by Sarra Cannon
“It’s a rumor,” I said. “You can’t always believe everything you hear.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Rumors have to start somewhere, and usually there’s at least a little bit of truth to all of them. Either way, I plan to steer clear of him. You should, too.”
I dared another glance his way.
Jordan. The name suited him in a way I couldn’t quite explain. I had no idea if the rumors were true, but there was definitely something different about him. Mysterious.
And she was right about him never talking to anyone. I’d never once seen him talking to anyone except a teacher.
But just because someone didn’t talk a lot, that didn’t make him a drug dealer any more than some stupid toxicology report made me a drug addict.
“Earth to Marayah. Are you alive in there?”
I blinked and snapped back to the moment. Her comment definitely unsettled me, because I had, after all, just been in a coma a few months ago.
“Yes, I’m alive,” I said.
“Good,” she said with a laugh. “I was asking you what you were up to this afternoon after school. A few of us were talking about going over to Fido’s for some milkshakes. You want to come?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure I can,” I said. “My mom is holding the reins pretty tight these days. She wants me home right after school.”
“And you do everything your mom says?” she asked. “I mean, no offense to her but you are almost eighteen. I think you can make your own decisions about where to go at four in the afternoon.”
“She’s already worried about me,” I said. “I’m trying to rebuild some trust here, and I don’t want to end up grounded for the rest of the year. Maybe in a few weeks she’ll loosen up a bit.”
What I didn’t want to say was that I had more urgent business to attend to.
“Okay, but if you change your mind, just meet us over there,” she said. She finished the last of her chips and stood up. “And tell your mom that the sooner she lets you rejoin the land of the living, the sooner you’ll actually get back to normal. Keeping you home isn’t going to help anything.”
I nodded. “Believe me, I’ve tried that approach.”
We threw away our trash and headed out to the courtyard. I forced myself not to look at Jordan as I passed him, but I felt his eyes on me just the same. As I passed through the courtyard doors, I couldn’t help myself.
I turned to look back at him, but he was already gone.
19
This Guy Owed Me
I couldn’t get Jordan out of my head all afternoon. There was definitely something up with him.
Over the past week, I’d convinced myself that he was not the same guy I kept seeing in my dreams or flashbacks or whatever you wanted to call them. Sure, he looked similar, but younger somehow. His hair was shorter, maybe by a few inches. But his eyes...
It couldn’t be the same person, could it? Dr. Millner had told me that with post-traumatic stress, I could sometimes be remembering things that were not real, so I shouldn’t completely trust my visions of what happened that night. At least not until my full memory returned.
If it ever returned.
But how could that explain me seeing a guy I’d never seen before in my life? A guy who suddenly shows up at my high school a year after the accident?
And he had recognized my medallion. I was sure of it.
I had half a mind to just walk right up to him and ask him if he was there that night or if he seemed to know me from somewhere else, but why would he tell me the truth even if I did have the guts to approach him?
And what if this drug dealer rumor was true?
Nicole was right. I really didn’t need that kind of drama in my life right now. Associating with a rumored drug dealer after everything this whole town, including my own parents, already believed about me, would be senior-year suicide.
On top of all that, what if he really was there the night Hailey died?
She’d found a way to tell me that what happened to us wasn’t an accident, which made me wonder if someone else had been involved. Someone dangerous enough to murder Hailey and try to take me along with her.
What if he’d sold Hailey some kind of psychotic drug that had made her see things or get paranoid? Drugs made a lot more sense to me than some kind of demonic possession. Maybe there was a logical explanation for all this after all. And maybe Jordan knew the truth.
I needed to find out more about him somehow. I needed to know if he was a part of this, and I was running out of time.
I spent most of my afternoon classes coming up with a plan. He’d been watching me, so maybe it was time I turned the tables on him.
If I could figure out where he lived, maybe I could watch him, too. Find out more about his family or where he was staying. See what kind of neighborhood he lived in. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of information that would give me, but I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
If I could prove this Jordan guy, or someone close to him, sold Hailey drugs that had messed with her mind, I could help to clear her name and maybe even put her killer in jail.
I just had to make sure he didn’t know what I was up to.
When the bell rang at the end of class, I headed straight for the office. I had about five minutes before the next bell would ring, so I needed to be quick. It was better to try to do this now, rather than at the end of the day when there would be more people walking around.
My hands were sweaty by the time I got there. I’d never done anything even remotely like this before. I’d always been the good girl. Little miss rules. And now I was going to do something that was most likely illegal.
“Marayah, it’s good to see you back at school,” Mrs. Dawson said. Our school secretary was ancient, and she’d been working here since my mom was in school. She loved our family, because my mom had been her favorite student back in the day.
“Hey, Mrs. Dawson,” I said cheerily, wiping my sweaty hands against my jeans. “And thank you. It’s really good to be back.”
“Bless your heart. I know you’ve been through a lot,” she said. “But seeing you now is a sight for sore eyes. I can’t believe this will be your final year here at Twin Rivers High.”
I cleared my throat, unsure exactly how to go about this. I couldn’t very well just ask for his address or school records. There was no way she was just going to hand them over.
“Are you here to see Troy?” she asked.
Confused, I stared at her. “Troy?”
She smiled. “I know you two have a crush on each other,” she said. “I may be old, but I can tell when two students are in love.”
“Oh,” I said. Obviously, she was behind on the times. But apparently, so was I. “Why would Troy be here?”
She waved her hand around. “That whole mess this summer,” she said. “I’m sure you know all about it. Anyway, Mr. Dixon thought it would be too harsh of a punishment to kick our best player off the football team for a silly fight over the summer, so Troy comes in for a few hours a week to work here in the office for us. A little bit of volunteer work never hurt anyone.”
I thought about telling her that it wasn’t really volunteer work if you were being forced to do it, but I let that slide. Another plan was forming in my mind.
“He’ll be here this afternoon?” I asked.
She glanced at the clock over the door. “He should be here after school for an hour before he heads out to practice.”
“Okay, thank you Mrs. Dawson,” I said. “It’s good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too, dear.”
I stepped out of the office and took out my phone. Troy’s latest message was still at the top of my texts.
I need a favor. Meet me at our old place after the bell?
I took a deep breath and hit send.
Troy was already waiting by the oak tree in the large courtyard when I stepped out into the afternoon sun. He straightened when he saw me and glanced around, probably w
atching to make sure Lena wasn’t stalking him.
Heaven forbid the new girlfriend saw him talking to the old one.
“Hey,” he said. He looked nervous. “I’m sorry. I can’t talk long. I’ve got a, uh, thing I need to do this afternoon.”
“I know,” I said. “I heard. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”
His face tensed. “Oh,” he said. Was that disappointment in his voice? What did he think I wanted to talk to him about? “What’s up?”
I cleared my throat. I wasn’t exactly sure how best to ask for what I wanted or how to explain why I wanted it, but there was no graceful way to do this. Besides, regardless of what I’d said before, this guy owed me.
“Do you know the new guy? Jordan something?”
“Greycloud,” he said.
Jordan Greycloud. The name wasn’t familiar. I was pretty sure there were no other Greyclouds here in this town. None that I’d ever met or heard about, and it was a pretty small town with a very small Native population, most of whom were good friends with my father.
“Why?”
“Well, I want you to get his school records for me,” I said.
Troy’s eyes widened, and he stepped closer to me. “Are you freaking kidding me? I could get expelled for something like that.”
“You won’t get expelled,” I said. “You’re a star around here. If you get caught, just tell them you must have hit the wrong button on the computer. Act stupid about it. Me jock. No understand computer.”
“Ouch,” he said, but there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.
“You know what I mean,” I said, smiling back. “But don’t get caught.”
“Wait, why do you want his records?” he asked.
“I just need them,” I said. “And I need it to be a secret. You can’t tell anyone. Not even Lena.”
He swallowed and looked around again.
“I won’t tell anyone,” he said. “I just wish you’d tell me why you want his records. Do you even know this guy?”
“Not yet,” I said, intentionally leaving it vague. Let him think I had a crush on the new guy. What did I care?
“Oh.” He cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes. “I see.”
“Think you can do it?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ll try,” he said. “You know how this town is. They don’t even attempt to hide all the passwords. They’re taped right there to the computer.”
I laughed and his gaze dropped to my lips, making me extremely uncomfortable. He used to kiss these lips, and it hadn’t been my choice for him to stop. If he wanted me back, that was his damn problem.
“If you can, come to the house afterward,” I said. “I’m sure my parents would love to see you, anyway.”
He grimaced. “I’m supposed to go to Lena’s this afternoon,” he said. “If I’m late—”
I laughed, cutting him off. “Wow, I had no idea she had you on such a short leash these days,” I said. “That’s gotta be fun for you.”
He rolled his eyes and smiled. For just a second, my insides flipped.
God, I used to love that smile.
“It’s not my favorite thing about her, if you must know,” he said.
Then why did you choose her over me?
I definitely did not give voice to that thought. I wanted him to think I couldn’t care less.
“Well, you should probably get going,” I said. “You don’t want to be late.”
“No, I guess not,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“If you can, at least text me and let me know if you got it,” I said.
He shifted uncomfortably, and I remembered the little argument he supposedly had with Lena last night about texting me.
“Right,” I said. “You can’t text me anymore, I’m guessing.”
He just shrugged. Unbelievable.
“Just slip it in my locker tomorrow or find me in the hallways,” I said.
I started to walk away, but he touched my arm. I stopped cold. It was the first time he’d touched me since the accident.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I blinked them back. Betrayers.
I pulled away as if he’d burned me.
“Sorry,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll text you this afternoon if I get a chance.”
I nodded, hating this tension between us. This moment right here was proof that my old life was truly gone and would never be the same again. I never realized just how easy things had been before the accident. How happy.
How fragile.
“Thanks,” I said, longing for the past in a way that made my heart sick.
I turned and walked away before he could see the first tear fall down my cheek.
20
I Want Nothing To Do With That Kind Of Magic
While I waited to find out about Jordan Greycloud’s past, I had something else I wanted to do. Which meant I needed to get rid of my sister again.
“Where are you going this time?” she asked, refusing to get out of the car. “I want to go with you.”
“You really don’t,” I said. “Cover for me?”
She sighed. “You know I’ll do it, but I really wish you would trust me enough to tell me what’s going on,” she said. “I don’t believe all those things they said about you doing drugs and partying all the time. But sneaking around after school to go on these covert missions and keeping secrets is not really going to make you look good to Mom and Dad if you get caught.”
“I know,” I said, cringing. “I promise I’ll fill you in on everything when I can. Right now, though, I just need you to trust me.”
“And lie for you.”
“Well, yeah, that too,” I said. “But I’ll try to be home before Mom. Which means I need to get going.”
She got out of the car but poked her head back through the open window before I could pull away. “So, you’re definitely not out buying drugs or anything stupid, right?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “I thought you just said you didn’t believe all that stuff.”
“I don’t,” she said, laughing. “Just giving you a hard time.”
“That’s cute,” I said, giving her my best evil-eye.
Kimi backed away. “See you soon,” she shouted as I pulled out of the driveway.
I knew that Kimi wanted to pretend like she was the only one on my side these days and that she didn’t believe the lies, but at the same time, I also knew she’d been extremely worried about me when I was stuck in the hospital. She was probably just as confused as I was about what had happened. I couldn’t blame her for worrying that I was into something I shouldn’t be.
And maybe I was.
But it wasn’t what she thought, and the last thing I wanted to do was pull her into something that could be dangerous for her. The less my sister knew, the better.
I turned on Main Street and followed it all the way to the edge of town. The buildings that passed by grew slowly less modern and new and became more rundown. Burned out signs, abandoned buildings, trash littering the streets.
This was not a part of town I’d been to very often, but there was a particular shop I wanted to visit today. As soon as the faded green awning came into view, I slowed and pulled into the small strip of parking spaces.
A tiny bell jingled as I opened the door and walked inside.
Stepping into the store was like stepping into a cave. The dark coating on the windows blocked most of the sunlight, so the only light inside was from a few scattered old floor lamps. I squeezed through a maze of antique furniture, statues, and bookshelves full of old hardback books and trinkets.
There was no way this place was up to modern fire codes.
From the looks of it, I was the only customer, but it was so cramped and dense inside the store, there could have been twenty people lost somewhere in the mess, and I never would have known it.
The musty smell of old things became more pronounced the deeper I went.
I h
adn’t been in Mr. Shaw’s store since I was a little girl, but I could have sworn most of the stuff in here was the same. How did he stay in business?
I ran my fingers across the wooden carving of an eagle, admiring the intricate details of it.
“May I help you?”
I jumped at the sound of the voice and pulled my hand away quickly, shoving it into the pocket of my black jeans.
Mr. Shaw’s eyes lit up as I turned toward him. “Marayah Freeman,” he said, reaching his hand out to me. He was an elderly man, probably in his early eighties. He was shorter than me and his brown skin was weathered and cracked. He wore a pair of plain brown pants and a Grateful Dead t-shirt that looked about as old as he was.
“It’s so wonderful to see you. How are you feeling these days?”
“I’m better,” I said. His hands were soft and leathery at the same time.
“Admiring the eagle, I see.” He raised a finger to his cheek, studying the carving and then looking at me curiously. “It suits you.”
I smiled. “I don’t think I really have a place for it,” I said.
“Sometimes we must make room in our hearts for the things that are meant for us,” he said. “But there is time. Come, come. Sit down with me for a while. It’s been a slow day, and I am grateful for the company.”
I followed him, toward the back of the store. I had a feeling every day around here was a slow day.
A cloudy glass jewelry counter ran along most of the back wall of the store. As we passed, I noticed it was filled with Native American jewelry and arrowheads. He had a huge collection, which gave me hope that he might know more about the medallion I wore around my neck.
He motioned toward a pair of old leather chairs that had seen better days.
“Thank you,” I said, sitting.
“Can I get you something to drink? Tea?”
“No, thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry I can’t stay too long today, but if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you about something I found.”
He raised an eyebrow and sat down on the edge of his well-worn chair. “I don’t mind at all,” he said. “Found things are my business.”
