Walking in the Shadows (22 page)

“Teachers aren’t supposed to talk a
bout this with students,
” I snapped
,
picking up my back pack.

“This is different
Vera
; you’re not just a student.”

“For once, I wish I was,
” I responded
as I walked
away from him.

He grabbed my arm
.
“
Vera
, I’
m just trying to figure out how to protect you.”

“I’m sure my
d
ad would have tried to protect my
m
om,
but
now they’
re both dead,
”
I shot back as I shook my arm free.

“
Vera
, I won’t
let anyone hurt you.”

“How? You can’t save me fr
om this
,
Tad.
Just
leave it be, “I
demanded
,
leaving
him standing puzzled in between the books.
The second I couldn’t feel his eyes on my back I let my shoulders fold with fresh, angry tears. I felt cornered and lost. I missed my parents, and the one person who I needed to save me couldn’t.
I wouldn’t let him.

I had every intention
of continuing to be livid with
Tad for no apparent reason
for the whole dance
. I knew it was stupid to be mad at him for wanting to protect me, but I didn’t want him to end up dead too.
It didn’t help that I was also irritated that I had to go to this dance.
I took a deep breath before I entered the ballroom of the hotel and steeled myself to keep up the farce of anger. It didn’t matter though
;
as soon as my eyes found Tad, the anger and apprehension were replaced with light, fluttering butterflies.
Damn him and his good looks and easy smile.
Before I could rein in my reaction Jaz was jumping up and down in front of me in excitement.

“Seriously! O
-
M
-
G you look amazing in that color blue!
” Jaz gushed as she looked at
the full length, curve revealing
dress
.
“
It
’s like Mr. Knightley’s eyes. M
hmm…he looks smashing in that suit and
tie.”

“Thanks,” I replied
as I glanced around the room
,
trying not to look at Tad because I was afraid I might melt if his eyes met mine.
Instead m
y eyes
landed on the one person I had
n’
t wanted to see ever again. The anger returned, and I felt as though I might just boil over.

“So glad you’re here
!
” Jaz
said
,
breathless with enthusiasm
. Then s
he noticed where my eyes had landed
.
“Awesome band
,
huh? They come all the way from the vampire murder capitol.”

“Seriousl
y?” I
muttered
,
and
added the
silent
,
why me?

“Oh, yeah
,
and that lead singer is
so
hot. Not as hot as Knightley
,
but who coul
d beat that?”
Jaz
observed
,
and
continued to drag me into the
crowd
of m
oving bodies on the dance floor
.
“Oh! Oh, he is
so
eyeing you!”

I swallowed
,
brushing the curl that had fallen
from the
bun at the nape of my neck out of my eye.
I knew the reason he was staring. It was because I was his ex-girlfriend, the one commonly known as the girl who got away. I hated the feeling of his eyes on me; it made me feel unclean.

“
Like
you said
,
he isn’t
Knightley,
”
I answered as I looked
away.

“Knightley is also off limit
s!”
Jaz
exclaimed
.

“Yeah,
”
I said,
glad to be
distracted by her horrid dancing.

“D
ance! This is a dance after all,
”
Jaz ordered as she grabbed at my crossed arms.

I knew that Jaz was trying to make me enjoy myself, but I couldn’t help but feel miserable with Brian’s eyes on me and
my eyes
lingering to the off li
mits teacher
.
I bit the inside of my lip b
efore letting the music sink in.
I ignored the voice and let my body flow with the beat.

“
Vera
, you can move!”
Jaz
yelped in surprise
.

“Th
anks,
” I said
,
knowing I couldn’
t say the same for her as she jerked this way and that.

“Brad’s
attached to the wall like a fly
.
”
S
he
complained
,
her eyes narrowed
at him
as he stood
behind me.

At least he was only
a wall flower. Tad
was serving pu
nch to his students, which
included me. I could feel that sickening feeling in my stomach where I wanted to run from the room and disappear forever. I k
new if I did run that I couldn’
t resist the need to drag Tad along.

“Zebra print—you have such go
od style and you dance and you’
re pretty. I’
d
be worried if you wanted my man,
”
Jaz remarked with a hint of jealousy
as she watched me reach into my purse for my vibrating cell phone.

“Y
ou do
n’t give yourself enough credit,
”
I replied
,
distracted by the elation filling my body.

“So
,
who’
s texting you?”

I slid it open
to find a text from Tad
.

Thirsty?

“You look wicked happ
y
!
”
Jaz
probed
.

I looked over my shoulder and
nodded for Brad
to come and save m
e. He walked forward in reluctance
.

“I think you sh
ould dance with your girlfriend,
”
I suggested
,
taking his hands and putting them on her hips.

Jaz
fluttered her long black eyelashes
,
and he couldn’
t resist
.
“I suppose I could.”

Tad didn’
t notice who I was until his hand touch
ed
mine. He looked up
and
burst into an undeniable smile
.
“
Vera
.”

“Mr. Knightley.”

He glanced around him to ensure that no one was close enough to hear.

“You look stunning,” h
e whispered
, “like an angel.”

“Oh, that is such a bad line,
”
I
choked on my punch
and
watched as he straight
ened his tie
.
“You look like a k
night
.
”

“Please
!
That was such a bad play on words
that
if I had a
garbage can
,
I would puke in it,
”
Tad replied
,
gagging.

I leaned down and picked up
the over flowing one at my feet
.
“Here you go, Sir
!
”

“Do you like the,”
h
e began
as
a
fellow teacher
walked by
,
finishing,
“book I assigned?”
T
he teacher smiled at him and continued on their way
.
“band?”

“Not really.”

The song that was being played
ended and the lead singer spoke
.

“So let’s
slow this down a bit
,
”
h
e began
,
and
I couldn’
t help but look over my shoulder
. I found his eyes locked on mine as he continued,
“This is a song I dedicated to the girl that di
sappeared and b
roke my heart
.
”
T
he crowd awed
.
“She is still as beautiful as ever though.”

I swung my h
ead back around, and I could feel the venom building in my veins. I knew it showed as my eyes met Tad’s and he frowned.

“You look like you want to punch that guy in th
e face,
”
Tad noticed, and his tone
was
laced with worry.

“
That’s
because I want to,
” I replied
through gritted teeth.

“
They’re from
yo
ur town
,
aren’t they? Is he…t
alking about you?
”
Tad asked
,
scratching his five o’clock shadow
as if the thought irritated him.

“Technica
lly I didn’t
disappear. He knew I was
leaving
,
and
we broke up far
before I left
. He was always good at over exaggerating things t
o piss me off. He was mean to me
,
and he ended up with my best friend
,
”
I explained as I tried to keep my voice hushed.

“Mean to you?”
Tad repeated
,
his eyes staring at the punch bowl.

“He always
acted like I was
stupid and
he was pushy. I hated
it and hate him for it more now,
”
I said
,
shaking my head.

“Why?”

“Look at me please,
”
I demanded
,
and h
e
looked up so I would answer
.
“I found someone who treats me as their
equal and
makes me want to be better for myself and for him.”

“You amaze me,
”
Tad whispered.

“Knightley, your shift is up,” t
he teacher I recognized from the science department said.
The school was big enough that I barely knew half of the faculty, but I was able to recognize them.

“I liked
your insight onto that
book you assigned. I was
struggling with that co
ncept. Thank you, Mr. Knightley,
”
I covered with the most fake smile I had ever mustered.

“I can head home
,
then?”
Tad asked over my shoulder.

“Lucky man, yes you can,
”
t
he teacher replied.

As I turned I
all but
rammed into
Br
i
a
n
,
whose band was
taking a break. “Ab—
“he
began.

“It’s
Vera
.”

“
Vera
, this is where you went to,
”
Bri
a
n observed
,
using his hands to signal at me.