janie’s freaked out and stuff, but isn’t your dad going to have a problem with this?” She motioned between Tristan and me.

  Justin and I snorted in unison. Tim probably wouldn’t even have his cell phone on.

  “All right. You put on a pot of water.” She pushed Tristan towards the kitchen. “Come on, Janie. I’ve got some clothes you can change into. We’ll have some hot chocolate after you get cleaned up.”

  “Was I asleep for long?” I asked as she led me up the staircase.

  “Nah, you guys only got here a few minutes ago. Lukas thought the music might be a gentler way of waking you up. And since he doesn’t play very often, no one had the heart to say no.”

  Guiding me to the left, she led me to a room at the end of the hall. Obviously decorated by the secret old-fashioned Lisa that hid under her unconventional appearance, it was cozy with a full-sized bed, white three-drawer dresser, and an antique lamp sitting on top.

  “Where are you sleeping?”

  “Across the hall,” she said, and then added with an impish smile, “So no hanky-panky.”

  “Hanky-panky?” I rolled my eyes. In the weeks we’d know each other, Lisa had been even more of an enigma than Tristan. One minute she was acting cool, throwing slang around, and the next she was using words I doubted Tim had even used as a teen. Considering the time I’d spent with her, her drastically shifting personality shouldn’t be surprising.

  There was a commotion in the hall and Justin came barreling in, lugging a huge comforter. He was limping slightly. Instantly the humor was gone and I felt tears welling up as I realized how close we’d come to dying. Tristan had kept that at bay with his comforting shield, but seeing Justin hurt was just too much. He took one look at me, dumped the comforter on the floor, and wrapped me in a bear hug.

  The tears started falling. Tristan had made me simply forget it, only to be flooded with it when he left. With Justin, I was able to feel the shock and fear. I could feel what was normal and I could release it.

  Justin just held me. Even when I felt my skin tingling, the tell tale sign that Tristan was there, I didn’t let go of my brother. I needed to get this out and I couldn’t do that with Tristan. Eventually there were no more tears, just a sense of peace from knowing we had all survived.

  Chapter 12

  When the tears dried, Justin let me go and I glanced around the room, seeing only Tristan standing near the door. Lisa had left, giving us privacy, and I could hear a muffled conversation from downstairs. Justin gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder, then left Tristan and me alone.

  Tristan came forward and sank down onto the bed beside me. I rested my head on his shoulder and he took my hand between his, rubbing his thumb in hypnotic circles. I lifted my other hand and rested it on his chest, over his heart, needing to feel the strong pulse to know it still beat.

  A sharp prick on my palm drew me back and I gasped at the unexpected pain. Tristan gripped my hand and we inspected my palm. A sliver of glass stuck out at an odd angle. Carefully holding my hand in one of his larger ones, he used the other to pinch the shard and pull it out, a small bead of blood formed in its wake. He wiped it away with his shirt adding to the other streaks of blood made by his earlier attempts to clean me up.

  Both of us were filthy, our clothing spotted with blood and we were shedding glass. Tristan opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could ask the question I saw in his eyes.

  “I’m okay. Really. I just need to get cleaned up.
Give me twenty minutes and I’ll meet you downstairs. If I can find the stairs.” I smiled ruefully.

  “You don’t have to come down. If you need to rest it’s alright, everyone’ll understand.”

  “I’m sure.” I stood and made my way to a pile of towels sitting on a wicker chair in the corner. “Anyways, I need to not think about it anymore.”

  He smiled and stole a kiss that made me completely forget the terror that had happened.

  “I’ll see you in twenty minutes then.” He paused outside the door and nodded towards the end of the hall. “Bathroom is down the hall.”

  Once I hit the bathroom, I shed my clothes, turned on the hot water, and when the steaming water filled the tub, I pressed a button and bubbles exploded under the surface. I sank in; the jets positioned perfectly to massage muscles I was only beginning to feel tense up. They felt nearly as good as Tristan’s magic touch, but since I wasn’t about to ask him to give me a full body massage, this was the next best thing.

  My eyelids drifted closed and an image of Tristan, cut and bleeding to death flashed before me. My eyes flew open and I jerked upright in the tub, water sloshing over the side. I hadn’t imagined him being hurt. His blood covered my clothing. But how was that possible? In the bedroom, his skin had been as smooth and unmarred as the day before.

  No. I’d panicked, saw things that I expected. That was the only logical explanation I could think of. The only explanation I would accept.

  When I got back to my room, a neat stack of clothes sat on the bed. Socks, jeans, a tank top, and a large shirt that must have come from Tristan’s closet were all there. I pulled on the clothing, leaving the shirt to sleep in, and headed back downstairs.

  I sat next to Tristan on the couch and Lisa pressed a warm mug of steaming hot chocolate into my hands then went to the kitchen to get one for herself.