Inside the Fire Book One in the Warden's Series by Heather Glidewell Page A

roasted our
dinner.
    “What brought this one Mom?” I asked softly
as my hotdog began to sizzle.
    “I figured we hadn’t had a good night just
the two of us in a while. I miss spending time with you.” She
looked at the fire as if she wished she could jump in.
    “I missed spending time with you too Mom.” I
smiled at her and she winked back at me.
    “So what are your plans tomorrow?” She
asked.
    I had a feeling she knew something. She
always knew something. I couldn’t go a day without her asking about
something that had happened during my day. It was as if the moment
I was in her presence she could read my mind. All kidding aside I
thought she really could.
    “Nothing much. Just thought I would catch a
movie in town.” I said not wanting to tell her that it was a
date.
    “Oh? Anyone special?” She asked as we put
our hotdogs on their buns and smothering them in mustard.
    “I suppose.” I lied.
    The longer I spent with Wesley the more I
wanted to be with him. We had only shared the one kiss on the cheek
in the previous days though there had been plenty of hand holding
and hugging. He was old fashioned I suppose. Never once did he make
a pass at me. Not that I would have stopped him. I probably would
have died right there in his arms actually.
    “Do tell.” She said leaning forward.
    I laughed instead.
    ****
    I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling
when my phone buzzed. Every night around the same time we would
send message to one another. I had often fallen asleep talking to
him but he never held it against me. It had been five days since we
first met and it felt like I had known him most of my life.
    Wesley: What are you doing?
    Me: Lying in bed.
    Wesley: Sounds like fun.
    Me: What about you?
    Wesley: Watching a really crappy horror
movie.
    Me: That sounds like fun.
    Wesley: Yeah, just wish you were here
watching it with me.
    Me: Me too.
    Our conversations always bordered on the
edge of romance.
    As I had mentioned before I was no stranger
to teenage relationships. I had my fair share of boyfriends while
we lived in El Paso. None of them wowed me enough to fall in love.
I had in fact, never been in love. I had also never been up till
after midnight texting a boy that I had known for a few days. On
the outside looking in we appeared as if we were nothing more than
friends. From the inside looking out though, it was as if we were
already beyond that point.
    Neither of us would admit it though. We knew
something was there. I mean really look at our last conversation.
There was a mutual attraction forming. We longed to be near the
other when we were apart. The students at school pretty much
ignored us together. I received a few sporadic death looks in the
hallway, but all in all they were blind to what was happening.
    Wesley: I’m excited about tomorrow.
    Me: Yeah, me too.
    Wesley: What time do you want me to pick you
up?
    Me: I figured we could just meet in
town.
    It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to meet my
mother. It was just that I wasn’t ready for all the questions that
she would ask. She would want to know all of his family history. I
guess in a way to see if she had maybe met an ancestor of his in
the afterlife. It was easier this way. At least then if the date
went bad I could come home and he wouldn’t have to know where I
lived.
    Wesley: You scared of me meeting your
mom?
    Me: Actually yeah. I just want to make sure
she doesn’t freak when she meets you.
    Wesley: She into death metal and Satan or
something?
    Me: Why do you ask?
    Wesley: Have you looked in the mirror
recently?
    Alright, that I would give to him. In this
day and age I was considered Goth by fashion sense. I always wore
black, always had a dark look on my face, and always listened to my
music loud. While the other kids got in their cars blaring the
newest Bruno Mars I got into mine blaring Pantera or Metallica.
    I was a mother’s worse nightmare honestly.
Even my ex-boyfriends feared the inevitable when it came to meeting
the