Thea was still during the entire sermon. Other than the uniform rising and falling, she sat still. I didn't want to look at her or anyone in particular in the church but there was something unnerving about her stillness. It felt as if she had literally shifted out of that present moment and only a cold fragment of her ghost sat next to me. The thought of that alone sent chills down my spine. I shivered.
Rubbing my arms to chase away the sensation, I drew in air through clenched teeth. The sudden ache in my teeth made me gasp. The air around me was actually cold. I frowned.
"Allison?" My grandmother inquired, having turned from her pew in front of me to look at me.
I shook my head and gave her a small smile. My grandmother raised her eyebrows then only after few seconds of scrutiny, turned back to the sermon.
Thea's voice came with the cold, clasping it with delicate hands and flowing with it so softly. It made me feel as if only I could hear it, as if I alone felt the cold that carried it.
" The glass windows are so pretty. My mother told me to never come into places like this. She said it was filled with desperate pleading mortals who called on higher beings with only their filth to offer. She said the beings would come at times but the mortals never saw them, only felt them. The ones who saw them often never liked what they saw because sometimes with their filth...they called other..things."
Her last word pulled away the cold, leaving no trace of it other than the pain that came from the sudden change in temperature. Startled, I pushed myself a little to hard against the back of the pew causing the others seated on it to look my way. Warmth flooded my face and Thea giggled but somewhere in the back of my mind I heard her laugh such a loud laugh that it tickled my ears like sharp pins would.
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The delicious aroma of barbecued meat filled my nose and my stomach growled for the third time that afternoon. With most people in casual attire or free flowing somewhat church attire I felt out of place and rigid. Even Thea, in a blue almost indigo church dress, blended in nicely with the crowd. She moved freely, sweetly smiling at guests and talking with them as if she knew them personally and they had last seen each other just the week before.
I turned away from her and scanned the tables for something to drink. I really didn't care what she was up to as long as she and everybody else left me alone. The Sun's heat rested above us like a heavy unmovable hand. No amount of fanning rid us of the heat. I sighed in relief once I caught sight of some chilled sodas being set in a cooler near one of the tables.
I had just started off for the cooler when a clammy hand suddenly rested on my forearm. From a similar recent experience I decided it was best to shake the arm off and continue walking. I shook my arm but the hand didn't let go it only tightened. Without looking at the face of my captor, I wrapped my free hand around the person's wrist and yanked the hand off. My captor let go and I continued walking. It was only at the table that I realized I had a tail and I would have turned to scream at it if not for the people around me. Instead of turning to yell at the persistent tail, I turned and spoke to the person in a completely calm voice that it even surprised me.
"Please give me a good reason why you're following me."
Large hazel green eyes gazed at me from a freckled round face which was distractedly covered with one of the widest grins I had ever seen. I inwardly groaned upon seeing it.
The boy looked to be about my age but was noticeably shorter than me. His head was covered in a mop of dirty blonde curls which any girl would have found cute . His hair especially the way it sat on his head looked unruly and unwashed to me. His face had one too many freckles which should have been cute but to me...they really weren't.
"I'm Edward but people call me Eddy or Ted more often than Edward. My Grams calls me Rhys...that's my middle name. What's your name?" He answered completely ignoring my first question.
I stared at him for a second before speaking.
"Teddy, why are you following me?" I asked him speaking much slower than before.
Ted's eyes widened a fraction as his face turned a noticeable red.
"Um, sorry. I...um, well."
"What?"
"No, I...um...I saw that you were alone and so am I, so....we're like the same age and the other kids here are older or way younger and yeah."
I raised my eyebrows. What a beautiful speech.
"Just because you think we're the same age, you think we should hang out?"
Ted nodded and I rolled my eyes. I wanted to point out the holes in his reasoning but I wasn't really in the mood to talk.
"I'm pretty sure she is thirteen," I told him waving in the direction of Thea.
"I'm twelve and your grandmother said you were twelve."
I raised a brow. When did he speak to my grandmother because from the time we had arrived at her home, she had been surrounded by adults.
"Well thirteen should be close enough. Run along Teddy."
Ted frowned.
" Geez, I just trying to be nice. I thought you were as bored as I was. We don't need to be friends after this. Let me just sit with you."
I paused before I spoke, remembering the cold drink just behind and then thinking through the never ending conversation before me.
"Fine."
Ted beamed at me.
"Just stop talking."
Ted nodded but after getting drinks and finding a place to sit, he opened his mouth and didn't close it until we got food.
I learned that Ted had just moved to our town and would be going to the same school that I was going to but I didn't mention that. He told me that he lived with his grandparents but never went on to tell me about his parents. I learned he had a dog, but I never really heard the name since I was half listening half day dreaming. I would have been deep into my daydreams if it had not been for Ted constantly asking me questions.
When my dad finally came to pick us up it was dark outside. Ted hadn't yet gone home so he walked with me to the car where he met Thea. Surprisingly, unlike the tons of people who swooned over Thea, Ted went unfazed. In fact, after greeting my dad and Thea he came back to me to give me hug then trotted off back to my grandmother's house.
The drive back home was anything but quiet. Thea spoke to my dad about the people she met and her day in general while my dad proceeded to tell jokes about them. They laughed but I didn't. I smiled not because of their stories but because of the irritating boy from the barbeque.
YOU ARE READING
In The Shadows
Fantasi"What are you doing here?" Thea spat even though her heart was beating a million times a minute. Grinning widely, the dark haired man stepped out from the shadows. The darkness clung to his clothes as if beckoning him to come back. "I was expecting...
