Chaos (The Realmwalker Chronicles Book 1) (6 page)

I’m a little apprehensive about seeing Tori after last night’s dream with the
fake
Tori. But when I see her in third hour, it’s reassuring to find my worries are unfounded. Tori is still her normal, shallow self—the first thing she says upon seeing me is how much my bandages make me look like a leper. She doesn’t even ask why I’m wearing them. Some things never change.

“Let’s go out for lunch today,” she says as we walk to our lockers after class. “I’m in the mood for a big, fat juicy burger.”

“Did you and Jordan get in a fight again?” Tori always craves junky food when she’s upset with her boyfriend.

“He tells me,” she puts a finger in the air, “that I’m supposed to stay here in this dumpy dairy town and wait for him to decide what he wants to do with his life. I told him, hell no! I’m leaving for college as soon as I can. I’m not going to get stuck here waiting for him while he wastes his life away and miss my chance at a real college experience.”

“If you go to ASU, you’ll only be in Tempe. That’s a twenty-minute drive. What’s his deal?” I ask.

“His deal is he doesn’t want me going to a real college filled with smart guys getting a real education and doing something with their lives. That’s his problem,” she snaps.

I let her vent at me as we drive to a nearby burger joint. It’s the kind of place where you park, order out your window, and they bring the food out to your car. There’re a few picnic tables on an island in between the parking areas and shaded by a large awning with misters around the edges of it. We see a few other students sitting at one of the tables, so we sit at a table next to them. We use the intercom on the order box by our table to order some food.

As we’re waiting for our meal to arrive, Tori says, “Oh my gosh, that guy is totally checking me out. Can he be any more obvious?”

I follow the direction of her gaze. She’s looking at a guy sitting behind the wheel of a black pickup. The driver’s window is down, so we can see he’s looking in our direction. He’s wearing sunglasses, so we can’t see his eyes, but he’s clearly watching the two of us. I half expect him to turn away now that we’ve caught him, but his gaze never falters. Something about his intensity is a little off-putting. It’s very direct, as if he doesn’t care that we know he’s staring.

“He’s certainly not shy, is he?” I mutter and turn back to the table. There’s nothing new about a guy checking Tori out.

“Well, I don’t mind. He’s actually really cute. I wonder how old he is?” she says thoughtfully. She starts twirling her hair around her finger and flashing coy smiles in his direction.

“Oh, never mind,” she says as a waitress on roller skates brings us our food. “He’s not even from here. I wonder if he’s moving here or only visiting,” she muses. “Hey, maybe he’ll take me back with him! I wouldn’t mind some California weather about now.”

“California?” I ask, puzzled. I turn and look at the guy in the truck again.

“Yeah, his license plate.”

Sure enough, the plate on the front of his truck says California.

“Whoa, that’s creepy,” I mutter under my breath.

“What is?” Tori asks around a bite of hamburger.

I study the truck closer. It has to be the truck Jana almost backed into this morning. Same dark color, same make and model. It’s too much of a coincidence not to be. And here he is, sitting here, staring at Tori and me.

I’m beginning to think that maybe it’s not Tori he’s been checking out. I try to decipher his expression. Is he angry? I wouldn’t be so bothered by him if I hadn’t noticed he’s not eating anything. Well, maybe he ordered something and it hasn’t come out yet.

“What’s creepy?” Tori demands impatiently.

“Oh, nothing really. It’s just, Jana almost crashed into that guy this morning. And here he is. A weird coincidence, I guess.”

“There’s nothing weird about that at all,” she says. “The way your sister drives, we probably come across her victims more often than we know—there are so many of them. Besides, a guy’s gotta eat.”

Tori’s right. I try not to think about it as I finish my lunch, but I can’t keep my eyes from flicking in his direction every few minutes or so. He never takes his eyes off us, and the whole time we’re eating, no one brings him any food. Maybe he finished before we got here, but I don’t remember seeing his truck when we parked.

“This is so awesome!” Tori’s thumbing through some bills the waitress brought back as change. “I paid with a twenty, and that idiot brings back my change, PLUS the twenty! Guess it’s my lucky day!”

I snatch the twenty from her hand as she’s waving it around like she won the lottery and start to get up.

“What are you doing? That’s mine!” she says, sounding a little too much like a bratty three-year-old for my liking.

“Come on, Tor. That waitress could get in trouble for this. Besides, it’s not like you need the money.” I head up to the order window at the front of the restaurant, tell the girl there what happened, and give the twenty back. She seems a little surprised that I actually returned it, but she’s really grateful. When I get back to the table, Tori’s sitting with her arms crossed, pouting.

“If it really bothers you that much, I’ll give you a twenty myself,” I say as I dig into my pants pocket.

“Oh forget it. I’m not upset about the money,” she says grumpily.

“So, what did I do?”

I can tell she’s having a hard time getting the words out.

“When you went up to the counter, I was watching ‘Mr. Hottie’ over there.” She pauses, reluctant to go on. I look at her expectantly and wait.

“When you got up and left, he watched you the whole way there and back. All this time I thought he was into me, and it’s you he’s been watching.” She seems so offended that someone might show interest in me rather than her.

“Lucky you,” she says.

Only I don’t feel so lucky. I’m worried that this guy is some kind of psycho who wants revenge for this morning’s near accident. He’s obviously trying to intimidate me. What other reason would he have for staring at me like this? The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I wasn’t even the one driving Jana’s car.

Tori and I gather our trash and toss it into a nearby bin. We head back to her car, which is parked about ten spaces away from the truck, and his gaze follows us all the way there.

I wonder if he plans on keeping this up all day. Will he follow us? Will he be there in the parking lot after school? Will he follow me home? All of a sudden I’m furious. I didn’t do anything to this guy, and I won’t put up with him harassing me.

“You know what?” I say angrily when we get to the car. “This is ridiculous. If he thinks he can frighten me, he’s got another thing coming.” I slam my bag down on the passenger seat and turn around.

“What are you doing? Addy! Are you crazy?”

I ignore her and march purposefully toward the truck.

I’m thinking of some very choice words to say to this guy when he surprises me by unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the truck. He shuts the door, turns around, and leans on it, arms crossed. He stares at me expectantly. My steps falter and my resolve begins to fade.

This guy is scary! He has a definite militaristic air about him. His posture displays that rare kind of quiet confidence, the kind you get only after years of being in charge. He looks about six feet tall with short brown hair and is obviously in great shape.

Though his posture is relaxed, I get the feeling that underneath he’s coiled like a snake, ready to strike in an instant. Something about the set of his face tells me he isn’t someone to be messed with. His eyes still hide behind the shades.

By the time I’m ten feet away, I’ve lost all my confidence and am questioning my own sanity. At least we’re in public.

I stop walking and find myself staring at him stupidly as I try to remember the angry retort I had planned on saying only a few moments ago. We just stand there, silently watching each other. As much as I would love to turn around and run back to Tori’s car, I can’t do that. It would show him that I am, in fact, scared. If he really is a psycho, that would probably only encourage him.

I fidget with the bottom hem of my shirt as I think of how to salvage this. I decide to take the high road and hope that kindness can defuse him.

“Um, hi,” I say rather pathetically. He raises an eyebrow at me but says nothing. I walk a few steps closer, stand up tall, and clear my throat. “If you’re upset about this morning-”

“Are you Adelaide Shepherd?” he asks quietly. His tone is surprisingly calm and absent of hostility.

“What did you say?” I take a step closer.

“Are you Adelaide Shepherd?” he asks again. There’s something vaguely familiar about his voice. His whole demeanor drips with authority, and I choke down the urge to answer “Yes, sir.”

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I ask him.

He reaches up and removes his sunglasses and I’m suddenly speechless. His eyes are a startling iceberg blue. I’m figuring him to be around twenty-five or so. Tori was right—this guy is seriously good-looking, but I’m uncertain if it’s his physical appearance or the confident way he carries himself that makes me think so.

He examines me critically from head to toe and manages to do it without a hint of sexuality. I feel almost as if he’s measuring my worth. Even though a few seconds ago I wanted to tell him off and never see him again, I oddly find myself hoping he finds me acceptable.

“We’ve never met.” He shakes his head.

I stand there looking confused, waiting for an explanation. Just then Tori lays on her horn and shouts, “Come on, Addy! We’ll be late!”

I close my eyes and grit my teeth. Thank you, Tori, for telling this potential lunatic who I am. I open my eyes to find the stranger watching me with a crooked smirk on his face.

“You better go,” he says. He doesn’t get back in his truck but continues to look at me.

I want to stay. I want to ask him a million questions. Who are you? How do you know my name? Why are you following me and why does your voice sound so familiar? Instead, I awkwardly walk backwards a few steps before turning around to jog to Tori’s car. Once I’m in the passenger seat, I turn to look at him again. He’s on his cell phone.

“What was that all about? I thought you were going to tell him off, but then you just stood there like a dummy. What happened? Did he talk to you? Do you know him?” Tori fires questions off as we head back to school.

I stare out the window and try to understand what just happened. I murmur to myself, “Today has easily been the strangest day of my life.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tori asks in a not-so-nice tone.

I sigh. I know she’s still mad that the stranger wasn’t “checking her out,” but I don’t get why. She has a boyfriend anyway, so it’s not like she could have pursued him. If I don’t think of something to make her feel better, she’ll pout all day.

“He thought I looked like a friend of his he hadn’t seen in a while. That’s why he was staring. He was trying to decide if I was her or not. When I got close enough for him to see I wasn’t her, he apologized. That’s all.”

“Oh … well, then. That makes perfect sense now.” And like that she’s completely happy. Now that she thinks he didn’t actually choose me over her, all is right with the world. If anything, Tori’s always consistent. Even if she’s consistently shallow.

Back at school, it’s hard to focus on anything. I can’t stop thinking about the guy from lunch. I try not to, but when I’m not thinking about him, I’m thinking about my dream. What’s odd is that as I try to remember the first part, all the details are fuzzy. But from the point in my dream where I fall through the barrier into the street to the point when I wake up, everything is crystal clear.

I remember every tiny detail and marvel that I’m able to recall the conversation exactly. If I tried, I’m sure I could write down everything that was said word-for-word. I can still see Mel and Crank perfectly. I can hear Mel’s Aussie accent and feel her reassuring hand on my arm.

In fifth hour, Kevin makes my day by asking me what happened to my hands. I suddenly wish I had a much more exciting story than falling down in the street. I’m embarrassed when I tell him, but he looks really concerned and tells me he hopes I get better soon. This puts me on cloud nine and I actually forget about all the other stuff for a while. That is at least, until it’s time to go home.

As Tori and I head out to her car, I scan the parking lot for the black truck. I don’t see it anywhere. I study the rearview mirrors the whole way home but there’s no sign of it. I thank Tori and remember to tell her to have a good time at Jordan’s party. She’s still upset at him but I know she’ll get over it soon. She always forgives him for acting like a jerk.

When I get home and open my front door, the mouth-watering smell of pot roast immediately strikes me, and I know Mom’s making it for me. It’s my favorite comfort food, and knowing her, she thinks I need it after this morning. Jana’s on the couch watching a rerun of some reality show where strangers have to live together on an island and survive off nature. I join her and she tells me she wants to postpone our girls’ night out and instead have a girls’ night in.

She points to the coffee table where there are some chick flicks she must have rented earlier and a huge pile of assorted candy and junk food. I know she’d probably rather be shopping and that she changed her plans so I wouldn’t have to walk around a mall for hours feeling as crappy as I do. I feel a little guilty but mostly I’m thrilled. I’ve never enjoyed shopping.

I watch TV with Jana for about an hour until Mom tells me my bed sheets were unsalvageable and that she bought me a new set and washed them for me. I find them in the dryer and head back to my room to make my bed. Before I can finish, I hear the doorbell ring.

I wonder if maybe Jana invited one of her gal pals over to watch movies with us, but Mom hollers down the hall, “Addy, your friends are here to see you!”

My friends? Basically everyone I know should be over at Jordan’s party by now. As I make my way to the front door, I cross my fingers and hope it isn’t Tori trying one last attempt to get me to go. When I open the door, I’m completely surprised to come face-to-face with a girl I’ve never seen before.