by S. K. Kelley
“Oh! I love your outfit,” she says with a warm smile.
I scratch my arm, fighting the urge to make a self-deprecating comment. “Thanks. It’s all new.”
She gushes over my boots in particular. I return the favor by complimenting her appearance, and then we walk down to her car. Her smile remains bright and pleasant, but she strikes me as rather thoughtful.
“You don’t mind Carmen, right?” she asks. “She can be rather intense, I know.”
My hand freezes on the door handle as I laugh. “Oh, no. To be honest, she reminds me of Rose. They have the same energy. It’s fun.”
“Oh, good.”
We get ourselves buckled in, and Night starts the car, reacting with muted embarrassment when her radio comes on far too loud. She turns the volume down with haste.
“So, what have you been up to?” she asks.
“Not much.” Just wallowing in self-pity. “Oh— But I did get a letter from Human-Immortal Affairs in the mail. About the River Sapphire.”
She takes her eyes off the road for an instant. “Oh? Did you learn anything interesting?”
“A little. I mean, it was made using my DNA.”
“Your DNA, huh?” she asks with a stifled grimace, her tone dry and unimpressed. “That is interesting. I wonder how Ice pulled that one off.”
“Right?”
“Sorry. And—” She sighs, adjusting her hands on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry about the other day too. I don’t know if the man you saw at the mall was James or not, but I should have told you that mentioning him to Ice was a bad idea.”
I stare at Night’s profile as she drives. Her eyes don’t leave the road ahead, but her expression is muted and uneasy, almost like she feels guilty.
Why?
“Anyway, I’m sorry he took it out on you.”
“When he called, he made it sound like I was friends with the guy or something,” I mutter. “It was weird.”
She laughs, but her smile doesn’t touch her eyes. “Ice? Weird? You’d be surprised, Jayde.”
“Who is James, anyway?”
“As I said before, he’s someone we knew as children, up until high school. James and Ice didn’t always get along, so I imagine it touched a nerve to hear about him so unexpectedly.”
“Is he...a bad person?”
“James?” Surprise flickers in her wide eyes, but she shakes her head. “No. He has a nervous disposition, I suppose, but he was never unkind to me. Or to anyone else, as far as I’m aware.”
“Hm.”
Then what’s the issue?
She takes a deep breath and flashes an obviously forced smile. “Anyway, I hate talking about high school as much as Ice does. So, could we...”
“Oh!” I glance at my lap. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry.”
“I know,” she says, her voice brighter. “But thinking about the past isn’t always fun, so I’d avoid bringing James up in the future if I were you—especially with Ice.”
“Right. I’ll keep it in mind.”
There are things I’d rather not talk about too, so I get it. Even if their history only makes Ice’s reaction slightly less uncomfortable and annoying in hindsight.
No. I’m still frustrated.
When we get to the mall, the Choi twins have yet to arrive. Night and I order smoothies, sit across from each other at a food court table, and talk about nothing—the weather, reality TV, how a disproportionate number of immortals are famous.
She doesn’t have much input on that either.
I’m in the middle of a sentence when a hand, wrist adorned in rainbow jelly bracelets, and a third smoothie slam against the tabletop.
“Night,” Carmen says, her voice loud. She glances between us and grins. “Thanks for inviting us.”
Natalie stands calmly beside her sister. As our eyes meet, she brushes her sleek, dark hair over one shoulder. She smiles, the soft expression crinkling the corners of her lavender eyes.
“Thank you for coming,” Night says.
“Of course.” Natalie takes the chair next to mine. “It’s nice to see you again, Jayde.”
I return the sentiment.
Carmen cuts off her energetic conversation with Night, slides into her chair, and points across the table—at me. “Did you see it, Nat? The necklace she got from you know who?”
Her sister laughs. “I saw it. You showed me, remember?”
“It’s pretty, right? Taylor has a purple one, doesn’t he?”
Who? I glance between the twins.
Natalie nods. “Can’t recall if I’ve ever actually seen it, but Dawn’s whole family is air, so it only makes sense. Since Jayde’s is blue, and the Monroes are water, you know?”
“Wait—” I sit up straight, caught off guard by my own realization. “Is there someone else like me in Riverview?”
Night catches my gaze before looking to Carmen, who shrugs.
“If you’re not a complete ass, you’re nothing like him,” she says, flashing a wry smile. “Trust me, girl. We invited him here, stressing the fact that another human was coming, but he didn’t respond to our messages. He didn’t even bother telling us off. And I know he read them all.”
Night frowns and glances at her drink. “I figured as much. I asked Dawn about him too, but he has her blocked online.”
“That’s cold,” Natalie says under her breath.
“You guys tried to invite him here? For me?”
“Keyword tried,” Carmen says before glancing away, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest.
That’s too bad.
I’d give almost anything to talk to someone who can relate to me in any way. Few humans know about immortals and even fewer are part of the Human Immortal Program.
Just over four hundred in the United States.
What are the odds that two of us live in the same city?
“Taylor’s not so bad,” Night says, her eyes averted as she takes a drink of her smoothie. “But he is the only other human immortal I know of, so I thought I’d at least try.”
Human immortal, huh?
Carmen cackles. “Riiight.”
“So—” Natalie clears her throat. “How does yours work?”
I smile. “It doesn’t. The necklace doesn’t work yet.”
“Still?” Carmen asks, clearly disappointed. “Is there something wrong with it? Or is there, like, a charging period?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. Suddenly, all eyes are on me. “I heard it can take a few months before anything happens. But, um, do you know how it works for Taylor?”
The twins exchange uncertain glances and shrug, but Night, who suddenly looks worn out, nods.
“He has a necklace too,” she says. “If I remember correctly, he morphs by taking it off. To remain in human form, he has to wear it all the time.”
I tip my head, unable to mask my unease. “That seems kind of inconvenient, doesn’t it?”
“Especially when you hate, uh...cats,” Carmen says with a short laugh. “I bet ten bucks he wears that thing twenty-four seven. You won’t be like that, will you, Jayde?”
“Oh, no. I think it’ll be neat. And...I like cats.”
“WELL, THAT WAS FUN,” Night says warmly as we leave the mall together. “I’m glad you get along with Carmen and Natalie, but I’m sorry Taylor didn’t show.”
I shake my head. “It’s fine, honestly. I had a good time, and it’s enough to know I’m not completely alone in this thing.”
“Even so, I had hoped he would want to meet you.” She sighs, adjusting her grip on her purse. “Before now, he was the only human immortal in Riverview, and one of the only humans our age who knew about immortals at all. At the very least, he was the only human going to Wisteria while I was there.”
Was he lonely?
Night stops beside her car and turns, her expression careful. “But Carmen isn’t entirely wrong about him either. Taylor has a...low opinion of immortals.”
“He doesn’t
like them at all, huh?”
“No,” she says as she opens the driver’s side door.
I sit in the passenger seat and buckle my seatbelt, focused on her as she mulls it over with her hands on the steering wheel.
“For as long as I’ve known him, Taylor has hated immortals,” she says. “I don’t know if he was always so disenchanted, or if he’s changed any since graduation, but I hope the same doesn’t happen to you.”
“It won’t.”
She offers me a smile.
“Do you know how he learned about immortals?” I ask.
Her nails tap the steering wheel, but she shakes her head. “He was adopted by an immortal family when he was in elementary school, I believe? I can’t quite remember when he transferred to Wisteria, but he was a grade above me, and we had a couple classes together in high school. He was quiet. Rather antisocial, really—if you tried to talk to him. I assume most of the information circulating about him was rumor, though.”
He was adopted by immortals as a child, but he hates them all?
What happened?
“Not meeting you is his loss,” she says with a sigh. “Even if you didn’t get along well enough to be friends, I thought meeting might benefit you both...”
“It’s fine!” I force a smile. “Thanks for trying, though. It means a lot.”
She smiles in return, but she seems distracted. “Is it fine? To be honest, Jayde, I still wonder if you would have been better off if Ice never told you about us. Isn’t it already causing trouble for you?”
Is it?
“Maybe a little,” I admit. “But I’m glad he told me.”
twenty-eight
IT SURPRISED ME WHEN Ice called.
He laughed easily, and he spoke as though everything was fine. He asked how I’ve been—I said I’m doing okay. Then he asked if I like Thai food and invited me out for an early dinner.
Of course, I agreed to go.
I don’t have anything better to do at home, and I probably should stop avoiding him. Nothing will change if we never talk.
Sadly, there’s no expectation of dressing well this time.
I gaze longingly at the plum cocktail dress in my closet. I only bought it so I’d have something formal to wear in the future.
But there’s plenty of time for that, right?
Tonight, the clothes I’m already wearing will work. I brush my hair and try to decide if I want to attempt eyeshadow while I apply mascara. Nah. This is fine. I stick a bobby pin in my hair to keep it out of my face and call it good.
When I answer the door, Ice smiles. He’s wearing the black leather jacket, his hair is perfectly tousled, and he more resembles the man I met the day before my birthday. Cool. Confident. Hot.
I think he was just tired from the Seattle trips, after all.
“You look good,” I say.
He laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “Ready to go?”
I nod, and we’re off.
Everything feels normal. Ice is quiet—as he usually is while driving—but he’s clearly in a good mood, so I tell him about the letter from Human-Immortal Affairs. He listens with heightened interest. I get the feeling he was serious when he claimed he didn’t know much about the River Sapphire.
“It’s good news, though,” I say with a laugh. “I was so worried when it didn’t work at first, but it sounds like it’s normal. Hopefully, it will activate in a few weeks—or a couple months, I guess.”
“Makes sense. Perhaps the gemstone needs time to calibrate to your body?”
“Maybe. But, um, I do have one question... How did you get the DNA sample they used to make it?”
His expression shifts almost imperceptibly.
“Ah. You found out about that, did you?” With a mild laugh, he shakes his head. “The DNA sample came from hairs I found in the passenger seat. It was easy to tell which were yours.”
“My hair?”
Ugh. At least he didn’t cut it off in my sleep.
He meets my gaze for an instant, his smile mellow. “Why? Did it bother you—finding out how it was made?”
Did it bother me?
“Not really,” I say slowly. “I was just curious.”
“You aren’t upset with me?”
I force a smile to mask my confusion. “No? I mean, that’s like the least invasive way of collecting someone’s DNA, right? And, in hindsight, it only makes sense the gemstone required mine.”
“It seriously doesn’t bother you? None of this bothers you?”
“Should it?”
“Should it?” With another laugh, he adjusts his hands on the steering wheel. “I don’t know, Jayde.”
The conversation is strange, but this is the most talkative he’s ever been while driving outside of Westbrooke, so I’ll take it. He doesn’t seem upset over the way I yelled at him last week, anyway.
I’ll take it.
Eventually, the car pulls into the parking lot of Twantok House Thai Restaurant. It’s a cute building with a red and green exterior and signage in both English and Thai. I follow Ice inside. The decor is gold and orange and red and green, full of beautiful East Asian imagery. A sweet tang fills the air.
Please Wait to be Seated
A small, older woman lights up when she sees us. She steps out from behind the hostess station with a broad smile and pats Ice on the arm. Her kind, almond eyes are dark brown. She’s human, and I don’t know why it surprises me so much.
“Ah, it’s the Monroe boy.” Her voice is warm, her accent thick. With a glance at me, her smile softens. “Where is your sister? And who is your new friend?”
Ice returns her smile and pats me on the head. “This is Jayde. It’s just the two of us today, Mrs. Bunmi.”
“With me,” the woman says. She ushers us further into the restaurant and stops again at a booth beside a curtained window. “Sit, please. I will bring tea.”
“Thank you,” Ice says before taking a seat at the table.
I sit across from him, and Mrs. Bunmi offers me a laminated menu. She announces the daily dinner special. Then, with a polite nod, she returns to the front of the restaurant.
“She’s so friendly,” I whisper, both surprised and awed. “Is that normal service here?”
He laughs. “I’ve been coming here for years, quite regularly at times, so she is rather familiar with me.”
“She likes you, then?”
“Mrs. Bunmi likes most everyone she meets,” he says in vague amusement. “Though, I suppose she may have a soft spot for return customers.”
The menu contains several photos, and everything is written in Thai with English translations and short descriptions below. I recognize a few dishes, but I’m unfamiliar with Thai food and not sure what I’d like.
I’m not too picky, but...
“What are you getting?” I ask.
He shrugs. “The same thing I always get. Pad thai.”
Pad thai? Well... I ate instant ramen at least three times in the past week, so I’m not exactly in the mood for noodles.
“I’ll just have the dinner special,” I decide aloud.
He flashes a bright smile. “How adventurous of you.”
According to the menu, chicken satay is essentially just grilled chicken skewers served with rice and a savory peanut sauce, but sure.
Adventurous.
Mrs. Bunmi returns with a tray carrying glasses of ice water, a metal teapot, and two small, porcelain teacups. She sets the table and takes our orders—Ice’s being the usual. Then, after a polite promise to return shortly, she hurries away.
I pour a cup of tea. Steam rises from the pale liquid. It smells floral, like jasmine. Green tea, maybe? I add a little sugar and an ice cube from my water glass.
“So, is this your favorite restaurant?”
“I suppose,” he agrees, filling the second cup with tea. “For the pad thai, that is. I’ve been told the sauce is an old family recipe. It’s quite mysterious and second only to Sarai’s. It’s too bad N
ight can’t seem to replicate it—her mother is a genius in the kitchen.”
“Maybe I should have ordered that instead.”
He tips his head and watches me for a quiet moment. Then he glances away and takes a sip of steaming unsweetened tea.
“I suppose I could spare a bite for you,” he says.
“Maybe...” Change the subject. “So, why’d you want to come here? With me? Today?”
Not like that!
“Today is my cheat day.” His voice is casual as his gaze flicks up to meet mine. “And I wanted to see you.”
Aah... Was I avoiding him for no reason?
I force a smile and fiddle with my bracelet. “Well, I’m glad you called. To be honest, I kind of thought you were mad at me.”
“Mad at you?” He smiles, his eyes wide and sparkling with curiosity. “Whatever would I be mad at you for?”
“For, um...”
I glance aside. I hoped to get an apology out of this date, but I doubt that’s why he asked me out.
He’s acting like nothing happened. Like he never said those nasty things about James. Like we never snapped at each other on the phone. But Night said I shouldn’t bring it up again, and trying to skirt around the topic would only make things awkward.
“Never mind.” Uh... Say something else. Anything else. “Hey, are you doing anything for the Fourth of July?”
Today is the second.
I should have asked about his plans earlier, but this is fine. What can we do on such short notice, though? The fireworks display at Riverside Park? Are there other events? Something on the coast, maybe?
A flicker of disinterest crosses his face—the ghost of a frown. “Night was invited to a party. She asked me to go with her, but I intend to decline.”
“So, you’re free?” I ask, but my relief falters. “Or do you not like the Fourth of July?”
“I am a full-blooded American, Jayde,” he says with a dry laugh. Resting his chin on his fingers, he offers me a smile. “Why? Did you have something better than a crowded house party in mind?”
“Not exactly. It’s just that I don’t have any plans either, so...”