After a surprisingly successful dinner, Naomi and I slipped back upstairs. Naomi hummed as she changed into sweat pants and a halter-top. Naomi wasn’t usually a hummer. Was she nervous about keeping an eye on me tonight? If she was, I couldn’t blame her.
A knock on the door caused us to look up. Mara stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. She kept her voice low as she came face-to-face with Naomi. “Remember, this isn’t some pajama jammy jam. We’re looking out for Zadie. If she gets up in the middle of the night, come get me.”
Naomi saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Mara pushed her palm against Naomi’s forehead and eased her back. “As you were, soldier.”
“Good night, Mara,” I said. She winked at me as she left my room.
Naomi pressed her back against the door and stared at me. “So…”
“You nervous or something?” I asked.
“What’s there to be nervous about? Just a supernatural monster that might be making you do scary things you don’t even know you’re doing. Come on. I have Mrs. Canterbury for gym, so I’ve got some experience dealing with the type.”
I jumped up from my bed and rushed over to her, grabbing her hands. The quick motion must have shocked her, because she flinched.
“I’m glad you’re here. But if at any point you’re too frightened to stay, just let me know. I could sleep on Mara’s floor, if need be.”
She let out a small laugh. “No, Zadie. I’m staying. That’s what best friends do. Now let’s talk about something else because—and don’t take this the wrong way—if you don’t move on to less serious subject matter, this sleepover will turn out to be a major drag.”
Her phone chirped just then, so she pulled it out of her jeans pocket.
“Hmm.” She rolled her eyes. “Danny says he saw Kelly and Nicole at the Ice Cream Palace. Kelly totally bitched out the person taking her order for no reason.”
“She’s gotten really obnoxious lately.”
“You know what she said to me today? She asked which second-hand shop I get my hair from.”
I shook my head. “The other day she told Gavin I had something going with Chase. And I was standing right there.”
Naomi blinked. “Hmm.”
“What?”
With a shrug, she grabbed a brush off my dresser and ran it through her hair. “Oh, nothing. It’s just, I could see where she’d get that idea.”
“There’s nothing going on between me and Chase.”
“No, I know. But that doesn’t mean that’s not how he wants it.”
“Chase?”
“Duh, yeah.”
For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. Deep down, I had a feeling Chase might think of me as more than a friend. Thoughts like that made my stomach feel funny. Made my skin prickle a little. But my heart belonged to Gavin, and there was no doubt in my mind that I should be with him.
“Too bad he’s so stuck on you.” Naomi set the brush down and pulled me to sit with her on the bed. “It would be nice if he gave someone else a chance. You know what I mean?”
I gaped at her. “Are you trying to tell me you like him?”
A blush attacked her cheeks. “I guess you could say I find him… totally hot!”
We burst into laughter and couldn’t stop for a good five minutes.
Squeezing my hands, Naomi tilted her head. “Don’t mention it to him—or anyone, for that matter. I know I don’t have a chance, so it’s not worth the embarrassment.”
I shook my head. “You so would have a chance if he ever gets his head out of his ass.”
“Ugh, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I have no luck with boys. Remember how I was totally digging on Danny before I found out he’s gay?”
Naomi’s phone chirped again.
“Speaking of whom,” she said, glancing at her phone. “Oh my God! Someone—Danny thinks she’s a freshman from school—bumped into Kelly and made her drop her ice cream. She completely flipped out, took Nicole’s ice cream, and rammed it into the girl’s chest.”
“No way.”
“I’m telling you: she’s out of control. I wish there were a way to teach her a lesson.”
“Right?”
“Like…” She cleared her throat. “Like if someone could magically make her hair fall out or something.”
I laughed. “Naomi, you know I can’t use my powers for something like that.”
She frowned and kicked at my bed ruffle. “Yeah, I know.” Then her eyes lit up. “But maybe we could—I don’t know—buy a pregnancy test, somehow get into her house, and leave it in the bathroom for her mother to find.”
My jaw dropped. “Peed on?”
A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. “Yeah, why not? Doesn’t matter that it’ll be negative, her mother will totally flip out on her.”
I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “Even you wouldn’t do something that cruel.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Getting up, I grabbed my bed sheet and gestured for her to get off it. “Okay, before you get any more crazy ideas, let’s get some sleep. It is a school night.”
We slipped into my bed and attempted to sleep, the occasional giggle delaying the process. My hand slipped under my pillow and fingered the switchblade Chase gave me. After a while, my body relaxed. Naomi was there and would get Mara if something happened. My mind eventually drifted to a peaceful place where tranquil thoughts pushed out the apprehension.
But then something shook me from my peaceful place, my name repeated on the wind. I blinked, realizing my eyes were already open. Cold sidewalk cradled my feet, and a warm summer night’s breeze made my hair take flight.
“Zadie, look at me.”
Naomi’s face came into focus. Then Mara’s. Why were we standing outside?
“What…oh, no.” I’d wandered in my sleep again.
Shivers grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I wrapped my arms around myself and took in my surroundings. I was just down the street from my house, the opposite direction of how I would walk to get to Lilura’s.
“I’m sorry,” Naomi said. “I didn’t wake up right away.”
Mara rolled her eyes. “Dimwit here had earphones in.”
“But at least I realized something was wrong. As soon as I did, I got Mara and we came looking for you.”
“The door was wide open.” Mara looked over her shoulder. “I’m so glad we spotted you.”
Naomi wrung her hands. “Where do you think you were headed?”
My throat burned as I swallowed. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Eight
My phone vibrated as I entered my house. Naomi’s message lit up the screen. She’d call me after dinner. I sighed, threw my bag down near the door, and walked into the kitchen. I was starving and had to find something to eat. It had been a long school day, and I had worked my butt off in Vila training. But it was Friday, so I let myself relax and allowed my mind to go blank for a while.
When I flicked the light on, the bulb above me popped, and I jumped. Cursing myself for letting something as stupid as a popped bulb get to me, I clicked on the light above the stove.
Calm down, Zadie.
I yanked open the fridge and took out some defrosted ground beef. After putting a pot of water on to boil noodles, I started frying up the meat, occasionally glancing out the window. The evening sky was streaked with shades of purple, a beautiful contrast to the dark silhouettes of trees in my back yard.
As I bent down to dig the strainer out of the cabinet, something moved out of the corner of my eye. Instinct made me stand straight and freeze. Did something or someone just move past the window? I grabbed the nearest thing that would qualify as a weapon—a butcher knife—and slowly approached the window. I made a note to start carrying the switchblade from Chase in my pocket. Just in case. My eyes flitted left and right, searching the backyard for some sign of movement. Past the trees, closer to the house, behind the rose bushes Mom had planted. But nothing moved.
Maybe it was just a bird. I hoped that was all it was. I took a deep breath and set down the knife.
The front door flew open. My hand went straight for my heart, and I let out a huge sigh of relief when Mara walked in.
She dropped her purse on the floor by the table and ran her hands through her hair. “Sorry I took so long. I had to talk to Felix Underwood. About prom.”
I scrunched up my nose. Felix Underwood was nowhere near Mara’s type. He was as skinny as a pole and had an annoying habit of pushing his glasses up a million times when he talked. But I supposed he could be cute without the glasses. And the lisp. “Really? That’s who you’re going with?”
“It is now. Every hot guy in school already has a prom date. Even the moderately good-looking ones are taken—unless I ask a freshman, and that is so not going to happen. And since I can’t use magic for personal gain, I’m stuck. I can’t not go with someone now that I went on about it to Hunter.”
“You think Hunter even cares who you go to prom with?”
She looked confused, as if I’d spoken in a foreign language. Opening a bag of noodles, she pouted and shrugged. “I don’t really care.”
Sure, you don’t.
“So what did he say?”
She rolled her eyes. “What do you think he said?”
Why did I even ask? There’s no way he could turn down my beautiful sister. I suspected she could even steal away one of the hot guys from their dates if she wanted. But Mara wasn’t like that.
Dinner was finished cooking just as Dad came home. We fell into our usual routine of summarizing our days, then after a moment when no one spoke, I noticed Dad’s expression changed.
“Tomorrow’s our visit with Mom, okay?” He said it to me, but he glanced at Mara.
Mara twirled her noodles and shifted in her chair, avoiding his eyes.
“Yeah,” I answered. “I remember.”
“It, uh, would be great if you joined us, Mara.” Dad held his breath after he said it.
I could barely breathe myself.
“No, I can’t. I…hmm…have lots to do.”
The clink of Dad’s fork hitting his plate made me jump. Wrinkles attacked his forehead as he glared at Mara. “Why won’t you just come? It’s been almost a year since you’ve visited her. She would love to see you before you graduate.”
“I don’t think so. She never even looks at me.”
Dad leaned toward her. “But she knows you’re there. She can hear you. She just can’t communicate with you. It’s the sedatives.”
Mara scoffed.
“What?”
Mara shot a glance my way. “Nothing.”
“Mara, I think you should come with us.” Dad tried to take her hand, but she pulled back. His mouth hung open for a second, and he blinked in confusion. “At least come along for the ride. If we get there and you’re still uncomfortable, you can hang out in the waiting room.”
For a moment, Mara was silent. And then: “No. I’m not going.”
Mara’s chair slid back noisily, and she charged up the stairs.
Dad and I locked eyes. I knew the look he was giving me. It was a look full of questions: Why won’t she come? What is she afraid of? How can I convince her?
The only question I had the answer for was what Mara was afraid of. But there was no way I could even begin to tell Dad.
We were quiet as we cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen. Dad’s sighs lay heavy on my heart. If we found a way to take down Mom’s Reaper, would she be sane again? Would we be able to bring her home? Would Mara feel safe then? The questions circled around in my head, making me dizzy.
“You’re tired,” Dad said, probably noticing how beat-down I looked. “Go on to bed. I’m headed up too. It’s been a long week.”
I could tell he forced his smile as he flicked under my chin. Pretending everything was fine, I nodded and headed upstairs.
Mara’s door was closed. I decided not to knock. It was better to give her time to cool down. I didn’t have the energy to dodge her fire when she was upset like this anyway. Besides, she was probably just as exhausted as I was. She’d been working hard at her Vila training, mastering manipulating water and fire. Chase had even started training her with throwing daggers. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had already passed out on her bed.
I hoped she would hear me if I got up in the middle of the night. Chase’s potion wasn’t ready yet, and Naomi couldn’t spend the night because her grandparents were visiting. I considered tying bells to my toes so I’d wake Mara up if I left my room, but that would be annoying.
After getting ready for bed, I grabbed a book from my nightstand and told myself to escape for a while. Reading the same paragraph three times, I realized the book wasn’t exactly an escape. I set it back down and pressed my cheek against my pillow, staring at the wall.
I heard a tap on the window and sat straight up in bed. It was as if a tree branch hit it. Only there were no trees directly outside my window. Instinctively, I whipped my head around, searching my room for shadows.
Another tap at the window, and I jumped to my feet. Swallowing back my anxiousness, I slowly moved forward, craning my neck to see if I could spot whomever—or whatever—was outside.
Wide eyes stared back at me.
I couldn’t get a scream past the lump in my throat. Luckily, I focused on the face through the window and was glad I had kept quiet. Biting my lip, I rushed forward and threw open the window.
“Gavin? What the hell? You freakin’ scared me to death!”
He scooted forward on the portico roof and stuck his head into my room. “Sorry.”
“What are you doing here? If my dad catches you…”
“Then lower your voice.” He held his hand out to me, and I helped him inside. “I need to keep an eye on you. I’m worried. Naomi can’t stay over, so just think of this as my turn.”
He dusted off his pants, and I stepped back. My eyes searched my room, taking a quick survey of its state. Thank goodness I didn’t have any dirty laundry on the floor. Gavin had caught my room in its rare clean phase.
Then it hit me: Gavin and I were alone in my room. And I was in a T-shirt barely long enough to cover my underwear. Red-hot fire scorched my cheeks. I turned away from him, then sprinted to my door to lock it. It was bad enough to worry about a Reaper unleashing his fury; I didn’t want to have to deal with Dad’s wrath if he caught Gavin in my room.
“So.” I stood with my back pressed against the door, feeling silly while he looked around at my things. The Hello Kitty alarm clock Naomi gave me as a joke was particularly embarrassing. “What’s the plan? You, um, sleeping here?”
Was I imagining things, or did the same blush that slapped me moments ago claim territory on Gavin’s face?
“Well, I’ll stay up as much as I can. I just had two cups of coffee, though, so that should help me out.” With a self-assured gait that made my heart flutter, he closed the distance between us. The soft touch of his hand caressing my cheek made my skin grow hot. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Zadie.”
I put my hand over his. “And I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, either.”
The side of his mouth inched up, and suddenly I had a strong desire to put my lips there. But before I could even move, he pulled me toward my desk.
“I, uh, got you something.”
“You got me something? After I pulled the biggest no-no as a girlfriend?”
The smile left his face and he seemed not to be breathing. “What do you mean?”
“I sort of…lost the bracelet you gave me.”
“You lost it?”
“More like, I can’t find it. I wore it to bed that first night when I wandered in my sleep. When I woke up, it wasn’t on my wrist anymore.” My eyes darted over his features, waiting for a response.
He let out a small breath, as if relieved. “That’s not your fault.”
“You’re not mad?”
His hand came up to cup my cheek. “Under
the circumstances, you’re forgiven.”
I offered him a thankful smile. “Okay. What did you get me?” I searched my desk, wondering if he placed something on it when he stepped through the window, but I didn’t see anything that wasn’t there before.
“It’s in here.” He tapped on the closet door next to my desk.
What could he have gotten me, and how did he get it into my closet? Curiosity nagged me. I pulled the closet door open. Inside, a white garment bag hung, wrapped in clear plastic.
“What is that?”
He stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and elbowed me. “Check it out.”
Hesitating because of his mischievous smile, I reached for the garment bag. I laid it out on my bed and pulled the plastic away. Gavin hovered over me, watching what I was doing from over my shoulder. When I unzipped the garment bag, my hands flew to my mouth. The beautiful dark blue dress I’d tried on during my shopping trip with Naomi was inside, the silky material shiny in my bedroom lighting.
“H-how did you know?” I turned to face him.
He shrugged, wearing an expression that boasted of cleverness. “Naomi told me you tried it on and looked great in it.”
Naomi. Of course. I really did love my best friend.
“But how did you pay for it?”
“Hey, don’t start asking me about my financial status. I might think you’re a gold digger or something.”
I shoved him lightly. “Shut up.”
Letting out a small laugh, he jerked his head to get the hair out of his eyes. “Naomi showed me the dress, I bought it, and then we gave it to Mara to sneak into your closet.”
I covered my cheeks with my hands. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that.”
“You don’t like it?”
“What, are you kidding me? I love it! I’m just, I’m in shock. Thank you so much!”
I twirled and gaped at the dress again. This was unbelievable.
“Wait, so that’s a yes on going to prom with me?”
I pulled him close, holding him on both sides of his face. A warm sensation flooded me, elation at having such an awesome boyfriend. “Yes. Of course I will.”
My Tethered Soul: Volume 2 (Reaper's Rite) Page 6
