Revelations by Susan Evelyn (recommended ebook reader .TXT) 📖

and one no-one could satisfactorily answer. We gave up eventually, shrugging and agreeing if it had indeed been the group we had seen then they deserved what they had got and were lucky to still be alive.

On the way to afternoon classes, Nan caught up with me and asked if I had a problem. I shook my head but she persisted saying she saw me looking around the canteen. I gave her my best “give me a break” look which usually puts paid to such questions and said I was “just looking”.

It was the truth, mostly. I had checked to see if Lexie would make an appearance. It has been a week since he arrived and he should have made some contacts by now, or at least be less anxious about entering a place with a large group of people. I had thought his relaxing a little in class had been a sign in the right direction.


Day 9
Dear Diary,
It’s Dad’s night out again. He and a few of his buddies meet at a friend’s place. I have no idea what they do there, but he deserves some time to himself. He does everything around here, being both parents at once as well as all the heavy housekeeping and earning a wage. I don’t begrudge him some time off.


At least everything is back to normal here after the weekend so I have had a quiet and restful night watching dvd’s and snacking on food. Dad may think it is his night off, but it’s mine too. I get to have some time out which includes not worry about what I’m eating. Dad is always so careful about preparing well balanced meals.

Not much happened today.

It was the second class of Creative Writing for the week so I saw Lexie again. We engaged in a re-run of yesterday. It has become something of a game to spy on each other, at least for this class. When we catch each other out, we exchange the smallest of smiles before looking away.

There is a little surge in my feelings when our eyes meet, a thrill quickens my heart and makes my thoughts spin. This is becoming a silly childhood attraction. I should try to shake it but it is fun. It can’t hurt, can it?

Still no sign of Lexie in the canteen. He should make the effort; he needs to socialise or he will become the target of the bullies. I may have to take matters into my hands.

It is very quiet outside, no sounds at all, just as it should be.

One set of neighbours is a very nice, elderly couple. They keep to themselves and are rarely seen except in the middle of the day returning from occasional shopping trips. Our house doesn’t overlook any of their yard and trees line the fence.

On the other side, Old Mr Jameson moved into Lexie’s place almost the day after he left with his dad.

It’s odd. I don’t remember anything of that day, except for my ear piercing. Dad took me to a new place in the city to get it done. I still wear the original studs as we weren’t allowed to wear fancy jewellery at junior school and pretty much forget about them unless I am dressing up for somewhere special.

We see more of Mr Jameson than the other neighbours. He’s nice and used to gives me homemade cookies when I was little. He looks veritably ancient these days and must go to bed very early. I have not seen any lights from his place after dark.

All this alone time allows me to reflect on the day and re-live the stolen glances at Lexie.

He was just so cute today. I could have ruffled his hair and cuddled his head to my chest the way I used to with his dog. Today he wore a brown shirt so his eyes were tinged a pale soulful brown making him look even more like a puppy than usual.

There is something I am forgetting. It is annoying me to not make the final connection.

My ears are burning as I write. No, not my ears, it’s the studs. I only just wrote about them and now they are getting uncomfortably hot. It hasn’t felt like this since the day I got them.

That’s better. I took them out and put them in some steriliser to clean and cool them.

Where was I? Oh yes, Lexie and his pet. A funny thing just came to me, that’s what he called the dog, “Pet”. He said it was a play on his surname when my 4-year-old self said it was a lame name. It has been a long time since I thought about Lexie and Pet. I seem to remember more now. Concentrating on those times, I realise I did play with them a fair bit after all.

No, not “them”, never together. Lexie would pace around his yard or up and down the street in front of our two places and Pet would frolic and dig on the other side of the fence. Pet was always friendly and playful, Lexie was quiet and withdrawn but we talked a lot and we held hands over the hedge. Not much has changed in that regard; his adult version is even more socially reluctant than when he was a child.


Day 10
Dear Diary,
I was late to school today, first time for the year, and hopefully the last. I don’t like walking into lectures after they have started. Some professors even lock the door from the outside.


Sleep had deserted me overnight and instead of dreams my mind was filled with long forgotten images mixed and blurred with current events. I jumped from one nightmare to another all night, tossing and turning until my bed was a mass of tangled sheets and blankets. I must have eventually drifted off in the early morning until a headache woke me late.

There was no time for breakfast and the bus disappeared around the corner by the time I made it to the stop. There was another route a few blocks away but I had to run and only just caught it, then there was the sprint to the lecture hall.

Professor McFinney was just setting out his books when I burst through the door looking dishevelled and sweaty. Any later and I might not have gone inside. Jem gave me a quizzical, raised-eyebrow look as I slumped into my seat and I had spotted Alex only two rows behind us. Today’s colour was green and his jade eyes had followed me from the door to my seat from beneath lowered lashes.


The class was nothing special and I managed to surreptitiously apply a little basic makeup and get my hair and clothes looking better. All the while, I could feel eyes burning into the back of my head. Lexie. There was no point using the mirror trick again. He was ready for it even when I was legitimately putting a little gloss on my lips. When I opened my laptop there were only a few reflected glimpses.

Those big puppy-dog eyes were going to be my downfall one day. My unrested brain flashed pictures before my eyes. Blinking hard to make them stop, the photo album in my mind rested on one image. I gasped involuntarily as the final piece fell into place. What began as a memory of Lexie shrank and morphed into Pet. My eyes opened wide as the import hit me.

Jem looked at me with another of her “what?” looks.

“Headache,” I whispered back, which was not completely false.

Oh my goodness! What did all this mean? I wanted to dash out of the hall and splash cold water on my face but the professor called me over at the end of the class to give me a warning. By the time he had finished, everyone had gone, except for the one who pulled open the door just as I reached it. I was faced with a green chest and looked up into glowing green eyes. Lexie! He caught my upper arm in a tight grip.

My eyes narrowed as I glared at him. Normally anyone trying such a trick would have ended up front first on the floor with me sitting on their back. My best’ies and I had taken self defence classes and passed with honours. Another reason people generally did not mess with us.

Lexie had the good grace to register a tiny flash of surprise. I had started to react but there was something about him prevented me following through. I had grasped the wrist of the hand which had caught my arm and frozen.

I took a deep breath while sweeping my nose up his chest to his neck which meant rising to my toes. My sense of smell is extremely acute and though people may change the way they look, they cannot mask their scent for long. This was the last counter check I needed to confirm Alex was indeed my Lexie. His eyes had not shifted from me but his face was expressionless waiting for my next move.

As my head neared his cheek, he sniffed too. His eyes softened.

I leaned closer into him and whispered into his ear. “I know who you are, Pet.” My voice had dropped in tone as well as volume, and the emphasis on the last word was far more seductive than I had intended.

Without moving his head, his eyes had flickered around us, checking the surroundings. I knew there was no-one within earshot.

“I don’t know where you’ve been,” I continued softly. “Or what made you change your name, but this is not how people behave in society these days. You can’t just grab someone. I have to go.”

His eyes had slowly moved over my face as if noting every brushstroke of a masterpiece. His free hand casually looped my hair behind my ear.

“No earings,” he said simply. The huskiness in his voice almost made me lose my balance. Then he smiled disarmingly. Flustered, I muttered something about forgetting them. I shook free of the loosened grip and dashed away. I felt a bit like Cinderella fleeing the ballroom.

I got a note from the college nurse and left it in home room to explain my absence. My best’ies would be worried but I texted them all would be okay tomorrow.

I hope.

Right now I have a lot to think about.

The ear studs are back and I am feeling a lot calmer. They no longer burn and I somehow feel more complete with them in place.

The memories are still unrolling but at a more measured pace. How could I have forgotten all this? Lexie, a shape shifter, and the amount of time we had spent together that summer before he had gone away?

I can’t talk to anyone either. Not yet. How do I talk to Lexie? I am still remembering new things. How much does he remember? Does he want to remember? Have I revealed too much, too soon? Does this now put me at risk? The way he looked at me would answer no, but still...

And what about Dad? We usually talk about everything. But this? I can just imagine. “Oh! By the way, Dad, that boy who used to live next door is back in town. And he’s a dog.” I don’t think so.

Then there are my girlfriends. What will they make of