Foreshadow

by Brea Essex

  “It’s not my fault you don’t pay attention,” he responded, his voice harsh.

  “Why are you being a jerk again?” I had no idea what had upset him. “Why are you even here?”

  “You mean, you don’t remember?”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “I’m not surprised you forgot. You seemed a little busy.”

  My temper flared. He either ran hot or cold. I could never figure out his motivation. “Logan, what is your problem? Why are you here?”

  “I told you I would come back today to help you look for your cat. You seemed so upset last night. Obviously someone else made you feel better.”

  A wave of guilt washed over me. I had been so excited when Nuada had been returned to me, and even more excited when Andrei had called, that I had forgotten Logan’s promise. “But you said you would be here in the morning. It’s not morning,” I pointed out.

  His eyes hardened. “I know it’s not morning. I showed up, but your mother told me you were gone. I thought maybe you had gone to look for your cat and that you would check in. I guess I was wrong. You sure fooled me, Raena. You were so sad about your cat last night, but you don’t seem to care about her as much as you made out.”

  “What do you mean, I don’t care about her?” I demanded, my voice rising.

  “Well, you don’t look like you were out searching for a cat. You look like you were on a beach date. I guess the cat means nothing to you.”

  “Someone found Nuada! She was returned to me this morning. I wouldn’t have gone out with Andrei if she were still gone, not that it’s any of your business. And don’t you dare guilt me! You don’t care as much as you tried to pretend last night. You said you would come in the morning, but you didn’t. I didn’t leave until after noon, and I sure didn’t see you!”

  He looked unspeakably sad. “You’re right. It’s not any of my business, but I did show up. My mom had car troubles and needed me to drive her on some errands, but I came here right after. I would have called, but I didn’t have your phone number. I’m sorry I was late. I’ll leave you alone now. I’m glad someone found your cat. See ya.” He started to walk away.

  “Logan!” I called after him. He paused. “Why did you wait here all day?”

  “I promised you I would help you find your cat. I don’t break my promises. I figured you would come home eventually, and then I could help. You obviously don’t need my help. Sorry I bothered you. I’ll see you in school.” He continued back down the sidewalk. I called after him, determined to apologize, but he didn’t stop again. He walked across the street to his car, got in, and drove away.

  I walked inside and up the stairs, where I hid myself in my room. I came down for dinner because I knew Genevra wouldn’t allow me to stay upstairs while everyone else ate together. Afterward, I ignored Tanis’s knocks on my door and just lay in bed, feeling horrible about the way I had treated Logan. I needed to apologize. I fell asleep early, dreading the day to come.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning as I sat in chemistry, I sensed someone slide into the seat next to me. I looked up, startled.

  “Logan! Look, about yesterday…” I began.

  He raised his hand, cutting me off. “It’s forgotten. I’m here for the pleasure of your company.” He winked.

  I rolled my eyes and gave him a withering look. Great. He’d reverted back to his annoying self. Well, if he wanted to forget about yesterday, then I guessed I would let him. “What do you want?” I asked.

  His eyes widened in mock horror. “Now Raena, you don’t sound happy to see me!”

  “Oh, of course. I’m always happy to see you. I’m just as happy to see you sitting next to me as I am to have you sitting next to me in every single class. Now, what do you want?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. I had always wanted to be able to do that. “Why, haven’t you heard? It seems my lab partner has gone and moved away.”

  “So? Why should I care? It has nothing to do with me.”

  “Well, isn’t it obvious, Raena? You’re my new partner,” he said with a smirk.

  I stared at him, dumbfounded. Can’t I get a break from him in one class? With this new seating arrangement, I would now be stuck sitting next to Logan in every single class.

  I sighed. “So how is it that you are privy to this information already?”

  He winked at me again, his emerald eyes sparkling. “Oh, I have my sources.”

  “What happened to you being nice from now on? Or was your declaration a figment of my imagination?” I asked.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Raena.”

  “Remember? On Saturday when you gave me a ride home from the Village? You swore you were ‘turning over a new leaf’?” I prompted.

  “You must have been dreaming.” He grinned at me.

  Had I imagined it, or had his chair moved closer? I tried to convince myself not to look at him. Without turning, I slid my eyes to the left. Mrs. Cortesi, our chemistry teacher, had arrived, and Logan appeared to be paying attention to her lecture. My eyes wandered over him, surprised to find him looking back at me. Blushing, I glanced away and ducked my head, pretending to be taking notes. I was keenly aware of Logan shaking with silent laughter, and I attempted to ignore him for the rest of class.

  Once the bell rang, I tried to make a break for the door to avoid having to talk to him again. No need to embarrass myself more. Logan blocked my path. He stood so close my breath caught in my throat. As mad as he made me most of the time, something about him drew me. “Now then, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” he murmured.

  I rolled my eyes and attempted to shove past him. “Cut it out. Just move so I’m not late to my next class.”

  “Why don’t I take this for you?” he asked, pulling my messenger bag from my shoulder and slinging it across his own back as he started to walk away.

  “Give me back my bag!” I started after him. Seriously, is he eight? I thought as I stared at his retreating back. What’s next, pulling my hair and running away? Actually, he already seems to have the running part down.

  I caught up to him, grabbed the strap of my bag, and tugged. His hand shot up to seize the other side of the strap. I couldn’t budge it. I was strong for a girl, I suppose, but he was freakishly strong. I pulled uselessly at my bag for a few seconds before giving up.

  Logan laughed at my pathetic attempts. “Can’t you just let me carry it for you, Raena? I mean, how do you manage to not fall over carrying this thing? Ever heard of a backpack?”

  “Why would I wear a backpack? So I can be so bowed down with books on my back that I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame?”

  He laughed harder. “Isn’t having a little hunchback better than developing scoliosis from carrying around this huge bag on one shoulder?”

  “I’d rather have a little curve to my lower spine than be bent over at the top,” I said.

  “Isn’t it more or less the same? Either way, your spine is curved.”

  “A necessary evil,” I replied. “I still have to carry school books around one way or another.”

  “Then stop trying to steal your bag back from me and let me carry them for you,” he said quietly.

  I stared at him in surprise. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as I thought. “So, are you just going to follow me around all day?”

  “I suppose I could. After all, we do have the same classes. I have to carry my own books anyway. Why can’t I help out a pretty girl in distress?” He winked at me again.

  “I’m hardly in distress,” I told him, ignoring the rest of his comment.

  “Ah, but there you are wrong. You are in distress. You are distressed at the prospect of not being with me every waking moment,” he said dramatically.

  “I doubt it,” I said with a little chuckle. “Even if it were true, however do I remedy it?”

  “Well, to start, you could agree to have lunch with me.”

  “What about the rest of the time?” I asked him
.

  He stepped closer, until his face hovered just a hand’s breadth from mine. “Well, we can just work on that later.”

  I took a single step back. I was disturbed, not by the prospect of being so close to him, but by the fact that I enjoyed being so close to him. The desire to kiss him nearly overwhelmed me. I mentally smacked myself. I was with Andrei, and Logan was a jerk. “I suppose it would be okay,” I answered hesitantly. Did I just arrange a lunch date with him? Or maybe more than a lunch date? I wasn’t sure of this new development.

  He grinned at me and gestured for me to precede him. “Ladies first,” he said. “We don’t want to be late for class.”

  I had been staring at the ground, trying to avoid being hypnotized by those emerald eyes. Up close, they were even greener than I had imagined—they were, in fact, the exact same shade as my favorite emerald dress. Unfortunately, I chose that moment to look up. He stood so close it felt like a miniscule layer of energy thrummed in between us. He reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from my eyes. An involuntary wave of heat ran through my body. “Shall we?” he inquired.

  I stood frozen for a moment, and then shook my head to clear my mind. The hall had already emptied out. I squeezed past him, trying my best not to touch him.

  He followed close behind, slipping easily into step with me. I said nothing more until we reached our trigonometry class. I stopped in the doorway, and Logan bumped into me. Mr. Travers, our trig instructor, hadn’t arrived yet. I supposed it was good in a way, because it meant we weren’t late. It also meant I couldn’t ignore Logan or the sudden electricity that seemed to be passing between the two of us.

  He held my chair for me when I went to sit down. He then slid into his assigned seat on my right. Tristan sat to my left.

  “What took you so long to get here?” Tristan whispered at me as Mr. Travers entered the room and began to drone on.

  I shook my head at him and tried to wave him off. When he persisted with the questions, I scrawled on my paper, I’ll explain later! and pointed at it.

  He nodded reluctantly and wrote back: All right, fine! But you’re not getting off the hook!

  I rolled my eyes at him and crossed out our short conversation on my paper until I’d blacked it all out. Through the whole silent discussion, Mr. Travers continued to ramble. He was a nice enough teacher, but a boring lecturer. Still, I felt relieved I wouldn’t have to interact with Logan until after the bell rang.

  After fifty incredibly long minutes, the bell rang. I stood to find that Logan had gathered my books and held them and my messenger bag for me yet again. I tried to reclaim them, but he insisted upon carrying my things for me. Tristan watched in shock. I knew Cady would be hearing about this new development later, and the two of them would both bombard me with questions.

  I tried to ignore Tristan’s expression and turned to Logan. He stood there patiently, still holding my things. Well, he may be cocky, but at least he’s a gentleman, I thought. He seemed to be staying true to his earlier words of following me around and carrying everything for me. He gestured for me to walk ahead of him into the hall.

  ****

  Logan

  As I walked with Rae to our next class, I couldn’t help but watch her. I had experienced several strange dreams involving her over the weekend.

  The dreams hadn’t been clear, but I had the distinct feeling she was in danger somehow. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had been signs suggesting that I needed to look out for her. After running into her so many times in the past couple of days—some she didn’t even know about—I felt sure she needed me. I didn’t know why, but I knew that whatever it was, she definitely wasn’t safe.

  Rae stopped as if she’d noticed me scrutinizing her. “Why are you staring at me?” she demanded.

  I felt a little embarrassed that she had caught me intensely studying her. I couldn’t let her know that though. Instead, I laughed. “Just admiring the view,” I responded, winking at her.

  She didn’t seem to like my answer. I watched as her face began to flame. “I’m just joking, Raena,” I said, cutting her off before she could yell at me. “I wasn’t staring.” I needed to make up an excuse fast. “I…just wanted to make sure I didn’t hit you with your bag.”

  “Um, okay,” she replied, seeming confused. “Hurry up, then. We’re going to be late.”

  I trailed along after Rae, continuing to watch her. I now knew where she lived, but I couldn’t follow her to her house and watch her from my car. I would feel too much like a stalker. Plus, if she or her family saw me, they would probably call the police. If I got arrested for trespassing or something, I wouldn’t be able to protect her.

  There has to be another way. I cared way too much about her to let her get hurt.

  I froze. I cared too much about her? Where did that come from? When did I start caring so much about her?

  I realized I had cared about her from the moment I’d met her. I just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Was it too late now? I had seen her with the strange blond guy at the restaurant the other night. Had I missed my chance to be with her? I wished I had figured out my feelings for her sooner.

  I couldn’t give up. First, I had to make sure she was safe. The rest could, hopefully, come later.

  Rae turned again, looking annoyed. She began to tap her foot. “Either hurry up or give me my bag. I’m not going to be late just because you want to loiter in the hallway.”

  I hadn’t noticed I still stood in the middle of the hallway, and I hurried to catch up to her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Raena

  The morning continued with Logan following me from class to class, pulling out my chairs and carrying my bag. Once the lunch bell rang, we headed out to eat. I had brought my lunch as usual. I hate cafeteria food. Most people didn’t consider it cool to bring their lunch, but I brought mine every day. Cafeteria food just isn’t worth the money, and I didn’t want to subject my stomach to it. Besides, they never had any vegetarian options. To my surprise, Logan had brought his lunch as well. Apparently, he shared my aversion.

  The weather was nice for once, so we headed to a table outside where my friends sat. Even though Cady and Tristan didn’t usually hang out with Tanis or her friends, and vice versa, that all changed at lunch. Oddly enough, we all sat together and were cordial to each other. It seemed as though I brought everyone together.

  When I reached the table, I was surprised to find Logan still following me. I began to wonder if he would just drop off my books for me and head over to eat with his usual crowd. I realized I never saw him with anyone, at lunch or otherwise. It occurred to me that he might be a bit of a loner like me. Even though I had friends, I preferred to be alone the majority of the time, a fact that drove Genevra and all of my friends crazy.

  “Did you forget that you agreed to have lunch with me?” Logan murmured.

  I had, actually. “Of course not,” I whispered back. Well, let’s just see how Cady and everyone react to my being with Logan, I thought.

  When we sat down Tanis lifted her eyebrows, but said nothing. Before Cady and Tristan could bombard me with questions, Bianca waltzed up. I groaned—not her again. You would think her harassing me at the beach the day before would have been enough for her, but now apparently she had to start in on me at school as well.

  I rolled my eyes at Bianca’s approach and tried to ignore her. Turning to Tanis, I opened my mouth to ask her what we were doing in English that day. Bianca cut me off. “Logan, why on Earth are you hanging around these losers? We all know none of them are cool enough to be friends with someone like you,” she said. She threw a glance at me. “Seriously, Raena, what is it with you and the dreamy guys all of a sudden? Are you trying to get a life?” She positioned herself directly across from Logan and leaned forward, giving him a clear view of her ample cleavage. “Why don’t you come eat with me?” she cajoled.

  Surprisingly enough, Logan didn’t seem too interested in Bianca or her offerings. He glanced
at her, said hello, then went back to his lunch and proceeded to ignore her.

  Undeterred, she continued to prattle on. I gazed around the school as I ate, trying my hardest not to look at Logan. Before long, I realized he’d been staring at me. His emerald eyes drew me in and for a moment, the rest of the world seemed to melt away.

  My view of Logan disappeared behind Bianca’s back. She sat down on the table, putting her chest directly in Logan’s line of sight. “So…” she began, “come with me to Pleasure Point beach this weekend. There’s a surf competition. I’ll show you a good time.” She flipped her hair.

  “Sorry, I believe I have other plans,” he replied, standing. He picked up his books, as well as my belongings. He held out his other hand to me. “Now then, Raena, how about we go work on that project? We had better get it finished and handed in before the bell rings.”

  Amazed, I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet.

  “Logan, I can help you with your project! Wait!” Bianca shrieked at our backs, but we were already walking away.

  I realized he still held my hand, but for some reason it didn’t bother me. His hand felt cool and strong. His palm warmed against mine. “Now, what project were you referring to?” I asked.

  “I just wanted to get rid of her,” he admitted.

  We both laughed. “You realize Cady and Tristan are going to be drilling me about this later, right?” I asked.

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to figure out something to tell them.”

  While I tried to figure out what he meant by that, my phone rang. I fumbled in my bag that still hung over Logan’s shoulder. When I found my phone, I checked the caller ID before I answered. Andrei. I froze for a minute. What the heck was I doing, walking around the school with this cute guy, holding hands with him, when I was already seeing Andrei?

  I dropped Logan’s hand as if it were on fire. I cringed and hit the volume button on the side of my phone to stop the ringing. I waited until Andrei’s name disappeared, and my screen returned to normal before slipping it back into its pocket in my bag. I just couldn’t bring myself to answer his call while walking with another guy. I would have to call him back later. I didn’t know why he’d called me during school hours anyway.