Mercy gasped. “Are you saying I’m fat?”
“No!” Chuck held up his hands and took a step back. “No, I never said that.”
“Good,” Mercy said, folding her arms. “So, McDonalds, then?”
“Not for me. I’m just gonna go straight to work.”
“What why?” Mercy stared at me incredulously. I played with the straps on my bag to avoid staring into her face.
“I need the money. The sooner I pay off the window at the Hut, the sooner I can get cash in my pocket and be able to actually buy myself nice things.” I grabbed at my hair and shoved the ends into her face. “I’ve got my eye on this conditioner I saw on TV. Supposed to make your hair bouncy, shiny, and split-end free.”
Mercy scoffed. “Those things never work. But whatever. We’ll come down later, but I wanna go home and change first.” She turned to Sam. “Can I catch a lift with you?”
“Sure,” he said, still staring at me. “Unless you want me to take you to work, Amerie?”
I shook my head a little too quickly. “No, no, that’s fine, Sam. I need the air.”
Chuck laughed under his breath and muttered something about sap. Then he spotted a girl from my French class and chased down the hall after her. Using this as my cue to leave, I waved goodbye to Mercy and Sam then took off to the bus stop.
I was not missing this bus today. Missing that bus might lead to missing my chance to get my answers from Marshall. Though I didn’t want to admit it, the thought of just seeing him wasn’t so bad either.
I worked from midday to ten that evening. I pushed myself, making sure I got to as many tables as possible, and delivered food speedily. At the end of my shift, I had a pocket full of tip money. The Hut had been swarming with kids from my school, all displaced, with nowhere to go, so they spent a whole lot of their time and money hanging out, eating, and playing pool.
Though I made sure to distract myself with work, it didn’t mean I wasn’t constantly looking out for Marshall, who was nowhere to be found. The slimy prick was avoiding me. If only I could get my hands on him.... I made an excuse to stay behind after my shift for an extra twenty minutes, pretending I was brushing up on my waitressing skills, when truly I was giving Marshall extra time to show. When it became apparent he wasn’t coming, I threw in the towel and stormed home.
I hurled open my front door, wincing when it slammed against the wall behind it. To think that I’d been tempted to take up Marshall on his offer. I mean, if The Damned were after me, I should be prepared, and I did need to get back into my training.
I stomped up the stairs, cursing under my breath. He could shove his offer where the sun doesn’t shine. There was no way I could train with someone I knew nothing about, and he wasn’t being terribly forthcoming.
As soon as I opened my bedroom door, I made a beeline straight for the wooden chest hidden under my bed. The top layer was filled with keepsakes from my old life. Photos, receipts, empty expensive perfume bottles, broken watches, and jewelry I couldn’t afford to get fixed. Memories tried to break through the block I’d put up in my mind, but now was not the time to let them. . I lifted the shelf and carefully set it aside on the floor.
The bottom of the wooden chest was full of weapons. I stared down at them, my heart pumping dully in my chest. Hadn’t I sworn I would never need these? However, if Marshall was right - and I had a feeling that he was - then I would need some skills to protect myself.
Hesitantly and laced with guilt, I reached into the chest, past the crossbow, past the axe, past the swords and truncheons. My fingers closed around the cold hilt of a Blessed dagger my mother had bought for me from a specialist dealer when I turned fifteen. I’d never used it, but I’d vowed to her that I’d carry it with me everywhere. Obviously, I’d broken that vow.
It had an intricate pattern embedded into the black hilt, and the silver blade was long with a sharp, deadly point. It felt heavy in my hand, powerful. With my other hand, I slid the shelf back into the chest and closed the lid. Then I walked over to the bed and shoved the dagger under my pillow.
Chapter Eleven
Theme Park World
I woke to my phone vibrating across my bedside table. Without looking, I reached over and flipped it open, pressing it to my ear.
“’ello,” I grumbled.
“Finally! Gosh, I’ve been ringing you for half an hour.” Mercy’s shrill voice cleared away some of the sleep fog in my brain.
With a groan, I sat up, turning to look at the time. It was a little after eight in the morning. “You do realize we don’t have school, right? That equals me having a lie in. This better be good.”
“How fast can you be ready? Chuck got hold of some half-price tickets to Thorpe Park! But I wanna get there before lunch to avoid the queues. Sam’s driving and we’re meeting at the train station by me...”
I groaned again and flopped back. “Okay, okay. I’m up. I’m getting ready. I’ll be there in about an hour and a half.”
“I know what you’re like. I’ll give you two hours. See you then, bye!”
I shut the phone and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for my body to wake up. Was going to a theme park honestly what I needed to do right now? I needed to find answers; I needed to find Marshall.
With a dramatic sigh, I slid out of bed, and then headed into the bathroom for a shower.
Forty minutes later and I was bounding out the door, slipping a rucksack onto my back. I bypassed the elevators, which never worked anyway, and jogged down the concrete stairs.
And skidded to a halt.
Leaning against a black Porsche parked right outside, was Marshall. He grinned when he saw me and straightened, arms folded across a broad chest. I took a few steps towards him, and then when I noticed his black eye and split lip, I changed my mind and walked away from Marshall.
“Aw, come on!” he called after me. “Are you not happy to see me, baby?”
I ignored him, mentally chastising myself for concerning myself about his wounds. He flaked on me. He purposely didn’t show up to The Hut yesterday because he knew I wanted answers. No, I was not letting him have all of the control. I could find out what I needed on my own. Screw Marshall, and his charming smile, and amazingly gorgeous looks.
“Okay, I’m sorry for not turning up yesterday.” His feet pounded against the pavement as he ran to catch up with me. “Don’t be mad. Even though you’re sexy as hell when you are.” He grabbed my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“Don’t touch me,” I shouted. “Just leave me alone. Wherever I go, there you are being creepy and pervy. I’m sick of this, Marshall. And, you know what? I don’t give a shit about your secrets. Keep them. I hope they make you feel all warm and snugly at night.”
He smirked at me as if he thought my rant was cute. Anger bubbled up inside me, and before I could control myself, I swung forward and punched him. He staggered back, his hand flying up to his cheek.
“What was that for?” he shouted.
I shrugged. “Go away. I don’t want to see you again.” I started walking again, forcing myself not to look back.
“Amerie. I’m sorry I didn’t turn up, but you need my help. Don’t walk away from me, no matter how much I enjoy seeing your behind.”
“Get used to it because all you’ll see from now is my behind.”
He didn’t follow me after that.
It took a little over an hour to drive up to Thorpe Park. On the way, I tried my best to forget about Marshall, about The Damned, and about the mysterious ‘Seal’. I threw myself into playing car games and joining in discussions on which rides we were planning to go on first. By the time we parked, I didn’t have to pretend to enjoy myself anymore. The anticipation and the atmosphere was addictive.
We paid using the discount voucher Chuck had gotten for us, and then headed into the gigantic dome full of arcade games and attractions. Thorpe Park wasn’t new to any of us, but it didn’t stop us from staring around like a group of tourists at the towering roller co
asters and carnival booths. It wasn’t busy either, though I did see quite a few groups of kids our age who had obviously ditched school for the day.
With a vow to come back into the dome later, we walked straight through and outside to the main theme park. Screams echoed through the air, mingled with shrills of laughter and squeals of joy. Mercy led the way, grabbing Chuck’s arm and pointing out everything and anything to him. This left Sam, and I, trailing behind the others. . Like we were on a date.
“So,” Sam said, coughing slightly, “how’s the job going?”
“It’s going well, thanks.” I stared down at my black Vans. “How’re you finding Maxwell? Missing your old school yet?” A group of younger girls skipped past, and I didn’t miss the appreciative glances they shot at Sam. I stared up at him, thoroughly assessing him. I had thought he was attractive on his first day. Now, something had changed.
Marshall, my brain whispered. Dammit. I couldn’t see anyone but him.
“...you know?”
“Huh?”
His eyes narrowed in confusion. “I was answering your question. Weren’t you listening?”
My cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry. Drifted into my own little Amerie world there. Say it again?”
He turned away from me, staring forward as if concentrating hard on where he was walking. “Forget it,” he muttered.
“No, Sam, don’t be mad...”
“I’m not mad.”
“You seem mad.”
He stopped, turning on me. “I’m not mad! It’s just...don’t worry.”
“No, tell me.”
“Forget it. Forget I said anything. Let’s just enjoy ourselves. Okay?” He didn’t wait for me to answer; instead, he turned away from me and strolled to catch up with Chuck and Mercy.
“Ew, look at the queue,” Mercy said when I caught up to her.
I turned to where she pointed. The queue for Colossus was huge. It spiraled and twisted underneath the whole rollercoaster and through little makeshift bridges and tunnels. I groaned and reluctantly joined the end. The estimated time above us said fifty minutes. It was going to be a long fifty minutes standing with Sam who was now trying to avoid me.
“I’m hungry,” Mercy whined.
I stared down at my watch for what had to be the fifth time in the space of ten minutes. “We’ve only been queuing half an hour, Mercy. You’re gonna have to wait a bit longer.”
“Thanks Mum,” she snapped. Her moods were forever dependent on food.
“This ride better be worth it,” Sam muttered.
“Chuck,” Mercy said. “Chuck...”
Either Chuck was ignoring Mercy, or he couldn’t hear her. Though he stood right in front of me, he was craning his neck to look at something behind me. I turned around, immediately seeing what held Chuck’s attention.
A beautiful blonde was tying up her shoe against a rock formation. She was one of two girls in a group. The other girl was dark and equally beautiful. I raised my eyebrows, amused by how easily a girl could capture Chuck's attention, when I sensed something.
I spun around, searching through the crowd for Marshall. It had to be him. A head of dark hair moved near the two beautiful girls and disappeared behind the fountain. I leaned to the side, trying to follow him and prove Marshall had followed me here, when I tripped over Mercy’s foot and landed butt first on the ground.
“Oh, shit,” I groaned, my cheeks warming to the point where they’d gone red. Not that my tanned skin often blushed. A hand appeared in front of my face, and I took it, allowing them to pull me up. It was Sam.
“You okay there?” He was smirking, but at least he wasn’t pissed off anymore.
“Yeah, thanks,” I said, dusting off my jeans. I glanced back to the fountain, but the man and both girls were gone.
Mercy stumbled forward and laughed, obnoxiously in my face, her curls bouncing and tickling my skin. “What the hell were you looking at? Must have been something good!”
I shrugged and shoved her forward to move with the queue. “Thought I recognized someone.”
“Was it them?” Chuck asked.
“No, no I don’t think so.”
We didn’t queue for much longer, thank God. When we got to the front, it was two to a row, so I grabbed Mercy’s arm and tugged her back. She wasn’t leaving me with Sam the whole day.
“What’re you doing?” she hissed.
I pushed her towards an empty row, not allowing her time to switch with Sam. “Just sit down, Mercy. I wanna ride this with my best friend. Is that so much to ask?”
She flopped back in the hard, plastic chair and yanked the harness down over her head. “You’re avoiding Sam, aren’t you?”
“No,” I lied.
“Yes you are. You know he likes you, and now you’re running away like you always do. You’ve got such commitment issues, I swear.”
I shook my head, laughing incredulously. “Commitment issues? And me and Sam are just friends.”
The ride started forward amidst a harmony of screams and squeals.
“Stop kidding yourself,” Mercy said.
Before I could ask her to elaborate, the rollercoaster spun down, and I could force no more words out, not that she’d hear me anyway. The cart twisted and turned, hanging us upside down and slamming us against the harnesses. Mercy screamed wildly beside me, and I had to admit, the freedom of the ride was nice − the air on my face, the feeling of falling and being uninhibited in any way. It was strange, but I was perfectly relaxed.
When the ride pulled to a stop, and the harnesses lifted, I wanted to beg the ride attendants to let us go around again. I’d barely climbed out of my seat when two other people were rushing to take our place.
“Oh my God,” Mercy breathed as we walked away from the ride. “That was amazing! I have to see our picture.”
“I know, right!”
We met Chuck and Sam at the photo counter. They were laughing and pointing to the screen showing our pictures. I skipped between them and stared up. Mercy was mid-scream, her eyes were wide with excitement and fright. But my face...I looked content. My smile was tranquil, and my eyes were bright.
“You look beautiful.”
I spun around, my heart sinking and then speeding up double time. Marshall stood behind me. It had been him earlier. He was with the two beautiful girls that Chuck had been ogling. They were laughing and pointing at everyone’s pictures with the other people in their group.
I grabbed Marshall’s arm and dragged him to the side, trying not to pay attention to the different looks on my friends’ faces. Mercy’s mouth was open in shock. Chuck was mesmerized by the blonde, and Sam, well Sam looked completely pissed.
“Watch the jacket,” Marshall said. “It’s real leather.”
I ignored him. “What’re you doing here?”
“Out with friends.” He gestured to his group, as if I needed physical proof.
“And you happen to be here at the same time as me? After I punched you earlier?” I shook my head. “No, you’re following me, Marshall. Stop it.”
“I told you, I’m making sure you’re safe.”
“I don’t need a bodyguard; especially not one as ignorant and arrogant as you. Leave me alone.”
“I’ll tell you what,” he said, leaning in closer to me. “Hear me out and if you don’t like what I’ve got to say, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“Can’t you leave me alone anyway?”
“Nope. Not part of the deal.”
“I really don’t have time to listen to anything you have to say anymore, Marshall. All you’ve done since I first met you is play games with me. No more games. I’m not interested.”
Something caught Marshall’s eye over my shoulder, and his whole body tensed. Though his eyes slid back to me, I wasn’t his focus. “Your boyfriend’s getting angry at me. I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
I was a breath away from correcting him, but I stopped myself. “Are you going to leave me alone?”
“Will your boyfriend hit me if I don’t?” Marshall smirked. It was challenging and not at all friendly. “Maybe he can give me another bruise to match the one you gave me.”
“Please stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Right, I’m gone.”
I started to turn when his arm whipped out so fast that I couldn’t stop him from grabbing hold of my hand. “Don’t go. I know this is getting old for you, but I’m willing to explain.”
I snatched my hand away from him. “Too little too late.”
“Amerie?” Sam appeared beside me, putting a possessive hand on my elbow. “Everything okay here?”
“Go away, little boy,” Marshall said. “We’re talking here.”
“I don’t think so,” Sam said. “If you’re bothering her then I’m telling you to back off.”
“Sam, it’s okay. He was just leaving, and so are we. Goodbye, Marshall.”
I let Sam lead me back to Mercy and Chuck, all the while wondering if I’d just made a colossal mistake. He was obviously willing to explain now, having followed me here to do it, and I was desperate to hear what he had to say.
“Who was that?” Sam asked as we walked out of the photo hut.
“I work with him. It’s cool,” I said, rubbing my arm absentmindedly.
“He seems like an ass.”
Mercy laughed. “But a cute one. And he has a cute one too. You’re lucky he’s all into you, Amerie. I say go for it.”
I shot her a look. “You’d tell me to go for a psycho murderer, if he was cute.”
“Meh. Life’s short.”
Chapter Twelve
Revelations
The sun had set hours ago, leaving a chilly wind in its place. We took refuge in the arcade dome, where we stayed until we didn’t have any cash left to waste. Armed with a huge teddy that Sam had won for me, and a few picture key rings, we bid the theme park farewell and headed to the car park. It was as if we were all infected with theme park fever. We laughed uncontrollably, and at things that weren’t even funny. We were carefree – a feeling I could undoubtedly get used to having again.
My Heart be Damned Page 9
