Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy), page 15
“At least one of us knew you were coming,” I spoke up, but, again, they ignored me.
“I would’ve called, but I don’t like using the phone when I’m driving,” my father excused. “Wouldn’t want to crash.” I gritted my teeth as he continued to talk to my doctor. “How are things looking?”
“Eric healed a little earlier than I expected,” he said, suddenly switching from his interrogation to agreeing with me. “But that’s a sign of a healthy, young man.”
“That’s nice to hear,” I muttered, but neither reacted to my comment.
“My son is a healthy kid,” my father remarked.
“We need more healthy youth,” the doctor said.
“Eric doesn’t play videogames,” he said. “He likes exercise.”
And my training, I spoke telepathically for the first time in weeks, and my father’s eyes slid to mine. He was not happy.
“Back in my day that’s all we did − exercise,” the doctor continued.
I winced at the “back-in-my-day” line. Stories always followed, and I was too eager to be free to listen to it. Sure enough, the doctor opened his mouth and babbled about his schooldays. The two men laughed like old buddies, and I rolled my eyes, standing from the table.
“Well, it’s been great,” I said, folding my arms as I moved toward the door. “Can I have my papers?”
The doctor blinked, and my father draped his arm around the man. “We’ll catch up another time, Kenneth.” Excellent. Now they were on a first name basis.
“Sounds good, James,” he said, ripping off a paper to give me. I snatched it like it was the secret to the prophecy. “Don’t let me see you for crashing again.”
“Don’t worry about that, Doc,” I said, straightening my shirt out. “My new car barely hits forty when I try to crash it.”
The doctor paled.
“Sarcasm,” I clarified, but the man didn’t laugh.
My father grabbed my sleeve. “Let’s go,” he mumbled and dragged me from the room. “What are you thinking?”
“It was funny.”
“Hardly,” he said, but he was smiling. Apparently, I inherited his sense of humor.
We were free from the human hospital in minutes, and when I got to the parking lot, he let me go. I stood on the concrete sidewalk and looked over his face, searching for any sign of contentment. I was waiting for him to say he knew about Jessica, but he remained silent.
“How was your week?” he asked.
I pulled my car keys from my pocket. “Thanks for the car,” I said, finally able to show him my appreciation.
“You’ll need it,” he said, returning to his cold demeanor. “Are you feeling better?”
I thought that was obvious, I responded telepathically.
“Good.” His lip twitched. Now, you better start training again.
“I will tomorrow,” I replied aloud.
“Tonight,” he corrected. “You will go tonight.” Urte’s waiting for you already.
Of course he was. “I have school in the morning.” And I had to confront Robb.
My father pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket. “That’s never stopped you before.”
He paid more attention to my actions than I wanted to believe. “Fine,” I said, and he started to walk away. This time, I was the one to grab his shirt. “Wait.”
He stared at my grip like it was the first time we had touched. “What do you need?”
I cleared my throat. “Do you know where Jessica’s parents are buried?”
“What?” His tone was sharp. “Why would you ask that?”
“I—uh—” I couldn’t explain. Not yet. “Just curious.”
He straightened out, looming over my height, but he didn’t speak. His hand snaked into his back pocket, and he pulled out his wallet. In seconds, he had his business card out, and his fingertips hovered over the back. Scrawling black words appeared beneath his touch.
“You should be able to get there before it gets dark out,” he said, handing over the address.
“But training—”
“Go tomorrow,” he suggested. “Before training.”
I glanced at the address with confusion. I knew the location. “There isn’t a cemetery there.”
“Trust me.” My father’s expression slid into a knowledgeable grin. “You’ll find it.” With that, he turned his back and walked away. I stared, unable to look away as he strode away, his shoulders bouncing in a slight chuckle.
Jessica
The classroom bell sounded more like a death sentence than a routine warning to sit down. I hadn’t slept the night before, not when I knew I would be facing Robb, and I bit my nails as I stared at the clock. He had one more bell before he would show up − Eric, too.
I shivered at the reminder of my midnight hero. For once, I wished he didn’t always show up at the last minute. I wanted him next to me, and I wouldn’t even be ashamed to admit it to him.
“Jess,” Crystal exasperated as she collapsed in Eric’s chair. “What happened to you?” she asked, widening her eyes. “I filled up your voicemail trying to reach you—”
“I don’t use my cell phone,” I muttered, realizing she was clueless. I was tempted to take off my scarf and show her the bruises Robb had given me.
“Yeah, I know,” she exhaled, rolling her eyes. “But you could’ve made an exception after Robb and you disappeared. He hasn’t talked to me either.”
“For being a reporter, you’re really uninformed.” I avoided the explanation since we were surrounded by eavesdropping teens.
“I shouldn’t have to ask my best friends what happened to them.” She stuck out her bottom lip.
I sighed, knowing I had to find a way to tell her, but I was too late.
“Good morning.” The greeting was as sudden as his appearance. Robb McLain. He was standing in front of my desk, and I couldn’t bring myself to say a word. Crystal was too busy screeching.
“What happened to your face?” she yelled, and my eyes landed on his black eye.
“Got in a fight with some psycho,” Robb dismissed coldly.
“I like the sound of that nickname.”
Robb tensed as Eric brushed past him. He dropped his bag on the floor as the final bell rang. The room was silent as the two glared at one another.
Eric was as still as a predator, and Robb mimicked his posture poorly. His arms were folded. “What do you want, Welborn?”
“I don’t want anything from you,” Eric said, leaning his lower back against the countertop. “But I bet Jessica does.”
“Jessica?” Robb repeated my full name with bitterness.
“An apology,” Eric clarified, waving his hand toward me. “I’d like to hear it, too.”
Robb’s face flushed. “Is that your business?”
“I think you made it mine.”
“Boys,” Ms. Hinkel’s voice attempted to interrupt their tension, but they didn’t budge. “Take your seats. You, too, Crystal.”
She flew to her desk, and Robb stepped backwards, refusing to show his back to Eric. “We’ll talk after class,” Robb muttered to me before he left.
I shoved my hands under the table to prevent myself from seeing them shake. Eric, however, didn’t ignore them as he sat down next to me. “Are you okay?” he whispered the question he asked too many times for me to bear.
“Better now that you’re here,” I replied, surprised by my honesty. Eric blinked, and I flushed. “How was your doctor’s appointment?”
He pointed to his ribs. “All healed.” His words relaxed me.
“Good,” I whispered, ending our conversation as class began. I was relieved when the teacher put on a documentary, and the class was distracted. I faced forward and lost myself to the film about genetics.
The recessive genes fascinated me the most − the ones that didn’t necessarily show up but still retained a significance people couldn’t deny. I wondered if my parents were surprised by my blue eyes or worried about disorders they could pass on. I didn’t know anything about their health, but my curiosity was returning. I cursed myself for not asking for their records when I had visited Eric in the hospital.
I glanced at the boy in my peripheral vision. One second, he was a stern outcast, practically begging for trouble, and the next second he would be a teasing, crossword champ. He was intelligent and attractive, but he didn’t seem to care about the effect he had on everyone. He either scared or excited them. To me, he did both.
The lights switched on, and Eric’s gaze met mine. I froze, and for a second, he did, too. When he smirked, the startled expression he had before seemed like an illusion. “Did you like it?” he asked, and I bit my lip as I nodded. “Me, too.”
I wanted to talk to him about it, but he looked behind me, and his eyes slit into a glare. I didn’t have to turn around to know what he was looking at.
“Leave me alone, Robb,” I said, gathering my things.
“But I wanted to talk to you—”
“That’s not a mutual feeling.” I stepped around Eric to walk behind the table. I stayed as far away from Robb as I could, and Eric was helping. He sprang up and walked by my side, staying between Robb and I. Crystal was hovering in the doorway with a pale face, and I wondered if he told her.
“You know, I didn’t mean it, Jess,” Robb said, walking next to Eric. “I was drunk—”
“Most drunks don’t choke people,” I said.
Eric grabbed my hand, stopping me in the doorway. I could sense students staring, but I didn’t want to look. I was too focused on Eric.
“If she doesn’t want to talk to you, why don’t you leave her alone?” he suggested.
Robb crossed his arms. “How about you do your usual thing and stay out of it?”
Eric’s lips curled into a snarl. “Kind of hard when you’re talking through me, don’t you think?”
“Then, leave.” Robb sounded like he was giving orders, but Eric wasn’t about to obey him.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Oh.” Robb raised his thick eyebrows. “Now, you’re talking for her, too.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, grabbing Eric’s arm to pull him into the hallway, but Robb stepped in front of the door.
“You have to talk to me eventually.”
“No, I don’t,” I argued, stepping under his arm. Crystal latched onto me, and I spun around to see Robb pushing his finger against Eric’s chest.
“We have a problem, Welborn,” he said.
This time, I was pulling Robb back. “Leave Eric alone,” I said.
Robb whipped around, his face reddened. “Eric?” he repeated. “I didn’t realize you were so close to him all of a sudden.”
“Robb.” My voice was a rigid tone I hadn’t heard from myself before. My heart was pounding, but my hands weren’t shaking. I was steady, because I was preparing for the worst.
Robb threw his hands in the air. “Why are you protecting him?” he shouted so loudly the teacher ran into the hallway.
“Because he’s protecting me,” I said.
Robb snarled. “Yeah, I’d protect my slut, too.”
My racing heart dropped before I comprehended what had happened.
In movements too fast to see, Eric had grabbed Robb’s arm, twisted it behind his back, and shoved him against the wall. Robb’s face was against the white bricks, and Eric’s face was reddened with anger.
“Take that back,” Eric demanded, pulling Robb’s arm up.
“I don’t have to,” Robb managed.
The teacher stomped her feet on the marble floor. “Mr. Welborn. Mr. McLain,” she screamed, waving her arms through the air. “Office − now!”
Eric ignored her, holding Robb against the wall for seconds that seemed like minutes. Even when he shoved Robb and let him go, the veins on Eric’s neck were sticking out. When he turned to Ms. Hinkel, no one breathed. “My favorite place,” Eric said, grabbing his bag off the floor. I hadn’t even noticed him dropping it.
He put on his headphones and strode away without covering his back. The confidence sent shudders down my spine. Eric didn’t care if Robb attacked him again. In fact, he was teasing Robb with the opportunity. He wanted it.
“Office, Mr. McLain.” Ms. Hinkel pointed a shaky finger down the hallway.
Robb dropped his face and grumbled as he followed Eric to their punishment. I half-expected him to talk to me, but he didn’t. Ms. Hinkel did instead. “Get to class, Ms. Taylor.” It sounded like an apology.
I stared at the usually strict woman. “Shouldn’t I go, too?” I asked, hoping she would send me.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she dismissed, walking after the boys. I wanted to shout that I had, that I caused the fight with my recklessness over the weekend. Even though she thought I hadn’t done anything wrong, I knew I was the problem.
“Jess.” Crystal’s usually loud voice was quiet. When she touched me, I jumped, and she sprung back.
“I’m sorry,” I sighed.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Robb wrote me a note in class. Explained the whole thing.” She cringed, and her eyes drifted over my scarf. I was paranoid she could see my bruises through the thick fabric. “I’m not talking to him either.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do.” She took my bag, steadying her small body between both of our backpacks. “I’m your friend, after all.”
Eric
Getting suspended ruined any chance I had to go to the gravesite after school. George Stone had to pick me up, and he drove me straight to the training room. As punishment, Urte was throwing everything he had in my direction.
My sword was weightless in my hands, and my body tingled like the cooling air outside. I was swift, and my concentration was impeccable. I wouldn’t use my anger to fight like I had before, even though I had a lot of it from the day. I had learned to control it. When the battle would happen, I didn’t know, but I knew one thing: I felt ready.
But I wasn’t battling Darthon today. Instead, I was fighting Urte’s bickering as he stomped around the room. “Do you know how hard it is to keep you in school?” he lectured. “You’ve gotten in enough trouble as it is, Eric − with all of your backtalk, you should’ve been expelled.”
“You should’ve let me get kicked out,” I retorted, slicing a beam of light in half. “I’d have more time to train.”
“And you’d stick out more.”
“I think I stick out more when they make exceptions for me,” I argued, but Urte wasn’t going to continue the argument. He knew as well as I that I wouldn’t give up. I was too stubborn.
“That isn’t the point,” Urte resigned.
I finished the last of his tests and felt my sword return to my veins, zipping against the very blood that cursed me with the power. “Then, what is?” I asked, picking up the nearest water bottle I could find.
“You got into a fight at school.”
“At least I stayed in my human form.” I nearly crushed the water bottle in my hand. “I would’ve killed Robb if I were Shoman.”
Urte grabbed his bristled chin. “Don’t even joke about something like that.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“We don’t need you to be fighting,” Urte said.
The irony of his words made me laugh. “I can handle myself, Urte.”
“You already have fractured ribs—”
“Had,” I corrected him. “I had broken ribs. They’re fine now.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to find an excuse to break something else,” he retorted. “I saw Robb’s face. He could’ve done the same to you.”
“That human?” I spat the words. Using his name aloud would be too difficult. “Only cowards hit women.”
Urte’s demeanor changed. He rushed over, and his wild eyes searched my face. “What are you talking about?”
“What do you think?” I watched the realization spread over his expression. “I told you I had to help Jessica for a reason.”
“Eric.” Urte’s tone was quieter. “When you said that Jess was drunk with another guy, you never said he was beating her.”
“He choked her,” I corrected as the bones in my hands tightened. “And kissed her.”
“I think one is more important.”
“I’d say both of them upset me.”
Urte put his hands out like he was ready to shake me. “I would’ve understood the situation better if you told me this,” he said. “You have to stop keeping secrets.”
“I’m practicing to become an elder,” I remarked.
Urte smacked his forehead. “I swear you prepare for these conversations,” he grumbled. It was an aggravation I was used to.
“I don’t know why I didn’t tell you, Urte.” I leaned my back against the wall. Now that I could transform, it was strange to be taller than the man. “I thought Camille would’ve figured it out.”
Urte raised his brow. “Why’s that?”
“She changed her.” I hoped he already knew that detail. “I was sure she saw the marks.”
Urte was silent for a moment. “If Camille did, she didn’t say anything to me.”
I would have to ask my guard when I saw her next, but I wasn’t sure when it would be. She was training on her own. Unlike the other guards, she would fight, and my side wouldn’t be easy to fight next to.
“Does my father know about this?” I asked, referring to my brawl at school.
Urte nodded. “I think he expected this sort of behavior eventually.” My father was the only person I knew who was ahead of me. “He’d be angry if you’d gotten hurt.”
“I would’ve healed.”
“Bob wouldn’t have.”
“Robb,” I corrected hastily. “His name is Robb, not Bob.”
Urte smirked. “Now, that is something that doesn’t matter.”
I groaned. The joke couldn’t even lighten my attitude, and I was too tired from training to respond. It would only turn into an argument anyway.
Urte laid a hand on my shoulder, and I stared at the hair on his fingers. “You should go home early,” he said.
It was the first piece of good news I’d received all day. “Thanks,” I said, knowing I couldn’t accept the offer. “But I wanted to talk to you about something.”
