Читать книгу Through the Night - Lynette Theisen - Страница 12

I was restless in my sleep that night. I kept dreaming of a dark mist that seemed to follow me everywhere I went. I would try to run from this shadow of darkness, which would only reveal its cat-like, sharp eyes to me, but no matter how fast I ran, there the eyes remained. I felt confused and lost. I wasn’t even sure where I was trying to run to; I just knew I needed to get away. I was sprinting as fast as I could until my legs began to feel like they were going to give out. My feet felt like they were glued to the ground and with each step I tried to take, I was being pulled back. The darkness was getting closer and closer, and I was getting wearier, no longer having the stamina to keep trudging forward. I shouted, “Go away! Leave me alone!” And with that, I woke up drenched in sweat. I looked over at the clock that sat next to my bed and saw it was almost midnight. I was afraid to fall back asleep, afraid of the dark ghost that haunted my dream, and all I could think to do was pray.

“God, forgive me for my sins. Thank you for your mercy and grace upon my soul. I give this night over to you. Please give me peaceful rest. In your name I pray. Amen.”

I rolled over and briefly thought of Kyran. He was such a perfect guy. He was the guy of my dreams, obviously, but why would he have any interest in someone like me? The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the beeping sound of my alarm clock. I was thankful to have made it through the night.

That morning, when I arrived at the sophomore corridor, I noticed Kyran leaning against my locker. I looked down and tucked my hair behind my ear, having decided against a hair band, and casually said, “Hey!” I was careful not to look right at him.

“Good morning, amore. How was your night?” he asked.

“Fine, thanks,” I said, trying to keep the conversation light and casual. “How was yours?”

“Restless.” He paused and then said, “Renee, may I take you out for some coffee after school today? I would love to get to know you better.”

“Look, Kyran. I don’t think that’s such a good idea on so many levels. Not that I don’t find you, well, you know, attractive,” I stammered. “Every girl here would love to jump at the chance to have coffee with you. But to be honest, I would never do anything to hurt Jamie. She’s my closest and dearest friend, and I would never dream of hurting her. I am flattered by your invitation, but will have to pass.” And with that, I walked away before Jamie showed up and got the wrong impression.

As the day progressed, I couldn’t help but think of Kyran every hour of the day. I had to ask myself: if it weren’t for Jamie, would I have taken him up on his offer? Yes! Why wouldn’t I? He’s incredibly gorgeous and I can’t seem to get enough of that accent! I admitted to myself. But something still didn’t feel right about it; I just didn’t know what. I mean there’s no harm in having coffee with someone, right? Isn’t that what friends do? Maybe I should just talk with Jamie about all of this. No… I can’t. That would just put some sort of awkward competition between us, and it’s not worth it.

The last bell of the day broke my arguing thoughts, so I grabbed my books and walked out of class, still in a daze. I wasn’t used to getting this kind of attention. My name wasn’t Beth Middleton or even Jamie for that matter. Beth would probably hyperventilate and go into convulsions if she knew about the attention I was receiving from Kyran. Rumor had it she was going to break up with Brad to make herself available. She had no qualms about letting others know she was interested in Kyran, especially Jamie. She would love to finally get her revenge from all those years ago when Jamie so easily put her in her place. A smirk seemed to sneak upon my face at the very thought of the whole thing when suddenly Jamie came running up behind me, yelling, “Ren… we’ve been invited to go out after school today. You’ll never guess who wants to take us out for an espresso!”

“Let me take a stab at it. Would it happen to be Kyran?” I casually answered, acting like I didn’t have any excitement about the prospect of it all.

“How’d you guess? Isn’t it so exciting? And it gets even better,” she continued.

“More exciting than coffee with Kyran! What could it ever be?” I asked with a hint of mockery.

“He wants us to ride there with him!”

“And how do you suppose the three of us are going to fit on that motorcycle he likes to zip around on?” Ick… I sounded like my mother just then.

“Well, my friend, he didn’t drive his little crotch rocket to school today. He brought… are you ready for this? His Porsche!” I could see the immense pleasure on her face at giving me the news.

“Jamie, aren’t Porsches two-seaters?” I asked, holding back any inclination of being impressed by his foreign, way-too-expensive sports car.

“That’s okay. I’ll just sit on your lap. Come on. It’ll be fun. Live a little, why don’t you?”

“I’ll pass. You go have fun, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Although it killed me to say that, I knew I was doing the right thing.

“No, Ren. I want you to come too. Please! Please! How about if I ride with you, and we’ll just meet him there. Will you go for that?” she begged and gave me the puffed-out lips and sad puppy dog eyes. That’s a stunt she usually pulls when she wants me to do something.

“Okay, Jai. I’ll go,” I sighed. I called her Jai on occasion, usually when she was getting me to take part in some scheme she had worked up.

“Awesome! I’ll go tell him we’ll meet at Candy’s in ten minutes, and I’ll meet you at your car.”

“Great, should be interesting!”

A few minutes later she came running over and hopped in my car.

“Did coach cancel basketball practice today?” I asked.

“Oh, crap!” she exclaimed. “I got so caught up with Kyran, I completely forgot.”

She looked at her watch. “I’ve got five minutes to change and be out on the court, or coach will make me run ten suicides. Hurry, Ren, drop me off at the gym.”

I got her there as fast as I could. I hated the thought of her having to run any suicides, even though I really didn’t know what they were. I just knew they didn’t sound good.

She quickly got out of the car and yelled back, “Tell Kyran I’m sorry. Thanks, Ren,” and she was off like lightning.

It wasn’t until I started driving off campus that I realized something. Panic struck my heart and it began to throb a little faster. I could see the sweat from my hands on the steering wheel. I was now left alone to have coffee with the mystery boy wonder. I thought, Oh, Lord, what should I do? I don’t know if I want to be alone with this guy.

My gut was telling me to just call up to Candy’s Coffee Shop and ask them to give him a message since I didn’t have his cell number. But surprisingly, the other part of me—the curious side—couldn’t seem to resist the temptation of spending the afternoon with this amazing guy. He should have been making movies in Hollywood, but instead came to our quiet town and is sitting at the coffee shop waiting for Jamie and me to show up.

While my every thought sided with my initial gut reaction, I somehow found myself robotically driving in the direction of Candy’s. Ten minutes later, I arrived and parked my car outside. I sat there, motor still running, debating on what to do. I had been listening to my favorite CD, Comatose by Skillet, while driving; but hadn’t paid much attention to it until I heard “Whispers in the Dark” come on.

I was introduced to and immediately mesmerized by this hard rock band at a summer youth camp two years ago. I was in awe of this young, hip group that would rock your face off all in the name of Jesus. The drummer and guitar player were both beautiful, young women who had the talent and stamina to bang their heads while playing their instruments. They left a lasting impression on me, a reserved, somewhat shy girl. I became one of their biggest fans, officially calling myself a “Panhead.” Their music had a way of making me turn into this excited, energetic, head-banging fool! They brought out a different side of me that I didn’t know I had until that memorable summer.

As I sat there, still contemplating going in, I began to sing along with the song. I figured this would be a good time to test the speakers in my new car and turned the volume up until I could feel the base pounding in my chest. I began wildly belting out the chorus at the top of my lungs, while bobbing my head up and down, and thumping my hands on the steering wheel.

I was right in the middle of this self-gratifying craziness when I heard a “knock, knock, knock” on my window. The thought of looking like a complete idiot didn’t even cross my mind until that knock. Embarrassment struck me as I looked out, and to my dismay, there was Kyran, smiling with a slight chuckle coming from beneath his breath. I rolled down the window only a quarter of the way.

“Kyran! I didn’t see you coming,” I said, a bit winded.

“Sorry, amore. I noticed you sitting out here for a few minutes and thought I would come and check on you. I must say, I liked seeing you go a little wild in here,” he said with shock in his voice.

“Well, don’t act so surprised. There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I snickered.

“Don’t be so defensive, my little head-banging darling. I found it so amusing. Now, please, let’s go inside so you can tell me more about the things I don’t know of you yet,” he said so persuasively with his amorous accent. He opened my door and held out his hand like the perfect gentleman. I just stared at him as he grinned at me, not moving.

“Come,” he said, “it’s just coffee. I will be a complete gentleman. I promise.”

I rolled my window back up, turned off the car, and cautiously placed my hand into his. He gently pulled me closer to him and escorted me in. We ordered our coffee along with a crumb cake to share and began talking.

My nerves eventually subsided, and I was able to open up to him about me, Jamie, and my family. I even confessed how big of a nerd I am, and how he’s taking a risk on his reputation just being here with me. He just seemed to shrug it off as if he didn’t care. He sat patiently and listened so intently, surrendering his own words, so that I could continue with my blabbering. I had never been able to talk to another guy so freely, giving so many details about myself. There was even a moment when he gently wiped a crumb from the corner of my lips without saying a word, as if it were so normal for us.

“I’m sorry, Kyran. I’ve been so rude in talking about me this whole time and haven’t even given you a chance.”

“Don’t apologize; I’ve loved every moment of our time together. Perhaps we can go out again on Friday so I can get to know you a little better?” he asked.

“I want to know more about you, too, like where you came from and what would possess you to drive a motorcycle in the freezing cold,” I said, never giving an answer to his proposal.

Amused at the second question, he laughed and answered sincerely, “I didn’t want to make a big scene my first day at a new school.”

I looked at him, a bit confused. “Oh, because driving up on a BMW motorcycle in this weather isn’t making any sort of scene or statement?” I giggled. “Help me understand that one.”

“I guess in your eyes, that’s how you would see things. You must know that my family moves around a lot. We have a long history of being extremely wealthy with a strong taste for buying the finer things in life. My choices were the motorcycle, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, or the family limo. So, I chose the least noticeable of them all and went with the cycle.”

Funny, it seemed to make perfect sense to me.

The ringing sound of my cell phone interrupted our engrossing conversation. I noticed it was my mom calling. “Oh, my gosh, Kyran. Look at the time. My mother is gonna be so upset with me.”

“Hello!” I answered the phone.

My mom was not too pleased on the other end.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I’ve been at Candy’s, just hanging out with a friend. I’m on my way now. I know, Mom, I’m so sorry. I just lost track of time, but I’ll be there in a few minutes. Okay, I love you, too,” I said, feeling terrible as I hung up. I hated the fact that I made her worry about me.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. Thanks for the coffee and cake. I had a really good time. See you tomorrow?” I asked, surprised at the question because I knew I would see him; we went to the same school. But it let him know that this time, I wanted to see him. My wall was starting to break.

“Sì, la mia bellissima,” he said with a subtle wink.

I slightly blushed, unsure of exactly what he said, but feeling he gave me a sweet compliment.

“See ya,” I softly replied, before leaving him sitting at the table. I sensed that he was watching me as I walked to my car, probably just making sure I got there safely. He was everything a girl could possibly want in a guy, and far from what I had expected from him. There was only one problem… Jamie.