Betrayed (35 page)

Come on. I need to ask you something.” She led the way to my bedroom, where we usual y hung out, removing her gloves but keeping her jacket on.

“Remind me to never, ever walk to your house in this crazy weather.”

I refused to feel sorry for her. She wore a shirt dress with black leggings, and unlined boots total y unsuited for cold weather. Even her jacket was light.

Crossing my arms, I studied her with narrowed eyes. “You blew me off the last time I saw you, McKenzie. Why?”

She scowled and slipped her gloves inside the pocket of her jacket. “What are you talking about?”

“You saw me in the hal way and took off in the opposite direction. Later in English lit, you didn’t even want to talk to me. Then for three days, you weren’t at school. I mean, where have you been?” Her mouth pinched, and the sparkle in her eyes dimmed. “Oh, I’m so sorry. You see…” she hesitated then sighed and sat on my computer chair.

For a moment, she stared at her hands. She looked real y miserable.

“What is it?” I asked, moving closer and feeling her pain.

She looked at me. Her eyes swam with unshed tears. When she spoke, she sounded bad. “I might as wel tel you everything. My parents have been fighting a lot this past year, and Dad final y moved out last weekend. The day you saw me, my brother and I went to talk to him during lunch. If you saw me in the hal way, I was probably going to talk to Kean or something. I haven’t been feeling wel . You know, dealing with everything. Things are just…bad.” know, dealing with everything. Things are just…bad.” Feeling guilty for jumping to conclusions, I sat on my desk and touched her arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

She shrugged. “You couldn’t have, and there’s no need to be sorry. I mean, it’s not your fault.

They’l work out their differences, and we’l be a family again. Dad promised.” Her face lit up though her smile was forced. “Now, let’s talk about your party. Who’s coming? Have you printed the invitations? Do you have an outfit yet?”

“I thought I’d just wear a pair of jeans and a shirt,” I said in a quiet tone, stil trying to mul over what she just told me. Her parents always looked so happy whenever I visited their house.

“Are you nuts?” McKenzie said, cutting into my thoughts. “This is your party. Use it as an excuse to get a new outfit. Your grandfather wil understand. I plan on buying something.”

I frowned, seeing her forced cheerfulness for what it was, an attempt to cover her pain. “When?”

“Now. Let’s go shopping.” She looked around as though she expected Grampa to appear and derail her plans. “I want to buy something sexy, hook up with someone hot,” she added in an excited whisper.

Her enthusiasm got to me. Maybe shopping was exactly what we needed to get me out of my funk. “Have you eaten?”

She rol ed her eyes. “No-oo. It’s not even six yet, sil y.”

“Then let’s eat out, too, my treat. I’l drive.” I opened my desk drawer and removed my keys, driver’s license, and my credit card.

In no time, we parked outside Cache Val ey Mal . Inside, we headed to the only restaurant and ordered stir-fry entrees from the menu. Since the food court was at the front of the mal , we ate and checked out people as they came and went.

“He’s hot,” McKenzie said for the tenth time as a bunch of guys walked past.

“The one in a green hoodie?” I asked, studying the five teens in skinny jeans and hoodies.

A few looked familiar.

“Yeah. Too bad he’s gay.” She sighed dramatical y and waved at the guy. “He lives down the street from me.”

Checking out guys at the mal was a senseless but fun pastime. We usual y did it at least once a month. McKenzie got a kick out of it, so did Kylie and the other girls. I enjoyed the break from Guardian duty while pretending to be a normal teenager.

“Ohmigod, look at that one,” McKenzie squealed and gripped my arm. “He’s super hot. I think I’ve seen him at school.”

“Which one?” The three guys striding confidently past the indoor kiddie rides did look hot.

Not Bran or even Sykes hot, but hot nevertheless.

Two wore varsity jackets and a third, Jake something or other from my math class, wore a trench coat. Like Bran’s. He wasn’t the only non-Goth guy I saw around school in a long, ankle-length trench coat.

“Shaggy hair, skinny jeans. Should we fol ow them?” she asked in an excited voice.

I sighed. “Okay. Let’s finish and go.” McKenzie removed a make-up compact from her purse, reapplied her gloss, and fluffed her hair.

She glanced at me from above her little mirror. “You look amazing with your hair down. You should wear it down more.”

“Thanks. Bran likes it, uh, never mind.” I twirled the last noodles with my fork, refusing to talk about him.

“You can wear a sack over your head, and he’d stil think you’re hot.” She sucked on her soda pop. “I want a guy to look at me the way he looks at you,” she added in a low voice fil ed with longing.

I smiled, feeling a bit self-conscious and curious. “How does he look at me?”

She rol ed her eyes and exhaled sharply.

“Don’t get me started. Like you’re the hottest girl…

ever. Have you guys done it?”

My jaw dropped. “No,” I said with as much outrage as I could master.

She giggled. “That explains the heated gleam in his eyes. Like he wants to…you know.” My face burned. “Shut up. Have you?”

She stopped teasing and wrinkled her nose.

“I’ve got to have a boyfriend first, and from the looks of things, that’s never going to happen. My mother is weird about things like that. She only lets me come to your house because, wel , she thinks you’re a good influence.” She rol ed her eyes. “Whatever.

Because of you, I decided to take a self-defense Because of you, I decided to take a self-defense class…because of you my math grade improved.

You walk on water,
and
she likes your grandfather.” Everyone who ever met Grampa liked him.

He insisted on meeting the parents of al my friends, which was so embarrassing. I pushed my drink and plate aside.

McKenzie jumped to her feet. “Phew, final y done. Let’s catch up with the guys before they disappear.”

They were not in any store between the food court and a department store where we tried on clothes. I found a cute gray tank top with beaded ruffle detail on the shoulders and a low-cut neckline.

The draped-overlay barely made it decent, but it was sexy. To go with it, I selected a tiered, lacy mid-thigh black skirt. My Gypsy skirts were down to my ankle, so this was something new.

“What do you think?” I turned around, studying my side then my back in the mirror.

“Phooey. You look gorgeous,” McKenzie said with a tinge of envy.

I stopped preening. “You haven’t found anything yet?”

“Not under fifty,” she said on a sigh.

Another round of searching on the sales racks, she found a unique one-shoulder black dress with a white half overlay that wrapped around the bodice. I found several cool things for Bran. Just because I was pissed at him didn’t mean I’d forget my promise to get presents.

After paying for our purchases, we ducked into a little accessory shop so McKenzie could buy earrings. I had plenty of Gypsy accessories for any outfit and occasion. On our way out, we bumped into Jake and his friends.

“We’re heading to a bookstore,” Jake said and mentioned a popular local hangout for teens.

“What a coincidence, so are we,” McKenzie fibbed.

Not wanting to disappoint her, I went along.

Hanging out at the bookstore wasn’t bad. If I got tired of flirting, I could always read.

By the time I got home, it was nine-thirty.

Grampa wasn’t home and neither were Celeste and Bran. Where could they have gone?

***

Something woke me up later. No, not something, a nightmare, yet I couldn’t remember it.

But the echoes of my screams stil lingered in the room.

Bran appeared by my bed, shirtless, shoeless, hair disheveled. Maybe I wil ed him or was dreaming. His eyes darted around the room as though searching for an intruder as he moved toward the bed.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Something shifted in my chest. “It was just a nightmare.”

He sat on the edge of my bed and studied me under the glow of the streetlight fal ing into my room. I swal owed and strained my eyes to see his, which were in the shadows. His scent teased my senses, and his warmth leaped across the space separating us to envelope me.

“I’ve missed us,” he whispered.

My heart squeezed. “Me too.”

“I don’t want to fight anymore,” he added, reaching out and touching my face with the tips of his fingers.

“Me too.” I repeated my words and sat up, wanting to kiss and hold him, and never let go. “I’m so sorry for cal ing you names and forbidding you to come to my room.” The words tumbled out fast.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s my fault.” He leaned forward, and we exchanged a breath, so sweet and intoxicating. “I love you, and I always wil , no matter what happens to me.”

An alarm went off in my head. “What do you mean—?”

He cut me off, our lips meshing like two parts of a whole. The yin and yang. I flung my arms around his neck and pul ed him closer, getting lost in the kiss. Tingling sensations shot from my lips to every part of my body. Goosebumps spread on the surface of my skin, but underneath heated blood accelerated through my veins. I had no idea how much I missed the way I felt when with him, the way he completed me.

Then he was gone. I blinked, wondering if he’d real y been in my room or I’d dreamt the whole thing up.

18. Everyone Gets Scared

I don’t want to fight…it’s my fault…I love
you…I always will….

As I stared into Bran’s unsmiling face, I doubted he’d been in my room two nights ago and whispered those words to me then disappeared.

Words that should fil me with happiness, yet every time they echoed in my head, panic fol owed. It made no sense. For two days, I tried to figure it out to no end.

I crossed my arms, leaned against the door frame, and bit my lower lip, hating the insecurity I now felt in his presence.

“Were you, uh, in my room on Saturday night?” I blurted out.

Bran cocked his right eyebrow. “Why?”

“You said stuff.”

He shifted his weight on the welcome mat in front of my front door, sighed, and said in a tired voice, “Like what?”

I couldn’t repeat some of the disjointed words I recal ed or tel him how hot the kiss we shared was.

My face warmed.

“You were sorry and…,” I paused, hoping he’d jump in and finish. No such luck. “Forget it. Where have you been?”

“L.A.”

I studied his face, feeling his pain. “With Gavyn?”

He nodded.

I wanted to hug him. “How’s he doing?”

“Not good. We need to go,” he added impatiently.

I looked behind him and saw the jeep. “That’s okay. I mean, I’m not ready. I’l probably hitch a ride with Remy or drive myself to school.”

“We’l wait.” Bran crossed his arms as though he wouldn’t move an inch unless I left with him.

His misery was heartbreaking and annoying at the same time. Part of me wanted to wrap him in my arms and take away his pain, but another part wanted to scream at him. Beg him to talk to me.

Apologize for al the real y bad thoughts I had while he was gone. The tension between us seemed to have returned, worse than ever.

The jeep’s horn broke my internal rant and signaled Celeste’s growing impatience.

“Okay. I’m coming.” I disappeared into my bedroom, fixed my hair and returned with my backpack to find him stil waiting.

Together, we walked to the jeep side by side, but the Grand Canyon might as wel have been between us. I wondered what he was thinking about, but after he told me to stay out of his head, I didn’t dare attempt a link. An angry Bran wasn’t someone I could deal with right now.

The drive to school was the worst ever.

Although the car was warm, I felt cold inside.

Uncertain. Worried. Scared. Even Celeste remained glum in the backseat, until Bran dropped us off and left.

“Okay.

What’s

going

on?”

Celeste

demanded.

“Nothing.” I hoisted my backpack and started for the school building.

“Whoa. Wait up.” Celeste caught up with me in a few steps. “Bran said exactly the same thing, yet he’s miserable. Two days of being cooped up with him in some guest house at the Brotherhood compound, listening to him pace up and down in his room like some caged animal at four in the morning room like some caged animal at four in the morning is al I can take. And he doesn’t eat anymore.”

“Quit exaggerating.”

Celeste cocked her head, eyes wide. “My brother, the one with a humongous appetite, has been staring at his food for days, food I slaved to prepare for him. Whatever the problem is, fix it,” she finished with a bite.

I gawked at her. “Me? Why blame me? I didn’t start—”

A few students brushed past us and turned to stare. I grabbed Celeste’s arm and pul ed her from the sidewalk and onto the grass. “I didn’t start this fight.”

“I don’t care who started it. You made it worse.” She jabbed her finger at me. Her green eyes narrowed. “On Friday at the dining table, you total y ignored him. Why would you do that to him
now
?” The way she asked the question set off warning bel s. “What do you mean now?”

“Gavyn might not make it.” Her voice broke.

“The last two days were horrible. Worse, I think Bran’s in trouble with the Cardinals.” My stomach dipped. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it started before dinner on Friday. Someone pinged him. He left but when he came back, he was with your grandfather, arguing. I mean, he yel ed at Cardinal Falcon.”

That was the day he was so mean. “Did it have anything to do with me?”

“Oh, please. Not everything is about you.” She waved to someone behind me before adding, “Your name wasn’t mentioned. Okay? I couldn’t eavesdrop because I don’t like people fighting. As soon as I heard them, I went to my room, closed the door, and ramped up the volume on my iPod. Your grandfather actual y teleported inside my room and pul ed the buds from my ears to get my attention. He wanted to know if I was okay. By then Bran was gone.”