by C. L. Stone
“Contact?” I asked.
The boys turned to me, but it was Kota who answered. “The one who called us about this job.”
“Oh,” I said, the heat of a blush rising on my face. “So what do we do?”
Kota looked at North. “I need to take someone with me to go find out who this Vera is, and how much she might know about Sang, or anything else going on for that matter. We need to figure out how bad this situation actually is.”
“We probably should have left sooner,” North pulled out his phone and checked the time. “We’ll have to get downtown and hope she’s still at the office.”
Kota’s lips curled up. “North, you go with Victor. He needs to check out everything Mr. Hendricks is doing right now. We don’t have anyone on him. We are relying on other teams to follow McCoy. We don’t have enough hands as it is now.”
“Who’s going with you?” North asked.
He looked at all of us and then settled on Nathan. “You okay to go?”
“Who stays with Sang?” Nathan asked.
“Luke and her will head to the diner. They’re going to wait there.”
“Oy!” Gabriel said before I had a chance to question why Luke and I were going to the diner when they were short-handed. “What about us left?”
“You and Silas need to go figure out damage control. How far are people taking this? Are the police even interested?” Kota sighed and then frowned. He dropped his bag on the ground and then took off his sweater dropped it on top. “I guess we can get rid of these stupid uniforms now.”
As the bell rang and voices and footsteps sounded around the grounds to signal the end of the day, the boys joined in throwing off their jackets, shedding them possibly for the last time.
They seemed determined this was it: the final showdown. Changes were coming. I’d been a part of it, even though I wasn’t sure what my place would be in the future. What was going to happen to me? Would I get to stay with them?
Kota led the way to the parking lot. He was going to ride with Nathan in the car Dr. Green had left behind, leaving his vehicle for Luke and I to use.
Numb and with questions and what-ifs whirling around in my brain, I quietly followed Luke to Kota’s car. There was nothing else I could do.
WHERE THE GAME CHANGES
Luke drove Kota’s car in silence, and it was a couple of miles before I realized we had even moved. I was so dazed out, sure that we should have stayed behind, or gone with one of the others. I wanted to obey Kota, and yet was in shock over what was going on.
When I came out of my thoughts a little, I watched Luke driving. The afternoon sun was giving his blond hair an almost halo-like glow. “Luke,” I said quietly, looking over at him.
He turned his head slightly, locks of his blond hair falling in front of his light brown eyes. He’d gotten rid of the jacket, wearing only the T-shirt he’d worn to school with the jeans and white shoes. He had a strange look in his eyes, tired but something else, too: worry, anxiety maybe.
I wasn’t the only one worried about what was to come. Things were changing.
North had mentioned Luke didn’t adjust well to change.
Plus, Luke seemed different to me now. Maybe something had transformed the way I thought of him after yesterday, especially after finding those clothes in his closet.
I wanted to talk about him, but couldn’t figure out a way to begin.
“Isn’t there some other way we could help them?” I asked instead, determined to figure out how to talk about him later. “I feel like we should do something.”
Luke raised an eyebrow and then refocused on the road. “You’re the one who grounded me,” he said, his voice a little scratchy.
My breath caught in my throat and I choked as I spoke. “Wh—what?”
“Didn’t you tell Kota that if I was the one who did the masks, you were grounding me?” he asked. “Now we have to go sit in time out.”
I sat back in the seat and looked ahead at the road, my eyes drawn to the yellow and white lines and yet not paying attention to them. He’d confessed to Kota about the masks. It was a relief, knowing it hadn’t been Volto. But at the same time, I was disappointed. Had he been that upset with North? What about the rest of us? Wouldn’t he know we’d be worried, too? It didn’t seem like him at all.
I swallowed my urge to scold him. I needed to get on his good side and find out what was troubling him. I realized now that might be why Kota had insisted we were to stay together. Maybe getting to the bottom of this was just as important as everything else going on.
“You scared me,” I said quietly.
“Sorry,” he said. He smiled lazily and pushed his foot on the gas, going over the speed limit. “Don’t be scared. Try to forget about it. Let’s get to the diner. Maybe if it isn’t too busy, we can get in another good nap in the office.”
Was that it? Something still didn’t feel right about him being so dismissive. I wasn’t really up to working at the diner now that I was so distracted and anxious, but if North and the others were gone, we were the only ones left to take over.
When we finally got to the diner, Luke parked and we left our bags in the car. The sun was warm, but a slight breeze was setting in and there was a bite to the air. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my light jacket.
Luke stood in front of the car, his hands in his pockets, too. “Man,” he said. “It’s a bit early for this sort of weather. I guess after Halloween, it does start to get a little cold.”
“Are you still really tired?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Got a nap in after lunch. I can make it.”
I gazed at the diner. There were only a handful of cars in the lot, and I had to guess that some of those were employees’. “Do we need to go in?”
Luke tilted his head as he focused on me, his blond locks sliding across his forehead before he swiped them back with his fingers. “Not in the mood?”
This was my chance. I could confess anything to him, but I needed to find the right place. I couldn’t talk to him at the diner where there would be customers or Uncle around. “If they don’t need us,” I said carefully, “maybe we can go get some food and just relax? Being grounded doesn’t mean we have to go work at the diner, right?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Maybe…”
“Are you really in the mood to wait tables?” I asked, knowing I was pushing him a little. “We just need to stick together, right? What if we went in and told Uncle to call us if it gets too busy? We can stay close by.”
Luke looked over at the diner and then at me. His lips slowly shifted up in the corners, as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “I could just call. No need to go in.”
I waved a hand at him, trying to be encouraging, hoping Uncle would be honest. I wouldn’t want Uncle to tell us it was fine if he really needed the help. “Make sure he knows that North isn’t going to make it.” Then I paused. “And…Maybe…”
He stopped pressing buttons and looked up at me. “Yeah? Something else?”
I sighed. “Make sure your Uncle knows I’m with you, and we’re going out together?”
Luke cocked an eyebrow, lowering the phone a bit as he gazed at me. “He needs to know?”
I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, stretching the material. “I was talking to North in the office yesterday, and he got after me to leave North alone and hang out with you.” As I said it, I realized too late that it sounded like I was being forced to spend time with him. I didn’t want him to think that, so I smiled and rushed to say, “Only he didn’t realize I was actually there to see if you wanted to go out. I’d asked North…you know when I called?”
“When you called…” He trailed off and then brought his phone back up look at it, but didn’t push any more buttons. “Did he give you a hard time?”
The heat of a blush trailed over my cheeks, despite the chilly air. “Your Uncle was adamant that I focus on you, and not be so friendly with North. I had to convince him that I wasn’t
interested in North as anything other than a friend. And that I wanted to…to go out with you.”
His eyes lifted, meeting mine. In the sun, the dark brown turned lighter, amber mixed in. Some of his blond hair whipped around the sides of his face, framing his jawline. Out of all the guys, I’d always thought he was the most model-like with his features, lean and yet beautiful.
He stepped toward me, lowering the phone to his side, and stopped just short of stepping on my toes.
I stilled.
He tilted his head to look at me and simply stared down at me for a moment while I wondered what he was going to do next.
“I’m going to call Uncle,” he said quietly, his smooth, rich voice low and almost hard to hear. “But do we have to stay on this street?”
I didn’t want to go too far in case Uncle did need us, or perhaps Kota or the others came back. “Where do you want to go?”
“My house,” he said. “Will you come with me?”
I considered if I should suggest Nathan’s house.
I nodded enthusiastically. Maybe it was wrong to leave, but perhaps he’d feel more comfortable talking at his own house, maybe in his room. “Will we be able to get back if we need to?”
“Probably,” he said, and then stepped back and dialed the phone. He held the phone to his face and talked to Uncle. As he spoke, he walked away, facing the diner, his back to me. I could hear his voice, but not the conversation.
My body began to shake with anxious energy. I was still very concerned about the others, but we hadn’t heard from them and I assumed that meant nothing was terribly wrong. I hoped I was making the right decision to get Luke alone and away from the diner.
If I could help Luke, wouldn’t that help the team?
A DATE WITH LUKE
When Luke got off the phone, he shooed me back toward the car.
He turned the key and the car roared to life. “I wish we had someone else’s car. Kota’s is such a clunker.”
He started off driving without his seatbelt. It bugged me but I waited for as long as I could, before Kota was in my head telling me to say something. “Luke?” I said, wanting to be delicate.
“I have this place in mind,” he said. “Hang on, I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
I leaned over to check his speed. “Are we in a hurry?”
“I want to stop by and grab some food,” he said. “Don’t make me tell you—it’s a surprise.”
I was glad he seemed so upbeat. There was a new excitement in him, as he sat straight, eyes wide, both hands on the wheel. “Don’t forget your seatbelt,” I said.
He looked down quickly, like he didn’t believe it wasn’t on. “Whoops,” he said, slowing down as he pulled the seatbelt over and clicked it into place. “You sound just like Kota.”
I giggled. “My voice doesn’t sound like his.”
“I mean the way you make it sound nice. You’re just reminding me. You aren’t telling me off for forgetting like North does.”
I settled into my seat, my head turned to look at him. “He did seem a little harsh on you yesterday.”
“That was pretty nice for him, actually,” he said. He brushed a hand over the steering wheel, tracing his fingertips along the grooves. “He can get really mad sometimes. Or paranoid. Lately, he’s been asking where I’m going every time I move, even if I’m on the way to the bathroom. And he keeps talking about…” He paused and then his shoulders relaxed. “Sorry. I don’t mean to vent.”
“No,” I said, reaching to touch his elbow. I held onto it, encouraging.
He sighed and looked down at my hand for a moment. He shifted and grabbed my hand, tucking it between his arm and his ribs, hugging it a little as he resumed driving. “I need a third hand, I think.”
I was a bit uncomfortable with my arm stretched out, but I left it there, happy that he was open to being touched. “I’ve missed you,” I said, and then blushed hotly, even though it was true. I hadn’t seen him or been around him like this in a while.
The smile on his lips broadened, and he tightened his arm against his body, squeezing at my hand. “I could tell yesterday. You don’t usually call me.”
I looked at the dashboard, trying to work up some courage. Mr. Blackbourne had once said that to get the guys on my side, I had to be completely honest. It had become easier to talk to Gabriel about nearly everything. I was working to get that way with North, and the others as well.
It was time to spill my thoughts as honestly as I could to Luke.
“I’m not used to all the attention,” I said quietly. Tears teased my eyes but I tried to make them go away and be brave. “My parents never wanted to hear what I had to say.”
“They’re gone, Sang,” he said gently. He released my hand and sat up a little in his seat. His turned to me. “You don’t have to be like that anymore.”
“I know,” I said, trying to smile, even thought my lower lip trembled. “And then there’s trying to figure out my place in the group. With school and where I had to hide from Mr. McCoy and with everyone following us. And now worrying about everything that’s happening…” I pressed my lips together and then put my fingers over my mouth, taking a moment to calm myself. “Sorry,” I said through my fingers. “It’s hard to explain.”
“I understand,” he said with a soft smile. “I’m a little nervous, too, now that it seems like stuff is going down. And we’re not even there.”
“No,” I said, feeling like I hadn’t explained what I needed to at all and wanting to make my point before I got too distracted talking about what was going on. “I mean, I was just trying to say that I’d been thinking of you and wanted us to spend time together. I don’t want you to think I wasn’t thinking of you.”
There was a long silence between us. “Are you okay?” he asked, slowing the car and looking over at me every few seconds.
I hesitated but then asked, “What do you mean?”
“You don’t usually talk like this.”
“We…aren’t…alone a lot?” I said.
“You’re usually so quiet,” he said. Then he smiled and refocused on the road. “Sang, you sit in the group and we all talk around you. Maybe I’m just not used to hearing your voice so much. You get in a good couple of sentences, but never a lot.”
“Sorry.”
He glanced over at me. “No, no. Don’t be sorry. You should talk more. I never hear your voice much but I love it.”
“Oh,” I said quietly, my heart fluttering. “Luke…” I searched for something to say.
“Oh no, I broke it,” he said with a chuckle. He reached out, poking me in the ribs. “Come on. Start again. You were talking about…uh…how you weren’t really close with your parents? And then it’s been hard to adjust? Tell me what it was like before us.” He took back his hand and put it back on the wheel. “Tell me what you did all day back then.”
I started out slowly, trying to explain to him what life had been like before the boys. It wasn’t always punishments like he’d known. There was loads of time where I never even saw my mother, or even my father or sister. I went to school, worked on schoolwork at home, read books to pass the time, took walks.
I told him all this, and then he started shaking his head. “What about when you weren’t doing anything?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“You spent a lot of time just hanging about, right?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think about?”
I paused. “I don’t know… Lots of things.”
“Like the future?” he asked. “What it would be like to get away?”
“Kind of,” I said, nervous to tell him about my old daydreams. “Honestly…it’s silly.”
“No. Don’t stop. Say it.”
I remembered what Mr. Blackbourne had said about being honest—this was probably the kind of thing he’d been talking about. “I used to think about…one day going to school and not feeling so shy. That I could walk up and just talk to someone like it w
as no big deal.”
“You wanted friends?” Luke said in a quieter voice. “That’s all?”
I blushed, feeling silly, but went on. “I spent a lot of time alone, even at school. No one sat next to me at lunch. At recess, I would sit and watch everyone else playing. I’d sit on the swing alone…or by the time I got to middle school, I’d go to the library and avoid being around anyone.”
“Aw…Sang,” Luke said. He sighed and shook his head. “Hang on. We’re almost there.”
I’d been concentrating so hard on what to say to him, that I hadn’t watched where we were going and was surprised to find us pulling off the interstate and in an area I wasn’t familiar with.
“Now we just have to find a place to park,” he said, pulling onto a road with a little traffic. “I hope it isn’t too busy. Shouldn’t be on a Monday.”
We drove on about another mile before he pulled the car into a strip mall. A few of the shops were empty, but there was still a bar, an Army recruiting station, a Chinese takeout place, and a gym, so there were still people going back and forth, mostly to the bar and gym.
I was worried we might have been followed by Mr. Hendricks and his team. Luke didn’t appear fazed though and parked the car. He got out, hurrying around to open my door. “Can’t forget to do this part,” he said with a smile.
I got out and he closed the door behind me. The light jacket and thin skirt weren’t enough to keep out the chill. I dipped my hands into the pockets of the jacket and held on tight to myself.
“Cold?” he asked, taking me by the elbow, guiding me beside him.
I shrugged, not wanting to worry him. “I’ll live.”
“Just wait until we get to the house,” he said. He looked up to the sky. “Looks like it might rain.”
I didn’t see any rain clouds, just some white puffs high up in the sky. We weaved through cars and headed toward the shops. He crossed his arms over his chest, over the T-shirt he wore, like he was cold, too.
