by Julie Kagawa
What are you doing, Keirran? I thought, trying to shake the ominous feeling creeping over me.
My phone chirped, indicating I had a text message. Curious, I grabbed it and clicked on the screen.
Brrwed nurse’s phone, she thought u were cute (me 2). Dont reply just wanted 2 say thanks for coming in 2nite & they decided 2 release me tomorrow, yay! So don’t come in cause I won’t b here. Miss ya, tough guy. -Kenzie.
A second later, it was followed with:
P.S. Why do all hospitals think green Jell-O is food? *Gag*Dies*
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I clicked the phone off and set it back on the desk. I couldn’t worry about Keirran now. I had something else, someone else, to focus on. Kenzie deserved more than I could give her, but I wanted to try to do this boyfriend thing right, despite her father’s warning to stay away from his daughter. Obviously, I wasn’t going to listen to that, though he was more right than he knew when he said I was no good for her. To say I sucked in the relationship department was a huge understatement; I just hoped Kenzie could be patient with me as I figured it out. And that her dad wouldn’t make things too unbearable.
And that, for once, They would leave us alone and not screw everything up.
Wishful thinking.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE LAST NORMAL EVENING
The next day at school was fairly uneventful. I parked close to the school building, right outside the principal’s office window, to prevent further ambushes in the parking lot. I kept my head down in class, only engaging teachers if spoken to first. I ignored the constant whispers and looks thrown my way in the halls. The normal routine.
When lunch rolled around, I was heading to my favorite corner of solitude when my phone vibrated. Another text had come through.
Guess who has her phone back, the new message read. I grinned, hurried outside and called the number on the other end.
“I hope you’re at lunch right now,” Kenzie said by way of greeting, “and not cutting class just so you can call me.”
“Actually, I’m taking a break between car heists,” I replied, making her laugh. I smiled at the sound of her voice. “Where are you?”
“Home.” She gave a little sigh. “Cleaning my in-box. Being bored. Wishing I was at school right now.”
My gut churned. “Where’s your dad?”
“Oh, don’t worry.” Her voice turned defiant. “He got roped into some important out-of-town meeting and won’t be back until tomorrow.” She snorted. “I can’t believe him, telling me I had to stay away from you. Like that’s going to happen.”
Relief spread through me. “So, what do we do now?”
“Well...” She pondered that, then continued in a strangely hesitant voice. “As luck would have it, Alex has a volleyball game tonight, and my stepmom already promised she would go. No one will be home if you happen to drop by and pick me up. Let’s say, sometime between five and six?”
Right. This was the whole boyfriend thing. Picking her up, taking her to dinner. Normal going-out stuff. So why was I suddenly terrified? “I’ll pick you up at six,” I heard myself say in a voice that sounded perfectly calm, a stark contrast to the twisted mess within. “Is there anyplace you want to go, a movie you want to see?” Anything to give me a hint of what I’m supposed to do?
I heard her bitter smile without seeing it. “Anywhere but here.”
* * *
School the rest of the day was a lost cause. I couldn’t concentrate in any of my classes, couldn’t think of anything at all except the coming night. I wasn’t so distracted that I didn’t notice Brian Kingston glaring at me in the halls, however, his two cronies at his back. Thankfully, he didn’t attempt a repeat of the day before. I felt a small, vindictive pleasure knowing I’d kicked his ass yesterday and gotten away with it, but it was never a good idea to tempt fate. At least now he knew that I couldn’t be abused like some stray dog, but knowing him, the next time I would be facing the entire football team.
I went home, surfed around online, attempted to do my homework and drove myself crazy glancing at my watch every three minutes, cursing it to go faster. When evening rolled around, I showered, changed into my “nicer” clothes—nonripped jeans and a shirt that didn’t scream “I’m a thug”—and flopped onto the living room couch with the TV on to wait out the last few minutes.
“I’m going out,” I announced when the clock finally hit five-thirty. Bouncing upright, I turned off the screen, not even remembering what I’d been watching. Mom wasn’t in the room, and I raised my voice to shout down the hall. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t wait up for me.”
“Ethan,” Mom called as I snatched my jacket from the back of the couch and headed for the door. Her face was suspicious as she came out of the kitchen, eyeing my clothes and the keys in my hand. “It’s not karate night, and hospital visiting hours are long past. Where are you going?”
I stifled a sigh. “I have a date,” I said simply.
Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “A date?” she repeated, like she couldn’t quite believe it.
“Yeah. With a real girl and everything.”
I expected her to ask where we were going or to at least warn me to be careful. But unexpectedly, a smile broke across her face, almost like she was...relieved. Relieved that I was acting like a normal teen, maybe. Or that—and I cringed at this thought—I was finally “making friends.” Whatever the reason, it was nice to see her happy with me for once, even though this wasn’t quite as normal as she thought.
“Where did you meet her?” Mom asked excitedly, and I stifled a groan. “At your new school? Do you have classes together? What’s her name?”
“Mom, I’m going to be late,” I said, backing away. “I’m picking her up now. Back before eleven.”
“Ethan.”
Impatient, I turned in the door frame. Now what?
Mom still wore that faint, relieved smile. “Midnight,” she said, shocking me. “Curfew is at midnight.”
I blinked, astonished, but I wasn’t going to question it. With a quick smile, I nodded and let the screen slam shut behind me.
Tonight was going to be normal, I told myself as I hopped into my truck. A normal evening with my girlfriend, no weirdness or craziness allowed. However, as I was pulling out of the driveway, I caught a hint of movement in my side-view mirror, a shadow moving through the trees behind my house. The silhouette of a tall, impossibly thin man paused in the space between trunks, glowing eyes fastened on me.
I stopped the truck, turning back to look, but there was nothing there anymore.
I muttered a curse. This was nothing new. I’d been seeing things move my whole life: silhouettes in the trees, shadows from the corners of my eyes, brief glimpses of things in mirrors, doorways and reflections. That was the world of the fey, and you either got used to it or you became a neurotic freak. I just wished they’d stop hanging around my house despite all the anti-fey charms I’d placed inside and around the property. And I really wished they would quit popping up at the worst possible times.
Whatever. I wasn’t going to worry about the fey tonight. They couldn’t get into the house, Mom wasn’t going anywhere, and Dad wouldn’t be home from work until early morning. Tonight, I had a date with Mackenzie St. James, and I wasn’t going to miss it. The damned fey could just go bother someone else for once.
Putting my truck into Drive, I shoved all thoughts of invisible pests from my mind and roared off down the street.
* * *
I cruised through an older, well-kept neighborhood, massive trees towering over either side of the road, until I found the right address.
“Are you kidding me?” I stared up the circular driveway, past the glowing fountain shooting plumes of water into the air, to the huge mansion at the top of the steps. I didn’t know much about houses, but this thing looked like a Victorian-era castle, with stone columns and a round turret soaring above a perfectly landscaped yard. “Yeah, that’s not
intimidating at all.”
I felt weird parking my old truck behind the silver Audi in the driveway, and even more uncomfortable walking up the lighted path to the double doors looming at the top of the steps. This place probably had a ton of security and cameras, all fixed on me right now. I wondered if a security guard would automatically call the cops if he saw me edging up the walk, a lurking shadow definitely out of place.
The huge doors had a brass lion-head knocker and a doorbell, but I chose to just rap on the polished wood. A great, booming bark echoed from inside, making me wince. I suddenly had a vision of myself tearing across the lawn, two snarling Rottweilers on my heels.
Without so much as a squeak, one of the doors swung open. And there was Kenzie, grinning up at me. She wore tight black jeans, a green sweater, and the neon blue streaks in her hair had returned, brighter than before. She was beautiful, smiling and not lying in a stark hospital bed, pale and fragile. My stomach untwisted, muscles relaxing, as suddenly everything was fine.
Then a massive shaggy head pushed its way past her leg and lunged at me, and I leaped back with a yelp.
“Oh, Tiny. No.” Kenzie grabbed the thing’s collar, dragging it back inside. “Bad dog. Sit! Stay.”
The huge black animal panted and plopped into a sit. Kenzie turned back with a sheepish grin, raking bangs from her eyes. “Sorry ’bout that,” she said, maneuvering around the dog to pull the door shut. “He doesn’t bite. He’s just overfriendly. Most he’ll do is slobber on your pants. Newfies are good at that.”
“Yeah?” Seeing her like this, bright and bouncy and back to normal, awakened something inside me. This was the Kenzie I knew, the girl who had gone into the Nevernever with me, who’d seen my screwed-up world for what it really was and hadn’t left. I had the impulse to pull her into my arms and kiss her until we were both breathless, but I didn’t want to do that here, on her doorstep, while any number of cameras could be pointed at us. I wondered if her dad would make good on his threats if he saw me later on the security footage.
“Ready to go?” I asked instead, and she nodded vigorously.
“God, yes. Get me out of here. Between my stepmom’s hovering and Alex being extra clingy, I need the air.”
We hurried down the driveway. I kept a close eye on the gate, half expecting Kenzie’s father to pull in at any moment. For once, luck was on my side and the drive remained empty, though I still wanted to leave as fast as we could.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I asked as I slid into the driver’s seat. “Not that I’m going to stop seeing you, but I’d really like to avoid going to jail if I can help it. And I don’t want you to get into trouble with your dad, either.”
“He won’t do anything.” Kenzie slammed the door with a little more force than was necessary, I thought. “Don’t let his ‘you must not see that hooligan’ act fool you. It’ll blow over soon. Really, he’s just embarrassed that his faultless eldest daughter ran away. Now the image of our ‘perfect family’ is tarnished, and he’s trying to save face with all that posturing. Trust me.” She shook her head, looking out the side window. “He doesn’t care what I do. Hasn’t for a long time now.”
I turned the key and didn’t say anything. I recognized that anger, the veiled hurt in Kenzie’s voice. Thinking that someone you loved had abandoned you, that they didn’t care anymore... I knew that feeling all too well.
I took her to a nice restaurant, nothing fancy but not fast food, either, and we sat in a booth and ate and talked about normal, real-world things: school and teachers and classmates, deliberately keeping words like faeries and the Nevernever out of the conversation. I learned that there was a rumor about me circulating the school, that I had met Brian Kingston in the parking lot and kicked the ever-loving crap out of him. Great. That was going to do wonders for my record, not to mention my reputation. And knowing Kingston, he would take the rumor very personally and be looking to even the score. At least Kenzie seemed amused by it, stating that some of the girls now viewed me as the dangerous bad boy to tame. In fact, Chelsea had called her house earlier that day to ask if she would bring me to a party that weekend.
“So I ‘beat up’ the quarterback, and now people want to go out with me?” I asked in disbelief, watching Kenzie finish the last of the chocolate brownie we’d split for dessert. “What is wrong with girls? Tame me? Like I’m some kind of wild horse?”
Kenzie giggled. “Must be that bad-boy allure,” she said, putting down her spoon. “You know, they see you as a dangerous, broken mystery man. They want to be the one to fix you.”
“Yeah, well. My problems are too big for anyone to ‘fix.’” I handed the waitress a couple twenties when she dropped off the check. “And any one of those girls would run away screaming if they saw what I have to live with every day.”
Kenzie nodded sympathetically, and I realized I’d strayed back into “un-normal” territory. Reaching across the table, I took her hands. “Besides, they’ll be wasting their time,” I said, running my thumb across her fingers. “I’m taken.”
And apparently turning into a big sap. But I didn’t care. Kenzie’s brilliant smile made it all worth it.
* * *
We went to the movies, and I sat with Kenzie in the back row, feeling her head on my shoulder and trying desperately to behave myself. I wasn’t a prude; I knew what the back-row theater seats were for, but this was also our very first date. Not only that, this was my very first date with someone I actually wanted to be with; I did not want to push too far and screw everything up.
So I forced myself to be content with my arm around her shoulders and her slender hand on my knee, even though it was driving me crazy. When the credits rolled, it was all I could do to stand up and follow the rest of the crowd out of the theater.
In the parking lot, I couldn’t take it anymore. When Kenzie walked to her side of the truck, I snagged her around the waist, pulling her against me. She didn’t resist, allowing herself to be drawn close, pressing her body to mine. Leaning against the hood, I tangled my fingers in her silky hair, and her arms looped around my neck as she gazed up at me. My heart pounded. I was still finding it hard to believe that this beautiful girl was mine. What could I offer her, really? Tonight was the most normal evening I’d had in a long time, but it couldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, They would find me again.
“You look worried, tough guy.” Her fingertips brushed the nape of my neck, making me shiver. “You’ve gone all frowny and serious. What’s up? Are you regretting this already?”
I blinked and unfurrowed my brow, gazing down at her. “No,” I said, easing the concern in her eyes. “Honestly, if anyone should regret this, it’s you.” She tilted her head in confusion, and I sighed. “You know that normal isn’t...normal for me, right?”
Kenzie grinned. “I’m counting on it.”
“Mackenzie, I’m serious.”
“I know.”
“This isn’t a game. As long as you hang around me, your life is going to be really screwed up.”
Her cool fingers touched my lips, silencing me. “Do you trust me, Ethan?”
More than anyone. “Yes.”
“Then believe that I want to be here, with you. Not because of Them, not because I have the Sight or because I’m sick or anything like that. I’m here because...” She faltered, and I held my breath. “Because you make me feel like nothing in my life is wrong. Because you treat me like a real person, and I need that right now.”
I swallowed. “Is that the only reason?”
She colored slightly, but her lips quirked up. “Oh, fine. And because you’re pretty cute, too.”
Well, what had I been expecting? This was still really new, for both of us. “Cute?” I narrowed my eyes. “Kittens are cute. Baby goats are cute. I’m the dangerous wild beast that needs to be tamed, remember?”
“Good thing I’m up to the challenge, then.” Kenzie didn’t miss a beat. “I knew those dog-training classes would come in handy for so
mething.”
I chuckled, shaking my head in defeat, and pulled her closer. “Kiss me,” I told her. And she did, raising herself up on tiptoe to brush her lips to mine. I closed my eyes, forgetting the fey, the Sight, the Nevernever, everything about Them for the moment, and lost myself in her.
“Oh, my God!”
Kenzie pulled back, and we both turned our heads toward the shrill, shocked voice. A group of teenagers stood a few yards away, gaping at us over the pavement. I recognized Kenzie’s blonde friend, Regan, another cheerleader whose name escaped me and the Football Gorilla King himself, Brian Kingston. Who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. If he’d hated me before, he was homicidal now. Our little scuffle in the parking lot hadn’t cooled him off any; he was ready for round two. Another broad-shouldered jock type stood in the crowd behind him, but I’d never seen him before. Still, if Kingston decided to take me out here and now, he would gladly join in.
Hell with it.
I smirked and kept my arms firmly around Kenzie’s waist. Kenzie, it seemed, didn’t have any intention of moving, either. “Hey,” she said, smiling at the group of stunned teens, her arm draped casually around my neck. “What are you guys up to?”
“Kenzie,” the other cheerleader stammered, her eyes wide and blinking. “I heard you were out of the hospital, but...” Her gaze flicked to me and away again just as fast, like she was afraid of letting it linger. “You’re...with him now?”
Kenzie shrugged. “Looks that way.”
“The dick that dragged you up to New York without telling anyone about it?” Kingston added, taking a threatening step forward. I tensed as he moved closer, bolstered by his friend and the wide-eyed cheerleader audience. “The piece of shit that put you in the hospital?”
“Hey!” Kenzie turned and stepped out of my arms to face the quarterback, blocking his path to me. He blinked and stumbled to a halt as she glared up at him. “Back off, Brian. This is my decision. And you’d better not give him a hard time at school, or I’m going to be very pissed at you.”