Masquerade

by Cambria Hebert

  I dug my heels into the ground, but he pulled me right along like I was doing nothing at all. “Sam,” I whined. I shouldn’t have hesitated to tell him I love him back. I just – froze. The words were there, my heart practically beat just for him – so what happened with me?

  He practically tossed me into the truck and rushed around to get in. As he drove his shoulders were tense, and he kept giving anxious looks in the rear view mirror. I was stupid and ruined the night and now he was angry. When we turned onto a busy street in town, he pulled to the side of the road. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “No – I’m sorry.”

  He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. “Why would you be sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “But, I thought – we left in such a hurry.”

  Sam’s eyes softened. “I thought I heard something in the woods, probably an animal, but I didn’t want you to be afraid. After what happened the other night at church…”

  “Oh.” He hadn’t left because of what I hadn’t said. But, he was right to have left. I was scared before the fireworks, and another wild animal sighting could have sent me over the edge, but still, we were having a moment, and now, it was lost.

  On the other hand, it got me out of saying whatever it was that I was going to say.

  “I wished we could have stayed longer.”

  He smiled, reaching over to take my hand. After another look in the rearview mirror he pulled out into traffic and drove me home in silence, holding my hand the whole way.

  When we pulled up to my house I glanced at the clock. I was a whole hour early for curfew. Why did the night have to end so soon?

  “I had a really great time.” I said, hoping he missed the tiny catch in my voice.

  “Hey, I’m sorry.” He scooted across the seat to me. “I had a really great time too, and I ruined it by panicking back there.”

  “It’s okay.” I fingered the keys on my new bracelet. I knew I should give it back to him; he worked too hard and needed his money too much to spend it on me. I went to undo the clasp, but it slid open and felt into my palm. I lifted my hand out, but Sam shook his head and tucked my fingers around it.

  “It belongs to you.”

  “It’s too much.”

  “It was a steal. The lady practically gave it to me.”

  “Really?” I asked, suspicious.

  “I promise.” He laid a hand over his heart and bowed his head. I found the action sweet and, from him, believable.

  “Okay.” I smiled. “But no more presents, all right?”

  He grinned and kissed me quick. “Agreed.”

  “Thank you again.” I glanced at the clock. I wished the night was just beginning.

  “If I bring you home early a few times then your mom won’t mind when I take you out so often,” he whispered, tracing my lower lip with his thumb.

  I smiled because it would totally work.

  “I love you, Heven.”

  I was once again saved from responding because he kissed me. It was a deep and thorough kiss that left me breathless and fuzzy headed. He chuckled, coming around to get me out of the truck and leading me to the front door. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Already I couldn’t wait to hear his deep, raspy voice. “Okay.” I slipped out of his warm embrace and opened the front door, looking back once before going inside. He was watching me go with an unreadable expression. I waved and went inside.

  It was the last time I saw him before he disappeared.

  The Hate

  My taunting was becoming less of a threat. And now he blatantly ignores what I told him to do. He is more ignorant than I thought, and she is much smarter than I gave her credit for. The little witch has managed to reel him in. He is besotted with her, giving her jewelry and proclaiming his love. Our kind doesn’t love. We destroy love. He knew I was watching, and like a white knight, he swept her away from danger. He knows her days are numbered. Trying to delay the inevitable is stupid. Lucky for him I like to play with my food before I eat, or she would already be dead.

  He shouldn’t have chosen her over me. Once I find what I am looking for, he will beg to rule with me. He will see that I am the one he belongs with. But first, she must die.

  I watched him kiss her, practically attacking her mouth with his. She pretended to like it and batted her eyes at him as he walked her to her door. An incredible urge to attack her right then came over me. My body trembled with the force of how much I hated her.

  I held back because he knew I was there. He was on guard and watching. When I kill her I want it to be a surprise. Even he won’t be able to stop me.

  She let herself in the house, and he waited while she locked the door. When he turned he looked right at me, his eyes flashing in the dark, a silent challenge. He was angry, I could smell it. He gunned the engine when he drove away. I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I was following him. He issued the challenge, and I was answering. Maybe I would just kill him too.

  Sam

  For a single moment I thought she might say it back. The way her eyes melted when I gave her the bracelet, the way her body molded against mine as we sat in the swing. I had started to believe it might be possible.

  Then we were interrupted. I smelled trouble coming; I heard its silent trip through the woods. Was one night was too much to ask for? What should have been a night to remember turned into another threat to avoid.

  I couldn’t sit out there in the open with her any longer, she was a sitting duck. Her safety wasn’t something I was willing to chance. So instead of waiting to hear the words I desperately wanted, I ruined the moment and pulled her away.

  I knew she was upset, I could see it in her eyes. She thought she had done something wrong, and for that I was pissed. How much more was she going to have to endure all because I love her?

  The minute she stepped inside her house and turned the lock I turned and sought out the one who was watching. Adrenaline and anger surged through me. I have had enough. I was tired of looking over Heven’s shoulder, tired of hiding in the shadows and keeping danger from her door.

  It was time that I eliminated the threat. I didn’t like to kill.

  But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t.

  I drove to an empty lot not far from town. I didn’t want an audience for the murder I was about to commit. When I turned onto the road that lead to the clearing, I felt a weight land in the bed of my truck. I didn’t bother to look; I knew exactly what it was.

  I slammed on the brakes a few seconds later, letting the truck fishtail and jerk as it tried to stop so abruptly. I enjoyed hearing the banging in the back and the snarl of pain.

  Once the truck was stopped I turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. I leaped out of the truck, my body tense, expecting the hit. It came, from over my head, a body sailing right over me. I turned and caught the attacker from above and tossed them onto the ground. Again, the sickening thud of the body hitting the ground pleased me.

  I didn’t wait for them to get up but leapt on top, landing a few really good punches to the side of my target’s head.

  Next thing I knew I was sailing through the air, and I turned to land on my feet. My enemy charged, and I ducked out of the way sending the shadowed figure stuttering forward. I shoved my enemy from behind, but my nemesis turned, sharp teeth raking down my arm. I pulled back and glanced down at the blood welling on my arm.

  “I’m done with you,” I spat. “I’m sick of the games you keep playing with Heven!”

  I got an answering snarl, and then I was tossed through the air again. This time I landed further into the lot, in a part with trees growing closely together. I gritted my teeth when my back hit a branch, but I straightened and braced for another attack.

  But something else distracted me.

  The smell.

  I looked down and held back a gag. Body parts littered the ground. There was a hand lying next to my foot and another laying a few yards away. A foot was sticking
out from beneath a pile of leaves and there were puddles of blood in the grass.

  “I told you that you belonged with us.”

  My gaze snapped up at the sound of the voice. I preferred them in their other forms. At least then they couldn’t talk.

  I took pleasure in the swollen purpling bruises that marked the monster’s skin.

  “I’m not anything like you.”

  A humorless laugh echoes around me. “Then why did you come here? You challenged me. You have death in your eyes, you came here to kill. You led me to the place that I kill too. Your instincts told you it was the perfect place to hide a body.”

  “When I am done with you there won’t be anything left.”

  I saw the hit coming, and I blocked it. We went round and round, throwing punches and trying to weaken the other.

  When we both pulled away I realized I had the upper hand. I smiled, knowing that the months of fear would finally be over. “I never wanted to kill you,” I said. “You leave me no choice.”

  I pounced, wrapping my hands around a gasping throat. I heard the others coming and knew that they would be here soon. I squeezed harder, wanting to snap her neck. She was struggling so fiercely, I couldn’t finish the job.

  A shoulder caught me under the ribs and I was suddenly knocked aside. I smacked into a tree and landed hard. Ignoring the pain in my side, I planted my hand in the grass to stand and came away with a severed ear. I wanted to gag at the bloody appendage. Where was the rest of the body? I couldn’t think about that now because the others had come. I hadn’t been fast enough at delivering death. Why wouldn’t they just let me do this? Removing the monster would make all our lives easier.

  The three of them stood in a line, staring at me with eyes devoid of emotion.

  I glanced at the monster who was grinning like a maniac in between gasping for breath. “I told you that you couldn’t beat me. You’re nothing but a little pup.”

  Up until this point my body quivered and shook, I held back my need to change. But now I prepared to shift. If I was going to survive a fight of one against three I had too.

  The others recognized what I was about to do and they jumped into action, pinning me down and laughing.

  “You need to be taught a lesson, pup. One you won’t forget.”

  I’m not really sure how long the beating lasted. I tried to fight back, but it was useless. It was three against one, and I was pinned.

  My last thought before I blacked out was of Heven.

  I opened my eyes to only to blink back the sunlight. How long had I been out?

  Heven.

  I jerked up, ignoring the protest in my body and looked for my phone. I was in my apartment. The apartment I barely ever spent any time at. How did I get here?

  “Going somewhere?” A voice beside me asked.

  I turned, angry that I hadn’t realized he was sitting there.

  “Morning. Did you have a nice nap?”

  “Like you care,” I snarled. I shoved my hand in my pocket looking for my phone. It wasn’t there. Then I remembered I left it in the truck. I wondered where the truck was.

  “She’s fine.” He said, and I paused and glanced over.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because the person who wants her dead is busy – got a big lead on it.”

  “Why aren’t you out helping to look?” I asked.

  He shrugged and motioned to the unopened water bottle on the table. I reached over and palmed the water. I drank it in one gulp. It was cold and felt good going down. I was beginning to feel the effects of my beating, but I refused to show any pain.

  If I hadn’t known any better I would think that he stayed behind to make sure I was okay. Except why would he care? He’s the one that held me down to take the beating.

  I stood, ignoring the way the room spun around me, “What time is it?”

  “Sit back down.”

  “I have shit to do.”

  “You look like shit, and you’re about to pass out.”

  I moved fast, and he wasn’t expecting it. I had my hand around his throat, and I was half lying across him where he sat, lounged in a beat up chair. “If you think a couple of broken ribs and some bruises are going to keep me down then you’re stupid.”

  He shoved me away, and I landed back on the couch. I got back up with clenched fists.

  “Chill.” He said, rising out of his chair. “You wanna leave? Go.”

  “You might want to think about whose side you’re on. I’m not backing down.”

  “Is that a threat?” His eyes narrowed dangerously.

  “No.” I snapped. “It’s a fact.” I saw my keys lying on the table, and I grabbed them.

  He smirked but he made no move to challenge me. “You better do something about your face before you leave. I have a feeling that little girl of yours might not take to seeing you like this so well. How are you going to explain yourself? Huh?”

  I must have showed my doubt because he laughed. “You’ve got a lot to learn, pup.”

  With that he walked out the front door.

  I stood there for long moments, using my senses, making certain I was alone. When I was sure he wasn’t coming back I walked into the tiny, dirty bathroom and looked into the mirror.

  I had an idea of what I would see, because my face hurt like hell. He had been right. I couldn’t go around Heven like this. I couldn’t explain, and she would be scared to death. I looked at the dried blood covering my face and the swollen bruises distorting my face. No, I couldn’t see her like this.

  With a sigh I turned away from the mirror and turned on the shower. I healed fast but my injuries were pretty bad. If I was a normal person I would be in a comma. But I wasn’t normal. I should be healed in a matter of days.

  I bit back a hiss when the water hit my back and sides. Broken ribs hurt like a bitch. And so did open cuts and burns. I scrubbed myself good anyway, ignoring the searing pain. The soap was the cheap kind, the kind that felt like sandpaper against your skin. I washed quickly, but thoroughly then turned the water off and stepped out. I didn’t have time to linger.

  Just because I couldn’t let Heven see me didn’t mean I couldn’t see her.

  The next few days were going to be endless, but I could do it. I had too. Staying away from her now was necessary. I couldn’t explain and didn’t know how even if I wanted to. So I would go back to watching her from afar, protecting her in the shadows. She was going to be hurt if I wasn’t around. I hoped she could forgive me.

  But at least she’d be alive.

  Chapter Eleven

  Heven

  “Earth to Heven. Come in Heven…” Kimber said, waving her hand in front of my eyes.

  I blinked, my attention slowly coming back to reality. Back to the overcrowded coffee house that we were sitting in. I glanced at Kimber who was staring at me with an exasperated frown. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

  “Yeah, what else is new?” Kimber muttered

  I sighed and looked down into my cappuccino. The foam on the top was thick and rich looking, and my stomach turned. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been a very good friend lately.”

  “No, I’m sorry. That was bitchy. I would be acting the same way if Cole disappeared for three days and didn’t tell me anything.”

  Three days. Three long, endless days of staring at my phone, the door, and the window, waiting for him to appear. I kept expecting that familiar feeling of safety that I have grown so accustomed to just wash over me, but it hasn’t, and my insides feel hollow.

  Where are you Sam? Where have you gone and why did you leave me?

  What if he was hurt or sick and no one was there to help him? He didn’t have a family, all he had were those creepy roommates, and I got the impression they would hurt him before they would help him. All he had was me. What if he was lying somewhere wondering why I hadn’t come and was feeling betrayed and hurt?

  I felt betrayed and hurt. How could someone just tell you that they love yo
u and then disappear?

  My cell phone beeped, a signal that a text was received. I practically dived at my phone and hit the button. ‘No New Messages’ was displayed on the screen. Then the phone beeped again, and I realized it wasn’t my phone doing the beeping but the phone in the booth behind us. I resisted the urge to cry and shoved the phone in the pocket of my oversized hoodie.

  “I don’t get it,” Kimber said, taking a sip of her latte. “He hasn’t called at all?”

  “No,” I said for the millionth time. Before she could ask the next thing that she always asks, I went ahead and responded, “And, no I don’t know where he lives.”

  “I always thought mysterious guys were hot. But now I am starting to think that they aren’t good dating material.”

  I looked up at her and rolled my eyes. “You’re not dating him.”

  “Down girl. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  I pushed the sleeve up and fingered my bracelet, taking care to make sure the clasp was still closed. He hadn’t been around to fix it. “He said he loved me,” I whispered.

  “Why didn’t you say it back?” Kimber asked leaning over the table towards me. She reached out and fingered my bracelet.

  “I don’t know – I thought I might but then he freaked over something he heard in the woods and rushed me home. I wished I would have. Maybe he never would have left.” I shoved the cappuccino away. I couldn’t stand its smell any longer. My stomach was in terrible knots, and I had a headache.

  “This isn’t your fault.” Kimber said vehemently.

  Maybe it was.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face. The noise of the coffee bar was pressing in on me. I wanted to scream for everyone to just be quiet. My hands were shaking, and I needed to get out of there.

  “I have to go,” I said, rushing out of the booth.

  “Wait!” Kimber caught my wrist across the table, pulling me back. I struggled, pulling away, only to stumble forward right into something solid and warm.