Page 14 of Autumn Secrets
“Aurora, this is Elijah, my brother.”Of course.
“Ahhh, the intriguing new girl. Well, finally.” Elijah grinned. “I knew I would run into you at some point. It seems like I’m the only one left who hasn’t had the pleasure. Were you the one we just heard screaming?”
“Yes, I thought I was being followed.”
“Followed? By whom?” Elijah asked with furrowed brows.
“I-I don’t know. I saw someone under the streetlight ahead of me… And then there were these footsteps behind me.” I was talking so fast I was quite sure I didn’t make any sense at all.
“Hold on. Did you actually see someone following you?” Elijah asked as he and Adrian exchanged a quick look, before their eyes returned to me.
“Uh, no…but I felt it.” God, that sounded so lame. What the hell was I thinking?
“And where was this?”
“In the industrial area.” I shivered. Maybe I was being paranoid? Come to think of it, I didn’t reallyseeanyone following me. I justthoughtthat someone was. But what about the person under the streetlight, and the creepy footsteps? Had I imagined that too?
“What were you doing in the industrial area all by yourself?” Adrian asked with a concerned look.
“I was on my way to Kinsley Antiques.”
“The industrial area isn’t the safest place to walk around at night but in general, Angel Falls is safe. What you saw was probably a homeless person. They tend to sleep down at that end. I don’t think anyone was out to hurt you.” Adrian looked at Elijah. “Right, Elijah?”
“Yep, he’s right, Aurora. You’re in safe hands in Angel Falls. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to training. Will you two be all right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” Adrian looked at me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“How are you getting home? Do you have a car?”
“No, that’s why I was going to Mum’s work. I wanted to catch a ride home with her.”
“Don’t worry, I can take you home if you like?”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be in a car with Adrian. He made me feel something strange and I didn’t think that was healthy for me. I was already developing a pretty serious crush on him, but considering the intimate encounter I’d witnessed with his mysterious girlfriend Evangeline, I knew I couldn’t get too involved with him. I would end up with a broken heart; I knew that much by now.
“That’s fine. I’ll catch a bus,” I tried and started to walk away. He caught me by the elbow.
“A bus? Aurora, you won’t find a bus that will take you all the way to your front door this time of night. Come on, let me take you home. It’s dark and I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving you now.”
Itwasdark, and it was getting quite cold. The thought of trying to find a bus appealed less and less by the minute, especially after the weird event I’d just experienced. “Okay, I’ll come with you. Thank you,” I added quietly.
“If you want, I could take you to your mum?”
“I’d rather go home, if you don’t mind?”
“Of course, I don’t mind. Come on, let’s get you home.” I saw a flicker of a smile, before he released my arm and started walking towards his car.
“What about your soccer training?” I tried as I followed him.
“This isn’t the school team. It’s the local soccer club. I don’t play soccer outside school, I was just dropping Elijah off,” he replied over his shoulder and opened the passenger door for me. I jumped inside. “Are you cold?” he asked once we were both seated in the car.
“Y-yes.” I was absolutely freezing at this point. I was shivering in my seat, both from the cold and my adrenaline wearing off. Adrian put the heater on and started to drive.
“Are you hungry? Do you want to stop and grab something to eat?”
Actually, I was starving, but I didn’t want to spend any more time with Adrian than necessary. I didn’t trust the feelings he stirred in me, and I didn’t want to go down that road when I knew he had someone else. He was off limits.