Secrets » Luke Hemmings

Chapter 3

P R A N K S

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ELENA'S POV

I'm sat on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with a pot next to me (just in case I throw up), when Miles takes it upon himself to come sit by me. His eyes observe my every move as I react to his new presence. His dark brown eyes meet mine for a second before I look away and into the kitchen. At first, I thought Iris had walked in from tanning outside, but nothing was there.

"I need to talk to you, Elena. Away from everyone else. I'm not supposed to be saying anything so we're going to have to go on a little hike to get away from this place. Are you good enough to go?" He asked, his jaw tensing as he looked back at the stairs.

I nodded, my eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "Why aren't you supposed to tell me?" Immediately after I asked, Miles covered his face with his hands and sighed.

"Just come with me, El. Slip on your flip flops or something. I just really need to tell you before something bad happens." The urgency in his voice scared me and my adrenaline began to kick in. I didn't feel that sick anymore as I rose from the couch and walked through the kitchen to exit the cabin. Miles followed behind me and I walked down the steps. Once I had my vans on, we headed down the yard and entered the forest, an odd silence overcame us. I thought about Iris and prayed that she wouldn't think Miles and I were starting to become a thing.

Together Miles and I weaved through the fallen needles and leaves that had fallen from all the pines and oaks around us. The sun was shining down on our backs and I could already feel my exposed skin burning a bit. My feet hurt after awhile of climbing the hill to the top of a small cliff. A rock was placed in the perfect spot for two people to sit on and look out over the forest along with the large river cutting through the green mass of trees. I thought about how much I'd love to spend time with Luke up here, alone.

Miles led the way over to the rock and took a seat. He patted the clean gray stone beside him, so I sat down and leaned back, propping myself on my hands. "So, you said you couldn't tell me with the possibility of anyone else being around. What's it about?" I broke the small silence.

"It's about Luke." Miles said. There was a grave expression on his face as he looked at me. "I don't know if anyone has said anything but he's been keeping something from everyone except me. He talked to me this morning before he left. I could tell how upset he was and..." We heard the distant sound of a gunshot and I jumped.

"What was that?" I asked, shifting uneasily, my hands resting in my lap as I looked around, squinting at Miles.

He turned back around to face me and shrugged. "I guess the neighbors hunt or something. But anyway... Luke."

"Oh, right. Luke." I nodded, clenching my jaw and keeping my eyes on him to make sure he doesn't lie straight to my face. Being an outsider all these years has given me the advantage to develop the skill of observation. I can tell when people lie. I already know Miles' ques that give away when he's lying.

"So he told me that last night you um... tried to stop him from getting laid?" He raised an eyebrow at me as if he were waiting for me to confirm. Suddenly the image of Luke looking down at me with that disappointed expression on his face flashed into my mind. Instead of saying anything I just nodded so he'd get along with whatever he wanted to tell me. "He told me that you didn't like seeing him with Natalie. At this point, it's obvious you like him. You basically told him that."