“She battled a Hunter, which, for all of your training, you’ve never done,” Jace snapped. Bryce’s expression turned murderous.
“Go ahead and mock me if you’d like. At least I’ve never had to depend on a human to protect me,” Bryce spat, advancing on his brother.
“How do you know she isn’t the one we’ve been looking for?” Jace shouted.
“If she was the Innocent, the Hunter would have gone after her instead of you, moron,” Bryce said. “She has no magic.” He motioned toward me dismissively.
“She has something...” Jace said in my defense.
“Enough,” Mrs. Alexander said firmly. “I’ll decide who stays and for how long. I’m the adult here, remember?”
I finally worked up enough nerve to speak. “Um, Mrs. Alexander? I should probably leave now. I have homework and…” I trailed off, sounding as stupid as I felt. I didn’t do well with new people, especially a whole room full.
Jace’s mother took pity on me. She put her arm around my shoulders maternally and said, “I’m sure this has all been very upsetting and confusing, dear. We’ll give you a ride home, but could I ask one favor? Could you come over and have dinner with us tomorrow? I promise we’ll explain everything to you then. In the meantime, I would be very grateful if you could keep all of this to yourself.”
I nodded in agreement, thankful to be going home at last. My relief was short-lived, however, when Bryce grabbed a set of car keys and said, “Toss the human in the truck, and let’s go.” I felt like a piece of meat.
“Bryce, that’s no way to treat our new friend,” she said. “If I find out you…”
“Whatever,” he mumbled, striding toward the front door. I followed the two brothers outside to a pickup truck. Smashed in between the two of them, we rode to my house in near silence. Jace tried to fiddle with the radio, but one nasty comment from his older brother had him sitting back in his seat and looking out the passenger side window.
The silence was broken occasionally when I was forced to offer directions. I prayed Bryce would have other plans the next day. I couldn’t imagine sitting across the kitchen table from him. I’d never met a more unpleasant and unlikable man in my life and I hated him instinctively. His darkness permeated the small cab of the pickup truck and I was close to tears by the time we pulled into my driveway.
I went upstairs and fell into bed, not bothering to change clothes or eat dinner. I had to fight back the urge to laugh when I remembered the promise I’d made to Mrs. Alexander. It was an easy promise to keep. If I told anyone what I’d witnessed, I would be locked away in a mental institution. My family already thought I was crazy.
***
By the time school rolled around the next day, I’d nearly convinced myself I’d dreamt everything that had happened over the past several days. One look in the mirror at the Too Cute shirt convinced me at least part of my recent nightmare was real. It was probably safe to assume I hadn’t imagined the Hunter attack and Jace’s use of strange, magical powers either.
When I arrived in first period, I staked out my usual spot in the back of the classroom and tried to finish the homework I’d failed to complete the night before.
Jace entered the classroom alone. “How are you today? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. How are you, though?” I asked softly.
“Great. I’m looking forward to dinner tonight. You’re still coming, right?” He smiled at me and I fell even more deeply in love with him.
“Absolutely.” I returned his smile.
“You should give me your phone number,” he said. I scribbled my number on a sheet of notebook paper. He hadn’t accepted Becky’s number when she offered, but he wanted mine. Unreal.
Jace spoke to me for a couple of minutes and I struggled to think of witty, semi-coherent replies. I wasn’t a very skilled conversationalist, so I was relieved when he took his seat at the front of the room.
I expected our early morning conversation to be the extent of our interaction at school, but I was wrong. I sat alone at the back of the lunchroom and picked at the unrecognizable food on my lunch tray. A sudden wind lifted the wisps of hair at the nape of my neck, and an instant later, Jace pulled up a chair to sit next to me.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted, gaping at him in shock.
“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” he asked, gesturing at the four empty chairs grouped around the table where we sat.
“You don’t have to,” I said.
“That’s good to know. What is this crap?” The fact that he couldn’t identify the food before him didn’t seem to dampen his appetite. He shoved forkfuls into his mouth, and I cringed as he devoured the mystery meat. Jace chatted in between bites as if it were perfectly normal to be sitting there with me. I thought I should tell him he was off the hook, that he didn’t have to pretend to like me just because he thought I’d saved his life.
“Hey, aren’t you eating?” he asked. I shook my head and he attacked my food with gusto. “My brother and I will pick you up for dinner tonight.”
I shivered as I recalled Bryce’s penetrating, cold stare. “I can walk. I like walking.”
“Yeah, but still. It may not be safe,” he insisted, glancing around the cafeteria to make sure no one was watching. They were, of course. Everyone was staring. Jace leaned in closer and I shivered. “You need protection.”
“Your brother said I’m not the one they’re looking for. What does that mean?” I asked, shocking myself. Ordinarily, I let others ask the questions, but my curiosity couldn’t be contained.
“We’ll talk about it later. So, do you want to come over to my house right after school?”
“I don’t know if I can. I mean, I didn’t ask…” I stammered. “My mom’s picking me up today…”
“Just make sure she lets you come over tonight.” His smile temporarily stunned me and I nodded in agreement before I could help myself. “Let me know if you need help convincing her, because I can be very persuasive,” he claimed.
I blushed and glanced away. I imagined he could persuade me to do nearly anything.
Jace continued talking to me as if he actually enjoyed my company. He didn’t act martyred or uncomfortable. I barely said a word to him, and yet he continued a one-sided conversation until the bell rang.
As I scurried nervously from the lunchroom, Jace finished the last few morsels of food on my tray. “Hey, Alisa,” he called across the lunchroom. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I nodded to indicate I’d heard him, and then made my hasty retreat. I was painfully aware half the school was watching me as I rushed to my next class. If Jace continued to associate with me, he’d better be prepared to join me in the cesspool of Cooper High gossip. I hoped he wouldn’t choose his budding popularity over our newly established friendship. I was tired of being alone.
Chapter Four
Rachel
From the moment I’d opened my eyes that morning, I felt off-kilter. Strange dreams had plagued me all night, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember what any of them were about. Though I’d gone to bed early the night before, I still felt exhausted. I contemplated skipping my morning run, but the beginning of football and cheerleading season was no time to give in to laziness, so I knocked my covers aside and got out of bed. After throwing on a pair of shorts, a tank top, and my ratty tennis shoes, I pulled my long hair into a lopsided knot at the top of my head, grabbed my I-pod, and sprinted out the door.
The sun was just coming up, but it was already muggy and humid. Typical late August weather in southern Georgia. Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive assaulted my eardrums as I broke into a steady run. My breath came more rapidly as I gained speed and left my subdivision. Sweat trickled down my back. I couldn’t wait to get home and take a shower.
As I turned onto the main road that led toward town, ripples of fear shot up my spine—a feeling that usually signaled someone was watching me. It had been happening a lot lately—the strange sensation
of being watched. Sometimes I even caught of glimpse of a dark figure, though no one else ever seemed to see anything. The idea that it was all in my head certainly didn’t soothe my fears. Mental illness seemed to run in my family, so there was nothing comforting about the thought that I was imagining things.
I kept running while scanning my surroundings, my anxiety increasing with every step I took. I pulled the earbuds from my ears so I could hear if anyone tried to approach me. Without the music, it was too quiet. The sound of my own feet as they pounded the pavement freaked me out.
I’d carefully selected this route. My mother and I drove it in order to get the exact mileage. I never deviated from this path, but that day I did. I knew if I continued along the street I was on, I would run headfirst into danger. Turning around, I retraced my route toward home. As I passed my neighbor’s house at the end of the street, their dog suddenly began barking. Not a friendly bark, or a hey you came too close to my territory bark, but an ears back, snarling, growling, I’ll rip you apart bark. The ferocity of his growls made me miss a step and I staggered, almost falling.
A snarl came from a different direction. When I looked to my right, a figure darted out from behind the house across the street. I sprinted in a full-out run until I reached my front door. I briefly considered waking my mother and telling her what happened, but what did happen? Probably nothing. I quickly showered and got ready for school.
The strange experience left me with a lingering feeling of anxiety as I went through my morning routine. Halfway to school, I realized I’d forgotten to put on my necklace. I felt naked without it. The necklace had been passed down through my father’s family for generations, and I wore it without fail ever since the day he gave it to me. Before he died, my father told me it was special and to wear it always, so I hardly ever took it off. If I held the pendant close to my heart, I could feel his presence.
I was nervous when I arrived at school. My legs shook slightly as I walked into my first period class. I nodded politely to Jace and Alisa as I took my seat.
“Hey, Jace,” Becky called as she flounced into the room. It irritated me the way she flirted with him, but I knew my feelings weren’t justified. After all, I had a boyfriend and Becky did not. And although the dogs had been circling since the beginning of the school year, she’d managed to hold them at bay while pursuing Jace relentlessly.
“I wonder how many points Mrs. Hanks deducts for a late assignment,” Jace said.
“Ten each day,” I replied. He turned around and looked at me. I wondered why he seemed so startled that I’d answered his question. A warm shiver ran through me as our eyes met.
Jace had been in my thoughts constantly, but each time I found myself thinking about him, I gave myself a sharp mental slap. Junior year was critical and I couldn’t afford to succumb to the inevitable drama that would result if I dumped my long-time boyfriend to hook up with this new guy. As far as boyfriends went, Robert was safe—no emotional investment there. Jace was…well, a distraction.
Distraction took on a whole new form the moment the room filled up and Mrs. Hanks passed out our exams.
“This class is stupid,” a petulant voice whined. I turned my head to look at Amber, surprised to hear her speaking out loud in the middle of a test. She looked at me quizzically.
“I wonder if Justin is going to ask me out.” Sydney’s voice drifted over to me on a raft of despair. I turned to look at her, but she stared resolutely at her paper. I glanced around the classroom and it occurred to me that no one else heard these voices. As waves of depression, joy, confusion, and fear crashed over me, I feared I’d lost my mind.
Becky’s voice insinuated itself into my head and with it, an avalanche of hatred and animosity poured into me. “I can’t believe Jace was talking to Alisa. I should totally tell him she’s a whore. Everyone will back me up. She’ll have to drop out of school by the time I’m finished with her. I swear, I don’t know how I can possibly be related to someone like her. What a freaking waste of space.”
Becky’s thoughts brought my migraine to a crescendo, and as my emotional pain blended with my physical agony, shards of razor-sharp images slashed through my mind. Each memory lashed a deeper furrow through my conscience: the time Becky spread a rumor about Amber, effectively ending her relationship with a long-time boyfriend; the time I watched while the football players brutally hazed a weaker player because he made a bad play, resulting in the freshman spending a night in the hospital; the dozens of times Becky tormented her shy, socially inept cousin. Each incident shared a common thread—I did nothing to stop it, said nothing, helped no one.
By the time first period was over, my nervous system was on overload. As I walked down the hall from one class to another, I tried to avoid looking at anyone. Each time I inadvertently made eye contact with someone, a barrage of feelings assaulted me. Everyone seemed to be surrounded in a haze of color. I blinked several times to clear my vision, but it didn’t help.
Class changes were agony. When people brushed against me in the crowded hallway, those brief episodes of physical contact sent waves of love, pain, fear, and shame through me. I could feel a mix of emotions in every cell of my body. As the day progressed, I became increasingly overwhelmed. A thin layer of perspiration covered my face, but my arms were cold and goose bumped. I was either very ill or having a complete mental breakdown.
I spent lunch period hiding in the bathroom, praying and begging God to help me get through the day. I cried a little and hated myself for it. I hoped I would be able to pull myself together enough to take my History quiz. Crazy or not, there was no way I would let my grades tank.
By the time the bell rang to signal the end of the day, I couldn’t take it another minute. My head pounded and my whole body ached. Every muscle and nerve ending in my body twitched and burned.
“Hey, baby. Where have you been hiding? I haven’t seen you all day.” Robert stepped in front of me, blocking my escape.
“I’m sick.” I flinched away from his outstretched arms. “I don’t think I can stay for practice.”
“Poor Rachel. I’ll tell the coach you’re going home. Hey, Vanessa,” he called as he led me outside. “Can you give her a ride?”
I somehow managed to endure the agonizing journey home. Being in such close quarters with another human being was a brutal assault on my emotions. Weak with relief, I let myself into my house.
After swallowing three of my migraine pills, I waited for the agony to subside. The day’s horrific events replayed in my mind and the emotional overload created the most agonizing headache I’d ever experienced. Out of desperation, I did the only thing that really helped my migraines—I took a nap.
My cell phone rang, startling me awake. Disoriented, I glanced at the time on my alarm clock. It was after five. The caller ID displayed Becky’s name and number, and with great reluctance, I answered it.
“Hello.”
“Hey, girl. Why weren’t you at practice?”
“I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Slacker,” she replied. “So, I have this idea about how to get back at Alisa…”
“What? Why do you need to get back at her? What did she do to you?”
“It’s just like middle school. She’s trying to flirt with Jace even though she knows I was talking to him first. Poor Jace doesn’t know any better.”
“Oh, I think he does. He seems to be a pretty good judge of character, if you ask me.”
“Um, excuse me. What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Her voice was filled with outrage and my head began to throb all over again.
For a second, I almost considered backing down. But then I remembered all the times I’d encouraged Becky by laughing at her jokes, or gasping with mock surprise at each whispered rumor she started. By letting her get away with abusing others, I was just as bad as she was. Becky was a bully and I had been her unwilling, but apathetic accomplice. Well, not anymore. It was time to draw the line. Popularity wasn’t everything and I w
as ready to face the consequences if Becky decided to turn on me.
“Leave Alisa alone. Seriously,” I said.
“You know what? I don’t know why I even bother to talk to you about anything. You’re such a judgmental religious freak. You mind your own business, and I’ll take care of mine,” she hissed.
“If you do anything to Alisa, I’ll forward those text messages to your mom, and I’ll copy everyone,” I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. The pictures said it all—a drunken fling with Amber’s boyfriend memorialized on her cell phone and sent to me as a joke. Becky knew I never deleted anything. Her reign of terror was about to come to an end, at least where Alisa was concerned.
“What the hell is wrong with you? What did I do to you?” she snapped.
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