Edge of Darkness Box Set

by Margaret McHeyzer

  “Seriously?” I mumble. “Can she make it any more obvious?” Katie stalks toward Tobias, she stands beside him and smiles. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but I can read her body language. “Check her out,” I say to Jared.

  “I know. She looks desperate.”

  We watch Katie as she tucks a flyaway hair behind her ear, and looks up to Tobias. She’s shorter than him, by a good head and a half. But then again, he’s tall and towers over most people in our year. There’s only a handful of guys who are as tall as Tobias.

  My eyes are focused on Katie and Tobias. I want to look away, but I can’t. My heart hammers in my chest, while a crazy knot forms in the pit of my stomach. I don’t even know why I’m feeling like this.

  Ivy, the beast calls. He’s honing in on my insecurities, and trying to tempt me with his lies.

  Go away! I scream. I don’t want to acknowledge the power he has over me. Not here, not at school, and not in front of Tobias.

  “Is it me, or does Katie look like she’s trying her hardest and he’s not into her?” Jared whispers.

  The game is about to start and I really should be focusing on it rather than them. I mean, it shouldn’t concern me what she’s saying or doing, but it does.

  An avalanche of emotions begins to stir inside me. Azael is sitting there, watching, waiting to strike me at my weakest. I can feel his cold hand clench tighter around my throat.

  “Ivy.” Jared playfully smacks me on the arm.

  Instantly my attention is drawn to him and away from Tobias and Katie. “What?” I ask.

  “If I didn’t know you better, I would think you’re about ready to go over there and punch the guy in the face.”

  Huh? What? “Why would I do that?” I turn away from Katie and Tobias, and attempt to keep my attention focused on Jared.

  “Girl, I don’t know what’s going on up there in your pretty head, but you’ve gotta chill. You seriously look like you wanna punch him. Or knee him in the balls. Either way, you gotta calm your farm.”

  For a split-second I look away from Jared, then straight back to him. “Calm your farm?” I tease. “Who says that?”

  “It was either calm your farm, or calm your tits, but I didn’t wanna get bitch slapped in case calming your tits offended ya.”

  “I can’t even…” I walk to the court shaking my head but also chuckling. “I can’t even,” I say again.

  The game starts, and I hang around toward the back, not really participating. I hate volleyball. To me it’s such an awkward sport. People jumping around trying to hit a ball with the inside of their wrists.

  The ball comes toward me, and I duck back, not really wanting to join in.

  Give me photography any day.

  I love looking through the lens of my camera. There’s something about it that calms my frantic mind. It’s almost as if my camera is a barrier between me and the world. I can see what the world is doing, but it can’t see me.

  It’s tranquil. It’s serene. It’s when I’m most at peace.

  “Hate volleyball?” I hear someone ask.

  Turning, I notice Tobias beside me. “Aren’t you supposed to be over there?” I ask as I point to the opposite side.

  His lips dance into a cheeky smile. “But I want to be over here.” His smile grows wider.

  “I get it,” I say in a collected manner. “You just wanna hang out with the cool kids.” I point to myself and Jared who’s eagerly staring at us. “It’s okay. You wanna be us. I so get it,” I emphasize with a chuckle.

  “Truth be told, I want to hang out with the prettiest girl in school.”

  I swing around and look at him. Scrunching my nose, I tilt my head down and give him the stink eye. “And see…” I shake my head. “I thought you were normal, then you go and spout the cheesiest pick-up line you could think of.”

  “No, that’s not the cheesiest,” he defensively says.

  “Then hit me up, Maverick. Let’s see what you’ve got.” I jut my hip out and place my hand to it in defiance. “Come on, hot shot.”

  “Are you religious? ‘Cause you’re the answer to all my prayers.” He smiles at me cockily.

  “Nah, not as bad. Keep going, Romeo.”

  “Is your name Google? Because you’re the answer to everything I’m looking for.”

  I fake gag.

  “I’m not a photographer, but I can picture us together.”

  My face drops as he waggles his brows at me. “Do any of these actually work on members of the opposite sex?”

  “You’d be surprised,” he proudly announces.

  “I’m taking that as a no, but you’re too embarrassed to admit it.”

  He maintains a stoic composure. Just staring at me. Suddenly he lets out a belly laugh. A few of the others turn to look at us. “Yeah, they don’t work. I’ve actually never used them. But I was on Google last night, and did research cheesy pick-up lines.”

  “For what reason?”

  “’Cause I was bored.” He shrugs. The ball comes toward us again, and he reaches in front of me to bash it over the net. “You’re welcome,” he says.

  Arching an eyebrow, I look him over. “Why am I thanking you?”

  “I saved you from that ball.”

  “Mr. Baxter and Miss Jones, do you think you’ll be participating in this game? Or would you prefer I set up a candle-lit dinner for you?” the Coach calls sarcastically.

  Tobias is just about to say something, when I grab his arm and push him back. “Sorry, Coach,” I say.

  The Coach nods her head at me and sounds her whistle. “Back to the game,” she calls.

  “We have to join the game,” I say to Tobias as I walk backward to my spot.

  “There’s a new movie I wanna see,” he keeps talking, completely ignoring Coach who’s now about to send him off the court.

  “Good for you,” I respond, perplexed by his revelation.

  “On Saturday night.”

  The ball comes toward him, and he easily bumps it forward so one of the other players can swat it over the net to the other side. The others are doing all the work while I try and avoid the ball at all costs. Tobias keeps looking over his shoulder at me, waiting for something. “I’m really happy for you?” I reply as more of a question than a statement.

  “Is six good, then?”

  The ball flies at me, and it’s so close I can’t escape it. I hit it and it barely makes it over the net. “Is six good for what?”

  “For me to pick you up.”

  My head whips around so fast, I swear I strain a muscle in my neck. “I’m not going with you.”

  “Why not? Have you got something better to do?”

  “None of your business,” I nearly shrill.

  “So, six is good then?”

  “No, I’m not going.” I covertly look over to Jared, who’s standing beside Katie on the other side of the net, and they’re both staring at us. It appears they heard Tobias ask me to the movies. Walking over to Tobias, I lower my voice and say, “Go with Katie. I’m sure she’d love to go with you.”

  He slyly looks over to her and shakes his head. “She doesn’t interest me. She’s not…” He pauses for a second as he searches for the right word. “…she’s not fascinating enough.” He smirks at me, giving me a cute, but devious smile.

  It dawns on me what he wants, and it makes me angry. “Sorry, buddy. But I’m not going out with you on Saturday. And I’m definitely not having sex with you.” I shoot him down, ending this madness before he thinks he can try and take advantage of me.

  Jogging back to my spot on the court, I’ve essentially told him I’m not the type of girl who does stuff like that. This is a small town, and being known as the girl who ‘services’ boys isn’t the reputation I’m seeking. Actually, I’d really prefer if my name wasn’t on anyone’s lips for any reason. I like being in the background, where no one is likely to notice me and no one will question me.

  The game continues, and Tobias doesn’t make eye contact
with me again. I’m getting questioning looks from Jared, but I shake my head at him.

  When the class is over, Tobias walks away quickly.

  Obviously, I was right. He wanted to sleep with me, and I ended whatever perverted plans he had.

  “What was that about?” Jared asks. Katie hangs back, but I’m not an idiot. I know she’s listening.

  “I don’t know. Don’t care either.” I shrug as I head into the girls’ locker rooms.

  Katie follows, and places her hand on my shoulder, stopping me just inside the door. “Did he ask you out? ‘Cause from where Jared and I were standing, he looked like he was into you.”

  Her eyes have no sparkle; she looks sad. I know she’s crushing on him, and I don’t want to hurt her. Crap, what do I say so I don’t upset her?

  Ivy, my demon calls. The moment I start feeling anxious, the beast is waiting for me. He feeds off my insecurities. He sings a dangerous song, trying to convince me to turn to the blade. I fight him off, telling him to leave me alone.

  But his song is seductive.

  Clearing my throat, I smile at Katie. “He didn’t ask me out. He was talking about some movie. Not interested.” I shrug. Instantly, I see the relief spread across Katie’s face. Her shoulders drop by an inch as she takes in a deep breath. “Did you ask him out?” I ask.

  Katie’s face reddens. She averts her eyes for a second, before composing herself and pulling her shoulders back. “Not yet. But I think I will. What movie was he talking about? I’ll tell him I want to see it and ask if he wants to come with me.” Her eyes widen with excitement as she waits for my response.

  Looking away from her, I head over to my locker and pull out my bag. She follows behind me, still waiting for my answer. Swallowing hard, I compose myself before I answer, “Can’t remember. Truth be told, Katie, I wasn’t really listening even if he did tell me.” Lowering my gaze, I search in my bag to distract from her questioning gaze.

  “Huh,” she huffs. “I’ll ask him at lunch,” she chirps happily before stepping toward her own locker. “Thanks, Ivy.” The change in her is instantaneous. She’s gone from worried, to filled with confidence and happiness in no time at all.

  “Good luck.”

  Quickly I get changed, and head to my next class.

  Finding a spot outside, I sit beneath one of the tall trees behind the cafeteria. Jared doesn’t take long to find me, and sits next to me. The sun is out, but the nights have cooled by a few degrees. The last time it snowed here was about eight years ago, but the nights get cold enough to allow us to have the fire on through the evening. Lying back, I look up at the sky and watch as the clouds rapidly glide through the blue. “What do you think the clouds think of us down here?” I ask Jared.

  He snorts with a deep chuckle. “You think the clouds talk about us?”

  “Wouldn’t you if you were up there looking down at us?”

  “Nope. Why would I look down?”

  He throws a grape at me and it hits me on the forehead. “Hey,” I snap as I turn to look at him.

  “What’s with all the philosophical crap?” He chucks a grape up in the air, and moves his head with his mouth open to catch it. He doesn’t. It hits him in the eye. “One more go,” he says, throwing another grape up. He misses that one too.

  “I wish I had my camera here.” The clouds are forming all kinds of patterns.

  Out of my peripheral vision I notice Jared turning his head to follow my line of sight up to the clouds. “Man, you’re turning weird on me.”

  Smacking him lightly on the leg, I smile at him.

  “Hey, can I join you?” Tobias is standing over me. I scrunch my brows together and quickly look over to Jared whose mouth is slightly open as he stares at Tobias. “Look, don’t worry about it,” he says and starts backing away.

  He’s mistaken our silence for snobbery. “Hey,” I call as I sit up and cross my legs. Tobias turns and I jerk my head to the side indicating he should come sit with us. Casually he sits beside me.

  “I’m surprised Katie isn’t following behind you,” Jared says and laughs.

  Tobias turns his neck to make sure she isn’t. “She’s a nice girl, but she’s a bit much to handle.”

  “It’s only because everyone wants to know who you are,” Jared replies.

  “I don’t give a damn who wants to know me.” His tone is clipped and short.

  “Don’t be so rude,” I snap at Tobias. “People are trying to be nice, and you’re being a jerk.” Standing, I brush off the blades of grass stuck to my jeans and pick up my bag. “See ya,” I say smiling at Jared, and ignoring Tobias.

  As I walk away, I hear the dry grass crunching beneath the step of someone who’s following me. I’m hoping it’s Jared, but in my gut I know it’s Tobias.

  Turning to get a glimpse, all I see is his dark hair and tall, muscled build. Great… not. “Hey, wait up,” he calls after me. I speed up, and he jogs to catch me. “Have I somehow done something to make you angry?”

  Stopping, I turn to look at him. Letting out a frustrated breath, I place my hand to my hip. “You made it clear in gym what you want. And I thought I made it even clearer that I’m not going to sleep with you.”

  “You misinterpreted what I was saying.”

  Rolling my eyes, I shake my head at him. “Then please, amuse me. What exactly do you want?” This should be good. Let’s see how smooth he really is.

  “Nothing. I don’t want anything from you. I only wanted to see if you wanted to go to the movies with me.” Tilting my chin down, I narrow my eyes at him. Seriously, buddy, that’s the best you can do? “I’m serious,” he says stepping back with his palms up in surrender. “I mean, you’re so not my type.”

  “Say what?” I bark instantly. He cheekily smirks at me. Damn it, he’s managed to make me talk to him. The moment he smiles, I can’t help but let my guard down. “Look,” I start saying in a gentler voice. “I’m not your type. I don’t want to be your type either. I’m not interested in anything from you.” It’s best this way. He can’t get close to me, and he can’t see the demon who hides in wait. If Tobias blends into the background, then my demon can’t get his talons into my anxiety about him.

  “Can’t we be friends?” His eyes soften, and he looks almost as if he’s begging for my approval.

  Slumping my shoulders slightly, I give up on my bitchy exterior. Why am I so horrible to him? Did I jump to the wrong conclusion? “Sure, we can be friends.” I offer a genuine smile, but vow to keep most of myself reserved. I can’t let him see the worst part of me.

  The monster who lives in my head. The one who beckons me to the blade. The one who screws with me whenever he wants.

  “Phew,” he breathes. “So, about that movie I want to see.”

  “Yeah, not gonna happen. I’m thinking about taking off into the city with my camera.”

  “Do you want company?”

  I’ll give him one thing; he’s persistent. We slowly head in toward my locker, and I try to not address his question. “I like hanging out and watching people.” God, now he’s going to think that’s an invitation.

  “People are always such a disappointment to me,” his voice is low and tense. I glimpse at him, and notice he’s lost in memory. He shudders once, then shakes his head as if he’s trying to dislodge an unpleasant vision. He notices me staring at him, and he provides me with a weak smile. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  The air between us crackles with a heavy strain. “Where did you move from?” I ask trying to remove his dark mood.

  “You know, around.” Same answer he’s already given me. He shoves his hands into his pockets and flicks me an easy look that I can tell is forced. He doesn’t want to tell me about his past.

  I stop walking and place my hand on his bicep, stopping him from walking too. “Look, this is the reason I think you’re after one thing and one thing only. I get you might have secrets, but not telling me anything is going to make for a one-sided friendship. And I�
�m sorry, but if you don’t want to talk to me, then the only assumption I can make is you want sex.” He shakes his head.

  Tobias takes several deep breaths and I turn to start walking slowly again. “East Coast. Near Tampa.”

  Wow. He actually told me. “Florida. Is it nice?”

  He shrugs casually. “It’s alright. Not in a hurry to go back, though.”

  “Did your parents get a job here or something?” I ask trying to learn more about him. He’s not entirely forthcoming with information about himself, but at least it’s something.

  “It’s me, my mom and my grandma.”

  “Oh… um.” Crap, crap. What do I say? An awkward silence fills the void between us. “Yeah, it’s just me and my dad,” I try to make it less strained.

  “Your mom take off?” he asks casually. Is that what happened to his dad?

  “She died when I was really young. Your dad?”

  I notice a change in him. His shoulders slightly pull back and he lifts his chin a fraction too high. “He took off.” His answer sounds rehearsed, like it’s something he’s said a hundred times before, and he’ll say a hundred times again, but I don’t think it’s the truth.

  “Sucks. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m not.”

  I lift my brows and blow out a forced breath. Man, talk about intense. We get to my locker, and I open it while Tobias leans up against the one next to mine. “You’re in a house filled with women, huh?” I ask then smile.

  “Ha, yeah. Mom started her new job this week, and grandma got a job too.”

  “What does your mom do?”

  “She’s an administrative assistant for an orthodontist.”

  “Cool. And your grandmother.”

  He smiles and shakes his head. “She um…” He clears his throat and looks around us to make sure no one is listening. “She’s a forklift operator.”

  My brain tells me to ask him how old she is and is she capable of driving a forklift, but my heart wants to meet this woman and give her a high-five. “That’s incredibly awesome. She’s seriously a forklift operator?” I question, completely blown away.

  “Yeah, but please, it’s not something most people get. My grandmother, she’s well…” he takes a deep breath and finishes by saying, “… different.”