Masquerade (15 page)

His fingers wrapped around mine, and
the three of us moved down the hall toward the doors. Cole rounded
the corner, his eyes fastening on Kimber. “I’ll be right back,”
Kimber said, jogging to his side. Sam and I continued outside. When
I smiled up at him, I noticed his eyes scanning the
campus.

“
You all right?” I tugged
his hand.

“
Yeah.” He pulled me
against him, wrapping his arms around me. It felt good, and I
leaned in giving him all my weight.

“
Heven, are you ready to
go?” Kimber asked from behind.

“
No.” My voice was muffled
against his chest.

I felt the subtle tightening of Sam’s
body. “You’re not going to your grandma’s?”

I tipped my chin up to see him.
“Kimber and I are going shopping at the mall.”

He didn’t seem pleased by this, but he
slowly nodded. “I’ll drive you.”

“
She can ride with me,”
Kimber protested.

I stepped out of Sam’s hold and
turned. I was surprised to see Cole standing silently beside her. I
hadn’t known he was there. “Hey, Cole.”

“
Hey, Hev.” He gave me a
smile.

“
I’m going to ride with
Sam. I’ll meet you there,” I told Kimber.

She rolled her eyes but grinned. “Are
you going to shop with us too, Sam?”

Judging from the way that
he snorted and rolled his eyes Cole didn’t like this idea. Behind
me Sam chuckled, clearly amused that he annoyed Cole. “I
have
to work.”

“
Looks like the girls are
shopping while the boys are working,” she chimed and started off
toward the parking lot.

We all followed, with Cole grabbing my
arm and towing me backward. “Hey,” he whispered.

“
Yes?” I whispered back,
smiling. I noticed that Sam stopped walking
, took a step closer to me and was staring at us.

“
Her birthday is next week.
I need help,” Cole pleaded with blue puppy-dog eyes. It would have
worked better if they were gold.

Still, I giggled. “Let me think about
it. I’ll get back to you.”

“
Call me.”

Sam rea
ched
over to gently pull my arm out
of Cole’s grasp, his hand sliding down into mine. Cole’s eyes
narrowed. “I’ll call you this weekend,” I promised, towing Sam away
hoping to diffuse whatever testosterone was flowing.

In the truck Sam started the engine.
“I don’t like that guy.”

“
Cole?”

He nodded, and I let go of
my
seatbelt, sending it flinging
backwards. “He’s
my friend.”

“
Is he?”

I gasped. “Yes! He and Kimber were the
only people who treated me normal and didn’t whisper behind my back
when I came back to school like this!” I gestured at my
face.

“
Calm down.” He reached
across me and buckled my seatbelt.

I stuttered at the feel of his warm
hands brushing across my skin. His hand pulled away, but he was
still close. “I’m sorry.” His breath brushed over me. It smelled
like peppermint.

I nodded, dumbly. He smiled and leaned
closer to kiss me, but stopped short, mere inches from my lips. I
made a sound and he smiled, the corners of his lips tilting up,
then he brushed his lips across mine. When he pulled away he
chuckled and kissed the tip of my nose before pulling the truck out
into traffic.

My skin tingled for a few moments
before fading away. “You did that on purpose, trying to make me
forget I was angry.”

“
Did it work?” His eyes
twinkled.

“
Maybe.” I smiled. “But–”
My smile disappeared. “–it upsets me that you two don’t get
along.”

“
We’re never going to be
friends, Heven.”

“
Could you try to get
along?”

A muscle worked in his jaw and I
thought he would say no. But then he sighed. “Okay.”

“
Oh,
thank you!” I unclasped the
seatbelt
and flung myself over and hugged his neck.

He laughed. “Put your seat belt
on!”

I used the lap belt in the middle to
stay closer to him. The parking lot at the mall was crowded, making
me nervous as to what would be inside. I was beginning to feel more
comfortable at school and in more familiar places, but this was a
large place with a lot of people.

My anxiety must have shown because Sam
said, “Want me to take you to your grandma’s instead?”

Kimber was already waiting at the
entrance. “No. I’ll be okay.”

He seemed disappointed. “I got you
something.”

“
You did?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled
out something on a black cord. “I thought you could wear
it.”

“
What is it?” I took his
hand and flipped it up. He opened his fingers and revealed
something small and shiny in his palm.

“
A whistle?”

He smiled. “It’s a special whistle. It
makes a sound so high that only animals can hear it.”

“
Like a dog whistle?” I
thought back to last night.

“
Kind of. The sound is so
piercing it will give you a chance to get away.”

“
Is this because of last
night?”

He nodded, his eyes searching
mine.

“
I don’t think I’ll get
attacked by a dog at the mall,” I said lightly.

“
I didn’t like seeing you
like that last night. I felt…helpless. The thought of you like that
again…I just want to you to be safe.”

I put a finger to his lips. “I’ll wear
it.” Anything to take away the look of pain on his face.

He quickly slipped the cord over my
head. The whistle was small and light and I tucked it beneath my
shirt. “Thank you,” he said, resting his forehead against
mine.

I touched my lips to his. “Can’t wait
‘til tomorrow,” I said, pulling back.

“
Me neither,” he agreed,
kissing me again.

“
I have to go,” I said
against his lips.

He made a sound in his throat but
released me. “I’ll call you later.” He seemed worried all over
again.

“
Bye.” I ran across the
pavement toward Kimber, the cold metal of the whistle against me
the entire way.

Chapter Ten

Sam

I looked out over the
lake, watching the couple row clumsily away in their little boat. I
hoped they figured out how to paddle sooner rather than later
because I didn’t much feel like fishing them out of the water. I
watched as the boat rocked unsteadily, and the girl squealed. At
the last moment the man righted the boat and smiled. He sunk the
oar into the water and pushed off, sending the boat gliding
forward. I guess he had been paying attention to me after all as I
explained how to row. Maybe he had been teasing his date with the
thought of falling into the water.

I wondered what it would
be like to be so carefree. To be innocent to the real dangers that
lurked out there. I hadn’t known a moment like that in years. I
turned away from the boaters and glanced over at the rental shack
to make sure that no one else waited. For the moment I was
alone.

I glanced down at my
watch. I had two hours until I got off. Two hours until I would see
her. I itched to see her, to know that she was safe. I hated having
to work so much, I often worried that one day my jobs would get in
the way of her safety. It was all the more reason that I get rid of
the threat.

My dark thoughts got the
best of me and I pulled out my prepaid cell and typed up a quick
text message.
Are we still on for
2nite?

Sharp relief and then
happiness washed over me when my phone beeped just seconds
later.
Yes. C u tonight.

I tucked the phone into my pocket and
looked back at the boaters. They were far out now but I could still
hear their laughter. Maybe tonight I would try and capture some of
that. I never thought that I would get the chance to go on a date
with her. I felt a little guilty because I had to lie to get the
date. I have to lie about everything. Except for my feelings. Those
were true. And they were the one thing I could say out
loud.

It made me wonder…

If I could make her love me. Maybe
then my secrets wouldn’t matter as much. Maybe then she would
understand.

I shook my head. She
couldn’t love me. And if by some chance she did, how could I admit
what I am and the part I played in her torment? It would wipe out
whatever feelings she had.

But we had tonight.

All I had to do was figure out a way
to make it special.

Another couple pulled up
and walked to the rental shack. I rented them a boat and gave them
a run-down of safety and how-tos. They were nice people, and I was
in a good mood because I was looking forward to tonight, so I took
the time to explain a few tips and tricks when out in the
water.

I helped the man at the
shoreline and held the boat as they climbed in. Once they were
settled the man looked up at me. “Do you have someone special,
son?”

His words sent a pang of
longing through me. No one has called me son for a long
time.

“
Yes.”

“
I thought you might,” he
said, grinning like we shared a secret.

He could only imagine my
secrets.

“
I own a big lake house
across the lake. We are having a big party tonight, and I am
setting off fireworks. If you follow the little road there,” he
said, pointing to the dirt road that went past the boat rental
parking lot. “You’ll find a nice clearing on the water. Perfect
view for watching fireworks.”

“
Thanks.” I grinned,
thrilled with the idea. It was exactly the kind of thing I was
looking for. “I might take you up on that.”

The man smiled, and I gave
the boat a push out into the water.

Excitement coursed through
my body, making my limbs shake in anticipation. My skin felt tight
over my muscles, and I sighed. Sometimes living in this body was a
burden. It felt as though I walked around pumped full of adrenaline
at all times, and when anything happened that actually excited
me
–
good or
not
–
my body
responded by trying to change. I guess it was its way of trying to
expel some of that excess energy, but it wasn’t always practical
and sometimes I felt like a caged animal. Most times I could
control it, but lately, I had to work harder. Knowing that Heven
was in danger, knowing I was the only one to keep her safe…I could
never let down my guard and because of that I was in a constant
state of battle. I got tired of battling with myself.

But it wasn’t all bad. I
had awesome reflexes and my hearing was unparalleled to anyone
else. My eyes could pick up even the smallest detail and could take
in an entire room in mere seconds. Running was always a rush
because I was fast and breaking a sweat always made me feel better.
More in control. I think that’s why I liked my job at Planet
Fitness so much. Working out was an outlet for all that excess
energy.

Then there was the really
cool stuff. I smiled up at the sky, thinking of all the awesome
stuff I could do. I was waterproof
.
I could never drown, and I could swim like an
Olympic medalist. I was fireproof too. I could stand in the middle
of a raging fire, and I would hardly break a sweat.

Yes, sometimes living in
my body had its benefits. I wondered if Heven would see it that way
too?

When my shift finally
ended, I took the truck back down the dirt road that the man from
earlier told me about. I wanted to make sure that there really was
a clearing and that there were houses across the lake. I wasn’t
about to look like an idiot in front of Heven, taking her out into
the dark and then have nothing happen.

The clearing was there,
and it appeared that I wasn’t the only one who had ever been there.
I smiled and turned my truck in the opposite direction. On the
short drive back into town I passed a few fruit stands and another
stand that wasn’t there earlier when I drove to work. On impulse I
pulled the truck over and got out, walking over to see what the
woman was selling.

It was a small table, with
a white cloth covering the top. Jewelry and trinkets were lined up
in rows and there were some earrings on some kind of stand. My eye
caught on a locket, heart shaped, off to the side. I reached out my
fingers to pick it up when a voice beside me froze my
hand.

“
You don’t want
that.”

I turned and lifted an
eyebrow. “No?” What kind of sales lady was this? Was she trying to
talk me
out
of
buying something?

“
No.” She shook her head.
She had very dark hair and her face was shaded by a hat.