Descendant - Archaic #3 (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 5 - Part 1

A gentle nudge to my shoulder woke me up. I opened my eyes and saw Tyler standing next to my bed.

"I have to get ready for school, so I'll see you there," he said. I glanced at the floor as I rubbed my sleepy eyes. I glanced around my room and noticed he'd already folded the bedding.

"Okay," I replied, still half-asleep, and I yawned. I watched him leave through my window. A quick glance at my phone told me I still had another half an hour before I needed to get up. I rolled onto my stomach and hugged my pillow and closed my eyes. I just wanted a few more minutes of sleep.

It felt like I'd just closed my eyes when I felt another nudge and a familiar voice that said, "Ava."

Jared stood beside my bed, his hand still on my shoulder. I rubbed my eyes, thinking I might still be dreaming, but when I opened them he was still there.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered to him. He was already dressed for school. Maybe I was running late so I checked my phone next to my bed. According to the time on my phone I still had another fifteen minutes before my alarm would go off.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, watching me. He let go of my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I said as I sat up in my bed.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked with veiled eyes.

"I slept fine—no nightmares," I answered honestly. I hadn't woken up once during the night and I couldn't remember dreaming about anything. Not even any happy dreams of being in his arms. My heart ached.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. He looked better than the last time I saw him. The rest he'd gotten last night had really made a big difference.

"I'm fine," he said as he scanned the room and his eyes settled on the bedding folded on my desk. I watched his jaw tighten then he swung his gaze back to me. I still had no idea what he was thinking. Sometimes I wished one of their powers was mind-reading; it would really come in handy.

"I'll see you outside," he said before he walked to the window.

I didn't get a chance to say anything before he disappeared out my window. He was acting weirder every day.

Like he'd said, he was waiting for me in his Jeep when I walked out my front door a little later. Once I settled into the passenger side, he started up the car.

"How's Emma?" I asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

"She's still unconscious but my mom and Nathaniel will be keeping an eye on her today. I'll check up on her after school," he informed me. There was no emotion in his words.

An awkward silence settled between the two of us for the remainder of the journey to school.

He remained cool toward me until we got to school. As he helped me out of the passenger side of his car, his features softened and he gave me a brief kiss on the cheek. I tried to ease into the role of a loving girlfriend but I was finding it a lot harder to do than Jared. He seemed to be able to do it effortlessly. He transformed into the adoring boyfriend who couldn't keep his hands off me. I could only manage a stiff smile.

We joined the Archaics in the usual spot in front of the school. Everyone greeted each other. Stacy stood beside Danny. They seemed to be getting closer, so I wondered if Stacy had managed to deal with the guilt that was separating them. You could see by the way Danny looked at her that he was smitten.

As soon as Stacy spotted me she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Hi," she greeted. She was definitely starting to get back to her normal cheerful self.

"Hey," I said. Jared still held my hand as he stood next to me, talking quietly to Tyler.

"Kennedy's funeral is tomorrow," she said with emotion in her voice. I saw a slight glistening in her eyes. With my free hand I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. It would be a while before we could say her name with all the emotion of losing her overwhelming us like a tidal wave.

"I'll be there," I promised in a whisper. I wanted to be there to say goodbye to my friend and to be able to support Stacy. There was no way I was going to miss it. "Just message me the details."

"I will," she replied.

Jared turned to me and gave me a questioning look.

"The funeral," I told him. He eyes softened and he nodded his head. He'd already agreed to let me go to it although I hadn't given him much of a choice.

The morning went by quickly. Unlike the day before, the Archaics were relaxed and everything seemed to settle into a normal boring school day. The only hitch was the undercurrent between Jared and Tyler, which seemed to be getting worse.

Whatever was going on between those two needed to be dealt with soon, otherwise it was going to get messy. I couldn't believe they could be so at odds over Jared's decision to break up with me. There had to be something bigger behind this than that.

Jared played the besotted boyfriend well. So well, in fact, if I didn't know better I would still think he felt something for me. But that was only when people were around. As soon as it was just the two of us, a coolness developed. At times he couldn't even look at me.

Normally I wouldn't dream of sticking my nose in anybody else's business but I couldn't take Jared's mood swings anymore. Even lunchtime was strained with the two of them sitting at the same table. Everyone watching them could see there was something brewing.

Neve even threw me a questioning look when she noticed the tension between her brother and Jared. I shrugged in response. I knew nothing.

By the end of the school day I'd had enough with both of them. I was ready to give them boxing gloves and let them go at it. I was waiting in the parking lot, waiting for Jared, when Tyler came up to me.

"Hey," he said. Neve wasn't with him, which meant he was waiting for her.

"Hi," I greeted back. I worked up the courage to broach the subject he hadn't given me an answer to earlier.

"This thing between you and Jared that you won't tell me about... You need to sort it out," I began to lecture him. He held my gaze and smiled. This wasn't funny, because whatever Jared had against him had overflowed into my fragile interactions with Jared and I didn't have the energy to deal with it anymore.

"Since this issue started between you guys, I've been getting the cold shoulder. He can barely look at me when there isn't an audience to play up to. Whatever issue you guys have you need to sort it—now," I demanded. His eyes widened at my speech and his smile grew.

"You want me to sort it out now?" he asked, still watching me carefully.

"Yes. Don't you want to?" I asked him.

He didn't say anything while he stared at me.

I glanced away from Tyler and scanned the parking lot. Most of the students had left already. A few still loitered around the parking lot with their friends. I saw Danny walking Stacy to her car. It was so sweet. When they got to her car she unlocked the door and he pulled the door open for her.

As my eyes slid to the entrance, I saw Jared standing and watching me with an angry expression.

Oh, crap! What had I done now?