Dusk (Young Adult Paranormal Romance) by Amy Durham Page B

clearing he was there. I wasn’t surprised. Nothing about him surprised me anymore.
    The wind moved quietly around me, lifting my hair from my shoulders, comforting and peaceful. Even then I knew the feelings weren’t just from the pleasant breeze.
    The blanket was already spread beneath the tree, two Twix candy bars and two cans of ginger ale in the middle of it. The sight of the chocolate might’ve been enough to make me groan after all I’d eaten during the day, were it not for the obvious fact.
    He was waiting for me.
    If I’d needed another bit of confirmation that Adrian was more than met the eye, finding him here was it.
    “You knew I’d come here.” It wasn’t a question.
    “I had a hunch.” He shrugged his shoulders and leaned his head toward the blanket. “Come sit?”
    It seemed as good a place as any to have this conversation, so I walked over and sat, not next to him this time, but across. A large part of me wanted to snuggle up beside him, the same way I had the last time we sat here, but I reminded myself I’d decided alone was the best way to go.
    And there was the matter of all the questions I had.
    “Mr. Burton called earlier,” I said, reaching for a ginger ale. The top popped with a satisfying fizz. “Told my mom about the video.”
    He just nodded, opening his own drink.
    “I know it was you.”
    He smiled, lifting a shoulder in nonchalance.
    “First of all, thank you,” I whispered.
    “You’re welcome.”
    “Second of all, there’s no way you could’ve made that video.” I looked directly at him, searching his eyes for any hint of explanation. “You weren’t at that end of the hall. You were in the lobby. I saw you.”
    He didn’t say anything, just looked at me with raised eyebrows.
    “Did someone else video it and give it to you.”
    He shook his head. “I did it.”
    “How?” I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper. Sitting my drink to the side, I scooted closer, the fabric of the blanket soft beneath my legs. He hadn’t denied being in the lobby, but he insisted he’d been the one to shoot the cell phone video.
    “How do you think I did it?” He scooted closer too and leaned down so we were eye to eye.
    And here it was. The moment of truth.
    “I think you’re something other than human.” The words left my mouth in one big rush, like if I’d hesitated in the least they would never have been voiced. I could not believe I’d just said that out loud. But how else could I describe all the things that were unexplained about Adrian and his presence in my life?
    He said nothing, but the slight smile on his face and the light in his eyes told me to keep going. Naturally, he would make me pick every last detail out of him.
    “The morning after the car wreck,” I whispered, halfway afraid of what his answer would be. “Were you in my bedroom, sitting on my bean bag?”
    “Yes.” His answer was simple and swift.
    Holy cow. Even though I’d known , shock zinged through me at his affirmation.
    “The night I dreamed about seeing my dad at the cemetery?”
    “I was there that night too. And yesterday, when you saw your dad in the bathroom at school.”
    I couldn’t keep up with the spinning in my mind. How could he have known about either of those things?
    Remembering the night of the car accident and those arms around me, I asked, “After the car wreck, did you get me out of the car?”
    He smiled, nodded. “Yes. I took you home.”
    “What are you, Adrian?” My mind spun with possibilities. The more questions he answered the more I wanted to ask, and yet it seemed so silly to put words to my suspicions. I dropped my eyes to the blanket. “Some kind of superhero? An angel?”
    “Not really an angel, but there are some similarities. Angels are supernatural beings. I’m human. Just like you, but with a few… extras.”
    “That doesn’t really tell me what you are.” The creek trickled softly in the background, its timbre calm and serene, and I smiled