Carrier of the Mark (29 page)

“Did he tell you that?”

“No. He was feeling really guilty and told Darren, who told Jennifer, who told me.” She picked up the cookies and started shoving them into her mouth in between sobs. “Why would he do that to me?”

“I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Yeah, he accidently fell openmouthed into another girl’s arms. I’m sure he had no option but to slip her the tongue.”

I grimaced and patted her back, waiting for her to continue.

“So anyway, I confronted him last night, and do you know what he did? That total prick.”

“What?”

“He … he said … ‘sorry.’”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Of course it’s a bad thing! I wanted an argument. I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought of him and where to stick it. But
no
… he goes and apologizes and gets all teary eyed on me. He tells me he’s a twat. Then he broke up with me because he thought he wasn’t good enough for me!” She shoved another cookie into her mouth.

I was lost for words.

“Actually, now that I hear myself telling the story, it doesn’t sound too bad, really. In fact, it sounds like a whole load of crap.” She started laughing. “He’s right—he is a twat.”

“Did he really cry?” I asked, feeling my straight face start to give way.

She nodded and kept laughing, even though there were tears still in her eyes. I laughed along with her. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to talk about normal girl stuff again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let it get to me like that. I suppose at the very least he has given me enough fodder for lots of teen angst to torment my mum with.” She pasted a smile on her face, covering up a hurt I knew she felt deeply. “So enough about me. What’s the story with you and Adam these days? He’s been acting kinda strange. And why does he keep missing school? Is everything okay with you two?”

“He just has a lot on his mind.” I looked down at my feet. “He’s been in Dublin this week, so I haven’t really seen much of him.”

“It sounds like you could do with a few of these biscuits too,” she said, holding out the plate. “What is he doing up there, anyway?”

“Work experience.” I sighed, taking a cookie.

“Wait, work experience? I thought work experience was done in fourth year…”

“Um, yeah, it is, but this is some sailing thing, and the timing wasn’t right last year or something. I’m not sure.” I couldn’t meet her eyes.

She shrugged. “What we need is a girls’ night out.”

“Yes! That would be amazing.”

“And maybe if we leave the boys to fester on their own for a while, they might start to realize just what they’re missing.” I was glad to see some of the sparkle return to Caitlin’s eyes. “So let’s hit the cinema Friday after school.”

“You’re on! I’ll ask Áine to see if she can borrow Adam’s car, and you let Jennifer know.”

“Adam didn’t take his car to Dublin with him?”

“No, the, uh, people he’s working with are springing for his flights.”
And the lies just keep on coming
.

“Nice. If we have the car we might be able to squeeze dinner in too.”

With our plans decided, we closed the curtains and turned off our phones so that no one would be able to track us down and catch us ditching. We then proceeded to watch hours of daytime TV. It was the most relaxed I had felt in a long time. We heard knocking at one point and peered out the window to try to see who it was, but no one was there. It looked like we were home free. Finally, at three forty-five, we cleaned up and crept back toward the school so we could look like we were walking home when the last bell rang. We stood hidden in the bushes until we saw the uniformed masses start streaming toward us; then we stepped out and blended in with the crowd.

“Thanks a million for today. It was just what I needed,” Caitlin said, giving me a hug.

“Me too. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Will do.” She waved good-bye as she turned off down her road.

I started puffing my way up the steep hill back to my house and turned my phone back on. It rang immediately. Adam. “Why weren’t you in school today?” were his first words.

“Well, hello to you too.”

“This is serious, Megan. Why weren’t you in school?”

“I just ditched with Caitlin. She’s having guy trouble.”

“Jesus, Megan. You should have let us know. We’ve all been on high alert looking for you.”

“What?”

“You don’t show up at school. Your phone is off. Fionn called your house, but there was nobody home. Your dad says you’re in school. We’ve all been at our wits’ end.”

“Adam, people ditch. I don’t like you checking up on me.” I couldn’t believe my absent boyfriend was berating me. I felt like I was being lectured by my dad. “If you’re so worried about me, stop wasting your time in Dublin.”

“I’m not wasting my time. I’m doing this for us. Do you really think I want to be up here away from you?” His voice was getting louder. “What more can I do?”

“Well, you could start telling me the truth,” I spat in an acid tone. Part of me knew I was being a bitch, but I felt like he was treating me like a child.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Áine told me everything,” I blurted out.

“She told you?”

I winced, knowing I had let her down, but I barreled ahead. “Somebody had to.”

Adam was silent. I could tell by his heavy breathing that he was livid.

“Look, Adam. You’re mad. I’m mad. We should talk about this later when we’ve both calmed down.”

“Fine,” he snapped, and the line went dead.

Ugh. What a crappy way to end a good day. I stomped home, feeling terrible about our fight. I tried several times to reach Adam, but his phone went straight to voice mail. Feeling utterly dejected, I opened the front door. Dad wasn’t home yet, so I headed to my room. All I could think about was locking myself away for a few hours and having a good cry.

But as I turned the doorknob I got a funny feeling. I looked down at my arm and watched the goose bumps form slowly, working their way from my wrists up my arms. Then I heard a whisper at my ear, just like in the café with Caitlin.

“Who’s there?” I gasped, spinning around. But I was alone.

I pushed the door open slowly, but stayed in the hallway. Nothing looked out of place. I stepped into the room and cautiously looked around. I still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but something definitely didn’t feel right.

I bit my lip. I wasn’t going to start calling Fionn or Áine now, especially if they were all pissed at me for disappearing today. I backed out of my room and went downstairs, then sat in the kitchen with the TV volume on high until my dad came home.

I didn’t sleep that night. I kept imagining noises, and I was hyperaware of my Mark. I kept expecting Adam to call at some point to clear the air. But the call never came.

Á
ine was so mad the next day, she barely spoke to me.

“You said you wouldn’t tell him,” she muttered on our way to class.

“I know. I’m sorry. It just came out.”

She grabbed me by the sleeve and pulled me into a deserted classroom. “What were you thinking? You have to get used to the idea that you are a Marked One now. You can’t just go off on your own and not tell anyone. Have you any idea how vulnerable you are?”

“I guess not.”

“Exactly. Adam, Rían, and I have all evoked. We are strong, and we can protect ourselves. We also live on protected lands that the Knox are blind to. You have only just started using your power, and yet you go swanning off on your own after I tell you there’s a potential threat in the area. Exactly what part of the warning didn’t you understand?”

I shrugged. “I just didn’t think.”

“Don’t you even care what you are doing to my brother?”

“What do you mean?”

“Adam is tearing himself apart up in Dublin. He’s working night and day to find a solution to
your
problems. Let’s forget for the moment the fact that he’s missing out on loads of school, school that he’ll have to make up for when he gets back. And the fact that Fionn has to lie through his teeth to allow that to happen. Christ! Megan, you know that he pines for you when you’re apart; you’ve seen how it affects his power. He’s facing the struggle of a lifetime with his element and it’s all for you.”

I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe I had never thought of it from Adam’s point of view. “I’m so sorry, Áine. When you put it like that…”

Áine’s glare softened. “Yes, well, I didn’t mean to be so harsh. It’s just that he’s my brother and he’s hurting.”

“He won’t answer my calls,” I said, feeling my eyes well up. “How can I apologize if he won’t talk to me?”

“Leave him a message. He’ll call you back, I promise.”

I nodded, swallowing hard.

“Now, come here.” She pulled me in for a hug. “Let’s get to class. Take good notes. Adam’s going to need them when he gets back.”

At lunch, I called Adam. As usual the call went to voice mail.

“Adam, it’s me. I’m sorry for being so horrible yesterday. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please forgive me?”

Ten minutes later my phone rang, and Áine glanced over and gave me an I-told-you-so look.

I jumped up and ran off to answer the phone in private. “Adam, hi.”

“Hi, Meg. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. It was my fault. I never stopped to think. And I was a total bitch.”

He laughed. “You weren’t a
total
bitch. Anyway, you didn’t realize you were doing anything wrong.”

“So am I forgiven?”

“Well, am I?”

Relief flooded through me. Everything was going to be okay.

“Oh, Adam, I can’t wait for you to get home.”

“I should be back Friday night.”

“Oh.” I winced.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s nothing. I was going to go to a movie with Caitlin and the girls, but I’ll cancel.”

“No, don’t cancel. I won’t be down until late anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

“In that case … any chance Áine can borrow your car?” I smiled, knowing he’d be more likely to say yes to me than to his sister.

“My car? Oh, I don’t know about that. Áine’s driving sucks.”

“Oh, come on, Adam. Please? We’ll take really good care of it. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse? Roll on, Friday!”

I hung up the phone and ran back to the gang feeling better than I had in a long time.

“Well? Are we all friends again?” Áine asked sheepishly.

I nodded. “He’ll be back on Friday.”

“Aw, does that mean our movie night is canceled?” Caitlin whined.

I sat down beside her. “Nope, in fact it just got a little better.”

“What’s this about?” Áine inquired.

I smiled at her. “Girls’ night out on Friday.”

“Oh, can I come?” Áine asked, looking a little unsure.

I laughed. “Of course! You’re driving.” Jennifer and Caitlin exchanged excited glances.

“I am? In what?”

“Adam said you could drive his car.”

“Are you serious? He never lets me drive his car. Excellent. This can double as my birthday party.”

“It’s your birthday on Friday? Adam never mentioned it.”

“Oh, Adam doesn’t
do
birthdays, but I do. This is great. We’ll have so much fun.”

That Friday after school, Jennifer, Caitlin, Áine, and I all packed into Adam’s car and drove to the movie theater singing along with the festive songs on the radio. By the time we got there we were hoarse from screaming along to Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” We fell out of the car laughing and got in line for tickets.