Life - Life & Death Book 1

Chapter 2 - Zivena

    After two whole blocks I climb the stairs to her front door and before my foot hits the top step the door flies open, a small figure smiles at me. "You're still covered in paint."
    I look down at myself and grin. "Whoops! Forgot to have a shower."
    "Gross, Zi!"
    I walk into the cool entryway and sigh. "It's so hot out there."
    "Grandpa said it's the hottest day we've had in years," Imogen says as we make our way upstairs to the small lounge room across from her bedroom. "So he made us his secret lemonade."
    And sure enough there's a giant jug of lemonade waiting for us on the coffee table next to a plate piled high with his famous lemon squares. I groan at the sight of so much deliciousness.
    "Your Grandpa's the best!" I dump my backpack on the floor and practically hurl myself onto the couch, right in front of that plate. I sneak a whole lemon square into my mouth as Imogen frowns at the coffee table.
    "Hang on, he's forgotten glasses. I'll be right back," she says before rushing down the stairs, her dark brown hair flying behind her.
    I regret shoving that entire square in my mouth as I struggle to swallow it without choking, my eyes start to water and it's not just from the sun shining right into the room. It takes a few more seconds before I can swallow the giant square down my throat and I'm left panting on the couch. Two seconds later Imogen emerges from downstairs and raises an eyebrow at me.
    "You swallowed the whole thing, didn't you," she says and places the glasses down before pouring me some lemonade.
    The only thing I can do is nod as I massage my now sore throat and sip my ice cold drink.
    "You're an idiot."
    I glare at her.
    "What?" Imogen exclaims. "You're old enough to know not to shove an entire lemon square in your mouth, Zi."
    I clear my throat and croak, "It was delicious, just so you know."
    Imogen gives me an incredulous look before laughing. "I hope you don't change too much when you leave," Imogen says, her voice going quiet, sad.
    I freeze. We've barely spoken about me leaving, though we've both known for months now.
    Imogen tries to shake off those feelings and gives me a watery smile. "Do you know where you'll be going? And for how long?"
    "A year, like my brothers," I reply, searching her face and sensing her emotions. I know she only wants the best for me, to train and become a great Guardian like the rest of my family. But it sucks that I'm hurting her so much by leaving her behind. "Dad told me last night that the facility is in West Virginia but wasn't really specific."
    Imogen only nods and distracts herself by taking a lemony treat.
    "I'm sorry Immy." I touch her arm and brighten. "Hey at least you'll be going to NYU with Jared and Owen."
    At the sound of Jared's name, Imogen blushes and tries not to giggle.
She really needs to get over him.
    "Hey! Don't give me that look," Imogen says, frowning at me. "I can't help my feelings."
    I roll my eyes, I've heard that line a thousand times.
    "I just think there are better guys out there than Jared," I say and pretend to gag.
    "Gross, Zi. You know I hate it when you do that! It makes me want to vomit too." I laugh but stop when I see the queasy look on her face. "Besides, I really can't help my feelings for him."
    "I'm sure you could try to just, you know, stop them."
    "Zivena, you've never had a crush in your life! Sure you've been attracted to some guys and fooled around with them but it's not the same as actually liking them."
    I grin and say, "What's that got to do with you liking Jared?"
    Imogen gives me a look like I'm being stupid. "You can't just stop feeling... feelings," she frowns at herself and then shakes her head. "You know what I mean!"
    I shrug. "Just cause I don't know what it's like to like someone doesn't mean I can't tell you to move on from Jared. What about Owen?" I add quickly when Imogen gives me the sort of look that would turn this into a full blown argument.
    "Owen? What about him?"
    "Why not go out with him?"
    Imogen pulls a face. "That would be like dating a brother. Ew."
If only she knew that Owen definitely doesn't see her as a sister.
    I sigh, "At least wait until you go to college. Who knows? You might meet a really nice guy there."
    "Jared is a really nice guy," Imogen replies.
    "That's debatable."
    "You only don't like him because of what he did last year," Imogen huffs and takes a bite of her lemon square.
    "You know I forgave him for that. But yes, what happened is part of the reason why you shouldn't get with him," I take another treat but this time I don't eat the whole thing at once. "What's wrong with Owen anyway? At least he's more of a stand up guy than Jared and he would treat you well. And you both like the same music and movies and stuff," I shrug. "Seems like a good match to me."
    Imogen sighs and leans back into the couch. "I know where you're coming from, Zi, but I think there's a side to Jared you don't let yourself see. Besides, I'm not attracted to Owen whatsoever."
    "Attraction helps," I wink at her to ease the tension.
    "Speaking of Jared and Owen; are we still meeting up with them later?"
    "Guess so. I need to tell them that I'm leaving soon. They already suspect somethings weird seeing as I didn't apply for any colleges."
    Imogen doesn't reply. She tries hard to hide her tears from me but the sniffing gives her away. I pull her into a hug.
    "It's only a year, Immy, and it'll go by so fast when you and Jared and Owen go to heaps of parties. You probably won't recognize me when I get home!"
    "Of course I will!" She murmurs into my shoulder. "How could I forgot my best friend's face?"
    "Hey, you better not be getting snot on my favorite band shirt."
    Imogen pulls back and grabs a napkin from the coffee table to blow her nose.
    "Who are the Wombats anyways?" She glances at my shirt.
    I look down at my T-shirt and then look at her in mock horror. "They're the band I saw last year? In Brooklyn. Their opening song was Cheetah Tongue?"
    "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't stop talking about it for days, and in serious detail. It was so boring," she admits and takes another bite of her lemon square.
    "Maybe I'll never talk about them again and we can sit in total silence for the rest of our lives!"
    "Oh, quit being so overdramatic," Imogen laughs and sprays me with crumbs, which only makes both of us laugh more.