Mortal Kiss (13 page)

“Whoa!” Lucas Morrow reached out, grabbing Faye’s arms to stop her from falling.

“Hey! Watch it!” she yelped, wrenching herself free.

Lucas held up his hands. “Sorry, but you’re the one who wasn’t looking where you were going, Flash,” he said, bending down to help her pick up the scattered books. “Where you off to so fast?”

“Class,” Faye said. “Come to think of it, isn’t that where you should be right now?”

Lucas grinned, handing her a book and reaching for another. “Just on my way. Although I’ll be late now, so you owe me.”

“I owe
you
?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s rich.”

Lucas straightened up with a devilish smile. “No, that would be me. Is that why you hate me? Because I’m
sooooo
rich?”

Faye crossed her arms and shook her head at him, amazed. “You are
not
rich,” she told him, trying to keep a straight face. “Your mom is. And I don’t hate you. I don’t hate anyone. I think you’ve hurt Liz’s feelings, though.”

Lucas was looking at a flyer that he’d picked up from the floor. It had fallen from one of Faye’s books. He looked up, puzzled. “Really? What did she say?”

Faye sighed, realizing that anything she told Lucas would probably embarrass Liz. And after their last stupid fight over him, she wasn’t going to risk upsetting her best friend again. “Nothing; it doesn’t matter. I’m sure she’s fine.”

Lucas held up the flyer. It was an announcement for the Battle of the Bands. “Are you going to go to this, Flash? Could be fun.”

Faye snatched it out of his hand, mildly annoyed. “You know, Lucas, I don’t think I’ve actually seen you attend a class yet. And this is the only time I’ve seen you pick up a book. Is fun all you’re interested in?”

“No,” Lucas said, reasonably, apparently amused by her exasperation. “But I also don’t see what the use is in being bookish all the time. Lighten up. It’d do you some good.”

“I have plenty of fun!” said Faye. “And I am
not
bookish!”

Lucas raised his eyebrows, pointing to the books still on the floor. “Just how many of these were you carrying?”

“I—I have to go to the library at lunch!”

The boy crossed his arms, an infuriatingly amused smile on his face. “I believe you just made my point for me.”

Faye sighed in defeat. “So, are you going to go?”

“To the Battle of the Bands?” Lucas grinned. “You interested in knowing my social timetable?”

“If I know it, I can avoid you, can’t I?”

“Aw, don’t be like that. You’d like me if you got to know me. Sure, I was thinking of going. It’d be … fun if you did too. So how about it?”

“Are you asking me out?” Faye said, genuinely shocked.

“Is there something strange about that?”

“
What?
Other than the fact that I just told you you’ve upset my best friend?” Lucas shrugged. “I don’t think I did. And anyway, I didn’t know one ruled out the other.”

Faye shook her head and began to gather up the last of her books. “You know what, Lucas? That’s probably why you don’t have any friends.”

He was quiet for a moment before stepping away and crouching to retrieve the last volume. “Well,” he said quietly, “when you move around as much as I do, it’s kind of hard to make any.”

Faye straightened up, feeling a sudden pang of guilt. She hadn’t meant her quip about his lack of friends to come out quite the way it had. It couldn’t be easy moving to a new place where you knew no one. And it wasn’t as if anyone but Liz had really made an effort to get to know him. Yes, people talked about Lucas and his mother all the time, but it was always about how much money they had, or what they were doing here, or their huge house. She wondered if anyone had actually asked Lucas about himself since he’d gotten here. Faye sighed. As usual, she hadn’t paid attention to Aunt Pam, who was always right. She’d judged Lucas without knowing him. But she couldn’t date him. She didn’t want to, for a start. And then there was Liz.…

Lucas stood up and held out the book. As Faye reached to take it, their fingers brushed together. Lucas trapped hers beneath his, and Faye was stunned to feel her heart flutter and her cheeks burn. She glanced up at him, surprised to find his blue eyes full of a warmth she hadn’t seen there before. Then he glanced down at the title of the book and grinned, entirely too cheesily for Faye’s comfort.

“Chemistry one-oh-one,” he said, his voice still soft. “I think there’s some chemistry between us, don’t you, Flash? There must be—after all, you’re blushing.”

There was sudden movement at the end of the hall, and Faye saw Liz and a group of their friends heading toward them. Afraid that Liz would see the two of them together, she snatched the book out of Lucas’s hand, stuck it on top of the pile beneath her chin and hurried away, her cheeks still burning.
What are you blushing for?
She shouted at herself silently.
It’s Lucas Morrow! What about Liz? What about Finn?
Faye was shocked and horrified by her reaction to Lucas’s touch, which she certainly hadn’t intended. What did it mean? She couldn’t like him … she couldn’t! Yes, she was beginning to realize that Lucas was far nicer than she’d first thought, but that didn’t mean anything … did it?

“Faye, where have you been?” Liz asked as Faye joined the gaggle of girls—and Jimmy, who was tagging along behind as usual. “You’ve missed the most important conversation of the day: Who’s going to win the Battle of the Bands?”

“I’m really hoping I’ve got a shot,” said Rachel Hogan, one of Liz’s and Faye’s oldest friends, “but I’m terrified I’m going to catch a cold with all this awful weather and ruin my voice! Can you imagine how terrible it would be if I couldn’t sing that night?”

“You’ll be fine,” Candi Thorsson told her, threading an arm through Rachel’s as the group started off again. “Just keep drinking honey and lemon—and wear a scarf!”

“Why don’t you get a pair of Uggs?” Liz suggested. “They look so cool, and they’re warm, too!”

Faye followed, putting on a smile and trying to join in the chatter. But she knew that Lucas was still standing there, watching her. She glanced back before turning the corner and saw him smile.

Lucas stood outside the school, watching the kids stream out and head home as he waited for Ballard to pick him up. He’d spent most of the day thinking about his encounter with Faye that morning. She was so cute when she was annoyed, and he’d been surprised—and pleased—that she’d blushed when their fingers touched. There had to be something there, didn’t there? He sighed. Girls were so hard to figure out.

Ballard’s black car rolled to a stop in front of him, but Lucas didn’t rush to get in. Ballard hated to be kept waiting, and right now, anything Lucas could do to push his buttons was worth it. Lucas was still angry about their encounter over the old biker jacket. He’d thought about telling his mom, as he’d threatened, but had decided against it. For whatever reason, Ballard was Mercy’s most trusted lackey, and Lucas knew she wouldn’t take her son’s side about something so trivial.

Lucas pulled open the front passenger door and slid in—another thing that annoyed Ballard. He preferred that Lucas sit in the back. But Lucas was in the mood to stir things up. Ballard didn’t say anything, or even look at him. He just drove off.

“I think you’re going the wrong way,” said Lucas as Ballard turned into the street heading for town. “Losing your marbles, maybe?”

Ballard ignored him, but Lucas was persistent. “Where are we going, Ballard? I’ve got homework to do; I don’t need a magical mystery tour.”

The big man curled his lip in a silent snarl. “We’re picking up your mother,” he said shortly, and he didn’t speak again.

Lucas sighed, leaning back into the plush leather seat. The car was pristine, as if it had never been used before. He wondered what Ballard kept in the glove
compartment, and he reached over, flipping it open. He felt Ballard glance at him but ignored it. Inside the compartment was nothing but a manual for the car. He snapped it shut again and drummed his hands on the dashboard instead, another thing sure to annoy Ballard.

Lucas looked out at the stores that lined the town’s streets. They were all small, and a few were the sorts of places that sold gift items to tourists.

They coasted to a stop outside McCarron’s Bookstore, which made Lucas sit up with interest. McCarron?
That can’t be a coincidence
, he thought.
It must be owned by Faye’s family.…

The store had two large windows set on either side of a quaint wooden and patterned-glass door. Hanging over the door on a string was a small model of what looked like a dog. Lucas realized it was actually a wolf. He wondered why it was there—it seemed out of place beside the hanging baskets full of evergreen shrubs and blooming red poinsettia.

Then a movement inside the shop caught his eye. One of the two figures was his mother, and he guessed the other woman must be the owner. Was it Faye’s mom?

Somewhere a dog was barking furiously. The noise seemed to be coming from inside the bookshop, and he saw his mother bend down to swat something away. Then she turned and headed for the door, the other woman following her all the way, dipping out of sight every few steps as if she was trying to scoop something up from the floor. The door opened and his mother stepped out—and at her heels was a small but furious dog. It barked and snapped, baring its teeth and lunging at Mercy’s heels as she tried to get away from it.

Lucas wound down his window. “I’m sorry,” the store owner was saying over the noise of the angry animal. “Jerry’s usually very friendly. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“If you’re going to have a creature like that loose in your shop,” he heard his mother say icily, “then you should learn how to control it. The thing’s practically feral.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman repeated. “Like I said—”

The dog lunged again, and Lucas’s mother stepped backward, onto the little step outside the shop and directly beneath the wolf model, brushing it with her hair. As Lucas watched, it seemed to freeze for a second before slowly turning again, but in the opposite direction. He blinked, unsure of exactly what he’d seen. Then a gust of wind rattled along the street, shaking the hanging baskets and setting the little model spinning.

Mercy kicked at the dog before turning on her heel and sweeping toward the car. She opened the back door and climbed in, the little dog still going crazy, trying to bite her with every step she took. It yelped and danced backward as the car door almost slammed on its nose.

Lucas turned and looked at Mercy, who was rearranging a few stray strands of hair with one immaculately manicured hand.

“What on earth was that about?”

His mother smiled tightly and shrugged. “Some people just don’t know how to control their dogs. They shouldn’t be allowed to have pets.”

Lucas saw his mother glance at the rearview mirror, sharing a look with Ballard that he didn’t understand. Then she looked out the window.

Lucas was about to turn away too, when he noticed something in her hair. It was a thin streak of pure black, as if something had stained it right down to the root.

He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be exactly where the little model of the wolf had touched her head.

Standing on the school steps, Jimmy watched as Lucas Morrow got into the car, and he felt a sharp pang of jealousy as it pulled away. Lucas didn’t even have to drive himself home! Jimmy, on the other hand, didn’t have a car, let alone someone to take him home in it. Which meant another long, cold, wet walk back from school.

He’d hung back behind the first surge of kids leaving Winter Mill High, waiting until he saw Liz Wilson emerge from her last class. Every time Jimmy saw her, his heart skipped a beat. But she’d always given him the brush-off, which didn’t surprise him in the least—Liz was one of the prettiest girls in school, and he was the undisputed King of the Geeks. But the other day, at the mall, she’d actually talked to him. She’d smiled at him, in fact. So maybe Faye was right. Maybe he just needed to have a bit more guts around girls, and they’d notice him.

Which was why he’d decided to try talking to her again. Sure, it had taken him a couple of days to get his courage up, but he was ready now. He’d wait until she walked past, and say …

“H-hi, Liz! H-how was your d-day?” Jimmy called from a few paces away.

Liz didn’t answer. She was texting, one hand working her phone, the other reaching up to push a stray strand of long dark hair back under her cute woolly hat. Jimmy was stuck in a moment of indecision. Should he try again? She might not have heard him.…

“Hey, Liz! Wait up!” There was another shout from farther off. She turned to see who it was, smiling and waving as the owner of the voice snaked through the knots of kids toward her.

Jimmy scowled. It was Hart Jesson, one of the boys from the basketball team. He was tall, muscular and tanned, and as far as Jimmy was concerned, he had the IQ of a lower primate. He sighed as Liz and Hart headed down the steps and off the school grounds together. They were probably going to meet a group of kids at Griffin’s. The most popular kids sometimes went there after school if they had a light homework day. He’d never been, even though Faye had asked him along a couple of times. He’d known he wouldn’t fit in, so what was the point? He’d just sit there silently like an idiot, or else he’d start talking about something no one was interested in and bore them all to death.

Jimmy shouldered his backpack and trudged away from the school. It was going to be a miserable walk home. They’d actually had some sun during the day, which had been great at the time. But it had also started to melt the top layer of snow, turning the sidewalks into wet piles of dirty gray slush that soaked his feet and pants after just a few steps.

Reaching the crossroads, Jimmy turned away from town, starting his long daily trudge up the hill. His family’s home stood in an isolated section of the forest on the edge of the Morrow mansion’s land. The place had originally been built as a farmhouse by his great-grandfather. The family history that went with Jimmy’s home meant his parents would never leave it, but Jimmy often wished they’d sell and move closer to town. It was a beautiful place to live, tucked away among the trees. But sometimes, just sometimes, it would be nice to live a bit closer to someone else.