Fallen 2. Torment(99)

the one who'd cheated.

It made her physically ill to think of Daniel sitting out there, watching, saying

nothing as she and Miles kissed; to imagine how he must have felt when he took off from

her roof. The way she'd felt when she first heard about whatever had happened between

Daniel and Shelby--only worse, because this was bona fide cheating. One more thing to

add to the list of proofs that she and Daniel could not seem to communicate.

A soft laugh brought her back to her uneaten breakfast.

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Francesca was gliding around the tables in a long black-and-white polka-dotted

cape. Every time Luce glanced over at her, she had that saccharine smile stuck on her

face and was deep in conversation with one student or another, but Luce still felt under

heavy scrutiny. As if Francesca could bore into Luce's mind and know exactly what had

made Luce lose her appetite. Like the wild white peonies that had disappeared without a

trace from their border overnight, so too could Francesca's belief disappear that Luce was

strong.

"Why so glum, chum?" Shelby swallowed a large wedge of bagel. "Believe me,

you didn't miss that much last night."

Luce didn't answer. The bonfire on the beach was the furthest thing from her

mind. She'd just noticed Miles trudging to breakfast, much later than he usually did. His

Dodgers cap was tugged low over his eyes, and his shoulders looked a little stooped.

Involuntarily, her fingers went to her lips.

Shelby was waving flamboyantly, both arms over her head. "What is he, blind?

Earth to Miles!"

When she finally caught his attention, Miles gave their table a clumsy wave,

practically tripping over the to-go buffet. He waved again, then disappeared behind the

mess hall.

"Is it me or has Miles been acting like a total spaz recently?" Shelby rolled her

eyes and imitated Miles's goofy stumble.

But Luce was dying to stumble after him and-And what? Tell him not to feel embarrassed? That the kiss had been her fault,

too? That having a crush on a train wreck like her was only going to end badly? That she

liked him, but so many things about it--them--were impossible? That even though she and

Daniel were fighting right now, nothing could ever really threaten their love?

"Anyway, like I was saying," Shelby continued, refilling Luce's coffee from the

bronze carafe on the table. "Bonfire, hedonism, blah blah blah. These things can be so

tedious." One side of Shelby's mouth flinched to an almost-smile. "Especially, you know,

when you're not around."

Luce's heart unclenched just a little. Every once in a while, Shelby let in the

tiniest ray of light. But then her roommate quickly shrugged, as if to say Don't let it go to

your head.

"No one else appreciates my Lilith impersonation. That's all." Shelby straightened

her spine, heaved her chest forward, and made the right side of her top lip quiver

disapprovingly.

Shelby's Lilith impersonation had never failed to crack Luce up. But today all she

could manage was a thin closed-mouth smile.

"Hmmm," Shelby said. "Not that you'd care what you missed at the party. I

noticed Daniel flying away over the beach last night. You two must have had a lot to

catch up on."

Shelby had seen Daniel? Why hadn't she mentioned it sooner? Could anyone else

have seen him?

"We didn't even talk."

"That's hard to believe. He's usually so full of orders to give you--"

"Shelby, Miles kissed me," Luce interrupted. Her eyes were closed. For some

reason, that made it easier to confess. "Last night. And Daniel saw everything. He took

164

off before I could--"

"Yeah, that would do it." Shelby let out a low whistle. "This is kind of huge."

Luce's face burned with shame. Her mind couldn't shake the image of Daniel

taking flight. It felt so final.

"So is it, you know, over between you and Daniel?"

"No. Never." Luce couldn't even hear that phrase without shuddering. "I just don't

know."

She hadn't told Shelby the rest of what she'd glimpsed in the Announcer, that

Daniel and Cam were working together. Were secret pals, as far as she could tell. Shelby

wouldn't know who Cam was, anyway, and the history was way too complicated to

explain. Besides, Luce wouldn't be able to stand it if Shelby, with her oh-so-deliberatelycontroversial views about angels and demons, tried to make a case that a partnership

between Daniel and Cam wasn't that big a deal.

"You know Daniel's gonna be all screwed up over it right now. Isn't that Daniel's

big thing--the undying devotion you two share?"

Luce stiffened in her white iron chair.

"I wasn't being sarcastic, Luce. So maybe, I don't know, Daniel's been involved

with other people. It's all pretty nebulous. The take-home message, like I said before, is