Look At Me Now

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

"Oh," the word left my lips softly and as quiet as a breath. He liked me. I felt a panic set in. What do I do?

"You don't have to like me back," he said, the subtle sound of rejection in his words made me feel awful. "I know you have feelings for Gabriel—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I stopped him. "Gabriel? No, I do not have feelings for Gabriel. He's just a friend."

The corner of Jason's lips twitched upward. He was amused at my reaction. "Now I know you do. You'll realize it eventually."

"You're crazy."

"Believe me, I wish I was wrong. If you didn't have a thing for Gabriel I might have more of a chance," Jason said.

"I don't have feeling for Gabriel. Jason, I swear," I replied. I couldn't seem to stress it enough to that boy.

"Then go out with me," Jason proposed.

"What?"

He leaned forward, smiling. "Go out on a date with me."

"But...I don't...you...what?"

"Eve, if you don't have a crush on Gabriel then why don't you want to go out with me?"

"Because you're just a friend," I said simply.

He shrugged. "Okay, fine." He seemed as though he'd gotten the answer he'd expected. "I'll come back and check on you later. I'm leaving for a job tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" I asked, itching to change subjects.

He tilted his head to the side. "California. It should only take a couple weeks."

I nodded. "Good luck," I whispered. "Be careful."

He gave me a tight smile. "Always." Then he left.

*

*

*

I rubbed at my stiff neck. I'd been reading for the past couple of hours—well, I say reading but really I was thinking. I had a million thoughts swirling through my head that made it impossible for any of the novel's words to actually be comprehended. They were about many different things; Gabriel and my mom being two of the most prominent subjects.

I pushed myself off my bed and walked out of the room. I decided I was going to the common room. Each "generation" of agents had a separate common room. It was at the end of the hallway on each living floor.

When I walked in the ten people in the room went silent. Sarah Newman, a nice petite girl with long strawberry blonde hair, stepped towards me. "Eve, how are you? We heard you got shot."

The guy next to her let out a snort. "Everyone heard." What was his name? "You went with Gabriel and still managed to get kidnapped. That is skill."

"Shut up, Carter," another girl snapped.

"Eve?" Sarah's attention, along with everyone else's, was back on me.

"I'm fine," I croaked out, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Carter was right. Getting kidnapped while on assignment with Gabriel was something only a complete idiot could do.