Insidious(46)
“We?”
***
Yeah, the thought of counting on Reese for help sounded about as pleasant as a kick to the teeth. I had hoped that the idea would look better in the light of day, but oh boy, was I wrong. All I came to find was that I was truly out of options. Confiding in the only real father figure I’ve had in recent memory was off the table, and I was now officially afraid of Adam.
What I’d give to be invisible.
It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to me the moment I got to school the following morning. I’d literally flung myself into the janitor’s closet to avoid running into Adam when I saw him coming down the hall. The weather even seemed to agree with my misery. Though it was well after sunrise, it barely looked like dawn had arrived. Low rumbles teased of impending storms in the distance, but none had reached town…yet. Relieved to get into class without any further incidents, I exhaustedly plopped down into my desk and put some music on to drown out the chaos. Between my racing thoughts and the fear of levitation-inducing nightmares, I secured yet another sleepless night under my belt.
A few minutes later, I could see Carly slide into the seat beside me out of my peripherals, but I kept my eyes focused on my textbook, listening to Jack White sing about the hounds of Hell.
Seriously?
Music was usually my favorite form of escapism. But the more I listened to my playlists, the more and more I noticed how biblically rife so many songs were. Everything somehow referenced demons, angels, devils, and Satan himself. I couldn’t escape it.
“Hey.” Carly outright pried the bud from my ear. “What happened to you last night?”
“What?”
“Daniel said you were at the mall. Why didn’t you say hello? I really could have used your advice on this sweater I found.”
“I’m sure it was cute,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes tiredly.
“Well, it better be. I’m wearing it,” she jabbed.
I finally gave her a look-over, noting that she was in fact sporting a new cashmere cardigan. “Oh…yeah. Looks good.”
“So?”
“What?”
“Daniel also mentioned that you were there to meet up with someone,” she urged. “Care to elaborate?”
I slumped down into my seat, as if it would actually help me disappear. “Not really.”
Car out-and-out whimpered. “You didn’t seriously hook up with Adam, did you? God, I knew you’d cave! The way you were looking at him before gym…I should’ve just punched him in the face. Or the jewels. That would’ve been better.”
A gentle warmth spread across my chest, and my eyes involuntarily shifted to the doorway.
No, no, no, no!
Six feet of Victorian allure sauntered in the doorway, leaving me both breathless and horrified. What was Reese doing here? He didn’t share this class with us, and the only time he’d ever sought me out in school was when he was invisible. That pirated grin of his tipped up a notch as his eyes settled on mine. He wouldn’t try to make me look crazy… Would he?
Just look busy.
Just look busy.
If I ignored him, he’d go away.
I grabbed my book bag off the floor and preoccupied myself with taking out notebooks I didn’t need, opening them up and pretending to concentrate on the material.
My desk jostled slightly as Reese took a seat in front of me, resting his arms on the edge of my desk.
“Fancy running into you here.”
My teeth ground, but I refused to pay him any mind.
“What? Not even a ‘hello’?”
Carly cleared her throat. I stole a sideways glance, seeing her eyes wider than a king-sized bed. “Oh. My. God!” she mouthed.
Wait…
Reese made another remark, and when I didn’t reply, Car gawked at me like she wanted to take a two-by-four to my head. She shifted her eyes back and forth between me and Reese, giving me confirmation that she could more than see him, too.
“It appears you misplaced this,” said Reese, sliding something on top of the notebook laid in front of me.
I finally looked forward, seeing it was my cell.
“Understandable, amid all the to-do.” He said the last word with particular emphasis, signifying an undertone that made Carly choke on her morning latte. I knew exactly where her mind had gone. Right in the freaking gutter. And it wasn’t like I was in the position to clarify what he really meant. You know, rescuing me from an Underworld assassin and all… “Seemed like the gentlemanly thing to return it.”
What game was he playing at? I just gawked at him confusedly, and of all things, he smiled back at me with a kindness I hadn’t seen since we first met well over a year ago. Thankfully, there was a good five minutes left before class started, leaving most of the seats around us still unoccupied, but the conversation was not lost on Carly or Vanessa, who I now just realized was seated behind Car.