Chapter 33

Night hurriedly pulled me out of the main entrance to the rather large mall, never once saying a word. She kept nervously glancing behind us, and I couldn't help but think that somebody was following us. Finally, we located her car in the parking lot.

"Get in," she urged as she left me at the passenger side of her car. "Come on, Jane, you really need to get moving," she continued, sounding panicked.

I just stood there, unsure of what was going on. "Why? Why is there such a huge hurry?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow and growing uneasy as she kept her gaze somewhere behind me. How come she didn't answer me? Night just stared in horror behind me.

She shook her head, then, and ran to my side of the car. "Do you really want to confront your enemy right here and right now?" she whispered, pulling my door open as I stood there looking at her in shock. My enemy?

I looked behind me, seeing a girl with pin straight copper hair and icy grey eyes walking towards us. She looked a lot like Night, but I wasn't entirely sure if that was her sister that she'd been speaking of earlier or not. My blood ran cold as realization hit me. Yes, it was her. Her and Night looked as if they could be twins; maybe they were twins. I didn't know for sure, and I wasn't about to find out.

Faster than I thought I could ever move, I got into the car. But, as usual, I wasn't fast enough. The girl approached the car, a smug smile on her face. She tossed her straight hair over her shoulder, and Night froze.

"Trying to hide the dear fugitive, eh sister?" she asked in a smooth, melodic voice. The way she spoke sent shivers through my body, and not the good ones either. "You know that there will be consequences for doing such absurd things," she scolded, tilting her head to the right slightly, the smile still on her face.

Night unfroze. "Hale, I'm not hiding anybody. I'm retrieving her for her boyfriend. I suggest that you leave, because I don't need this coming between us. This of all things," she muttered angrily, folding her arms across her chest.

Hale, I'd assumed, let out a tiny laugh. It gave me the chills, again. Everything about her gave me the chills, who was I kidding. "Let me take her to him. I'm sure that he would love to see me, Night. He hasn't seen me in a couple of years," she mused slightly to herself, her smile widening until it was that of an amused child's.

Her sister shook her head fiercely, quickly. "No, Hale. I'm in charge of getting her home. I'm not letting you take her, and that's final," she hissed out, and quickly made her way to the driver's side of her car after slamming my door shut.

Even with the window up and my door closed, I could still hear Hale's wicked laughter echo into the car. Before I knew it, the parking lot was blurring past me, and there was a crazy driver in the car.

"Don't even ask, Jane," Night whispered sadly, gripping the steering wheel as tightly as she could. I couldn't help but notice her knuckles had turned white. I couldn't see her facial expression, but her copper curls had created a wall between us. Was she crying?

I thought about asking her what was going on, but I decided against it. I didn't want to have Night upset with me. It was bad enough that Aiden was livid with me. Was this why he didn't want me to go out today with Night? I couldn't help but think that she was right earlier while we were in the mall. I couldn't help but wonder if I was safe anywhere while I was alone. Was I even safe around Aiden? No, I didn't think that he would ever hurt me. It's just; wouldn't Andromeda find me either way? She said that she was going to ruin my life. Well congratulations, you've succeeded! My thoughts yelled inside my head.

It wasn't until we parked outside of the apartment building that Night finally spoke. "I'm sorry about that. I really shouldn't have asked you to come to the mall, but that was the only place that I could have gotten to talk to you… alone," she apologized, whispering the last part as she looked past me, up into my window. "He's going to hate me for this," she mumbled softly and got out of the car.

I didn't wait to ask her what was going on. I swung the car door open and hopped out, trying not to slam the door as I closed it. "What do you mean?" I asked as I practically ran to catch up with her on the concrete steps.

She finished making her way to the stairs and turned around once she opened the door to our apartment building. "Your boy. He shouldn't be angry with you for leaving. Hell, I wouldn't be. But… you've known him longer. Eighth grade, right? Don't ask. The thing is, he's going to be mad at me," she mumbled quickly. "You don't have to pay me back for the clothes, they're my treat. Have fun, and good luck," she said quickly with an apologetic smile before darting inside her apartment.

I looked to where she'd taken off to, not even bothering to hide the confusion on my face. The sound of Hale's laughter echoed through my mind, and it felt as if she were actually next to me. Not wanting to stick around to find out, I clutched my bags in my hands and bolted up the stairs and bounded into my apartment. I guess I must not have seen whoever was standing in my doorway, because I landed on the floor with an "Oh," and my bags scattered all over the floor.

I quickly sat up, looking up to the shadow that towered over me. I ignored all of the tension that was in the room, ignored all of my protesting thoughts, and stood up as fast as I could. I wrapped my arms around Aiden's waist, not waiting for him to say hello or even to yell at me.

Slowly, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" he whispered in my ear, sounding hurt.

I flinched, squeezing my eyes tight. "Y-you're not mad?" I stuttered, trying to make my voice work. I'd been expecting him to blow up on me, but all he did was speak in a hushed tone. And sound crushed. I think I would've rather had him yelling at me right about now, than have him acting like this.

He tightened his grip on me slightly. "Of course, but not at you, really. I don't know what I was thinking, trying to make you stay here. I knew that you would go anyway," he whispered, momentarily lifting me up off of the floor. He let out a humorless laugh as he set me back down. "I would have chased after you, but I knew that it would have made everything worse."

I shook my head quickly. "No, love. It wouldn't have made anything worse. If anything, I would have ended up staying home, with you," I whispered, unsure of whether or not my voice would crack and give me away if I spoke any louder. He didn't need to know how horrible I felt for taking off on him like that, for exploding.

Another humorless laugh and the sound of my door closing filled the small room. "But then she would have never been able to talk to you about anything, am I correct? And you would have been angry with me, still," he said softly, his voice tinged with sadness.

"So she's really after me," I whispered, not as a question, just a statement. I knew he'd know who I was talking about.

Aiden was quiet for a moment. "Yes," he answered back, his voice a whisper also.

I let out a sigh. "I wasn't mad at you, by the way. Just frustrated that… well, that you'd act like you were my parent," I told him hesitantly, unsure of how to go about it.

He let out a humorless laugh. "Do you now understand why I did it, though?"

I nodded, pulling out of his hug. I wasn't about to tell him about what Hale had wanted to do, if that's what you're thinking; though he probably already knew all about her. "Yeah, I understand. I'm sorry if I'm not too good at keeping myself out of trouble. I love you," I said with a small smile.

He smiled back, instantly making me feel better. "Are you excited about tomorrow?" he asked, his silvery blue eyes sparkling.

I let out a small laugh, my mind still stuck on Andromeda. "Course babe."

I'd forgotten my bags next to the door, the thought about next week's party distant in my mind. I was exhausted; physically and mentally. I crawled into bed early that night with a restless Aiden holding me close, murmuring a soft lullaby and kissing my head softly. Before I'd closed my eyes one last time, I had taken one last glimpse at the clock. It read that it was ten at night, which was early for me. I didn't care, and Aiden didn't seem to protest.

I couldn't deny it; I was excited to go to the amusement park, even though Andromeda kept popping up in my mind. I wasn't about to let her ruin my double date. If she even thought about it, she was gonna be in for it. There was no way in hell I would let tomorrow get ruined for Mikey, Lewis, Aiden, and I. With those final thoughts, I became a reluctant prisoner of sleep; doomed to have a dreamless night.