The closer we came to the city, the more clustered buildings and people became. Garret drove fast and aggressively along the roads, weaving in and out of traffic like a professional. That, combined with all the people and tall buildings and passing cars, made me nauseous. I closed my eyes tight, willing my stomach to settle.
I wished then, and several other times after, that I was back in the cabin at the top of the mountains away from it all. But then I would remind myself why I was doing this. This is how I could make it right, I told myself again. My personal comfort no longer mattered.
Glancing down at the smooth skin on my hand, I wondered when I’d tell Charlie about me being an immortal. What an awkward conversation. I’m not even sure what that meant really. I healed quickly like vampires and died like them too, but lacked any of their other abilities. What was I exactly?
Eventually, Garret pulled the car into an underground parking lot beneath a tall, dark brown building and pushed a button on the side of a metal stand. A tall gate opened wide and he drove inside.
“Are we here?” I asked.
Garret turned right between two rows of vehicles. “This is it. I’ll drop you off at the elevator at the end. Go up to the fourth floor and ask for Charlie.”
I clutched my bag tightly, my heart pounding. What if I’ve waited too long and I’m no longer wanted? Where will I go then? So stupid. I should’ve at least written Charlie back, even once.
Garret parked the car, but I didn’t get out. “Something wrong?”
Anxiety swelled in my chest and my feet began to tingle. Magic. I needed to calm down. Relax and breathe deeply.
“You all right?” Garrett asked, staring at me with a creased forehead.
I nodded then swallowed the lump in my throat before opening the door. The underground garage was cold and smelled like an old basement. I said goodbye to Garrett, then pressed the up button.
The elevator vibrated and moved upwards. No going back now. I took a deep breath as the doors opened to a well-lit reception area.
A woman with short curly blonde hair and glasses greeted me from behind a desk. “Good morning. May I help you?”
I quickly stepped out and said, “My name is Eve. I’m here to see Charlie.”
“Nice to meet you, Eve. I’m Sarah,” she said, smiling big. Sarah was younger, nineteen I guessed. There were fashion magazines scattered on her desk and three kinds of fingernail polish, each with lids open, directly in front of her.
“Good to meet you, too,” I said, forcing a smile. My feet were still tingling.
Sarah stood and rounded her desk toward me. “I’ll take you back. Follow me. By the way, I love your hair. Is that your natural color?”
“Yeah, and thanks,” I said and followed her through a maze of white and black cubicles, each one filled with people sitting at built-in desks, headsets wrapped around their heads, and staring at computers. A few of them glanced at me, but for the most part, no one seemed to care. We turned a corner and stepped into a long hallway. At the end sat a dark-haired teenage boy who was hunched over, scribbling furiously with a fat red marker on something shiny and silver.
“How’s it going, Derek?” Sarah asked.
The boy didn’t look up. His hair was combed neatly to the side, and he barely seemed to fit in the chair he was sitting in; his legs lengthened way past the seat. When we came close, Derek stood and took a hesitant step toward us, head still down, eyes staring at the shiny object in his hands. Suddenly, he thrust it toward me, revealing what he’d been working on.
My eyes lowered, and I opened my mouth to say thank you, but instead a scream tore through my lungs.
Chapter 30
I screamed again and fell to the ground, crawling backwards away from the strange teenage boy. In his open palm was an exact replica of the silver necklace Boaz had given me.
Sarah stared at me with her mouth open, eyes wide.
“Get away from me,” I cried, but the boy took several more steps toward me.
The door at the end of the hallway flew open and out stepped a man with brown curly hair. He moved quickly toward Derek and spun him around away from me. “Derek, let me see what you made.”
With the necklace no longer in view, I relaxed a little, but my heart still raced.
Sarah kneeled beside me. “Are you okay?”
A few people from the cubicles had come rushing over. Sarah waved them away and said, “Nothing to see here. Get back to work!”
“What a beautiful necklace. May I hold it?” the brown-haired man asked Derek. The man’s back was to me. He was several inches taller than me and broad shouldered.
Derek shook his head vehemently and again thrust the necklace toward me.
“Who is that?” I asked Sarah.
“Derek Asher, an autistic boy who works here. He’s completely harmless, I swear.”
I looked up, my gaze meeting that of the boys. His wide-set eyes were gray and full of innocence, something I had never seen in anyone else before. I stood up slowly and reached for the necklace. It was cool to the touch.