Blue Violet

chapter 16



Another six weeks passed without incident. No sightings of the wolves. No more suspicious looks from Adelaide or Lila. But there was Alex, or more specifically, Alex’s disappearance from her life. The first few days after hanging at the pizza place, he texted to say he couldn’t run with her the next morning. Then one night, the text said that he wouldn’t be able to run with her for a while, and nothing since then. Ellie had seen him when he dropped his siblings off for school, and when he picked them up afterward. But he’d only given her a nod and a half smile. He didn’t get out and talk to her. And he didn’t show up in the library on their study nights again.

Part of Ellie worried, hoping that he was okay. Another part was insecure, wondering what she’d done to scare him off. And another part was just pissed that he’d drop her like that, without any explanation. She had a strong suspicion he was avoiding her, and she wondered why. But then the next moment, she’d convince herself that she was being completely self-centered. Sure, she felt a connection with him, but obviously that feeling was one-sided. What Alex probably saw when he looked at her was a normal high school girl… too young… too inexperienced… and not of his kind.

Ellie’d pretty much convinced Griffin that the Jenners and Pierces weren’t a danger to them. But both she and Griffin were still concerned that revealing themselves to the Jenners and Pierces might put them all in a great deal of danger. Especially given the wolf sighting not too long ago.

April had given way to an unseasonably warm May. The snow was mostly gone, at least for the moment. Ellie was standing outside in the parking lot, enjoying the lovely weather and chatting with Adelaide, Lila, and Nate. She waved to Brian and Juliette as they arrived, and hid a self-satisfied smile.

“You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” Adelaide teased, following her line of sight.

Ellie grinned. “I just hope they remember me at their wedding.”

Adelaide chuckled. She also thought that Brian and Juliette made a good couple, but her reasons for feeling so were slightly different, and she kept them to herself.

The couple had been inseparable since that movie night. They’d also become particularly good friends of Ellie’s, often coming over to her house to study on nights when she wasn’t at the library with Adelaide, Lila, and Nate. Sometimes they’d join the little library group, and even Griffin liked them. He’d finally warmed up to the idea of making friends… Or, at least he’d grudgingly accepted the concept.

Ellie glanced up and froze, the blood draining from her face. Across the street, in the shadows of a grove of trees, stood a giant black wolf, seemingly watching the school. As Ellie watched, the wolf slowly backed up into the shadows and disappeared.

“Ellie?” Adelaide laid a concerned hand on her sleeve. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Ellie pulled herself out of her shocked state with difficulty. She slowly focused on Adelaide’s worried face, and then shook her head a little, trying to clear it. “Umm… yeah.” She pinned what she hoped was a cheerful look on her face, hoping the color was coming back into her blanched cheeks. A loud trill shook her senses.

Saved by the bell, she thought with wry amusement. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.

“Griffin,” Ellie called for her brother mentally as she followed her friends into the school.

“Yeah?”

She mentally showed him what she had just seen. Somehow, she also managed to communicate her panic. “It’s him. The black wolf.”

“I know,” was his grim response. “I’m on it. You go to class. I’ll see if I can find him. I’ll keep in touch.”

“Be careful. Please.”

“Do you really have to say that to me?”

“Probably not.”

Ellie didn’t hear from Griffin again after that, and it made for an incredibly long day. She must have acted pretty spacey, because her friends kept giving her odd looks. Once school was finally over, she rushed out to the parking lot, her mind focused on one thing and one thing only: to get home and see if she could find Griffin.

Halfway across the lot she stopped suddenly, shocked. Alex was leaning up against her car. Given that six weeks had passed since she’d last seen him and he’d done little more than nod at her in passing, his timing was suspicious.

“Hi, Alex,” Ellie said as she approached him. Despite her state of panicked rush, and her anger with him, she secretly felt thrilled. It just figured that he’d pick today of all days to finally talk to her. She unlocked the passenger-side door and threw her backpack in the back seat. Alex still blocked the driver side.

“Sorry, Alex, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

He didn’t move. “Oh? Where’re you off to in such a rush?”

“Just home.”

“Griffin there?” he asked in a too-casual way, and Ellie’s eyebrows popped up.

“Yeah.” She drew out the word, implying by her tone that she thought that a bit of a silly question.

They eyed each other for several moments. With an impatient gesture, she finally snapped, “Do you mind?” and tried to shoo him away from her car. From the corner of her eye she saw Adelaide, Lila, and Nate approaching them.

“Who exactly is Griffin, anyway?” he asked her.

Ellie hid her surprise. Adelaide knew Griffin was her brother. Guess she didn’t pass that on to Alex, Ellie thought. Her stubborn streak kicked in. Well, after the silent treatment the last few weeks, I’m not in the mood to enlighten him.

“I really am in a hurry, Alex,” Ellie answered brusquely. Why on Earth did he decide that the one moment he wanted to talk to her was the one moment she couldn’t? And why talk to her about this? She risked touching him, pushing against him to try to move him out of the way. She was tempted to let her hand linger on his arm. It felt warm and rock hard. And touching him at all just seemed so intimate, so right. A strange yearning settled somewhere in her heart.

Alex stared into her eyes so intently, Ellie felt almost trapped. She couldn’t turn away even if she’d wanted to. Her breathing accelerated along with her heart rate. It was the kind of look a man gave a woman he wanted. Knowing. Sensual. Slowly, he obligingly scooted aside. Still caught in his gaze, Ellie just managed to yank open her car door in an awkward motion and flop in. Turning the key, she revved the engine. Alex signaled her to roll down the window, and she took a deep breath and complied.

He leaned down as if to speak with her, but then he suddenly popped his head through the window and placed a light kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Ellie gave a little squeak of surprise and stared at him with wide, astonished eyes.

With a sexy grin he said, “Just giving you one more thing to think about.” And with that mystifying comment, he turned and walked over to where his siblings were waiting.

Ellie sat for a moment, gathering her chaotic thoughts and emotions. Holy crap, he just kissed me! Quickly followed by, Who the hell does he think he is? Sheesh! The guy completely ignores me for six weeks, and then wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am!

Finally it registered that maybe Alex Jenner wasn’t indifferent to her after all, and a bubbling excitement fizzed through her entire system, threatening to explode.

But Ellie squashed her growing excitement. One kiss didn’t make him any less of a jerk. And as much as her body wanted to focus on that amazing moment, Ellie had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. She put her car in gear, and with a slightly dazed wave in the general direction of her friends, she headed home.

*****

Alex watched Ellie as she drove away. He didn’t even hide it now. Adelaide, Lila, and Nate had all seen him kiss their friend. Adelaide smiled serenely, while Nate and Lila gave him incredulous looks.

“What the heck was that all about?” Nate demanded.

Alex just shrugged. Mentally, he swung back and forth between a crazy satisfaction at that kiss, and feeling like a complete fool. He’d been thinking about her almost non-stop for weeks. He’d blown off their runs, and then stopped contacting her completely. He’d thought he was doing the right thing. Saving her from… from a lot of things, not the least of which was the possible danger they were in. He didn’t blame her for being mad at him at all. But then she’d basically given him the cold shoulder, her mind obviously elsewhere. And he’d thought, I’ll give her something to think about, and something had snapped. He’d wanted her focus solely on him, and he’d kissed her.

Jeez, Alex, you’re such a jerk, he mentally berated himself. But as he thought more about it, something in his head clicked. It’d been brief, but he had felt her respond, had seen something spark in her eyes, confirming his hope that she wasn’t as indifferent to him as she seemed. He didn’t think he could ever forget the look she’d given him afterward. Part fury, part stunned surprise, part sparkling need. He’d seen the mutual desire in her eyes.

He didn’t know what he was going to do about it. But he’d decided to do something. It wouldn’t be long until she went to college…a few months. He could wait for her until then. And hopefully by then he could figure out exactly what he wanted. Alex just prayed that he hadn’t already blown his chances.