Coldhearted (9781311888433) (7 page)

He smiled. “We look like a commercial for
Valentine’s Day.”

Edie loosened her lips and pulled away.
“Huh?”

“
Yeah, like those
commercials about two lovers, sharing a milkshake, or walking
hand-in-hand along the beach, then he gets down on one knee, and
proposes to her.”

Edie’s heart was racing again. “Oh, really?”
she asked, sounding blasé, and then went back to her
concoction.

“
Yeah, but obviously that’s
not what we’re doing. I mean, I haven’t even picked out a ring
yet.”

Edie nearly swallowed her straw.

“
You okay?” he asked, after
she’d coughed up her lungs.

“
Yeah,” she replied in a
scratchy voice, keeping her head down, embarrassed.

“
Sorry for implying I wanted
to marry you. I know how ugly I am.”

Edie looked up to see his teasing smile. She
chuckled. “Yes, you are hideous,” she agreed, playing along.

Mason covered his face with his hands. “Don’t
look at me. I’m a monster!”

Edie was still chuckling when Rebecca came
with her milkshake. “Thanks,” Edie told her, and then slid the
glass over to Mason. “I’ll finish your witch’s brew.”

****

When they were done eating, Edie excused
herself to go to the restroom. It was on the other side of the
restaurant, away from the patrons, and there was a long line
waiting to use it. But Edie was content with a smile on her face,
thinking about Mason, when suddenly, a dark shadow fell in front of
her face. Edie jumped back from the two girls, who were staring at
her, as if Edie were their archenemy.

“
You,” the first girl called
out, making it sound like an accusation.

The girl with dirty blonde hair clearly had
an attitude. The other girl with dark brown hair, dyed blonde, said
nothing, but her nose was wrinkled in anger.

At me?
What’d I do to them?

“
Yeah?” Edie ventured to
ask.

All the other girls were staring at them,
enthralled at the drama unfolding.

Dirty Blonde Girl said, “You going out with
Mason?”

“
We’re just friends,” Edie
said, a bit too quickly.

It was the truth but Edie wished that she’d
let the girl fume a bit before answering.

“
Don’t look like it,” her
friend said in a nasty tone.

“
Hush, Ravenna!” Dirty
Blonde Girl held up her hand, silencing her friend, but she never
took her eyes off Edie. “Word of advice, new girl: don’t play if
you’re not willing to get dirty.”

She stormed off, swinging her wide hips as
she went, with Ravenna following behind like a lost puppy. All the
girls, except two, went back to staring at their phones while they
were waiting in line. The show was over. Undoubtedly, a few had
recorded the confrontation and was now uploading it online. Edie
hoped that they’d gotten her good side.

A girl with curly brown hair, who was
standing by Edie’s side, turned and greeted her. “Don’t worry about
her. She’s super crazy. I’m Diana, by the way, Diana Christensen.”
Diana gestured at another girl with wavy red hair and a face full
of freckles, standing beside her. “This is my friend, Madelyn
Corrigan.”

“
Hey,” Madelyn said. “And
you’ve just met Mason’s ex, Rochelle Lafayette, and her only friend
in the world, Ravenna Gallo.”

“
I figured as much,” Edie
said. “Honestly, Mason and I are just friends.”

Diana gave Edie a smile. “That’s not what
we’ve seen.” When she studied Edie’s worried face, she quickly
added, “Oh, Madelyn and I haven’t been spying on you and Mason or
anything. It’s just well…it’s hard not to notice. If you’re just
friends now, I can bet you’ll be going out by the end of the
week.”

“
Yeah,” Madelyn said,
smiling. “Mason’s crazy about you.”

“
Not Rochelle
Lafayette-kind-of-crazy,” Diana corrected her friend. “The good
kind of crazy; the kind involving love and finding your soul mate,
you know, romantic. Not demented,” she added.

Edie liked Diana and Madelyn. They had a
great sincerity about them and seemed like God-sent angels after
Edie’s encounter with Rochelle and Ravenna. Edie had no great
expectations, but she hoped Diana and Madelyn would be her new
friends.

They chatted some more, waiting, and
discovered they had the next class together. After they’d done
their business, they promised to meet up later at school.

Edie was beaming when she went back to her
table with Mason.

But he wasn’t smiling. “You were gone for a
long time. I was worried.”

Edie’s grin faded into a small smile, knowing
that he’d only been concerned at her long absence. “Oh, I’ve just
met Diana and Madelyn and we got to talking. Do you know them?”

Mason smiled and Edie felt a rush of relief.
She didn’t like it when he wasn’t smiling.

“
Yeah, they’re cool. Besides
me, those two are probably the only people I’d recommend you being
friends with. I’m worried about Jules with the whole ghost-hunting
thing, but…I’m not going to tell you what to do. There are worse
people to hang out with.”

Edie grimaced. “Yeah, I met Rochelle and
Ravenna.”

Mason’s jaw clenched. Then he loosened it to
speak. “What did Rochelle say to you?”

Edie furrowed her brow. “How’d you know?”

He sighed, aggravated. “She always has
something to say to any girl in the general vicinity of where I
am.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it. She was cheating on me.
She ended it with me.” He sighed again. “What’d she say to
you?”

Edie didn’t want to start a fight.

“
It’s okay. It’s nothing,”
she lied.

Mason reached across the table and clasped
her hand. “Please, Edie, tell me.”

Edie bit her lip, and then said, “Something
about how I shouldn’t play if I don’t want to get dirty…or
something like that. I’m paraphrasing but that’s basically what she
said.”

He shook his head and groaned, agitated.
“That girl’s crazy. I’m sorry she said that to you. Let me know if
she does it again.”

“
What will you
do?”

“
Tell her to shut her
mouth,” he said through clenched teeth. Then he started looking
around the restaurant. “As a matter of fact…I might just do that
right now.”

Edie squeezed his hand. “No, Mason, don’t.
Just let it go. She didn’t get to me. I’m fine.”

He squeezed her hand back. “Are you
sure?”

“
I’m sure.” She gave him a
smile. “Thank you.”

He smiled back. “There you go again, thanking
me. What’d I do this time?”

Edie placed her other hand on his, carefully,
so as not to further hurt his wounded finger.

“
I’m thanking you for being
you, Mason Fenwick.”

Rebecca chose this moment to return with the
manager, Jack—who claimed to be Edie’s uncle’s biggest fan—and told
them that the meal was on the house. Edie and Mason gave their
thanks, and then Mason left a tip for Rebecca.

As they were leaving the restaurant, with
Edie’s arm wrapped around Mason’s, she heard someone call her a
“bitch.” She didn’t turn around. She assumed that it’d been
Rochelle, venting. Yet when she sat inside Mason’s truck and
adjusted her seatbelt on, she heard the offensive word again. She
rubbed her ear, hoping this simple action would make the voice
inside her head stop.

Yes, she was hearing voices. Jules had been
right.

But was it paranormal? Or was Edie not
normal?

Chapter 7

“
Well, this is where I leave
you,” Mason said.

They were standing at the threshold of Edie’s
next class. She could see Diana and Madelyn, waving at her to come
inside and sit next to them. Edie held up her forefinger, telling
them that she’d be there soon.

She turned back toward Mason, who surprised
her with a quick kiss on her cheek.

When he pulled back, he was blushing. “Call
me,” he said, and it was almost a plea.

Before Edie could assure him that she would,
he turned and started walking away. She watched him, feeling sad at
his abrupt departure. At the end of the hallway, he halted and
turned back toward Edie, giving her a smile and a wave. She
returned both and he continued on his journey.

If she were to die right now, she’d be
happy.

****

The desks for Mr. Ballantine’s psychology
class were arranged into groups of three. Diana and Madelyn had an
empty desk with them that’d recently been vacated. Edie was
beginning to think that there was such a thing as fate.

“
Hey,” Diana and Madelyn
greeted Edie in unison, smiling.

“
Hey,” Edie returned with a
smile too.

Diana pushed a textbook over to Edie. “Mr. B
asked us to give this to you.”

“
Oh, thanks. Wait, Mr.
B?”

Madelyn explained, “I don’t know how it
started, but it’s what we’ve always called him, and he doesn’t seem
to mind.” She smiled. “It’s kind of cool, right?”

Edie smiled back. “Yeah, it is.”

Edie looked over to find the teacher, sitting
at his desk in the front of the room. When he caught her stare, he
quickly averted his eyes, as if he were afraid to maintain contact.
Edie found his actions weird, but didn’t dwell on them, having
Diana and Madelyn near her. They gave Edie a comfort that she
desperately needed. Mason comforted her too, but his comfort was
different than Diana and Madelyn’s. There was a friend’s comfort,
and then there was a potential boyfriend’s comfort.

Edie knew that she was probably jumping the
gun, but she had hope, and besides Mason wasn’t exactly giving her
the cold shoulder treatment. His care and concern for Edie was
practically exuding from his body like the sun’s rays. In Edie’s
book that was more than just being friendly.

She wished that he were in her psych class,
but having Diana and Madelyn with her was great too. She liked the
group desk idea and hoped that Mr. Ballantine wouldn’t break them
up.

She dared to look at him again. He performed
the same action that he’d done earlier, darting his eyes toward a
blank space on the wall.

Edie leaned toward Diana and Madelyn. “Is Mr.
B always so nervous-acting?”

Madelyn smiled at Edie. “You’ve noticed that,
huh?”

“
He’s not weird or
anything,” Diana said. “He’s just really shy.”

“
Then why is he a teacher?”
Edie asked.

Madelyn shrugged. “I think it’s something he
doesn’t really want to do, but had no other choice. He’s not a mean
teacher,” she added. “Nice.”

Diana winked. “And not bad on the eyes,
either.”

For the third time, Edie appraised Mr.
Ballantine, taking in his features. She couldn’t tell if his eyes
were bright or dark; he kept looking away from her. Otherwise he
was young and hip with shiny, chestnut-colored hair, parted to one
side. He was tan, too tan for Grimsby, but Edie figured it was
either genetic, or he frequented a tanning salon. He was wearing a
white dress shirt, no tie, and when he stood, Edie noticed that he
was wearing blue jeans. She guessed that he was in his late
twenties, but could pass for eighteen, he looked so youthful.

By the way all the girls—there were no boys
in the class—were looking at him, they thought that he was dreamy.
No wonder he kept looking away from Edie. He didn’t want to be
accused of anything indecent.

She scanned the classroom and found to her
relief that neither Rochelle nor Ravenna were in attendance.

“
Where’s the terrible
twosome?” Edie asked Diana, who was sitting across from her;
Madelyn was at Edie’s side.

Diana gave Edie a look. “Jennings had to put
them in study hall for fourth period. Rochelle tried unsuccessfully
to hook Mr. Ballantine. When he went to Jennings about it, she
denied it. She had Ravenna lie and say it was him who initiated
it.”

“
Yeah, it was a whole big
thing,” Madelyn added. “There were meetings with their parents. The
superintendent got involved and all that. Anyway, Jennings
relocated them and class has been so much better without them.
They’re like…a plague or something.”

She shivered, but she didn’t look cold. “It’s
like they ruin everything they come into contact with.”

To Diana and Madelyn, Edie said, “That
explains his behavior.”

“
What does?” Madelyn
asked.

“
Well, ever since I’ve
walked in, he’s refused to look at me, and after what you’ve told
me about Rochelle, I think he’s not necessarily shy, he’s scared;
scared another girl is going to accuse him of
something.”

Madelyn considered this, and then said,
“Makes sense,” agreeing.

“
But,” Diana countered. “He
was shy on the first day of school.”

Edie shrugged. “Maybe he’s shy and
cautious.”

“
Probably,” Madelyn agreed
with Edie again.

The class fell silent as Mr. Ballantine
advanced to stand in front of the blackboard. He gave everyone a
small smile that said, “I’m friendly, but not that friendly.”

“
Afternoon, everyone,” he
greeted in a smooth voice.

“
Afternoon, Mr. B,” the
class full of giggling girls chanted in unison.

Even Diana and Madelyn were getting in on the
ogling, paying him full attention and ignoring Edie.

He went to the blackboard and grabbed a piece
of chalk. “Now yesterday we discussed personality disorders, and
I’d like to continue that today. We had a brief overview of them,
but I’d like to devote our short time this period to
schizophrenia.”