Reapers -- The First Familiar (Reapers Chronicles Book II)

5 - Side-tracked

I was about to cross the street to get to the other side-note the lame pun-when Carter showed up out of the blue. I had prepared for a battle, but not for this. I wasn't any good with goodbyes-no pun intended this time.

All those years of having to move over and over again, my rule had been 'disappear without a trace'. That saved me from all the call-me, let's-get-in-touch stuff which wouldn't actually work. That was just junk people say to make themselves feel better. It was easier for me to delete everything and start over again with a clean sheet in a new place.

But here he was, standing in the sidewalk, his back leaning on his beetle car as he waited patiently. I kept my gaze forward, pretending I hadn't seen him. To my dismay, he practically barricaded himself between the street and me when he saw I wasn't stopping for him. Now, how could I ignore that?

It was just over a few days since I last saw him-that night we both got our first tattoos-but it seemed like a lot had changed about him.

Carter wasn't wearing any glasses today which would take a bit of getting used to for me. His sandy hair was cut short and intentionally dishevelled. Plus, he wasn't wearing a dress shirt like the usual. Instead, he was in a midnight blue Sean John T-shirt that made the color of his eyes paler than normal, paired with faded jeans and sneakers.

"In a hurry?" he asked, stepping sideways as I did a quick turn to shirk him.

"Yeah, actually," I said resignedly. One upsetting goodbye was enough for the day. "I have to go."

Carter barred my way again, catching me by the arms before I could bump onto him. "You need a ride? Isn't your Dad going to pick you up?"

"No. Not today. I..." My eyes fixed on the setting sun, a sick feeling slowly creeping its way up to my chest. "I don't mind walking."

With my eyes downcast, I shrugged his hands off of my arms, turned away and took the sidewalk instead. I hastened my steps, just to avoid being confronted again. There weren't any right words to make things sound easier than they were. Lindsay had to do the goodbye for me. She had to explain to Carter how I had been an ungrateful friend. How I had left with no say at all. Because I couldn't deal with it myself.

"Aramis, wait up!" he called as he tried to run after me. "Please, listen for a second. I was thinking, maybe we could-Ugh. Are you avoiding me?"

"No," I lied, almost running now. "I really have to-"

"Aramis Rayne," he said, cutting my words off, finally catching up. He took a hold of my left arm, making me stop. For a while, he paused to catch his breath. "If you're avoiding me, please don't. Because I... I really like you."

Slowly, I turned to him, my mouth parting a bit like an idiot would. Honestly, I would just like to check if he was kidding me.

Please make it a joke. Please.

My fingers were literally crossed behind me. But the sincere look on his slight, boyish face told me otherwise. It was only then that I noticed how his jaws were a bit stronger now, made defined by the tan. Summer, I guessed. He was almost a head taller than me now, his build slightly prominent under that shirt. Slight was not a term that would fit him anymore. He wasn't the skinny kid I knew from first semester and I had only started to notice this.

No. Carter wasn't a boy anymore.

It was sad how I imagined that he would always look the same. The same pushover wimp who always needed someone else to look out for him. And that was my job-fend off bullies and throw cursed stares at every airhead girl who planned to make him a homework factory. But he didn't need me now. He had grown into a man. Unlike me, who would stay this way forever.