Scintillate (Scintillate Series Book 1) Page 10

  “Kate, I need you to tell me what you really saw.”

  I swallowed hard. “What?”

  “You have a tell. You drag your teeth across your bottom lip when you’re nervous. You did that when everyone was talking about the spider.” He took my hands in his. “I know you didn’t see a spider. What did you see?”

  “Wow,” I whispered. “You’re never going to believe me.”

  “Trust me. I’m trying to help.” Nick tucked some loose hair behind my ear. “I need to know.”

  I took a deep breath and looked down at our hands. His hands looked so strong encompassing mine, as if he really could handle anything. I looked back up and our eyes met. “I looked in the mirror… and saw the man in the hooded sweatshirt. You know, the one from the football game.”

  “Can you tell me anything about him?”

  “You believe me?”

  “Of course I believe you. You haven’t dealt with the attack yet because you’re in denial. You still need to work through this.”

  “Hmm, I guess you’re right.” I looked around the room in order to avoid his penetrating eyes.

  “Talking about it will help. What did you notice about him?” Nick’s voice was soft and calming.

  “I only saw him for a second.” I shrugged, feeling frustrated. “It all happened so quickly.”

  “Tell me what you remember.” His thumb stroked my hand.

  “He had light skin and straight brown hair that came down to his shoulders.” I closed my eyes and tried to picture him. The more I thought about him, the sicker I felt. “His eyes were brown. He had a scar.”

  “Where was the scar?”

  I placed my finger on Nick’s cheek. “Um, the scar was on his right cheek all the way to his lip.” I slowly dragged my finger towards Nick’s lip.

  Nick took my finger and kissed it. “You’re not alone in this. Whenever you want to talk about it, you can. If you see or sense anything else strange this weekend, you have to tell me.”

  “Okay.” I nodded my head slowly. “I’m glad you know.”

  Talking with Nick helped me feel even closer to him. Amazingly, he didn’t laugh when I told him I saw a man in the mirror. How many people could listen to such insanity and not bolt? Should I mention my hand burning in the mirror at Sheldon Manor?

  Nick stood up from the sofa. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

  I decided not to test Nick’s ability to handle freakish events, so I didn’t mention Sheldon Manor on the way back to my room.

  Outside my bedroom door I wondered how we’d say goodnight. We were alone in the hallway. My back was against the door, and Nick was inches away.

  “Kate, I will always be there to protect you. You’re very special to me.” He leaned down and slowly brought his mouth to my forehead. His lips brushed along my skin as he kissed me. “Remember, I am your really good, special, guy friend. I plan on staying that for a very long time.” His playful eyes matched his smile.

  I smiled up at him, speechless, and stroked the side of his face; the beginning of stubble tickled my palm.

  “Goodnight, Kate.”

  “Goodnight, Nick,” I whispered back, transfixed by what had transpired between us. Not only did Nick hold my attention, but he held my heart.

  I walked over to the bed and got in, too alert to sleep. My mind raced with images of Nick. His handsomeness, bravery, kindness, and charisma were irresistible. I couldn’t wait to see what adventures tomorrow would bring.

  Elusive

  Sunlight streamed through the edges of the shades. Rylee still slept as I quietly sat up to look at the clock on my nightstand. It was 10:00 a.m., not too late for a Saturday morning.

  I walked over to the window and peeked around the edge of the shade. The snow had finally stopped falling, and the sun shone brightly in the sky. Billions of crystals scintillated atop the frozen ground, reflecting the sun’s light.

  “Oh… what time is it?” Rylee moaned from under the mountain of blankets.

  “It’s 10:00. It stopped snowing.”

  “We should get up.” She rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head.

  I grabbed my bathrobe. “I’m going to the kitchen to see who’s up. Are you coming?” I cinched up my robe.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

  As I walked down the hallway, Reese came out of his room. “I heard you were attacked by a spider last night. What a baby,” he scoffed. “Next time, just step on it.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.” I walked faster to get away from him.

  “Hey, where are you going? Is Rylee awake?”

  I ignored Reese’s stupid questions. Nick was probably already awake. Plus, delicious aromas were coming from the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” Mrs. Wager said. “I made egg, cheese, and sausage casserole this morning. You can warm it up and have some.”

  “That sounds delicious.” I grabbed a plate and cut a slice. It still felt warm, but I decided to heat it up a little bit more.

  Nick walked in from the sunroom. “It was delicious,” he said, already showered and ready for the day. “I was saving my second piece for when you woke up.”

  “Where are Lauren and Meghan?” I asked.

  “They’ve already eaten. They’re getting ready,” Mrs. Wager said. She placed some plates into the dishwasher.

  “Oh.” I removed my slice of casserole from the microwave. “Rylee’s getting up soon.” Nick and I sat down to eat, but I savored the conversation even more than the food.

  Matt sauntered into the kitchen. “Hey, I need to go into the village to get gas for the ATVs. Does anyone want to come with me?”

  “I’ll go,” Nick volunteered.

  “See you when you get back,” I said. As I watched Nick leave with Matt, I realized he was cute from the back, too.

  After I showered, I met up with the others in the family room. Matt and Nick had returned from the gas run. A Wii tournament was underway, and shouts and cheers filled the room as Reese and Lauren were finishing their game.

  “Yes! Take that!” Lauren shouted. Her arms flew up triumphantly over her head.

  “What! How did you do that?” Reese scowled at her.

  “Dude, you just got owned!” Ravi’s hand covered his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter.

  “It’s okay, Reese. I still love you even though a girl kicked your butt,” Rylee said. She was clearly doing her best to hold back her laughter. “Maybe you’ll beat her next time.”

  Reese shook his controller. “I demand a rematch!”

  “I’m good with that,” Lauren smirked. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

  “I think you two have had enough,” Matt said and he stepted between Reese and Lauren. “Yesterday I saw a great hill that we could sled down. Let’s ride the ATVs over there and go sledding. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds awesome,” Ravi said.

  “I’d love to go sledding,” replied Rylee.

  “Bring your sunglasses,” Meghan added, “you’re gonna need them.”

  Once again we headed back to our rooms to add extra layers of clothing, and then we headed out to the ATVs.

  “Do you want to drive first or should I?” Nick asked as we finished attaching our sled with bungee cords.

  “It doesn’t really matter.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You can go first. I’ll drive back.”

  Nick stood up and handed me a helmet. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll relax on the way back when I’m tired, and you’ll have to do the work after a long, hard day of sledding.”

  “Huh, I figured you were tougher than that.” I squeezed his bicep, amazed at how firm it was. “I didn’t know driving an ATV was such hard work. I consider it fun.” I wiggled my eyebrows and gave him a flirtatious smile.

  Nick sat on the ATV and looked at me. “Pfft, hold on tight. I don’t want to have to pick you up out of the snow.”

  I swung my leg over the seat and scooted up close to him. Next, I fastene
d my helmet and grabbed him around the waist. “I’m ready.” The engine screamed to life.

  We left the garage and began the descent through the backyard. Unlike yesterday, today was bright and clear. Even though the snow had stopped falling, it still fluttered about us as the wind and our ATVs whipped it around.

  Matt led the way to the walking trails. Everywhere we looked, crystals reflected the light that shone down from Heaven. Cardinals flew and alighted from white branch to white branch. Their crimson bodies declared their beauty and majesty.

  Along the path, in the shadows, I noticed that a creature followed us. Was it the same animal from yesterday? It was large and dark, and it seemed to stalk us. Once again the usual suspects slinked through my mind: bears, bobcats, and wolves. I debated telling Nick, but then lost sight of the creature. The ATVs must have frightened it away.

  We rode in single file down the trail until we came to a wide opening at the bottom of a hill. “There she is.” Matt pointed to the huge hill. “What do you think?”

  “Wow, this is going to be great,” Rylee said.

  A wide hill rose before us. The slope seemed perfect, not too steep and not too flat. It was steep enough to gain speed quickly, but not too steep that we would tire from climbing it repeatedly. Along the sides, gorgeous evergreens were draped in snow.

  “I think it’s perfect.” I squinted; the sun scintillating off the snow was extremely bright. I grabbed Nick’s shoulder and lifted my leg over the ATV. I stretched my fleece hat over my head and put on my sunglasses to shield my eyes from the glare.

  “Wow, this is going to be fun,” Nick said with a deep chuckle.

  Reese hopped off his ATV. “Let’s get started.”

  Nick and I began to disconnect our sled from our ATV. “I haven’t been sledding in a long time,” Nick said.

  “I’ll try to take good care of you,” I said. I lifted the durable foam sled from the ATV.

  Nick reattached the bungee cords to the luggage rack. We began the climb up the hill, and our boots crunched through the delicate layer of ice that covered the snow. The sun was high above us, giving plenty of light but little warmth. Nick held the sled in one hand and my hand in his other. We tramped up the hill together in silence. I heard the others talk, but I was lost in my own world with Nick. “Are you warm enough?” he finally asked.

  “Yes, between all these layers and the hike up this hill, I should stay warm enough.”

  “If you’ll let me, I’ll hold you close on the way down,” he said. He leaned closer to me. “Just to keep you warm.”

  “Only to keep me warm? How ‘bout because it’s fun?”

  “Well, that too.” He winked.

  At the top, the eight of us looked down the hill, which, after the hike up, felt more like a mountain. “Wow, this is a really big hill,” Meghan said as she stared down at the bottom. “It looks a lot steeper from up here than it did from down there.”

  “I bet we’re gonna fly,” Ravi said. He tickled Meghan’s waist and she shrieked.

  “Come on. Let’s not sit around talking about it. Let’s get the show on the road.” Reese tossed his sled onto the ground, and it began to slowly slide. He stomped on it, stopping it. “Hey, Rylee, are you ready?”

  Rylee walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Reese, see those trees.” She pointed to the tree line that ran along the edges of the cleared path. “Let’s try to avoid them.” She sat in front and clutched the handles. Reese sat behind her and pulled his legs up along the side of the sled.

  “We’ll see you at the bottom.” Reese pushed off with his hands. They began to slide and quickly picked up momentum as they sped down the hill. Screams of excitement filled the air as they raced towards the bottom.

  “Our turn,” I said to Nick. “I didn’t come here to watch other people have fun.”

  “I like that attitude.” Nick tossed our sled onto the ground. I sat in front, and Nick nestled up behind me. “You ready?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Off we go!”

  We moved slowly at first, and then picked up speed. Snow laden trees raced past us. Between our speed and the unique shapes of the trees, they mimicked ghosts moving quickly through the hillside.

  I gripped the handles and screamed with enthusiasm as the cold air hissed across my face. As I breathed in, the cold air froze my nostrils and chilled my cheeks. Nick laughed behind me and let out whoops of excitement.

  The others whooped and hollered as their sleds flew down the hill. Matt’s idea of sledding was perfect. There were no hills like this where we lived in Cary. When we reached the bottom of the hill, Reese and Rylee were waiting for us.

  “Was that awesome or what?” Rylee yelled.

  “That was off the hook!” Ravi cried as their sled stopped beside us.

  “I can’t wait to do that again,” Lauren said. She hopped up and her boots sunk into the snow.

  Matt stood up and whooped. “What a rush! I don’t think I’ve ever sledded that fast before.”

  I hopped up from the sled. “Yeah, that was freakin’ awesome,” I yelled.

  We began the trek back up the hill when Reese stopped and whispered, “Hey, look over there. Check out the deer.” At the edge of the woods stood four, white-tailed deer. Their shiny, grey-brown coats glimmered in the sunlight. They began to follow the largest doe across the open hill.

  We watched in silence. The four does walked gracefully across the snow. They left circular impressions where their legs sunk into the deep snow. They turned their heads in all directions as they looked and listened for any sign of danger. When they were halfway across the hill, we took a step towards them. They quickly darted into the safety of the woods and disappeared into the thick trees.

  “They were so beautiful,” Lauren said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to that many deer in the wild before.”

  “Me neither,” Meghan said with a smile. “I’ve seen them in our skittering through our neighborhood before, but never like this.

  “That was cool,” said Reese, the sled tucked under one arm.

  We continued our walk up the hill, and then prepared for another ride down. Seeing the deer made me feel better. I figured the stalking creature must not be around because the deer would never have been so calm if a predator was nearby.

  “Do you want to try to ride in front this time?” I asked Nick as he dropped the sled in the snow.

  “No, you should probably stay in the front. I have a feeling I outweigh you.”

  I smiled and when I sat, I felt the sled sink into the soft snow. “I just thought I’d offer because the view’s amazing.”

  “The view’s great from where I’m sitting.” He sat behind me and grabbed my waist.

  Once again the cold air rushed past us and froze my face. The feeling was refreshing and invigorating. Nick’s arms tightened around my waist as he pulled himself up close to me. Adrenaline flooded my body as two sensations battled for dominance: excitement over the sledding adventure, and the pleasure of Nick’s intimate embrace.

  “This is so much fun.” His warm breath filled my ear, my neck, and ultimately every part of me. I wanted to scream with delight that he was right — this was an amazing day, and he was why it was amazing.

  At the bottom of the hill he gripped my hand and pulled me up. “That was so much fun,” he said and he pulled me close.

  “Shall we do it again?” I asked.

  “I don’t know why you’re asking. You already know the answer.”

  We headed back up the hill and spent the day sledding. Our sleds left ruts that crisscrossed repeatedly and made a labyrinth of tracks. The sun began to sink behind the trees and cast long shadows across our sledding range.

  “Do you think we should make this the final run?” Matt asked as we huddled at the top of the hill.

  Reese looked into the gray sky. “Probably,” he said.

  “Yeah, it’s getting colder,” Ravi said as his breath swirled from
his mouth.

  “Let’s make this one a race to the bottom,” Meghan said enthusiastically.

  We lined up our sleds. Nick and I were on the outside, next to Reese and Rylee. They were beside Matt and Lauren, and Meghan and Ravi were the farthest away from us.

  “Is everyone ready?” Matt asked.

  “Yeah,” echoed from all the sleds. I clutched the handles tighter in anticipation.

  “On your mark… Get set… GO!” yelled Matt.

  Nick pushed off with his hands. The sled moved quickly and picked up speed. He scooted up against me and grabbed my waist. I looked to my right. We were ahead.

  “I think we’ll win,” he shouted excitedly. As we laughed, he gripped me so tightly that I’m sure he felt my stomach twitch with each laugh.

  “This is great!” I screamed as we picked up speed.

  Half-way down the hill a dark shadow flew out of the forest. Nick’s arms instantly tightened around my waist and held me fast. The dark mass shot towards us and bumped our sled. The knock came so hard that I nearly lost my breath. We hit a bump in the snow. For a moment our sled soared through the air.

  Nick wrapped his legs around me as I clung to the handles of the sled. We landed with a hard thud in the shade by the trees. Pain shot up my spine and extended out my arms and legs. “OWWW!” I cried out as I fought back the involuntary tears brought on by the jolt.

  We hit a patch of ice, and the sled spun out of control. We spun in circles as the trees marched closer, and their white ghost arms reached out to claw us. My hands ached as I seized the handles and tried not to scream. Our sled continued it’s out of control rotations towards the deadly tree line.

  “Roll off! Roll off!” echoed around us.

  The trees continued their terrible advance as we continued to slide. I closed my eyes tight and hoped I could will them away. I knew I should jump from the sled, but something restrained me.

  The dark shadow was on me, holding me. Its sulfurous smell infiltrated my senses. I couldn’t get away from its stench. The shadow actually had mass. Its weight pinned me down. I couldn’t move. My hands were stuck. It was as if I was frozen to the sled.