“Definitely.”
“Did he do anything else weird?”
Like arrange for us to be partners, weird? Yep, I think but don’t say. Mostly because his approach to us being partnered leaves me unsettled, but Taylor would see it as sweet and romantic. Maybe it would be if we were in a romantic comedy, but with the way he stares, I get the feeling it’s more like a horror story. “Isn’t that weird enough?”
Liv barges into my room without knocking like she usually does. I hastily rip the blanket off the bed, wrapping it around myself, since I’m only in my underwear. I give her the stink eye. She shrugs her shoulders and flops onto the bed.
“Liv, what have I told you about knocking!”
“Hi Olivia!” Taylor shouts through the phone.
“Hi Taylor.” Liv looks down at her iWatch then taps on the screen. We need to get a move on if we’re going to catch the bus.”
“I’m almost ready.” I pick up the phone, switching it off speaker. “Taylor, I’ll have to call you back. Have fun on your date with Jacob. I want all the juicy details.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be sharing. Tonight is supposed to be the night.”
“Eww.” Now I have an image of Taylor and Jacob in a compromising situation in my head.
She laughs over the phone. “Have fun at the concert.”
Tossing my phone onto the bed beside Liv, I duck into my closet to finish getting dressed. I slip on a pair of skinny jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and my very worn in—almost on the verge of needing replaced—high top Chucks. Emerging from the closet, I grab a hair tie and sweep my hair up into a ponytail with a slight nod at my reflection.
Hopping up from the bed, Liv pulls a few strands loose along the sides of my side swept bangs. “Now it’s perfect.” She looks at me approvingly. “You should leave your hair in its naturally curly state more often. It’s so pretty.”
“Sure… when it cooperates, and it’s not a rat’s nest or a frizzy mess. You’ve seen it in the mornings. You know the reasons for straightening it.” I grab my money from the dresser and my phone from the bed, shoving both into the pockets of my jeans before I grab my jacket from the back of the desk chair. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
We catch the bus into the city on the corner of Winchester and Rosewood, a good three blocks from our house. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I pause just outside the bus doors. A weird feeling of being watched has me scanning the surrounding area, but I don’t really see anything out of the ordinary. Except for maybe the nice shiny black ‘67 Chevy Camaro with tinted windows parked down the street. I’ve never seen it around here before. I stare at it a minute, wondering if there’s anyone inside before telling myself I’m being ridiculous. I’m probably just still freaked out by having to team up with New Boy for our history paper or something and am experiencing residual effects of his creepy stare.
When I get on the bus, Liv is already seated midway to the back. I swipe my card then make my way to the seat beside her, noting all the people packed in here like sardines. A shiver runs up and down my spine as the same weird vibe I felt outside crawls over my skin. I shake it off, telling myself to calm down. Nobody is watching me.
Liv lets out a girlish squeal and I jump in the aisle. My cheeks flame red and I step around her to get to my seat. If I’m lucky, no one will have seen me make a fool of myself. Liv certainly doesn’t seem to have noticed.
She bounces up and down in her seat, my arm now clutched in her hands, along for the ride. “I can’t believe we’re on our way to see Imagine Dragons, and that Jack got you such great tickets. I want to get as close to the stage as humanly possible.”
“I can’t believe Aunt Claudia and Uncle Caleb were so cool with letting you go. You are only fifteen and it’s technically a school night.” I nudge her shoulder with mine, teasingly.
“Fifteen and a half,” Liv corrects. “And they’re letting us skip school tomorrow in honor of you actually somewhat celebrating your birthdaaaaaaa…” She trails off, cutting the dreaded word short when I narrow my eyes at her. “Sorry,” she mumbles before her voice rises back up at least three octaves. “I’m just so excited! Besides, they trust you to keep me safe and sound since you’re so much older than me.” She winks with a giggle and I elbow her in the arm. “Even though I am a total badass who can totally take care of myself if the need arises.” She swings her arms out in front of her in quick, precise moves with a shout of “Hiyah!” that gets her some strange looks from the other commuters on the bus. “I am a black belt you know.”
“Yes, I know.” I shush her with a half laugh. “Doesn’t mean the rest of the bus wants to know.” I take a quick look around and lock gazes with a guy sporting an eyebrow ring sitting three seats back on the opposite side of the bus. He smiles and I find myself smiling back before turning around in my seat.
Liv elbows me in the ribs. “I saw that you know.”
“Saw what?”
“You and Mr. Eyebrow Ring making goo-goo eyes at one another.”
“We were not!” I silently shout.
She shakes her head dramatically side to side. “Poor Evan. Guess you’ll have to dump him so you and Mr. Eyebrow Ring can run away together, and I’ll gallantly step in to give him a shoulder upon which to cry.”
“There were no goo-goo eyes being made. He smiled, so I smiled. I was just being polite, and that’s it. Geez.”
“I know. I just like teasing you because you’re so darn gullible.”
“Oh, ha ha. I’m going to ignore you now.”
“And I’m going to make goo-goo eyes at Mr. Eyebrow Ring’s even cuter seatmate since Evan is still off the table.”
I backhand her across the arm for the Evan remark. A large number of underclassman have a crush on him because he’s a star player on the football team. Because of that, Liv has made it her life’s mission to tease me relentlessly about it. “Have fun with that. Just try not to get us in trouble.”
“When do I ever get us in trouble?” She gives me a big-eyed innocent look that does nothing to hide the playfulness behind them. She twists a strand of hair around her finger, the corner of her mouth pulled up in a devilish grin. I roll my eyes.
“Do I seriously need to answer that?” Liv is a huge flirt, and a giant magnet for the wrong type of guys. Borderline stalkers, guys that get too handsy way too fast, some who get way too possessive, and all who are way too old for her. Liv may only be fifteen and a half, but she looks like she’s eighteen and she definitely takes advantage of that fact in the worst possible ways. I just hope she doesn’t get seriously hurt one day because of it.
The bus pulls away from the curb and I lean my head against the cool glass of the window, watching the world pass by. Building after building, house after house, eventually it all becomes a blur and before I know it, I’m drifting off. The dream that comes is anything but pleasant, shifting between a child’s deep blue eyes in a face I can’t make out, and the terrified look my mom is so desperately trying to hide under a façade of happiness after a day at the park. Both connected by a feeling that something great happened only to be followed by something terrible because of it. Something really, really terrible. Something that was my fault.
Liv gently shakes my shoulder. “Indi, wake up. You’re crying.”
Blinking back the tears, I wipe my eyes dry with the edge of my jacket sleeve, the dream and it’s feeling of dread already fading.
“What were you dreaming about?” She stares at me intensely. Almost as if she’s afraid of what I’ll say while also being concerned at the same time.
“Are we almost there?” I ask, ignoring her question and her weird stare because I know where it’ll lead to given the day, and I don’t want to talk about my mom right now. The memories of her, the big gaping hole in my heart, knowing I will never see her again, it’s always worse on this day. And if I talk about it, if I let the pain back in, the tears will never stop. So no. Not today. Today I will ignore Liv’s q
uestion. Which, I’m pretty sure is what she wants me to do, anyway.
Liv’s face lights up. “Yep, the concert hall is just down the street.” She bounces in her seat like she’s got ants in her pants. “This is so exciting! Oh and guess what?” She shifts suddenly, grabbing both of my hands. “I made friends with Seth and Ben while you were sleeping and they’re both going to the concert too. We can all hang out together. Isn’t that great? They also invited us to this new club that just opened a few months ago after we’re done rocking out to Imagine Dragons. It’s just down the street from the concert hall. I already told them we’d go.”
“No, we are not. We are not going to some random club in the city with two dudes you just met, Liv. Are you insane? Did you not listen to Aunt Claudia’s warning about talking to strangers before we left? If you’d ever watch the news, you’d know there’s been an increase in missing persons. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to not be one.” I pull my hands from her overly excited death grip. “I told Aunt Claudia and Uncle Caleb we’d come straight home after the concert and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Who are Seth and Ben, anyway?”
“Mr. Eyebrow Ring and his super, super cute seatmate. Mr. Eyebrow Ring is Seth and Super Cute Seatmate is Ben. They’re so nice. I’ve been talking to them while you’ve been sleeping so they’re no longer strangers.”
I roll my eyes. “Talking to them for twenty minutes at most, hardly counts. They’re still strangers.”
“Well, I think they’re nice. Neither one of them gives off a bad vibe so I doubt they’ve got some nefarious plan to make us become one of the missing.” She says the word missing like I’m being ridiculous for even considering they might be bad guys. “They’re just a couple regular guys still in high school, not criminal masterminds. It won’t kill us to stop by the club for just a bit after the concert. Mom and Dad won’t even have to know. Ben says they have the best DJ in the city.” She takes my hands again, her green eyes huge and pleading. “Please Indi, do this for me. I really, really like this guy.”
“I don’t know Liv. You just met him. How can you be sure he’s not some psycho killer? High school aged or not. Besides, don’t you have a date tomorrow night with Chuck Bryant?” I argue.
“Only if it doesn’t work out with Ben. Who, like I said, doesn’t give off the psycho killer vibe. Neither does Seth.” She holds up her hand. “I know what you’re thinking and before you say anything how about a compromise?” She stares at me pointedly before continuing to plead her case. “Before you completely shut down the idea, at least meet them first. They really are nice guys, Indi, I swear. And if after the concert you still don’t want to go, then I promise we’ll go straight home. Deal?” She holds out her hand for me to shake.
“Fine, I’ll think about it.” I stare at her hand knowing full well this is a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.
“Ticket.” A large burly bouncer holds out his hand as I reach the front of the line. As soon as I hand it over, I’m shuffled to the side where one security officer pats me down, and another waves a wand over my body. Once I’m given the ‘all clear’, Liv, grabs my hand and drags me inside the arena. In front of her, she holds onto Ben’s hand, both of them following Seth through the crowd of people. I’ve been to concerts before and when you’re down in the standing section at the front of the stage it takes forever—if you even can—to make your way to the front. But with Seth leading the way the crowd seems to part like butter. No bumping into people, no dirty looks or shouts of obscenities, no nothing. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.
Maybe he’s a professional concertgoer and knows all the best tricks for getting through crowds.
Or maybe he’s famous so everybody is just getting out of his way.
He looks back at me with a smile, and it’s hard to tell with the lighting, but his eyes seem strange. Almost as if there’s some kind of glow to them, making his irises brighter than they should be. A cold shiver crawls over my neck and down my back as a soft voice in the back of my mind whispers danger.
Or maybe it’s something else…
Who are these guys? And what kind of mess has Liv gotten us into?
4
Liv jumps on my back outside the concert arena, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Oh, my God, they were awesome. And I know I just saw them play, but I have to see them again.”
I grab hold of her legs, hoisting her up so she’s not choking me so much. “Right? Don’t tell Jack—because he’ll never let me live it down and he’ll expect me to accept his gifts every year—but this was a pretty great gift. For a moment I almost forgot what today was. For a moment, I had fun.”
Liv wraps her arms tighter around me, placing her cheek right up against mine. “I’m glad you had fun and I bet your mom is too. I bet she’s smiling down at us right now, and I bet,” she looks over at Ben and Seth standing a few feet away, “that she’d want the fun to continue with us joining two hot guys at club Night Life down the street.” She kisses my cheek then jumps down. “What do you say, Indi? Shall we keep the fun going a little longer?” Holding her hands together as if in prayer, she whispers please, please, please, while giving me big cartoon puppy dog eyes. Liv has this particular look down pat and usually gets whatever she wants because of it, but I’m still not too sure about these guys. There’s something off about them.
I look down at my watch, noting the time. Eleven p.m. “I don’t know Liv. It’s getting late and the last bus leaves at twelve-thirty. We should probably go home.”
“Come on Indi, live a little. Mom and Dad gave us an extended curfew for tonight we should most definitely take advantage of. It’ll be fun, I swear. And we’ll be back in time for the bus, I promise.” She gives me the puppy dog eyes again, and I can feel myself giving in a little. “Pretty please Indi. If you do this for me, I’ll take over all your chores for the next two weeks.”
I glance over her shoulder at Ben and Seth. Seth is talking to someone on his cell, and Ben is typing away on his, sending a text message or surfing the Internet or whatever. I mean they haven’t really done anything that screams axe murderer or anything. In fact, they both seem pretty nice judging from what little time I spent talking to them before the band came on stage. They just… give off a weird vibe like they’re up to something, or they’re hiding something. Or at least they seem that way to me, but to Liv, they’re the greatest things since sliced bread. Maybe Liv’s right and I am being too judgmental and paranoid. Maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt. We will be in a public place with lots of people around so really, what’s the worst that could happen? Plus, if I make Liv go home right now she’ll never shut up about it.
“A month,” I counter. If I’m going to let her drag me off to some club against better judgment, then I might as well make it worthwhile.
“A month?” She pouts, looks over at the guys, then back at me. “Fiiiiiine,” she says, drawing out the word with a heavy sigh mixed in. “A month it is.” She holds her hand out and we shake on it.
“Oh, and I’m scheduled for bathroom duty this upcoming week so…” I can’t help but laugh at the look displayed across her face.
“Bathroom duty? Really? I just got off bathroom duty.”
“We could always go home if you’re not willing to scrub the toilets.”
“You look so sweet with your big hazel eyes, but really you’re just mean.” She pushes my shoulder playfully before making goo-goo eyes at Ben. “But, I guess if scrubbing toilets is the price I have to pay, then it’s a price I have to pay.” She runs her fingers through her hair, fluffing it up, then pulls out a tube of strawberry-flavored lip-gloss from the front pocket of her jeans. Applying a quick layer, she rubs her lips together then offers me some.
“No thanks, I’m good.”
“Suit yourself.” With a flip of her hair and a big smile on her face, she skips over to Ben, threading her arm around his. “Who’s ready for some fun?”
“Yeah? You guys are in?” Be
n’s dark brown eyes flick to mine then to Seth’s where they share a look that’s too quick to decipher before he focuses back on Liv. “Awesome.” He leads Liv down the street, leaving me alone with Seth. “You guys are going to love Night Life.”
“So, they seem to be hitting it off,” Seth says, stating the obvious as he saunters up to me with his hands buried in his pockets. He looks a little sheepish with his hands tucked away and his eyes darting back and forth between the ground and me. A small part of me holding onto my unknown suspicions of him relents. Maybe he really is just some nice guy being dragged along for the ride like I am with Liv.
“So it would seem,” I say with a half smile. “Poor Chuck.”
“Chuck?” He raises the eyebrow with the piercing in it.
“The guy she’s supposed to go on a date with tomorrow night.”
“Oh.” He laughs easily and I find myself relaxing more. Maybe I really did have this guy pegged all wrong after all. “We should probably catch up with them before they get too far ahead.”
“Right. They probably forgot we’re even back here.” I tighten the sleeves of my jacket tied around my waist as we pick up the pace to catch up. “So, um, this club, where exactly is it?”
“It’s not too far. About a ten-minute ride on the subway?”
“Did you say subway?” I stop in my tracks. I hate subways and Liv knows this. Being underground in a cramped urine smelling train rushing through a dark tunnel is not my idea of fun. “Ugh, I’m going to kill her,” I mumble under my breath. “Liv told me the club was only three blocks away.”
Realizing I’ve stopped, Seth backtracks until he’s standing right in front of me. “The subway entrance is three blocks away. Maybe you misheard her?” He says it like a question rather than a statement.
“I didn’t mishear her.” I clench my teeth with a slight shake of my head. She left that tidbit out on purpose because she knew I would never have agreed to go if I’d known otherwise.
Of Blood & Magic: Blood Descent Book 1 Page 4