Breathing. Good. That’s good.
“Muriel! Jen! Hey!” I motioned them to Drew.
I knelt down to look at what I could see of Drew’s face and jerked back.
Oh no, no! Get someone. Ambulance…
My hands shook as I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I pushed the button for emergency and slid it across the pavement to Jeff. “Jeff! Ambulance.” He grabbed my phone and gave me a thumbs-up.
Drew. Okay, Jen has him. Chay.
I hurried to Chay. I put my hand on his chest and let out a half laugh, half sob when my hand moved up and down with his breaths. “Chay?” I smoothed his soft, dark hair off his forehead and replaced it with my lips. “Can you hear me?” My breath came in small pants, and my heart thundered in my chest so hard I thought it would burst free.
Please, please be okay.
“Yeah,” Chay muttered.
Okay, okay, he’s talking. That’s good. It’s even a one-word answer. That’s so typically him. So we’re good. Okay.
“Where are you hurt?
“I hurt friggin’ everywhere. Help me up.” Chay started to push himself into a sitting position.
“No, no. I think you should wait for the ambulance before you get up.”
“Crap, Milayna, tell me you didn’t call an ambulance.” He let out a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Well, I guess you’re not hurt too badly. Your pissy attitude is still intact. And, yeah, Jeff called an ambulance because while I’m over here talking to you, everyone else is over there, trying to get Drew to wake up. He hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“What?” Chay jumped up. “Whoa.” He held his hands out from his sides. I grabbed him around the waist to support him. “The ground is moving.”
“See, you need to go to the hospital and get checked. You’re dizzy. You might have a concussion.”
“I’m not dizzy. My feet are just wobbly.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Chay.” I knelt next to Drew. The ambulance had just pulled into the parking lot, and the EMTs were unloading their equipment. “Is he awake?” I looked at Muriel. Her mouth was turned down.
“He answered some questions when we asked him, but he didn’t open his eyes.”
“Move out of the way, kids. Let us through.” The medics shouldered through us.
Muriel, Jen, Jeff, and I watched while the EMTs loaded Chay and Drew into the ambulance.
“What hospital are you taking them to?” Muriel asked.
“St. Mary’s.” The EMT got into the ambulance and it drove out of the parking lot, lights flashing.
***
We followed the ambulance to the hospital. We weren’t allowed to see Drew or Chay because we weren’t family. Pacing the emergency room waiting area, we raided the vending machines and waited, not too patiently, for news. Drew and Chay’s parents met us there and kept us updated on their condition.
It didn’t take long for the doctor to finish his assessment of Chay. He told Chay’s parents that his head CT scan was clear, and his ribs weren’t broken like they feared, but if they wanted to be cautious, the hospital would admit him for a twenty-four-hour observation period, but he really didn’t see the need. I was sure it had more to do with Chay’s unbearable attitude and the doctor’s eagerness to get away from him. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts took Chay home, making me promise to keep them updated on Drew’s condition.
Drew’s parents rarely left his bedside. He still hadn’t opened his eyes, although he would respond to some stimuli. When we asked what was wrong, the nurses would only say a doctor would have to determine his diagnosis. I didn’t like that answer. Around midnight, Drew’s parents sent us home, promising they would contact us as soon as they knew something.
“Now what?” Jeff asked.
We stood in the hospital parking lot, frozen. We didn’t talk, move, I wasn’t sure we even saw what was in front of us, but rather the images of Chay and Drew beaten, bloodied, and unconscious on the ground.
Head trauma. That was what the EMT said in his little walkie-talkie attached to his shirt. I kept hearing it over and over. Head trauma.
I balled my fists at my sides and clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw hurt. One name came to mind when I thought about Drew. And it wasn’t the name people might’ve assumed. It wasn’t Azazel I wanted to see beaten and cowering at my feet. No, it was someone else. Someone we trusted. Someone we thought had our back. Someone who’d pay for this.
Jake.
***
It was no surprise that Drew didn’t make it to school the next day. It was during calculus that my phone vibrated. I dug it out of my pocket and read the text message.
Drew: Sprung! Yay! No more barrel-butt nurse wanting to know how much I peed.
Me: TMI, Drew.
Drew: Yeah, well, it was creepy.
Me: It’s creeping me out thinking about it now.
Chay: I’m not sure I like knowing my friend is talking to my girlfriend about peeing.
Me: I didn’t know this was a three-way. Wait, that came out wrong.
Chay: Ha!
Muriel: It’s a four-way.
Me: And things get even creepier. How long have you been in the convo?
Muriel: Since measuring pee. By the way… gross.
Me: Second that.
Chay: Yeah. Gotta say I could have gone without knowing that.
Drew: Yeah, well, there isn’t much to keep you entertained there.
Me: Everyone want to come over for pizza tonight?
Drew: Yup.
Muriel: Yes. Gotta go.
Chay: Yes. Why?
Me: Good. TTYL.
I clicked out of the conversation. I knew Chay would interrogate me the first chance he got. He was so predictable. As soon as calculus was over, he leaned his hip on the locker next to mine and drummed his thumb against his books. “What’s up with the pizza party tonight?”
“I just want to have a meeting and see how everyone is doing now that Jake’s turned. I worry about Steven.” Shutting my locker, I turned toward Chay.
“I know.” His voice sounded strained, and the skin between his eyes wrinkled. “Me too.”
I pushed off my locker. “You sound funny. Why? Did something happen with Steven?”
“No. Not that I know of, anyway. You have the visions—you tell me.” Chay placed a quick kiss on my nose, and we started toward our English class.
“I haven’t had another vision about anyone turning.”
“So, see, we’re fine. When do we meet at your house?”
“Around six.” I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I was missing something. It felt like a brick had fallen into my stomach. And the harder I searched my mind for whatever was nagging at the fringes of my memories, the farther it moved from my reach.
***
The group filed into my house at six o’clock on the nose. When pizza was involved, they were all over it.
“Can we eat and talk? I’m starving,” Steven said, walking through the door.
I smiled. He seemed like his normal self. And I hoped Jake’s turning didn’t affect him like I worried it would.
“It’s on its way. So we have to talk first.”
Steven gave me a disgusted look, and I laughed. Yes, definitely his normal self.
We all sat in the living room. The room was full of noise from everyone talking at once. I stood and cleared my throat—no one paid any attention. “Hey!” I called. No one even glanced in my direction.
“Maybe if we start making out, they’ll pay attention,” Chay said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes. His answer to everything, although I was usually more than willing to oblige. “No?”
“No. The only person’s attention you’d get is my dad’s.”
“Hmm, okay.” Chay let out a loud whistle, and everyone turned and looked at me.
I didn’t waste time on small talk. There was only one question I needed the answer to. So I asked it. �
��I’ve had another vision. Who’s changing?”
No one answered. I didn’t really need them to. I was gauging their expressions, watching their body language. I couldn’t always see what I was looking for, since some people had a more pronounced tell than others.
As I looked around me, studying each face and body movement, I felt a current of electricity sizzle through the room. It seemed to stretch from me and touch everyone in the room. A wave of panic washed over me, and I stumbled backward a step. Chay’s arm darted out and steadied me.
The electrical impulse didn’t hurt, and I forced myself to take two deep breaths to calm myself. When I started to relax, I remembered what my dad had told me: ‘You can’t read minds, but you will develop the ability to read people’s emotions and perhaps even know what they might do just before they do it.’
“Jake, Lily, Shayla. Who’s joining them?” My eyes roamed over everyone in the room. The electrical current seemed to follow my gaze. It touched each person as I looked at them, flowing from me to them. It created a bridge, of sorts, between us.
What is this? What am I supposed to do with it… another power to add to my freakishness? How am I supposed to know how to work it?
Then I had an idea. Turning, I looked at Chay. He leaned back in his chair and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. The current poked around, like an eleventh finger. It roamed around Chay’s face and neck, touching him. I felt nothing and was just about to give up on the whole thing—chalk it up to another bizzaro freaky demi-angel thing—when I looked into Chay’s eyes.
The current followed and as soon as it touched Chay’s eyes, I was hit full force with his emotions. They came at me so hard that I took half a step back. The current acted like an extension cord and plugged me into him. His emotions flowed right into me. I felt everything he felt. Saw it through his eyes.
He was full of questions. The strongest was what was going on with me. Yeah, I seconded that. But I also felt a sense of calmness. A bond. A strong tie of strength and protectiveness, and the word ‘mine’ was repeated. I sucked in a breath at the last feeling. Love. Strong, undeniable, unbreakable… love. My heart stuttered at the realization, and the current zipped up my arm, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up like little Roman soldiers.
I blinked and broke the connection. I turned to Muriel. “What?” she asked. I didn’t answer. I just looked in her eyes, and she squirmed in her seat. “Milayna?” Even with her nervousness and discomfort from me staring at her like a lion stalking its prey, I felt calmness when the current touched her, but she still worried. She was scared. Not just for her, but for me too. There was a definite bond between us. Love. Different from Chay’s. A familial love. But there was something else. Something I couldn’t reach. It was like she’d locked it in a closet. Hidden it from me.
I moved my gaze to Steven’s. He looked at me for a few seconds. The current locked on him, and the feelings that traveled over the bridge worried me. There was no calmness. He felt uneasy. There was no bond. He felt like an outsider in our group. There was no tie… he abruptly looked away and broke the connection. The current roamed over him. It didn’t stop moving, poking, searching. But Steven wouldn’t look me in the eyes.
The room erupted. I jumped and lost my focus. The crazy current fizzled. What had seemed like minutes for me and my freaky emotional zapper had really only been seconds. I was thrust back into real time. Everyone talked over each other. They all denied they were having thoughts of changing sides. All but one.
Steven.
I stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He looked at the toe of his shoe. I figured it would happen. He was Jake’s best friend. Of course Jake would try to convince him to change sides, but I had hoped he was stronger. That he’d come to the group for support instead of betraying us and turning traitor.
“If anyone is thinking about switching sides, do it now. The group doesn’t need you. We’ll fight on our own. And we don’t have a problem fighting you.” My gaze lingered on Steven, who still hadn’t looked up.
The doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here,” I said with a smile.
I paid the delivery guy and turned to take the pizza into the kitchen, stopping short when I came face-to-face with Steven. “Oh. I didn’t hear you walk up.” I backed up and hit the door behind me.
“Sorry, Milayna. I forgot I have somewhere I’m supposed to be. I’ll catch ya next time.” He hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands in his hoodie’s pocket. His voice was flat, just like the look on his face, emotionless, empty.
“Sure.” I moved out of his way, watching him walk out of the door and down the drive. He looked over his shoulder at me, his expression grim. Then I noticed them. Black boots with silver buckles. Just like in my vision the night the group went to the movie. “Chay, look at his boots.”
Chay took the pizza boxes from me. He didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Steven had already switched sides.
One week, six days until my birthday.
It became a daily ritual at school. Lily walked by me in the hall and shouldered me. The harder the better, it seemed. Well, I’d had enough. I saw Lily and Shayla walking toward me, the ever-present sneer on their faces. Lily shouldered me like I knew she would. I stuck my foot in front of her. She landed facedown on the pile of books she was carrying.
“You’re in way over your head, Milayna,” Shayla said, helping Lily gather her things from the floor.
I couldn’t help the small smile on my lips. It felt so good to watch Lily sprawl out on the dirty floor. I wished I could’ve rewound time and watched it again.
“I’m not the one on my knees, Shayla.” I turned on my heel and walked away, but not before I saw someone in my peripheral vision bend down and help Shayla. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jeff.
Chay walked up beside me. “I swear, Milayna, if you don’t start waiting for me after class, I’m gonna—”
“What are you gonna do?” I interrupted and smiled up at him.
“Tell your dad,” Chay finished.
I burst out laughing. “You’re gonna be a tattletale?”
“This is serious,” he said quietly.
“I know. I’m sorry. Next time I’ll wait, but you have to be on time, Chay. You were late today.”
“Geez, nagging me already.” He lifted my book bag off my shoulder and swung it over his.
***
The school day flew by. I was in and out of classes quickly, and for the most part, painlessly. Except for calculus, where we were given three pages of homework. Three freakin’ pages! There should be child labor laws for homework.
The last bell rang and we all hurried from our seats, grabbing our books and running toward the door before the teacher could pile on any more homework.
“Can you believe the calculus homework?” I complained to Muriel.
We were walking down the hall to the gym. We had a swim meet that afternoon. I had to grab my bag out of my gym locker on the way to the bus. I hated riding the bus, with its awful smell and sticky floors. But it was school policy that students ride the buses to and from sporting events. Bonus.
We grabbed our swim bags and walked toward the grime-covered, faded yellow bus.
Crap, I forgot my swim cap on the bench in the locker room.
I turned and jogged back to the school. “Save me a seat,” I yelled over my shoulder to Muriel.
“Why? What are you doing?”
“I gotta grab my swim cap.”
“Milayna! Wait for me. You shouldn’t go alone.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m right behind you.”
I ran through the gym and into the locker room. After grabbing my swim cap, I hurried back through the gym. I was halfway across the room when the door swung open and I realized I had a problem. A big one.
Butterflies the size of birds swarmed my stomach, and a lump in my throat sealed them in. So much adrenaline mixed with my blood that it made me diz
zy and a little queasy.
Stupid, stupid! Why am I so damn dense sometimes?
He advanced on me. I backed up until the back of my knees hit the bleachers, falling with a grunt. He smiled. His face was so beautiful. If I didn’t know what lay behind those denim-blue eyes, I would’ve bent to his every whim. But he wasn’t the good, hometown boy everyone thought he was. He was evil.
I couldn’t believe I’d once thought we belonged together. Now, I could see evil running through his veins. Evil that Azazel let loose when he turned. No, we didn’t belong together. Azazel and Jake belonged together. They were the perfect match.
“Come with me, Milayna. We’ll be great together. It’s so much easier on this side.” Jake spread his hands out at his sides, palms up.
I shook my head once. “Nothing is easy.”
“This is. It’s perfect.”
“Nothing is perfect,” I bit out.
He leaned over me. His face was so close I could feel his warm breath moving my hair. It smelled like a combination of the corn dogs served for lunch and breath mints. I wrinkled my nose and turned my face from the smell.
I shoved him as hard as I could, trying to move him enough to pass by. I needed out of the gym. It wasn’t safe to be there alone with him. It wasn’t safe to be there alone, period. One of his new friends could show up any minute.
What was I thinking coming alone?
I wasn’t. But pushing him did nothing. He didn’t even flinch. I might have been the highest demi-angel at our school, but I wasn’t Superman. Or Wonder Woman. Whatever.
I heard them before I saw them. Their grunts and groans were audible before their grotesque bodies materialized. I saw the smoke in the corner of the gym, smelled the sulfur. They were coming for me.
Damn. I wish I had wings.
“Okay, okay. Call off your goons.” I sighed, feigning resignation.
With a snap of his fingers, the smoke billowing in the corner disappeared. The groans of Hell went with it.
Perfect, my butt. They don’t sound like they’re having a party down there.
“What do you want me to do?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Tell him you’ll side with him and he’ll do the rest.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Easy.”
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