For the fifth time that day, Brianna tried to call Valerie. There was still no answer, and Valerie had been absent.
As soon as Brianna got home from school, her phone rang. It took concerted effort to contain her excitement as she answered the call.
"Hello," Brianna said.
"Hi, Bri, it's Jared. Are we still on for tonight?"
"Sure. What do you want to do?"
"Well, I know it's a school night, so I'll come to you. What's there to do in your town?"
"There's never much going on around here." Then Brianna remembered the fliers she'd seen posted all over telephone poles around town. "Actually, the annual bazaar started last week. It's pretty cool. Lots of games and rides. Does that sound okay?"
"Sounds great. What's your address?"
Forty-five minutes later, a white sedan with black-tinted windows pulled up the steep driveway. Brianna waited outside on the white wicker couch. She wasn't ready for him to come in and meet her parents.
Smoothing her long, loose, onyx hair, Brianna opened the door and slid into the passenger seat.
"Hey," he said. Brianna felt mesmerized for a moment. She couldn't take her eyes off his perfect face. His big eyes were more blue than gray tonight, like the ocean on a summer evening.
"Hi." She sucked in a deep breath. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. The spot where his lips touched felt warm for several long moments.
"Where's this fair?" Jared asked.
"Go to the stop sign and make a right." Brianna directed her date to Montmorrow's park and fairgrounds. Traffic directors used green glow sticks to guide Jared to a parking spot on the grass. Dazzling, multicolored, flashing lights lit up the starless sky. Thrill seekers' exhilarated screams mingled with the rumble of a descending rollercoaster. Laughter and the screech of old carnival rides resonated through the night.
All of a sudden, Brianna was overcome by an unsettling feeling that someone was watching, waiting, and biding their time. She sensed something sinister lurking in the shadows. A cold wind seemed to whisper the malevolent intentions of an evil soul. Another arctic breeze sent chills down her spine. Brianna pulled up the hood of her rose-print thermal top.
"This is a nice change from the city," Jared said.
"Have you lived in the city your entire life?"
"Yeah, I grew up in Brooklyn. I moved to Manhattan for college in September."
"That's cool," Brianna said. "Does your family still live in Brooklyn?"
"My mom and my little sister do." A smile touched Jared's lips. "That little girl is my whole world. I go see her at least once a week. I'm more like a dad to her, ever since that jerk disappeared days after she was born." His mouth pressed together into a firm, straight line, and his jaw tensed.
An image filled Brianna's mind—a boy with tangled black hair hunched over on a dirty yellow floor. He leaned against a peeling window frame, his legs curled beneath him. The tiles around him were so cracked that they made designs like interconnected spider webs all across the floor.
Watching through the window, the boy's view was blurred by thick layers of dust and streaks of filth. "Don't worry, Mom will be home soon." The boy spoke softly, looking down where his hands clamped a bundle of blankets against his chest. From between the folds of pastel pink fabric, big hazel eyes peeped up at him. "It's all going to be okay, Laura. Mom will be here soon. I promise."
He bent down and kissed the tiny nose. The baby cooed and giggled. "Dad will be home soon, too, Laura. I know he will. And I'll take care of you until he comes back. I promise." Inside, Brianna felt a cold, yearning ache. This dark room with no walls and no end, all the same… It closed in around her. She was encompassed by endless pain and the fear that daring to hope would bring greater pain.
"No, Jared…" Brianna's eyes filled with tears. "Where was your mom?"
His eyes widened with recognition. "Oh, no. What did you see?"
Brianna just shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I don't want to upset you, Bri. My mom… she worked a lot when I was a kid. After my dad left, she had to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. We were home alone a lot."
"That must have been so tough on you."
Jared clenched his jaw. "It was fine. Made me stronger. Come on, let's have a good time." The pair approached a white ticket booth. He made his purchase and asked, "What do you want to do first?"
A few minutes later, they were seated in a Ferris wheel car. It seemed kind of ridiculous when she thought about it. Both of them could fly on their own, yet here they were riding this contraption.
But it wasn't about that. It was about spending time together, being normal teenagers. Brianna thought she could enjoy doing almost anything with Jared.
He slid closer and put his arm around her shoulder. It felt so natural that she leaned in and snuggled against him. The Ferris wheel made its first go round. "So do your mom or sister know you're a reborn?"
"No. My mom would probably have me locked up in a mental institution if I told her! Eventually they are going to notice that I haven't aged. I don't know what I'm going to do or say at that point, but I have a while before I'll have to worry about that."
"What? Why don't reborns age?"
"Our bodies need to be young for the battle."
"The battle?" Brianna raised her brows.
"Well, I don't know if it's true or not, but there's a strong belief that reborns are soldiers. We don't go on to the next world because we were selected for war."
"When will you have to fight?"
Jared shrugged. "It hasn't happened yet. It's only a prophecy. There isn't a specific date. Some say it's right around the corner while others say it's centuries away. I don't know if I believe it. People are always looking for explanations for things they don't understand, but I do like to think there was some purpose for my return."
"What kind of war?"
"It's complicated." One of Brianna's favorite Red Rapture songs began to play, and Jared pulled his phone out of his pocket. "It's my sister." Jared glanced at his date apologetically. "Do you mind?"
Brianna shook her head.
"Hey, what's up?" His lips curled into a sweet smile. "I miss you, too, pumpkin-head. I'll see you Monday." He paused for a moment. "Of course we're still going to the Bronx Zoo. I promised. I told you a long time ago I would never break a promise to you. I haven't in all these years, so don't think I'm going to start now." Jared’s eyes met Brianna's, and he held up one finger. “I'm out with a special friend right now." He was quiet for a moment, and then cast a sidelong look at Brianna. "Yes, she's pretty. Beautiful, in fact. I know you'd like her very much."
Brianna's whole body reacted to his words. Euphoric chills swept from her feet to her head.
"Okay, Laura, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you, too. Goodnight."
Tears sprang into her eyes as Brianna realized how much she missed her own sister. Repairing their relationship was far overdue. It didn't matter anymore who'd started it or who was to blame. Brianna decided that she was going to extend herself this week by doing something thoughtful for Mandy.
The Ferris wheel jerked to a stop, and their car rocked at the top. "I think it's wonderful how close you are to your sister. You take care of her."
"Yes, I always have. After almost dying once, and then actually dying the second time, I realized how precious life is. You never know when it will be the last time you see someone."
"How did it happen? If you don't mind my asking…"
Jared took a deep breath and jerked his head away from hers. She felt his thigh become rigid against hers, and his arm stiffened behind her neck.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"No, it's fine. I can tell you. I was into… some bad stuff for a while. My mom… She always struggled to make ends meet after my dad bailed on us. I was working two jobs after school, but it wasn't enough to make rent after my mom got laid off. The neighborhood I lived in… Um, there were a lot of drug dealers.
"There was one guy named Tommy who lived across the street, and he was always offering me the chance to make some money. I was desperate, so I took him up on it. Tommy had a lot of kids in the neighborhood working for him. When one of the kids got busted, the police offered him a deal if he ratted on his source. When the cops showed up at Tommy's house, he knew there was a rat, and for some reason, he blamed me. Or maybe he just wanted to make an example out of me. I don't know. He brought me into an alley, and instead of our usual exchange, he shot me eight times in the chest." Jared's eyes searched Brianna's. "I hope you don't think differently of me."
Brianna shook her head and blinked the tears out of her eyes. "I don't. You might have had a lapse in judgment, but you were doing it for your family."
"I was, but it was still stupid. I made a decent amount of money. I was able to pay my mom's rent. I was kicking butt in football, and everyone thought I would eventually make it to pro. I wanted that more than anything… so one day, I could take care of my family the legal way.
"When I first quit the team, when I made the decision that I couldn't keep hurting people, I was depressed, thinking I would never be able to support my family the way I had always dreamed I would. Then, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life and decided to study science. Once I'm a doctor, I'll be able to take care of my mom and my sister, and hopefully save people's lives. Win, win, win."
Brianna smiled. "That's wonderful the way you turned your life around. So did you just wake up? After being shot, I mean."
Jared nodded. "The craziest part of that whole night was that Brent was flying overhead and heard the gunshots. At this time he was a complete stranger. By the time he got to the ground, I was dead. The odd part is that Brent swooped down because he felt compelled to change me. He rarely transforms anyone, and he didn't even know me. He felt a connection. It's weird, but I felt it too."
Brianna understood. "I felt something like that with Renee."
"So there Brent was, kneeling beside my dead body. He realized it was too late. I was already gone. He sat there and grieved for a stranger he had never even spoken to. A few moments later, he tells me, it happened. It was like there were millions of bolts of bright blue lightning racing under my skin. Thirty seconds later I was back, but I was different. Powerful. I was a reborn. Brent filled me in, which was great because otherwise I wouldn't have ever understood how I survived. Enough about that. Let's have some fun!"
After the Ferris wheel, the couple enjoyed the Zipper, the swings, the spider, and the rollercoaster. Brianna munched on a big stick of pink cotton candy as they strolled down the line of game booths.
"Wow, that's gorgeous." She pointed to a huge stuffed white tiger with blue eyes hanging above the Balloon and Dart game.
"I'll win it for you! I won't use any powers either." Jared said, squeezing her shoulder. The muscles in Brianna's face ached from holding the corners of her lips up for so long.
Jared bought five darts from the young man working the booth. Face scrunched in concentration, he aligned his first dart with a yellow balloon. With a quick thrust of his wrist, the dart flew through the air. Pop! The missile tore apart the center of the target.
"Good job!" Brianna clapped.
The same technique proved effective in pinning four more balloons.
"Nice work, buddy," the carnival worker said as he handed Brianna the stuffed animal.
"Great aim! Thank you," she said, hugging the plush white fur against her body.
"You're welcome." Jared's blue-gray eyes twinkled.
The unnerving sense that she was being watched was overpowering. Her gaze anxiously darted around the fairgrounds. She found a pair of beautiful blue-green eyes directly on her, or rather, her date. As the tall, model-like girl strutted toward them, she hiked up her super-short tiered green skirt. A small redhead trailed behind.
Ugh, Giselle and Penny. What do they want?
Giselle stopped right in front of Jared. She tossed her shiny hair and batted her long, thick lashes.
"Hi." Giselle leaned forward, flaunting her cleavage. She toyed with the gaudy beaded necklace around her neck, bringing further attention to her enormous chest. "I'm Giselle. I don't believe we've met. I always like to welcome new people to town. Maybe I could show you around sometime."
Yeah, right! Brianna thought, rolling her big sapphire eyes. But she couldn't help being intimidated by the flawlessly beautiful girl. What if Jared liked her better?
"I'm not new in town. I'm here to see Brianna, and she's been doing a great job showing me around. But thanks for the offer," Jared said.
Giselle's luscious lips opened and closed, but no words came out. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Brianna. She twirled around on one foot and stormed away. Brianna almost laughed out loud.
"The carnival will be closing in fifteen minutes," a voice boomed over the loudspeakers. Brianna checked her skinny silver wristwatch. It was almost eleven o'clock. Time had flown by.
Fingers intertwined, Brianna and her date walked through the dark, grassy parking lot. Again, an ominous feeling rattled her. She glanced all around. Behind an old van, Brianna thought she could make out the outline of a crouching figure and a cap of pale blonde ringlets.
"Jared…" Brianna started to say, but after she blinked, no was one there. She needed to chill out. Being uptight about Licinia was making her imagination run wild.
"Is something wrong?" Jared asked, holding open the passenger side door of his sports car.
Brianna shook her head and got into his car. "No. Everything is perfect."
A few minutes later, Jared drove up the steep winding driveway and stopped when he reached her house. Facing her, he said, "I had a great time tonight, Bri. I'd love to see you on Friday, if you don't have other plans."
Brianna nodded. "Friday sounds great."
"I'll think of something special for us to do."
Her heart raced as Jared leaned forward. His soft, full lips brushed hers. When he started to back away, Brianna impulsively leaned in and kissed him again. His fingers entangled in her hair and caressed the back of her neck as they kissed over and over again. Brianna felt heady when she finally pulled away.
"I'll see you on Friday." She said, getting out the car.
"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow after I get out of class, if you want."
"Yes, I'd like that."