Nicholas looked smugly back. “Nice try.”
I faked a laugh while lounging back in my seat. The nagging dread of getting caught interrupted me every time I started to have fun. And now that we were nearing home, the feeling seemed to heighten, causing my heart to twitter and my foot to shake. I imagined Dad at home, in the doorway with his arms folded, anger shooting from his eyes like fire.
“Hey, can I call Sam to let her know we are on our way? I want to make sure everything’s okay.”
Nicholas handed me his silver Motorola Ming with a clear cover. I opened the phone with an oooh.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he said teasingly. “You’re getting the plain watch model—no camera.”
“Funny.”
I scrunched up my nose at him, then punched in her number and waited.
“Hello?”
“Sam, its Julia—”
“Crap, Julia. Your phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning. Where are you?”
“What? Who’s calling me?”
“Some unlisted number, and Luke a couple times. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say,” Sam gushed out in a total panic. “You know I’m lousy about lying and stuff. Geez, Jules. When will you be back?”
“In about . . .” I looked to Nicholas and he mouthed two hours. “Two hours.”
“Two hours? What the heck am I supposed to do for two hours?”
“I don’t know . . . stall . . . or something. I’ll get there as quickly as I can.”
“Yah, you better. Crap, there it goes again.”
I moaned, listening to my symphonic ring. Getting caught could ruin our perfect weekend, our budding relationship, my life. The phone beeped with a message.
“Wait, I want to listen to what he said.”
“Okay . . . hold on.” Sam jostled her phone and suddenly the sound seemed to echo. “Can you hear me?”
“Yeah.”
“I put you on speaker. Okay, let me play the messages.”
My heart swam in fear of why Luke would be calling when the annoying message lady started speaking. “You have three new messages. First message . . .” Luke’s voice rang clearly through the speaker, filled with concern. “Julia, call me as soon as you get this.”
I shivered. Luke never called. He usually just sent a text.
“Next message . . .” You didn’t need to be an emotion reader to sense the panic in Luke’s voice this time. “Dang it. Where are you? Call me.”
“Next message . . .” I closed my eyes. “If you don’t call me back,” Luke all but yelled. “I’m coming over to Sam’s to get you.”
Sam gasped. “What do I say? What if he’s coming over right now?” Her breathy voice fit the image I had of her dancing around her room, flipping her hands in hysteria.
“Calm down, Sam. I’ll call him right now. Don’t worry.”
“But your return number. He’ll know you’re not using your phone.”
I looked towards Nicholas and he nodded with radiating confidence. He obviously listened in with his super hearing and knew what to do.
“I’ll figure it out and call you back.”
I flipped the phone shut, silencing Sam’s next whimpered concern. Nicholas held out his hand for the phone.
“What’s your brother’s number,” he said.
I repeated the digits from memory and Nicholas added a few of his own.
“Are you ready?” Nicholas’ finger hovered over the send. “Don’t worry, I’ve masked the number. Tell him you were out with Sam and left your phone at her house by mistake.”
“Won’t your number show up?”
“It’ll show your number, not mine.”
“Really? Okay.” I gulped down my own fear, imagining myself crawling under Nicholas’ confidence instead. Infused by his spirit, I nodded my head.
My heart didn’t even pick up in tempo once the ringing started.
“Hello?”
“Luke, it’s—”
“Julia! What the heck? Where have you been?”
“At the movies and forgot to bring my phone. What’s going on?”
“Dad,” Luke said in a breathless stream. “He’s . . . okay now, but he was rushed to the hospital with chest pains. They thought it was a heart attack, but now they aren’t so sure.”
At the news, my own chest began to hurt—no amount of calm feelings radiating off of Nicholas could mask this panic. “Is he okay? Where is he?”
“He’s fine. He’s in a hospital in L.A.”
“L.A.?” My eyes grew big. “But he’s supposed to be in Tulsa.”
“He came home early. He wasn’t feeling good. It happened when he was trying to get to his connecting flight. They took him to the closest hospital.”
“Oh, wow.” I felt the tension run along my spine. Part of me wanted to insist Nicholas turn around. “So, now what?”
“He’s coming home tomorrow. I’m picking him up from the airport.” Luke sounded agitated, fearful. “But man! I need to be able to call you in an emergency. You never know, you know? This . . . this was completely ridiculous trying to get a hold of you.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I said quickly.
And I was.
“Come home, okay?”
I didn’t need to be near him to sense how much he was hurting, the pain radiated from his voice and nearly knocked me breathless. Luke didn’t want to deal with this alone—our worst fear could have come true. We’d survived Mom’s disappearance, but to lose Dad too? That would be unimaginable.
“Yeah. I’ll be home in a bit.”
When I clamped the phone shut, Nicholas’ sudden acceleration slammed me back into my seat, taking the air out of my lungs. I responded with a gasp. He reached over and held onto my free hand.
“Just needed an excuse,” he said while turning on his radar detector, completely at ease. “Hold on.”
I grabbed the handle above the door and did just that. I didn’t mind him speeding, but the weaving in and out of traffic, and occasionally driving on the shoulder, frightened me. In the rear view mirror, the flume of dust trailed behind, and I shuddered as the alarm of nearby drivers ping-ponged around our vehicle. Internally, I dove under Nicholas’ shield of focus to get relief. At least staying there and watching the road would keep me from getting carsick.
“It’ll be okay,” he said reassuringly, peeking sideways out of his sunglasses. “Your Dad’s going to be okay.”
“Okay . . . yeah. But we may not be,” I said nervously with a point of my finger. “Eyes on the road!”
He nodded and smiled his sweet adorable grin. My knees weakened.
In forty-five minutes, we were pulling up to the front of Sam’s house. I jumped out and stumbled forward to the door, feeling like I should have been moving faster.
“You’re here? What happened? You didn’t call,” Sam said, relieved to see me at the door. “I couldn’t call you back.” She held out my dreaded phone like it was cursed.
“Sorry, I meant to.” I took the phone. “If Luke asks, we were seeing Knight Angels, okay?”
“Huh?” Sam asked, partly annoyed.
“I told him we were at the movies.”
Sam looked deeply into my eyes. “I don’t like these kinds of secrets, Julia.”
“I know and I’m really sorry. It’ll be the last time. I’ve learned my lesson.”
She let out a huff. “What was the big deal anyway?”
I looked away to avoid her flustered stare. “My dad had a heart attack scare.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “Oh my gosh. Is he okay?”
“I’m not sure, but I have to go. I told Luke I’d come right home.”
“Oh, of course.” Sam’s emotions tumbled around her like clothes in a dryer: relief, frustration, worry, aggravation.
We exchanged a quick hug. “Thanks,” I said, feeling badly for causing her so much drama. With a wave of my hand, I ran down the walk towards Nicholas’ car. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Yo
u better call me later . . .” Sam yelled behind me.
I smiled and shut the door.
“I’m a horrible friend,” I confessed to Nicholas. “Totally horrible.”
Chapter Nine
In the car, I checked my texts, worried about any other drama that might have happened while the phone was in Sam’s care. Dena sent me one Friday—just to say hi. Katie sent one too; hers particularly baffled me though. She asked if we could get together after school on Monday “to talk.” We rarely spent time out of school just the two of us, so I wondered what was so important. Even still, the timing worked for me. I wanted a private opportunity to talk some sense into her and make sure her Tyler obsession didn’t involve anything serious.
Before I could mention it though, Nicholas slammed on the breaks, suddenly bursting at the seams with rage. He jumped out of the door, leaving me and the idling car on the side of the street. Stunned, I yelped for him as he disappeared.
When he didn’t return, I sat up on my heels and frantically looked out of the windows, unsure what to do. He’d never done anything this drastic before. “Nicholas?” I called out the open door.
Within seconds though, he had some guy pressed onto the hood of his car and yelled, “What do you think you’re doing, punk?”
The kid—with disheveled hair and an oversized dark raincoat—looked like he was just about to pee his pants in public while he whimpered that he didn’t know. Nicholas, unsatisfied, leaned over and whispered something close to his ear. The kid cried out “No,” but stubbornly continued to lie in his answers, even while he feared for his life.
With rapt attention, I watched the altercation in amazement, feeling sorry for the kid, even if he was a criminal. Who was he? He couldn’t have been a vampire since he was unaffected by sunlight. What did he do to make Nicholas so angry?
Nicholas pulled him up by his collar, ripped off his jacket, and shoved him in the direction of the alley. For a brief second I saw Nicholas’ face contort into something wild, animalistic even. His incisor teeth lengthened as he snarled. I gasped. The kid did too and tore out of sight.
“I better not catch you again,” Nicholas yelled after him. “I’ll be watching.”
He pawed through the coat and swore. He’d found some vials of drugs or something. I blinked and, within that tenth of a second, Nicholas returned to the car and took off down the street towards my house, fuming, but quiet.
“What was that all about?” I asked in astonishment, looking behind us to see if anyone saw what just happened.
“I’ve seen him before . . . caught him before, but today—” he said through gritted teeth. “Today, I smelled he was selling something different.”
“What?”
“Immortality in syringes.”
“He’s what? As in—” I sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to breach the subject. “How’s that possible?”
“All you need is a little venom in your veins and you’ll join the undead.” Nicholas chuckled darkly and shook his head. “Incredible.”
“How can he?”
“He must have a donor who needs money.”
“A vampire?”
“Yeah, but that’s not all. When we came back into town, I felt the energy shift.” The evil side of Nicholas, ever so slightly, shuddered in delight. “Look over there.” He slowed long enough for me to see two guys in a fist fight.
“The darkness the evil brings tempts the hearts of men. It’s so much bigger than us—than just protecting your life. It’s a battle of souls. It always has been.” He spoke more like he was talking out loud than to me. Like he was reciting something he’d heard a million times.
“I’m confused,” I paused. “And you’re kind of freaking me out.”
Nicholas interlaced his hand with mine and squeezed, coming back into focus. “Sorry. During that whole fiasco with Bettina’s coven, I didn’t realize how dark the presence had been when it lingered over the city. Their absence has shown me a drastic difference now that they are back again.”
“They’re back?” I whispered. My response was partly an act, but mostly I was relieved he knew and could finally be on guard.
“Yes, but this time the evil is stronger. It’s been calling to me, wanting me to join its side ever since we hit the edge of town.”
My eyes widened, feeling his inner turmoil. I was speechless, terribly aware he could cross over if he had a moment of weakness.
“I’m glad I stocked up on my supplies,” he said to cover his distress.
“Well, I’m not leaving you. I can’t afford to lose you . . . lose you to the dark side.”
Nicholas chuckled. “Sounds like Star Wars.”
“I’m serious. I sense your struggle, remember?”
“And how would you stop me if I chose to?” Nicholas clenched his jaw. “Why don’t you trust me?”
“I do, but . . .”
“But nothing. This happens every time. I’ve got it under control.”
I scowled. “You said it was stronger this time.”
“And so am I. I have a better incentive to stay on the good side now. I have you.” He tightened his eyes and gave me a harder look. “Have faith.”
I placed my free hand on my chest; the talisman lay silently beneath the folds of my shirt, shrouded under my palm. I hoped the necklace would glow with warmth to indicate things would be okay, but it didn’t.
Nicholas pulled the car around the corner and parked out of view of my house.
“Let me deal with Luke, then I can meet you on the roof. If you’re going out tonight I’m coming with you.”
“Julia.” Nicholas’ voice lowered an octave, followed by a deliberate tilt of his chin, completely disappointed in me.
“No. I mean it,” I said, my voice firm.
I looked beyond Nicholas and towards the house. A girl with blonde hair and long, tanned legs in a short skirt stood in front of a BMW with her back to me. Some guy’s arms were wrapped around her torso. The way her head moved told me they were making out—passionately, and my cheeks flushed in response until I noticed she was smacking on my brother.
“Uh,” I groaned as my voice caught in my throat.
Nicholas turned to see the source of my distress. I blocked his aura instantly. I didn’t want to know what he thought of this revolting display. “Looks like you’re not the only one with a secret relationship.”
I smirked. Having a girlfriend none of us knew about was one thing, but making out in the front yard was another—completely tacky. I glanced again over Nicholas’ shoulder as Long Legs drove off and Luke disappeared into the house.
“Yeah, guess not.” I paused with my hand on the door handle. “Are you meeting me on the roof?”
Nicholas softened. “I will . . . in a bit.”
“Okay.” You better.
Inside, I found Luke, recovered and cool, lounging on the couch watching TV in his usual place. Luke typically didn’t hide his girlfriends from me, so I wondered why this one was different. I dropped my backpack on the floor.
“How’s Dad?”
“Better.” His gaze flicked over to meet mine. “He’ll be home tomorrow. How was the movie?” He reeked of suspicion.
“Okay,” I said, not breaking eye contact until he looked away first.
Suddenly, his courage swelled. “You weren’t at Sam’s this weekend, were you?”
“Why would you say that?”
“You didn’t drive your car over there—”
“She picked me up,” I interrupted.
“She didn’t drop you off. That guy did. The one who brought you home that night.” Luke snapped his fingers a few times. “Nicholas, yeah, that’s his name. I recognized the car. Is he your boyfriend now?”
I glared, happy for the showdown. “You should talk big brother.”
He smirked back, still radiating confidence.
“You practically had your tongue down Goldilocks’ throat just a minute ago.”
A slight wave of shock
registered across his face for a brief moment; the emotional stun lingered longer. I couldn’t help the side of my lip from curling up in victory.
“A friend.”
“Yeah right.” My eyes fell into slits. His cell phone sat on the coffee table—closer to me than him—vibrated with a text. I lunged and snatched it up before he could.
“Hmmm, who’s texting you?” I flipped open the phone. “Amber says she had fun last night. Fun, huh? What did you do?”
“Give it back!” With flushed cheeks, Luke stood up, grabbed and twisted my arm so I’d let go. I winced in pain and dropped the phone into his waiting hand.
“Stay out of my business,” he said after checking the text.
“Of course.” I held up my hands in surrender. “Just stay out of mine.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He slumped down on the couch again, turning up the TV to an uncomfortably loud decibel.
I flung my backpack over my shoulder and charged upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me. We typically kept our secrets between the two of us. Since when did I have to resort to blackmail?
Maybe seeing me with Nicholas brought out his brotherly concern? I had my reasons for keeping Nicholas a secret from Luke, but I thought we were close enough that he’d tell me about Amber.
I ran to the window, but didn’t see or sense Nicholas nearby. My fists clenched into a ball. He’d managed to use this to escape me. I whipped out my phone and shot him a text.
- Where are you?
- Got some errands to run, be by later.
- What errands?
I waited uneasily, repetitively glancing at my phone. The longer the silence, the more my nerves jittered.
He better not be planning to do anything rash.
Thankful the sun hadn’t set yet, I unpacked my backpack in an effort to stay busy. The note he wrote fluttered to the floor. I smiled, snatching the pretty paper up and rereading it again before hiding it under my mattress. Happy memories of the suite played in my mind, along with Nicholas’ song, breakfast, and the shampoo incident. A twinge of sadness followed thoughts of visiting my mother’s grave. I wished I could talk to Luke about it. The buzz of my phone transported me back to reality.
The Sapphire Talisman Page 7
