The Secret Keeper

The rest of the day was hectic.

Our main goal was to figure out just where the portal between the worlds was. That was Arkarian’s job, since he could easily tell where the biggest concentration of Creatures was. Ivy was working diligently, trying to learn how to kill off the Creatures, or at the very least send them back to the Secret’s world.

Bo was sulking. He seemed off in his own world all afternoon, like he was deep in thought about something. I knew he was angry about what I’d said earlier, so I didn’t bother him about it.

That left me to think to myself about everything for the rest of the day.

Normally I wouldn’t be able to sit still for longer than a few minutes without going crazy, but in light of the recent events (most of them having happened less than twenty-four hours ago) I didn’t think there was a cell in my body that wanted to move from its spot, planted on my bed. My brain was thinking furiously, though. I guess all that sitting still had to be made up someplace.

You know, I bet a normal teenager doesn’t have the same problems I do.

I mean, most normal teens worry about dating and makeup and friends and stuff, right? I have to worry about whether or not my fellow Keeper is in love with me, whether or not I’ll live long enough to need makeup by the way things are going, and the fact that my best friend was now no where to be seen.

Which made my thoughts switch gears completely. I hadn’t thought about Holly for… Well, I guess it was only a day, but it sure as hell felt longer than that. I missed having her around to talk to. We grew up together, and she always had something to say to the people who picked on me.

I’ll never forget this one time, she was hanging out with Bo and I at a party during freshman year, and Bo had left to go the bathroom or something in the middle of Truth or Dare. I had been dared to go up to Bo and tell him I was in love with him – and pretend to mean it – but when he did come back she whispered to him what was happening so that I wouldn’t make a complete fool out of myself.

And those kind of memories flashed across my mind as I thought about Holly. My heart tore every time I thought about her, but now it felt like it was close to being split in two. Everything I did reminded me of a time when something happened with Holly.

She’s just one of those people that, even though she wasn’t blood-related to me, would have a lasting mark on my life.

Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better? But, because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

I sighed again.

Then there was Bo. I was so confused about what to say to him… I mean, I know that I felt something when I was with him, but I could hardly call it love. Could I? He’d only told me how he felt yesterday, was I supposed to formulate an opinion about it in twenty-four hours?

Things were changing so fast now. My mind could hardly keep up with it. I mean, before Christmas, the only thing out of the ordinary about me was that stupid skull birthmark and maybe a small bit of short-term memory loss. But now I was dealing with the fate of humankind on a daily basis, all because I got dealt the joker in some Grand Game. I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be the savior of the human race.

Really, more than anything, I just wanted to be normal for a change.

Getting up from my bed, I tiptoed into the room next door. Bo was taking a nap, with his arm slung over his face. He looked so cute like that, like a little boy who was caught doing something wrong.

As I walked up to him slowly, I thought about what he might be dreaming of. His body was twitching furiously, and I swear I heard him whimper once. It must be bad, then.

My heart swelled. Was this what he felt like when he comforted me at night?

I sat down next to him on his bed, and slowly wrapped an arm around his waist. The twitching stopped abruptly, but his face – or what I could see of it, at least – was twisted into a grimace.

“Bo,” I whispered, hoping that would work.

It did, but not with what I was trying to help with. Who knew he was such a light sleeper?

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Bo’s eyes flew open, and landed on me. I gulped loudly as his face flickered with recognition, and then annoyance.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, looking a whole lot more intimidating than he had a few seconds ago.

I backed up nervously to the other side of the room, out of arm’s reach. At least, I hoped it was. “I wanted to talk to you… But then I saw that you were having a bad dream, and – “ I choked off, not really wanting to say anything else. Bo was freaking scary when he was like this.

“Well, then,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. His tattoo on his upper arm twitched a little. “Talk.”

And then I’d forgotten what I was going to say. It wasn’t easy being with him while he was like this, but when we hated each other it was just… well, I knew exactly what he was thinking when he glared at me the way he was. At least, I thought I did. Boys are confusing.

“Uh…I’m sorry about… what I said earlier. I didn’t think you’d take it that seriously…” I shuffled my feet, trying to think of something better than that to say. I came up with nothing.

Bo was silent for a while. Then he said, “You know, I just can’t figure you out, Eve.” I glanced up at him through my hair. He was staring at me intently, like I was some kind of puzzle. “I mean, one minute you act like you… like you like me, like I liked you, and the next you’re demanding from Arkarian why we’re going to be spending time together.”

I raised an eyebrow. When exactly did I say that? “I-I’m sorry?”

His green eyes narrowed to slits. He was about to say something that probably would’ve scared me, but then he seemed to think better of it. His body slowly relaxed and his face went blank, but his eyes never left mine. “Eve, look, you know how I felt – how feel – about you, and what you said… Damn, I’m horrible at this… It just, you know, struck home.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter, okay? Just go away.”

I blinked at him. What? “I have no intention of leaving, Bo. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“What do you want me to say, Eve?” he spat, looking angry again. “That I’m unconditionally in love with you, and that it kills me that you don’t feel the same way? That it fucking hurt when you basically said that you didn’t love me back? Is that what you want to hear?!”

He was standing in front of me now, gripping my shoulders tightly. His eyes bored into mine, like they were searching for something.

“Yes.”

That was all it took. Bo’s lips were on mine then, kissing me urgently, greedily, like this was the last kiss we’d ever share. His lips moved with mine, and I could slowly feel my face heat up.

He broke away suddenly and rested his forehead on mine.

“I just don’t want to think about not being with you,” he breathed.

My heart melted at that. It was just one of those moments that made you want to go, “Awww!”

I smiled up at him. “You won’t have to.”

I was about to kiss him again when there was a knock at the door, accompanied my Ivy’s frantic voice.

“Time to go.”