I am Number Ten

CHAPTER 4

        If someone had told me that in six hours, I would be having a bacon cheeseburger in a small town diner with a guy I barely know but also makes my heart flutter, I'd have called them crazy.

        I get to know this guy pretty well during our time together. He's a local around here, "born and raised", as he said it. He's never been anywhere else, his grandparents lived here, so did his parents and now him. But I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want to carry on the tradition. He's eighteen, like my supposed new identity, Christina Jordon, and he works at a car rental shop with his step-dad. I really want to ask what happened to his real dad but I really don't want to pry at this point. He tells me he's graduating this year and hopes to go to college or university. "University of Windsor or Horton College," he told me. He goes on to tell me about his life and I listen...hanging on to all his words, saving them in my brain as if they were more important than the Elders themselves.  I've never felt more comfortable or helpless to someone's charms. I've had tonnes of friends before him but I've never felt closer to anyone.

        I could barely hear him, wanting to hear from me. My mind races to find answers and I blush slightly. I have a sudden urge to tell who I really am. I bite my lip to keep my secrets from flowing out of me. It'd feel nice to do so. I've lied all my life, everything about me is bottled up inside me. The only others who knew were Annie and the Garde and three of them are dead. It would feel nice to get rid of a load of lies off of me but I...must honour Annie and keep the charade up for as long as possible...at least until I find the others.

"Uh...I'm eighteen, I've never really had a permanent home because my mom and I travelled a lot. My dad upped and left when I was two... I-I like pop music...I'm a black belt in karate...and I'm a straight A student, even though I've been homeschooled most of my life.  I'm...unemployed at the moment... "

"Just tell me one thing..." he says. "Please tell me you are not some kind of thief or one of those chicks that run away with her parent's car and credit card?"

I giggle slightly. "No, I'm eighteen. My mom lets me move out and I pay for everything with an honest hand" Well...not completely honest.

"So tell me of the places you've been. You said you've travelled a lot, where?"

        I decide to tell him about our travels as honestly as possible. I neglect to mention why we moved so much but he doesn't pry. I tell him about swimming in all the Canadian lakes, including the St. Lawrence River, almost falling off the Eiffel tower on one of Annie's treats for me. I tell him of the various people I've met and how I studied in Argentina for a few months. Through all this, our eyes never leave each other's faces. I feel...I can trust him with my stories and he genuinely seems to like me. I like him too.

        We chat for what feels like hours before the diner shuts down for the night. We walk outside together into the blowing snow. Once more, the snow feels beautiful again. We walk together and we seem unaware that we are holding hands. He takes me on a tour of the tiny town and shows me the garage he works at. It's crummy and would probably cave in, in a few years.

        I feel amazing the whole time and the warmth inside me spreads all over. Our tour ends at the edge of the main street and we stand under a streetlight together. The snowflakes dance all around us and appear like glowing fireflies in the light. I turn to face him and my heart's in my mouth. I have the urge to lean in like he's doing, we are connected. So this is what love feels like. It...feels...amazing. I lean in and I catch a whiff of his breath. I shut my eyes and our lips gently touch for a moment before I pull away.

"S-sorry," I stammer, "but I think we forgot something... I am Christina. Christina Jordon."

He smiles at me. We'd gone through an apparent date without learning each other's names.

"I'm Blake," he says, "Blake Levitt." The name is pure and I grin at him again. The warmth inside me is now a raging fire. We lean in again and this time...our lips meet.