Rising by Stephanie Judice Page B

Gabe finally
pulled away.   I steadied myself with one
hand on his chest, not wanting this to end.   We didn’t speak, but simply basked in this hypnotic feeling that had
woven itself around us, tying us together like an invisible string.   Gabe traced the line of my chin with his
thumb and down my neck to my collar bone, which made me hitch my breath in
sharply.   Looking into his eyes, I knew
he was feeling everything I was.   That
half-smile lingered on his lips, driving me absolutely crazy.  
    The coolness of night settled in around
us, reminding us eventually that we had to go in.   I had forgotten my earlier angst about the
smoky aura around Zack’s dad as Gabe walked me up the drive, his hand
intertwined with mine.   Somehow,
everything else felt far, far away.   He
gave me one last swift kiss on the porch.
    “See you tomorrow.”
    I smiled and nodded.   As I turned, something flashed darkly in the
corner of my eye.   I glanced toward the
old oak tree to the right of the house, but there were only shadows cast by the
setting sun moving slightly in the breeze.
    “You okay?” he asked, standing at the
foot of the porch steps.
    “Yeah.   Of course.”
    I wasn’t.   This had happened too many times lately.   My fears had manifested into fleeting shadows
that haunted me daily.   I wouldn’t burden
Gabe with this now.   I couldn’t ruin what
was possibly the most perfect ending to any day I ever had.   We could deal with shadows and nightmares
tomorrow.

6

    GABE

    Pale moonlight slipped in through the window,
tinting the white walls blue.   I lay on
my back, staring at the ceiling.   I’d
never thought there might be someone out there like me who also had a strange
supernatural sense; especially not someone like Clara, who apparently had
similar feelings for me.   It was like
fate or destiny or something.  
    There was no way I could go to sleep, knowing
some hellish creature waited to haunt me there.   I only wanted to think of Clara—the way her auburn hair brushed my neck
and cheek when I held her, the way she leaned into me when I kissed her, the
way she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face afterward.
    I rolled over on my side and glanced at my cell
phone on the table.   Should I call her?   I picked it up and saw a text message
waiting.
    Hey.   Are you asleep?
    It only took me a
few seconds to reply.
    No.   Call me.
    I punched the volume
down, knowing my mom was a light sleeper.   She never was too restrictive with me or anything, but I still didn’t
want her wandering in, asking me why I was on the phone at midnight.   A few seconds ticked by then the phone
vibrated in my hand.
    “Hey.”
    I was glad to hear
her voice.
    “Hey.”
    “Can’t sleep?” I
asked.
    “No.”
    “Me neither.”
    The conversation
came to a dead halt after that.   I was
thinking about this afternoon, but didn’t know what to say.   Clara broke the silence with a new subject.
    “Hey, did you hear
from Theresa Miguez ?”
    “Oh, I almost forgot
about her.”
    “Why?   Was something else distracting you?” she
asked.
    I could feel a sly
smile spread across her face.
    “No comment.”
    There was a thud as
I rolled off the bed and knocked my Physics textbook to the floor.
    “What was that?”
    “Nothing,” I
replied.   “Just give me a sec.   I’m gonna pull up my e-mail.”
    I pulled up to my
computer desk and moved the mouse around to wake up my desktop.   I double-clicked the Internet Explorer icon
and waited.   Again, Clara broke into the
silence.   I don’t think she liked the
quiet.
    “So, do you think
the hurricane is going to miss us?   The
newscasters seem to think so.”
    There was an edge to
her voice.   I knew she didn’t believe it
any more than I did.   There was something
about this hurricane that made me feel tense and guarded.   I didn’t know for sure that it would hit us
or not, but I knew something was coming our way.
    “I don’t know.   I can’t tell