A Shade of Innocence (The Illuminati Book 1)

by Jane West

  I took the lead, heading outside. Bane followed right on my heels. I imagined he wanted to talk about the explosion. I'd rather pretend it didn't happen. It wasn't as if we blew the restroom up with a stick of dynamite. We just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Then I recalled us landing in the empty football stadium clear on the other side of school's campus. That little fact had me freaked out on so many levels that I trembled every time it crossed my mind. The explanation of how we landed hundreds of yards away was beyond my grasp.

  As soon as we were far enough from the entrance and out of earshot, I spun on my heels, glaring at him. “What now?” I was chomping at the bit.

  “Who's the girl you're with?” He drawled casually, a tinge of green flavored his tone.

  My brow arched, “Jen?”

  Bane flashed a dark grin. “I meant the other girl.”

  Under the moonlight, his eyes were as sharp as a razor.

  I dragged in a raspy breath.

  “What do you want, Aidan?” This was the first time I'd allowed myself to call him by his first name. I leaned against the building, arms folded. I still felt the sting of his words from our last encounter.

  He stepped closer. His fingers tenderly traced the line of my cheekbone and jaw. As if regret weighed heavily on his shoulders, he blew out a long sigh. “I only want to apologize.” The corners of his mouth tipped upward, almost smiling but then fading.

  I wasn't letting him off the hook that easily. “Why the apology? You believe the rumors.”

  “Hmm, about that,” he inhaled deeply. “My behavior I fear was quite deplorable.” A faint smile toyed with his lips.

  Funny, even as mad as I was all I could think about was his singeing kisses.

  “No argument here.” I spat. I refused to give him an easy exit. He could've called or come by my house instead of running into me by chance, but to be fair, I did tell him to stay away. “Do you know what caused the explosion?”

  Bane's face remained courtly, too poised as if he was in a game of poker with a winning hand. “Quite a display, wasn't it?” He rubbed his jaw line with his thumb.

  I leaned in whispering. “How did we live through that without even so much as a scratch?”

  He shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

  “You know,” a cold knot formed in my stomach, “Weird things happen around you.” My eyes narrowed. “Why is that?”

  “Such as,” he countered, eyes full of obscurity.

  “Such as every freaking breath I take!”

  Bane was more than exasperating.

  He leaned in, pressing me against the wall. “Can't you just let it go?” He whispered. “Some things are far better left in the dark.”

  Suddenly I remembered the implied threat that night at the fireflies' nest. “If I don't are you going to dispose of my body underneath your house?”

  “Princess,” His voice was smooth as satin. “Your paranoia is starting to worry me.”

  “Sorry to bother you.”

  A long brittle silence settled between us as our eyes locked, frozen, and unable to break free from each other. Why couldn't I just walk away and never look back? Forget him? Why did it have to be him? Aidan Bane was trouble. Yet, I abandoned all common sense when I looked into his sea blues eyes. Whatever this was between us, it was far deeper and bigger than anything I'd ever confronted, and I was terrified of where this may lead.

  Then the brief silence shattered as Bane answered. “You behave as if these minor things taint your propriety. Why must you persevere in these matters as if they are tethered to your ankle?”

  “Do people where you come from talk like you,” I suddenly blurted out. Holding my tongue wasn't one of my virtues, no more than patience and temperament.

  He scratched behind his ear. “Now you have a problem with my verbiage?” He tilted his head to the side, leaning in. His breath fanned my cheeks.

  “It's just… it's just you talk like Grandpa's grandpa. I'm just saying.”

  Aidan threw his head back and burst into chortles. When he came back up for air, he chimed. “You never cease to amuse me, Stevie Ray!” He shook his head, snickering.

  I like the way he said my name.

  He reached out, tracing his fingers sensually down my arm. I held my breath, dropping my arms to my sides and stilled. “What are you doing?”

  His hands slid to my hips, drawing me tighter against his muscular frame. I froze as he brushed his lips against mine and then to my earlobe, murmuring. “I'm having a lovely chat with my girl.” He raised his blues back to me, “Is that a problem?” There were touches of desire glistening in his eyes.

  Chills! Goddamn, chills!

  “It depends.”

  He ignored my reply as his hands moved under my shirt, warm palms flushed to my skin.

  Holy Jesus, aftershocks! I shivered.

  “Depends on what?” He nudged my nose with his and then lightly kissed my lips.

  I had to rescue my dignity and resist his advances. Where there were few rules in battle, fighting dirty wasn't beneath me, so, I used the parent card. “Depends on whether or not my mother comes out chasing you with a broomstick.” I nodded across the street at the diner. “Lights are still on.”

  He cut his eyes over his shoulder and back at me. “I suppose that does present a problem.” He blew out a sharp sigh. “Let's get the hell out of here.” He flashed his signature smile, pearly white teeth, and dimples.

  My heart wanted to say yes, but my good sense screamed NO! “I-I can't. I'm with Jen.” Then the proverbial brick smacked me upside the head. I realized that Aidan Bane was after one thing, sex! I stiffened. “You don't hear the word no very often, do you?”

  He nearly rolled his eyes, coming off with a sardonic grin, “Rarely.”

  “Well, let this one be your first.” I stabbed my finger in his chest. “No! Nada! Not now! Not ever! You can't just pop up uninvited expecting me to dump my friends and leave with you whenever it suits your pampered ass' fancy!” I pushed off from the wall and stalked off, heading back inside to my friends.

  “I'm confused?” Bane yelled out, holding his hands up, irritated. “What did I do wrong?”

  I paused with my hand on the glass door. My heated gaze collided with Bane's face. “I deserve better!” Then I disappeared inside. No matter how much I liked Bane, I wasn't going to let him use me.

  Jen and the two boys, whose names I'd yet to learn, were sitting at the table where I'd left them. I reckoned by the look on my face, Jen knew I wasn't my usual self. “Hey! Are you okay?”

  I slid beside the blond boy and grabbed my Coke on the other side of him, sucking up the watered-down drink. “I'm okay.” I looked away, trying to compose myself. Tears were welling, and I couldn't stop them.

  I leaped to my feet and darted to the girls' restroom as tears streamed. I found the sign above the doorway reading, “Restroom” in bold white. I trailed off down the short hallway, rushing before anyone saw me sobbing. Just when I reached the door with the girl icon, I remembered the explosion. I froze. Since the blast, I'd been a bit leery of any public facility with stalls and toilets. Instead, I found the privacy of an old phone booth and ducked inside it. I just needed a minute to breathe.

  Later that night, going home, Jen asked. “What happened between you and Aidan?”

  “Other than he's a douche, nothing.” I frowned.

  “No really! You were upset, man!”

  I sighed and caved. “Bane was hoping I'd be his bootie call.”

  “That jerk!” Jen's jaw dropped.

  “Yeah, you' right!” I shook my head. “I said no, and that ended his short-term interest in me.” I shrugged.

  “It's his loss. Rite!”

  “Rite!” Slang for 'I know dats right'. I smiled back.

  “You wanna stay at my house tonight? I have movies to watch. We can pop popcorn, stay up all night.” Jen dangled the tempting bait.

  If it had been any
other night, I would've taken her up on the offer but not tonight. Nobody liked a Debbie Downer. “It sounds great, but I have to work in the morning, early. Maybe another time, though. A rain check?” I smiled.

  “Absolutely! Hey, I got asked out by Al. His friend, Cal, the blond one, I think is crushing on you. Al mentioned the movies this Friday. We can make it a double date?”

  I got the feeling this was a package deal. The boy Jen liked might not come if his buddy didn't get to come. I'd do it for Jen, anytime. Besides, the blond boy was cute and very sweet, a good distraction for a broken heart.

  “Yeah, that sounds like fun. Let me ask my mom.” I didn't really have to get permission, but in case I changed my mind, I'd have an excuse to bail without hurting anyone's feelings.

  I was beginning to doubt the land of boys. After Sam and then Aidan, I felt reluctant to test the waters again.

  Otherworldly

  School started back up, and our short vacation had ended. It was Monday, and things seemed to be back to normal.

  The worry of getting arrested subsided when the school and the fire inspector declared the cause of the explosion was a gas leak. I wasn't in any position to argue. Considering everything, anyone with half a brain knew gas wasn't even a factor.

  As I kept that little tidbit under my hat, I enjoyed my week off. Jen and I hung out, sometimes at her house and sometimes at mine. We didn't get to go out on a date with the two boys. Al called Jen and canceled. He'd caught the flu and was out of pocket for the whole weekend. Bummer, but it happens.

  On the flip side of the coin, I was happy Jen found a nice boy, I just didn't want to put myself in an awkward situation of having to make uncomfortable conversation. The blond dude, Cal, was sweet enough, but I didn't want to mislead him into thinking I liked him anything other than a friend.

  First class, English, and I had a bone to pick with Sally. She started this crap with Gina and me. Sally deliberately setting me up to hurt her BFF blew my mind. I reckoned it was time to settle the score.

  When I walked into class, Sally was sitting at her desk, wringing her hands, nervously. Good, I smiled to myself. My gaze brushed over Aidan's empty desk. A rush of relief came over me. I had my hands full with Sally. I didn't need to add to the load. A little air cleaning was in order.

  I marched to my desk and slammed my books down on my desk. A loud thud echoed over the buzzing of voices, sending Sally into a tailspin. I stifled a laugh. “Good morning, Sally!” I didn't bother hiding the anger in my tone.

  “Oh, hey!” She spoke hardly above a whisper.

  I didn't take my seat. I crossed my arms, glaring at my non-friend. “What the hell, Sally! What were you thinking? Why would you go along with Sam to hurt your best friend?”

  Sally's shoulders slumped as she coiled like a beaten animal. After a handful of seconds, she finally turned around and faced me. “I-I didn't intend to put you in the middle.”

  “Why would you involve me?” I shot bullets at her.

  Sally inhaled as her whole body heaved with a long sigh. “Sam liked you, and I thought you two should hook up.”

  “Bullshit, Sally! Tell the real truth!”

  “Okay, okay!” Sally held up her hand in protest. Then the facts commenced rolling off her tongue. “Gina doesn't have any problems getting boys to like her.” She sniffed, wiping a dry tear. “Aidan wasn't lying about Gina under the bleachers. The boy she was screwing happens to be someone I liked. Gina knew I had a crush on him too.” She licked her dry lips. “So I went to Sam and told him about Gina. That's when he mentioned you.” She squirmed in her seat. “Sam and I wanted to get even with Gina. We knew how much you and Gina didn't like each other, and—” she shrugged, “You know the rest.”

  I scoffed. “Yep! What a ratchet thing to do, Sally!”

  “I guess.” Sally kept wringing her hands, evading eye contact.

  “Did you think for one minute that your idea might hurt me?”

  “Sorry,” she blurted out as if I was annoying her.

  “You're sorry? Is that all you can say?”

  Sally bunched her shoulders together like a dog hovering in a corner. “I thought you liked Sam.”

  “Oh, come on! This has nothing to do with me. You and Sam set me up to get back at Gina. Have you bothered telling your BFF the truth?”

  “No!” She shook her head. “I don't plan to either.”

  “Oh! That's rich. Do you think Gina's gonna let this slide?” A swirl of dread twisted my gut.

  “I don't know. I'm not Gina's keeper.”

  “Oh, really? You need to clear this up with your girl. Because of you and Sam, I have a target on my back.”

  “I said I was sorry.”

  Wow! Her cavalier attitude left me flabbergasted. “Sorry isn't going to fix this fiasco since I'm Gina's newfound bone.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “How can I ever trust you again?”

  “You're really making this much worse than it is.”

  “Sally, you wouldn't be saying that if you were in my shoes.” I bit down on my lip, suppressing a string of curse words.

  “I get it! It won't happen again.” Irritation laced her voice.

  “You're damn straight it won't!” I wanted to wrap my fingers around her neck and strangle the backstabber. “Do me a favor and tell Gina the truth.” I looked away. Staring at her pathetic face was like sand in my shorts.

  The bell sounded off and in walked Ms. Jenkins, and that was the end of our discussion.

  It was a lose-lose situation with Sally, and I reckoned staying angry with her was a waste of good energy. To be real, I felt sorry for her. At first, I didn't see the connection between the two girls. They seemed so different. Now, it was as clear as a cloudless day. Sally was weak and had no backbone to stand up for herself, and she would do anything to get attention from the opposite sex. Gina fed off of Sally's insecurities. She used Sally to remind herself that she was the superior one, the blonde bomb. I think Gina and Sally deserved each other. They both were the worst friends that they possibly could be for each other and anyone else in their clenches.

  When the teacher started counting row, Aidan Bane swaggered into the classroom late like he was the exception. He was the epitome of the bad boy that didn't seem to care about authority.

  Ms. Jenkins tossed him a heated glare. He smiled back only antagonizing her more as he made his way to his desk. I wondered why the teacher didn't order him to the principal's office. Maybe he got special treatment since his parents had deep pockets or perhaps the faculty was afraid of him. I'd seen with my own eyes how violent he could become. He was intimidating at best.

  When Bane passed by me to his seat, he didn't glance my way nor did I glance at him. Yet his dismissal stung. He was driving me crazy. I'd never wanted to-not-want something so much in my life. I needed to forget him. We had nothing in common, and we didn't get along, which meant, I couldn't be any more than a bootie call to him. I respected myself too much to let him turn me into his own private escort whenever it suited him.

  I sat through class feeling like a ham sandwich. In front of me sat Sally, the Energizer Bunny with nonstop yammering, and behind me, Bane, throwing blue icicles at my back, making me one on-the-edge nippy ham.

  Finally, the bell sounded off, and Aidan whizzed past me as though I had bad body odor. Whatever! It didn't matter now. Our little thing had ended. I frowned watching him dart out the room.

  I gathered my books and headed off for gym. Not my favorite class. I hated changing in front of others, and the showering in front of mass strangers was the worst.

  After gym, Coach Rosedale took me off to the side and asked. “Hey, are you up for a little extra cash?” she smiled.

  I shoved my hands in my pockets and answered. “Sure. What do you have in mind?” I liked the coach. She was tough but fair.

  “The supplies closet needs a little rearranging. I got fifty bucks for you if you want the job?”

  “Sweet! Yeah, I'll do it.” Perfect
timing, I still needed to replace the windowpane that Sara had broken.

  “Great!” Her small brown eyes twinkled. “Come by my office after school and you can get started then. The cleanup shouldn't take you more than a couple of hours, tops.” She patted my shoulder and darted off in the opposite direction, down the hall.

  I smiled to myself. It was kind of her to give me the job. God knew we needed the money. I fretted the landlord might see the broken window and evict us for property damage. It had happened before.

  I checked the clock on the wall. Only two minutes to get to my history class before the bell sounded off. I picked up the pace and hurried along.

  School had let out, and laughter cluttered the halls. A sea of heads and backpacks headed off in one direction, out the front door.

  I was running behind. I had stalled for a minute to speak with my history teacher, Coach Matt. I'd failed to turn in an assignment that had slipped past my notice. Luckily, he was going to allow me to make it up.

  By the time I headed to my locker, the halls had thinned. Once I finished unloading books, I trotted off to the gym. I thought it felt strange hearing the echoes of my footfalls ricocheting off the lockers.

  I turned the corner and entered through the gym's double doors. When I reached Coach Rosedale's office, I stopped abruptly, staring at a note taped to the door. I pulled the note down and opened it. It read,

  Stevie, please rearrange all the supplies. Wash the uniforms, sweep, and take the trash out back.

  Thanks,

  Coach Rosedale

  “Oh!” At first, I was a little bothered. I assumed Coach Rosedale was going to be here. Oh, well, no biggie. I shrugged.

  Inside the note was a key. I snatched the key up and tossed the paper in the trash. Off I went to the closet.

  I was humming a tune as I unlocked the door. It was a bummer that I couldn't use this extra money to buy a pair of ear buds. Music would be nice right now. I opened the door with the key and walked inside, searching for a light switch.