The Zeuorian Awakening Read online

  When Tyler finally pulled away from her, he winked at Everett and said to her, “Wait for me after class, my love. I’m taking you back to my house so we can be alone to finish what we started here.”

  “My love. Get real.” Everett wrinkled his nose. “What is he, from the eighteenth century?”

  “Ignore him.” Lexi turned her back toward Tyler. “I’m sure he was just trying to piss you off by calling me his love.”

  She certainly hoped Tyler didn’t love her. But he’d told her he loved her the night of the party, too and said he’d wanted her since they first met. Perhaps he did love her, but that wouldn’t make her reconsider dating him.

  “I gather you didn’t tell him it was over yet?” Everett asked.

  Lexi slumped in her chair. “I did.”

  Everett jerked around and glared at Tyler sitting at the end of the row, squeezing the plastic seat as his fingers turned red. “I’m going to kick his butt. No one should kiss you unless you want them to.”

  “I doubt that’ll work,” she said with a deflated tone to her voice. “He’s determined to be with me.”

  “I bet if you told him to get lost and you’re only interested in me, he’d back down.”

  Lexi sat up straight and jerked her body toward Everett. The only way he would’ve known she liked him, if he had heard her thoughts the other night?

  No matter what Angie thought, she was sure Everett had to be her Watcher. But she was sure Tyler had been her Watcher too. She better question Everett before confronting him.

  She double checked her thoughts were blocked before asking Everett in a casual tone, “So you think I’m interested in you?”

  “Nope, but I hope so, since I’m interested in you.” Everett leaned back in his chair with a playful smile on his face. “Now are you going to tell me why you’re carrying a photo of a boy with you?”

  Her throat dried up. She hadn’t been prepared for him to declare his feelings for her and ask about the boy in the photo at the same time. She wanted a chance to question him before bringing up the photo. But she had to tell him something.

  She picked up her notebook and flipped through the pages. “He’s nobody. Someone I knew a long time ago and Angie sent the photo to me as joke.”

  “A joke?” He cocked one eyebrow. “So you’re embarrassed of him. Is it his ridiculous bleached hair?”

  “No,” she blurted too quickly to pass as indifferent. She didn’t mean to get touchy over Everett referring to the boy as some kind of loser. The suggestion that the boy had been anything other than special upset her for some reason, but she couldn’t tell Everett that without raising suspicion. She settled on saying, “I just said that since I don’t want to talk about him. It brings up too many bad memories.”

  “I see.” Everett leaned back in his chair. “You remind me of a girl I dated a few summers ago. I fell hard for her, but,” he sucked in a deep breath, “it ended and she’s long since forgotten me. I don’t like to talk about her either since it breaks my heart thinking about how I lost her.”

  A girl he dated forgotten him, just like what had happened with her and the boy in the photo. Did Everett just admit he was her Watcher?

  Lexi traced her finger on the desk, thinking up what to say next. “I don’t believe even for a second she forgot you. You can’t forget someone you once cared about even if you forgot everything else that had happened while you knew them.”

  “It sounds like your speaking from experience?”

  Perfect. He answered exactly how she hoped he would. But she didn’t want to seem eager to discuss the subject. She glanced away and pretended to act embarrassed. “What should I do about Tyler?”

  Everett chuckled. “You’re not getting off that easily,” he said. “I told you my secret. It’s your turn to tell me yours.”

  “Okay.” She let out a long sigh, pretending she didn’t want to discuss the subject. “There isn’t a lot to tell since I can’t remember hardly anything about the summer I spent with him. I just remember he existed.”

  Everett shook his head. “You’re just trying to get out of telling me you’re secret. You must remember something more than he existed. The sound of his voice. The scent of his aftershave. Something.”

  He seemed to be trying to help her remember him. She should play along. She thought for a minute trying to recall a memory about him. One came to her. “I do remember one time kissing him and he tasted of Mountain Dew. He drank it all the time.”

  “I can see why. I can’t seem to get enough of it either.” He grinned at her. “So is there anything else you remember about him?”

  “Actually, I do.”

  It seemed since she remembered her parent’s death, her memories were slowly coming back to her. Maybe she’d get them all back soon. She could only hope.

  “So,” he encouraged her to continue.

  “Whenever he would climb out of the water, his swim trunks would slip down below his hip and reveal this tiny mole on his lower back.”

  “Interesting memory to recall.” His left eye brow lifted up. “I gather you must’ve spent a lot of time checking out his butt for you to remember his mole.”

  “What? No. I mean I don’t think so,” she said as blood rushed to her face. “Anyway, who are you to judge? You spent the entire summer staring at my boobs, especially when I wore my white bikini—”

  She covered her mouth with her hand. It just came to her a vision of the boy trying to avoid her noticing him staring at her chest. She couldn’t see his face, but somehow she knew he had to be Everett.

  He was her Watcher.

  “Uh-hum.” Mrs. Miller cleared her throat. “If you two have finished talking,” she said to Everett and Lexi, “I would like to get back to Hemingway.”

  “We’re done,” Everett said, before mouthing to Lexi, “We’ll talk later.”

  “You better,” she said with a low voice. ‘Cause the next time they talk, she won’t be playing games. She planned to confront him being her Watcher. She just hoped Tyler won’t get in her way.

  20 STALKER OR WATCHER?

  Class after class, Tyler attempted to approach Lexi, waiting outside her classroom or sitting close by and making it virtually impossible to confront Everett about being her Watcher.

  She opened her driver-side door and Tyler slammed it shut. “I’m not going to let you go until you talk to me,” he said in a deep, seductive voice from behind her.

  The last thing she needed was to talk to him. The weather had already changed again, but she had no choice in the matter. Better to get it over with. She turned and faced him.

  Tyler cupped the back of her neck and drew her closer to him. “You’re making a big mistake ending it with me. We’re perfect together and, well, I’m in love with you. If you gave me a chance, I’m sure you would fall in love with me too.”

  She was getting annoyed how he kept throwing around he loved her when he couldn’t. “You barely know me.”

  “I know you better than you realize.”

  He stroked her cheek as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and struck a light pole. The glass cover on the light exploded and rained down onto the cars below. Both Tyler and her watched in awe as a loud thunder clapped right above them and set off several car alarms.

  She opened her car door, eager to leave before she made the weather get worse. “I’m sorry Tyler, but I can’t be with you. I’m dealing with some serious drama at home and need time alone.” She lied.

  “Hold on a second.” Tyler blocked her from getting into her car. “The last thing you need to be is alone after what you tried this weekend.” He stroked the bandage on her arm. “You need me. I can help you.”

  She yanked her arm away. How could he know she cut her wrist unless he was the boy from Colorado, her Watcher? No, he couldn’t be. Everett had to be him. “How did you know about that?”

  “It doesn’t matter how I know. It only matters that I do and won’t ever let anyone harm you. All I care about
is keeping you safe.”

  He only cared about keeping her safe, just like her Watcher. “Are you him?” she blurted. “Are you the one who’s been watching after me?”

  Tyler blinked a couple of times. “Yes. I’ve been watching you since the day my father moved to Brookings. I didn’t mention this before, but we moved here because my father promised your parents he would keep an eye on you. He even convinced the principal to enroll you as a sophomore instead of a freshman so I could watch you at school.”

  “W-why did your fa-father want you to watch me?” she stuttered.

  “Cause you’re special. No one on this planet is like you and you need someone more than ever to keep you safe.”

  Special? What did he mean by special? Special as in special abilities? She opened her mouth to probe him further but Everett stood beside them.

  “There you are Lexi,” Everett said. “I thought you wanted to continue the conversation we had earlier and avoid you know.“ He raised his eyebrows and motioned for her to leave.

  “Hold on a second.” She pulled Tyler out of Everett’s earshot. “What exactly did your father tell you about me?”

  “Nothing much,” he said in a low voice. “Only you were special and needed to be protected.”

  That little bit of information didn’t tell her a lot. He could be saying she was special because her parents were murdered and might have trouble coping with it. She needed something more concrete to prove Tyler was the boy.

  Her Watcher could read her mind—could Tyler read her mind? She thought to herself, “If you’re the boy from Colorado, kiss me.”

  “Lexi, let’s go.” Everett motioned for her to leave again.

  She kept her mouth shut and waited for Tyler to kiss her, an opportunity he wouldn’t pass up if he had heard her thoughts. Judging by the confused look on his face, he obviously hadn’t heard a single word that crossed her mind.

  She took a step back. “I should go.”

  Tyler grabbed her wrist. “I don’t want you going anywhere alone with him.” He flicked his hand at Everett. “He’s your Stalker.”

  Lexi looked at Everett with her mouth wide open. She never would’ve expected to hear that about him. He didn’t seem to be the obsessed-stalker type, just someone keeping tabs on her like her Watcher.

  “I think you’re mixing up the rumor,” Everett said. “You’re the one who’s been stalking her. Not me.”

  “How do either of you know the other is stalking me?” Lexi demanded.

  Everett took her hand in his. “Every time we were together, he,” Everett motioned toward Tyler, “had been watching you in the distance. Even when I left your house Saturday night, I saw him parked around the corner watching you.”

  She turned toward Tyler. “You were parked outside my house Saturday night? That’s how you knew about my arm? You saw me run outside.”

  “I wanted to make sure you got home after you were swept out to sea, but I decided to stick around and wait until your aunt went to sleep to speak to you. Anyway,” Tyler glared at Everett, “He followed you home after Sam’s.”

  Lexi jerked her hand from Everett’s. “You followed me home?”

  “I didn’t follow you home.” Everett motioned for her to calm down. “I live in the same neighborhood as you and I left a few minutes after you did. I didn’t see any point sticking around after you left.”

  “Nice excuse.” Tyler snorted. “So why did you pull over on the side of the road after the accident and watched her in the dark.”

  Everett let out his breath in a huff. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I pulled over to catch my breath after almost being creamed by a car. So now it’s your turn to explain why you were sitting on the side of the road watching Lexi and me. Don’t say you were going home, since I know you live the opposite direction on the highway.”

  Lexi took several steps back. “You’ve both been following me around all this time?”

  “I didn’t follow you.” Tyler moved toward her. “I was going to a party at Neal’s house.”

  “Yes, I do remember.” She turned toward Everett. “I also remember how odd it seemed you showed up right after I did when Robert said you weren’t coming to Sam’s.”

  “My plans fell through and I decided to spend the night with you.” Everett took her hand in his again and squeezed it. “I know all of this sounds bad, but I’m your friend and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. I hope you can believe me.”

  “Don’t listen to a word he says.” Tyler tore her hand from Everett’s and turned her toward him. “He’s lying to you. There’s something wrong about him. He’s been following you since the first day of school. I even saw him following you on the beach while you were running.”

  Her heart rate sped up and her hands shook. “You saw him follow me while I ran along the beach. Why were either of you following me on the beach?” Before either of them could answer her, she said, “Give me a second to think.”

  She mulled over everything they had said. Only one reason they were both following her. One of them was her Watcher and the other was her Stalker.

  Twenty minutes earlier, she could’ve said without hesitation Tyler had been stalking her, but now she didn’t know. Everything pointed to him being her Watcher, even his father had moved to Brookings as part of a promise to her parents to watch after her.

  But he couldn’t read her thoughts—or could he? He could’ve been faking it to keep her from figuring out he was her Watcher. He also loved her. The boy from Colorado would feel that strongly about her.

  Could Angie be right? Had he made a mistake and let it go too far in his house? After spending two years loving her from afar, he couldn’t control himself when they were together? Then again, he could be lying about his father asking him to watch her as a way to cover up that he had been stalking her for two years.

  She looked at Everett. He had all the same classes as her. He had gone out of his way to protect her more than once and even comforted her a few times after she’d made something bad happen. He wanted to attend MIT next summer. He had a thing for Mountain Dew and dated a girl who forgot him the same summer she had dated the boy from Colorado.

  Beyond that, she didn’t know anything about him, but there was something that felt right about him. He was good, trustworthy and caring—qualities that attracted her to him and qualities her Watcher shared.

  She gave him a longing look, hoping and praying he was her Watcher, but he could be hiding his real identity—her Stalker. She backed away from both of them.

  “Relax. I’m not going to let him hurt you.” Tyler reached out for her arm as if she were a scared animal. “Why don’t you come over here and we can talk about who’s really stalking you.”

  “I’d rather go somewhere alone to think this through,” she said, moving toward the school entrance.

  “No. Not until you hear all the facts.” Tyler grabbed her wrist.

  “Get away from me,” she screamed at the top of her lungs and sprinted inside the school.

  She ducked into the first room and locked the door. Squeaking of rubber on tile sent a cold chill down her spine. Her mouth went dry as the sound of footsteps came closer to the door. The doorknob jiggled and she sat perfectly still.

  A few seconds passed before they walked away and she let out her breath in a gust. Now she could get out of there. She cracked open the door and scanned the empty hall. No one appeared to be around.

  Perfect.

  She tiptoed out of the room. After she turned the corner, she ran down the hall and back to her Chevelle. She sucked in her breath and held it when a deep baritone voice spoke behind her. “You really should pay more attention to those horror movies.” Her entire body tensed. “You would’ve known never to go back to your car, since it’s always the first place the killer will go.”

  Lexi spun around and faced Everett. No, it can’t be him. He can’t be her Stalker.

  Everett laughed and leaned against the car door. “You s
hould see the look on your face right now.”

  Her eyes narrowed and all her fear morphed into pure rage. She cocked her arm back and punched him in the shoulder. “That wasn’t funny.”

  “Wow, you pack a mean punch for your tiny size.” He rubbed his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, but it was a really dumb move.”

  “Thanks. I’ll remember not to do it the next time I’m running from my Stalker.” She huffed. “So, are you going to explain to me how you know Tyler has been stalking me?”

  “Yeah, I will.” He glanced at the school door. “But first we should leave before Tyler figures out where you disappeared to.”

  He opened her passenger door and slid inside. “Are you going to stand out there all day?”

  “No, I’m coming.”

  She had no other choice. It was her best option for confirming he could be her Watcher. She climbed into the driver seat, turned the key in the ignition and sped out of the parking lot.

  She traveled the side streets at ninety-five miles an hour until turning onto a dirt road. All the while she debated how to confront Everett about being her Watcher. But a nagging thought kept interrupting her internal debate. What if Tyler was her Watcher and chased her into the school to protect her?

  She better double check one more time Tyler had been stalking her and not protecting her. “So, are you going to tell me about Tyler stalking me?” she said to Everett, shouting over the loud engine.

  “Uh.” Everett gripped the door handle. “Yeah, after you slow down.”

  “Chicken,” she said, releasing her foot from the gas.

  “I’m not chicken.” He sunk into the bucket seat. “I like to live past eighteen if you don’t mind.”

  “Likely story.” She rolled her eyes. “Now can you tell me about Tyler stalking me?”

  He shifted in his seat and faced her. “I noticed Tyler following you on the first day of school. I didn’t think anything of it until I walked out of our calculus class at the end of the day and saw him standing in the corner of the hall watching you leave the room.”

  She had a hard time believing Tyler, the most popular boy at school, had followed her like an obsessed psycho. But apparently he did. She couldn’t help wondering what else he did behind her back. “Did he do anything other than follow me?”