Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1) (4 page)

BOOK: Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1)
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                                                                                    Chapter Six

Luna trudged down the sidewalk quickly with her backpack slung over her shoulder. Thoughts of the dinner that she would be forced to have with Chance stained her mind. She knew it would be a long day with her mind plagued with her impending misery. She sighed and looked up at the road ahead of her. She could see Violet waiting for her and she jogged until she reached her. Luna had managed to go an entire evening without saying a bad thing about Chance (out loud at least) and now she felt like she was going to explode. She slowed down and they began to walk towards the school.

“So, how are you today?” Luna asked Violet.

She shrugged. “I’m okay, the same as always. I hope you’re feeling better today than you did yesterday.”

“I feel the same,” she replied as she remembered yesterday.

“Oh, and why’s that?” Violet asked.

“I’m officially tired of Chance,” Luna said and winced as soon as she finished her sentence.

Violet sighed. “Why, what did he do
this
time? Did he smile at you?”

“No, well, yeah, he always does when I get mad, but that’s not the point. It’s a long story but in a nutshell he chased me with water balloons again, and I fell and knocked out my tooth when I was walking home yesterday,” Luna said. She wouldn’t add the part that he had asked her out earlier that day. That secret she would take to her grave.

“Oh,” Violet said. “I’d be pretty mad about that too. I mean it’s not gonna grow back.”

Luna felt her words tugging at her agitation as she remembered having thought the same thing. “That’s not even the worst part,” she said surprised that Violet was actually on her side for once.

“Why? What else happened?” Violet asked.

“He came over my house and told my dad that I tried to beat him up,” she said. “David believed him too ‘cuz he played like he was innocent. He could’ve fooled me too if I didn’t know better.”

“Why would Chance do that?” Violet asked sounding skeptical, and Luna could tell she thought she was just being paranoid. “He’s popular and could be hanging with anyone he wants…why would he be purposefully causing you trouble?”

Luna shrugged. “That’s what I want to know.”

“I bet David wasn’t happy, was he?” she asked. “I mean you’re like a straight A student with no problems.”

“No, he thought I was so bad that he called my mom,” Luna said trailing off.

“Then you’re a dead man walking,” Violet snorted. “If I were you then I’d avoid going home anytime after you graduate. Maybe you should move to France or something.”

“I wish I was a dead man walking. My punishment is far worse than that,” Luna said. “At least if she killed me I’d be out of my misery.”

Violet looked at her in disbelief. “That doesn’t sound pleasant.”             

“You’re right, it’s not, I have to go out with Chance tonight,” she said scrunching up her face at the unpleasant thought of her unavoidable evening. “And then I have to go to the dance with him this weekend.”

“What’s so bad about that?” Violet asked.

She turned to her in disbelief. “I
hate
him. I want
nothing
to do with him! I don’t want to go on a date with him. I tell you everyday how much I want him to leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on, Luna! I would
kill
to go on a date with a guy like that! What is your problem?” she asked.


My
problem? Try
he’s
the problem for once!” Luna said exasperated.

“There has to be something wrong with you,” Violet said chuckling a bit.

“If you want to go with him you can gladly take my place,” Luna said making sure that she enunciated each word as best as she could. “As a matter of fact, I’ll pay you to go for me and that way we both win.”

Violet’s heart fluttered at the thought of going with Chance to Homecoming, she couldn’t think of a thing better. But she knew that that wouldn’t work. Violet knew he wanted to take Luna, not her.

“As much as I’d love to date Chance, I’ll pass. That’s your responsibility, not mine,” she said trying her best to calm her over fluttering heart. “I’m not gonna do your ‘punishment’ for you.”

By now they reached the school and Violet parted from Luna without a goodbye. Luna frowned after her feeling as if there was never a better time to have a break away from her ‘friend’. Violet was beyond obsessed with Chance but no matter how much Luna thought about it she always came up with the same question. What was so great about him?

She kept watching as Violet disappeared into the sea of teenagers and she couldn’t help but to wonder about this school. Was there anyone besides her that saw through Chance’s charm or did they all fall for his trick?

She walked up towards the school. She pushed her way inside and into the quiet study hall. She glanced around for a minute and didn’t spot Chance or any of his annoying friends. She smiled to herself before she sat down at an empty table. She set her backpack on the chair beside her and pulled out a bright green notebook. She set it on the table and flipped through it to her notes. Suddenly she heard a creak at the table as somebody sat down. She winced, hoping it wasn’t Chance. Slowly, she looked up and met Amy’s gaze.

Amy smiled at Luna in a friendly way. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Luna replied.

Amy turned her attention to her backpack, and Luna stared at her for a moment. She had waist long brown hair and brown eyes to match. She was extremely small for her age and she got made fun of for it. Luna had met her when she stopped a bully from teasing her a year ago. Amy was an outcast just like Violet and Luna.

“So, is it true?” she asked quietly as she looked up suddenly from her searching.

“Is what true?” Luna asked her confused.

“Are you really going on a date with Chance?” she questioned and her eyes glittered surprise.

She stared at Amy in disbelief. Amy was a shy and soft-spoken girl. She didn’t keep tabs on things like who was dating who yet she knew that fact already. Luna frowned, maybe Violet
was
a big gossip.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to,” she said looking back down at her notebook. “Long story short…it’s a punishment.”

“I wouldn’t want to either,” Amy said and she looked away from her as she opened her English book on the table.

Luna smiled to herself, finally someone that took her side instead of his. The smile vanished almost instantly as once again she wondered how Amy knew about her date with Chance. Had Violet told the entire school or had it been Chance?

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chance yawned and flexed his fingers around the steering wheel of his Honda Ridgeline. It was morning once again and he was on his way to Shawnee High school for another boring day. Another day full of all those people that never truly appreciated him. He growled slightly in his throat; that was the most aggravating thing in his opinion.

He yawned again and tried clearing out his mind. Thoughts of last night (the memories of Kate’s murder) seemed vague and distant like it had only been a dream. He knew better than that though; it had been real. This fuzzy distant feeling usually enveloped him when he came back to his normal mind after having slipped into That mind for an extended chunk of time. He was fully aware that he had killed Kate, but he couldn’t seem to remember what else he had done after. Had he finished his ritual the way he had planned? Had he even gotten rid of the body where they wouldn’t be able to trace it back to him?

He had tried all morning, but couldn’t seem to remember what he had done. He knew better than to go back to the crime scene. He had washed all traces of himself from it and going back was dangerous. Too dangerous to risk. He had to forget and move on. Just like the crimes that had gotten him sentenced to juvy.

Tonight was his dinner with Luna anyways. He would be busy and didn’t need distractions like this weighing on his mind. He tried to focus on his driving and put his past behind him. Just a few streets left until he was at school and then he’d need to be all smiles. He’d need to be the oh-so-blithe and popular Chance that the whole school expected him to be.

He sighed as the school finally came into view. There were already plenty of kids milling about. Some of them were waiting for him he knew. He recognized two figures suddenly as he passed them…Violet and Luna. He could see Luna’s face looked red, she was already angry, and so early in the morning too.

Then Violet parted away and he hurried to park his Honda Ridgeline in the parking lot. He was definitely unhappy with the way she had left things. He had to take care of that unfinished business with her. By the time he got out of the truck, Violet was passing him, perfect.

He trotted up to her intent obvious in his truculent form. “So, why’d you lie to me?”

She turned to him, startled at first and then her eyes filled with desire. He flinched, the look both disgusted and angered him.

“I didn’t lie to you,” she said simply.

“Really? Well, I asked out Luna,” he began bitterly.

“I know, she was upset, she was just te-“she said when he cut her off.

“She laughed in my face,” he spat angrily. “There is no way that girl feels anything for me. Why did you set me up?”

Violet swallowed uncomfortably knowing he had her cornered. What could she say? “I’m telling you she’s hard to get is all. You can’t give up just like that.”

He stopped dead and she did too. “Don’t think I’m stupid. You’re lying to me I can tell. I just don’t know why you’re doing it.”

“I-I-“she stuttered.

Chance walked away without another word to her. In his mind he flashed through last night images of Kate though instead of Kate he was slitting Violet’s throat and all her disgusting blood was running…covering his hands and his body.

She disgusted him; he couldn’t believe that he thought someone like her would help. She was unpopular sure, but she was just the same as the rest of the girls.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Violet stared after him shocked. Of course he was upset, she had lied to him…she just thought that she wouldn’t have gotten caught. Of course Luna would do what she did. Luna was lunar crazy.

If a guy like Chance had asked
her
out she would’ve felt her heart stop. Why couldn’t Luna make anything easy at all? She had finally gotten Chance to talk to her…but now he was angry at her because of Luna. She couldn’t help but feel sore.

It reminded her of the time she had gone camping when she had been younger, and her brother was still a toddler. She had tricked him into pulling a skunk’s tail and getting sprayed. He had been sore at her and so had her parents for the rest of the trip. She had gone through the remainder of that trip feeling hollow and sad.

That’s how she felt now, and she hated it. Luna had been her closest friend and she had jeopardized it for Chance. Maybe he wasn’t worth it. She frowned; maybe she should just try to fix things with Luna before she lost her best friend forever.

                                                                      Chapter Seven

“Come on, we should go find that freak,” Susan sighed unhappily to Sarah and Maddie.

She felt so determined to help Chance despite herself. She had been hoping that Chance would decide to take her to this dance. It would’ve made her evening pure magic. But instead he was taking some loner loser. She hated Luna now with a jealous passion, but she had been up half the night trying to convince herself that this could be fun. She hadn’t been successful. She found herself tired and dreading today more than ever.

“Are you really gonna do it?” Maddie asked.

“Yeah, Chance is expecting it,” Susan said. He might not be taking her to the dance this time, but he was depending on her to help him. She meant something to him, and she was hoping that maybe if she stayed on his good side then he would take her to the next one.

Maddie shrugged. “All right, if you’re sure.”

Together they walked in their triangular form (pointing death arrow form Chance always called it) down the hall.

“Kate is so lucky she got herself out of this,” Maddie said.

Sarah raised her eyebrows in silent agreement.

“Speaking of which…have either of you two tried talking to her today?” Susan asked. “I tried calling her this morning, but I got no answer. That’s not like her.”

“She wasn’t in first hour either,” Maddie said.

“That’s odd,” Susan said.

“Maybe this thing actually made the bitch ill,” Maddie scoffed.

Susan shrugged. “I don’t blame her. I’ll have to stop by her house later and see what’s up.”

“But first we have work to do,” Sarah reminded her pointing down the hall.

Susan looked where her sister gestured and noticed Luna shifting books about in her locker. Thoughts of Kate vanished like cobwebs in the rain as that jealous anger burned her up inside.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna sighed and set her textbook into the locker before she pulled out her history book. It was halfway through lunch and since she hadn’t been hungry she had ducked out to get some extra study time. She closed the door to her locker and turned towards the empty hall. She gasped in surprise as she almost turned right into a girl with waist length brown hair that was tied into a ponytail with a white hair ribbon and glittering green eyes that gleamed at her.

“Hi, Luna,” she said.

Luna let out a breath of air and took a step back as she recognized Susan Cross. She knew Susan didn’t like her just like she didn’t like Susan…so why was she talking to her?

“Um…hi?” Luna replied as she looked at the two girls that stood behind her. One had dusty blonde hair and dark eyes and the other a brunette with piercing blue eyes. She didn’t recognize either of them but guessed they were probably cheerleaders as well.

“Chance told me you two are going to the dance and he wants me to take you dress shopping,” Susan said.

“No, that’s okay,” Luna said as she tried to push past her.
Chance, it’s always because of Chance
, she thought.

Susan grasped Luna’s arm in her hand and she looked at it. She saw Susan’s distinctive heart shaped birth mark on her pale skin. “No, honey, I insist. Me and the girls were gonna cut the rest of the day to go look for dresses and Chance wants me to bring you. So, come on. You really don’t have a choice.”

Luna stared back at her feeling anger fill her up inside and then she looked at each of the two girls behind her. Why in the world were they so determined to help Chance? Luna knew it didn’t really matter, she was trapped either way.

“Okay,” she said to her finally.

Susan smiled and let go of Luna’s arm leaving a few deep marks from her nails. “Okay, let’s go.”

Luna followed behind her as she turned and walked down the hallway. Behind her the two girls formed a kind of barrier. She hadn’t been kidding when she had said Luna didn’t have a choice. Idly she wondered what was happening to her. Luna had been a straight A student and now she was skipping school to go dress shopping with girls she hated just to go on a date with her worst enemy.

Shawnee High School students would absolutely love to hear about this.

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My car’s right here,” Susan said pointing to a pink convertible.

Luna snorted quietly to herself. Susan’s car looked like Barbie’s.

She pulled open the passenger door and undid all the locks. The two girls climbed into the back seat, and Luna reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat besides Susan. She turned on the engine and began to drive down the road.

“I know the perfect place to look for dresses,” Susan said.

“You said that before but the last place was horrid,” one of the girls in the back seat said. Luna turned and noticed it the girl with the dark eyes that had spoken.

“Oh, come on, Maddie, it wasn’t that bad,” Susan said.

“Sure,” Maddie replied.

“Well, I promise this time will be different,” Susan said.

“Why are you doing this?” Luna asked Susan suddenly not at all caring for their chit-chat.

“Doing what?” she asked confused.

Luna sighed in annoyance. These girls didn’t have terribly high G.P.A.s but she didn’t think they were this dull. She was almost certain that kidnapping wasn’t part of their daily routine, but she was acting like this was perfectly normal. “Why are you taking me with you?”

“Chance told me to,” she replied shrugging. “He said he wanted you to look nice for the dance. And fixing people up is a specialty of mine.”

“Do you do everything that he asks?” Luna asked her.

She looked thoughtful. “Well, we’re good friends…what can I say? And I absolutely love fashion! It’s no trouble to help you dress shop.” The words were like rocks in her throat. It was true that she loved dress shopping but to help this girl out (that she was insanely jealous of) she didn’t much care for it.

Luna sighed again, she didn’t fit in with these girls at all. “Do you want to go with Chance?” she asked her curiously.

Susan looked at Luna for a minute before she looked back at the road. “Yeah, I’d love that honestly.”

“Then take my place. Tell him I got sick and can’t make it,” Luna said nearly pleading.

She laughed. “Are you kidding me? You’d really give up a date with him?”

Luna nodded knowing there had never been an easier question in her life. “Yeah, I would. So, what do you say?”

“I would love to go with Chance, he’s so amazing,” she gushed. “But he wants to go with you.”

Luna frowned-not the answer she had been hoping for. “I’m sure he’s just trying to make someone jealous.”

Susan shrugged. “That doesn’t seem like him.”

Luna snorted and looked out the window. How did everyone else see Chance? The boy Susan was talking about sounded nothing like the Chance that she was so used to. Luna wondered if they were talking about the same person.

“Okay, we’re here,” Susan said suddenly.

Luna looked up at the building and realized they were parked outside of the mall. Luna hadn’t been there in a long time. She had still been wearing dresses, a young child, when Rose had taken her here. She hadn’t come back since and for good reason. Susan turned off the engine while Maddie and Sarah climbed out of the backseat. Luna climbed out at the same time that Susan did and followed behind the girls as they headed towards the mall.

“The store is a family owned business that just opened up. You girls will love it,” Susan said.

Nobody spoke as they made their way through the crowded building. She knew Maddie and Sarah were doubtful and she honestly didn’t care much. They rode the escalator up to the next level of the mall and walked slowly through the crowds of people.

“It’s just a little bit farther up ahead,” Susan said.

Suddenly she stopped and Luna did too. She was looking up at a small building with a sign that read “Midnight Apparels.” She stepped into the building and the girls followed behind her. Inside the building it was brightly lit with many racks of dresses all across the floor. Maddie and Sarah spread out and went across the store to look at dresses on a rack by the wall while Susan turned to Luna who stayed hesitantly near the door. Never in her life had she been dress shopping before.

“Hmm, let’s see. I think you’d look better in a nice summer color,” Susan said sensing her nervousness and then turned to the nearest rack to sort through the dresses. Luna sighed and looked around the store absently as Susan browsed. The thought of dress shopping wasn’t the least bit interesting to her.

“Here, try this one,” Susan said at the same time she tossed a yellow dress at Luna.

She looked at it and grimaced but swallowed her tongue and looked for the changing rooms. She went inside and closed the door behind her. Sighing, she pulled off her rather boyish clothes and slid the yellow dress into place. Though she didn’t care for the color, she had to admit that the fabric felt soft and hugged her curves nicely.

Luna pushed open the door and looked for Susan. She was standing by the same rack she had been by earlier and she was holding up two dresses. A pink one and a purple one. Luna walked up to her.

“Oh, you look marvelous! Chance will be so pleased!” Susan said happily. Then her attention returned to the two dresses that she had been frowning at. “Which one do you think I would look good in?”

Luna shrugged. “Maybe the pink one?”

She frowned at it before she lifted it up higher. “You know what? I’m going to try it on,” she said and smiled at her as she walked past.

Susan disappeared into the changing rooms on the other end of the store. Luna watched her go and then looked down at herself and the yellow dress that she still wore. The fact she was doing this for Chance flooded her mind and she wondered if she was losing a grip on who she really was.

                                                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susan admired her reflection in the tiny changing room. Luna had been right, the pink
did
make her look good. She frowned at her reflection slightly at the thought of the loner. Luna was a lot different than what she had been expecting. She was distant sure but she seemed really sweet…and horrified with Chance. Susan couldn’t quite understand it.

She shook her head to leave the room and found Luna still standing where she had left her. She was frowning down at her dress, her raven dark hair falling in curls midway down her back.

“How do I look?” Susan asked her, twirling like a ballerina.

Luna smiled in a genuinely sweet way. “Beautiful.”

Susan felt herself blush…the girl really was sweet. She noticed Luna’s gaze drift back down to her own dress and the frown reappeared on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Susan found herself asking.

“It’s a really pretty dress, but I can’t afford this,” she admitted, looking back up at Susan.

“Oh, doll, don’t worry about it,” she replied. She opened her tiny purse (which was quite doll like itself) and pulled out a wad of money. “Chance gave me this to spend on you in preparation. Don’t worry about a thing because you’re all taken care of.”

“Really?” she asked looking shocked.

Susan couldn’t seem to understand that reaction either. There was a lot that she didn’t quite understand about her. “Yes, really.”

Luna looked back down at the floor, unreadable emotions on her face. Now Susan frowned. She may not understand this girl but she had noticed that whenever Chance’s name was mentioned, Luna folded in on herself. Was there something bad about Chance that only she knew?

                                                                      Chapter Eight

A loud knock sounded suddenly on the door. Luna kept her eyes on the TV as she sat on the couch with David. As the sound faded into the room, she pretended she hadn’t heard it. Luna felt David staring at her expectantly.

It was the night that Chance was supposed to take her out for dinner. Of course she wasn’t looking forward to it. The yellow dress she had bought earlier with Susan was stuffed away in her closet and so were her unusual emotions that had come with it. Now she was feeling back to herself and that meant dreading every part of this date.

Luna looked at her father. “You answer it,” she said to him. She already knew who was at the door and didn’t want to open it. If it was up to her, she
wouldn’t
open it. Ever.

David sighed and got up. She set her head on the couch and looked up at the ceiling as she tried to block out her surroundings. She heard the door creak open to its extent.

“Hello, Luna. Are you ready to go?” Luna recognized Chance’s voice immediately.

She didn’t move to look at him as she stared at a cobweb that clung to the ceiling. For that moment she envied the spider, the lucky little thing got to stay in the safety of her home while she had to be thrust out into the world with her worst enemy.

“Well, Luna?” David’s voice said after a minute. “Aren’t you going to say hi?”

BOOK: Dead by Morning (Rituals of the Night Book 1)
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