Parallel Hearts (Parallel Hearts Trilogy, #1)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I wake to the shrilling sound of my cell phone ringing from my bed side table.  Squinting through the sunlight pouring through my window, I groan and reach over with a lazy hand not bothering to check the caller ID. I already know who it is.

“Marcie,” I answer, still feeling woozy from my more than unsettling night. “What’s —”

“Oh my God, Anna! I had the best night ever! Everything was perfect!” I want to tell her that my night was probably more interesting than hers, but I don’t want to scare her. I’m still feeling a little scared myself.

“That’s great,” I say, trying my best to sound excited. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.” 

“You will. Get ready, because I’m picking you up in a half an hour to go to the mall. I have to get a new outfit for the bonfire tonight.”

“Half an hour? What time is it?” I rub the sleep from my eyes realizing I must have over slept. Aaden’s mystery visit kept me up thinking most of the night. After he left, I remember not being able to fall asleep, so I decided to read – trying to provide my mind with an escape route. It must have worked, because my alarm clock is telling me it’s almost noon.

“Anna…Are you okay?” Marcie asks, concerned.

“Yeah,” I reply, flipping back the covers. “I’m fine. I just over slept, that’s all.”

“Over slept? That doesn’t sound like you. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Everything’s fine, Marce.  I’ll see you in a bit,” I say, rubbing my forehead in angst. The mall is just about the last place I want to be right now.

“Okay, see you in a bit.” Marcie hangs up and I flop back down on my bed for a minute and think about when I'll see Aaden again. I can only hope the next time he shows up, he won’t present himself in such a terrifying manner.

I take a quick shower and am downstairs dressed and ready in less than thirty minutes. I’m sure my sopping wet pony tail is much to be desired, but it’s hot out and quite frankly, I don’t care. Grabbing a granola bar from the kitchen cupboard, I put on a pair of simple black flip-flops and head outside just as Marcie is pulling into the driveway.

As I walk to her car, I find myself looking around, thinking I might spot Aaden lurking in the shadows. He’s thrown my mind into a whirlwind of questions that I can’t begin to answer.

Marcie is beaming at me and bouncing impatiently in her BMW. I force a smile, drop my bag in the back seat and hop in the car.

With the car still running, Marcie removes her sunglasses, turns to me and excitedly asks, “Guess what?”

“What?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. I have a pretty good idea what Marcie is about to reveal to me, but I don’t want to ruin her moment.

“Matt kissed me!” she practically shouts, enthusiastically tapping the steering wheel.

“Wow, Marce,” I say with as much excitement as I can muster. “Well, he’s a lucky guy.”

She scrunches up her face and smiles. “Aww thanks, Anna. I wish you could have been there. How was your night anyway? You didn’t sound like yourself this morning.”

My eyes stray from hers for a moment before returning. “It was fine. I went for a run, watched some TV and read a bit. It was pretty uneventful.” A disturbing sense of guilt settles in the pit of my stomach having just lied to Marcie. I don’t like keeping things from her, but now is not the time to tell her about my midnight visitor. I assure myself that once I know more, I’ll tell her about Aaden.