The Gateway Through Which They Came (10 page)

“Koren Banks,” Mrs. Kingsley snaps. “I realize you are anxious to talk to Mr. Ortiz, being back to school and all, but I must ask you to wait until my lesson is over.” The wrinkles of her face set with agitation as she waits for Koren to respond.

Respond. She can see Koren?

I glance at all the faces staring in my direction. No. Not my direction. At Koren.

Forgetting the urge to hold my ground, I look with everyone else.

There she is… alive.

Her dark blonde hair cascades over her shoulders in waves, framing the perfect contours of her heart-shaped face. Over the time that she’d been gone, her skin paled as if wherever she was hid her from the glow of the sun. There’s no longer a rosiness to her cheeks, and the flush of her lips barely touches on a shade of pink. She’s different in ways that most people wouldn’t think to consider, but when you’re me, looking at Koren, you see everything. But one thing that remains the same are her initials taking shape along the corner of her desk, exactly like before.

Koren stares back at Mrs. Kingsley, unblinking, until finally, with a simple grin on her face, she looks towards me.

With her pale, smooth skin, and those blue eyes I know so well, she says, “Hello, Aiden.”

ou look surprised to see me,” she says after class, as I walk beside her in awe.

What do I say?
It’s no big deal. I just thought the one girl I’ve known my whole life was dead.
But what did I really know? I’d seen her in the plaza, yes. It was raining hard that day, and my vision did seem a little off, at least I think it was. Even so, why didn’t she say anything then? Or the night of the food drive. Not that I was exactly at my best.

“I… you… I don’t know what to say.” Smooth. Real smooth.

She smiles at me again and I suck in a breath, nearly choking on my own oxygen.

“Is that why you ignored me in the plaza? Because you don’t know what to say.” Koren comes to a stop at her locker and watches me as I recover.

“So, that
was
you?” How could that be? I was so sure she was one of them. Even now, her skin isn’t as vibrant as before, but she’s real. Everyone proves that with their prying eyes as they pass through the halls, watching us like they’re onlookers of a car crash.

She nods, her eyes widening innocently. She doesn’t appear at all put out by the attention she’s getting. “I was enrolling that day.”

“And the food drive?”

“Yep. I watched you face-plant.” Koren attempts and fails to stifle a laugh.

My cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Perfect,” I groan.

She turns away, working the dial on her lock and popping open her locker. I watch as she changes out her books. The act seems normal and routine, like she’s been here all along.

“You do realize you’ve been missing for the last seven months, right?” It practically blurts out of my mouth.

Her body stiffens. “Missing.” The word drifts along her lips as if she’s contemplating its meaning.

I want to punch myself for being insensitive. For all I know, she could have suffered some traumatic event while she’s been gone, and here I am throwing it back in her face. All to find out where she’s been, and how she could have left without as much as a note.

But I can’t stop myself from being selfish, from asking her this: “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The chaos of slamming lockers and shuffling feet begins to fade out around us. Koren and I remain, staring at each other in a moment of pure silence. She looks so vulnerable now. A stray strand from her bangs falls over her eye, and with a delicate, pale finger, she tucks it in place without breaking her gaze. Her eyes search mine, looking for something. Trust, perhaps? I want to prove to her she can tell me her secrets, even if I’ve never told her mine. Maybe we can still fix this, right here, right now.

I don’t move as she watches me, hoping that whatever it is she’s looking for, she’ll find. She blinks out of her trance, quickly turning away to close her locker. When she looks back, a flicker of change takes effect in that single second, and she’s no longer that vulnerable girl she’d been a moment ago. She’s just Koren.

“See you at lunch, okay?” she says.

Before I can answer, or apologize for what happened between us that night on the porch, she sets off down the hall. Her long stride is one of confidence and certainty, but I can see it’s only masking whatever it is she’s hiding from everyone. From me.

The lights of the theater are bright and all consuming. Now that our skits are complete, the time has come to work on placements for the Christmas performance. All I can think is:
Dear Lord, please let me be in charge of the stage this time.
Acting as another character I would only portray horribly, meanwhile making a complete ass of myself, is the last thing I want to worry about.

I haven’t seen Evan or Trevor in the halls since this morning. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know they’re avoiding me. Could I really blame them? Words escape me as I make my way down the aisle toward my usual spot in the third row. I’m taken aback when I find the row empty. A sick feeling in my stomach arises, and as much as I hate to be a sap, I’m starting to think that Trevor wants nothing to do with me. After everything I’ve been through, he’s always had my back. His friendship becoming the only one I could truly count on. But this time I can’t deny how bad I screwed up, turning on them like that. Whatever is happening inside of me is breaking me down, destroying me. And I can’t let it win.

I scoot along in silence, searching the rows, until I spot the familiar crop of brown hair combed to suit his perfectionist ways. Trevor sits in the first row at the far edge, the light of his phone glowing against his face. An unexpected nervousness trembles through me. What can I say to make things right? This isn’t another scuffle that can be easily dealt with. He was completely freaked out by me. It was a terror in my friend’s face I never want to see again.

The sound of a game grows louder as I approach. By the way he readjusts slightly, I know he’s on to me.

In a low, but careful voice, I say, “Hey, Trevor.”

He doesn’t budge.

“Listen, man. I’m sorry. I… I don’t know what came over me. You know I would never…” I tuck my thumbs into my pockets and shift my weight from one foot to another. “I would never—”

“I know you wouldn’t.”

My tense shoulders relax with a sigh.

“I’m just going through a lot right now,” I tell him, as if that excuse will fix everything.

“Clearly,” he says, his voice guarded.

I find my way to the seat next to him, careful to keep what little distance I can manage. Expecting him to forgive me just like that is asking a lot. Even I know that. But there’s hope, and if I play it right, he might come through.

“Look, there’s some weird shit going on right now, and I’m kind of having a hard time processing it.”

Trevor’s focus remains on his phone. He’s not interested in what I have to say. But if I know Trevor, there’s only one thing that’ll get his attention.

“Koren’s alive and she’s here, at school.”

His thumbs come to a standstill, hovering near the screen. Slowly, Trevor lowers his phone into his lap, and turns his head in my direction.

“But you said she was—”

“I know,” I say. “I thought she was, but now…”

I can’t find the words to explain. Koren’s back, that much is true, but there’s something missing about her. A part of her that was left wherever she’d gone.

“How can that be?” Trevor is whispering now, watching for the others around us. “How could a Bleeder come back to life like that?”

“That’s the thing. I’m not so sure she ever was a Bleeder. The idea of anything dead coming back to life is impossible. I know that much. But…” I look away for a moment to collect my thoughts. “She’s not the same, Trevor. Koren’s different. Something happened to her while she was gone. I have to find out what.”

He nods, completely focused on the subject at hand. He seems as baffled as I am.

“Okay,” he agrees. “I’ll help you anyway I can.”

And just like that, whatever happened this morning is forgotten. At least, for now; I still have Evan to worry about.

I can’t say I’m surprised that I don’t find Koren in the cafeteria. Maybe it’s not my business. Maybe I shouldn’t pry. But how can I deny something is wrong? I can’t stop myself from wanting to do whatever I can to save her, from whatever it is that’s haunting her. It’s what I’ve always done for Koren Banks. The only thing I know to do.

Trevor and I search the cafeteria for Evan, but as soon as he spots us walking through the door together, his eyebrows pinch in disapproval before turning away. Considering what I did, it’s the nicest thing he could do. But I kind of wish he’d kick my ass, rightfully so, and call it a day. Wishful thinking on my part.

“Give him a day or two. He’ll cool down,” Trevor says.

“Yeah,” I say back, though I seriously doubt it.

I don’t blame Evan. How could I? Things are changing. The people around me are different.
I’m
different. Strange things are taking place here, in this town, in this school. I’m losing control of my life. I can feel it.