by Katie French
The pain hit me like a wave. I snapped the lid shut, then shoved the box back under the clutter. Then I put on my headphones and picked out something loud and upbeat. If I was going to survive this bonfire, I’d need to yank myself out of my funk.
Mercedes came to get me at eight.
I heard the doorbell and then Dad’s cane as he clomped over to answer it. Putting the last touches on my hair and makeup, I gave myself a once-over in the mirror. I wanted Tom Palmer to see me and know he’d made a terrible mistake—or at least a minor one.
Downstairs, I found Mercedes, Dad, and Fernando in the kitchen.
“What in the world is that thing?” she asked, pointing at the bird.
He opened his yellow beak, letting her know he wasn’t impressed with her either.
Pulling open the fridge and finding bread that wasn’t moldy, I dug out a few pieces. “Don’t pick on Fernando. He’s had a bad week. Haven’t you, boy?” I hand-fed him crumbs, which he greedily gulped down, nearly taking my fingers off in the process.
“You and your rescuing,” Mercedes said, snapping a picture of me stroking the bird for one of her feeds. “Remember that time you saved a frog from the boys at recess?”
“Yep. And I kept it in my pocket until after lunch when Oscar Piada turned me in, the little weasel.”
“In his defense,” Mercedes said, “the frog woke up and started climbing up your shirt. So, you know, not exactly conducive to the learning environment.”
“Oooh, you use such big words. Teach me, oh sensei.” I leaned into her, batting my eyelashes.
She pushed me away good-naturedly. “Mr. M, what’s on for tonight? Hot date?”
He laughed. “Yeah, a hot date with Jeopardy. And maybe some tea. Two packets of Splenda if I’m feeling sassy.”
“Nice,” she said, playing along. “Make it three, and it’s about to get lit.”
He held up his hands, laughing. “You know me. Wild man. So, girls, who’s driving?”
“Me,” Mercedes said, patting her chest.
“And we know all about the dangers of alcohol?” he asked, fixing his gaze on us as sternly as he could.
“Drink it only in excess. Got it,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes.
“We know. We know.” I kissed him on his head before moving to grab my purse.
“Home before twelve-thirty. I don’t want you on the road when the drunks are out.”
Giving him a wave to signify I heard, I grabbed Mercedes and pulled her out of the door.
“Twelve-thirty?” she said, palming her keys. “Does he know you’re about to be a high school graduate?”
I rolled my eyes. “He won’t do anything if I’m late. Besides, how long are we gonna stay? You know how uncomfortable these things are.”
“For you, maybe. For me, I’m on the prowl. Mama needs to get herself a date for prom—one who is da bomb.”
“Since when did you start referring to yourself as mama, and can I also call you that?” I asked. “Mama.”
“Do it at your own peril.” She started the car and pulled out.
Because I lived on the lake, the beach bonfire was only a few minutes up the coast. We took the scenic drive, giving us a chance to go over our strategy. I was wing man. It was my job to help Mercedes find her prom date, which was fine by me since it gave me something to take my mind off Tom.
“But what do I do if he shows up with another girl?” I asked.
She turned toward me after she pulled in to the public park entrance already filled with cars. “You are smokin’ tonight, and we both know it. If Tom shows up, you ignore the hell out of him and find some other man to throw yourself all over. Let him see what he’s missing.”
“That sounds so cliché.”
She gave me a no-nonsense stare. “It’s cliché because it works. And you need to work it. If I see you moping around, I’m going to tell everyone you still wear Princess Leia underoos.”
“They’re iconic,” I cried.
She smiled to show me the threat was only that. Then she adjusted her braids in the mirror and gave herself a nod. If only I had her confidence. Exiting the car and heading toward the beach, my stomach was in knots.
Already, the blaze was high enough for us to see the glow from the guard shack. And when we hit sand, it was obvious the party was in full effect.
All of my classmates had to be in attendance, including some underclassmen who snuck in. There were people playing sand volleyball on the courts, using whatever twilight was left. Others were in their bathing suits, squealing in the freezing cold water. But most of the crew clustered around wooden picnic tables, elbows on the bright green and pink tablecloths that fluttered in the wind.
Parents had provided snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. There were blue coolers of pop, bags of chips, and packages of various baked goods.
A guy stood by a smoking charcoal grill wearing an apron that said, “Hot Dog Vendor.” As we passed, he lifted the bottom flap, revealing a big, red fabric hotdog poking out from his groin. He winked at us and handed someone a cooked dog.
“Perfect,” I said, trying to psych myself up. I didn’t see Tom anywhere.
Mercedes grabbed my hand and ushered me into the eye of the storm. Before I knew it, I had a spiked drink, along with Candice Ward’s arm around my shoulders as she told everyone very loudly about the time I helped her pass an algebra test.
Time went by. I didn’t die, but I also didn’t see Tom.
Several hours later, after many old dragon tales had been shared around the fire and the crowd had thinned, I was walking up the beach, trying to find Mercedes. I lost her when I’d gotten caught up in a conversation about which teachers should date whom.
The night was dark, and the wind had died down. Having had a few drinks, I was feeling fun and flirty, actually enjoying myself, though my phone said it was almost time to go. Dear old Dad worried a lot after losing Mom, and I didn’t like to let him down.
Sloshing through the sand, I took a turn around a string of trees, finding a group of students off to themselves. Clare Gosh spotted me from her perch on a boy’s lap—Frank, who played on the tennis team. Hailey was beside her, sitting on a log and appearing very drunk while Sam Hamilton tried to offer her more alcohol.
None of them looked happy to see me.
“What are you doing here?” Clare asked, her face accusatory.
I couldn’t figure out why she was so mad until I remembered she was going out with Harrison Wheatley, and I was ruining her little tryst.
“Have you seen Mercedes?” I asked, trying not to let any emotion show on my face.
She shook her head, still shooting eye-daggers at me. “She didn’t come over here.”
“Okay, thanks.” I turned to go, but had to double back. “Sam.”
He lifted his head
“She’s drunk,” I said. “You do know drunk girls can’t give consent, right? Don’t you have a scholarship to Grand Valley?”
He dropped the red plastic cup to the sand, trying to pretend he hadn’t been trying to ply her with it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Hailey and I are just friends.”
Hailey slumped over, passing out into the sand. Sam’s face turned beet red, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
When I glanced around the crowd, it was very clear I was no longer wanted. I gave an awkward salute, turned on my heel, and left.
Only when I was around the corner and out of their eyesight could I breathe a sigh of relief.
Until a hand reached out from the shadows and pulled me into the trees.
Chapter Six
Branches scraped my face as someone pulled me into the trees. My heart knocked inside my chest, adrenaline pumping into my system like jets of frigid water. I opened my mouth to scream, but a large hand clamped over it as my attacker yanked me against his chest.
“Shh.” His hot breath grazed my ear.
My stomach roiled, disgusted at having a kidnapper so close to m
e.
He dragged me further into the woods. I bucked, legs thrashing. No one had seen me disappear. If I went missing, no one would be able to give the smallest hint to the police. But my struggle was useless. My attacker was too strong.
“Quit fighting, Lila!”
He knew my name? Who…
“Lila, it’s me. Tom.”
Tom? Why would Tom Palmer want to abduct me? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just date me?
“Please calm down, I’m just trying to… Look, I’ll let you go. Promise not to scream?”
I nodded, his hand still tight against my mouth. He released me. I whirled like a hurricane and shoved him… tried to anyway, but it was like pushing a solid wall. He didn’t stagger one bit.
“What the hell, Tom?” I spat. “You scared the shit out of me.”
My heart was still racing, and the expression on his face did nothing to reassure me.
He put his hands out. “Look, you need to—”
“No!” I cut him short. “I don’t need to anything. You’re the one who’s out of line.”
I was beside myself, a bad mixture of panic and anger coursing through my veins. At first, I was so pissed I didn’t even notice his disheveled state. He looked like he’d just been through hell three times over. His button-up shirt was only half tucked in and stained with sweat. His hair stood on end, tousled in a bad way, unlike the rest of the time when it gave off a purposeful, happy accident vibe.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Never mind that. You need to get out of here now. Go home,” he ordered.
I blinked in slow motion. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t want to be here. Trust me.” He peered over his shoulder as if he expected someone to snatch him. But he was the damn snatcher. His hair whipped from one side to the other, then fell back onto his forehead. I looked away, mad at myself for noticing how sexy it made him.
“And why is that?” I put my hands on my waist and raised my eyebrows, the same pose Mom used to strike when I gave her an attitude.
“Lila, I don’t have time to explain. Please just go.”
A scream came from the direction of the beach. Tom stepped in front of me protectively. The scream was followed by laughter and a “Give me back my hot dog, you creep.” Tom’s chest was going up and down, as if he were preparing for a fight.
I pulled him around, forcing him to face me. “What’s the matter with you? Are you really that determined to ruin this night for me? It wasn’t enough to dump me? You also had to come down here to pull God knows what type of stunt?”
“That has nothing to do with this,” he protested. “I’m dead serious. I can’t explain, but you have to trust me.”
“Just like that, I have to trust you?” I mocked. “After you proved to me you’re the most untrustworthy jackass I know?”
He winced. I lifted my chin, proud my jab had some effect.
Tom opened his mouth to say something else, but I’d had it with his bullshit. I put a hand up, gave him “I hope you drop dead” eyes, and started toward the beach.
He let out a growl of frustration. “God, you’re stubborn.”
I could almost feel him holding his breath, as if he’d called me stubborn just to goad me into staying. Well, I wasn’t falling for it. Squaring my shoulders, I kept going.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth, anyway,” Tom said, sounding as if he’d pushed the sentence from between clenched teeth. “You stopped believing a long time ago.”
I slowed my pace, still bent on leaving, but captured by those last words. I’d stopped believing in many things. The tooth fairy, Santa Claus, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow… Somehow, though, I knew he wasn’t referring to any of those.
“Your mother believed, but I guess you’re nothing like her.” Tom flung the words at me like an accusation, like I’d grown up to be much less than I was supposed to be.
I came to a halt then, shaking with anger and something else I couldn’t define. Why was Tom telling me this? What did he know about my mother and what she did or didn’t believe?
“I thought I could break through to you,” he said in a low growl that sent a shiver up my spine. “But you’re nothing like what I had in mind.”
I rubbed my arm as my hairs stood on end. It was still his voice. Yet, it wasn’t. It’d sounded fierce. Animalistic.
Slowly, I turned to face him. He stood threateningly, legs slightly apart, chin low. His eyes were glowing an unnatural blue, like the bioluminescent fish we’d seen in science class. What in the hell?
I took a step back.
As if regaining control, Tom straightened and shook himself. The light in his gaze died down. He pulled the unbuttoned cuffs of his shirt over his hands, but not in time to prevent me from seeing the altered color of his skin. His hands were blue. Mystique from the X-Men blue to be precise.
But I couldn’t process that bit of freaky news at the moment. I really didn’t want to go there just in case I was imagining things, and because who the hell turned blue? I was losing my mind. So instead of dealing with my apparent insanity, I focused on the other bit of freaky information he’d provided.
“What… what do you know about my mother?” I asked, my voice trembling.
A door I’d locked a long time ago clicked open, emotions pouring out even as I fumbled for the key to secure it again.
“I think we’d better leave that in the past, where it belongs,” Tom said. “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
He had regained his cool. Even as my door was sliding open, his shut with a bang.
“Your eyes… Did they just—”
Suddenly, Tom cocked his head to the side, listening. His eyes darted from side to side. After a short moment, he lowered his head in what seemed like defeat.
His gaze locked with mine. He took a step back, then another.
“Wait! What’s going on? Tom, answer my questions.” I reached out a hand, but he pivoted and disappeared into the thick foliage, hardly making a sound.
My world spun with questions, memories, and implications, all clashing against each other in disagreement.
It seemed obvious that Tom had been talking about my childhood belief in dragons. But how could he know about that? I’d never told anyone, not even Mercedes. The only living person who knew about my stint with mythical creatures was Dad.
And what about Tom’s eyes, the way they’d flashed in that strange blue color? Maybe a trick of the light could explain that, but then there was that short second when his hands turned into a Smurf’s. I hadn’t imagined that. Had I?
I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to wrap my mind around the crazy encounter. He said he’d come to warn me about things outside of his control. What had he been talking about?
Something bad.
An awful feeling crawled under my skin. My gaze snapped up. I turned toward the beach, heart slowly climbing into my throat.
Mercedes!
I took off at a full pelt, breaking dry branches underfoot and pushing foliage out of the way with my extended hands. In a matter of seconds, I came out of the woods, heart thudding in my ears, lungs working overtime.
The sound of music drifted from the party. Frantically searching right and left, I tried to find Clare, Hailey, Sam—anyone—but they’d left their spot by the log. I ran out of the secluded area and headed back toward the bonfire. My feet sank, the sand slowing me down.
I came to a stop in front of the dying fire. Circling around it, I stared at the discarded cups, cans, and wrappers, even the fake hot dog apron that weird guy had used to flash people. The stereo played on from its spot atop a large cooler.
I whirled toward the lake. The water lapped the shore placidly, undisturbed by any partygoers. I turned in place, searching, squinting down both ends of the beach.
Everyone was gone.
My watch read twelve-thirty. It was my curfew, but my classmates were known to party until dawn. They couldn�
��t have left.
“Mercedes!” I screamed, running toward the parking lot.
Even if the others had decided to go home, she wouldn’t have left me here alone. Two at a time, I took the wooden steps that led out of the beach and stopped when I hit the blacktop. Many cars were still there, some with their headlights on and tailgates hanging open. Wet towels hung from rearview mirrors, billowing in the breeze.
Like by the bonfire, everything had an abandoned feel to it.
Oh, God.
Body heavy with dread, I shuffled a few steps toward the spot where Mercedes had parked her car. I peeked around the large truck beside it and found her Mini Cooper sitting there, empty.
Her name escaped my lips, sounding like a plea. “Mercedes…”
Unable to contain it any longer, panic exploded in my chest and blossomed like a nuclear mushroom cloud. A desperate cry built in my throat, but I managed to contain it. Instead, I reached for my phone.
There was a text waiting for me. My heart leapt, thinking it was from Mercedes, but it was from Dad, asking why I wasn’t home yet. Hands shaking, I dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Everything all right?” he asked with a tone of urgency. He knew I wouldn’t call him otherwise. I would have just texted back something snarky.
“They’re all gone.”
Chapter Seven
“They’re all gone.” My voice shook. I cleared my throat. Instinctively, I pressed my back to the large truck as if I expected something to snatch me the way Tom had.
“What?” Dad paused, then said, “Where are you?”
“At the beach.”
“Okay. Is Mercedes with you? Are you coming home?”
“She’s gone, too,” I said, tears pooling in my eyes. “Oh my God.”
People didn’t just disappear and leave everything behind. There had to be a logical explanation. They were playing a joke on me. That had to be it.
Except my heart told me something had happened. Something that couldn’t be explained.
“Sounds like you need a ride,” Dad said cautiously. “I’ll come get you. I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t move!”
