Mirage (24 page)

“Thank you,” she said with an amused smile. “And thank you for that charming colloquialism.”

I studied her features, searching my instincts. She seemed genuine—but then, so had Dr. Blackwell. Still, I didn’t sense any sort of manipulation. I only sensed sincerity. Worry. Aidan
meant
something to her, I realized.

Because she had created him? Was there something akin to a parental bond between a vampire and those she had turned? I had no idea.

Almost immediately, thoughts that weren’t my own flooded my mind. Just words and phrases, snippets.

Edward’s son. Royal blood; our crown jewel. He can’t know, not yet. Not till war erupts.

Accompanying the words was one single image—Aidan’s face.

21 ~ Friendship 101

A
fter breaching her mind, I got out of Mrs. Girard’s office as fast as I could. She hadn’t appeared to notice that I’d been eavesdropping on her thoughts—she’d seemed a little distracted, actually. And as far as I could tell, she was being totally up front with me.

But there was obviously something she knew about Aidan, something that was there in the back of her mind the entire time she was talking to me. I couldn’t really make heads or tails out of the jumbled thoughts, but maybe he could. I needed to talk to him.

Glancing over at the window, I watched as the bright orange sun melted into the horizon.
Great.
I couldn’t talk to him now, thanks to the stupid new curfew.

Beside me, my cell phone started to ring. Patsy, according to the ringtone. Cursing her bad timing, I connected the call. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, hon. You got a sec?”

“Sure. Wait—did you get your EpiPens?”

I heard her sigh. “Yes, Violet. They’re right here in my purse.”

“Okay, good.” I sat down on the bed with a satisfied smile. “Go on.”

“I really need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” I said, wondering where she was going with this.

“Actually, it’s about
someone
,” she corrected. “I should have told you about him while we were at Gran’s, but … I’m sorry, Violet. I guess I chickened out.”

Oh no. She was going
there
. “Well, now’s your chance,” I said.

“You know how much I loved your dad, right?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

“I’ll never forget him. Never.”

I just sat there silently, willing her to hurry up and get it over with.

“Anyway, I met someone. Over the summer. Paul’s a really nice guy, Violet. Smart, too. I think you’ll like him. He’s, um, legal counsel for the Australian embassy.”

I remembered the guy I’d seen golfing with her in my vision. Tall guy, short brown hair, blue eyes. Australian accent.

“And?” I prodded.

“And he’s invited me to go to Turks and Caicos with him before Christmas. I’d like to go, but I hate to leave you home alone over the break.”

“It’s okay, Pats—Mom, I mean. You should go. Have some fun.”

“Really? You’re sure?” I could hear the excitement creeping into her voice. Did she really think I’d say no? “You could go to Gran’s if you really don’t want to be alone,” she offered. “But I’ll be back on the twenty-fourth, so it’s not like I’d be missing Christmas or anything like that.”

“Seriously, I’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Violet. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

I was pretty sure I didn’t
want
to know. It’s not like I expected her to sit home, loyal to my dad’s memory forever—not at all. She was young, and I expected her to eventually move on, find someone new, fall in love. I certainly wasn’t going to hold it against her if she did just that. I just didn’t want the details, that’s all.

“Though I …” She cleared her throat. “I don’t want to give the impression that just because I’m gone, you and Aidan are free to do whatever you want. Regular rules still apply, right?”

“Right,” I agreed, my voice tight. She was free to go gallivanting off to the Caribbean with her new fling, but I had to be home by midnight? Of course, technically speaking, her rules had never specified that I had to be home
alone
. “You have to promise me one thing, though, or the deal’s off,” I said, brushing aside my annoyance in favor of more serious issues.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, a trace of amusement in her voice.

“Yeah. You have to promise me that as soon as you get off the phone, you’ll put an EpiPen in your golf bag, okay? Plus, make sure you have one in each of the bags you’re going to bring with you. Better to be safe than sorry, right?”

“Fine,” she said with a laugh. “I promise, if it’ll make you feel better. I swear, since when did you become so fixated on my bee-sting allergy?”

I shook my head in disgust. I mean, okay, I got that she didn’t believe in psychic stuff. But she’d lived with me since I was little. Over the years, she’d seen enough evidence of my gift that you’d
think
she might take my warnings seriously by now.

Just take the effing EpiPens,
I silently urged.

A knock sounded on the door. “Violet?”

“Hey, I’ve got to go,” I said into the phone. “Someone’s at the door.”

“No problem. I’ll e-mail you my itinerary as soon as we book, okay?”

“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you later, then. Bye.” I ended the call just as another rap sounded on the door. “It’s open!” I called out.

Kate stepped inside, looking as if she’d been crying.
Uh-oh
.

“Hey, since when do you knock?” I teased, collapsing back on the bed.

She sat down across from me on Cece’s bed. “Since everyone started treating me like a social outcast, that’s when. Where’s Cece?”

“Over at Marissa’s, studying for their English final. I thought you were in their class.”

“I am. Obviously I wasn’t invited.”

Oops.
I shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “Oh. Sorry about that.”

“How long is everyone going to stay mad at me? Seriously, is what I did
that
bad? It’s not like Cece and Tyler were serious or anything.”

“Are
you
and Tyler serious?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t really understand it. One day you’re devastated about Jack, and the next you’re off hooking up with someone else, someone you knew that Cece was interested in. And yes, it
was
that bad. Couldn’t you have at least waited until the day
after
the dance?” More than a month’s worth of pent-up frustration came spilling out. I wanted to make her understand that she’d broken a basic tenet of Friendship 101.

Abruptly, Kate stood. “Never mind. I should have known that you wouldn’t understand.”

“Well, how ’bout you help me understand, instead of just storming off,” I shot back.

“What’s the point?” She swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “You’re just going to take Cece’s side.”

I took a deep, calming breath. “Look, I love Cece. But I love you, too. You know that. I owe you so much.” How could I forget Kate standing there beside me, facing down Julius? She’d done everything to stop him and the two females; when that didn’t work, she’d made sure I had my stake in my hand when I needed it. “But why Tyler? I mean, I know you were hurting—I get that. But couldn’t you have found someone else to mess around with?”

“I happen to like Tyler,” she said softly.

“You
like
Tyler? What do you mean, you like him? What about Jack?” Because she’d loved Jack. They were going to be together forever, she’d claimed.

Kate glanced over at the corkboard on the wall. A pushpin fell out, the picture it anchored fluttering to the floor. She held out her hand and the picture flew into it. It showed her and Jack wearing their matching pirate costumes from last year’s Halloween Fair dance. They had their arms wrapped around each other, Kate’s lips pressed against Jack’s cheek. Someone must have snapped it while I was off in the chemistry lab, watching Aidan smash things up.

“
Jack
broke up with
me
, remember?” she asked, ripping the picture in two and dropping the pieces to the floor with a flourish.

“He’s a total moron, Kate. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have moved on. But … Tyler? I mean, he was at that dance with Cece.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, okay? I told Cece I was sorry. What more do you guys want from me?”

It was a good question. I guess I just wanted to understand. “He told me that the two of you hung out some over Thanksgiving break.”

Her eyes widened. “He told you that?”

“He has a habit of telling me way more than I want to know.”

Kate was watching me curiously now. “I’m starting to think that maybe you’re jealous,” she said, her tone accusatory.

“What, of you and Tyler?” I almost laughed aloud. “I’ve got Aidan, remember?”

“Yeah, you do
now
,” she agreed with a nod, her hands on her hips. “But what happens if he doesn’t find his cure in time?”

I just stared at her, unable to believe what she was insinuating. “So what are you saying?” I finally asked. “That I’m trying to keep Tyler to myself, just in case? For backup? Seriously, Kate, that’s messed up.”

She just shrugged. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

Something was digging into my hand. I glanced down and saw that I was still clutching my cell phone, my grip so tight that my knuckles were turning white. Inhaling sharply, I dropped it on the bed beside me. “To answer your stupid question, if for some reason the worst
does
happen, I’m not going to hop right into another relationship. There’s nothing wrong with being alone, you know.”

For a moment, she said nothing. She just sat there, tears flooding her eyes.

“Hey, are you okay?” I said, standing up and taking a step toward her.

“Yes. No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s just that I … I don’t want to be alone.” A single tear slid down her cheek.

I sat down beside her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

“It’s just that my mom’s been alone all these years,” she said, her voice muffled against my shoulder now. “She always seems so sad and lonely, as if I’m not enough for her. I don’t want to be like that.”

I’d met Kate’s mom, a Broadway star, just once. She seemed really perky and outgoing, a lot like Kate. Of course, I knew that appearances weren’t always what they seemed. “You’re not alone, Kate. You’ve got us.”

“Yeah?” She sniffled. “Then tell me why Cece and Marissa are off studying without me.”

I reached over to Cece’s nightstand for a tissue and handed it to her. “Didn’t you blow
them
off the last time they were studying for an English test?”

“Yeah, but that was back before Halloween. I was still with Jack then,” she said, dabbing her eyes.

“Okay, do you hear yourself? You can’t have it both ways, Kate.”

She blew her nose loudly. “Yeah, thanks a lot, Dr. Phil. So what do you suggest I do? I want things back the way they were before. With all of us, I mean.”

“Well, why don’t you just go over there now? I’m sure they didn’t even think to ask you, since you don’t usually study with them, that’s all.”

She bit her lower lip. “You really think I should go over there?”

I nodded. “Definitely.”

She stood up. “Okay, but if they spit on me, I’m blaming you.”

I had to laugh at the mental image. “They are
so
not going to spit on you.”

She looked at me skeptically. “Yeah, famous last words.”

I walked her to the door, hoping beyond hope that Cece and Marissa gave her a warm welcome when she showed up. Enough was enough—it was time to welcome Kate back into the fold, even if she didn’t quite get why we had been so upset with her.

I paused by the door, studying her closely. “So you really like Tyler, huh?”

She shrugged. “He’s cute. Besides, we have a lot of stuff in common.”

It was my turn to look skeptical. “You do?”

“Well, we’re both tellies. And, you know, neither of us has a dad.”

I wasn’t sure the last one counted, since Tyler had only recently lost his dad, whereas Kate had never known hers. Still, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Violet?
Aidan’s voice, in my head.
How’d it go with Mrs. Girard?

Give me a couple of minutes,
I answered.
I’m with Kate.

She was watching me strangely. “You’re, you know”—she gestured toward my head—“talking to him, aren’t you?”

“Sorry,” I said, smiling apologetically. “I’m … we were just … done.”

“You guys are so freaking weird.” With a toss of her head, she hurried out, closing the door behind herself—telekinetically, of course.

And she called
us
weird.

22 ~ You Gotta Have Faith

I
can’t believe we’re doing this,” I said, glancing around Aidan’s little room. I hadn’t been there since last spring, but nothing much had changed—it was still as spartan and utilitarian as it was before, a far cry from his luxurious town house in Manhattan.

“It was either here or the East Hall lounge. I figured we needed some privacy. Anyway, technically we’re still in the dorms, so you’re not breaking curfew.”

“True.” I sat down on the narrow little daybed. “So, how’s it going in the lab?”

Aidan leaned against the door, his arms folded across his chest. “Pretty good. Jack was right; Tyler’s been really helpful. I’m going to head back over there later tonight. We’ve got a bit more work to do on this new serum.”

“How? You know, with the curfew and everything?”

“Well, Byrne’s faculty, so it’s not a problem for him, and obviously I can come and go as I please. We can make do without Tyler till tomorrow afternoon. Anyway, what happened with Mrs. Girard yesterday?”

I took a deep breath before responding. “Like I said, not much. She claims she’s worried about me wandering around the city by myself over break. You know, in case I run into the Stalker. I guess she’s afraid my instincts will kick in and I’ll somehow screw things up.”