Chapter Sixteen: My Recycled Soul by Lynette Ferreira
After we stop in front of Connell’s house in one of the housing estates in the village, I smile, while I say, “Thank you, Ma’am,” using the term I have heard the other kids use when talking to an adult.
Jane’s mum turns around toward me, smiling friendly and says, “Bye, Elizabeth. Hope to see you again soon.”
“Me too.” I open the door, take my bag and get out of the car, while Jane says goodbye to her mum and negotiates her pick-up time.
I look around, looking for Jared’s Jeep and I feel disappointed when I do not see it.
Jane jumps out of the car and hooks her arm into mine. We turn and wave to her mum as she drives away.
“Why did you get your mum to drive all the way out to pick me up? I could have asked my dad to drop me off.”
“But then that leaves room for you to phone me later and give me a silly excuse. I wanted to make sure you were here tonight.”
“Why make sure?” I ask.
She stops and looks at me seriously. “I related to you so easily right from the beginning. I have been friends with Sarah and Siobhan since first year, but still, I feel closer to you.” She leans nearer to me and whispers conspiratorially, “They don’t even know I love Aaron.”
“I understand.” I smile widely.
“And – Aaron phoned me to tell me about the party.”
“That is why you are acting so hyper!” I laugh.
“Maybe,” she simply says, without offering any explanation. Taking a deep breath, she rings the doorbell.
After a few seconds, Aaron opens the door, and he smiles at me. “At last, I thought you would never get here. I was starting to get worried.”
He looks at Jane and I see something pass between them—a mysterious look. I wonder if anything happened between them, something I had somehow missed. I feel disappointed though, because I thought maybe Jared would be arriving later, but with Aaron already here, it would mean he is not coming at all.
Following Jane into the house, I suddenly feel alone.
Aaron leads us into the house, and I notice my small group of friends sitting scattered around the lounge.
Jane leaves me and pulls Aaron by the hand toward the kitchen.
I do not follow them, because it looks as if they want to be on their own and this makes me even more curious, so I remind myself to ask Jane if anything happened between them.
I stand in the doorway leading into the lounge, deciding where to sit.
Sarah looks beautiful, just as I knew she would, and she is standing with Connell at the stereo arguing which CD to play. She is openly flirting with him.
John and Siobhan are sitting together on the couch.
With sudden horror, I realize I am the only odd one out. I could not bear to think of the embarrassment if Jane and Aaron did get together tonight. Of course, I want Jane to be happy, but… I jump as I feel arms circling around me from behind and folding over my stomach. At the same time, a voice I only heard a few days ago for the first time, but would recognize anywhere, whispers in my ear, “I’m sorry.”
Breathe.
He turns me around in his arms and smiling an innocent smile, he gently pulls me with him, while walking backwards down the dark hall. He looks at me, searching my face, and I look down.
“You’re an awful person,” I whisper angrily.
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“No, but I should,” I answer, barely audible.
“Besides, Jane and Aaron carefully orchestrated you being here tonight, so you wouldn’t want to disappoint them now by not forgiving me?”
Bending his head toward me, his lips touch mine softly. They taste like vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
Good strategy.
I move away from him. I do not want him to know that I want him to kiss me. I do not want him to know I have already lost my heart to him.
Would think you had more sense, Elizabeth!
Jane pushes past us, as she walks out of the kitchen. “Jared, your ice-cream is still on the kitchen counter, and the movie is about to start.”
Gently he lets me go and says, “Hope you scare easily.”
Taking me by my hand, he leads me into the lounge. There is only a single chair left, and he sits down on it, pulling me down so that I am sitting on his lap.
“I could get so very used to this,” he says softly in my ear, hugging me close.
The voice in my head cautions me to only enjoy the attention, but not to fall any deeper in love with him.
We watch a horror movie, and no, I do not scare easily. Jared loses interest halfway through the movie and starts tracing his fingers in circles on my back. I tuck closer into him, goose bumps once again betraying me. He rests his face in my hair and breathes deeply. I am so distracted I miss the plot of the movie completely.
When the credits start to roll over the screen, he whispers in my ear, his lips trembling against my skin, “I don’t know about you, but I am not in the mood for sitting around chatting or watching any more movies. I would rather like to get to know you better, like what your star sign is. I already know your favourite colour, movie and book.”
I turn back toward him, smiling warily. “So, you were paying attention on the beach?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” He grins.
Smoothly he pushes me up into a standing position and gets up off the chair. Taking my hand in his, he leads me out of the lounge. From the corner of my eye, I catch Sarah giving me the death glare.
Jared opens the door leading onto the porch and as the sub-zero wind blows in, Connell yells from the lounge, “Close the door, it’s bloody freezing.”
Jared quickly pushes the door shut, looking self-conscious as hysteric laughter wafts from the lounge to us.
