He chuckled. “Happy anniversary.”
She turned to look at him bewildered.
“We’ve been dating exactly one week,” he said, dropping his voice slightly.
“Oh! I guess we have,” she said, suddenly blushing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get you anything.”
“All I need is you,” he said, his grin widening.
She blushed even harder. Then she turned and tried to wrangle her books and the flowers back into the locker.
“Would you like help?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” she said as she nearly dropped her biology textbook.
He snapped his fingers and suddenly all the books she’d been trying to shove in the locker disappeared.
She gave an involuntary yelp of surprise then glanced quickly around. No one seemed to notice what he had done.
“Where did they go?” she asked, lowering her voice.
“I sent them to your house. I can bring them back later if you need me, too.”
“No, the house is fine,” she said hastily. “You shouldn’t be doing that kind of thing out in public.”
“What’s the point of having a magic boyfriend if he can’t do things for you from time to time?” he asked innocently.
She smirked. “Can my magic boyfriend do my homework for me?”
“He could, but then you wouldn’t learn anything,” he countered.
“Magic fail,” she said with a sigh.
With no books to worry about it was a much simpler job to get the flowers pushed back in and the door closed.
“There’s a card with the flowers,” he said.
“Should I read it now or later?” she asked.
“I’d say definitely later. I waxed sentimental. Pretty gushy stuff,” he said, adopting a thoughtful air.
“Okay, I’ll save it and read it in the library, then.”
“If I’d known that I would have put something extra special in, just for the librarian. You know what a kick she gets out of anything even remotely scandalous.”
“Ha, ha.”
His gaze drifted downward and he stiffened. “What happened to your arms?” he asked, voice suddenly tense.
“I fell. We should talk about it later, in private,” she said.
A muscle in his jaw twitched but he nodded agreement. “Ready to go eat?” he asked.
“Actually, I wanted to see if I could get a look at the trophy case that was broken into. It’s the one that had my mother’s picture in it,” she said.
“Okay, let’s go see it,” he said, taking her hand.
As they walked she tried to steel herself to see what she was expecting to see. Next to her she could feel the tension thrumming through Mal as they walked in silence. When they entered the hallway where the display case was she sucked in her breath. Yellow tape had been placed around the case, roping it off from the public. She wanted to race forward, but she forced herself to just keep walking.
Mal’s grip on her hand tightened as they walked up to the case. She took a deep breath and the faint scent of smoke tickled her nostrils. She looked into the case. There, where the picture of her mother had been was a scorch mark. Nothing else in the case had even been touched. A sob escaped her and Mal wrapped his arms around her.
“Did he do this?” she asked.
“He who?”
“The man who was underneath my window?”
His grip tightened. “Why would you think he had something to do with this?”
“Because I was attacked this morning and I kept thinking he was behind it.”
“You were attacked?” he asked sharply.
She nodded. There was no one in the hallway to hear them.
Mal stepped back. He grabbed her hand and started walking swiftly.
“Where are we going?” she asked with a backward glance at the trophy case.
“Somewhere private to talk,” he said, voice hard.
The auditorium, she realized.
She shuddered. Their last talk there hadn’t gone so well.
A minute later they were again seated on the stage. Only this time they were sitting cross-legged and facing each other. She recounted what had happened that morning, and Mal’s face grew stonier the longer she talked. His hands were balled into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“Watching you is bad enough but this is unacceptable,” he growled when she had finished.
“What... what will you do?” she asked, a little thrill racing through her.
“I’ll put an end to this,” he said darkly.
“How?”
“I’ll have a chat with him. This is my problem, not yours. He shouldn’t be involving you.”
“What if it doesn’t have something to do with you?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What if he somehow has it in for me, for my family?”
Mal shook his head. “I don’t see how that would be possible.”
“Do you think he’s the one who poisoned my aunt?”
“It’s looking more and more likely,” he said.
She shuddered, and he reached out and took her hand.
“It’s okay, I’ll protect you,” he said with a smile.
She involuntarily glanced down at her scraped up arms. He noticed and he touched one of the bandages. He whispered something and a moment later there was a flash of heat through the injured area. He did the same for the other one.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I healed the injuries,” he said, wincing slightly. “When you get home take off the bandages.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “So, are you excited for the show Friday night?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. I just have to figure out what I’m going to wear.”
“I thought you went shopping.”
“Yes, for the dance. We all got dresses for the dance.”
“Ah. What color is your dress?”
“Uh uh, that’s a surprise.”
“But how am I supposed to get you a corsage if I don’t know what color?” he asked.
“You’re a magician. I’m sure you can figure it out. And no snooping around my room looking for the dress while I’m not there.”
He pulled her into his arms. “How about snooping around looking for the dress while you are there?” he asked, his voice slightly lower.
“None of that either,” she said, struggling with the sudden overwhelming urge to kiss him with complete abandon.
He leaned forward and began kissing her neck. “So, if I just happen to be there while you’re there, however shall I entertain myself?” he whispered against her skin.
“Something tells me you’ll find something to keep you occupied,” she said. Her breathing was starting to become more ragged.
“What if you’re asleep?” he asked.
“Then wake me up.”
“It’s a date. I’ll see you tonight around two in the morning,” he said.
She laughed and pushed him away. “I was not giving you an invitation.”
“That’s disappointing,” he said with a smile.
She realized that she was feeling a lot better. The sorrow and fear she’d been experiencing all morning had evaporated. She reached out and touched his cheek.
“You really are magic,” she said gratefully.
“I keep telling you.”
She stood up. “I’m hungry. We’ve got a couple minutes left. Let’s try to eat.”
He jumped off the stage and then helped her down. Hand in hand they walked back out of the auditorium.
The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur except for study hall. She was disappointed when Mal didn’t show up but she had to remind herself that he had classes and things he had to take care of. He did walk her home and they chatted about the upcoming magic show mostly. He was really excited to see one of the great illusionists live and in person. She couldn’t help but smile when she thought that if the illusi
onist only knew the truth about magic he’d be the one anxious to see Mal perform.
Her aunt was hard at work on some papers in the kitchen when she got home. Opal waved and then headed up to her room where she went through her closet looking for something she could wear to the show. Unfortunately nothing seemed quite appropriate.
Half an hour later with a sigh she finally headed back downstairs to the kitchen.
“Aunt Tanya, I could use some help,” Opal said as she grabbed herself some orange juice.
Tanya looked up from some papers she was perusing. “With what?”
“Mal’s taking me to see Caleb Grey at a performing arts center. He’s going to be wearing a black suit.”
“So, what’s the difficulty?”
“I’m not sure what I should wear. He said less than a prom dress, but still dressy. That doesn’t describe much in my wardrobe.’
“You want me to take a look?”
“Yes, please.”
Her aunt got up from the table and together they went back upstairs. After flipping through the clothes in Opal’s closet for a moment Tanya pursed her lips. “You’re right. You don’t have much to work with.” She turned and looked her up and down. “You look like you probably wear about the same size that I did when I was younger. Wait here, I might have something.”
Tanya hurried from the room and Opal sat down on the bed, hoping that whatever her aunt brought back would work. It seemed like she was gone forever but she finally reappeared with a garment bag. She laid it down on Opal’s bed and unzipped it to reveal rich, deep purple velvet. She pulled the dress free from the bag and held it up. It was long, with a slit that went high on the right leg. It had a sweetheart neckline and tiny sleeves that were off the shoulder.
“It’s beautiful!” Opal gushed.
“I thought you might like it,” Tanya said a bit wistfully. “It was your mother’s. I think it’s fitting that you should have it.”
Opal froze with her hand hovering near the dress.
Her mother’s.
She could feel tears burning the back of her eyes. Why would Tanya keep something like this when she didn’t keep pictures or any other obvious reminders of her sister?
“Well, go on, try it on and let’s see how it fits.”
Her aunt stood there expectantly. Opal stood up and after a moment’s awkward hesitation stripped down to her underwear. Her aunt then helped her slide the dress down over her head. The material fell slowly to the floor and she turned around so her aunt could zip the short zipper in the back. When she turned back she saw tears glistening in Tanya’s eyes.
“You look so much like her,” she whispered.
Opal bit her lip, not sure what to say.
Tanya cleared her throat. “It fits perfectly.”
There was a mirror on the back of Opal’s door. She shut the door so that she could see herself. Her aunt was right, the dress hugged her in all the right places. It also made her look a bit older, more sophisticated.
“Do you think Mal will like it?” she asked, running her hands down it.
“I think he’s going to have wasted money on the tickets since all he’ll be staring at is you all night,” Tanya said with a smile.
“When did mom wear this dress?” Opal asked.
“She was homecoming queen our senior year. This was the dress she wore.”
Homecoming queen. She hadn’t known that about her mother. Then again, compared to what she knew about her father and his life growing up she knew relatively little about her mother’s life.
“What was she like?” she asked, hearing the catch in her voice.
“She was very, very alive. She shone like some brilliant star in the night sky. You could always pick her out of any crowd, even if she wasn’t doing anything. It was as though your eyes were drawn to her. She had a charisma that was so powerful that she could get people to do almost anything for her,” Tanya said, a small smile playing across her lips as she remembered.
“Of course, that changed when...” Tanya drifted off.
Opal turned to look at her. “When did it change?”
“A friend of hers died. She lost a little bit of her shine when that happened. Then she went off to college and instead of standing out it seemed she started working hard to blend in.”
“A friend of hers? Who?”
Her aunt hesitated for a moment then continued. “A guy named Greg. He loved to do magic tricks. He won the first talent show at our school. Your mom was his assistant. They had so much fun doing that. Then, a couple days later, he was dead.”
Opal knew that he hadn’t just died, but that he had been killed by the Trickster who later attacked Mal. She couldn’t say that, though, so she chose her next words carefully.
“I thought you told me you didn’t remember his name or what happened to him,” Opal said quietly.
Tanya grimaced. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like remembering. It was very tragic and your mom was deeply affected by it. We’d all been friends since we were kids.”
“I’m guessing you were deeply affected by it, too.”
“Yes,” Tanya said, her lower lip trembling slightly. “Not as bad as your mom, but it was pretty bad.”
Opal hugged her aunt, surprising them both.
Her aunt leaned her head against her for a second. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Tanya pulled away after a moment and wiped her eyes. “You better take the dress off before I cry all over it,” she said with a small smile. “Do you have shoes you can wear with it?”
“I have some black heels that will work well enough,” Opal said, turning to let her aunt unzip the dress.
“Good.”
Her aunt helped her pull the dress off. The doorbell rang downstairs.
“Oh, that’s dinner. I ordered pizza,” Tanya said, turning and heading for the stairs.
Opal pulled on the shirt and the skirt she’d been wearing earlier. As soon as she had the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. She crossed to her window seat and looked down at the street. There, standing at the front door, was the Trickster who had been stalking her.
21
“Don’t open the door!” Opal screamed as she yanked her phone out of her pocket. This time she was able to hit Mal’s name on the first try. She raced to the stairs as the phone rang. After the third ring he answered.
“Opal, what-”
“He’s at our door!” she screamed into the phone.
Her feet flew down the stairs. She tripped halfway down and nearly went flying, but caught herself just in time. The phone fell out of her hand as she grabbed wildly for the banister.
At the front door her aunt turned to look at her. She had cash in her hand and a bewildered look on her face.
“Opal, what on earth is wrong?”
“Don’t open it! It’s not the pizza guy!”
“What do you-”
Something slammed into the front door hard and both of them jumped. Her aunt took several steps back and glanced toward the phone in the kitchen.
“Who is it?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
There was another crash at the door even louder than the first and Tanya yelped. They could hear the sounds of scuffling outside now.
“It’s a Tri- a creepy guy that I think has been following me,” Opal said.
“What?” Tanya demanded, spinning to look at her.
“He’s shown up a couple of places,” Opal said, wishing she could explain. She hoped that Mal was alright but she didn’t dare open the door to find out.
“I’m calling the police,” Tanya said, starting for the kitchen.
“No!” Opal said, reaching forward and grabbing her aunt’s arm. “Mal’s out there, he’s taking care of it.”
“He could be in trouble. We don’t know if this guy is armed.”
“Please, no police, not yet. I don’t need them trying to arrest Mal again for something he didn’t do,” she pleaded.
Sudden
ly she realized that everything had gone quiet outside. She turned to look at the front door, half holding her breath, waiting for some other sign.
A moment later there was a knock. It wasn’t loud but it startled them both.
“It’s Mal!” she heard him call.
With a gasp of relief she moved over to the door.
“Check the peephole first,” Tanya said, voice tense.
Opal looked through and saw Mal standing on the porch. It looked like he was alone.
“It’s Mal,” she confirmed before unlocking the door and opening it.
She glanced hastily up and down the street. A car with a pizza delivery sign on it was just turning onto the block.
“I think the pizza guy is finally here, too,” Opal said.
Mal turned to look as the car slowed as it got closer to the house.
Tanya joined them in the doorway. “Where did the other guy go?” she demanded.
“He ran off,” Mal said, sounding out of breath and looking like he was on the verge of collapse.
“I think the two of you have some explaining to do,” Tanya said looking upset.
The car stopped and a moment later the pizza guy was heading their way. Tanya handed Mal the money which he gave to the pizza guy. The man handed off the pizza to Mal who passed it to Opal.
“Come in,” Opal said, struggling to hide the tension in her voice.
“Thanks,” he said.
Opal headed into the kitchen with the pizza and the other two followed. She set it on the counter and realized that her hands were shaking. She balled them into fists and took a couple of deep breaths, willing herself to calm down.
“You might as well stay for dinner,” Tanya said, addressing Mal.
“Thank you, but I’ve already eaten,” he said, lingering in the doorway.
“Okay, then stay while we eat dinner,” Tanya said stonily.
He nodded and reluctantly came into the room. He took a seat at the kitchen table as Tanya scooped up her papers and put them on a section of the counter.
Opal grabbed a couple of paper plates from the cupboard and then slid two slices of pizza onto hers before sitting down at the table next to Mal. Her aunt also took some pizza, got herself a soda from the fridge, then sat down and eyed them both.
Now You See Me Page 19