The Knowing Secret

Chapter 34

I was not looking forward to going shopping, but, luckily, my parents had already given me permission to drive the car. So at least I didn't have to get a ride to the mall with Becca and Leanne.

When we met at the store a smile grew on my friend's faces. They were excited and soon busied themselves pulling dresses of the rack for me to try on. My eyes grew and I suppressed a moan when they returned with what looked like ten dresses each for me to try on. They both looked at me and rolled their eyes when the saw the one dress I had pulled. I tried to protest but they laughed and forced me into the dressing room with all of the dresses while they sat down and waited.

When the dressing room closed I continued to protest. Trying all these dresses on would take forever. After a few minutes of standing there with my arms crossed I felt their returning excitement and realized that since I was taking too long they started to look for even more dresses. I knew then that the quicker I changed, the less dresses I would have to try on. I looked at the one dress I had picked and knew that it was the dress I wanted, but I knew they wouldn't let me leave until I tried on all the ones they picked out. So I hung mine up on the other side of the room and saved it for last. With every dress I put on Leanne and Becca ohed and awed and matched the dress with shoes and accessories.

After what seemed like the hundredth dress I finally was down to one, the one I picked out. I knew I had to change quickly or they would have another bundle of dresses. When I stepped out of the dressing room my friends were silent. I swiftly moved in front of the mirror so I could see what they saw. I looked at myself and for the first time that night a smile formed on my face. "Perfect," I whispered.

It was a sleeveless floor length tulle ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. The white top hugged my body flawlessly. It had beaded flowers spread out on top. Then at my hips the dress puffed out with the tulle. Where the tulle met the top part of the dress there was a simple pink and white flower and there was another one half way down the bottom. It was my dress, the perfect dress.

A few moments later Leanne appeared with the perfect shoes and jewelry to go with it. While I was holding the necklace to my neck and examining myself in the mirror something caught my eyes. I quickly spun around and tried my best to control my facial expression when I saw Evan walk into the store across from the one I was in. I had been so caught up in the dress that I had actually seen him before I felt him but when I did I couldn't keep the smile from forming on my face. He was still nervous and scared, more than he was earlier in the day. Which lead me to believe there was still a chance of getting some answers.

"I'm done." I said with a smile. "This is the dress." Then I turned and hurried to the dressing room to change leaving Leanne and Becca protesting behind. It didn't matter what they said. I wasn't going to try on one more dress. I was too excited to care if I was hurting their feelings. I still had my chance and I wasn't going to risk losing it a second time.

"Let's go to another store then." Leanne said, as I carried the dress, the shoes and the necklace to the counter.

"I can't, I'm already spending too much money." I replied, as I laid everything down on the counter for the cashier.

"Come on Ri" Becca said, joining in. "We hardly hang out anymore. It will be fun."

"I'm sorry." I said, still trying to hurry. I kept glancing out the door as the cashier rung me up to make sure Evan didn't leave yet. "I have to get home. I have a ton of homework I need to finish." The cashier handed me my change and my bags and I started walking towards the door. I turned back to face my friends, "Sorry again." I shrugged. Then I hurried out the door and to my car.

I drove around the parking lot figuring it wouldn't be too hard to find Evan's car and I was right. After a few minutes I found his car parked in two spaces. I rolled my eyes, quickly found a spot a few spaces away, and waited for Evan's return.

I waited a few minutes with no sign of him. Panic began to set it. What if he was meeting someone inside the mall? What if he wasn't taking his car? Should I have followed him around in the mall? As all of these questions were running through my head I missed Evan getting into his car. If it wasn't for the loud roar of his car I would have missed him altogether.

I shook my head and I pulled out behind him. After I made sure there was a safe distance between us I focused on his feeling. He was on edge and his nervousness kept growing the longer we drove. I made sure to keep two cars in between us the whole time. Every once in a while I thought I had lost him but then I would see him make a quick turn and I followed.

After a long distance Evan finally pulled over and parked in front of an apartment building. I passed him and parked further up the road. I turned my body and watched him as he got out of the car and walked up to the building with his head down. He was scared, like he had no idea what was going to happen when he got inside. This only made me even more curious.

He reached forward to push a button and I tried to turn my body so I could get a better glance. My hand slipped and hit the horn. "Shoot," I whispered, as I ducked down hoping he wouldn't see me. After a little I glanced back up in time to see him walk through the doors of the building.

I hastily got out of the car and sprinted to the front of the building. When I got to the door I realized there were three different apartments. I didn't waste any more time I pushed the first button. "Who's there?" came an old man's voice. I ignored him and quickly pressed the second button. There was no response.

My heart started beating faster as I pressed the third and final button. "I thought I told you to hurry up here!" a familiar woman's voice snapped the same time the door buzzed open.

I reached out with my shaking hand and pulled the door open. This was the voice from Evan's memory. This lady, whoever she was, was who Evan was working for. I was so close. I focused on her and soon her anger flooded through me. It was no wonder Evan was so scared. My heart pounded even harder as I took a deep breath. This was it. I had found her and I was about to get some answers. All I had to do was walk up to apartment three, knock on the door, and I would see who this lady was. I took another deep breath and was about to step forward when I jumped at the sound of my phone going off.

I quickly pulled it from my pocket, still holding the door open and sighed. It was Sam. I hesitated for a moment wondering if I should just ignore it. Sam was dealing with so much, I knew if I didn't answer he would only worry even more about me. I sighed again and hit the answer button. "Hey," I said, in an almost whisper. I panicked for a second as I waited for him to answer, wondering if anything in my voice gave me away.

"Hey babe. Still out shopping?" he asked, with a chuckle. I sighed, realizing he had no clue. "How about I come rescue you?" he asked.

"No." I said, as I looked back at my car and then back at the building I was standing halfway inside. "We just finished. You're off work already?" I asked, glancing back again, trying to figure out what to do.

"Yeah, not a very busy night. Plus I felt bad about making you go out shopping. Want me to come pick you up? I'm looking forward to making this up to you."

"No." I answered, too quickly as I let go of the door and started to make my way back to the car. "I borrowed my mom's car. Meet you at your place?"

"Sure," he said. "See you in ten minutes."

I looked around at my surroundings and sighed, "Make it twenty." I quickly hung up the phone and got in the car. I glanced back at the building one last time storing as much as I could in my memory. I didn't want to leave, not when I was so close to all the answers we were looking for. Yet, I knew if I didn't leave now Sam would know something was up and if he knew what I was doing we would have yet another fight. I couldn't stand to fight with him, not while I was this excited. Plus I knew if he found out he wouldn't let me come back and the only way I was able to leave was by promising myself that I would come back as soon as I could.

A/N The dress Riley picked it pictured above.

I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks so much for read this far and for those who are commenting and voting thanks even more =) it means so much. The next chapter... let just say something huge is going to happen and I can't wait to post it. So show lots of love and I will post again soon! Love you guys!

Can you believe how close Riley was to "she"????