Angel in the Shadows, Book 1 by Lisa Grace (Angel Series) (10 page)

“I didn’t take that man! It’s a mistake man. I
thought I put it back. Ask my friend! He’s over there!” The young
man is trying to motion but the security guard yanks his arm back,
putting him in handcuffs. “I swear I didn’t take it! Ask him. The
guy in the jacket, over there!” The Goth guy says nodding his
chin.

I look in the direction he’s motioning.
For a split second I catch a glimpse of a handsome young guy
glowing black. He waves at me and mouths,
Hi Megan
, and then he’s gone. A dark angel. A
dark angel right here in our mall!
How does
he know my name?
I take a deep breath and try to calm
down.

“Don’t worry, if you have an accomplice we’ll
see it on the tape. We’ll get him too.” The security guard hauls
him away while calling for the police on his walkie-talkie.

I know no one else is going to show up on that
tape. The dark angel convinced that Goth to steal it. A sense of
foreboding chills me. Why did he wave at me? My stomach rolls. He
could tell I know what he is. And somehow he knows me. It’s
beginning already.

Mandy turns to me and says, “Wow, can you
believe it? This is going to be the most exciting year ever!”

I think Mandy has no idea how true those words
are. If only “exciting” were a good thing.

***

Later that evening, my parents say I can go with
Mandy but I must be home no later than ten-thirty. I draw them a
map of exactly where we are going. I have my cell phone on me in my
jeans pocket and I set it to vibrate. The rule is I have to answer
it when they call so they can check up on me. They trust me, but
not everyone else I might meet.

Mandy comes in, “Hi”, she says to my parents and
Max. She gives them each a big hug.

“You look wonderful Mandy,” Mom says.

“Thank you, Mrs. Laughlin.”

“You girls have to be back by ten-thirty,” she
says, “You’re more than welcome to spend the night, Mandy.”

My mom knows what Farrah is like and chances are
Farrah won’t even make it home tonight. She‘ll probably spend the
night at her current “boyfriend’s” place. Mom hates the idea of
Mandy spending the night alone in her house.

“I brought a bag just in case you said okay,”
Mandy smiles.

“Good, go have fun. Well see you later.” We walk
out the door.

***

When we arrive at the beach I see a bunch of
kids most of whom belong to the football and cheerleading crowd.
Mandy and I mingle and talk to some of them. We wait around
enjoying the weather. A nice breeze is blowing in off the water.
Two windboarders are out, riding and jumping the waves. A couple of
people have even brought their dogs. As the sun goes down, some of
the guys start piling the wood up for a bonfire.

Alex, Roger, and Jason pull up in his car. They
unload some logs and a couple of coolers full of drinks. They add
their logs to the fire pit and light them. Alex looks around and
spots Mandy. He makes a beeline for her. I see her face light up
even though she’s busy pretending not to notice that Alex is
walking over. Mandy’s talking to one of the cheerleaders about her
spray tan. I’m just listening since I don’t have anything to add to
the conversation.

“You really should try out for the squad. If you
can do a cartwheel and a split, I’m sure you’d make the team. You’d
have my vote. You’re so pretty. You look like a cheerleader.”

Mandy says, “Thanks, I’ll think about it.”

Alex comes up and says, “Well hello. I’m glad
you came. Would you like something to drink Mandy, Megan, Susie?
I’ve got Sprite, Coke, and some beers, if you’re over age,” he
winks.

“We don’t drink,” I say, “But a couple of cokes
would be nice.”

“Cokes for the M&M’s”, “What about you
Sus?”

“I’ll have a beer,” she says trying to sound
mature. As soon as he leaves she says, “I don’t even like the
stuff; I won’t drink it, but at least I look like I do.”

“Lots of adults don’t drink. You don’t have to
drink to be mature,” I say. Susie just rolls her eyes at me like
I’m the biggest geek in the world.

Mandy speaks up, “You know she’s right. You’ve
seen people get drunk, and beer breath is disgusting,” she says
wrinkling her nose. I know Mandy’s thinking of her mom.

“I guess you’re right,” Susie only sounds
half-convinced, “but I only pretend to drink it, okay?”

Alex comes over with our drinks, “Here you go
ladies.”

“So what have you guys been doing this summer?”
Alex asks us, never taking his eyes off Mandy.

Susie starts telling everyone about her fabulous
trip on a cruise, as one of the other football players walks up.
Alex pipes up, “Why don’t you tell Shawn all about your trip. I
need to talk to Mandy for a minute, excuse us.” He gently grabs
Mandy by the elbow and steers her away from us to walk with her
alone down the beach.

I listen to Susie explain the details of her
trip to Shawn, and then excuse myself. I walk over to the bonfire
and position myself so I can keep an eye on Mandy and Alex. Alex
has been nothing but polite still I’m aware of his reputation. What
they say about him could be wrong.

One of the football team players comes up to
flirt with me, but I let him know I have a boyfriend. He walks away
to talk to some of the other kids standing around the bonfire. A
play fight with several guys piling on top of each other breaks
out. I laugh along with everyone else. When I look up, I can’t see
Alex or Mandy. I walk around looking for them. They’re nowhere
around. I look for Alex’s car and realize it’s gone. I can’t
believe Mandy would leave with him without telling me. I look at my
cell phone. It’s almost ten and I have to be home by
ten-thirty.

I text Mandy, “where r u?” No reply. If she
doesn’t show up in the next ten minutes, I’ve got to find a ride
home or I’m grounded. I start looking for a familiar face to ask
when I see Alex’s car pull back into the lot. I see Alex walk
around and open the door for Mandy to let her out. She waves to him
and runs over to me.

Her eyes are shining, “He asked me out!”

“And you said—no?” I tease.

“No, we’re going out later this week,” She
says.

I grab her hand and drag her to the
parking lot. “You can tell me all about it on the ride home. We
have to leave
now
to make it
home by curfew. I don’t want to start a new school year
grounded.”

“He’s so nice! He really listened to me,” Mandy
explains, “When he looks at me, I feel like he’s looking into my
soul. He’s going to take me out for dinner and a movie! He wants me
to try-out for the cheering squad too. Alex said he would come take
me to the tryouts. If I make the team, we could hang out together
after practice. Aren’t Susie and the other girls nice? Megan, we
could try-out together!”

“No thanks, with my allergies I’d just be
miserable, but I would come and watch you at the games. Besides,
the practices would interfere with my writing for the school TV
show.”

“I told you we’re going to have our best year
ever!” Mandy looks at me with excitement sparkling in her eyes.

Mandy had no idea how wrong she was.

***

The next day, Seth’s mom calls to speak to my
parents and invite Carrie and me on the trip to Busch Gardens. My
mom gives her Carrie’s number.

It looks like the trip with Seth is on. I’m so
psyched. Seth and I text each other, excited about our last chance
to see each other before school starts. They’re going to pick
Carrie and me up at my house by eight-thirty in the morning. We’ll
get to the park right after it opens.

I head over to Mandy’s to help her decide what
she should wear for her date with Alex.

***

Mandy picks out a casual cotton summer dress
with neon pink piping along the hem, neckline, and arms, and subtle
light pink stripes running throughout the dress. With her new
figure, it’s form-fitting but high enough that no cleavage is
showing. Modest, yet sexy. It’s perfect.

She picks out some white platform sandals. The
white shows off her tan and the pink accentuates the highlights in
her hair. We decide on a mineral powder foundation and light pink
lip-gloss. Mandy is going to wear her shoulder length hair down and
bring a hair tie just in case it’s breezy. I’m so happy for her.
She looks beautiful.

“If Alex doesn’t fall in love with you, he’s a
fool,” I say. “Where are you going to dinner?”

“I think Frenchy’s on the beach.”

“I always feel like I’m on vacation when I go
there,” Frenchy’s is a real popular seafood café on the beach. They
have the best grouper sandwiches. I love their homemade key lime
pie too.

“Alex says we’re leaving early enough so we can
eat and then walk along the beach. We’ll hit a late movie after
that.”

“Sounds perfect for a first date,” I say. I want
to give her a warning about Alex’s reputation, but I hold back.
Mandy knows right from wrong. Besides, I would be upset if she were
warning me about Seth. I know when to say no. The difference is
Seth would never pressure me into having sex. He was raised, like
me, to wait until marriage. The way Seth makes me feel I know it
would be wonderful to just give in and go with our feelings. The
temptation to go all the way is there. Sometimes I get dizzy just
from hugging and smelling him.

I hope Alex is interested enough in Mandy to
respect her. Mandy and I break out the nail polish and we give
ourselves manicures.

We hear the front door unlock and then slam
shut. Farrah must be home from work. She’s a nurse at a local
plastic surgery center. Working there she can get discounts on her
botox, facial peels, and occasional nips and tucks. She loves her
job. “Hey girls, clean up your mess okay? And run a vacuum, would
ya? Mandy, honey, I picked you up some yogurts, fruit, and Healthy
Choice dinners. I have to jump in the shower and get ready for my
date. He’s taking me to that wine tasting thing in Tampa. You can
reach me on my cell,” she says then laughs, “Don’t wait up.”

“I better get going,” I say. “my mom wants me to
be home for dinner, wanna come?”

“No. Alex might call. I’m going to wait at
home.” Mandy drives me home. We say good-bye.

***

The next day, Mandy and I don’t have time to get
together. Her Mom has off so they go to the salon together to get
their tans touched up. My mom makes me baby-sit Max so she can run
some errands without him.

I end up reading a book and texting Seth about
what rides we want to hit when we get to the park tomorrow. Max
manages to get peanut butter everywhere when I let him make his own
sandwich for lunch. I spend about an hour wiping it off the floors,
the fridge, the counters, the TV remote, and the couch. It’s even
all over his clothes. He must have wiped his hands on his shirt and
his shorts. Young boys are so disgusting. Carrie calls and we talk
about what to wear for tomorrow. The day ends up flying by
quickly.

That night I think about Mandy on her date. I
hope she’s having fun. It turns out the weather is beautiful for
tonight and will be nice for tomorrow too.

***

I wake up in the morning right before the alarm
goes off. In about a half an hour I get to see Seth. I go in the
kitchen and start a pot of coffee. I know my mom and dad are going
to want a cup as soon as they get up.

Dad’s an early bird but Mom’s not. They both
want to meet Seth’s parents before we head off. I take a quick
shower and get dressed fast. As I’m putting on my sneaks, I hear
the doorbell ring. My dad goes to the door and answers it. It’s
Carrie.

“Hey care bear,” I say.

“Please don’t call me that,” She groans. Her
cabin kids at camp gave Carrie that nickname.

“Okay, I thought you liked it,” I say.

“Only at camp and only from ten-year-olds, then
it’s cute,” Carrie answers.

“Okay. I’m sure Robby will think up something to
call you by the end of today,” I joke.

“What’s Seth’s nickname for you?” Carrie asks
with a smile on her face.

“The love of his life or Megs, depending on his
mood,” I joke.

The doorbell rings again. We hear Robby yelling,
“Special delivery for Megan Laughlin, special delivery for Megan
Laughlin. One over-sized package with postage due.” My dad walks in
the room sipping coffee from a mug. He looks at me and says,
“That’s not Seth is it?”

“No.” I laugh, “That’s his goof-ball friend
Robby.”

Carrie opens the door. As Robby comes in, he
picks up Carrie and twirls her around, “Hey Superwoman.”

Seth comes in, “Cut it out. Put her down,” He
says to Robby.

Seth walks up to my dad and introduces himself,
“Mr. Laughlin I’m Seth Wilson.” His parents enter as he reaches out
to shake my Dad’s hand. “This is my mom, Dorothy; my dad, Walter;
and my little brother, Sammy.”

My dad does a comic aside to me saying, “I’m
relieved. For a minute I thought Robby was Seth.” Everybody
laughs.

Robby says, “Hey, what’s so funny about
that?”

My mom comes in the room carrying a sleepy Max.
After a minute of small talk we’re on our way.

***

Our goal today is to ride each roller coaster at
least once and our favorites twice. Robby wants us to go on the
flume ride so we can all get wet. We do rock-paper-scissors to find
out whose ride we go on first. Of course, Robby wins. After handing
Mrs. Wilson our cell phones, we go on the flume first, and we all
get soaked.

Afterwards, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson take Sam to go
on his rides. They agree to let the four of us go on our own as
long as we stick together. We’re supposed to check in with them for
a late lunch. Until then, we head out to do our round of roller
coasters. When we get to the sky ride, Robby and Carrie go in their
own separate gondola. Seth and I are alone for the first time since
camp. Luckily, the ride stops when we’re about halfway across.