Free Mesmerized by Julia Crane

time approached. They pulled into a fast food restaurant and ordered off the dollar menu. When she was done eating, Lily called home. 
    “Lily? Are you okay?” her mom answered. 
    “I’m fine.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Probably better that you don’t know right now.”
    “What are you going to do?” Her mother sounded panicked. 
    “Just stay in hiding for a while. Do you know what’s going on there?”
    Her mom hesitated. “We’re in touch with the lawyer. He thinks we should go up there. It might be the best idea. I can help them forget they were even looking for you.”
    “Do you know how Ben is?”
    “The same.”
    “Lily, we should go,” Jake said a little too loudly.
    “Who was that?” her mother demanded. 
    “Nobody, Mom.”
    “Lily Anderson! I heard a male’s voice. Who’s with you?”
    “I gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you soon. I love you and Dad,” she said quickly and hung up the phone. Turning to Jake, she said, “My mom heard you!”
    “Sorry, I wasn't thinking.” 
    “I have to call Hannah real quick.”
    “Lily!” 
    But, she was already dialing. Hannah picked up. “Hello?”
    “It’s me. I can’t talk. Just wanted to tell you I’m okay.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Doesn’t matter. I’ll call you again, okay?” Lily hung up.
    Jake grabbed the phone out of her hands so she couldn’t call anybody else and smashed it with his foot. “We’ll get another one later.” Taking her by the elbow, he led her to the car. “C’mon!”
    “Jake, if you yank me like this, it’ll look like you’re kidnapping me.”
    Jake realized she was right. “Sorry.” He let go of her arm. 
    He opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. He slammed it and went around to the other side. “We’re going to have to ditch the car and walk for an hour. I don’t want the car connected to the town the cabin is in.”
    “Okay.”
    “It’s going to be cold.”
    She smiled over at him. “As long as I’m with you, it’ll be fine.” She stared at his perfect face for a few minutes. She never dreamed the day would come when she would be able to love someone, but here it was. She felt it growing in her heart. At least she hoped it was love and not some weird succubi obsession.
    “Did you always know what you were?” Jake asked her out of the blue.
    She looked out the window at the passing trees. “No. My parents told me when I was thirteen.”
    “That must have been hard to take.”
    “I was shocked and in denial. Although, the way my mother acts made me believe it.” She played with her necklace. “What about you? Did you always know about the curse?”
    "No, it took me awhile to figure it out. All my friends were aging around me and I stayed the same. Once, I got in a fight with some guy and he pushed me off a ledge. I should have died. But, I walked away with barely a scratch. I knew something was going on." Jake paused. "My father was on his death bed because of the plague, and he finally confided in me. He died shortly after." 
    "I'm sorry."
    "It's not your fault. Just think, we would have never met if not for the curse." Jake took his eyes off the road to smile at her. 
    "If only Ben had been immortal, we wouldn’t be in this mess." Lily mumbled, and looked back out the window. Another two hours passed before Jake pulled into a resort parking lot. “We’ll walk from here.” He wiped down the steering wheel and door handles like he had in the other car. Taking Lily’s hand, he led her up the mountain.
    Twenty minutes later, Lily was huffing and puffing. She was also pretty darn cold. But, she had Jake. So, she focused on him and kept going. 
    Jake squeezed her hand. “You’re doing great,” he encouraged her. 
    Soon, she saw a log cabin in the distance. “Is that it?” she asked.
    “Yup.”
    Lily let out a sigh of relief she wasn't sure she could make it much further. The cabin looked so inviting. It was small and cozy-looking. She glanced around and