The Line That Binds (31 page)

The bell rang, jarring everyone out of the momentary shock. LJ turned and started moving for the door with the crowd. Spaz and Izzy laughed along with some other bystanders. Before I was able to stop LJ and sort out what had happened, Emily barreled past some people and tackled LJ from behind.

I grabbed Em’s arm and pulled her off LJ before someone slammed into my back. The hit forced me to lurch forward, but I regained my balance and turned to see Adam, smirking. I stepped to him, but Spaz got there first, landing a punch to Adam’s fat nose with an audible crack. LJ popped up off the floor and yanked Emily away from a new altercation with Izzy, swinging Emily’s body into a guy videoing the fight with his cell.

Phones were out and people were cheering. I was so focused on getting over to LJ that I didn’t see Ryan throw a punch, I only felt it connect with my jaw. Shots of pain tore through my face, ricocheting inside my head like a million bullets.
Dammit, it better not be broken again!
I spun on my heel and countered, landing a jab to his left eye. He stumbled backward. Teachers yelled through the crowd and everyone started to scatter.

The teachers filed in, splitting numerous people apart, including some of the crowd. The simple fight had morphed into a melee, involving more people than the original group around LJ’s table. As the cafeteria cleared, the teachers ushered fourteen of us out into the main hallway and spaced us out in a single line.

Ms. Mitchell walked around the corner a minute later. The clacking of her heels echoed around the silent hall. She glanced at all of us and shook her fluffy head of hair. “Everyone bleeding or broken, follow me. Everyone else, go see the principal.”

She went back the way she came, followed by a few crowd members who had joined the fight, and Adam. I glanced at LJ. Her nose was bloody.

“Are you okay?” Ben asked, walking beside me on the way to the Ms. Mitchell’s office.

I pinched a tissue to my nostrils. “I think so. You?”

“I’m all right. Ryan either hits a lot harder than he used to or my jaw is weak,” he joked.

I looked sideways at him. “Someone hit your jaw?”

“Yeah,” he replied then opened his mouth and worked it in a circle. “I think it’s okay though. I can still move it around.”

Looking at him was torture. I was certainly stunned he’d come over to interrupt the drama with the two jerks and Emily, but that only left me feeling more miserable about our situation.

“You used to hang out with them, huh?”

“Yeah, not part of my finer accomplishments. Definitely part of those douche qualities we were talking about.” He laughed lightly and I smiled at his attempt to humor me.

We were the last to arrive at Ms. Mitchell’s office. When we got to her door, two students were exiting. Adam walked out next, knocking shoulders with Ben while he eyed me around the ice pack pressed to his swollen face. “See you around, LJ.”

Ben threw back his shoulders and stepped to Adam with more energy than a cheap bluff. He was willing to fight again.

Adam flinched then flipped Ben off as he walked backward down the hall. “Suck it, Shadows.”

“Knock it off out there,” Ms. Mitchell called from inside the room.

I gave Ben a tentative grin after Adam disappeared around a corner.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned back, melting me a little with the crinkle of his brown eyes and the easy curve of his lips.
Why did this have to happen?
I didn’t want things to be over with him.

He leaned against the doorframe, propped a foot under his butt, and tilted his head back. His jaw clenched and relaxed several times while he stared at the drop ceiling panels above him. I watched his chest rise and fall with shallow breaths, and I wondered what he was thinking. The way he was ignoring me now had to indicate that his earlier actions were only meant to be chivalrous. He probably felt obligated since I’d be his boss soon.

Ugh.
I dropped my head and stared at my feet. My head still hurt badly enough that it wouldn’t let me consider anything else. I was spent. During the fight, the headaches had worsened and I’d heard so many voices that I couldn’t think. The next thing I knew, I had a bloody nose. If the sequences were accurate, someone had a wish answered today.

I glanced back up and caught Ben’s eyes roaming my body. It sent a shiver through me that I thought I’d never feel from him again. I tucked some loose hair behind my ear and stood up straighter. A long sigh passed over his lips and he let his foot fall back to the floor.

“LJ, we have to talk later,” he said. His expression and voice were stoic.

“Yeah, we do,” I agreed somberly.

When the last person exited, Ms. Mitchell called us in. “Ben,” she greeted him after we ducked around the divider curtain. She pointed him to the bed opposite her chair. “LJ, have a seat on the next bed. Anything feel off, Ben? Your face is a bit red.”

“My jaw got a little rocked, but it feels okay now.”

She had him open his mouth and move his jaw to prove what he’d said. “This was wired for a while, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Keep an eye on it. If anything seems wrong, you’ll need to see your specialist or go to an ER.” She turned to her keyboard and punched a couple of keys.

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Get to the office. I’m sure they’ve already contacted your grandfather,” she said to him, and then moved in front of me.

Ben’s eyes were on me until he disappeared around the curtain. They were impossible to read. What did he want to say to me later? Was he giving whatever we had an official end? It’s not what I’d want, but I supposed closure would be better than the last few days of silent torment.

“So, LJ,” Ms. Mitchell looked into my eyes. “Were you hit?”

“No, ma’am.”

“But your nose is bleeding?”

“Yes. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fight. I’ve had a few recently. I just came to get some Tylenol for a headache,” I said, removing the tissue from my nose.

“Hmm. Still getting headaches?”

“Yes, some.”

She popped the top off the Tylenol and handed me two pills before going to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. “I’m glad there were no serious injuries out there today. Were you involved or were you a bystander?”

“I was involved. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed the new chick.”

“Oh. I understand. Especially after seeing who else was involved,” she said, handing me the water. “I would assume that it also has to do with Stockton Estate.”

I downed the pills with a gulp of water and took a breath. “I guess that’s a fair assumption. Not many people were excited when we moved in.”

She slid into her seat, typed a few things on her keyboard, then swung back around to face me. “Most of the people who work there cared about Genie. They care for that property, too.”

“I’ve heard.” I knew they cared for it, a hell of a lot more than they cared for me. I thought Ben might have started to care for me a little, though now I wasn’t so sure.

She crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands in her lap. Her hot orange acrylic nails were another vivid hint of her retro lifestyle outside of work. She rubbed the tips of her thumbs together, pursing her lips like she was debating something. “So, I’m curious, LJ, since we we’re talking about Genie. What have you decided to do with all of her well paintings?”

“You know about them, huh?” I smiled.

“Yeah, they’re
something
.”

“They’re
overwhelming
. They’ve been relocated to the basement for now.”

She laughed lightly. “I haven’t been to the property in … Well, it’s probably been since my mother died eight years ago when Genie graciously hosted a memorial service for her. And I attended Genie’s funeral, but I’d heard that the property memorial was employees and family only. Anyway, I was a teen when my mom and Genie first became friends. I visited the house a few times back then. After one of the visits, I asked my mom about the paintings because I thought it was rather strange to have so many. My mom said she’d asked Genie the same thing once and Genie simply told her that the well was a reminder of her lineage and also of the gifts it had given others. And the reason she’d painted it so many times was because those were things she could never forget.”

I considered the information while I fidgeted with my fingernails. The lineage aspect was easy enough to understand; our ancestors were the ones who built the well and the estate. But saying the well had given gifts to others seemed odd. Unless she thought the well was for wishing, like I had when I first saw it.

Wishing well.

Oh, God.
Everything happened after that day.

And the voices. Did she hear the voices, too? Were they the gifts to others?

“LJ?” Ms. Mitchell said, staring at me with wide eyes. She placed her hand on my knee.

“I’m … I’m sorry. I spaced for a second. I don’t understand what she meant about the gifts to others. Did your mom know what she meant?”

She leaned back into her chair and adjusted her vest. “Yes, actually that was the reason they became friends. See, my father was physically abusive. During his worst, my mother sent me to live with other family members because she feared he’d start hitting me, too. Unfortunately, even after everything he’d done to her, she never thought she’d have the strength to leave him. That all changed when she met Genie. Mom swore the change would never have happened without her, and that’s why she gave her the nickname. Genie joked around and credited the well a few times, but my mom said there was just something about Genie that was special.”

A lump formed in my throat, solid and smothering. I breathed deeply, trying to recover my thoughts. “It’s wonderful that your mom was able to change. What did you think about all of it?” I asked, clamping my hands together because they started to shake.
It was all real.
Aunt Janine knew something.

She shook her head and smiled. “All I know is I watched my mom transform overnight. To me, it didn’t matter what caused the change. I was just so happy that she had because she might not have lived otherwise. I was always appreciative of Genie. She cared about my mom enough to help her any way she could.”

I nodded and returned her smile.

“I’m sorry I have to cut this chat short, but I just wanted to let you know that your aunt was a generous person and if you’re anything like her, people will come around.” She stood up beside me. “You look okay to me, LJ, and I’m willing to bet that your dad is either already up at the main office waiting for you or he’ll be here soon enough. If those headaches and nosebleeds continue, you should think about seeing a doctor, okay?”

“Sure,” I agreed.

Ben wasn’t in the principal’s office when I got there, but Dad was. We sat in Mr. Trankon’s stuffy office for a seven-minute lecture about fighting and signed a few papers before we could flee to fresh air.

“They have got to get that man’s air-conditioning fixed,” Dad said as we stepped outside. “I wonder if he does it purposely to make the guilty kids sweat.”

I nodded at his weak joke. Truthfully, it wouldn’t have even mattered if his joke had been funny. I needed more information about the well and my mind refused to think about anything else. The only good news that came from Mr. Trankon’s sweat-box office was that everyone involved in today’s fight would be suspended for the entirety of next week. That gave me time. If Janine knew something, I needed to find out what it was.

“Look, LJ,” Dad said with a sigh when we got into the Escape. “I’m not mad about this. I’m not going to lie; I was pretty pissed when I got the call. Since you had the car, I had to call Lloyd for a ride. When he told me we could carpool since he’d also received a call for Ben, I was a little shocked. But I knew you wouldn’t voluntarily be involved with something like this.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I whispered, looking out the window, my thoughts only partially engaged in the conversation.

He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “However, I can’t help but to wonder what’s been going on lately. First you’re spending time with Ben, then you’re sulking around the house, and now you’re in a fight at school. I can’t help but to think this has something to do with him.”