On Edge (15 page)

In an unfamiliar place, I got up from the chair and walked over to him. I pressed against his back and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, feeling every shudder of his anguish as I hugged him.

“You shoulda told me.”

“You were…too young to understand.” He sniffed and stood straight, righting himself as abruptly as he shattered. He faced me and I was forced to let him go. His eyes were puffy but guarded once more. “Besides, I was too scared to even whisper her name. I thought for sure the cops would figure out through DNA who she'd been with and come knocking on the door any second. When they didn't, I knew she hadn't had the chance to tell anyone we were together, and since I haven't broken any laws, my DNA isn't on record. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut.”

“You must've been terrified.”

He did the macho shoulder lift, as if a severed heart was nothing more than a flesh wound. “I hated pretending she was some girl I'd heard of when I really wanted to confront her brother and his friends and beat the truth out of them. I know they had something to do with it. I feel it in my bones.”

“You think she told Haze? Because of the graffiti bit?”

“Heather used to show me his stuff. I know what his style is like, little sister. I know you don't want to hear it but I wouldn't lie about something like that.”

“And if someone is biting off his work to make it look like Haze?”

“Who would do that?”

I sighed and took a few steps back to reseat myself at the table. “I don't know. But I can't accuse Haze because of the graffiti. After what you just told me, it's clear not everything is what it looks like.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “And sometimes it is.”

“Why are you so sure it's Haze?”

“Because Heather was afraid of disappointing her little brother and she worried about his bouts of anger. She said her parents
had
to put him in karate to keep him from hurting others.”

“A violent streak in young men is hardly rare. The dojos are filled with them. With as many times as you've provoked him, I think if Haze still had a problem with anger management, you would be the first to know.”

“He showed it the other night.”

“You practically made him hit you, Warp. You accused him of killing his sister.”

He widened his eyes, accentuating each word. “Truth hurts.”

My emotional roller coaster took another turn. I was trying very hard to understand where my brother was coming from, but I stopped feeling sorry for his loss when confronted with his stubbornness.

“I never knew Heather, but as a sister of a hotheaded brother I think I can safely say she'd be disappointed in you going after Haze because you think all the pieces fit. Well, they don't. If Heather told Haze about your affair, one word from him would bring the cops here, and your DNA would have matched what they found on her and you'd look like the guilty one, even though you're innocent, right?”

I saw him flinch, which meant he finally saw a tiny bit of truth in my words. It was a start.

“I think if you really loved Heather, you would help her by proving her brother innocent.”

Warp's eye twitched. “How do you propose I do that?”

“Help me find out who's painting my face on these walls.”

“And if it ends up I was right, and it is Haze?”

I was confident in Haze's innocence, and yet when Warp posed the question I stalled for a second. “If Haze is the man harassing me?” He nodded and I shifted my feet. “Then I'll help you bring him down for Heather's murder.”

Nineteen

Liv stared at me, walking to school on autopilot Wednesday morning, eerily missing every bump in the sidewalk and overgrown limb without shifting her gaze. Then she snapped her gum. “Wow. You're living in a soap opera. Your boyfriend…oh, I mean ex-boyfriend…and your brother are both thinking the other is guilty of murder and threatening you. Meanwhile, your brother had a secret affair with the deceased sister of your ex-boyfriend, and Bren snuck in moments of young passionate love in a supply closet at school with you.”

“Yeah,” I said lamely.

“Wow,” Liv said again and focused her gaze straight ahead. “Suddenly my life with my defunct 'rentables doesn't seem so bad.”

“I know, right?” I grinned over at her but stopped when I noticed her frown. “What's up?”

“Heather had a secret relationship with Warp. You had a secret relationship with Haze. Neither one of you told me. I'm starting to think I'm not a very good friend.”

“Oh, hey, Liv, seriously. You shouldn't think that. I can't speak for Heather but I can tell you that my fear of what would happen if my relationship with Haze got out made it hard to whisper it to myself, let alone tell you.”

She shrugged. “I know I can be bossy sometimes too, Ellie, but I promise you, no more. I'm going to relax and make sure I'm much easier to talk to. I can't help but feel that if I listened to Heather more instead of always trying to grill her for the latest gossip in her life and school, maybe she would've told me something that could've brought her killer to justice.”

I wanted to ask her if she suspected my brother, but I wasn't sure I'd like her answer. “We've both been a little off this year. It's to be expected with the added violence and tension, right?”

“Right,” she answered, not sounding very sure.

“We'll both work on being better friends, all right?”

She nodded, and several seconds passed as we started walking again. True to form, the silence became too much for Liv. “So what are you going to do next?”

“I don't know. I haven't talked to Haze since Art class on Monday, and I know he's going to be looking for me today.”

She sighed. “About that, Ellie. I know you have a lot of confidence in him and all, but I think you should at least be cautious. Not all killers look like unwashed psychopaths.”

“I know.”

“See, that's what I been telling her all along. But does she listen to me?”

I jumped as Surge emerged with his words of wisdom, and as a reward for his efforts, I threw a playful swat at his beaming face. “Jesus, you scared the hell outta me.”

“You didn't actually think I was going to allow you to walk to school with only the beautiful Liv Menesa beside you, right?”

Liv stopped and put her hands on her hips. “You saying I couldn't scare some freak away from her?”

“I'm saying I'm here to protect the freak from you, kind lady. I think the cops would want him alive.” Surge displayed a fine row of pearly whites as he wrapped an arm around both our shoulders and got us moving again. “I'm the stallion of the stables.”

“Please,” Liv said with drawn out emphasis. “Like I need to get involved in a ménage. It's bad enough everyone thinks you two are dating, throw me in, and the school has a new scandal to obsess about.”

I tripped on my own foot, forcing Surge's forearm to ride over the back of my head and mess up my hair. Not that I cared, I simply pushed it out of my face and gawked at Liv. She slowed her gait to a halt, pushing Surge's arm off her shoulder and lifting an eyebrow at me.

“What? Like you're surprised?” Liv looked from me to Surge. “You two spend tons of time together. Guys and girls can't be friends without rumors, especially not in high school.”

My bro-friend didn't look at all put out by this revelation. In fact, I'd say he looked pleased. “Surge?”

He held up his hands. “A few guys have asked me what's up. I don't say nothing. Ain't no one's business and if they think we're going out that means I can protect you better.” Was that it? Or was he using me to hide his own closet secrets? I couldn't help but be annoyed.

“But Haze…hello!”

Liv shook her head. “I thought you said you weren't with him anymore.”

“I said that the other day to keep Warp from freaking out. I told you we meet in the closet.”

“You said ‘met' as in
used to meet
.”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “Well…”

“Ellie, either way, it's better if everyone thinks you're with Surge and not with Haze. Right?”

“I don't know. It doesn't seem fair to Haze.”

“Then tell everyone you're not with Surge,” she said impatiently, and I knew she needed more time to get used to the idea of Haze and me. “Useless, if you ask me. No one is gonna believe you two are friends with as much time as you spend together.”

“Who did you hear the rumor from?” Surge asked.

“One of Ellie's gymnastic buddies, Ramona, called me under the pretense of needing some homework. She wanted to know if the two of you went to the tardy party at Damien's. Apparently, she's got a crush on you, Surge.”

He seemed to mull the info over. “Really?”

“Don't get too excited, I told her it's possible you and Ellie are an item. That Ellie and I don't really talk about guys much.”

“Oh come on, Liv. That ain't cool.”

She sighed. “To be honest, Ellie, I wasn't sure if I should say anything at all, so I denied knowledge. I'm worried about this graffiti stuff, and I feel like I can't trust anyone with any kind of information. Like, I tell Ramona, but I don't know who she tells, and I couldn't bear it if someone who is out to get you…got you because of something I said.”

A legitimate concern, and very thoughtful, which made me feel unworthy of her friendship for the millionth time. “You're probably right. It's better not to say anything at this point until we can figure out who is playing games with me.”

The rest of the walk to school, none of us said a word.

***

The last few times an incident with me had occurred, everyone in the school seemed to respond to it with looks or giggles or comments. I suspected I would get the same treatment over the Surge rumors. I'm not sure why, since me dating Surge wouldn't actually be noteworthy. But I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of attention on the walk to my locker.

“Incoming,” Liv whispered. I glanced up to see Haze and his friend, Decay, plowing their way through the crowded hall toward Liv, Surge, and me.

If pissed could be accurately defined in a look, Haze had it.

“This can't be good,” I said under my breath. An understatement on my part. “Hey,” I said to Haze, once he was close enough.

He glanced at Liv and then Surge before bringing his heated stare back to me. “Can I talk to you privately?”

“I don't think that's a good idea, bro,” Surge started, surveying the interested students who suddenly walked much slower and gawked harder.

“No one asked you, little man,” Decay responded, pushing his chest up higher with an inhale.

Surge balked. “Little man? You got what? An inch or two on me? That don't mean nothing.”

Like a skunk spraying defensively, the smell of trouble misted and tainted the air.

“Okay, okay.” I reached out and squeezed Surge's arm, trying to call him off the hunt. When I looked over at Haze, I was surprised to see he didn't bother to leash Decay this time around. Liv, however, poked the big guy in the chest a few times as she dressed him down right there in the hallway.

I couldn't hear what she said since my attention was firmly planted on Haze and his bizarre behavior. After all our sneaking around, he made a pretty bold statement coming up to me in the hallway. Why would he risk the declaration of war?

“Yeah. We can talk privately,” I said.

Surge's face burst into a vast array of disapproving scowls, but I shook my head. I didn't need to hear anything from him right now.

“Ellie,” I heard Liv call for me from somewhere behind my shoulder.

“It'll be fine. Go to class before we draw serious attention. Surge, you know I'll be okay,” I quickly added when it looked like Surge might argue. “Please, it'll be quick. I'll see you next period break, okay?”

Surge's jaw worked as he stared down Haze. The two were not exactly friends, and not exactly enemies, I'd seen to that by asking Surge to help train Haze, but now with all the mystery surrounding my graffiti'd face, the walls of distrust were up. The fact my boy best friend and my boyfriend might come to blows was a very real, very upsetting possibility.

Though I could tell he didn't want to, Surge nodded and motioned for Liv to come with him. She and Decay finished a heated-whisper argument that Liv ended abruptly with a slap to Decay's face.

I winced, expecting a backlash, but he only stared after Liv when she walked away.

“You better be at your locker between periods, Ellie,” she called over her shoulder. Surge walked beside her, uncertain, and I nodded to let him know everything would be all right.

That is, until Haze grabbed my hand and held it. Held my hand! Right there in the middle of the hallway for everyone to see.

I snatched it back. “Haze!”

“Take my hand, LL.”

“But…” With a quick scan I confirmed what I suspected. A good majority of the hall's occupants were already whispering.

“LL!”

“Okay, okay. Jesus, when did you get so cranky?”

A moment later we were in the alcove to the pool room, and the locked metal door was at my back. Haze's hazel eyes were greener under fluorescent lights, boring into me with emotions I couldn't sift through to get to the heart of his issue.

“When did I get so cranky? When my girlfriend is rumored to be with someone other than me! It's like a bomb went off and everyone is talking about you and Surge hooking up at one of Damien's skip parties.”

“What?” I laughed. If he only knew. “I don't even go to parties, Haze. You can't possibly believe that.”

“Of course, I don't,” he said, but I wasn't sure if he believed his own words. “Even though you've been avoiding me…”

“I had to get my head straight. With all this graffiti business, I wasn't feeling like being visible.”

“I went by your house and you weren't there.”

“When?”

“Tuesday, when you called out sick.”

I bit my lip, recalling each day of the weekend. “Oh. I wasn't home Tuesday. I skipped with Surge.”

Haze stared at me.
Oh!

I couldn't help but grin. The rumors did seem to coincide with my absence from Haze, but really, it was all a big misunderstanding, which made his jealousy and irrational need to lay claim to me, beyond cute. I was flattered.

“Brennen.” I sighed, and brought my hands up to his face. Pulling him into me, I slid my mouth against his and felt the tension ease in him. His arms swept around my back in that familiar way and he squeezed me against his chest.

His lips took instant possession of mine, as if he could define our relationship in this one kiss, and damn the world if they discovered he wanted me and I belonged to him.

He had the last part right!

Returning each lap of his tongue, I put every ounce of my adoration for him in my reaction.
Please believe in me.

The brief soft press of lips he used to end his kiss was sweeter than I ever remembered. Like an apology without words. Panting, connected by our foreheads, we stared down at each other's swollen lips until he lifted his gaze to mine.

“I can't do this.”

Okay, that threw me for a bit of a loop. My gut welcomed my heart. “I don't—What do you mean?”

“I can't have the entire school believe you belong to someone else when you belong with me.” He reached down and clasped both of my hands.

I squeezed.
Phew!
“I know it isn't an ideal situation. But what choice do we have?”

“We have choices. So what if people find out? Your brother suspects we're together still, I'm sure, and if we can just talk some sense into him he can calm his troops down with a word. And if he won't help, we'll go to your older brother like you suggested. My side won't be as much of a problem. I told Decay that night at the theatre I was digging you, so he can help me with the rest of my crew to smooth things over. This can be done.”

I frowned. “You were so certain it couldn't be…”

“No,” he interrupted me. “I wasn't sure it would be worth getting into trouble with our crews for or starting shit with your brother. Now I know it is.”

“And if violence ensues?”

“Right now, your brother is the issue. I'm not going to start any violence. If anyone from your crew and mine are willing, we could band together and figure out who is throwing a character of you up all over the place and why. Then your brother wouldn't have any reason to stand in our way.”

“My brother still believes it's you.”

One side of his mouth twisted in a smirk. “I bet he does.”

“He showed me an old newspaper article with the wall your sister was painting before she was killed and the style matches yours.”

“I told you,” he snapped. “Whoever helped my sister paint my birthday present, took my style. Same as here and now.”

“I believe you, Haze. But others might need more convincing.”

“So, your brother shows you an article and you ignore me, is that what happened? You thought maybe I could be doing this?”

“I didn't know. Surge and I went to the library to see for ourselves, but I don't care about what looks guilty. Brennen, I believe in you. I think you're being set up.”

He worried his bottom lip and leaned against the door beside me. “I know. There's a connection between it all I just can't figure out what. Maybe it goes beyond Heather's hormones. Maybe she was in some trouble, maybe drugs or something. I don't know. They say people do crazy stuff when they're on them and she was definitely stepping into some crazy behavior.”