I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Wiley knew a part of my secret so I wondered if it might be safe to tell him more. Eventually, I decided against it. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about you.”
I realized how little I knew about Wiley. His truck was his prized possession. I knew he and his parents lived in a huge house on Everlane Road. He was an only child. He was friends with Ranson and his whole crew and that was about it. I never saw him hanging out anywhere.
He took a sharp turn around a corner, taking us in the opposite direction of Sonic’s. “Now why would you want to talk about boring old me?”
“I don’t know much about you. Wiley, where are we going? Sonic’s is the other way.”
He grinned at me and I willed myself not to blush. It didn’t work. “We’re going to the Sonic’s in the next county over. That’s the best one. The food’s always fresher. Besides, a longer ride will give us more time to talk.”
I nestled into the seat. “So, what do you do with yourself when you’re not skipping classes?”
He smirked. “I think having to go to every class every single day is a bit much, don’t you? If I hit each class once a week, I think that’s good enough.”
My jaw dropped. I had no idea how Wiley got away with it. “Don’t you worry about your grades?”
“Not really. I’m not going to college. I’ll be working for the family business. It’s already mapped out for me.”
That explained why he couldn’t have cared less about what his high school transcripts looked like, but still . . .
“Anyway,” Wiley continued. He sped up as we hit the wide empty road that led us out of Everson Woods. “I guess I like to do what everyone else likes to do. I’m just a normal guy, Arden.”
That didn’t answer my question at all so I asked him about the music he was listening, even though it was on the verge of putting me to sleep. That opened him up. He went on and on talking about Vivaldi, different types of instruments, and an orchestra he had gone to when he went to New York for Christmas.
“Why do you like this kind of music?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It’s calming and it helps me think. I like songs with no words. They help me create my own stories.”
That was pretty deep coming from him. We rode most of the way in silence because I figured he’d rather listen to his music than hear my problems. It’s not like he would have understood them anyway. When we got to the Sonic’s, Wiley pulled up to one of the lighted menus to place our orders. He got a number one with extra cheese while I ordered a large fry and a bottled water.
As we waited, Wiley looked me up and down. “You on a diet or something? I never pegged you for one of those girls who ate like a bird.”
“I ate dinner right before you picked me up,” I lied, “so I’m not really hungry.” I had eaten a sandwich not that long before. It was nice to eat and actually get full.
Wiley lay his head against his car seat, staring at me. It was okay for a few seconds, then it got uncomfortable so I looked away.
After a few moments the waitress brought our orders out and we ate silently in the parking lot. Once we were done, Wiley threw our garbage away. He kept his car up immaculately. There would be no empty food wrappers or discarded condiment packets on the floor of his car.
When he got back in, he turned the music down and placed his hand on my knee again. That time I shivered for some reason.
“I know I joke around a lot, but that’s because I really like you,” he said.
He liked me but I shouldn’t care about that. Wiley was an underachiever who got off on watching me kill Bailey. Then another part of me couldn’t help but notice how he knew the truth about me and he liked it. He wasn’t afraid or weirded out. He could accept what I was.
He leaned over, placed his hand on the side of my neck and brought my head closer to his. Our lips met and I trembled. Before I knew it, his mouth was moving against mine. I had given boys pecks before, but I had never made out with anyone, yet there I was making out with Wiley in his truck. His lips were soft and he tasted like the peach milkshake he had been drinking. Even though I didn’t like sweet, it was good. What would Fletcher think? Why was I worried about what Fletcher would think?
After a couple of minutes, we pulled away. My entire body felt warm and I was sure my cheeks were a rosy red. Wiley put his hands on the steering wheel, grinning sheepishly, like he was embarrassed. It was sort of sweet. I knew I couldn’t have been the first girl he’d kissed like that.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Wiley—definitely not the way I felt about Fletcher, but I needed to get over him. Fletcher had told me loud and clear, several times that he could never love me the way I wanted him to. What was I supposed to do with that? I wouldn’t be one of those desperate girls wasting my years pining away for a guy, clinging to the hope that he would one day reciprocate my feelings. Wiley liked me, even the creature part. What were the chances I would ever find that again? Maybe I needed to give him a real chance.
We rode home making small talk about our weekend plans. Wiley was going to some auto show in a nearby town and I was supposed to be helping Imani shop because she wanted to change her whole wardrobe, but my crazy life didn’t allow for such mundane teenage activities. I would be in the lair trying to break that stupid curse.
My street was lined with cars when we pulled up. Clumps of people stood around, huddled together. A fire truck was parked a couple of houses down from Mrs. Nelson’s. I melted into the seat. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.
Wiley slowed down to a crawl. “I wonder what’s going on.”
I swallowed hard. “Me too.”
When we pulled into our driveway, Mom and Dad stood in the yard talking to some of our neighbors. I wanted to disappear into the house and not speak to anyone. I didn’t want to know what was going on.
“Arden,” Wiley called as I headed toward the house. “Don’t you want to find out what happened?”
No, I didn’t but I nodded and followed Wiley over to the adults because that would be the normal thing to do.
“What’s up?” Wiley asked.
Mrs. Walker who lived across the street had her arms folded underneath the beige caftan she always wore. “Mrs. Nelson had a heart attack tonight. She keeled over right on her porch. Mr. Tucker saw the whole thing but by the time the paramedics got here it was too late. Poor thing.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s horrible,” Wiley said but he had no idea who Mrs. Nelson was and the whole thing was probably not as exciting as he had hoped. He patted me on the back. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded and Wiley jogged back to his car. By the time I turned back around to my parents and neighbors, Mrs. Oliver, Mrs. Nelson’s best friend, was storming toward us with a coffee mug in her hand.
“You!” she accused, pointing at me with her free hand.
The crowd grew quiet. Everyone stared at me, even my parents. I took a step back. “What?”
Mrs. Oliver stopped a few feet away from me. Her eyes were wide and crazed. “Claudia told me. She told me how you came to her house and told her she was going to die. What did you do? What did you do? You put some kind of hex on her or something? Some kind of witchcraft?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I shouted.
Mrs. Oliver gave me the Look of Death, then she took her coffee mug and threw it at my feet. I had to jump back to avoid getting hit. The ceramic shattered all over the sidewalk.
Dad grabbed her gently by the shoulders. “Mrs. Oliver, control yourself.”
From the strong bitter smell wafting up to my nostrils I knew that Mrs. Oliver hadn’t been drinking coffee at all. It was some type of alcohol.
Mom stood in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about but that woman died of a heart attack. What does that have to do with Arden?”
It was nice to have my parents sticking up for me but I felt guilty that they had to do it in the first place.
This time Mom raised her voice. “Don’t you ever say that again. That woman had a heart attack plain and simple. You’d better stop slandering my daughter.”
Mrs. Oliver backed up but she didn’t take her eyes off me. She knew. She knew that Mrs. Nelson had told her the truth and that I’d known she would die. Mrs. Oliver just didn’t know how to explain it.
The crowd parted, making a pathway for her and she wobbled back toward her own house. Dad ushered me inside, away from all the curious looks and hushed whispers.
“I know, Dad. Please don’t say I told you so,” I told him as soon as the door closed. Mom had stayed outside to talk more, probably trying to convince everyone that Mrs. Oliver had said those things about me because she was drunk.
“I wasn’t going to say that.”
He probably wasn’t, but he had to be thinking it. “You were right, I guess. Telling her didn’t change anything. All it did was freak her out. I should have learned my lesson from what happened with Mrs. Melcher. Poor Mrs. Nelson.”
Dad kissed me on the forehead. “Yeah. Poor Mrs. Nelson. She’s lived on this block since before we moved here.”
I plopped down on the couch, flipping absently through TV stations. I had homework to do but there was so much going on in my head, I knew I would never be able to concentrate on that.
Dad went into the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and came back and sat in the loveseat. “So, tell me about the boy. That’s Walter Wiley’s son, isn’t it?”
I so did not want to talk about Wiley even though our night had been okay. What happened with Mrs. Nelson had overshadowed our wonderful time. “His name is Bruce but he goes by Wiley. He’s nice. We just went for a bite to eat.” And we made out.
Dad watched me as he took as long swig of his beer. “I’d like to meet him before you go out with him again.”
“Dad, I didn’t go out with him tonight. That wasn’t a date.” Was it? Wiley had invited me. He drove. He paid. We kissed. Maybe it had been a date and I was so clueless I had no idea.
Dad raised his eyebrow at me. “I didn’t say it was a date. If you’re spending time with someone, especially someone who’s going to be driving you around, I’d like to meet them.”
“Okay,” I groaned. “Nothing’s on.” I tossed the remote to the side. Unfortunately, I had stopped on the news. A reporter was talking about the autopsy reports of the deceased carnival workers. One of the men had bruises around his neck and had died from asphyxiation. That couldn’t have been caused by an ox. I turned the television off.
“What’s going on with the curse?” Dad asked.
I told him the plan and how Rose was on board. “I told her the truth, you know, the truth about us. She didn’t know.”
Dad paled. “Yeah, we know she didn’t know and we wanted to keep it that way.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“We thought it would just be easier for her, Arden. Rose has already been through so much. She’s lost both the parents who’ve raised her since birth and had to move in with complete strangers and start over. Your mother and I, we wanted to see her, just to see what she looked like up close and in person, but we didn’t want to uproot her life again. At least not now. Anyway, what did she say?”
“She believed me. She knew her parents weren’t her birth parents, of course, because of what they are. She said she’d like to meet you guys one day but she needed some time.”
Dad nodded like he understood. I couldn’t tell if he were happy our disappointed.
“Anyway,” I should probably go to bed. “I’m kind of worn out.”
Dad watched the blank TV screen as if something were on. “Good night, honey,” he said as I went up the stairs. “Arden,” he called once I was at the top.
“Yeah?”
“You know no matter what happens between us and Rose, you are our daughter and no one could ever replace you.”
I nodded. I did know that, but it was nice to hear him say it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The following day I found myself in the lair having the most ridiculous conversation ever with Wes and Cadence. I told them my plan for stopping the Gemini Curse. They seemed on board and they wanted to help, yet when I told them about Rose and how I needed Cadence to remove her heart, they refused because Rose was a Giver and Givers were never allowed in the lair. Cadence had been on board the other day, but now that Wes was around, she’d had a change of heart.
“Are you kidding me? You guys can make an exception for something as important as this. You’re being stupid.”
Cadence poked me in the chest with her bony finger. “Excuse me, but our sacred vows are not stupid. Givers are forbidden here just like we’re forbidden to be in their sanctuary. She can’t come and if you bring her we’ll throw her to the beasts in the sixth tunnel.”
I scowled at Cadence. That was an evil thing to say. “What is wrong with you? She’s willing to make this sacrifice to help all of us and you’re threatening her?”
Cadence rolled her eyes. “Don’t you dare bring that girl here, Dust.”
I looked to Wes who said nothing. “Then how are you supposed to get her heart?” I asked Cadence. “It’s not like you can walk around in the open.”
She poked me in my chest again. She’d only get away with that once more. “I know good and well that I’m incapable of being out in the open. I don’t need you reminding me.”
I took a deep breath because they were both being so ridiculous. “Listen, I know about the oath and how all these rules are so important, but we’re talking about something so much bigger here. This is one time when Givers and Takers are going to have to work together.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I’m not saying yes, but if she is to come here, Mr. Mason can never know and she can’t disclose our location to anyone under any circumstances.”
I softened my tone. If Cadence was going to be performing a bootleg surgery on me, I needed her on my side. “Of course. I’ll make sure of it. So, do you know what bone we should take from me?”
Amusement flashed across her large eyes like this was fun for her. “Yes, I’ve been researching. I know exactly what to do.”
Somehow that didn’t make me feel secure. Cadence could kill me during the process and say it was an accident.
“When do you want to do this?” Cadence swallowed hard. “The bone . . . and the heart removal.”
Relief washed over me. “Tomorrow.” I wasn’t sure or ready, but it had to be done. I was getting stronger. My Wendigo was going away, and that meant Fletcher was dying. I hadn’t spoken to him since that horrible night, so I had no idea how he was doing. I was pretty sure the Whitelocks had taken his phone away because Imani hadn’t been able to reach him either. There was absolutely no way I would step foot in that house ever again.
Rose met me in front of the school just as we had planned so I could take her into the lair. She’d worn a simple white sundress and had her hair pulled back into a side ponytail. Standing in front of the janitor’s closet, I took her hand. It was cool and clammy. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “Everything will be fine.”
On the inside, I was just as afraid as she looked. I kept reminding myself that this wasn’t a normal surgery like the type Humans performed. It would be quick and painless and we’d heal right away.
“Remember, you can’t tell anyone where this lair is,” I told her as we moved through the janitor’s closet. She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
Two beds had been set up in the control room. Beside each bed was a tray filled with a variety of medical tools—scalpels, metal sticks with hooks on the ends, and a few bottles of colorful liquids.
Rose swayed slightly as if she were going to pass out. My stomach cramped with nervousness and I desperately wished there was another way. All night I had been up thinking about Cadence cutting into my skin and removi
ng my bone. It would be the worst procedure I had ever gone through, I’d even watched videos on YouTube of bone removals—it was gruesome—but if it meant Fletcher and the others wouldn’t have to die, I’d go through it a hundred times.
Cadence had us both change into white gowns that opened at the front.
“Lay on the bed,” Cadence ordered as she slid a pair of latex gloves on her hands. The look in her eye told me that she was going to enjoy this. I had to physically guide Rose to a bed and help her lay down.
She looked up at me, lips trembling, and I hoped she wouldn’t back out. “Everything’s going to be fine, Rose.”
She closed her eyes which were wet with tears. “Yeah, everything will be fine.”
Cadence held a syringe filled with blue stuff close to her face and flicked it with her thumb. “Now cutting into you is going to hurt, but I promise, I’ll heal it right away.”
I believed her because when she implanted my tracking device, she’d touched the cut in my thigh and it healed immediately.
“Wait,” I said, staring at the syringe. “Tell me exactly what you’re going to do.”
Cadence got into doctor mode. “I’m going to remove your twelfth rib. It’s called a floating rib because it doesn’t connect to a rib in the back. You don’t really need it. I’ll cut you open and remove it. Not a big deal.”
Sure, that was easy for her to say.
“Once I’ve removed the rib, I’ll seal you right up.”
She made it sound so simple, like she was taking a doll apart and putting it back together. Cadence lowered the syringe. “Are you okay with that? Having second thoughts?”
I shook my head, even though I was. I needed to be brave for Rose, especially since I was the one who had talked her into this. “No, It’s fine. I just wanted to know what to expect.”
Cadence rolled her eyes. “Really, you have it easy. If anyone should be afraid, it should be Rose here. She’s having open heart surgery.”
She was right, but that was the last thing Rose needed to hear right then. I glanced at the other bed. Rose still had her eyes closed, but I knew she was taking in every word.
Dust and Roses: Book Two of the Dust Trilogy Page 17
