Drop of Doubt

by C. L. Stone

  “Don’t forget it,” he said. He flicked a smile at me. “You’re very difficult to get a hold of otherwise.”

  “Don’t know how I lived without it before,” I said, unable to stop my lips from curling up.

  “Hey,” he said. “By the way. I wanted to call in my favor.”

  “What?”

  He grinned. “Don’t tell me you forgot. The day we went swimming, I won a favor.”

  I perked up. “I almost forgot. Did you think of something?”

  He tapped at his desk, and I imagined he was hitting invisible keys on a piano. “There’s this little concert this weekend. It’s technically after your birthday, but ...”

  “Wait,” I said. “You mean you want me to go to your concert? As the favor?”

  “It’ll probably be really dull. I’ll have to get you to stand backstage. And after I may ask you to do something weird.”

  “Like what?”

  His cheeks tinted. “There’s usually a party.”

  “Oh,” I said, unsure. The last time I’d attended a party, it didn’t turn out so well.

  “That’s really the favor part,” he said. “Maybe if you don’t mind, you’d stick around after?”

  “And go with you?”

  “No, I mean,” he rubbed a palm across his cheek. “I don’t know. I was kind of hoping you’d hang out away from the party.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I mean, I don’t think you should go to the party, but I wouldn’t mind escaping it to be with you.”

  I still didn’t understand, but I remembered Kota and the others saying he had a hard time at his concerts. Maybe his father, at the party after, said mean things. Maybe he wanted me to be there for support, but didn’t want to subject me to his parents. “Okay,” I said.

  “You’ll do it?”

  “Yes. But you don’t have to ask a favor from me. I’ll do it. I don’t mind. I’ll hide out. Can we do things together after? Do we have to stay long?” If he didn’t like the party, I thought it would be a good thing to go somewhere else after to cheer him up.

  He parted his lips to say something, but the bell rang. Mr. Morris grumbled at the front of the class, drawing everyone's attention. I sat back, attempting to appear interested, but I guessed at what he was going to say.

  “Open your books,” he said. “Read Chapter Ten. Lips closed. I want the questions at the end of the chapter answered fully and the papers on my desk tomorrow.”

  “I love this class,” Victor breathed into the back of my hair.

  I had to agree. It wasn’t interesting at all, but it was easy. With everything else we had to do, a predictable class was something we needed. If we weren’t going to learn much, at least we could take a small time out with stress-free work.

  I was bent over my desk, writing the answers out to the questions. A folded piece of paper plopped onto my desk. My eyes flicked to the note. I was used to getting these, though mostly in other classes. North usually caught the ones from this classroom before I saw them.

  My name was scrawled in a handwriting I didn’t recognize. Not that I expected Victor to write a note to me, but I checked just to be sure. I left the note on my desk, ignoring it. I thought I would wait until they piled up and stuff them into my bag to give to North later.

  Two more landed on my desk. I stacked them in the same corner and left them alone. I thought if I ignored them in front of everyone, they’d get the idea I didn’t really want them. Maybe. I wasn’t sure if they even cared or if it was a game.

  I was halfway finished with the assignment when I felt a presence hovering. I dismissed it, assuming someone was walking by to get to the pencil sharpener or something similar.

  “I thought I said read and do your homework,” Mr. Morris said.

  I glanced up, surprised to see him by my desk. His focus was on me. Confused, I tilted my head back. “Pardon?”

  He snatched up the notes on the corner of my desk. He fanned them in his hand, showing them to me. “Tell your boyfriends to wait until after class.”

  “Oh ... okay,” I said. I bit my lip, instantly ashamed at how I’d responded. It almost seemed rude, but he’d surprised me.

  Mr. Morris frowned. He unfolded one of the pages, his eyes scrolling over the words. “John wants to know if you’re busy on Friday.”

  The class started giggling. My cheeks heated. I didn’t dare glance back at Victor. “Um ...” I said. Did he expect me to answer?

  “She says no, John. You should probably be more specific if you want to ask her out.” He flicked open another note. “Dylan wants to know your bra size.”

  Laughter rolled through the classroom.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Victor said behind me. “You shouldn’t—”

  Mr. Morris held up a hand at him. “Sorry, Dylan,” he said to Victor. “You should probably ask a girl what her favorite color is before you ask her about bras. There’s a protocol. Trust me on this.” He opened the last note. “Sam wants to know your phone number.”

  I swallowed, flicking a glance at Victor. His eyes blazed. He shook his head a fraction.

  “I ... I don’t...” I said softly.

  “Speak up,” Mr. Morris said. “Sam is waiting.”

  What did he want me to do? Announce it? I glanced around the room at the expectant and giggling faces. “I don’t think I want to give it out,” I said.

  “It’ll save us both a lot of trouble.”

  The boy sitting across the aisle reached out, picking my cell phone up from on top of my book bag. Mr. Morris turned just as Victor leaned over his chair to try and snag it back. Mr. Morris held up his hand and gave a glower that said not to interfere, that he’d handle it.

  Before Mr. Morris could turn back to the kid that had snatched my cell phone, the guy poked at the screen and checked. “It’s 843-555-2311,” he rattled off.

  Mr. Morris snatched my phone from the guy. “Stop it. You’re all animals.” He placed my phone back on my desk and gazed around the room, addressing everyone. “Now everyone stop sending around notes. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the internal postal system we’ve had going on here. We’ve got phones now. Use them. Just don’t answer them in class. Stop wasting trees and my class time with this.” He crumpled up the notes, dropped my phone on my desk, and marched toward the front of the class. He tossed the notes away in the trash before he went back to settle into his own chair at his desk.

  Was that even my number? I wasn’t sure as I never looked at it. I risked a glance back at Victor. His eyes scorched, daring the class to even try to call my number now. He gripped his pen in his hands until his knuckles were white.

  I sank further into my seat, wanting to disappear.

  CODE FOR DANGER

  By the lunch bell, my phone was vibrating continuously in my hands. Messages were lighting up the phone, but from unknown numbers.

  “Let me see it, Princess,” Victor said, walking beside me. He took the phone from my hands, wrapping his lean fingers around the cover. As he held on to it, it continued to vibrate as it received text messages. “What did they do? Text your number to the entire school?”

  “Can we block the numbers?”

  “I may just get you a new number,” he said. “But I can’t do it right now.” He sighed, his free hand finding mine. His thumb smoothed across the skin on the back of my hand. “I’m sorry. Let me hang on to it. You’ve got classes with us for the rest of the day, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll give you mine after lunch so you’ve got something.”

  North wasn’t in the courtyard. Kota and Nathan were gone, too.

  “Where’d everyone go?” I asked.

  Luke sat next to me on the bench. He tapped his lips in a gesture of silence. Academy.

  I sighed. “Are they going to be gone all day? What about after school? And my sister?”

  “We’ll tell Marie there’s a change of plans. She can ride the bus home today. You can come along wi
th me,” Victor said, sitting on my other side. “We’ll get your number changed.”

  Silas sat on the grass at my feet. “Why? What’s wrong with her number?”

  Victor told them what happened.

  “Shit,” Gabriel said, pushing a palm into his eye. “We don’t need this right now. We’re down three people. Sang’s phone is fucked. Her birthday is this week. Can anything else happen?”

  “Don’t say that or something will happen,” Luke said. “I’m already done today. I’m ready to go home.” He glanced at Silas. “Can you fill in for North today just in case he doesn’t make it back?”

  Silas grimaced. “I was kind of hoping to figure out what to do for Sang’s birthday.”

  Gabriel groaned. “We don’t have time for the diner.”

  “We can’t bail,” Luke said. “A couple of the waitresses and a busser are out tonight. I think they’ve got the flu.”

  Gabriel fell on his knees on the grass next to Silas, then collapsed on his back. “Sang, change your birthday. Make it like a week later or something. The tenth. Or the fifteenth. Or fuck it. Make it next month. November’s a nice birthday month. Have a November birthday.”

  “Okay,” I said, in a very enthusiastic tone. I wouldn’t mind putting this off for a month, either. What did they expect from me? It was just a birthday. I knew other friends got each other little gifts. They totally didn’t have to do it, but I had a feeling arguing with them about this would lead to futile fights that I wouldn’t win.

  “We can’t put off her birthday,” Victor said. He turned to look at me. “What do you want, anyway?”

  “A nice birthday card.”

  “No, really.”

  I moaned softly, rubbing a finger over my brow. “Really, guys, don’t go through any trouble. We’ve got enough to do right now.”

  “Sang, it’s your first birthday with us,” Gabriel said. “You’re getting stuff.”

  “And it’s her sixteenth birthday,” Luke said.

  Gabriel’s mouth dropped open. “Holy fuck, is it? I didn’t even think about that.” He smashed his palms into his face. “Aw shit, no. No, this isn’t happening. I can’t swing a sweet sixteen in two days.”

  Victor pulled my phone out from his pocket. “Why won’t they shut up? My butt is already numb from all the vibrating.”

  “Make sure it isn’t Kota or the others trying to figure out what I’m doing,” I said.

  Victor frowned, scrolling through the messages. I leaned over, nearly pressing my cheek to his shoulder to glance at the screen. There were a number of text messages from different people. The voicemail icon blinked.

  “Check the voicemail.”

  “It’s from these bozos,” he said.

  “I’ll do it,” I said.

  “Let North do it. I don’t know if I want to hear people breathing your name into the phone. It’s creeping me out seeing the text messages.”

  I clutched the corner of the phone. “Please? May I check it, Victor?”

  He grumbled softly, releasing the phone into my hands. “You should delete them.”

  I tapped at the screen with my finger. “What if it is from the guys but from a different number?”

  “Aggele mou,” Silas said. “You worry too much. They wouldn’t do that to you.”

  “You never know.” The phone beeped in my ear.

  Silas said something else, but I turned my head away slightly, listening to the phone message.

  At first it was breathing. Was it one of the note writers scared to leave a message?

  The voicemail ended. I meant to delete it but I hit the button to save and it skipped to the next one.

  This time, there was more breathing. I meant to delete it again when I caught a beep. It wasn’t like the beep that announced the end of the message. This was a different tone.

  It beeped again. And again. It repeated itself.

  “Trouble?” Gabriel asked. The boys were focused on me.

  I shook my head, holding up a finger to figure out this puzzle. Code?

  The message ended. I saved it. The next one started. This one immediately started beeping, again in a sequence I didn’t know.

  My heart rattled in my chest. Was it a message from the guys? Were they in trouble? Why would they send me a code?

  “What’s wrong, Sang?” Luke asked.

  I pushed the button to repeat the message. I held the phone out to Victor. “It’s a code I don’t know.”

  Victor blinked at me, letting me hold the phone to his ear. I could hear the beeping playing. A couple of minutes passed as he listened. His lips mouthed off but I couldn’t understand what he was whispering to himself. His face hardened. He snagged my phone from me, taking hold of my hand. “Come on,” he said.

  I stood, drawn by his tugging and the urgency in his face.

  “What’s going on?” Silas asked, standing. The others got up, too.

  “It’s Morse code,” Victor said. “We’re leaving. Everyone’s leaving here now.” He pulled the phone away from his ear. “We have everyone? Everyone else is gone?”

  I counted the boys in my head for a moment. “I suppose Dr. Green and Mr. Blackbourne are still here.”

  “Mr. Blackbourne left with Kota. Luke,” he said, and he turned to Luke and Gabriel. “Go get Dr. Green. He’s probably in his office. Don’t use your phone.”

  “But,” I said, wanting to ask more questions. I didn’t understand. Why were we leaving?

  Victor yanked me forward until I stumbled after him. He did it in such a hurry and with such urgency that I felt the desperation from him. This was serious. Silas followed behind us. Gabriel and Luke raced off together for Dr. Green.

  I hurried to catch up, and Victor led the way to the parking lot.

  “We’re leaving school?” I asked. “We can’t leave now. We’ll get suspended for skipping.”

  “It’s an emergency, Sang. We can’t wait.” Victor fished his keys out of his pocket, hitting the unlock button. “Get in.”

  I slid in the passenger side. Victor raised the middle console, providing an extra seat. I slipped further next to him. Silas climbed in next to me.

  Victor started the car, driving toward the side entrance. We stared off after the doors.

  My heart was thundering in my chest. “Why are we leaving?” I breathed.

  “It was a warning, Sang.”

  My heart stilled to almost nothing. “Warning about what?”

  “It was a warning to us,” he said, his eyes met mine and they enveloped me in his fire. “To stay away from you.”

  REACTION

  Dr. Green signaled to us from the school that he, Gabriel and Luke were taking his car. Victor waved to them that he understood before driving out of the lot.

  I rode between Silas and Victor as we headed into the city. I didn’t know where we were going. At first, I assumed we were going to my house because that’s where we always went. Instead, Victor headed east on the interstate, speeding past signs that marked off the miles into Charleston.

  No one had spoken since we’d left the school. I smoothed my skirt up on my thighs so I could tuck my knees into my chest and still be modest. My arms wrapped around my legs. Victor drove with one hand on the wheel and traced my phone with his fingers in his lap. Silas encircled his fingers around my ankle as he stared out the window.

  “We’re headed into the city?” I asked quietly when I could muster a question. I had a lot of them, but started with the easiest.

  “We’re going to my house,” Victor said.

  “Why?”

  “Better security,” he said. He slid a glance at me, the hint of a smile on his lips. “Why? Don’t you want to? You said you wanted to before.”

  I sighed, and leaned against Silas. “Why would anyone warn you guys to stay away from me? And why use my cell phone to send a message to you all? And why are we—”

  “Princess.” Victor blew out a sigh and let go of the phone to put both hands on the wheel. “I don�
��t know all the answers yet. We’re getting to a secure location where we can make sure everyone is safe. We’ll figure it out from there.”

  “What about my sister?”

  Victor’s lips pursed. His eyes flittered to Silas.

  “Aggele mou,” Silas scooped an arm under my ankles. He unfolded me until I could hook my knees over his thigh. His strong arm encircled my shoulders into a sideways hug until I was curled up against him. “We’re not forgetting about her. If someone is after you, the best place for you to be is away from her. It’s why we’re not going to your house.”

  I buried my cheek into his shoulder. “I don’t understand why.”

  “We don’t know,” Silas said. He squeezed me around my shoulders, strong enough to take my breath away. “But we’re finding out now. We’ll regroup at Victor’s house and make sure everyone is safe. When we’re sure, we’ll make a plan and we’ll start investigating.”

  “Are we sure it isn’t a prank? Is it just one of the kids from our history class messing around?”

  “We’re not taking chances,” Victor said. “It was a threat against us, sent to you. Whoever it was knew you’d tell us, and expected us to understand what was going on. We’ll make sure you’re safe, and make it that much harder for whoever it is to get close.” His eyes burned as he stared forward, as if already calculating how to fix this. “If it is a stupid prank, we’ll find out soon enough. I’d rather make sure first.”

  I bit my lip against any more questions as traffic thickened on the road into Charleston. It felt surreal to be out of school and instead out in the world. It was easy to forget there were people out there doing other things while I was so wrapped up in school.

  I’d never skipped class in my life before I met the Academy boys. I wondered if anyone noticed now. If it had been Mr. Blackbourne’s class, or Dr. Green’s and we’d hid in their office it didn’t feel too bad. We actually left campus now, which felt worse. Would I end up in detention again?

  Soon, Victor pulled off the interstate and wound his way through streets into downtown. I twisted myself in Silas’s lap, gazing out at the two-story buildings, where the bottom floors were old shops and galleries, and the top floors looked to be offices or apartments. Unfamiliar territory. To me, it was like we left the country. Everything looked different.