True Colors (Masks #1)

by Melissa Pearl

  I quickly counted from the front of the class and saw that we would be paired with Indie and Libby. Sweet! It was the chance I’d been looking for.

  The girls both turned to acknowledge Micah and me. I glanced at his face, peeled back a layer and saw him beaming. He was even more excited than I was.

  I nudged his elbow without meaning to, accidentally letting him in on the fact that I knew his secret. His intense scowl made me regret my decision, but then he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

  “Is it that obvious?” he whispered.

  “Only to me.” I winked.

  Appeased, he gave me a small smile before tuning in to Mrs. Mackerly’s instructions again. My stomach clenched as I glanced at my new assignment partners. It was my one chance and I didn’t want to screw it up. It was going to be hard and part of me was worried by what I might uncover, but I had to try.

  I was chosen for a reason. Maybe the homeless stranger sensed my quiet stubbornness; I’d never be sure. But whatever he thought about my good soul, I oddly found myself not wanting to let him down.

  18

  The girls both looked reluctant to be in a group with Micah and me. I read them quickly and decided that Libby found Micah scary and Indie was petrified I might try to pry again. As we sat down in the library that afternoon we were all nervous. If my stomach hadn’t been such a wreck of nerves, I probably would have found it comical. Micah was nervous of Indie, Indie was nervous of me, Libby was nervous of Micah and I was nervous about screwing everything up. It was slightly ridiculous.

  I cleared my throat, not wanting to be the leader of the pack; that was always Stella’s role, but she wasn’t in my Biology class. I looked to Libby and raised my eyebrows, but she just scratched her upper lip. Indie was eyeing me out of the corner of her eye, no doubt waiting for me to pounce, demanding more info on her boyfriend.

  Pressing my lips together, I decided to keep my mouth shut and looked to Micah instead.

  I silently told him to get things started with a little flick of my head. He was reluctant, but I put on my pleading eyes and he huffed.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll start.” He tapped his pen on his blank notepad. “First we need to decide what we want to look into. I don’t know about you guys, but I want the aim of this investigation to be kind of unique, so we stand out a little.”

  “Me too.” Libby perked up. “We’ve only got three weeks, so I don’t think we have time to do a proper observation study, so we need to choose something where we can gather lots of data quickly.”

  “Good idea.” Micah didn’t smile, but the soft way he agreed with her made Libby relax instantly. She toyed with a smile as she looked at him.

  “Why don’t you tell us what ideas you’ve had so far?” He gazed back at her, his expression open and non-threatening.

  She was pleasantly surprised and her round cheeks bloomed as she launched into a list of ideas she’d come up with since reading the assignment brief. Man, she was one smart cookie.

  Her expression was animated as she described her two favorite ideas in detail, and I thought her chest might burst when we unanimously agreed to go with the second one—classification of native plants along the Pacific Coast Highway, which involved producing a dichotomous key. I’d never really done that before and Libby wanted to get quite complex with it by making several keys for different types of plants. It was huge, but if we could pull it off, it’d be awesome.

  “Cool. Thanks guys.” She accidentally met my eye as she said it. She hadn’t meant to. I could tell by the way her unmasked face balked and she looked away from me. It hurt a little. We got on so well after the party on Friday. I had to remind myself that it probably had nothing to do with me and everything to do with a silent threat from Liam. But I couldn’t let that show.

  We spent the next fifteen minutes reading through the assignment together and allocating specific jobs to each person. Our first task was to make sure we clearly understood the difference between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. I was surprised that I understood more than I realized. Libby explained everything so clearly and I was soon jotting down notes that actually made sense.

  “So we obviously can’t do the entire highway, but even if we go up to Point Mugu State Park, that should give us a pretty decent sample. Indie and Caitlyn, are you happy to collect flower samples? And Micah, are you cool to focus on trees with me?”

  We all nodded and Libby grinned back, catching the edge of her lip with her teeth.

  We had worked really well together. Everyone was happy to be led by Libby. As the session came to an end we were all calm and smiling...if anything, we were actually enthusiastic. It was a good feeling and I wanted to cling to it.

  As the bell rang, I made a decision.

  “Hey Indie, can I talk to you for a sec?” I waited until Micah and Libby were away from the table before asking. Indie’s face paled as she reluctantly nodded.

  “I just wanted to apologize again for prying the other night. I really didn’t mean to offend you or Liam.”

  Her tense shoulders began to sink, her posture loosening a little.

  “I don’t want to lose your friendship by being a Nosy Nelly.”

  She grinned at the term I’d coined from my mother.

  “I won’t ask any more questions, so you don’t have to be nervous about doing this assignment with me or anything. Let’s just have fun with it.”

  Her eyes warmed, in spite of her clammy skin. “I’d like that.”

  “Cool.” We walked out of the library together and I purposely kept the conversation light, talking about re-run episodes of “Pretty Little Liars,” a show I knew she loved.

  I kept that up for the rest of the week, trying to act as though I didn’t care one bit about Indie and Libby’s fears. It was working too. The more time we spent together, the more relaxed everyone became. We even skipped lunch on Thursday to hang out and study the samples we had all collected. Libby was stressing about fitting all her schoolwork in and Indie was the first to support her, saying we could easily skip lunch if it helped her out.

  I couldn’t figure out why Libby was so snowed under. School seemed a breeze for her. Working with her on this assignment showed me just how smart and capable she was. Of course working hard added to natural smarts, but I thought she was pushing it a little.

  “I can’t believe how hard you work. You’re amazing. Your GPA must be so freaking high.” I was expecting her to grin at my compliment or at least blush, but she did neither.

  A pained expression wafted over her face as she mumbled, “I just want to do well.”

  My comment had closed her off completely. It didn’t take much to realize I’d hit a sore spot. To say it baffled me was an understatement. I was more confused than ever. I glanced to Indie, but she was looking just as pale and forlorn as Libby.

  I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up the charade that I didn’t care what was troubling them. But I didn’t have the guts to come out and say it. Not after we’d made such good ground during the week. I wanted them to trust me, to relax around me.

  “Well,” I licked my lips. “Let’s help you get another A+ then.” I winked, pretending that I hadn’t spotted her morose mood change.

  Micah arrived a second later and saved the day. Everything seemed better with him around. It hadn’t taken Libby long to figure out that he was a nice guy. Indie already knew it, but it was nice to see her come out of her shell. She was so much more open when Liam wasn’t around, laughing at Micah’s jokes and joining in with our friendly banter. I loved that side of her and I wanted to see it bloom, something it couldn’t do under Liam’s reign.

  Indie’s boyfriend sauntered into the library and stopped at our table. His friendly smirk was in place, he looked calm and in control, but underneath he was frothing. He despised Micah...with a vehemence that nearly choked me.

  I coughed and spluttered as Micah pounded me on the back. “You okay?”

  Nodding, I covered
my mouth to try and hide my horror.

  I didn’t like reading Liam. He was hell scary.

  Clearing the last tickle away, I sat back with a smile, hoping nobody could tell how forced it was. Liam was chuckling at me, but I didn’t see that. I was too busy reading the insidious glint in his eye as he stroked Indie’s hair. His very touch brought her into line. She was internally squirming, wanting to pull away from it, but knowing she couldn’t.

  “So, how’s it going guys?” His voice was friendly and charming, but I knew better. His congenial blue gaze landed on Libby and she quaked beneath it. Her lips quivered as she smiled back and told him what we were up to. A few weeks ago she would have been bubbling with enthusiasm. Having Liam Donovan acknowledge her would have made her day, but not anymore. In fact she was doing a super crap job of hiding it. Micah could even tell. I noticed his eyebrows dip slightly.

  “Well, thanks for helping my girl, but I’ve got to steal her away now.”

  I used to swoon when he said stuff like that. Now I just wanted to be sick.

  Indie collected her stuff and Liam took her bag, smiling tenderly at her as he ran his hand down her back. At least that was what everyone else saw. All I witnessed was a stern look and eyes that told Indie she was in for a punishing.

  I jerked out of my seat, grabbing my stuff. “Sorry guys, I gotta split. I didn’t realize the time.”

  Micah looked skeptical as he nodded. It was a relief to hear him ask Libby if she wanted to stick around for another ten and at least finish off their discussion. She said yes and I left them to it, hoping I’d spot which direction Liam took Indie.

  I was scared for her.

  It might have been an overreaction, but I saw it. It was written all over his face.

  She was in trouble.

  Panic sizzled through me as I walked outside and headed down the open hallway. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Would I seriously have the guts to help her if he tried to do something? Who did I think I was?

  But I couldn’t just ignore this. I spotted a flash of dark red hair on the grass below and raced for the stairs. When I reached the grassy quad I couldn’t see them and my spirits deflated as I once again cursed my ability to see all this stuff.

  Ignorance was bliss. I knew that for a fact.

  I kicked a stone and headed to my next class not expecting to see Indie again until the morning. But on my way, my ears snaffled a voice that would have been familiar had it not been so terse.

  I frowned and sneaked towards it.

  “I told you to keep away from her!”

  “It wasn’t my choice. We were put in a group together. Mrs Mac—“

  “Mrs. Mackerly’s an idiot. She can be talked into doing anything. You should have asked for a different group.”

  I poked my head around the edge of the building and spotted Liam. He was standing over a cowering Indie, his hands on his hips as he reprimanded her like a little kid.

  “You should know better, Indie. I’m relying on you.”

  “I’m not doing anything to let you down.” Her voice was submissive and small, her head bowed as she spoke to him. “This study group could be a really good thing. I can keep an eye on her.”

  Were they talking about me?

  “I just know how useless you are at keeping your mouth shut. I’m trying to run a business here, Indie. I can’t have people poking into my past.”

  She flinched and touched her stomach. She looked ready to cry and I wasn’t even reading her.

  “She’s apologized for prying. She said she didn’t mean to and she hasn’t been asking any more questions. I don’t think she’s a threat.”

  “She’s something.” Liam’s dark mutter made my skin crawl. “We need to be wary of her. I don’t like the way she looks at me.”

  Wow, so someone finally noticed. They were definitely referring to me.

  Indie clutched her turquoise cotton dress, squeezing the fabric in her hand.

  Liam noticed and gently pried her fingers loose. “You know I don’t like it when you do that. It makes you look nervous.”

  “Sorry,” she whispered. I could see she hated the feel of his hand as it skimmed up her arm and cupped her face. It looked gentle, but there was a pressure to his grip as he made her look at him.

  “I don’t want to you get punished like you did last weekend. Don’t give Caitlyn anything else, okay?”

  “I won’t.” Her lips quivered as they rose into a smile.

  He kissed her forehead and smiled at her. “That’s my girl.”

  With a light pat on the butt, he sent her on her way. Thankfully she headed in the opposite direction from me, so I could stay and keep watching Liam.

  I felt sick. He punished her?

  No wonder she was so scared of him. Ideas of the type of punishment he inflicted coursed through my brain, making me want to hurl. I never would have believed it before, but I’d seen the soft blue tone of Liam’s eyes become dark with malice. Oh yeah, he was no doubt capable of inflicting a lot of pain.

  Liam’s phone jingled. He yanked it from his back pocket and his face fell. His mask was already off, so I saw his fear easily. Who could he possibly be afraid of?

  He swallowed and answered after one more ring. “Yeah... No it’s not going to be a problem.” Liam rolled his eyes. “Yes, of course I’ve spoken to her... She’s not! And you don’t need to scare her like you did on Saturday. I’d already dealt with the problem.” His cheeks burned with color as he listened to the other caller. “My methods are just fine and they work.” He clenched his jaw. “I am not a sicko. I love her and having sex is not a crime.” A sudden shame lashed his features before his chin stuck out. “At least I never punch her. I know you made sure her bruises couldn’t show, but she was pretty stiff the next day. Someone might have noticed.” He paused to listen. His skin paled, his blue eyes filling with fear. “Don’t you dare. Indie’s mine and you will not touch her again.” He wanted to say those words more forcefully, but couldn’t. Whoever he was talking to had him petrified. “Yeah, yeah, the business is fine. I’ve done damage control and no one’s going to squeak.” He sighed. “She seems to have backed off. I don’t think she’ll be a problem... Dude, you don’t have to do that.” His usually confident gaze wavered. He kicked the concrete wall behind him, running a hand through his straw colored hair. “All right fine, but just control yourself this time. I don’t want anymore blood on your hands.”

  He hung up, shoved the phone back in his pocket and swore. His limbs were shaking as he ran his hands through his hair again and cursed a few more times. But it wasn’t anger I was watching. Much like his girlfriend, he was scared and for the first time since seeing him properly, I almost pitied him.

  I would have stayed to see more, but he turned in my direction and I had to split before he caught me. My limbs were quivering as I raced into the human traffic that was scurrying off to class after the post lunch bell.

  What I had I just heard? What did Liam do to Indie?

  I felt sick for her, weak for her. I wanted to cry and scream and hit Liam until his face bled, but that would only land me in trouble.

  I shuddered.

  Liam was a sicko, but whoever was controlling him was obviously worse.

  For the remainder of the day my mind replayed the two conversations. As the impact of their sinister nature began to ease, one thought stood out amongst the filth—business. Liam was running some kind of business and I had a feeling Libby, and possibly everyone else who was scared of the guy, were involved.

  19

  “And be sure to lock the door each night before you go to bed. Check the windows as well.”

  “Mom, I’m not an imbecile.” I rolled my eyes in the back seat. Thankfully we were nearly at the airport so I wouldn’t need to listen to this for too much longer.

  “She knows that, dear. We just want you to be safe.”

  Reaching forward, I squeezed Dad’s shoulder. “I will be. I’m not a little girl anymore. I
’m eighteen and capable of looking after myself. Besides, Layla and Seth are both around if I need them.” I didn’t want to need them at all, but the reminder would be a comfort to my fretting parents.

  To be fair, it was the first time they’d left me alone for this long. They’d done a few weekends here and there, and I’d been away from them, but I could tell Mom felt guilty for leaving me. Not because she didn’t want to go to Hawaii, but because she was torn. She felt a responsibility to me, and as much as it hurt, I knew that she sometimes lamented the fact that she was way too old to have a child still at home. They had already moved past the baby stage when I came along. They loved me, but it still must have been a hard pill to swallow. I saw through her watery smile as she turned in the seat to glimpse me.

  “You guys are doing the right thing. You only see Holly once a year and I know she’s desperate for you to meet her new boyfriend. She needs you more than I do right now. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry.”

  They were silent after that, both comforted by my encouragement. Dad parked the car and unloaded the bags, nervously handing me the keys.

  “Drive it straight home. You use your Mini while we’re away. I’m only letting you drive it this one time because of your mother’s inability to pack sensibly.”

  “Craig.” My mother’s warning tone made Dad grin. He winked at me as he walked to the trunk and helped unload the two big suitcases that never would have squished into my little car.

  “Do you guys want me to stick around until you’ve checked in?” I slammed the trunk shut.

  “No, that’s okay, sweetie. We don’t want you to be lumped with a big parking fee. You just get going.” Dad’s eyes glistened. I could see he was proud of me. His little girl was all grown up. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, trying not to let my glee at their departure show too much.

  “Love you, Dad.”

  He squeezed me tight. “Love you too, Peanut.”

  I stepped into Mom’s embrace and whispered yet again, “I’ll be fine. Please trust me.”