Fractured Light (16 page)

“So which is it?”

He threw up his hands. “I don’t know. I only heard about it. I don’t remember the details.”

“Then what about my dad’s accident?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Knight said my dad was being careless. Why would he say that?”

Jake clenched his fists. “It’s none of his business.”

“But why would he say that? Is there something I don’t know about my father’s death?”

“I’m not having this conversation.” He stood up. “I’ll be in my room.”

“Jake—”

“Another time, Tink.” He disappeared before I could say another word.

The doorbell rang at noon. I quickly pulled a beanie over my messy hair and opened the door.

“Hi, Matt, Tracey,” I said. “What are you guys doing?” Tracey looked like she was attending a movie premiere. She always did look her best around Matt. I suspected she had a major crush on him, but he was oblivious.

“We were at the library. Here’s my math book.” He handed it to me.

“Right. Thanks. Come on in.”

“I like your house,” Tracey said, her cheeks puffed when she breathed. With her short brown hair and brown eyes, she reminded me of a chipmunk. “I bet it’s fun to have a mountain in your backyard.”

“I like it. Have a seat.”

“How’re you feeling?” Matt asked.

“I’m good, much better.”

“You make it home okay last night?”

“In one piece.”

“I felt bad leaving you like that, especially after Christian tore into me.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked if I dropped you off at home. When I said you wanted me to take you to the park, he completely freaked out. I thought he was going to punch me, but he didn’t. Did he ever find you?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you okay?”

I wondered how much to tell him. I didn’t want him to feel bad. “I was fine. He didn’t need to worry.”

“Good. Do you want any help studying?”

“No, I got it, but thanks.”

“Do your parents work on Saturday?” Tracey asked.

“I live with my uncle. Are you guys doing anything fun today?” I quickly changed the subject before she could inquire further. I hated explaining why I didn’t live with my parents.

Tracey looked at Matt expectantly. Matt didn’t notice. “Um, no. I have to go home and help my dad. We’re remodeling our basement.”

“That sounds fun. What about you, Tracey?”

“No plans. My parents are out of town, so it’s just me. Are you doing anything?”

“No. Just hanging out.”

“Do you want to go shopping?”

I hesitated. My expression must have been awfully grim, because Tracey said, “That’s okay. We can do it another time.”

“No. That’s not it at all. It’s just that—well, I have to go to the police station.”

“Why?” Tracey and Matt said together.

I took a deep breath and told them what had happened.

“Wow,” Matt said. “That sucks.”

“I heard on the news they found another body. I can’t believe you’re involved,” Tracey said.

“Hoping to be uninvolved by this afternoon.”

Tracey stood up. “Why don’t I go with you? Then, if you feel like it, we could go shopping afterwards.”

“Yeah. Sure. Why not?” At least it would take my mind off the blood-soaked hair.

I gave the police my statement, which wasn’t very long since I didn’t know anything to begin with, and then Tracey and I drove to the mall. I never did like shopping—of course I always did it alone so the whole experience never lasted long. “In-and-out” that was my motto, but being with a friend suddenly made the whole experience new and exciting.

We shopped for a little while and then decided to take a break and eat. We sat down at a table in front of a restaurant kiosk that served just about every kind of food you could think of on a stick. I was leery at first, but quickly found that for some reason food did taste better on a stick.

Tracey took a long sip from her soda. “What are you doing tonight?” she asked.

“Christian’s coming over.”

“Are you two dating?”

“Not sure.”

“Then you are. You just need to make it official. Maybe that’s what tonight’s about. You should—” Tracey grabbed my arm suddenly, eyes wide. “You’ll never believe who’s walking toward us.”

I turned around, but regretted it a second later because all of a sudden I went weak. Strolling toward us, as if a super spy in a preview for a blockbuster thriller, was Mr. Steele. At any moment I waited for him to pull a shiny revolver from behind his back and arrest the skinny wiener man behind the counter for being a terrorist.

“Hello, girls,” Mr. Steele said.

“Hello, Mr. Steele,” Tracey chimed back.

“I didn’t know you two were friends.” He smiled.

Tracey winked at me. “Best,” she said.

“That’s wonderful. It’s good to see two kids from different groups become friends.” He touched my shoulder. “I want you to know, Llona, that those boys were punished.”

I think I nodded.

“Did you get home all right?”

I mumbled something. It must have been an acceptable answer, because Mr. Steele said, “Good. You girls have fun and stay out of trouble.”

“We will,” Tracey called after him. She turned to me. “He has got to be the hottest man I know. Don’t you think?”

My senses returned. “For a teacher, yes.”

“So what boys was he talking about?” she asked.

I chewed the last of the cheese off the stick. “Just some rowdy guys from the game last night.”

By the time we were done shopping, I ended up with two new pairs of jeans and several tops that I would never have had the courage to pick out on my own. I chose one of these pieces, a black punk-style T-shirt with a black blazer and a pair of jeans, to wear on my date with Christian—if it was a date.

Jake returned with Heidi shortly before Christian arrived. It was good to finally meet the woman who occupied his thoughts. Heidi was very pretty, like Jake said. She had black spiky hair and dressed skater—exactly the type Jake would go for. After we finished talking, she even agreed to play old school Nintendo with Jake. She was definitely a keeper.

I finished my hair, which I actually curled and left down (but I still put a hat on) and then waited for Christian in the living room. Five minutes before he was to arrive, the doorbell rang.

“You’re early,” I said to Christian, who stood in my doorway looking exceptionally good. It wasn’t that he was wearing anything special, but his jeans and blue T-shirt fit his muscular frame like a glove.

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t late. I remember how mad you got last time. Are you doing better today?”

“Much, and I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at myself.”

“For what?”

“For letting myself become distracted. I’ve always done things a certain way and since I met you, I’ve been doing things differently.”

“Is that good?”

I nodded. “I think so. I guess I just got scared, but after what you did for me last night, I don’t see how I can’t trust you. And others for that matter. It’s time I let go of my fears.” I squared my shoulders.

His arms came around me. “You are the bravest person I know.” His tone was mocking, but his expression was serious.

I lifted an eyebrow. “That’s nice of you to say, but you don’t know me.”

“I know you better than you think I do.”

“What does that mean?”

He smiled. “I’ve got something special planned tonight.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Okay.”

“But before we go, I need to give you some bad news.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me. “And then afterward, I want you to forget it. It means nothing. It was just a coincidence.”

I swallowed and waited for him to continue.

“The woman they found last night. She was the mother of one of the boys who attacked you.”

My knees went weak, and I sat down on the nearest chair. “Why didn’t the police say anything?”

“I asked them not to. I wanted to be the one to tell you. They had my statement and Mr. Steele’s. If they needed more information, they said they’d talk to you after a few days.”

I looked up at him. “What does this mean?”

“Nothing. Like I said, a coincidence.”

“Who do they think did it?”

He shook his head. “They didn’t say, but they know it’s the same person who killed that other woman. And she had nothing to do with you. So don’t worry.”

But the last murder did have something to do with me. Her shoe anyway. I inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm. Christian was right. I needed to forget about this. Shove it as far down as I could.

“You’ve had a rough time, but tonight I want to give you something else to think about, okay?”

I barely nodded.

“Good.” He took my hand and led me outside toward his SUV.

I stopped him halfway. “By the way, why were you late that night you asked me to meet you in the woods?”

He looked down. “I had something very important to do.”

“At midnight?”

He looked me in the eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you, but not now. Is that all right?”

I guess it didn’t matter. I had worse things to stress about. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it is. And I promise to tell you when the time is right.”

I nodded. “Come on, let’s go.” I was so ready to think about something else.

We didn’t stay in town. Instead, Christian drove up a canyon toward Park City. The light from the setting sun blanketed the valley, changing the autumn leaves into golden ribbons of yellows, reds, and oranges.

“This is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it,” I said. “I thought you’d enjoy it. I love coming up here this time of day. It’s so peaceful—just what you need.”

“Can we pull over?” I had a crazy urge to touch the golden leaves to see if they were real.

He nodded. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. There’s a pull-off just up ahead.”

I was expecting it to be more of a rest stop, but it was exactly as he said. There was barely enough room for his car to park alongside the shoulder. When I stepped out of the car, I practically tripped over a concrete barrier. On the other side, the ground dropped off sharply and at the bottom was a small creek. It reminded me of my babbling brook.

Christian rounded the car and joined me. “Get on my back. I’ll carry you down.”

“That’s okay. I can make it,” I lied as I imagined myself rolling end-over-end until I belly flopped into the water. Even though I felt better, I didn’t feel steep-hill good.

“Whatever. Get on my back.” He turned around.

Reluctantly, I put my arms around his neck and jumped up; my legs wrapped around his waist. He groaned.

“Am I hurting you?” I cried. I tried to get off, but he clung to my legs, laughing.

“I’m just kidding. I can barely feel you.”

I stared down the steep incline. “You sure you can do this?”

“Have you ever seen
The Man from Snowy River
?”

“No.”

“Huh. Well, this is going to seem a lot less impressive then. Hang on!” He leapt over the concrete barrier and practically ran down. With every step his foot slid, and I thought for sure we were going to eat it, but somehow he maintained his balance. I placed my chin on his shoulder to keep my head from bouncing all over. My cheeks flushed when I felt the heat from his neck warm my skin. Before I knew it, we were at the bottom. He let go of my legs, dropping me to the ground.

“You’re like a freaking Sherpa,” I said and grinned.

He laughed. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

I followed behind him alongside the creek. The further upstream we walked, the brighter the light became and the more magnificent the colors. After a short distance he stopped at a rock wall where a miniature waterfall spilled from a rocky ledge, spraying the trees around it. The sun on the wet leaves transformed them into thousands of jewels: rubies, topaz, and garnets. The only word I could come up with to describe the luminescent trees was “celestial.” I stared, mouth open.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Christian whispered.

I simply nodded.

And then something strange happened.

Light jumped inside me, giving me a huge adrenalin rush. It seemed to push away the anxiety still lingering from the previous night. I gasped for air and staggered to the side. Christian caught me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I, I don’t know,” I stuttered. My insides vibrated like a tuning fork. I took several deep breaths until, very slowly, I felt Light retreat back to wherever it went when the moon was small.

“Do you need to sit down?”

I shook my head. “I think I’m okay now. That was weird.”