Divine Vices

by Parkin, Melissa

  “Everything okay?” asked Jack, seeing me rub my eyebrows tiredly. “Let me take a stab and guess who this is about...”

  “I haven’t heard anything from him since I left the party last night.”

  “Can I assume that perhaps my word holds a little more power than it did ten hours ago?”

  “Yes.”

  “Give it time. You two are as thick as thieves. Whatever happened, it’ll work itself out.”

  “Yeah, well, you weren’t there last night. You didn’t hear what he said.”

  “That bad?”

  I nodded. “I thought he would have at least tried to contact me. Apologize maybe.”

  “Time.”

  “I hope you’re right, because I honestly don’t know what else to do. I mean, Ian and I have never had a fight until now.”

  “Anything you maybe need to apologize for as well?”

  “Perhaps,” I said wincingly. “But the degrees of each of our offenses are in completely different ballparks here. I’ll admit I mishandled some things, but Ian… He was just...”

  “Mean?” Jack politely guessed.

  “A complete and total ass-hat.”

  He chuckled at the sight of Ginger returning to our table upon hearing my last remark, delivering us our drinks.

  “What can I get for you, dear?” she asked me hesitantly.

  “Spanish omelet and a side order of bacon,” I replied shamefully, seeing her discomfort.

  “And you?”

  “French toast,” said Jack, handing her our menus.

  “Add profanity to my list of transgression worth apologizing for,” I commented as Ginger moved on to her next table. “Wow, this is already proving to be an interesting day.”

  “And I have a profound feeling it’s bound to get more.”

  “Please don’t say that.”

  “It’s hard not to,” he said, pointing out the café’s window to the patrol car that was now stationed out front. “The student body is already going to be buzzing about last night, and when Five-0 rolls up, it’ll only going get worse.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be trying to comfort me?” I chuckled.

  “Well, you haven’t asked that of me before, but if that’s what you want then may I point out that I’m gonna be sticking close to you all day?”

  “That would help, if it were true. You may or may not have noticed, but our schedules aren’t exactly matching.”

  “If you need anything, I’ll only be a text message away. Promise.”

  “So if Mr. Rothenberg decides he wants to try and dissect me?”

  “I’ll be there in two heartbeats.”

  “Why two?”

  “Because it’s a long run to the biology lab. Gotta give me some time, love. I’m not the Flash.”

  I finally laughed. “Much appreciated.”

  “You okay?”

  “That’s a rather vague question, with a very convoluted answer,” I said.

  “You holdin’ up though?”

  “I’m on my own two feet. But the unidentified psychotic attacker, cult related murder, angry best friend, and unexplainable happenstances seem to keep getting in the way of my smooth sailing,” I affirmed, dialing Gwen’s number into my cell. “That’s odd.”

  “What?”

  I put my cell on speakerphone, letting the automated recording on the other end of the line play out loud. “We’re sorry... The number you are trying to reach is not in service at this time.”

  “You think there’s something wrong with her phone?” he asked.

  My heart began hammering. I asked her to call me last night when she got home, and I had received a text message from her. But now thinking about it, it could have been from anyone... so long as they had possession of her phone. With what she had uncovered, maybe someone was now onto her. What if they had already gotten to her?

  I dialed in Ian’s number next, and, to my relief, I got the same the message. “I think it’s the cell service.”

  Jack tried to call me as well with no luck, and he seemed abnormally concerned by the instance. “This isn’t good.”

  Panicked then resurged through me. “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, how else are all the rumor weeds gonna spread their gossip?” he cracked, looking out at the street. “Now, that’s a genuine concern.”

  Three squad cars drove right past the diner with their lights flashing and sirens wailing, and I immediately bolted for the door.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, heading over to the officers parked out front.

  “Everything’s fine, miss. Just go back inside. They’ve got everything under control.”

  “Don’t pull that with us,” said Jack sternly, coming to my side. “What happened?”

  All I could think of was Gwen.

  “They just found that missing girl,” said one of the officers.

  “Veronica? Are you sure?” I asked all too urgently.

  “Yeah, a couple kids found her in the middle of the park on Madison.”

  “Is she okay?”

  They shook their heads.

  “Is it like the last attack?”

  “We can’t divulge that information.”

  “Don’t give us that shit,” snapped Jack, rolling up the sleeve on his left arm to expose his bandages. “I think we’ve both earned the right to hear if this has to do with what happened to us last night.”

  The two hesitated, but they eventually nodded. “There’s not much being said, but from what’s coming over the radio, it sounds like it.”

  “Come on,” said Jack, motioning me back inside.

  We settled back in the booth just as our food came out of the kitchen.

  “I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” I said, hiding my trembling hands under the table as I tried to calm back down.

  “When was the last time you had anything to eat?”

  I just shrugged, knowing my answer wouldn’t play out in my favor.

  “You need to have something,” said Jack, pushing the plate closer to me. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Gwen already has all the facts. As soon as we get to school, we can find out what she knows. Okay?”

  I unwrapped the napkin binding my silverware and tried to keep the utensils in my grasp steady as I stabbed my omelet, taking a healthy bite. “Happy?”

  “You’re here, so yeah.”

  Chapter 27

  Shadow On the Sun

  The entire New Haven High’s parking lot did a double take as the Impala rolled up. The words exchanged between my fellow classmates may have been discrete, but their wide-eyed stares directed at Jack and me like we had just wrestled with a lion and lived to tell the tale were about as subtle as a one-ton TNT bomb going off.

  “I can’t believe she actually came to school,” whispered one of the girls passing by the car.

  “I know. I would have taken the whole rest of the week off if I was her. Not like the school could argue with it,” said her friend. “I heard that the guy tried to shoot her in the face.”

  “Looks like the rumor mill hasn’t slowed down any,” remarked Jack, unlocking his glove box. “And it’s just as mistaken as ever.”

  “What is that?” I asked, watching him pull out a slipjoint pocketknife and ankle sheath from the compartment when the coast was clear.

  “I want you to carry this with you,” he said, motioning for me to give him my foot.

  He pushed my pant leg up enough so that he could strap the holder around my ankle.

  “Is this really necessary?” I asked.

  “Better safe than sorry.”

  “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but this COMPLETELY goes against the Student Policy Handbook,” I commented.

  “Yeah, well, we still have no idea who this lunatic is, so I’d feel better if you at least had some sort of protection. It could be another student for all we know.”

  Normally, I would shy far away from carrying a concealed weapon, especially on school grounds, but as I l
ooked at the others in the parking lot, paranoia overtook my rational mind. Jack rolled my pant leg back down and I climbed out of the car.

  “Cassie!”

  I was immediately ensnared in a bear hug the instant I turned around to greet the voice.

  “I’m happy to see you too, Gwen.” And it was true. Never had I before been so glad to be nailed by her exuberance.

  “God, after everything last night, I couldn’t sleep a wink. Now I’m bouncing off the walls. I’ve already had three lattes this morning,” she said, squeezing me tighter.

  “I don’t mean to be indecent here, but have you heard anything yet about Veronica?”

  She kept me in her embrace. “What about her?”

  “She was... she was found this morning.”

  “Are you serious?! God, I hate this! The network suddenly goes down and now I feel like I’m trapped in the Stone Age. If they don’t get it up and running again soon, I’m gonna have to train a bird to become my new message carrier.”

  “I doubt it’ll get that serious,” I said, trying to free my suffocated frame from her hold.

  When she finally loosened her grip on me, Gwen looked over at Jack contemplatively as he climbed out of the car as well. “I honestly can’t believe that I’m actually doing this, but given the circumstances and all...” Gwen came up to Jack and gave him a hug as well. “Thank you, for protecting my homegirl.”

  Jack barely managed to wrap his arms around her as he stood stupefied by her gesture. “No problem.”

  “God, you smell good,” she said, taking a deep inhale of his shirt.

  “Okay, I think you’ve scared him enough,” I laughed, pulling her away.

  “I know what can make me feel better,” he said, lightly putting his arms around me.

  “Awww...” cracked Gwen. “That’s so adorably nauseating.”

  “Nice trick, Copperfield! You made your girlfriend disappear,” called out Clint Racer.

  The three of us turned to see the linebacker looking at Ian as he passed by steadfastly.

  “Why don’t you try picking a fight with someone who shares your I.Q. next time? There’s a daycare down the street with prime specimen,” cracked Ian as he crossed paths with Clint.

  Racer didn’t take too kindly to the remark. “Looks like we got ourselves a real smart-ass here.”

  “I guess I’d rather be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass,” Ian countered.

  “You callin’ me dumb?” Clint grabbed him and gave him a good shove.

  “Well, I was trying not to say to it,” said Ian, smirking. “You know, cordiality and all.”

  Clint’s crew started to laugh.

  Ian turned and walked away, but he was suddenly whipped around, and Clint’s fist throttled right into his left cheekbone. Ian stumbled back and caught himself on the side of a car hood.

  “Still think you’re so funny?” barked Clint, rubbing the outside of his hand tenderly.

  Ian straightened himself up, his cheek bright red.

  “What the hell is Ian doing?” I muttered desperately, heading over to them.

  “Cassie, seriously, stay out of it,” cautioned Gwen.

  Jack took hold of me and brought me back. “Let me take care of this.”

  Ian let out a chuckle as he thumbed the bruise. “I think my mom can hit harder than that.”

  Clint grabbed his book bag beside his car and took out his thick history textbook, gripping it firmly as he approached Ian again.

  “Well, at least you’ve found a use for that thing,” Ian chuckled. “We know it would have gone to waste otherwise.”

  Jack ran over, but it was too late. Clint gripped the book and full out hammered Ian in the side of the face with it, knocking him into the car and then to the ground.

  “Ian!” I bellowed, racing past Clint as Jack grabbed hold of Racer.

  “Man, take it easy!” said Jack, motioning for Clint’s friends to get him to back off.

  I fell down beside Ian, caressing his chin as I examined the cut on his cheek. “Are you okay? What were you thinking?”

  “I’m fine,” he mumbled.

  “You’re clearly not.”

  He pushed my hand away. “Hey, do us both a favor and stop acting like you actually give a shit!”

  I fell back. “Ian...?”

  He climbed to his feet edgily and staggered out of the lot.

  “Ian?!” I cried out.

  Jack put his arms around me and gently pulled me up off the pavement as Ian disappeared into the woodlands. “It’s okay. Just give him some space.”

  “Yeah, let him work it off,” said Gwen, coming to my side. “What the hell’s gotten into him anyway? Is he drunk?”

  I brushed both their hands off me and pushed past them. “I’m sorry...”

  When I arrived in Biology, Ian wasn’t there. It wasn’t until just before the tardy bell sounded that he slinked in, parking a seat at the opposite side of the classroom from me. Then he vanished the moment we were dismissed sixty minutes later. The instant Coach Whitmore saw his face when he came into gym fourth hour, Ian was sent to the nurse’s office. I didn’t see him again for the remainder of the day.

  I sprang up like a jack-in-the-box from my seat at the end of Study Hall and thought to run for dear life to my locker, wanting nothing more than to escape from this torture. Unfortunately, I knew the cops who had been assigned to tail me throughout the day would be far from pleased by my escape attempt. Even as I dialed in my combination, it dawned on me that I didn’t have anywhere else to really go.

  “See you still haven’t been able to lose the security detail,” said Gwen, swinging her book bag over her shoulder as she came to my side.

  I peered down the hall, and sure enough, the two officers were standing guard not fifteen feet away. “I feel like I have three shadows. Can’t get a moment’s peace. They even wait right outside the bathroom for me.”

  “You wanna get your mind off things and help with Homecoming decorations? I’d suggest going someplace a bit more enjoyable, but I’m tied into this.”

  “I get it,” I said, collecting my things and closing my locker. “Sure, why not?”

  “You want another hand?” asked Jack, appearing behind me not a second later.

  “We can use all the help we can get,” said Gwen.

  “Unless you want to get out here,” said Jack, turning to me.

  “Nah, this is okay. I could use the distraction,” I confirmed.

  We started walking towards the gym when the officers pulled me aside.

  “It would be best for you to come with us,” said one of them.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked.

  “We just think that taking you home would be the safer bet here,” replied the other as they surveyed the inside of the crowded gym.

  “She’ll be with me, okay? She’s in good hands,” assured Jack, staring them down.

  The both huffed and turned to me. “What time will you be done here?”

  “Six,” replied Gwen.

  “We’ll be back at a quarter to. Come meet us out front,” they said firmly.

  “Will do,” I said.

  Succumbing to every last one of Gwen’s orders seemed to be enough to keep me preoccupied for a while as I ran around the gym with everyone else in a desperate attempt to please her and her Homecoming vision. Jack’s presence gave me the security I both wanted and needed, but as more and more Victorian décor was propped up for display, the harder it became to suppress my thoughts of Ian. My conscious didn’t present itself as the elephant in the room. It was an entire circus! All the commotion and lack of breathing space in the gym suddenly made me feel claustrophobic.

  “Damn, we’re almost out of paint here,” said Chloe.

  “Yeah, and we could use some more brushes, too. The bristles on these are starting to fall out. They’re getting stuck to the banners,” addressed Trish.

  Gwen deflated, trying best to keep her cool. “Okay, fine. I’ll go to the art room.
Just try not to burn the place down while I’m gone.”

  “I can go!” I declared.

  “You sure?” asked Gwen.

  “Yep.” I darted out of the gym before she could stop me. I needed to be alone!

  Chapter 28

  Time of the Season

  By the time I reached the secondary cafeteria, my eyes burned with restrained tears. All the muscles in my stomach and back spasmed as I tried desperately to choke down the storm brewing inside me until I knew for certain that I was alone. When voices echoed across the vacant space from adjoining hallways, I raced up to the east wing corridor and collapsed the moment I slammed the art room door shut behind me.

  Barely managing to muster enough strength to lift myself off the ground, I went into the supply area tucked away in the back of the empty room and hugged my knees the moment I hit the floor again as I folded them to my chest. I mercilessly began to snob until there was nothing left in me.

  The doorknob to the art room clicked and the heavy wooden door creaked as it was pried open. I had already entered a state of acute hyperventilation from my hysteria, so trying to quiet myself by regulating my double breathing wasn’t an option. I simply held my breath.

  “Cassie?”

  It was Jack.

  When his footsteps entered deeper into the room, I fiercely wiped the tears off my cheeks and the smudges of mascara pooling under my eyelashes.

  “Cassie?”

  I slowly lifted myself off the ground and started grabbing supplies with my back strategically turned towards him.

  “I’ll be there in a sec,” I called out. I had tried my best to say the words as smoothly as possible, but I wound up choking out the phrase with a slight whimper.

  He came up behind me, and when he stepped to my side, I turned away to avoid him seeing how badly bloodshot my eyes had become.

  “I just came to see if you were okay.”

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

  Just as I was about to head further down the supply shelves, his fingers gently took hold of my wrist.