Chasing Shadows (22 page)

Simon frowned. "Why would he think you would want to talk to him when you're upset?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I'll just say that I feel like I can confide in him." I saw Simon's expression darken even more so I quickly continued. "It's just an excuse for me to stay close to him. But it won't make sense if I bring you along. I hope you're better at trailing people than I am."

"What does that mean?"

"I think you should just follow us until you're supposed to meet the guys at the basketball courts. I'll make sure we stay in public places so we're always in your sight. I want to keep him away from his dorm room as much as possible since that's where it all happened."

"I'm not sure, Caitlin. I'd rather be right next to you."

"Simon, please." I put my hand on his arm. "It won't be believable otherwise. I can't risk him suspecting something and then backing off because he thinks I'm a weirdo."

Simon didn't respond right away, but I was relieved when I saw his shoulders slump in acquiescence.

"Fine. But if I even think there's a possibility you're in trouble, I'm not hesitating to knock Malibu Ken down."

I resisted the urge to smile, not wanting to encourage Simon's digs against Neal. "Okay, that's fine." I checked the time and saw that it was barely eight o'clock. Even though I was desperate to get Neal in my sights, I knew that I had to play this right or else he would suspect something. I had debated telling him the truth, but I figured the truth would send him running, thinking I was some psycho.

While we waited, I called Sarah, rousing her from her sleep. She was momentarily confused that I was calling her when I should be in the room right next to her. I quickly filled her in on the latest developments and asked if she could come over and keep an eye on Kendra, which she immediately agreed to.

I waited on pins and needles until nine o'clock and then called Neal, figuring it was a reasonable hour to call even though it was still early. I took a deep breath, trying to muster courage for my forthcoming performance.

"Hello?" I was relieved that Neal sounded awake and not as if I had just awoken him.

"Hi, Neal. It's Caitlin." I made my voice sound shaky.

"Caitlin, what's wrong?"

I sniffled as if I was crying. "I'm sorry to call you so early. It's just...I didn't know who else to call. I can't get a hold of Simon and I'm just really upset."

"Tell me what's wrong." Neal's voice softened and I wanted to kick myself for being such a jerk for lying, but I really had no choice.

"I got into a huge fight with Sarah. I'm just so upset and I have no one to talk to. I know we just met but I really felt like I can confide in you." Flashbacks of my vision rushed through me, and I didn't have to fake my tears and shaky voice.

"Of course. What happened?"

I took a deep shuddering breath. "Do you mind if we meet in person? I could really use a friend right now."

"Of course. Why don't you come over to my room?"

"Actually, do you mind if we meet in the student center? We could meet for breakfast."

"Sure. When do you want to meet?"

"Is nine-thirty too soon?"

I heard a smile in Neal's voice. "No, nine-thirty isn't too soon. I'll see you there."

I wiped my eyes as I disconnected the call, taking a deep calming breath. Simon was frowning at me.

"That was almost too believable."

I sighed. "It's amazing how a matter of life and death can turn you into Meryl Streep."

Sarah arrived, interrupting our conversation. She gave me a fierce hug when she saw me, her face tight with tension.

"Thanks for coming over, Sarah."

"Of course. Where's Kendra?"

"Still asleep," Simon replied. "She'll probably be out for a while."

Simon and I slipped on our coats but Sarah stopped me before we walked out the door.

"Caitlin, be careful." Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears and I hugged her tightly.

"I promise I'll be careful," I whispered. "I love you, Sarah."

Sarah's voice broke when she replied softly. "I love you too."

The cold air was welcome when we stepped outside, cooling my overheated cheeks. We stopped by Simon's professor's office where he dropped off his paper to a teacher's aide. With that out of the way, we quickly walked to the student center.

"I'll be watching," Simon said before we parted. He kissed me fiercely before letting me go. "Be careful."

"I will," I promised for the second time.

I quickly made my way to the cafeteria. I saw Simon in my peripheral vision but I made an effort to not look in his direction. The last thing I needed was to stare at Simon while he was trying to go unnoticed.

I saw Neal loping towards me after a few minutes. His expression was one of concern as he got closer.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I started the waterworks, amazed that they came so easily. "I know I must seem so stupid. I'm just so upset over this fight with Sarah."

Neal automatically enveloped me in his arms and I jumped at his touch. I hadn't expected his embrace and I was sure Simon wasn't happy about it. I tried to pull back as smoothly as possible.

"Thanks so much for meeting with me. I hope I'm not making you miss class."

"Don't worry about it. I only have a lecture today and I was planning on skipping it anyway."

We went inside the cafeteria and I just opted for a coffee while Neal got a breakfast sandwich. The dining room was practically empty and we sat down at the first table we saw.

"What did you and Sarah fight about?"

I took a deep breath before speaking. I had already planned the story I would give him. I knew it had to be significant enough to warrant the level of my agitation, but I didn't want to say the words out loud even though I knew it was a lie.

"Sarah thinks I have a thing for Grant. She accused me of trying to steal him away from her."

Neal looked surprised at my confession, pausing with his sandwich midway to his mouth. I continued, trying to push my way through this horrible lie.

"She thinks I came on to him and she won't believe otherwise."

"Wow, that was the last thing I expected you to say. Why would she think that?" Neal lowered his sandwich, waiting for my explanation.

"That's the thing. I don't even know why she thinks that. She says she's seen the way I look at Grant and that it's obvious I want him."

Neal frowned, looking confused. "Aren't you and Sarah best friends?"

"Like sisters. That's why this hurts so much."

Neal thought for a moment. "What does Grant say?"

"Grant keeps trying to talk sense into her, but she refuses to believe him. When he defended me, she accused him of reciprocating my feelings."

"She must be blind," Neal said. "I see the way you and Simon look at each other, like there's no one else in the world except the two of you." Neal smiled ruefully before continuing. "I have to admit that I hoped to have a chance with you when we first met, but I soon realized that you only had eyes for Simon."

I blushed at Neal's admission, embarrassed that I had indeed given him the wrong idea, but I pushed the feeling aside. I continued my sob story and Neal was the perfect listener, giving responses when necessary but mostly just letting me vent. I was amazed that an hour flew by before I realized it.

I tensed when Neal checked his watch. "Do you have somewhere you have to be?"

Neal shook his head. "No, I just wanted to sell some of my textbooks back to the bookstore and they're closing early today."

"I'll go with you!" I sounded a little too enthusiastic and tried to tone down my voice. Neal studied me for a moment and then smiled.

"Sounds good. I just have to stop by my room and grab the textbooks."

I gulped, knowing that Simon would be furious at me for going to Neal's room where he couldn't follow us, but I had no choice. I reminded myself that Neal's vardoger had attacked him at night in my vision. I was sure that's when it would happen. I prayed that I wasn't making a mistake by going to Neal's dorm room, where I had seen his vardoger murder him.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As we walked to Bowery Hall, I resisted the urge to glance behind us to see if Simon was following us. I was jumpy as Neal signed me in as a guest, convinced that Simon was going to rush us at any second and rip me away from Neal.

The ride up the elevator to his floor was quiet, and I started getting more nervous, wishing there were more students around although I knew that was just a false sense of security.

"Sorry about the mess," Neal said when we got to his room and he unlocked his door. "I wasn't expecting to have anyone over."

Neal's room looked like a typical college dorm room with pictures tacked to the wall and clothes strewn about the floor, but I felt a jolt of fear when I stepped inside as memories of my vision washed over me. I zeroed in on the desk where I had seen Neal slit his wrists, his blood dripping into growing pools on the floor by the chair. I had an urge to open his drawer to see if there was a box with a razor in it, but I forced myself to look natural as I stood just inside the room, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Just a second," Neal said as he rummaged through his desk drawers. "I know the textbooks are here somewhere."

I nodded but I barely heard him. My anxiety level was off the charts as I realized something just felt
wrong.
Neal's back was to me as he rifled through his desk and I could hear my heart thudding against my ribcage as I stared at the drawer I had seen him open in my vision.

"Here they are!" Neal's voice jarred me back to reality. His triumphant grin faded into a frown as he glanced at me. "Caitlin, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," I stuttered, but I wasn't fine. I felt like I was suffocating and the only way to get a full breath of air was to escape this room. "Let's go!"

I turned towards the door and grasped the doorknob to open it, surprised when I found that it was locked. I reached to unlock it but I froze when I heard the soft but unmistakable sound of another drawer opening. I felt as if I was moving in slow motion as I turned back to Neal, horror slamming into me when I saw him opening
that
drawer. The drawer that held the razor that had ended his life in my vision.

I felt as if I was moving through molasses as I rushed towards him, fear choking out any warning I might have tried to scream. Neal took out a black box, just like the one I had seen in my vision. I was able to grab his arm before he opened it, but he just pushed me back as if he were swatting a fly, not even looking at me. I lost my balance and slammed against his dresser, cracking my head on the sharp corner and crumpling to the floor. Pain exploded in my head and I saw black spots crowding my vision. I was terrified that I would pass out so I lay there for a few seconds, although it felt like an eternity, willing myself to stay conscious.

I tried to stand up, but my limbs felt heavy and clumsy and I had a hard time controlling my movements, as if I were drunk. I grabbed the handle of a dresser drawer, trying to pull myself up.

Neal ignored me as if I wasn't there. He opened the box to reveal a razor anchored in a cushion as if it were a ring. But the razor looked nothing like the one I had seen in my vision. In my vision, even with the dim light, I had seen light reflecting off the metal razor. But now the razor reflected shadows even though daylight was pouring through the windows. I realized with horror that the razor was made of palladium.

I scrambled upright, holding the dresser for support as I tried to funnel my energy but it flickered like a dying light bulb. I wasn't sure if it was because of the blow to the head, so soon after my last concussion, but I felt weak as I tried to gather my energy together.

Neal was staring down at the razor, unmoving, when suddenly his image fluttered, as if I was watching an old movie and the filmstrip was skipping, causing his form to flicker. Terror gripped me when I saw a silhouette slither off of Neal, as if he were shedding an old skin. The silhouette grew solid until I was staring at a carbon copy of Neal, the outline of the figure wavering is if it weren't quite real.

Neal raised his head slowly towards his vardoger, a shocked expression crossing his face even in his trance-like condition. He watched with widened eyes as his vardoger reached towards the palladium razor.

I sprang into action as quickly as I could despite my sluggishness. If I couldn't stop the vardoger with my energy, I would stop it with my body.

I crashed into Neal, trying to shove him out of the way, and we both fell to the ground. I took the brunt of the fall as Neal toppled over onto me, my shoulder smacking the floor with a bone-jarring thud.

The breath was knocked out of me as Neal scrambled up until he was standing again, still staring at his vardoger as if he had never fallen. I desperately tried to funnel my energy, knowing that I could never win physically. Hope glimmered when I felt the familiar thrumming inside of me as my energy gathered slowly, growing methodically into a furiously swirling ball of energy.

I was vaguely aware of the vardoger taking the razor from the box. Neal held out his wrists in front of him as if he were a sacrificial lamb waiting for slaughter, his eyes blank as he stared at his vardoger. The vardoger's hand holding the razor lifted and I saw one last glint of shadow as it slashed down with force. At the same exact second, I hurled my ball of energy towards the vardoger with every fiber of my being, the force of it leaving my body so strong that I involuntarily lurched into a sitting position. I slumped to the floor after the energy left me, leaving me weak and dazed.

I heard a crash in the distance but my neck felt too weak to support my head when I tried to crane it up to see the source of the sound. Moments later, I felt hands on my body and Simon's face above me, his eyes anguished. I tried to tell him I was okay, to ease the fear I saw in his face, but my mouth wouldn't form the words. I heard him talking, although it sounded muffled. I slowly forced myself to the surface until consciousness rushed over me.