That night when I returned to my room, I was ready to face Sharon. I wanted to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing with Lance? And maybe threaten her with hell and damnation, or at least with burning the hair off her head if she didn't lay off him. But she wasn’t in the room.
Beth came in late, pissed because Kenzy had stood Luke and her up. I let her rave and rant until after midnight before going to bed.
And still no sign of Sharon.
29
Two days later, I was once again sitting on my desk, staring at Mr. Denholm’s book. The binding was dark with age, but when I sniffed it closely, the warm leather smell was as strong as if it had been newly bound. I turned the heavy pages carefully, worried about tearing the yellowed paper.
Mr. Denholm seemed nice enough, but I suspected he was protective of his books. It was surprising he’d lent me this one from his private collection.
After an hour of trying to find something, anything, my eyelids were drooping. This stuff was boring. The book was composed of different handwritings, some in faded cursive I had no chance of deciphering, others in bold, printed ink. Most of it had been added a long time ago.
I read the same passages over and over while making notes of unfamiliar words. Which was every third one, it seemed. Beth had lent me a huge dictionary. Both books were open on my tiny desk, taking up so much space, I had to be careful not to push them off the surface.
My thoughts drifted away from the task at hand. I was glad Lance, and I had had our heart-to-heart. Although I hadn’t told the boys about Lance’s fling with Sharon, they’d known already. Gossip traveled fast in the academy. But they made a point of including Lance, ready to move on if I was.
I turned another page. On the top of a double-spread, it read in thick, purple ink, “Magical Drainage and Precautions Therefrom.” Bingo.
When somebody sounded a rapid tap-tap on the door, I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the interruption. Ten minutes ago, I would have appreciated an interruption. Anything to pull me away from the tediousness of the text. The knock repeated, and I closed the book after sliding a piece of paper between the pages as an impromptu bookmark.
Julian stood outside the door, smiling when I opened. “Wanna join us for dinner?”
My stomach growled. I’d come straight to my room after class, wanting to take another shot at finding something important in Denholm’s book. I grabbed my coat, stepped outside, and took his hand. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”
The cafeteria was as noisy as ever. Even though the kitchen was about to close, most of the seats were taken. Julian and I quickly lined up to grab the last bowls of stew before the serving staff removed them. I’d gotten used to the congealing meat and soft bits of vegetables. The food wasn’t inspiring, but it filled me up and tasted… well, the less said, the better.
Kiernan and Lance had saved two seats for us. I put my tray on top of the long table, avoiding contact with the sticky surface. I’d never seen anybody wipe anything down in the time I’d been here, although logically I knew somebody had to clean the place after hours.
The boys caught up with each other while I listened and chewed. I hadn’t told them about the book yet, mainly because I still wasn’t sure what was going on with Lance. Maybe once I’d finished reading the chapter on energy drainage, I’d know more about how to proceed.
Julian’s mentioning of my name pulled me back into the conversation.
“—Amber and I might need some help figure out the Tech-Mag drawings Whitehall distributed today. Could we meet tomorrow?”
I nodded. Boy, did I need help with that. But Kiernan shook his head. “Sorry, I’m gonna have to study.”
“What about on the weekend?” I asked.
“Yeah, no can do. I’ve got a paper due on Monday.”
What paper? Julian, Lance, and I looked at each other. We all shared the same classes. There was no paper due I knew of. Julian’s eyebrows were drawn together, his expression half irritated, half suspicious.
Kiernan shrugged. “I only just found out myself. My mother apparently contacted Farkas and insisted I’d be enrolled in another elective.”
“Another elective? Seriously. When are you going to tell her you have enough on our plate?" That was Lance, calling him out. He’d caught up on his sleep and looked much better. The color had returned to his face, and his attitude was a breath of fresh air after his subdued behavior over the last few weeks.
Kiernan, in contrast, was clearly working too hard. He studied until late at night to keep up with his schedule. His mom had made sure Kiernan was on the fast-track to a cushy government job. Mrs. Hennessy's position gave her a lot of clout with the scheduling committee, apparently.
I thought it was stupid. Instead of doing really well in the required subjects, Kiernan was stretched so thin, his performance was dropping across the board. But he simply didn't seem to have the courage to stand up against his mother.
As if to prove the point, he shrugged and said, "She means well. I don’t want to fight with her when I talk to her once a week. But I promise, if it gets too much, I'll tell her."
Beth and Luke were sitting at another table. I felt a little guilty because my research and schoolwork had kept me too busy to catch up with my best friend.
"Hey, guys," I called out to them. Beth looked up and waved, a weak smile on her face. "Any news from Kenzy?"
Luke's face dropped, and Beth shook her head. "No, all we were told is her parents pulled her out of school."
That was weird. Kenzy’d seemed completely into Luke and my roommate. Would she have left without writing them at least a note? Or try to get in touch somehow?
“Wanna talk about it tonight?”
Luke hunched his shoulders, pushing his drink around the table. He avoided my gaze, looking utterly miserable. Beth put her hand on his before nodding. “Yeah, that would be nice. I’ll hang with Luke tonight, but maybe on the weekend? I’d like to talk.”
They left soon after, and I waved at them before returning to my conversation with the boys. There was so much other stuff going on. I had my own issues. Like how to keep Sharon away from Lance, stop Kiernan working himself to death, and make Julian not behave like a mother hen to make sure I was up on my course-work.
Soon afterwards, the boys went back to their dorm, and I took a long walk around the academy grounds. By the time I got back to my building, it was fully dark. It had been bliss, getting away from everybody for a few hours and clearing my head.
Sharon had finally returned, but she was fast asleep. I glared at her blanket-covered body out of principle. Beth was reading in bed, and Slug was hiding under it. No matter how much I tried to coax him out, he stayed put.
“Fine. Whatever. Stupid cat,” I muttered, before feeling guilty about being gone all evening. This was becoming a familiar cycle of leaving him alone and trying to make it up to him. Beth grinned at me over the top of her book before diving back into the pages of her novel.
Sharon groaned and turned over. She didn’t wake up, and the blanket slipped off her face as she moved. I squinted, not sure what was different.
“Beth.”
My friend grunted, looking up from her novel.
“What’s wrong with her?”
Beth twisted around in her bed to get a good look at our sleeping roommate. “Oh. She looks terrible.”
“Should I wake her?”
“No. I’d let her sleep. Let’s find out in the morning what’s wrong with her this time.” Beth yawned and put her book on the ground next to her bed. Then she turned her reading light off. “Night, Amber.”
“Night, Beth.” I snuggled into my mattress, hoping Slug would join me. His eyes were visible under Beth’s bed, but he wasn’t budging. Probably something I’d done or said. Stupid cat. Knowing him, he’d pounce on my head in the middle of the night.
Despite my physical tiredness, I found it hard to fall asleep. Questions raced through my mind. Where had Sharon gone? Why did she never talk
about what was going on? What had happened to her this time, to leave her in such a state?
Because honestly, she looked terrible. Her face was gaunt, and her lifeless hair was plastered across her skull. I remembered when I’d first met her, made up like a doll with perfect hair and makeup. The girl lying in the bed only a few yards away was a far cry from that Sharon.
Then I remembered what the librarian had called her. I’d clear forgotten to ask Beth or the boys what a nixie was. I’d do it in the morning. Maybe it would help me figure out what was wrong with her.
Eventually I drifted off, but my sleep was plagued with nightmares of black-clad men chasing me, of Slug abandoning me to the goons' mercy. When morning came, I was exhausted and cranky and just in the right mood to interrogate Sharon.
Of course, that was the morning I overslept. I was in the middle of a lovely dream involving hands all over my body, rubbing, stroking, when a heavy weight landed on my chest. Half-awake, I pushed at the obstacle, only to get a mouthful of hair on my next inhale.
“For God’s sake. Slug. Seriously,” I gasped, in between fits of coughing and trying to expel the noxious cat-flavored strands. “You are the worst. Get off me!”
Slug turned around once, whipping my face with his tail, before slinking off my convulsing body and waiting expectantly for his breakfast. His expression seemed to say, “I woke you. Get over it. Where’s my food?”
I yawned, stretching my arms as high as they would go. “Beth, do you know where…” I looked at her bed and frowned. My eyes widened. Shit. She’s gone. And so is Sharon. What time is it?
Getting up so fast my head swam, I rushed to Beth’s bedside and checked her alarm clock. 8:35. I sniffed my armpit—nope, I needed to shower. That only gave me twenty-five minutes to feed the cat, so he wouldn’t turn on me, and get my ass to class.
I made it with a minute to spare. It set the tone for the day. I chased my tail from class to class and was exhausted by the time Friday evening came around.
Sharon didn’t return until the following Friday.
30
It had been a hard week. Last term, papers had consisted of regurgitating our notes into a clean format. This term, we were expected to—gasp—do research. I spent every free hour in the library, either by myself or with Julian, who was still struggling with Tech-Mag.
My head swam as I stared at the image of a motherboard. Julian dragged his finger along the paper, trying to understand how to destroy a PC from the inside without leaving any traces of tampering. “So if I put a drop of water here”—he pointed at where the battery connected to a row of silver solders—”wouldn’t that do it?”
“You’re asking me?” Like I had a clue. Shaking my head, I wrote down another question to research. “How much water can you introduce into a PC to shut it down, but not be detectable?”
I bent forward and banged my forehead on the table. My voice was muffled as I covered my head with both arms. “We’re going to fail. I know it.”
“You’ve got this,” a voice murmured next to my ear. The familiar scent of damp earth and fresh moss relaxed my hunched shoulders. Kiernan. I glared at him. “Did your mommy give you permission to play with the other kids?”
Hurt flashed across his face, but the fleeting emotion was immediately covered up by a cocky grin. “I’m here now, amn’t I?”
I couldn’t stay angry when he exaggerated his Irish accent. All I had in me was an eye roll, and even that was half-hearted. To make it worse, the bastard knew the effect he had on me. He turned my head and kissed me right on the mouth. My eyes closed, and I allowed his tongue to explore me.
Julian laughed. “Oh yeah. He’s got your number.”
“Fuck off,” I mumbled against Kiernan’s lips, struggling against his hold when all I wanted was to sink into his caress. He drew back, and I blinked to wipe the stupid smile off my face. I wasn’t fooling either of the boys. To cover up how much Kiernan’s kiss had affected me, I asked, “So what brings you here?”
“It’s Friday night. Are you up for a games night? Luke and Beth are coming as well.”
Spending time with my boys? Count me in. I nodded vigorously. Julian got up and stretched. The relief in his voice made me grin.
“That’s a great idea. I can’t remember the last time we had any fun.”
I asked, “Will Lance be there?”
“Sure. I left a message under his door. See you in an hour?” Kiernan answered as he helped his friend pick up pens and the circuit plans.
“An hour? Gotta go.” Men. Seriously. That would barely give me enough time to shower and change. But I didn’t want to put it off until later, either. As I walked back to my dorm, my stomach fluttered with excitement. A whole evening with the boys. Wow. Anything could happen.
Beth arrived at our room just as I did. I was laughing out loud at something she said, when I heard a muttered, "Shut up."
Before I could react, Sharon repeated it, although her voice still barely carried. "Shut the fuck up."
I looked at Beth, startled. Then we turned and stared at Sharon’s bed. Sharon lay under the cover, her face only partly visible. But what I could see made my stomach turn.
Her beautiful, thick hair had fallen out in patches, the skin showing between the black strands. Her skin was sallow, and her eyes closed. Beth walked to Sharon's bed and sat down.
"Sharon. What happened to your hair?" She reached out her hand, ran it gently over Sharon's scalp, and gasped. “Oh, no.”
Beth held up her fingers with several clumps of hair dangling from them. "Sharon. Talk to us. You're scaring me."
When Sharon didn’t respond, Beth got up and walked toward the door. "I'll get help."
"No." Sharon lifted her head. "Please. Don't. I'll be fine. I tried a spell, and it went wrong. Ms. Farkas says I just need to sleep it off. It'll be better soon."
She dropped back on her pillow and closed her eyes, seemingly going to sleep immediately. Beth and I exchanged glances. If the head witch was involved, there was no point calling anybody else. The only thing we could do was see how Sharon was in the morning. As little as I liked her, I didn’t want her to be sick, either.
"Should we stay and watch over her?" I whispered.
Beth shook her head. "No. You heard her. She wouldn't lie to us about her health. Ms. Farkas said she'd be fine."
I made sure Sharon had some candy bars and a glass of water within reach. Then we changed quickly and left the room as quietly as we could.
I had no idea why nobody had thought of planning a communal room for the students, but maybe we weren't expected to hang out together. Very little here at the academy was laid out for us to have fun, it seemed. No games room, no outside play equipment like balls or even Frisbees.
Julian was waiting outside the boys' dorms. There was nobody who would have stopped us from entering his and Kiernan's bedroom, even at this hour.
Luke was sitting on the ground, counting through a box of game tokens. Kiernan helped him lay out a selection of board and card games. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd played anything other but online games in my old life.
Luke broke into a broad grin as he pulled Beth onto his lap. I joined Kiernan on the bed, and Julian sat on my other side.
"Where's Lance?" I asked.
Julian jumped up. "I'll see where he is."
Lance's bedroom was only a short distance away, and Julian returned within a few minutes. "That's odd. His light is on, but he isn't there. I checked the bathrooms as well. Looks like he’s gone out."
I frowned. I'd been looking forward to hanging with all my boyfriends. Had Lance forgotten we were supposed to spend the evening together? Kiernan shuffled the cards, a sly grin on his face. "His loss. Poker, guys. Who's up for it?"
We spent the rest of the evening playing cards and talking. But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I’d only known Lance for a short while, but for him to just not show up?
Beth and Luke seemed to have
a good time, but they were missing Kenzy. More than once, I caught them exchanging sad glances before focusing on their hands of cards again. It brought me down as well, and Beth and I said goodnight before midnight.
When we walked back, the moon hung bright-white in a starless sky. It was still cold, but there was a kiss of spring during the day. Purple and yellow crocuses had sprung up around the campus. During the day, the sun was warm enough to make students shed their winter coats.
The scent of budding trees danced around the bite of icy winds. Spring was around the corner, and personally, I couldn't wait to wear a dress without covering up in scarves and hats and gloves.
By the time we arrived inside our room, I was so cold, I was looking forward to burying myself in my warm cover. Beth turned on the light to make sure Sharon was doing okay. Our roommate was fast asleep on her back, her face turned to the wall.
I glanced at her, then did a double-take. Stepping closer, I reached out to make sure I wasn't seeing a mirage. Carefully, I pulled her cover down to get a good look at her head. Swallowing hard, I stepped back. How was this possible? Her previously patchy hair was full again. There was no sign of her scalp peeking out from between the shoulder-length strands.
"Beth. Come here."
Beth stepped next to me and whispered, "No way. She looked like shit earlier. Her hair was falling out."
"Do you think it's magic?"
"What else would it be? Somebody must have cast a spell or given her a potion."
She was right. Hair didn’t just regrow in a few hours unless there was some kind of magical juju going on. "Maybe Ms. Farkas gave her something while we were gone."
I nodded. That had to have been it. “Let’s talk to Sharon in the morning. No point waking her now.”
Beth got into bed, and I was about to follow when a dark red blob on Sharon’s bed caught my eye. At first, it looked like an old blood stain, but then I realized it was a rust-colored denim jacket peeking out from under the cover. I walked over and tugged on it until I held it in my hand. My lips tightened as anger constricted my throat. I knew this jacket. Lance had worn it only the other day. What the hell was it doing in Sharon's bed?
Second Chance Soul: a paranormal reverse harem steamy slow burn academy adventure (Second Chance Academy Book 2) Page 15
