Charcoal Tears (15 page)

“I’ll call you Bossman, that way you still get a little bit of status.”

He was shaking his head, but he seemed amused.

“It’s better than Cabe’s nickname,” I offered.

“Oh?”

“Lucifer.”

Quillan laughed. “You got that one pretty spot on.”

“Damn straight, Bossman.”

“I think you should lose this playful side,” he said casually. “Between you and Cabe, I’ll never get any work done.”

I looked down into the distorted reflection of my face swirling in the coffee, unsure how to respond. “I’ve seen your foul-mouthed side,” I finally spoke up. “Only fair you saw my playful side.”

I stood from the chair and hesitated in the doorway, on the precipice of another question. In the end, I stole his coffee mug and said nothing. It wasn’t until I set the mug onto the table beside Noah’s piano that I realised he had effectively distracted me from the question I had asked him.

I played through the one song that I knew, slowing down the tempo a little to make it softer, and changing a few of the notes until it sounded more melancholy. I was astounded with the instrument: how only a few keys could change the tone of a song completely. As it neared evening, I put myself through another shower and was halfway through dressing—the yellow dress snagged around my hips—when the door swung open behind me. I jumped, spinning around to face Noah. His regard of me was so rapid that I almost missed it, and then his eyes were fixed on my face hard enough to make me flinch.

“Noah?” I was too surprised to do anything but say his name, as though him being there might have been a trick of the light.

He kicked the door shut and stepped further into the room, advancing on me as the electric force of his gaze kicked into full power, the familiar gravity of his presence becoming so heavy that it was almost stifling. I backed up suddenly and smacked the small of my back into the edge of his desk. He grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, a cool hand covering the spot on my spine that now hummed with pain.

“D-don’t,” I whispered. The itch of unnatural sensation was spearheading from his fingers and spreading over my skin, merging with the thrum of pain and causing black spots to flick over my vision. The occasional wing of light flirted with the splotches of black, reminding me to stay aware.

His hand fell away but his chest brushed my back, his head leaning against mine. He didn’t seem to be breathing. “Why not?” he eventually asked, the words faint enough that I had to strain to hear them.

“I think I start to lose consciousness or something when you touch me. Not just you, the others too.”

He backed away rapidly and I spun in time to see the pain that flickered over his expression. “That’s not…” he struggled, turning to tug his hands through his hair. “God dammit.” He strode for the door and almost wrenched it from its hinges.

I pulled my dress the rest of the way on and then sat down on the bed, burying my head in my hands. “Anyone
else
want to see me without clothes on?” I muttered into my palms.

9

Piercing Insecurities of Parting Inferences

I stared at the door, my encounter with Noah washing back over me in a worrying blur that was comprised less of memory, and more of emotion. I pushed off the desk, half-heartedly fixing the dress, and then just stood there… weak-kneed and frustrated. The little flecks of light lingered in the dullness of the unlit room. Noah and Cabe had called it valcrick, but I was pretty sure it was electricity, or lightning… or anything other than an ancient power belonging to an even more ancient race of people that might not even be people but definitely weren’t
aliens
. I wished they would give me a book so that I could do some research, because that was all I had to go on.

I stepped into my shoes, combed the tangles from my hair with my fingers, and walked out of the room. There was a note in the kitchen instructing me to go down to the lobby and head out to the bay. I guessed that the party was down there. I took the elevator down and exited the lobby on the bay side, finding myself in a short stretch of parkland that led down to the water. I ignored the people milling about and followed one of the trails, needing to jump out of the way for groups of guys barrelling past with beer kegs, and couples that had decided the trail would be a good place to showcase just how drunk they really were.

I tried not to look like my teeth were being pulled out one by one, but parties really weren’t my kind of thing, and I was sure that a painful expression persisted. Though, I supposed that a high school party was better than the
gatherings
my father occasionally hosted. Those mostly consisted of creeps who had run out of money and were taking advantage of my father’s almost comatose state to finish whatever liquor there was in our house—after following him home, of course.

When I reached the waterfront, I found the bulk of the people: most of them were hanging around picnic tables, and some had driven cars down to the water and were sitting on top of them. A Hummer was blasting music, the sound echoing eerily off the bay. I looked around, feeling lost.

When I spotted the blond girl—Kat—that always seemed to be glaring at me or flirting with Cabe, I decided that she would be a good guess to follow, and sure enough, she led me right to the edge of the water, where Cabe and Noah were sitting on a table, watching people dance nearby. A girl I didn’t recognise was hanging off Noah, and he seemed bored by whatever she was saying to him—though that may have just been a permanent expression for him, while in public. Kat made a beeline for Cabe, and I watched her slide onto the bench next to him. He ignored her. She put a hand on his leg and he half turned his back on her to speak to Noah. I took a few steps closer, placing myself behind some guy who was big enough to block me from them. Luckily, he was too drunk to pay much attention to me.

“You really don’t take a hint, do you Kat?” It was Noah speaking, and his voice was cutting, but also amused.

Kat answered him with her middle finger, and I shifted further out from behind the big guy, as she slipped her arm through Cabe’s. “He liked it well enough last weekend.”

Cabe heaved a sigh, disentangling himself. “
Must
we really go over this again? I don’t have a problem with you sitting here, but this is getting kind of embarrassing, Kat.”

Kat pushed out a pout, leaning forward to lay a hand over his chest. “You’re just all frustrated because your little freak won’t put out for you.”

Was that really all they cared about
?

I slipped into view, my steps measured, my body language unconcerned, and the boys noticed me immediately. They didn’t look outwardly happy to see me, but Noah relaxed slightly and Cabe’s mouth twitched in an almost-smile. The girl hanging off Noah scowled; Kat was oblivious.

“I can make it better, you know…” Kat seemed hesitant, and there was a pleading undertone to her words this time. “I’m sure your
friend
won’t mind.”

I watched them, unsure how to react, and Noah tilted his head slightly, indicating Cabe. I focussed on his toffee eyes and took the last few steps to reach him, touching his knee softly. I found my own actions strange, especially since I couldn’t decide which was the cause for my unease—Kat’s preoccupation, or Cabe and Noah’s harsh way of dealing with her.

“Hey, Lucifer.”

He smiled and my stomach flipped slightly, an emotion uncurling within me, like his pleasure was a direct invitation for me to also feel happiness.

“Kat,” he said, still watching me, “you’re in Seph’s seat.”

She got up without another word and ran into the nearest throng of people, disappearing from our view. Cabe moved over and patted the seat between him and Noah. I got up, but my underlying discomfort at the party atmosphere remained. The other girl was inching closer to Noah, and I couldn’t help but liken them to a pack of hyenas, creeping in the moment I turned my head. Cabe reached behind him and pushed a beer into my hand. I glanced at it, tightening my grip on the bottle. It was cold; I’d never had beer before. I took an experimental sip and decided that I neither liked it nor disliked it. Our table started to fill up with other kids, and I recognised some of the faces that sat at Cabe and Noah’s lunch table at school. Most of them had foldup chairs, and they arranged them in a semi-circle facing the table. Cabe joked and laughed with everyone but Noah was quiet as usual.

I finished my beer and hopped up from the table, asking Noah where the bathrooms were.

He pointed to a public toilet block and got up. “I’ll take you.”

I shook my head. “I’ve got legs.”

The tightening of his mouth indicated that he wanted to argue, but he sat down again. The bathroom was crowded and I was forced to squeeze between other bodies to get to a stall. After I was finished, I spilled outside with a group of girls falling over themselves and giggling, and had to disentangle myself from one of them, since she had drunkenly mistaken me for one of her friends, and was clinging to my arm with surprising strength.

“W-wait
Shalleee
.” She made a grab for me, elongating the mumbled name, which I assumed was supposed to be Sally. “You’re my drinking bishh, come back!”

I pried her fingers from my arm and turned her by the shoulders, giving her a little push in the other direction. She stumbled into one of her friends and they teetered for a moment on their heels. I reached out and grabbed a handful of the girl’s dress so that they wouldn’t topple to the ground, and then left them once they regained control… if clutching each other and giggling hysterically could be construed as control.

“Hey!” A voice to my left drew my attention and I glanced over as someone jogged to my side. It was the boy with sandy blond hair and smiling brown eyes; Cabe had called him Garret.

“Hello,” I answered, still walking.

He fell into step with me, moving so that his arm brushed mine. I pulled away a little bit. For some reason the contact had immediately sent an unpleasantly jarring feeling through me.

“I don’t usually see you at these parties.” He cast his gaze over my dress, and I suddenly hated the store clerk for recommending it.

“How many could they have had?” I asked.

He laughed. “Honey, they’re new to
our
school but their parties are infamous—most kids in Seattle have been to an Adair party.”

I felt a shiver of discomfort at that, but I didn’t bother to examine why. I picked up my pace and Garret wound a hand around my bicep, pulling me up.

“Hang on just a second, would you?”

I tried to pull my arm away but he held tight. “What do you want?” I spat out.

“You shouldn’t be hanging out with those guys, you know. They’re bad news.”

“You don’t even know me.”

I saw a little bit of colour rising in his face. His fingers tightened. “Just watch out for yourself, alright? The Adairs might act like they’re celebrities, but they have enemies. Plenty of enemies. They’ve claimed you now, so you’re going to have enemies too.”

I finally jerked my arm free and started rubbing it. “What the hell?” I shoved past him. “Why can’t everyone just go back to ignoring me?”

He laughed and grabbed me, spinning me around again. “I never used to ignore you.”

“I’d step away if I were you.” The voice sounded behind me, causing both Garret and I to freeze. Garret glanced over my shoulder and his grip loosened enough for me to turn. A guy with too many tattoos and an eyebrow piercing was glaring at Garret. “That’s
their
girl, you retard.”

Garret rolled his eyes. “I know, Danny—why do you think I’m talking to her?”

“Because you want your
dick kicked in
?” Danny snarled, sharply enough to shock Garret into releasing me.

I tried not to flinch. He was tall, and built like a boxer—with sharply muscled arms and a slender frame. If the boys had enemies, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t want
him
to be one of them.

“Get out of here.” Danny flicked his head to the side and Garret obediently backed away.

I didn’t want to be left alone with the scary-looking one, so I took a few steps backwards and then pivoted, sprinting through the crowds of people. He would have been faster, but I was smaller, and it was easier for me. Behind me, a few girls shrieked out, and I glanced behind me to find that several people had been knocked over. Two guys were shouting at each other, and I barely glanced the tattoos that ran up the arm of the one closest to me before I turned again and picked up the pace. I made it back to the table and tried to look casual, averting my eyes until the fear was under control again.

My seat had disappeared, Noah and Cabe were shoulder-to-shoulder, and the table was overflowing with people. Noah said something when he saw me, and some of the people melted away. My seat appeared again.

I sat down and Cabe handed me another beer. I drank it, hoping to calm down my racing heart and turned to watch the dancing people. There was a girl on the outskirts moving in a way that couldn’t be misconstrued, her eyes flicking back to Noah every few seconds. The guy dancing with her was good-looking, in a preppy kind of way. I nudged Cabe’s shoulder.