Overshadow (6 page)

Logan

I stood on my balcony, looking down at the ocean. Why had Raena been at my house, in my room? She had never acted crazy before. Was she becoming obsessed with me?

I felt strange — not like myself. I rolled my head from side to side, trying to crack my neck. That didn’t work. My muscles were stiff all over, like I had been in a fight. I stretched my arms up over my head, laughing at myself. I was imagining things. I had just spent too long in bed.

Turning to go back inside, I paused and frowned. Why
had
I been in bed anyway? I glanced at my clock. It was late by my mother’s standards, but I didn’t remember lying down. How long had I been out?

A knock came on my door, followed by my mother poking her head in. “There’s someone here to see you.”

“This late?”

“It’s not late.”

Something was definitely strange, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. “Okay, I’ll be right down.” I checked my hair in the mirror, wondering who was important enough for my mom to let in this late.

Running down the stairs, I paused when I saw the girl who was standing in the foyer. She seemed familiar somehow…

“Hi, Logan. Sorry to come over so late. I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to see you.”

When she smiled, my confusion slipped away. How could I forget my girlfriend, Sera? I felt like a complete idiot. Maybe I was sick. I should keep my brief memory loss to myself. She might be mad if she knew.

“It’s okay.” I stared at my mom pointedly, who was hovering in the hallway. “Do you mind?”

My mother headed for the kitchen and I turned back to Sera. “Want to go upstairs? We can sit on my balcony and watch the ocean.”

She sauntered over to stand close to me. Reaching up, she started running one small hand through my hair. “I can think of other things I’d rather do than watch the ocean.”

I frowned, pulling away from her hand. “I don’t think so.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Why not, Logie? Don’t you love me?”

How did this turn into a discussion about feelings? We never said that we loved each other before… had we?

I stared at her for a moment. Did I love her? Something seemed… off. “Sera, I think you should go.” I stepped out of her reach.

She turned her lower lip down in a pout. It began to quiver and her eyes glassed over. Oh no. She wasn’t going to start crying, was she? “What did I do wrong?”

How to head off the waterworks? I rubbed my forehead with my hand, closing my eyes for a second. “Nothing,” I finally told her. I opened my eyes again, but I looked past her, staring at a blank spot on the wall. “I’m just… super tired for some reason.”

I walked over and opened the door for her. “Night, Sera. See you tomorrow.” I headed for the stairs, not bothering to see if she went through the open door.

Unfortunately, she didn’t. I heard her footsteps falling softly on the stairs behind me. She grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me around just as my foot was about to hit the top step. My legs tangled and I crashed onto the landing, taking Sera down with me. She landed on top of me, our faces mere inches apart.

“Well this is nice,” she breathed.

I shoved her off me and jumped to my feet. “Are you insane? You could have killed us both! You’re lucky we fell at the top of the stairs, instead of tumbling all the way down to the foyer and breaking our necks.”

“Logan, I…”

I held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Standing, she reached up to touch my hair… or my cheek. I didn’t let her get that far. I pulled away again, pushing her hand aside. “Get out, Sera!” I pointed toward the door.

Her eyes narrowed, but she ran down the stairs and out the door. She slammed it so hard the windows shook. I headed back into my bedroom. I was sure I would pay for that tomorrow. Why had I exploded at her? I felt overly tired. Maybe exhaustion was taking over. I certainly felt odd. I sighed and climbed into bed, clicking off my light. I would just figure things out in the morning.

Raena

When I arrived in my physics class the next morning, Logan wasn’t in his usual spot next to me. He was sitting across the room next to a girl I didn’t recognize. Something about her seemed familiar. Her agate-hard eyes bored into mine threateningly. I seriously had
no
idea what I had done to her to make her automatically hate me.

I glanced over at Logan, but he seemed undisturbed. How could he not care that this random new girl was being so mean to me? Why was he across the room?

I put my bag on the floor next to my seat and wandered over to them. “Hey,” I said hesitantly. “Are you feeling any better?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Now what, Raena? Couldn’t get enough of me yesterday?”

I froze. Oh no. He still didn’t remember. I swallowed what I was about to say and instead just told him, “No, that’s not it. I just know you were sick and wanted to see how you were feeling.”

He gave me a strange look. “Sick? Are you crazy as well as a stalker now? I wasn’t sick. All I know is that you somehow convinced my mom to let you sneak into my room while I was sleeping.”

“I didn’t sneak in!” I protested, knowing it was useless.

“You know,” the strange girl cut in, “usually when people try to deny something so adamantly it means they know they’re wrong.”

Okay, I already hated her. Not only was she hanging all over my Logan, but now she was insulting me. “Excuse me, but who
are
you?”

“Sera,” she said with a scowl.

“Look, Sarah, but this is between Logan and me, so if you don’t mind...” I made a shooing motion with my hand.

“It’s Sera,” she repeated flatly.

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you called me
Sarah
. It’s Sera. S-E-R-A. It’s short for Serafina.”

“Whatever,” I said. “Now, can you go away?” I turned back to Logan. “I need to talk to you, Logan. In private.”

“What makes you think he wants to talk to you?” Sera cut in.

I glared at her. “Didn’t I tell you to go away?” I wrapped my hand around Logan’s wrist and tugged. “Please, Logan. Just five minutes. That’s all I’m asking for.”

Something sparked when I touched him and there was a glimmer of his normal self in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, and I was staring into ice-cold orbs once again. I wanted to scream with the frustration of it all, but instead I only repeated my request. “Five minutes? Surely you can spare me that?”

“Fine,” he muttered, sliding from the stool. “Sera, I’ll be right back.”

He followed me out into the hall. Leaning up against the wall next to the door, he folded his arms and put one foot up to where the sole of his shoe was braced on the wall. “Five minutes. Go.”

I took a deep breath. “Do you remember
anything
that happened yesterday?”

He frowned. “Uhh… I stayed at home and helped my mom clean. I took a nap. When I woke up, you were in my room.”

What the heck? He had been with me most of the day. “No, Logan. You helped your mom clean the day before. Yesterday we spent the day together. We went to the church and then to Sacramento, remember?”

“No, I was home all day. Just ask my mom.”

“I saw your mom — and your dad — when I brought you home. Don’t you remember what happened with Andrei? Don’t you remember the fight?”

He looked really confused. “Who’s Andrei? What fight?”

He seriously didn’t remember anything. I felt like my world was falling apart. It felt like I was falling down a never-ending tunnel. My vision started to swim as I tilted toward the ground, and I couldn’t help but think that I might end up in Wonderland…

When the world righted itself, I was ensconced within Logan’s arms and he was calling my name. I kept my eyes firmly shut, knowing that as soon as I opened them, he would let go of me, and we would return to the surreal non-reality of being apart.

I couldn’t keep up the pretense of being unconscious for long. Eventually I had to open my eyes and face the day without Logan. I looked up at him, drinking in the concern written on his face.

When he realized that I was fine, he gave me a smirk and set me on my feet. “Well, I didn’t know that I was the type of guy to make a girl swoon. First you stalk me and now I make you faint. Wow, Raena, what’s up with you the past couple of days?”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. He didn’t remember anything that had happened between us. If he didn’t remember, then of course he would believe I was crazy. I had to act normal, just as I had before everything changed. I had to act like we had never been together… like we weren’t in love… until I could figure out how to get him back.

Logan stared at me for a moment more and when I didn’t answer him, he shrugged and walked back in the classroom. He didn’t even hold the door for me like he used to. It shut in my face, leaving me outside alone.

I considered just going home, but that wouldn’t solve anything. I wanted to spend the day curled up in bed, but I refused to mope. I needed a solution. In order to get one, I was going to need to go inside and observe him. Maybe I would find a hint as to what had happened. I didn’t know if I had caused this, or if Andrei’s attack had. It could have happened for any number of reasons. I shouldn’t blame myself… right?

I went back inside and slid into my seat. Turning slightly, I put my back to the wall so I could try to observe Logan and Sera. Unfortunately, they noticed.

Sera wandered over to me. “Problem?”

“No, no problem. Just ignore me.”

“Oh, we plan on it.”

I snorted. “Oh please! There is no ‘we’.”

She leaned down so that her face was close to mine. “You’re right, there is no ‘we’, as in no you and Logan. There is a ‘we’ as in Logan and me. You’re just going to have to face the fact that you lost. He’s mine now. Deal with it.”

I stood up so abruptly that she had to step back and almost fell. “Look, you psycho. I haven’t lost yet. I don’t know what you did to him, but trust me, I’m going to fix it.”

By now everyone in the classroom was openly staring, including our teacher who had just entered the room. “Ms. Davenport, is there a problem?”

Why did everyone think I had a problem today? Oh that’s right, because I
did.
My boyfriend was under some crazy spell. I couldn’t tell her that though. Then everyone would think
I
was crazy.

“No, Mrs. Eden,” I answered. “Just getting to know our new student.”

She looked skeptical, but I think she bought it. “Very well. Have a seat. Ms. Morgan, since you’re already standing… Class, we have a new student. Say hello to Serafina.”

A weak chorus of “hellos” replied. Sera looked smug as she made her way back to her seat… next to my Logan. I was busy cursing them in my mind and didn’t hear what Mrs. Eden asked me next.

“Ms. Davenport!” she called, snapping me out of my internal monologue of nasty names for Sera that I was running through.

“Yes?” I answered.

“If you’re not going to pay attention, might I suggest that you visit the principal’s office?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Eden,” I mumbled. “I’ll pay better attention.”

She gave me one more stern look and returned to her lecture.

I turned my attention to my notebook. I started pretending to take notes, but I ended up drawing instead.

When class let out, I stood to gather my books. I was bumped — more like shoved — from behind and promptly dropped everything I was holding.

“Oops.” Sera laughed.

I clenched a fist. I wanted to strike that smug look from her face. I could do it. Logan had taught me well.

Logan. I looked at him, standing next to her. He made no motion to help me. In fact, he was laughing with her. “You’re even worse than you were,” I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “Raena, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m the same person I always was.”

“No, you’re not. You were never this mean, this selfish! Even when you were being a jerk, I always knew you were kidding. Even then, you had good moments. I don’t know who you are now.”

“Why does it matter to you anyway? It’s not like we’ve ever been friends.”

I shut my eyes briefly against the tears that were threatening to spill over. “We were once. We were more. You’ll remember eventually. I guess I just have to be patient.”

He sighed. “There’s nothing to remember.”

“Yes, there is. Just wait.” I finished picking up my things and walked out the door.

I couldn’t stay at school. No way could I handle seeing them together. I went into the office and claimed I didn’t feel well. They called Genevra to pick me up.

“What’s really wrong?” Genevra asked me once we were in the car.

“What do you mean? I told you, I don’t feel well.”

“Are you actually sick? Or did something happen?”

She was more perceptive than I had thought. “I’m sick… because of seeing Logan at school. He acted like we were never together!”

She looked confused, but didn’t question me yet. I hadn’t explained much to her the night before. “Well, you never were, were you?”

Had she fallen under some sort of spell too? “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you guys weren’t together that long. You weren’t technically together when Andrei kidnapped you, and it hasn’t been long since you came back from wherever he was holding you. It’s not like you and Logan had been together long.”

I sighed. “I guess that’s true. It’s just… I think he has some sort of weird amnesia.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I hesitated. “Well, I haven’t told you this, but Andrei came back.”

“What? You should have told Shane and me immediately.”

“I’m sorry. When Logan and I were out last night Andrei showed up out of nowhere. They fought and Logan got hurt. I think he hit his head or something and he got knocked out. Anyway, when he came to, he didn’t remember me. Actually, he remembered me, but he didn’t remember… us. He didn’t remember us being together.”

Genevra was silent for a moment as she pulled into our driveway. When she turned off the car, she faced me. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry. I wish I knew what to tell you.”

I stared at her for a moment as the tears that threatened earlier starting coursing down my cheeks. “I-I d-don’t k-k-know wha-what to do!”

Genevra leaned over and pulled me into a hug. “What can I do?” she asked when she let go. “Do you want me to have a talk with Logan’s mom, or…” she trailed off. This was new to her, as well as to me. Tanis never dated, so this was the first real boy issue she had to deal with.

I shook my head, sniffling. “No, I don’t think that will do any good.”

She started the car again. “Where are we going?” I asked.

She smiled. “For ice cream. It’s a well-known cure-all. It’s even been known to mend a broken heart.”

I offered her a wan smile. To my surprise, she drove past the grocery store and got onto the freeway. I pointed behind us. “Umm… Genevra? You passed it.”

“We’re going to Santa Cruz. I’m taking you to Marianne’s.”

“We don’t have to go all the way out there!” I protested, even though it was my favorite ice cream shop.

“I know, but it’s what you need. Besides, it won’t be too crowded this time of day, and we can hopefully talk without being interrupted.”

We pulled into the parking lot of the red shop with the bright yellow sign. Once inside, we stood at the long counter for a while, debating on what we wanted. They had everything from “normal” flavors like chocolate chip or vanilla, all the way to things like cinnamon or green tea. After we ordered, we sat down at a table. She had been right; it wasn’t too crowded. “So, explain to me what happened last night. You and Logan were fine when you left the house, and then you called me in a panic to come pick you up in Rio Del Mar. I don’t understand.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, after Logan and I left the house, we went back to his house. I met his parents and he changed. Then he took me to Sacramento for dinner and a show. Everything went great. But when we got back into town, he wanted to go to the beach. Andrei showed up out of nowhere.”
Literally,
I thought. “They fought. I got knocked out. Logan won and Andrei took off, but then Logan collapsed. I dragged him into the car and drove him home.” I held up my hand at the protest I knew was coming. “I know I don’t have my license yet, but it was an emergency. I got him home and his parents helped get him into bed.” I could feel the tears spring into my eyes again, and I looked down, concentrating on my ice cream that was beginning to melt. “When he woke up, it was like he didn’t remember me. Or rather, he remembered me, but not that we had ever been together. It was like, temporary amnesia or something.”

Genevra sighed. “I wish I knew what to tell you to make you feel better.”

I forced a smile. “This helps a little.”

We sat at the table a little while longer, and then we had to head home so Genevra could start dinner. She called up to Tanis, who was hiding in her room as usual, to let her know that we were home.

“Do you need any help?” I asked her as she started pulling out some pans.

“No, but you can sit in here with me and keep me company.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. She didn’t usually want company while she cooked. I knew she just didn’t want to leave me alone.