Shadow Kiss

Chapter 8

******Zak’s P.O.V******

I watched as Aerolynn ran out of the room near tears. Goddamn it. If she hadn’t have left with tears in her eyes, I probably wouldn’t feel half as bad as I feel right now. What was it about her that made me want to draw her close while at the same time push her away.
I locked eyes with her so called “just friend” Luke. I could tell by the way he looked at her when she wasn’t noticing that HE was in fact the one that had the unrequited love on HER.
“Uh, Zak…?” Aaron quietly called out making me turn my attention to him.
“I’ll go look for her,” Luke sighed about to head out the door.
I sprung up off the bed.
“No, I’ll go. I’m the one that caused her to run away anyways. So it’s my job to go search for her,” I snapped. I didn’t want that guy anywhere near her. It was all I could do to refrain myself from nearly ripping his arm off when he pulled her body close to his. If they were “just friends”, then he had no right to do those sorts of things to her. Especially with the obvious love he felt for her.
“Yeah, but I know all of the places she likes to—”
“I don’t care. If that’s the case then tell me where those places are and I will go search for her. Alone,” I emphasized for good measure.
Luke held my gaze for a long time before sighing in defeat.
“Alright fine. There is a large wooded area that separates her grandparent’s house from the MacMiller’s house. If I know her well enough, and I do, then she most likely took the small forest path that starts right near the curve of the road. The entrance to the path is blocked by foliage and whatnot, so you’ll have to be sure to watch closely for it. Anyways, you basically follow that path and…well, you’ll find her,” Luke explained.
I nodded my head in understanding and grabbed my jacket off the coat rack next to the door.
“I’ll find her,” I promised.
I shut the door behind me on the way out.
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~~~~~~Aerolynn’s P.O.V~~~~~~

“Stupid jerk. Making me cry like some wimp,” I sniffed wiping away the remaining tears with the back of my hand.
Wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip flops wasn’t exactly the best idea when walking on a hidden trail in the woods. Then again I didn’t think I would be walking through the woods at sunset. It was steadily growing cooler as the sun disappeared behind the horizon making me wish I had at least had the sense to grab my coat, but oh well. What’s done is done. I had just been hoping for a nice evening of playing truth or dare and basically making Zak jealous. Or seeing if he would get jealous.
Because I had gotten so hot from running earlier, I had pulled back my thick dark brown hair into a ponytail so I could cool off a bit. And now that the cool night air was blowing across my sweaty body, I didn’t feel the need to have my hair up anymore, but I didn’t want to take it down either. It just got in my face too much and I really didn’t want to have to deal with it.
I finally reached the end of the path and emerged from the woods to look out over the beautiful lake hidden deep in the forest. Luke and I had first stumbled upon this place when we were kids and had made it our secret hideout. As we grew older, we would come here to talk or occasionally go for a swim. Then when we started dating, we used this as our make out spot. There were so many memories involving this lake from the time I was small until now. Whenever I had grown frustrated with the world or just needed to escape, I always found myself here. Almost like I was being pulled here by an unseen force.
I climbed up on the large stone rock that allowed me to gaze out over the sparkling water. It made for the perfect diving board, too. I sat down on the cool stone and wrapped my arms around my knees watching the final rays of the sun disappear beneath the horizon. While it was night here, somewhere in the world the sun I had just witnessed disappear…will rise to begin a new day on the other side of the world.
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~~~~~~Zak’s P.O.V~~~~~~

I had finally found the path around the time the sun had finally set below the horizon. Like Luke had said, it was well hidden. I pulled my small flashlight out of my jacket pocket and quickly made my way down the small path careful so as not to trip over anything.
It was a good thing I was wearing pants and comfortable walking shoes, otherwise all these branches and thorns would be cutting up my legs pretty badly.
As I neared the end of the path, I could barely make out her silhouette against what appeared to be a lake. I turned off my flashlight and quietly approached her wondering if she would sense my presence.
I stopped at the end of the path and merely looked up the rock at her. She was sitting there so still, I thought maybe she had gone asleep. Until she shifted her head back to look up at the night sky.
The moonlight outlined the profile of her face and I was stunned by her flawless beauty. My eyes slowly took in the delicate curvature of her jawline, her small round nose, and plump lips that were slightly parted as she peered up at the sky. The pale rays of the moon shone down upon her hair in a way that almost gave her the appearance of a halo surrounding the crown of her head.
She turned her head in my direction and caught me gazing upon her. Instead of the angry, disgusted look I expected to get…she smiled instead and patted the spot beside her on the rock.
Could she be the one the palm reader had foretold?
Could this girl…this WOMAN…really save my damned soul?