“Are you crazy?”
They drove forward, then the back door opened.
“Get in, Tara.”
Yep. Here was Sam. She couldn’t possibly want me to sit by her. Not only did she hate me, but I’d drip water all over her, thus destroying her Goldilocks hair and Red Riding Hood outfit.
“Polar, if you don’t come willingly, we’ll force you. Now what will it be?”
“So you’re going to cage me at a zoo?”
“Tara-bear, get in!” Sam snapped, moving over to occupy the middle, most uncomfortable spot. What deviant desire motivated this show of kindness?
The rain was cold, and I was frozen like ice. They are headed my direction.
I slid into the seat next to her, careful not to slam the door, although I was sorely tempted.
David, the driver, looked at me through the rear-view window and briefly smiled. Now it made sense why they’d stopped to give me a ride. Though a star football player, David couldn’t kill a fly, let alone watch me walk home in sleet. He was a gentle giant unless out on the football field, where no one stood a chance against him.
Asher sat on Sam’s other side.
When our eyes met, he gave me that same laughing smile from yesterday after meeting him in the bathroom. My cheeks warmed. Could I not meet him on normal ground? I must look pitiful.
“Have you met Asher yet?” David asked. “Started school here about a week ago.”
“We’ve met,” I grumbled, not wanting any attention. But that would explain part of why I hadn’t recognized him. Hopefully, he didn’t say anything about the bathroom incident.
“We’re going for some hot cocoa. Want to join?” David asked.
“Not really.” I sank down into the seat, wanting to hide from everyone. “Take me home. Please.”
As he continued toward our neighborhood, David began singing Rain, Rain, go away. He was off key, and it made me smile.
“David!” Sam and Layla said together.
“Sorry,” he said.
He and Asher chuckled together, the happiest sound in the world.
Yearning to be part of it, I turned my face even more toward the window, resting my forehead against the glass. There was so much water dripping from my hair, none of them noticed a tear slip down my cheek.
Reaching across Sam, Asher offered me a stick of gum. “Here,” he said. There wasn’t a question in the statement.
The gesture sent a trickle of warmth into my frozen body, and I took the offering more out of a state of shock than that I wanted it. “Thank you.”
He smiled, and Samantha huffed. When he then offered her a piece, she waved her hand dismissively. He took one out for himself before dropping one down David’s shoulder.
It was one of those rare moments when both good and bad sources swirled together inside me. I unwrapped the gum, enjoying the fresh wave of mint bursting free.
David pulled up my drive, and I got out quickly. “Thank you.”
Asher lowered his window as I walked past. “See you tomorrow, Tara?”
My cheeks flushing, I waved without looking back at him.
Did he even know about last year?
The garage door had been left open, and Daniel’s blue SUV was parked inside. He was home already? Daniel worked at the school district office and was usually there until after five.
Opening the door, I slipped through the entry and hurried toward the stairs, wanting to bypass a conversation with him about why I was drenched.
“Tara? Wait a minute!” From the right, Daniel came through the arched doorway leading into his office and bedroom suite. He took off his glasses, removing his nerd factor a little. “I need to talk with you.”
I hesitated, eyes fixed to my door right off the top of the stairs. That wouldn’t be enough. The bathroom was a better way to escape him. “I need to take a shower.”
“I just got off the phone with your social studies teacher, Mrs. Keely.”
“What?” I finally looked at Daniel. Really? Mrs. Keely actually called him?
“She says you’re failing. You haven’t been finishing your tests.”
“D isn’t failing.” I took one more step upward.
Daniel reached up and placed his hand in front of mine on the railing. “She said as of today you have a fifty-eight percent in her class.”
“I don’t fail my classes.” I released the rail and continued toward my room. Although fifty-eight was bad. I’d come close to failing social studies in the past, but I’d never dropped below a D.
“Tara, don’t ignore me.” Daniel followed.
“I need a shower!” I got to my room and rummaged in my dresser for a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Pulling them out, I let them fall to the ground.
As Daniel appeared in my doorway, I began to strip out of my long-sleeve cardigan, hoping he’d take the hint and leave. “Get out!”
“Tara…” He averted his gaze, about to shut the door, then it snapped right back to me and my wet hair. “Wait, why are you soaking wet?”
“It’s raining. Haven’t you noticed?” I pushed him farther into the hall and slammed the door. Not the most respectful behavior, but I’d never respected his authority. Oops was the only reason he stayed.
As Daniel knocked on the door, I pulled off my wet top and pants, then reached for the sweatshirt, pulling it over my head. Heavenly warmth.
“We still need to talk.” He sounded mad.
I couldn’t believe he was still outside my door. “No, we don’t!” I looked down at the sweatshirt, a little surprised by the one I’d grabbed.
It was overlarge, dark green, with a hood. It covered me down to my mid-thighs. Nothing extraordinary. Except it was the one I stole from my brother Holden after he left to fight demons with his alv father.
Daniel knocked, lightly this time. “Oops is sick. She’s sleeping right now. I have to get back to work, but would you check on her in an hour?”
Using the door as my support, I sank to the floor and drew my legs up close to my chest. Burying my face inside the shirt, I took a deep breath, taking in Holden’s fading scent, almost believing he was still doing homework in the room one over.
I hadn’t talked to him since the spring. His betrayal still hurt. Last time I’d asked about him, Daniel said his current assignment with his father, Iago, was secret. They hadn’t spoken to him either. But that was months ago. He could have called me by now.
“Tara?” Daniel said, now super edgy. “Could you check on Oops for me?”
“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.” Of course I will.
“Thank you.” His tone rose, sounding exasperated. “I’ll be back by five-thirty. Your mom didn’t think she’d be home until close to midnight.”
My mom. It had been a long time since she’d played that role in my life. Once, she loved me even more than she did her own son, Holden. Even before she officially adopted me, Mom had treated me like her own, but everything changed when Dad died.
A few minutes later, after the sounds of the car roared to life and the garage lowering echoed up to me, I wandered out of my room.
Down the hall, Oops sang a soft, weepy song. It was time I checked on her.
Everything in the room was pink except the outdoor nature mural Mom and I painted when we found out she was a changeling. Even fake nature helped to stir positive source.
Oops played with her dolls at her play table. She had Mom’s blonde hair and blue eyes and was a perfect little princess.
I sat down by her.
She didn’t smile. In fact, she avoided looking at me.
“You’re mad at me.”
She nodded.
“Why are you mad at me?” I asked.
“Because you yelled at my daddy.”
I pressed my lips together, looking toward the bright yellow sun painted on the wall. Whenever she was home, I tried to keep my dark-source driven anger in check. With a sigh, I said, “I see.”
She came around and set a hand on my arm, releasing s
ome of her positive source into me. It had a different taste to it than my own. Her childhood innocence combatted my teenage flaws. “You have too much dark source inside you. It makes you not nice.”
So much wisdom in her bright eyes.
“I wish I could take some of your dark source from you,” she said.
You can, I almost told her. But I was pretty sure that was something I wasn’t supposed to know—or do.
It was a moment like this last spring, when I had yelled at Daniel and had to make amends with Oops, when I realized I could draw source out of alvs. I’d needed to find a way to force the demon out of Jerrick so I could kill it.
I’d always known I could give other people my source. That I could enhance or destroy with it. No one had ever taught me I could take it from an alv, pure or changeling.
After talking with Jerrick’s brother, Cam, I’d learned, theoretically, a demon would leave if an alv had no source. It occurred to me if I could give away source, maybe I could take it.
I’d experimented on Oops by draining a little of her bitter source and discovered I could steal the source of an alv. Finally, I’d found a way to free Jerrick of the demon.
Oops rested her head on my arm. “I do a better job controlling my bad source than you.”
Wasn’t that the truth.
I stared into her eyes. “Can you teach me how to do a better job controlling my source?”
Oops smiled a little. “Well, one way my positive source grows is when I share.” Her little beady blue eyes got a bit of their sparkle in them. “Do you have any more gum?”
I had the piece Asher gave me still tucked in my cheek. “Hmm?” I laughed. “How do you know I have gum?”
“I can smell it,” she declared.
“I bet Mom has some somewhere. Do you want me to find it?”
She grinned and nodded.
“I’ll be right back.”
Going into Mom’s room, I found a pack stashed inside one of her purses. Standing, I paused to look at the wedding picture she had on top of her dresser.
It wasn’t of her and Daniel. It was of her and Dad.
They looked so in love.
I remembered that day so well, along with the day a week later when Dad finally gained full custody of me from Gran, and Jenn—Mom—officially adopted me.
My chest tightened. Those were golden years in my memory. They’d ended too soon when Dad was killed.
If you loved him so much, why’d you marry Daniel right after he died?
Pushing back tears, I rushed from the room to find Oops.
4. Emma
Yet again, I failed to enter the right combination for my locker. That was the third time in a row. “Come on, you stupid thing.” I pounded on the door. Where was Jack when I need him? He was usually here by now.
The seventh or eighth time was the charm. “Thank you.” I crammed my jacket into the locker and pulled my algebra book from the top shelf. It slipped from my hand and landed square on the top of my foot.
“Ow.” Pain shot through my foot up my leg. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore how much it throbbed. I went to pick up the book, but it had been replaced by a pair of dark brown dress shoes. I followed the attached trendy-jean-panted legs up past a blue sweater-cladded torso to the attractive face of the boy who’d picked up my book.
The new student—Asher. I really couldn’t meet him on fair grounds.
My face warmed looking at his aqua-green eyes. It wasn’t right for a boy to have that brilliant of a color.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
I took my book out of his hands. “What do you want?” I managed, feeling tongue-tied. My practiced rudeness got the better of me.
A crooked-grin stole across his face. “I asked if you were all right.”
“Oh.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, then turned to my locker. “I don’t usually answer that question to people I don’t know well.”
He leaned against the locker. “Can I get to know you?”
My cheeks flushed. I looked inside my locker for my math notebook, needing a distraction. Did he track down where my locker was to talk to me? I was not ready for someone to be interested in me—even an attractive somebody like Asher. Especially an attractive somebody like Asher who Sam was trying to be friends with. “I...kind of don’t let people know me for their own safety.” Equipped for advisory, I closed my locker.
He stood up straight. When he did, he was more than a head taller than me. Definitely intimidating.
“Safety? Well, if that’s your concern, what if I sat by you at lunch. Can’t do much to hurt me there.”
I lifted my eyebrows as disbelief rubbed against the back of my head. I picked at the binding on my book, flattered and unsure. Sam would definitely notice if he sat by me. “I don’t let anyone sit with me at lunch.”
“Uh—”
“I tutor Jack in math during lunch. He doesn’t count.”
At that moment, Jack arrived straight from the stairwell. “Ouch, Tara.”
Rolling my eyes at Jack, I stepped out of his way so he could get into his locker.
“You had something for me, Asher?” Jack cut his way between us to get to his locker and opened it. “Make it quick. Bell’s about to ring.”
Oh. Asher hadn’t tracked down my locker. He was meeting Jack. Disappointment swirled inside my stomach. I took a step toward the stairs.
Asher unslung his backpack and pulled out a girl’s small backpack. “Would you mind getting this back to Emma?”
Emma? The name lured me back like a worm on a hook does a fish. Jack had a cousin by that name. She’d been in a horrible car accident a year ago that left her paralyzed from the waist down, and Jack had been out of school for a couple of days.
Asher handed Jack the small bag. “I found it while I was packing my room. She must have left it last time she was over.”
Had Asher dated Emma?
Anger lurked in Jack’s red-brown eyes as he took the bag from Asher, then he took a deep breath. “Not sure she’s going to even want it back.” He set it on the top shelf before closing the door again.
As Jack passed Asher, he stopped to whisper something in Asher’s ear.
“I don’t plan on it,” Asher said as Jack headed back up the stairwell.
I watched Jack’s retreating back before looking back at Asher. “You know Emma?” I asked.
As Asher rezipped his bag and put it on his back, his brows furrowed and he looked away from me.
“Yeah, we were neighbors until I moved here.”
Just neighbors? I wanted to ask.
“Hey!” Jack jumped down the last two steps. His reappearance startled both of us.
Asher gasped, both hands coming up defensively. “Look, I know—”
“Dude, chill.” Jack patted his shoulder. “I’ve got something for you too, if you want it.” Jack quickly opened his locker and pulled a slim, dark blue book from his backpack and extended it toward Asher.
It’s gold title was hard to miss. The Holy Bible.
Last time I’d seen one of those was playing at Jack’s house as a young girl.
“You want it or not?” Jack asked.
Asher took it from him, brows furrowing. “I wouldn’t want to—”
“It’s an extra copy I’ve been carrying around because I felt like I was supposed to give it to someone.” Jack softened. “Guess that’s you.”
Asher’s eyes got some light back in them. “Then yeah. Sure. Beats reading it on the computer.”
“Your smartphone not good enough either?” Jack chuckled.
“I’m trying out a screen-free diet,” Asher said with a smile. “I only use my phone to call or text.”
“Gotta be joking,” Jack mumbled as he once again retreated up the stairs.
As if unaware of my continued presence, Asher opened the book and read.
What am I doing still standing here?
“This,” he unexpectedly looked at me, “is
a good book.”
“I wouldn't know,” I said. The bell rang. “I was supposed to stop by Keely’s!” With that, I rushed off down the hall.
Asher placed his lunch tray down in front of me.
“What are you doing?” I lowered my apple, staring at him.
“You’re by yourself.”
“There’s a reason for that.” I glanced around the cafeteria. Yep. People were looking at us. And whispering. “Can’t you go back to wherever you came from?”
“Impossible. They kicked me out.”
I took the bait. “Who kicked you out?”
“More like ran me out, but—”
Lydia sat down in the seat next to me. “Move along. You’re obviously not wanted here,” she said to Asher.
I was so torn between arguing with her and letting this happen.
Asher’s shoulders raised toward his ears. I’d never seen a person look more like a cat backed into a corner by a dog than Asher at that moment.
Asher glanced over his shoulder, then at Lydia.
“That’s right. Go back to where you belong,” Jack said.
Asher hesitated a second longer.
Until then, I’d avoided looking him straight in the eyes. When I did, I thought I saw myself in them.
Lonely.
Asher stood, collected his lunch, and confidently strode around the cafeteria to where David sat. He was welcomed among them almost as though he’d never transgressed their secret code by sitting with me. Sam quickly filled the empty seat by him and began to flirt, twirling a golden lock on a finger.
Jack arrived with his math homework. “You okay?” he asked me. He gave Lydia a disapproving glare. With a huff, she rose and headed to her usual table.
“I’m fine,” I said, then looked at him. “Can you give me a ride home today?” We lived on opposite sides of town, which was really the reason why I never asked him. Besides, his schedule was so full...but...I was so tired of riding and walking.
“Yeah. Of course, Tara,” he said. “But you have to wear your seatbelt.”
Before the bell rang in Lit, Lydia poked me.
I shifted around in the seat to look at her. She didn’t sound or look jealous. In fact, she seemed worried.
“You should stay away from Asher. At least until Sam realizes he’s not interested.”
The Changeling's Source (Evedon Legacy Book 1) Page 5
