“Yep.” Tyler had grabbed a change of clothes and his guitar. That was all he needed. Caro, too, had packed light—just a backpack with some clothes and makeup. She hadn’t even argued when he told her to leave her cell phone behind because he thought maybe it could be traced. And his mom…. Well, the bag in the trunk of the car was full of photo albums, which about said it all. She hadn’t even bothered with a change of clothes. She’d just taken the AMEX card, glanced at the name on it, and muttered something about spending up large.
She revved the car and reversed out into the street.
Tyler suddenly remembered something important. Something he needed to do. “Wait!”
She slammed on the brakes. “What?”
He opened the door and jumped out.
“Where the hell are you going?” his dad yelled, fumbling with the passenger-side door.
Tyler delved in the back pocket of his jeans as he ran to the side of the house. He squatted on his haunches to lever a potted plant up from the dish it rested on, and placed the thumb drive next to the spare front door key.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His dad’s voice came from behind him, tight with fury.
“It’s a song I wrote for Jay. I’m leaving it here. Just in case.”
“Nothing else but the song, right? Nothing that could tell those bastards I worked for where we’re headed?”
“Nope. Just the song. If she got away, she’ll find it. I know she will.”
His dad’s hand reached out to touch his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
His dad followed him back to the car.
When his mom drove off, Tyler didn’t look back. If Jay got away, she’ll find me. I know she will.
~~~
Tyler rolled over on to his back and stared at the ceiling of their fancy hotel suite. “What do you mean you’re sorry? What are you trying to say?”
His dad heaved a sigh which he could only describe as heavy. “I was trying to pick the right time to tell you this but I don’t think there’s ever going to be a right time.
“Tell me straight.”
“I don’t think she made it.”
“Jay?”
“Yeah. All I found was this.” He held out something wrapped in a towel. “I wasn’t going to give it to you but your mom said I should.”
Tyler sat up and took what he offered, laying it in his lap. His dad sat next to him on the couch. Tyler slanted him a sideways glance. He looked tired, worn out. Dark rings beneath his eyes, deep lines bracketing his mouth. He’d ditched the moustache, thank God. Must have shaved it off last night before he hit the couch.
Tyler was sharing a room with Caro. Their mom had the other room to herself. Their dad was sleeping on the couch. It was an arrangement both seemed content with, and for that at least, he was grateful. At least his mom hadn’t slung her estranged husband out on his ass.
He contemplated the lumpy whatever-it-was, cocooned in the grubby frayed towel. He had a bad feeling about what it could be. But he had to know. He unwrapped it.
It was bad, all right. Real bad.
A severed hand.
Waves of sickly heat washed over him. He drew in a breath and then another. And another. And still he couldn’t get enough oxygen.
Enough. Suck it up, dude. Deal.
His internal pep-talk worked. He stared at the hand. It appeared to be human. But not quite. He steeled himself to pick it up, take a closer look.
There was no blood. It’d been completely washed clean. And the closer he looked, the more fascinated he became. Its construction, the metallic-looking bones, the tendons—all encased in smooth, pale, humanlike skin…. It was miraculous. A work of art.
He rewrapped it carefully. It was a part of her, of Jay. The only part left. “Where did you find it?” he asked, proud of how steady his voice sounded.
“I tracked the extraction team to a house—vacant, thank God. The place was completely wrecked. There’d been an explosion. It was professionally done, set to cause maximum damage. I can only presume Jay was responsible.”
“Or maybe it was the extraction team,” Tyler said, thinking aloud. “If they couldn’t capture her, they might have decided to eliminate her.”
His father rubbed his chin. “A possibility,” he finally conceded. “They’d cleaned up and gone by the time I arrived, but I think she got a few of them. I didn’t find anything on site and I figured they’d taken her. And then I spotted something in the pool by the filter. It was the hand.”
“Jay’s hand.”
“Tyler, I’m ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain Jay deliberately blew herself up in that explosion. And for some reason, her hand was the only part of her that wasn’t obliterated. I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Tyler met his eyes. “What’re you gonna do, Dad?”
“About the people I work for?”
He nodded.
“I got a message from my boss. Before Jay—” His dad raked his hand through his still non-existent hair. “Somehow, Jay convinced them it would be prudent to cut me loose. I’m not privy to the details and nor am I going to bring myself to their attention again by trying to find out what she said to them, either. I’m not that morbidly curious, just grateful as hell. Now Jay’s gone and her creator’s research along with him, with any luck that’ll be the last I hear from them. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway. Just like I’m hoping that we can all go home very soon.”
“And if not?”
“I won’t leave my family again.”
“Glad to hear it,” Caro said, from her prone position on the other couch. She rolled to her feet and wandered over to flop onto the seat next to her dad. “How’s Mom taking all this?”
“Mom’s taking it just fine.” Their mom padded into the sitting room and perched the arm of the chair. “Mom’ll take it even better if she’s clued in on what’s going on in her kids’ lives in future. And her husband’s.”
“Duly noted,” said the husband in question.
Caro yawned and stretched. “It’s been a rough couple of days. I know it’s early but I’m off to bed.
Her mom smiled. “Me, too. We’ve got a shopping expedition tomorrow.”
Tyler thought his mom looked tired but pleased. Content. Like whatever had been missing in her life had been found. And it had, of course, the instant her husband had walked back into her life like some returning hero, begging her forgiveness, and promising he’d never leave her again.
If only Tyler could have Jay back to fill the empty hole she’d left in his own heart.
“Tyler. Ah, love, I’m so sorry. I know how much she meant to you.” His mom slipped into the seat next to him. And hugged him while he tried not to cry like a girl.
~~~
A week after Jay’s farewell party, Tyler and his family returned to Snapperton and settled back into uneasy normality. They buried Jay’s remains under a tree in the backyard. No one said anything. No one had to. Jay had touched all their lives. Everyone understood how Tyler had felt about her. No matter what his parents’ personal feelings were about his non-human almost-girlfriend, they respected his.
Caro walked to school with him on Monday. They’d both have preferred not to go to classes at all but they had to. Their dad insisted that they act as though everything was normal.
Normal….
Yeah. Riiight.
He was going to have to face up to the fact Jay was gone. Just like he was going to have to face up to the fact he’d used Em to make himself feel better, and then discarded her without a thought when Jay needed him. He liked Em—as a friend. And he didn’t have a clue what he was going to tell her.
He’d have preferred to walk alone, lost in his own thoughts, but Caro was having none of that. “Do you reckon Shawn will still be top-dog?” she asked. “Or do you reckon the rumors and the lies will have finally caught up with him, and he’ll be the one sitting at the back of the cafeteria?”
; “Dunno. Don’t much give a crap, either.”
“Yeah. It all seems so trivial. But it’d be cool if you were reinstated as one of the top-jocks again. Right?”
“I’ll never be that person again, Caro. And yanno what?”
“What?”
“Way I see it, Jay was interested in me because I was a freak. So if I hadn’t gone through all that crap with Vanessa and Shawn, I’d have been just another popular guy. Nothing special. Probably a real douche-bag to boot. And then she wouldn’t have wanted to know me. So I’m kinda glad. ’Cause I feel privileged to have known her.” He ducked his head, concentrated on scuffing a stone from the pavement and sending in bouncing onto the road, not wanting Caro to see the expression on his face. “Suppose I sound like I’m wigging out big-time, huh?”
“Nope.” She gave a quick hug.
~~~
It wasn’t until Tyler got home from school and discovered his parents weren’t home that he realized he’d left his door key on his desk in his room. Crap. But the spare key would still be in its hiding place under the potted plant, so it wasn’t like he had to sit on the doorstep and wait for his sister.
When he tipped over the pot, he found the key. He also found something that’d been missing, something he’d believed had died forever. He found hope.
The thumb drive he’d left for Jay was gone.
Epilogue
He was the last one to scramble off the bus. The driver threw him a grin. “Daydreaming, huh?”
He grinned back. “Nightmare, more like.”
“First day, is it?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t worry. They’re a good bunch, these kids. You’ll do just fine.” The man winked at him and waved as he drove off.
His day was looking up. But as he wandered through the front gates of Appleton Performing Arts School, his high spirits began fray a little around the edges. A new town. His first time away from home, living on his own. His first day on campus. A chance to make new friends—if he could be bothered.
The prospect of any of the aforementioned was daunting, but all of them in the space of a couple of weeks was enough to do his head in.
He strolled up the paved pathway, admiring the landscaping. Lush swathes of grass and meandering paths were interspersed with large shade trees, under-planted with flowering shrubs. Nice. Maybe he’d sit out here and eat lunch rather than braving the cafeteria.
He halted to examine the architecturally designed building that housed the main wing of the school. It’d been rebuilt about a decade ago and won some fancy award. He could see why. Where possible, the architect had retained the original façade, and he’d skillfully and seamlessly melded old-fashioned charm with modern convenience—all without making the building look like hot mess.
Sucking in a deep breath, Tyler pushed through the front doors and made a beeline for the Admin area.
As he neared the office, he slowed mid-step. Another new student was already waiting at the desk.
Something about her, some indefinable quality, demanded his attention and—
Whoa. He eyed her beneath his lashes. Tall. Willowy. Nice ass—real nice. She wore faded jeans which rode low on her narrow hips, an old checked flannel shirt over top a worn t-shirt of indeterminable color, and sneakers which were more holes than sneaker.
As if aware she was being eyeballed she glanced his way.
The chestnut hair almost made him think twice. Then his stomach flip-flopped. Her eyes were the most shockingly intense shade of blue he’d ever seen. Her smile turned his brain to mush. He tried to look away, act all nonchalant, but he couldn’t.
Her gaze absorbed him from head to toe. She winked at him and he just stood there, gaping at her. Elated. Disbelieving. Hopeful.
Her lips curved as she sauntered over to him. “Hi. Have we met before?”
“I reckon so,” he said, matching the lightness of her tone even though his heart was racing and damned if his knees hadn’t turned to Jell-O.
“My name is Jamie. But you can call me Jay.”
“Pleased to meet you, Jay. I like the new look, by the way.”
Her smile was pure wickedness as she did a campy twirl for his benefit. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“How about meeting me after class for coffee?”
He couldn’t help glancing down to check she wasn’t missing a hand.
She noticed—of course—and flapped both appendages in his face. “Don’t be silly. I’m sure I mentioned to you once before what I’m capable of.”
“We have a lot of catching up to do,” he told her.
“Yes,” she agreed, her hand creeping to her throat and toying with the thumb drive she wore on a sturdy silver chain around her neck. She cocked her head to one side, gazing at him in that particular way she had. “We sure do.”
The End
***
If you enjoyed this book, please tell your friends and consider writing a short review. The author thanks you very much for your support.
You might also enjoy these other books by Maree Anderson, all available wherever electronic books are sold:
The Crystal Warrior
www.thecrystalwarrior.com
Ruby’s Dream (Book 2 of The Crystal Warrior Series)
www.rubysdream.com
Jade’s Choice (Book 3 of The Crystal Warrior Series)
www.jadeschoice.com
Lightning Rider
www.mareeanderson.com/books
Freaks of Greenfield High
www.freaksofgreenfieldhigh.com
About the Author
Maree Anderson writes paranormal romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult books. She’s a Kiwi, a New Zealander, and she’s addicted to chocolate—the darker the better. Not to mention coffee and the occasional glass of excellent NZ wine. She’s not quite so addicted to her local gym—she’d much rather do an hour’s karate class and go Ceroc dancing than pound the treadmill.
She shares her home with a depressed goldfish who likes to scare her by lying at the bottom of the fish-tank and playing dead, and a neurotic ocicat who brings her bones stolen from the neighbor’s dog.
Maree’s currently working on the sequel to her award-winning YA novel Freaks of Greenfield High, which has been optioned for TV by Cream Drama, Inc.
For blurbs, excerpts, and more about Maree’s published books, please check out the Books page of her website:
Website/blog: www.mareeanderson.com
Books page: www.mareeanderson.com/books
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/MareeAndersonAuthor
Facebook YA page: www.facebook.com/MareeAndersonFreaksofGreenfieldHigh
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MareeAnderson
Group blog: www.writersgonewild.blogspot.com
Other Books
THE CRYSTAL WARRIOR
Book 1 of The Crystal Warriors Series
www.thecrystalwarrior.com
She’s a dancer, and the most important thing in her life right now is the success of her new dance studio. He’s an alien Crystal Warrior with one big-ass curse hanging over him. In a moment of weakness she lets him seduce her. Now they’re magically bonded and his life is in her hands.
Winner: Romance Writers of New Zealand Clendon Award for full-length romantic manuscript
REVIEWS
“Just picked up the 1st book in the Crystal Warrior series via a free thang on All Romance. Tried to stay up and finish it last night and gave up at 3am. Finally finished it this afternoon after deciding that the washing and cleaning could wait.
Wow… I really loved the characters in this. When I read the blurb I was not that interested in the sound of Chalcey—as in that I didn’t think I would be able to identify with a dance instructor. Okay, my mistake! I am so impressed with how you wrote a strong and independent woman who stood on her own two feet, took no crap from anyone and ran her own business. That I could identify with 100%. I read a lot of romance and I often feel that the women are not
as strong as they could be and that they are simply part of a story that involves snaring some hot guy and getting a HEA— almost like their actual character is unimportant.
So 5 stars and have some extra bonus cookies for writing a believable woman who I was rooting for. I wanted her business to be a success just as much as I wanted her to get the guy. And kudos for the plot twist. Usually they’re so obvious, but I didn’t see that one coming at all.
Freaks of Greenfield High Page 24