by Chelsea Luna
“Stay away from James.”
I clenched my fist. Pain shot through my bandaged hand. “Why don’t you stay away from James? He doesn’t want anything to do with you. With any of you. He knows you’re having him followed.”
“He’s my nephew.”
“And I was your stepdaughter.”
“You don’t understand. He’s in danger by being near you. I keep telling him to stay away, but he won’t talk to me.”
“Can you blame him?”
“You’re too dangerous, Alexandria. Believe me. Just please, stay away from James.”
“I think you should leave,” I said. “Now. And don’t ever come back here again.”
Victor punched the side of the house. “You stay away from him! Do you hear me? Or you’ll be sorry!”
CHAPTER 25
“Is it ever going to stop snowing?” I pressed my forehead against the frosty window.
“I thought you loved the cold weather.” Peter turned onto Pennington Drive.
“I do, but it’s been snowing for months. I need some sunshine. Are we still on for spring break in New Orleans?”
“Of course we are.” Peter slowed to a stop at the streetlight. “Are you sure you want to go tonight? You don’t look like you’re in the mood for dancing and festivities. Or people in general.”
I removed my forehead from the glass. “No, I want to go. It’s the Winter Ball. Tonight’s going to be great.”
“When did you become such a good liar?” Peter asked with a grin.
“When I discovered I was a witch.”
“Well, you’re the prettiest witch I know. Even with a bandaged hand.”
“And how many witches do you know?” I asked.
“Tons.”
I was wearing my long red pea coat that Peter bought me for Christmas. Underneath was Jillian’s borrowed red dress that tapered down the calf, showing a little leg and shoe.
Jillian saved my butt this time and I owed her. I hoped she hadn’t mentioned my strange behavior to everyone else. I already had to explain the bandaged hand. I’d told Peter the same story I told Jillian. And I definitely didn’t tell Peter about Victor’s little appearance at my house.
Outright lies. Lies by omission. Peter was right. I was becoming a good liar, which was a bad, bad thing.
We passed the Hazel Cove Cemetery. The scene hadn’t changed in months - leafless skeleton branches peeking over the stone walls and piles of snow covering the graveyard. Boy, did I need a change of scenery. I said my prayer for all the souls buried there, but not quickly as I usually did. I said the prayer with care and thought.
Pennington Drive dipped into a shallow valley and we could see Hawthorne Prep sitting on top of the hill. The parking lot was jammed-packed. The grounds were covered in snow and the Bell Tower shot out from the center of the building like a beacon.
“The famous Winter Ball,” I said quietly as Peter parked.
“You’ve only been talking about it for years.”
“I hope it lives it up to its expectations.”
Peter walked around my Mercedes to open the door for me. The ground wasn’t icy, the school had salted the cement, but I was stupidly wearing the stilettos that Vanessa bought me for Christmas and I wasn’t as steady on my feet as I should’ve been. Peter and I walked up the front steps and under the giant banner proclaiming “Hawthorne Prep’s Annual Winter Ball.”
I couldn’t remember if I’d ever been in the school at night. Hawthorne Prep was old and could be scary during the day. Now that we were here, I had to push those thoughts aside. Especially before my nightmare about the ravens at Hawthorne Prep returned.
Mrs. Pratt, the Principal, was in the Attendance Office. I immediately turned my head. That woman hated me. And not because I might have accidently given her a heart attack. I pulled Peter towards the coat rack to avoid Mrs. Pratt.
“Wow.” I whistled, unable to pull my eyes away from my boyfriend.
“What?”
“Nice tuxedo. You didn’t let me get a chance to appreciate it before. Your coat covered it up. Very James Bond.”
“Please.”
“Seriously.”
Peter straightened his bow tie. “Does that mean you’re my Bond girl?”
“Hopefully I won’t have to fight any other Bond girls for your attention tonight.”
“Not a chance. I’m a sucker for green-eyed girls in fire engine red dresses.”
“Ha ha, come on. Let’s sign in.”
A line of students stood in front of a small table at the end of the hallway. All juniors and seniors and their dates had to sign in. We patiently waited in line until it was our turn to sign the clipboard.
“Dr. Cooper! How are you?”
“Alex, Peter! Good to see you,” Dr. Cooper said from behind the table.
“How did you get this job?” I asked. The Coopers were notorious for helping with community and charity events, but Mrs. Cooper was usually the one you saw, since Dr. Cooper worked so much.
“Mary’s here, too. She made me man the front table so she could chaperone the dance. I think she snuck her camera inside. She’s on cloud nine tonight with the boys and their dates.”
“Are they here already?”
“They’re inside,” Dr. Cooper said. “And Peter, I must say that your sister is a fine young woman. Very smart and extremely polite. Mary is nuts about her.”
Peter shook his hand. “Thanks, Dr. Cooper.”
“See you later,” I said, as we walked past the table and around the corner.
Peter stopped in his tracks. “Seriously?”
“What?”
Peter pointed ahead. “That.”
The hallway to the gymnasium was completely decorated. A red carpet ran the length of the floor and fake, waist-high snow was piled on either side. Large glittery snowflakes hung from the ceiling. The lockers were covered in shiny silver paper that reflected the blue strobe lights and spinning disco balls every twenty feet or so.
“Huh,” I said. “Hawthorne Prep doesn’t hold back. I can’t imagine what the gym looks like if they went through this much trouble for the hallway.”
“Rich kids,” Peter muttered under his breath.
We walked the red carpet to the gymnasium. The gym was decorated like a winter wonderland. The bleachers were pulled back leaving the room with tons of space. Half of the gym consisted of a winter carnival. There were booths with caramel apples and hot chocolate and cotton candy and games that rivaled most town fairs - the milk bottle throw, ring toss, Skeeball and basketball.
The other half of the gym was set up like a typical high school dance. The far wall had tables with food and drinks. Dozens of round tables with light blue tablecloths were placed sporadically around the dance floor and the DJ. The perimeter of the gym was covered in the glittery fake snow. Strobe lights and giant snowflakes hung from the rafters.
“Incredible,” Peter said.
“I know right?” I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the decorations either. “See what thirty grand in tuition pays for?”
“Dances at my school have a card table with a punch bowl and a box of cookies.”
“Enjoy it. We can’t come next year.” Outsiders weren’t allowed at the Winter Ball. You had to be a junior or a senior or a date. And next year, neither of us would be attending Hawthorne Prep.
“I’m sure we could sneak our way inside.” Peter slipped his arm around my waist. “Or we could pretend to go with other dates to get in. You could go with Luke and I could go with Sadie. We’ll work it out.”
We walked through the carnival section of the gymnasium. Our friends claimed two large tables at the far end of the room. They’d pulled the tables together to fit all ten of us. Peter and I were the last to arrive.
“Yowzers! Check out that dress!” Lucas said from the table. His shaggy blonde hair was neatly combed.
“Seriously, that dress didn’t look like that on me.” Jillian’s lip slightly pouted. “Maybe it
was too much red, you know? Red hair, red dress.” She was wearing a lovely dark green dress that I actually preferred over the red one I was wearing.
“You’re crazy,” I said. “You look amazing. All of you do.”
Jillian hugged me and whispered in my ear. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Sorry about before,” I whispered back.
Thank goodness Jillian hadn’t blabbed to the whole table about my behavior in the bathroom. My friends didn’t need to know that I was in the habit of punching mirrors.
Sadie hopped up from her chair in a sleek silver dress with strappy heels. “Ooh, great! You didn’t smudge your mascara. Or flatten your hair.”
“I didn’t know Sadie did makeup.” Olivia walked over to us. She was wearing a tight black floor-length dress with a plunging neck line.
“I don’t do makeup,” Sadie said.
Olivia peered at my face. “It looks like you do.”
I shrugged.
“You can do mine for Prom,” Olivia said to Sadie.
“I can hardly wait.” Sadie rolled her eyes.
That reminded me. “Hey, was your sister Prom Queen at Hazel Cove High?”
Olivia raised her eyebrows. “Jana? Of course she was. Why?”
“No reason. My Aunt Vanessa was in town a few weeks ago and she was reminiscing about her high school years. I guess they were friends.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that,” Olivia said.
“Why didn’t Jana go to Hawthorne?”
“She got expelled.”
“From here?”
“Jana was the wild child,” Olivia said. “After she was expelled, she had to go to Hazel Cove High. Mom and dad were pissed. Anyhow, that’s one good thing about you transferring next fall.”
“What’s that?”
“Now you can be Prom Queen. You probably wouldn’t have won it here, you know, because of me. So that’s terrific! We can both be Prom Queens!” Olivia smiled and returned to her seat.
“Why are we friends with her again?” Sadie asked.
“I’ve been asking myself that same question for years. Where are the other boys?” Logan and James were absent from the table.
“They went to get punch,” Sadie said.
Peter was talking to Lucas on the other side of the table. Peter’s eyes kept flickering to his right. I scooted over to see what he was looking at. It was his sister, of course.
Anne Marie, in a beautiful white dress, was craning her neck across the dance floor. I followed her trail of sight. Logan and James, both in tuxedos, were walking towards our table carrying multiple glasses of punch.
James noticed Peter first and cordially nodded at him. Then his eyes roamed over the table to where Sadie and I were sitting.
James smiled, displaying twin dimples. “Alex, you look great.”
“Thanks, you do, too.” I wanted to tell James about Victor showing up on my front porch, but now was not the time.
“James, over here.” Olivia pulled out the chair beside her. “Sit. What took so long at the punch table? Who was that girl you were talking to? Was that Annette Rogers?”
I turned to avoid that awkward exchange. Poor James. He had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.
“How is it going with Luke?” I whispered to Sadie.
“Good. He held my hand earlier.”
“Perfect,” I said.
The music was loud sitting a few tables away from the DJ, but other than that, the night was going great. The gymnasium was full of people dancing and socializing and playing games.
Anne Marie and Logan and Jillian and Keith were dancing near the table. Sadie and Luke were having a close conversation beside us. And Olivia and James were… not talking, but staring off in different directions.
Peter took a sip of punch. “Not so bad of a night, huh?”
“Not at all.” I scooted closer to him.
Peter’s arm went around the back of my chair. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
“In the morning I wanted to go to Ipswich to see my dad and then I don’t care after that. What do you want to do?”
“Hmmm, how about sledding?”
“Sledding?”
“You’ve been annoyed by the snow lately, so I thought I’d get you to appreciate it again.”
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”
My eyes wandered over the crowded dance floor. Mr. Armen, my calculus teacher, and Mrs. Cooper were talking near the food table. Other chaperones were making their rounds across the gym. A tall man with light blonde hair was standing on the opposite end of the gymnasium. He caught my attention because, unlike everyone else, he wasn’t smiling or talking or dancing. He was just standing there. Watching our table.
“Hey Peter, how’s hockey?” Olivia leaned across the table.
Olivia’s question was so out of character that I pulled my eyes away from the strange blonde haired man to look at my sometimes-friend. I wasn’t sure if I imagined the tone of her voice.
“Uh, fine,” Peter said.
“Awesome.” Olivia leaned further over the table, utilizing her plunging neckline to full effect.
James threw Olivia a look like she was crazy.
Olivia inched her perfectly manicured hand out to the middle of the table. An open invitation. “I might have to check out one of your games.”
Peter didn’t move a muscle. “Since when do you like hockey?”
“Since I realized the players were so hot.”
James grinned, but quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He was enjoying the show.
I couldn’t believe my own eyes or ears. Olivia was flirting with Peter while I was sitting next to him? She had some nerve.
Peter pulled me against his chest. “Olivia, tell me who you like on the team and I’ll introduce you to him.”
Olivia opened her mouth, but Peter interrupted her before she could say something that would make me levitate her out of the chair and onto her butt. “Lex, want to go check out those booths?”
Before I could answer, Peter swept me away from the table. Good thing, too. I was on the verge of pulling my own version of Carrie on Olivia. I couldn’t produce pig’s blood out of thin air, but I could definitely do some damage.
Peter led me through the crowded dance floor.
“The nerve of her.”
“I know, I know,” Peter said. “I had to get you out of there before a giant cardboard snowflake came crashing down on her head.”
“I can’t believe she was trying to pick you up while I was practically sitting on your lap!”
“She’s just jealous of you.”
“Hmmph. Well, she can’t have you.” I sounded like a three-year old who didn’t want to share her toys.
Peter laughed. “Don’t worry. Olivia doesn’t want me. She’s jealous about James.”
I stopped in the middle of the crowd. “James? That’s her date!”
“James won’t even look her way because he’s still so hung up on you. She’s trying to make you angry because James is ignoring her.”
“James isn’t hung up on me.”
Peter kissed me on the forehead. “Yes, he is. But it’s okay. As long as James keeps his distance, then I’m cool with him. He can pine away for you all he wants.”
“Olivia better stay away from you.”
“Ha! Come on, seriously?” Peter’s arm encircled my waist. “I hate Olivia Humphrey more than any person on the planet. If my life depended on it, I still wouldn’t date her. But….”
My heart dropped. “But what?”
“I kind of like your jealous side.” Peter laughed. “Let’s play this milk bottle game. I’ll win you a teddy bear.”
There was a short line in front of the milk bottle booth. The object of the game was to knock off the stacked glass bottles from the table with a softball. Logan and Anne Marie joined us in line.
Peter, Logan and Anne Marie were discu
ssing strategy regarding the angle needed to knock the milk bottles down. My eyes wandered over the other booths. Lucas and Sadie were playing Skeeball. Lucas was playfully pushing Sadie’s hand to sabotage her throw. They were really cute together.
The booth next to ours was the duck game. Plastic ducks floated in a tub of water and you had to pick the ducks with the same number written on the bottom. It was like go-fish. That was more my type of game. I leaned over to see how long the line was, when I saw the blonde haired man again. He was standing against the wall on the other side of the booth.
He definitely wasn’t a student or a teacher. And he didn’t look old enough to be a parent. Maybe he was someone’s older brother? Or a chaperone? The man couldn’t have been older than thirty.
He was wearing a tuxedo. His hair was light blonde and cut very short. His skin was pale and his thin nose was just a little too long for his face. His jaw was squared and he was smiling. At me, actually. His head bent into an almost imperceptible nod.
I checked behind me to see if he was greeting someone else.
He wasn’t.
I glanced back at the man and, as I did so, the whites of his eyes gradually turned pink. The thick ink-like red dye spread over his eyes, just like I’d seen so many times before. He smiled as the color of his eyes went from bright green to dark red.
Here we go again. Were red-eyed people going to haunt me for the rest of my life?
“Do you want to throw one?” Peter held up a softball.
“What? Oh. No. You go ahead. I doubt I can even hit the table,” I said.
I half-expected the blonde haired man to disappear, but he was standing on the other side of the booth. And his eyes were still red. He motioned towards the exit, turned around and left the gymnasium.
He wanted me to follow him.
The same wild desire that made me chase the redheaded freshman burned in my stomach. This was the first time someone with red eyes had interacted with me. What did it mean? Was there a spirit inside the man? Was it my imagination? Was I seeing things? I had to know. I had to find out.
“Strike!” Logan yelled as Peter’s softball smashed the milk cartons.
“Wait, you can’t just knock them down,” Anne Marie said. “They have to fall off the platform. Here, let me try.”