Touch of Death (5 page)

“Oh, um, no. Melodie said she’d take me.” This time I knew the kick was coming. Hell, I wanted to kick myself. Why was I turning down a ride from Matt?

“Okay, well if you change your mind, let me know.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze and left. I watched him go and tried not to drool.

“What is wrong with you?” Melodie flung a French fry at my head.

“I don’t know,” I whined. “He’s just so—”

“Perfect and totally kissable. But you turned him down for a ride. Alone. The two of you. In his car.”

“Yes, I get it. I’m an idiot.” I took a bite of my peanut-butter sandwich and sighed.

I spent the afternoon thinking of believable excuses for why Melodie had to suddenly back out of driving me home so I could ask Matt for a ride instead. They all sounded completely lame. Last period study hall arrived, and I still hadn’t come up with anything. On the positive side, I hadn’t seen Green Eyes either.

I tapped my pencil eraser on my desk and stared at Mr. Quimby. Lucky me, I had him twice a day thanks to study hall. He spent the period ignoring us, as usual. Maybe he didn’t know who Green Eyes was. Maybe he tried not to pay too much attention to his students. He might feel guilty for ignoring us if he actually knew all our names. Just because he didn’t know about the new student, though, didn’t mean no one did.

I gathered my books and walked up to Mr. Quimby’s desk. “Mr. Quimby, I was wondering if I could go to the office.”

He stopped typing on his computer and looked at me. “What for?”

“Well, you may have heard I was in an accident before school yesterday. I hit a deer with my car. I was supposed to get a ride home from Melodie, but she got called in to work.” Matt would never fall for the “called in to work” excuse because he knew Melodie didn’t have a job. Matt and Melodie had been friends for a long time. She was the one who had introduced us. “So, I need to take the bus home. I figured since I haven’t taken the bus in a while, I might need a bus pass.”

He studied me like he was trying to decide if I was telling the truth. I smiled, trying to look innocent. “Very well. You may go.”

“Thank you.” I hurried out the door before he could have second thoughts.

I took the long way to avoid going by the nurse’s office. There’d been a sign on the door all day saying, “Emergencies only”—with “only” in big letters—“should report to the main office.” I guessed they didn’t have a substitute nurse on hand. I cringed at the thought of Mrs. Thompson taking care of sick students. I’d rather throw up in class than have her glare at me for an entire period, but right now I needed her help. So, I put on my best smile and walked right up to her desk.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Thompson.” I faked as much cheerfulness as I could.

She raised her eyes without lifting her head. The effect was unnerving, and I swallowed hard. She didn’t say anything, so I continued. “Um, Mr. Quimby sent me. I have study hall with him this period. He had a student missing from class today. Not from study hall. From lit class.”

“Lit class?” she asked, as if I was speaking another language.

“Literature. First period.”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, he had a new student yesterday. A boy. But he—the boy—never gave Mr. Quimby his transfer slip. You see, Mr. Quimby was in the middle of a fascinating lecture about mythology, and since this unit counts for so much of our semester grade, he didn’t want to interrupt the class to get this boy’s name.” I paused to see if she was buying any of this. Her expression was stone cold, but since she wasn’t yelling at me to go back to class, I decided to keep going. “Um, so Mr. Quimby wanted to know if you could give me this boy’s paperwork, so he could enter it in his grade book.”

My fingers were laced in front of me in an attempt to look innocent, but I was clenching my hands so tightly my knuckles were turning white. I quickly unlocked my fingers and put my arms down at my sides. I knocked over the nameplate on her desk in the process, and jumped when it landed with a thud. “Sorry,” I mumbled, bending to pick it up. I expected Mrs. Thompson to tell me that Mr. Quimby would have to come get the paperwork himself because she couldn’t hand it over to another student for confidentiality reasons. At least, that sounded like something a school should do. Instead, she typed something into her computer.

“We’ve only had one new student in the past two weeks. A girl, and she’s not listed on any of Mr. Quimby’s class registers.”

“What? That can’t be right.” I leaned toward her computer screen, trying to read it.

She removed her glasses, something I’d never seen her do before. “Excuse me, young lady, but school files are not for the eyes of students.”

I backed up again. “But you don’t understand. This boy was in class yesterday. I saw him. He has—”

“Look.” Mrs. Thompson put her glasses back on. “I’ve heard Mr. Quimby isn’t the most exciting teacher we have here. Isn’t it possible you were daydreaming about this new boy?”

Daydreaming? Who daydreamed about a stalker? “No, I—” She glared at me, and I knew the conversation was over. “Thank you for your help.”

“Tell Mr. Quimby to come see me if he thinks there’s been some sort of mistake.”

I nodded and left the office. Nothing was making sense. Green Eyes wasn’t a figment of my imagination. I’d seen him in class. Matt saw him at Alberto’s and fought with him in my yard. He’d delivered pizza to my house. Something was wrong. Really wrong.

The bell rang and students rushed out into the halls. The end of the day was always a scramble. I went to my locker and exchanged some books before heading to meet Melodie. Luckily, driving to school, or getting a ride from Melodie, meant I didn’t have to rush like everyone who rode the bus. Having been homeschooled for most of my life, I’d only taken the bus a handful of times. And for that I was thankful. It was nothing but loud, obnoxious, pent-up kids who really needed to let out some aggression after being herded around school all day like a bunch of lab rats.

I turned the corner, trying to put my jacket on as I walked, which isn’t easy when you’re carrying a bag full of books. I dropped my shoulder bag, spilling my books and pens all over the floor. “Great.”

A hand reached out and picked up my bag. I turned to see Green Eyes. “You!”

“Is that going to be your new greeting for me?” he asked.

“Give me my bag.” I yanked the strap, but he held on tight.

“First, we need to talk.”

“Fine. How about you start with what you’re doing here? You don’t go to this school. I know. I asked around.” I tugged on the bag again, with no luck. This guy was stronger than he looked.

“You asked about me?” He smiled.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I only wanted to know your name so I could tell the cop I called last night.”

“So, you want to be on a first name basis, is that it?”

I couldn’t believe him. He was beyond cocky.

“Hey!”

I let go of my bag and turned to see Matt rushing toward us.

“We’ll talk later.” Green Eyes tossed my bag to me, running in the opposite direction of Matt.

I hugged my bag to my chest, staring after him.

“Did he hurt you?” Matt reached out to me.

“No, he was just a jerk. I’m fine. Really.” Matt helped me stuff my books back into my bag.

“Come on. I’m taking you home.” He put his arm around me.

“Hey, Jodi, there you are. I’ve been waiting for you.” Melodie stopped and looked at Matt. “Oh, um, you know I have this thing I have to go to.”

“A thing?” Matt asked.

“Yeah.” Melodie nodded. “It’s totally last minute. I only found out about it last period. So, um, Jodi, I can’t drive you home. I’m so sorry.” She winked at me, the most wicked, obvious wink in the history of winking.

I rolled my eyes and looked at Matt. “She was your friend first.”

Matt laughed. “Yeah, but I can’t remember why.”

Melodie shook her head. “Oh just get out ofhere, you two.”

I smiled at her and mouthed, “I’ll call you.”

“Have fun,” she called after us in a singsong voice.

“You really don’t mind taking me home?” I asked as we got into his car.

“Not at all. In fact I’ll feel better knowing that creep isn’t hanging around outside your house.”

Boy, I really hoped Green Eyes wasn’t waiting for me. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Absolutely. I talked to my cousin. He said to come by around nine, and he’d get us in. So, I’ll pick you up around 8:45.”

“Sounds great.”

We pulled into the driveway. “Stay in the car while I go check for loser boy.”

“You know, I don’t think he wants to hurt me. I think he just likes to scare me.”

“Well, I don’t want him doing anything to you.”

I waited while Matt circled the house. He came back and shrugged his shoulders. I got out of the car. “All clear.” He smiled.

He walked me to the front door, and I hesitated with my key in my hand. “So, 8:45 you said?”

“Yeah.” He leaned forward, and the front door swung wide open.

“Hi, honey!” Mom said. “Matt, is it?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Matt nodded. “Nice to see you.” He turned to me again. “I’ll pick you up later.”

All I could do was nod. How many times was my mother going to ruin my first kiss with Matt? I pushed by her and went straight to my room. She called up that dinner would be ready at five. I didn’t even answer. I flung open my bedroom door and nearly screamed.

My room had been torn apart. Things were scattered everywhere. I knew exactly who had done it. Green Eyes had been in my house. He’d gone through my room. And probably while my mom was downstairs.

Chapter 5

I dropped my bag in the doorway. My chest felt like a sumo wrestler was sitting on it. I couldn’t hide from this guy. There was nothing I could do to stop him from getting close to me. He wasn’t a student at Lambert High, yet he had somehow managed to get inside the school and into one of my classes without being caught. Now, he’d broken into my house and ransacked my room.

“Jodi, are you okay? What was that banging?” Mom yelled up the stairs.

“I dropped my book bag. Sorry!” I yelled down, scooping up my bag and rushing into my room. I closed the door and leaned my back against it. I couldn’t let Mom see my room like this. She’d make me quit Lambert and go back to homeschooling. And she’d never let me go out with Matt tonight. With all the crap I’d been through, I needed one night of fun. One perfect night with the perfect guy and the perfect first kiss. That was all I wanted.

I raced to my bed and started making it. One of my pillows was sliced open, but I shoved it in a pillowcase and put it back in its place. Then, I went to my desk and closed all the drawers, tossing the contents of them back inside, not caring if things were in their proper places. I had to get it off the floor before Mom came upstairs. My dresser was next. Clothes spilled out. I shoved them inside and threw myself at the closet. I heard Mom’s footsteps on the stairs. She probably wanted me to set the table or make the salad. I got down on my knees and literally swept the shoes and clothing into my closet with my arms. I was shutting the doors when Mom knocked.

“Honey?” She opened the door and stepped inside, glancing around the room. “It’s getting a little messy in here, don’t you think? You should spend some time cleaning it up this evening.”

“Mom, I have a date with Matt tonight.” She already knew that. She’d heard our conversation on the front porch when she’d so rudely interrupted us.

“Oh, well, see what you can do before you go out.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

“And I’d love it if you could set the table for me. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Be down in a sec.” I kicked a pillow feather under my bed.

As soon as she left, I flopped down on my bed. Things were getting too complicated. Dodging stalkers, keeping secrets from Mom, and I didn’t have a clue what I was going to wear to the club tonight.

Dinner was uneventful. I didn’t mention the break-in or the surprise run-in with Green Eyes at school. Mom seemed to be tiptoeing around the subject of the nurse. The funny thing was that no one was really talking about it at school either. There had been an announcement in first period letting everyone know about the funeral arrangements. Other than that, no one had mentioned it.

After dishes, I went upstairs, showered, and called Melodie. “You have to help me pick out an outfit. I’ve never been to a club before, and I want to look amazing tonight,” I blurted without even saying hello.

“Don’t you mean you want to look kissable?”

“Exactly. See, this is why I called you.”

“Okay, go to your closet and start describing what you have.”

I went to the closet and opened the doors before I remembered the break-in. My clothes lay in a heap on the floor. “Maybe I should call and cancel.”

“No way! I’m not letting you do that. Give me a second to think.” I could hear Melodie tapping her finger on the side of the phone. “Got it! Wear those dark jeans you got last week. The ones I picked out.”

“They make me look—”

“Kissable,” Melodie interrupted. “Put them on. And then find your black top with the lace neckline. It’s dressy casual. Plus, you’ll easily be able to dance in that outfit.”