True Colors (Masks #1)

by Melissa Pearl

  “Okay, so do you think you can put those files on a memory stick and bring it to school? We could maybe...” I felt guilty saying it and shot Libby a nervous glance. “Take it to Dean Van der Belt?”

  “Man, that’s terrifying.” Libby bit her lip, her skin almost white. “But it’s less terrifying than Liam.” She was surprised by her words, but then nodded. Yep, they were true and it made me realize just how powerful the guy was.

  Indie looked ready to pass out, but she did nod...sort of.

  “Indie.” Micah’s voice was deep, yet soft. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “If he catches you in the house, he’ll...I don’t want him to hurt you.”

  “And I don’t want him to hurt you.” His eyes blazed. “So I’m coming.”

  Her smile was soft and fleeting, but I caught the relief in it.

  “We don’t want either of you getting caught. What’s Liam schedule for the rest of the day?”

  Indie pursed her lips. “Liam keeps tabs on me, waits for me after every class. I can’t skip and I won’t be able to get away.”

  “What about staging another study session?” I asked.

  “He already hates that I’m meeting with you guys and he’s only letting me do it so I can keep an eye on you.” She winced.

  I waved my hand, hoping to put her at ease. “Don’t worry about it. It’s actually worked in our favor. Do you think you can swing the lie that this morning was just a normal study session?”

  A sad smile spread over her lips. “I spend most of my life lying to those around me, so I’m well-practiced.”

  My brow wrinkled as I shot her a sympathetic look. “It still doesn’t get you back to your house alone though.” I nibbled my lip.

  “I’m free last period so I can leave any time after two,” Micah said. “We just need to think of a way to get Indie out.”

  “Do you think you could fake being sick after lunch?”

  Indie shook her head. “He’d make me wait at the nurse’s office until after school and then insist on driving me home.”

  “Well, what if Micah came into the nurse after Liam had dropped you, snuck you out and then took you home? Would fifty minutes be long enough to download the files and get back again?”

  “It’d be tight, and how would we get past the nurse?”

  I grimaced, hating the fact that I had no idea. I dropped my head into my hands, not wanting to let my frustrations show.

  “You know what, as soon as Liam finds out what I’ve done, I’m dead anyway. What’s skipping class?” Indie’s voice held a note of strength to it. She squeezed Micah’s hand. “Libby, you’ve got double Physics with Liam after lunch, right?”

  She nodded, sitting forward in her seat.

  “If you could somehow distract him at the end of class then that’ll give me enough time to sneak away and meet Micah in the student parking lot. As long as I’m waiting for Liam outside Art History when that final bell goes, I’ll be okay.”

  “Where will you hide the memory stick?” Libby asked.

  “I’ll take it.” Micah nodded. “I can keep it with me until we decide to go to the dean.”

  “We’ll need to do it quickly. If Liam figures anything out, it puts Indie in danger,” I said.

  “We should see him this afternoon then.” Micah eyes were alight with purpose.

  “I’ll go to the office and make an appointment.” Libby bit her lip. “He’s friends with my dad. I’m sure he’ll make time for me.”

  “Okay good. All we need now is a memory stick.”

  Without a word, Libby scrambled into her bag and pulled out a little black stick. She passed it to Indie who took it with quivering fingers before clutching it in her hand. I exhaled and looked around the table. We were all nervous, like hell scary nervous, but we had a plan and that bit felt good.

  I put my hand in the middle of the table. Cheesy, I know, but I had the compelling urge to suddenly be connected to each of them. Micah placed his hand on mine, followed by Libby and finally, Indie.

  “I know this is terrifying and we’re all taking a massive risk, but it’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna end this.” I made sure I was looking at Indie when I said it. She gave me a grateful smile. It was the first genuine one she’d ever given me and it was beautiful.

  26

  I was a jittery mess for the rest of the day. I actually started reading people during lunch just so I could distract myself and keep my gaze off Indie and Libby who were sitting with Liam for lunch. It didn’t really work. My eyes kept reverting back to a very nervous Indie. Thankfully she was hiding it like a pro. Micah never came into the cafeteria, which also helped. I was pretty sure one look at him would have her mask slipping away.

  My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my bag, nearly dropping it as I unlocked the screen.

  You being safe?

  Eric.

  I grinned.

  Yeah, I’m safe.

  I didn’t want to give him full details in a text. But he’d made me promise to keep him informed. My thumbs wavered over the screen wondering if I should send a second text with more, but then his reply came.

  That’s my girl. Call me when you get home from school. Want to hear your voice.

  My anxiety ebbed. I could tell him then.

  Okay. Talk to you later, Hercules.

  You bet, girl next door—xx

  Kisses. Cute! He left me kisses in a text. Yep, my super-crush was definitely morphing into full-blown love.

  I felt calmer after Eric’s text. It was nice to know he was thinking of me. I was actually looking forward to giving him all the details. I just hoped they were good ones.

  I looked across the table and met Indie’s eyes. Her mask slipped and I was expecting to see a sign that she’d changed her mind, but her gaze was determined. She was desperate to get on with it.

  The bell was a blessed relief. I scurried off to U.S. History, now my least favorite subject thanks to Stella’s hate vibes. I kept my head down and focused, then bobbed my knee through free period in the library. After that, my heart rate was uncontrollable. As I walked to Algebra I was fully aware that Libby was currently trying to distract Liam while Indie snuck to the parking lot. I thought my brain might actually short circuit as I fluffed my way through quadratic equations.

  When the final bell rang, I lurched from my seat, ignoring the surprised titters around me, and basically ran to Indie’s Art History class. I had to see her meeting up with Liam. I had to catch her eye and know the plan had worked. Shooting past the blue lockers, I tore down the stairs, trying not to bump into people, and raced around the corner to where her class was located. People were milling around outside, but none of them were Indie...or Liam.

  My heart jumped into my throat as I looked at my watch. Crap. Crap. Crap!

  Spinning around, I glanced up the stairs, across the grassy quad and then over my shoulder to the next block of buildings. No Liam. I didn’t see him coming from any building. In fact to make matters worse, the only thing I did spot coming was a flustered Libby.

  She grabbed my wrist as soon as she got to me and yanked me to a private corner.

  “What? What is it?”

  It took her a moment to catch her breath. “I tried to stall Liam after Physics.” She frowned, looking guilty.

  “It didn’t work?”

  “Sort of. I mean I could tell he wanted to get away and then he gave me that look—the dark one that scares the living crap out of me. I backed away. I couldn’t... I’m sorry, Caitlyn.”

  “No, it’s fine.” I rubbed her arm. “You did great.”

  “I don’t think I did.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, I followed Liam to see where he was going and...well, he got to Indie’s class and she wasn’t there, so he ran to Art History to check on her. He actually went into the class.”

  “Shit,” I whispered. “Did you see him come out again?”

  “No, I had to ge
t to my own class. I nearly got a detention for being late, but Ms. Caldwell was in a good mood today.” She blinked at tears and I squeezed her arm.

  “Do you think he figured it out?”

  “How? Unless Indie let something slip.”

  “I don’t think she would have. She’s not stupid.”

  “So what do we do?” Libby bit the corner of her mouth, her dark eyebrows dipping.

  “I don’t... I don’t know.” I looked around us, wondering if we should walk to the parking lot and scan it for Micah’s car. Maybe we were overreacting. Maybe Liam had pulled Indie away before I got there. Maybe...

  “We have to find out.” Libby cleared her throat; striving for courage we were both far from feeling. “We have to go to Indie’s place and make sure everything’s okay.”

  I swallowed. Libby was right. But the scary thing was I knew, like in my gut knew, that if we did find Indie at her place, it wasn’t going to be pretty. Libby turned for the parking lot, clutching her bag strap as she tore across the grass on her short legs. I hesitated. Eric would be so pissed if I did this. I’d promised him I’d be safe.

  “You coming?” Libby called, her face anxious.

  Damn it! I had to go. It was my freaking idea! I had to make sure Indie was okay. Whipping out my phone, I found Eric’s number and pressed it before I lost my nerve. I rustled for my keys as I caught up with Libby, the phone pressed to my ear.

  It went to voicemail. A huge part of me was relieved. “Hey, um...” I licked my lip. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m heading to Indie’s house.” Libby gave me a confused frown when I reached her. I ignored it. “She was going there with Micah to get some evidence and she’s not back. Libby and I are worried about her so we’re going to check it out. I just wanted to let you know what I was doing. I promise I’ll be safe, okay?” I sounded so nervous. He was going to see right through my message. “Okay, see ya.” I hung up with a grimace, suddenly wishing I hadn’t felt compelled to call him. I was worried about his anger and now I’d probably just worried him unnecessarily.

  “Who’d you leave a message with?” Libby walked to the passenger side of my Mini, looking suspicious.

  I unlocked the car and got in with a sigh. “My boyfriend.”

  I didn’t want to look at her while I started the car; I hadn’t told anyone about Eric and I kind of wanted to keep it that way. Besides I wasn’t even sure if he was my boyfriend. Just because Piper said it didn’t make it true. We hadn’t had that conversation yet.

  “I don’t suppose you have a phone charger that can plug into a car do you?”

  She shook her head and I frowned. Glancing at the five percent warning, I shoved the phone in my back pocket and decided to keep it on anyway, in case Eric called back. I was annoyed that I hadn’t remembered to charge it last night. Why hadn’t I?

  My cheeks flared as I reversed out of my spot, suddenly remembering why. With Eric in my bed, my brain cells were acting like Play-doh.

  “You have a boyfriend? Who?” Libby buckled up as I accelerated out of the parking lot.

  “It’s...he’s a college guy...my next-door neighbor.”

  I shrugged, trying to not make a big deal of it. I shouldn’t have called him my boyfriend. Libby’s lips quirked with a grin and she shook her head. “Are you talking about the hot surfer guy that Stella has wanted to get her talons into for like forever?”

  Gripping the wheel, I kept my eyes on the road as I pursed my lips.

  Libby giggled. “Well, you deserve him more than she does.” She shrugged. “I didn’t think he was that friendly though.”

  I grinned. “He is when you get to know him.” I couldn’t help wiggling my eyebrows and we both burst into near hysterical laugher. It was bizarrely inappropriate considering where we were headed but also a welcome relief.

  Our laughter died a short time later, replaced with an ominous silence.

  Libby finally broke it when she cleared her throat. “I made an appointment with Mr. Van der Belt.” She adjusted the watch on her wrist. “I’m due in his office at four this afternoon.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “Do you want me to come?”

  “Um...I don’t... Maybe?”

  I threw a glance at her. “I’ll be there if you need me, Libby. Just say the word.”

  “Thanks, Caitlyn.” Her closed mouth smile was sweet. “I’m sorry for suddenly going cold on you. Liam was pretty clear about me not being your friend.”

  “I get it.” I forced a smile, hoping she realized that I did. We had bigger things to worry about, and I think it hit Libby the second we turned into Indie’s street. Her gulp was audible.

  The houses along Malibu Road were huge, all situated behind looming gates. We drove past Indie’s house. The gates were open and when Libby craned her neck, she thought she spotted Micah’s car.

  “Did you see Liam’s?”

  “No.”

  I turned at the end of the street and kept cruising past Indie’s house.

  “What are you doing? Aren’t we going to check on them?”

  “Yeah.” I bit my bottom lip. “But I think we should park down the street...just in case Liam does arrive or something. Look, I don’t know, I just think it’d be better if my car wasn’t on the road as a warning sign or something. I think most people know my Mini.”

  “You’re right. Good idea.” Libby’s head bobbed.

  I drove one block down the road and parked at the beach. It was a really quiet beach that hardly anyone came to. I looked out across the rippling water and smooth sand. They were in complete contrast to my roaring emotions. I wanted them to make me calmer and fill me with a sense of peace, something nature normally did, but this time I was turning away from it. Walking from a serene sanctuary into a potential hell pit. Okay, slightly dramatic, but I had no idea what would be waiting for us at the Swanson house and no part of my brain could convince me it’d be good.

  It took us five minutes to walk back up the hill to Indie’s place. We didn’t talk the entire way, but I read Libby a couple of times. She was petrified, her skin so pale it was almost gray. She clenched and unclenched her fingers as she puffed her way up the driveway and then I thought she’d actually stopped breathing for a second when we reached Micah’s car. We ducked behind it, peeking into the windows. It was unlocked, but the keys weren’t in the ignition. It looked as though they’d parked with the intention of only being a minute. That had been the intention, so why the hell was his car still there?

  Libby nudged me and pointed to the front door then raised her hand in question.

  I pinched my nose as I thought, unsure what to do. Libby’s idea of walking through the front door seemed ridiculous. I couldn’t shake the foreboding in my stomach.

  “Let’s try around the back first,” I whispered.

  Libby nodded and we scurried around the side of the three-car garage, looking for an entrance. We found a gate and lucky for us, it was unlocked. We snuck through and padded our way down the path until we reached the pool house. Peeking our heads out, we quickly scanned the pool area and then peered through the glass doors leading into the main living rooms.

  We ducked back into hiding and leaned our heads against the wall.

  “This is ridiculous. Who do we think we are, spies or something?” Libby tittered with nervous giggles. I couldn’t help a small grin.

  “We need to get into the house.”

  “There’s a laundry room around the corner.” Libby pointed. “Carter took me past it last time we were here. It’s a back way to the upstairs bedrooms.”

  “I guess that’s a good place to start.”

  I followed Libby’s lead and soon found myself outside the laundry room door. To our surprise it was also unlocked. Had these people not heard of security before?

  We crept in and closed the door softly, just as my cell phone started singing “Kiss You.” I scrambled for it, turning it off before I could even check who was calling me. I turned to Libby with an apologetic w
ince as we listened for noises in the house. After a minute of silence, we found the courage to sneak out of the laundry and work our way upstairs. I didn’t know what compelled us to start with the upstairs—most likely it was the fact that the stairs were right there—but I was glad we did. Because behind the first door we found Micah...bound and bleeding.

  27

  “Micah,” Libby choked out as she tripped into the room. His head shot up, his eyes wide and vehement. Blood had dripped from the laceration on his forehead, marking his face with dark, red smears. It had dried and caked into his short black hair. If his limbs hadn’t been secured to the arms and legs of an office chair with coarse rope, he could have been mistaken for a madman killer.

  Libby went to work on freeing his feet, while I gently pulled his gag free. “Micah, what happened?” I whispered.

  With a grimace he licked his lips, his mouth sore from the gag. “Have you got Indie?”

  “No, where is she?” I wrestled with the ropes around his wrists, finally pulling one free. He shook the rope off and tenderly checked out his wounded head. He looked groggy and slow. Surely that blow to the head must have knocked him out. I wondered how bad his concussion was.

  “We need to get to her.” His dark eyes flamed. I focused on undoing the tight knot binding his other wrist.

  “Tell us what happened.” Libby pulled the ropes free of his feet and sat back.

  “We were in the office, about to download the files.” Micah pointed at the big mahogany desk on the other side of the room. A laptop was open. The screen danced with rainbow swirls, indicating the computer had been open a while. “Where’s the memory stick?”

  Micah winced. “Indie must have it. She was just finding the files when I blacked out.” Micah touched the back of his head. I peered over his shoulder to see a second wound. “I didn’t even hear Liam come into the room. When I came to, I was tied to this chair. Indie was screaming at him to let me go. Liam was rabid. Going ballistic. Screaming at Indie that she was a cheating whore. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her toward the door.” Micah’s face bunched as he struggled with the words. “I tried to wrestle free and get to her, but then Liam smacked me over the head again.” He closed his eyes, looking sick as he fingered the cut on his forehead. “Do you think she’s okay?”