by Lee Strauss
She was with Tristan, and I hated it. My feelings for him as a person weren’t exactly warm either. If I let my mind wander, imagining them together, my nerves caught fire. I wanted to punch the douche-bag, but since he hadn’t done anything overtly disrespectful to Sage, I had to keep my cool.
Plus, Tristan could easily beat the crap out of me, and that would be embarrassing. And it would hurt.
Three days had passed since the support group and despite my theatrics we’d discovered nothing new. All I managed to do was to alienate Sage further. She thought my performance was foolish and stupid and self-serving.
I didn’t know about that, but I did know I hadn’t heard from her since she handed out her verbal lashing. Zed was out with Eliza for most of his free time, and I was getting kind of lonely. I still had Steve and Paul. Not much of a consolation prize.
I couldn’t concentrate on my physics assignment any longer, so I sauntered out to the lounge and found Steve and Paul sitting on the sagging couch, playing Need For Speed.
“You wanna play for me?” Paul said. “I need to use the can.”
He threw his controller at me, and I focused on driving faster than Steve. I cut his bumper just as we entered the third lap and my car spun out of control, rolled and flipped over the guardrail.
“Whoa!” I said.
“Thanks a lot, dude,” Paul said. Unfortunately, he’d returned in time to witness the demise of his roadster.
“Sorry, man,” I said.
Steve fist pumped in the air. “It totally counts, Pauly!”
“Whatever,” Paul grumbled as he held out a palm. “Give it back.”
I tossed the controller. “I know when I’m not wanted.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket and my pulse jumped. Was it Sage? Had something happened?
I whipped it out and stared at the name on the screen. Mom?
I grew up in a lower middle class suburb of Detroit, raised singly by my mother. It was a quiet, uneventful existence for the most part. Though Mom made sure I had everything I needed for survival—roof, food, clothes—she wasn’t much of a hugger or a talker, which meant we rarely chatted on the phone for no reason and could go months between calls. My heart stuttered a little. Was everything all right?
“Mom?” I asked, working to keep my voice steady. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Marlow.” Mom was in her early forties, but on the phone she sounded like an elderly woman. I could picture her in our small, dated kitchen, sitting on the vinyl chair under the wall phone, fidgeting with the gray cord. “I just wanted to give you a bit of news.”
“Oh.” I headed outside so I wouldn’t distract the guys. “What’s up?”
“I spoke with Ms Cooper at the Smart Mart, and she told me she’s gonna hire a new stock boy. I told her you’d be back for the summer and she said you had the job if you wanted it.”
“Wow, Mom,” I said. I knew I had to work over the summer, and I didn’t have anything lined up. Stocking groceries was as good as anything, I supposed, especially in Detroit’s current economic depression. “That’s great. Do you have her number?”
Mom rattled off the digits and then the quiet I was accustomed to returned.
“Is everything okay with you, Mom?”
“Sure.”
“How’s work?” Mom worked at a sausage factory. She always smelled of raw meat, and I’d eaten more than my fair share of sausage over the years.
“It’s fine.”
“College is fine too. Almost done my freshman year.”
“I know.”
“I’ll be home soon.”
“That’s good. I’m glad.”
Her way of saying she missed me. This school year was the first time we’d been apart, ever, and I’d only gone home for a few days over Christmas.
“I’ve gotta run. I’m really bogged down with exams.”
“Okay. Bye, son.”
I ended the call and shoved my phone in my pocket. The early summer wind blew warmly against my skin. After the long, cold winter I liked how the sun stroked my face, I didn’t want to go back inside.
I wandered around the campus in an effort to clear my head. I had to lasso my thoughts every time they turned back to Sage, which was most of the time. I walked into Java Junkie and stood in line behind a girl with neon pink hair bobbed off at the shoulders. She was average height and had a slender build. She wore a snug black T-shirt, skinny jeans and pink Converse sneakers. I suddenly really wanted to see her face.
She pushed pink strands behind her ear with her left hand. That was when I saw her large-faced watch.
“Excuse me,” I said, nudging forward. “Can I bother you for the time?”
The girl spun around, and my eyes widened at her pretty face. She had small features, and wore simple makeup, which surprised me in light of the dramatic hair.
She grinned as her gaze dropped to the rectangular imprint bulging from my front pocket. Busted! I so obviously had a phone, which meant I had the time. I grabbed the back of my neck, which had grown hot.
“I’m Dakota,” she said. “And yes, you can buy my coffee.”
36

Sage
I awoke before my alarm. For once my dreams weren’t scary or morbid. This one had actually been… pleasant.
I plumped up my pillow, closed my eyes against the sunlight that drifted through the cracks in the blinds, and allowed myself to relive the dream. I was in this room with Marlow, of all people. My bed was made, but the one across the narrow aisle from mine was a jumbled mess. Marlow sat at a desk chair, his hair mussed, his face shadowed with several days of beard growth and a grimace on his face. He was naked from the waist up.
Though lean, his chest was surprisingly toned. I found it hard to pull my eyes away, but I had an excuse to keep them glued there. Marlow’s ribs were heavily bruised. He winced at the slightest movement.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Someone jumped me from behind.”
“Did you see who it was?”
“No, but he sent me a message. He wants me to mind my own business.”
I suddenly had a first-aid kit in my hand and began wrapping Marlow’s torso with gauze, around and around. He smelled like soap and a sporty body wash. I found our nearness to be quite heady. I felt drawn to him. Attracted.
When I finished with the gauze, I helped him into a flannel, button-down shirt. Funny, I’d never seen him wear this shirt before, but I’d seen it on someone else. Ben’s roommate had a shirt exactly like it.
We left my dorm together, not as a couple, but as a team. We were on a mission, and I had a sensed it had something to do with Teagan. The world was strangely green, like it had an emerald filter on it.
I bolted up straight. Marlow’s story about jumping universes! He’d talked about a “green” one. My stomach flip-flopped. Could his story be true?
Nah. He’d just planted the idea in my subconscious, that was all.
I lugged myself out of bed and into the shower. What I needed was to get dressed and find a good, strong coffee. I had to keep focused on the trouble at hand: the dock drownings and the sleepwalking and most importantly, figuring out who was behind it all?
My phone rang and I flipped it over to see who was calling. Tristan’s name along with his dashing prince-like face beckoned. I answered with a cheery hello, swallowing the confusing disappointment I felt that it hadn’t been Marlow’s face on my screen.
37

Marlow
Zed and I headed out together to our Friday afternoon biology class. Steve and Paul happened to be exiting at the same time and they got stuck in the doorway, which was too small to fit both of them.
“Hey!” Steve bellowed.
“I was here first,” Paul returned.
“Is it just me,” I said to Zed, “or are they becoming more like Abbot and Costello all the time?”
Zed smirked. “A regular Laurel and Hardy.”<
br />
The duo caught up to us, Steve inching up on Zed’s left and Paul on my right.
“What’s wrong with his face?” Paul said.
Steve craned his long neck and followed Paul’s gaze which had settled on me. “Marlow’s face?”
“Yeah. He looks different.”
“It’s his eyes. He’s not wearing glasses.”
I shot Zed a WTH look. “I’m right here, guys,” I said. “Why don’t you just ask me?”
“How come you aren’t wearing your glasses?” Paul asked. “I thought you were blind as a bat.”
“I had them lasered.”
“Lasered?” Steve said incredulously.
“Yeah, lasered. What’s the big deal?”
“No big deal,” Paul said. He waited two beats then added, “When?”
“During the break.” I had to stretch the truth a little. They’d never believe it if I told them when and where I had it done. I barely believed it myself.
Thankfully, my phone buzzed. “I have to take this call,” I said. “You guys go on without me.”
I was a little stunned to see Sage’s name. I answered with what I hoped was a casual, “Hey?”
“Do you think we could meet later?” she said. “I found out some things about Eliza. We should talk.”
“Yeah, sure. How about coffee later? Java Junkie at three?”
“That works. Meet you there.”
I got to class with just minutes to spare. I claimed an empty chair beside Zed. “Hey, you free around three?”
“Could be. Why?”
“I’m meeting Sage for coffee. She has news about Eliza.”
I invited Zed because we were going to be discussing his girlfriend and I thought he should know. I also didn’t want to be alone with Sage. My feelings toward her were complicated, and it was just smarter for me to not spend time alone with her.
The day moved slowly and I had time in between classes and assignments to think about what kind of news Sage had. There hadn’t been any drownings for a week now, and I was beginning to wonder if those other deaths were in fact copycat suicides like the police were reporting. The administration had hired security to watch the dock, the site of the deaths, and that seemed to have stemmed the tide. Maybe the worst was over and we could all breathe easy now.
Sage was already at the cafe when I arrived, seated at a table for two by the window.
She waved me over. “I bought you a coffee already.”
“Thanks,” I said, sitting across from her. “What do I owe you?”
Her cheeks were pink and I wondered if she found the room too warm. She looked at me, smiled and pushed auburn strands behind her right ear. “My treat. You can get it next time.”
Next time? Nice to know.
“How are you?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Good enough.”
“Ready for exams?”
“Getting there.”
I glanced out the window in search of Zed’s gangly form. I turned back to Sage, and she quickly looked away, hiding behind her mug as she sipped.
She was acting weird.
“Is everything okay?”
“Sure, yup, fine. I had this silly dream last night.”
I leaned forward, concerned. “What about?”
“Oh, nothing like that. Nothing ominous. Just…”
I waited for her to finish, but she looked away again, and took another sip.
I leaned back in my chair and nursed my own coffee. Sage was making me nervous. Where was Zed? Which reminded me. I’d forgotten to tell her about him.
“I asked Zed to join us.”
Sage’s soft countenance hardened. “Why’d you do that?”
“You wanted to talk about his girlfriend. I figured he’d be interested.”
“Yeah, but, it’ll make him uncomfortable. He won’t like it.”
“Why?” I leaned forward again. “Is it bad news?”
“Is what bad news?” Zed pulled up a chair from a nearby table and straddled it backward.
Sage shrunk in her chair.
“What is it?” I said. “What did you find out?”
She cast an apologetic glance at Zed. “I went to see her roommate, Minji.”
“Minji?” I said.
“She’s Korean.”
“Eliza thinks she’s crazy,” Zed said.
“I don’t know if she’s crazy,” Sage said carefully, “but she’s scared.”
I shifted closer. “Scared of what?”
“Of Eliza. Or whatever it is Eliza is scared of.”
“She’s scared of drowning,” Zed said.
“I think it’s more than that,” Sage said. “Something is wrong and Eliza is taking it out on her roommate.”
Zed crossed his arms and glared defensively. “She’s fine when she’s with me.”
“Of course she is,” Sage said. “She doesn’t want you to suspect anything. She doesn’t want you to worry.”
“You think she’s in the kind of trouble she can’t talk about?” I asked. “Do you think she’s being blackmailed?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“By whom?” Zed said sharply. “I’ll kill the SOB.”
I stared at Zed. I’d never seen this side of him before. Protective. Territorial.
“It could be anyone on our list,” I said.
Zed turned his chair around. “What list?”
Sage subtly shook her head. I knew what she was thinking. The last thing we needed was for Zed to go on a rampage. It was a mistake to bring him in on this. I was an idiot.
“I meant, it could be anyone. Why don’t you talk to Eliza? But calm down first, okay? You don’t want to freak her out.”
Sage reached for Zed’s arm. “Why don’t you let me talk to her first? She might be embarrassed to tell you anything right now. You guys are still new in your relationship. She wants you to think the best of her.”
Zed crumbled a little. “But isn’t this the type of thing you’re supposed to talk about when you’re in a relationship?”
“I’m sure she will, Zed,” Sage said gently. “Just give her a little time.”
“Marlow!”
We all turned to the female voice that called my name. Dakota sauntered over, snapped a piece of chewing gum and pushed bright pink hair behind her ears.
“Hi, Dakota,” I said.
“Hey, fellow coffee lover,” she said.
Zed and Sage hadn’t removed the startled expressions from their faces. I wasn’t sure what surprised them more, Dakota’s pink hair, or the fact that a cute girl interrupted us to say hi to me.
“Dakota, these are my friends, Sage and Zed. This is Dakota.”
Sage and Zed greeted Dakota politely, but then the conversation immediately stalled.
“Anyway,” Dakota began, “I can see you’re in the middle of something. We’re still on for tomorrow?”
I nodded. “For sure.”
“Great. See you then.”
Zed and Sage stared at me with mouths hanging open. “What’s the matter with you two?”
Zed cracked a wide grin. “She’s hot.”
Sage stood abruptly, a sour look on her face. “I have to go. Tristan is waiting for me.”
I couldn’t tell if that was meant to be a jab, but it felt like a jab.
38

Sage
Marlow infuriated me. First, he invited Zed without consulting with me, and then he mentions the list? What was with that? Did he really think it would help to tell Zed we suspected a half-dozen guys, any one of whom could be scaring the crap out of his girlfriend?
And what was with that girl? Was Marlow seriously going to date her?
So what if he was? What did I care? I had Tristan.
Marlow could go out with all the pink-headed girls he wanted. Green and purple and blue heads too, if he liked.
I had Tristan.
Right. I fished my phone out of my purse and clicked his name.
H
e answered with a saucy, “Hey, Sage.”
“Hi.”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to hear your voice.” Ick. How sappy was that? “I mean, I’ve been really busy with exam prep, but I’m so sick of studying.”
Tristan chuckled. “Don’t hurt yourself. I’m free tonight. Do you want to hang?”
“Yeah.” I forced myself to slow down. I didn’t want to sound needy or love sick. “Sure. Where do you want to go?”
“Well, my roommate’s going out so… you could come here?”
I bit my lip. Not really ready to face that scenario yet. “It’s so nice out and I’ve been inside on my rear all day. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Or we could go rowing?”
I heard Marlow’s voice in my head: “Don’t go near the water!” But that was before. I didn’t take Dr. Parker’s pills anymore, and I wasn’t sleepwalking. Besides, Tristan was an expert swimmer. I couldn’t be in safer hands.
“Sure, sounds fun.”
“It’s a date!”
Good. I was going to see Tristan later, and we were going to be doing something fun. That was exactly what I needed.
My last class of the day was chemistry, and it was also conveniently the one class I shared with Eliza. We’d both arrived a few minutes early, and I purposely took a seat next to her.
“Hi, Eliza,” I said.
She smiled at me. “Hi, Sage.”
I opened my books, trying to act normal and not like someone who was about to bring up a sensitive subject. Who could be blackmailing Eliza? Was it Jamil? Or Mike? Or Dr. Parker? Come to think of it, the professor was a little too smooth for my taste. Something not quite authentic about him.