said.
The conviction in his voice eased her mind a little, but only a little. “You promise?”
Tenderness filled his eyes as he nodded.
“I promise.”
Chapter 10
A terrible cramping in her stomach awoke Eren and sent her running to the bathroom. But it wasn’t Aunt Sylvia’s awful dinner like she thought, not by a long shot. Apparently, she wasn’t just a year older today, she was a woman. This didn’t thrill or excite her as it had her ex-friends. She was reaching this milestone about three years later than was average. More than that though, she knew this would change and complicate her life in ways she wasn’t ready for. And her mother wasn’t here to share it with her.
The only consolation was that Aiden was away with his adopted father this weekend. Seeing him while dealing with this was not something she wanted to do. Of all days, did she really have to start her period on her sixteenth birthday? Luckily, her aunt seemed prepared for every circumstance and had stocked the bathroom cabinet with what Eren would need.
Prepared, but nonetheless disappointed, she returned to her room to find something to wear. Today was going to be bad enough without Mother Nature interfering. Almost immediately after she turned fifteen Eren and her mom had begun planning a huge bash for her sixteenth birthday. They had gone back and forth over decorations, talked about caterers, and even window shopped for dresses. It brought tears to Eren’s eyes just thinking about it.
An annoyingly loud bird serenaded her as she slipped her shorts on. It sounded like it was right on her windowsill but when she turned to look nothing was there. Curious, she leaned onto the daybed and looked outside. Her eyes were drawn to a tree that stood about ten feet from her window. A robin was perched among the branches, its brown chest rising and falling in time to the tune. It was surrounded by a bluish hallow of light. She blinked several times but the odd colors didn’t disappear. Somehow she knew the colors were energy.
Eren backed away from the window, shaking her head. That was impossible. Not only should she not be able to see that, she could have sworn that her eyes were drawn to it so quickly because she felt the pulse of its energy. That had never happened before.
She jumped off the bed and stumbled backwards, suddenly dizzy. Her legs gave out and she went to her knees on the hardwood floor. It should have hurt, but it didn’t. It was as though she had fallen onto a cushion of energy that slowed her impact. Her body felt like it was going to vibrate right out of her skin. She fell forward onto her hands and took deep breaths until the world stopped shaking. When it did she heard the rattle of pans and silverware and smelled burning hash browns. Though she couldn’t see her, she could feel Aunt Sylvia—or rather, her energy. Her aunt’s happiness permeated through the floor.
She hadn’t paid much attention in health class, but Eren was pretty sure these things didn’t accompany a girl’s period. Cramps, uncontrollable emotions, yeah, seeing and feeling the energy of people in another room or animals outside, no. The weird vertigo and crawling sensation under her skin were definitely not normal either.
“Eren?” her aunt said.
It felt like there was a pressure between the two of them and it was building as Aunt Sylvia came closer. Eren heard her footsteps as her aunt swiftly crossed the living room and dashed up the stairs.
No way! Impossible! her mind screamed.
Maybe she had some strange virus that was making her hallucinate and made her feel like she was going to jump out of her skin. Yeah, that had to be it. Or, she had just been reading that book too much. Those were the only things that made sense. Wouldn’t it be just like her to get her period, and get sick, both on her birthday!
Sylvia flew into the room so fast that the door slammed back against the wall. A wave of energy preceded her, washing over Eren in
The conviction in his voice eased her mind a little, but only a little. “You promise?”
Tenderness filled his eyes as he nodded.
“I promise.”
Chapter 10
A terrible cramping in her stomach awoke Eren and sent her running to the bathroom. But it wasn’t Aunt Sylvia’s awful dinner like she thought, not by a long shot. Apparently, she wasn’t just a year older today, she was a woman. This didn’t thrill or excite her as it had her ex-friends. She was reaching this milestone about three years later than was average. More than that though, she knew this would change and complicate her life in ways she wasn’t ready for. And her mother wasn’t here to share it with her.
The only consolation was that Aiden was away with his adopted father this weekend. Seeing him while dealing with this was not something she wanted to do. Of all days, did she really have to start her period on her sixteenth birthday? Luckily, her aunt seemed prepared for every circumstance and had stocked the bathroom cabinet with what Eren would need.
Prepared, but nonetheless disappointed, she returned to her room to find something to wear. Today was going to be bad enough without Mother Nature interfering. Almost immediately after she turned fifteen Eren and her mom had begun planning a huge bash for her sixteenth birthday. They had gone back and forth over decorations, talked about caterers, and even window shopped for dresses. It brought tears to Eren’s eyes just thinking about it.
An annoyingly loud bird serenaded her as she slipped her shorts on. It sounded like it was right on her windowsill but when she turned to look nothing was there. Curious, she leaned onto the daybed and looked outside. Her eyes were drawn to a tree that stood about ten feet from her window. A robin was perched among the branches, its brown chest rising and falling in time to the tune. It was surrounded by a bluish hallow of light. She blinked several times but the odd colors didn’t disappear. Somehow she knew the colors were energy.
Eren backed away from the window, shaking her head. That was impossible. Not only should she not be able to see that, she could have sworn that her eyes were drawn to it so quickly because she felt the pulse of its energy. That had never happened before.
She jumped off the bed and stumbled backwards, suddenly dizzy. Her legs gave out and she went to her knees on the hardwood floor. It should have hurt, but it didn’t. It was as though she had fallen onto a cushion of energy that slowed her impact. Her body felt like it was going to vibrate right out of her skin. She fell forward onto her hands and took deep breaths until the world stopped shaking. When it did she heard the rattle of pans and silverware and smelled burning hash browns. Though she couldn’t see her, she could feel Aunt Sylvia—or rather, her energy. Her aunt’s happiness permeated through the floor.
She hadn’t paid much attention in health class, but Eren was pretty sure these things didn’t accompany a girl’s period. Cramps, uncontrollable emotions, yeah, seeing and feeling the energy of people in another room or animals outside, no. The weird vertigo and crawling sensation under her skin were definitely not normal either.
“Eren?” her aunt said.
It felt like there was a pressure between the two of them and it was building as Aunt Sylvia came closer. Eren heard her footsteps as her aunt swiftly crossed the living room and dashed up the stairs.
No way! Impossible! her mind screamed.
Maybe she had some strange virus that was making her hallucinate and made her feel like she was going to jump out of her skin. Yeah, that had to be it. Or, she had just been reading that book too much. Those were the only things that made sense. Wouldn’t it be just like her to get her period, and get sick, both on her birthday!
Sylvia flew into the room so fast that the door slammed back against the wall. A wave of energy preceded her, washing over Eren in
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