Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (26 page)

I quickly forgot my problems with Xander when Brooke and Ethan ambushed me as I shut my locker. “Laken! Thank God!” Brooke gushed with a panic-stricken expression on her face.

She rushed up to hug me as Ethan stood by, watching the crowd of students as if he was standing guard.

“Brooke? What’s going on?” Alarm rang out in my voice as I awkwardly hugged her back, her short red hair brushing against my cheek. Confusion and concern shot through me.

When she finally released me, she stepped back as her nervous eyes scanned the busy hall. “It’s Marlena.”

Fear raced through me as I felt the blood drain from my face. “Uh-oh.”

“Yeah. Mark and Eric ratted you out. They told her and the rest of her crowd how you were out with Noah when they got busted Saturday night. And now Marlena is out to get you. I heard her talking to her friends before my last class, and she said she wants to hurt you. She is really, really pissed.”

“Why? She can have any other guy she wants. She always has, and she always will.”

Brooke nodded in understanding. “I get it. But she wants Noah, probably because she can’t have him. Geez, I’d be happy with just one of the guys she can have,” Brooke rambled.

“You’re not helping, Brooke,” Ethan chimed in, listening to our every word as he stood guard and watched each student that passed us.

“We have to get you out of here before she finds you.”

I frowned, looking from Brooke to Ethan. “So what if you get me out of here safely today? I can’t hide forever. I have to come back tomorrow and the day after that. Maybe we should just let her find me and get this over with.”

Brooke’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy? Yes, obviously you are. This will probably blow over if you can lay low for a few days. All you have to do is wait until some other guy comes along and she forgets about Noah.”

“That could be months,” I groaned.

After the crappy day I’d had, I would just as soon get it over with and confront her. I simply didn’t feel like running. I imagined my fist branding Marlena’s perfect face with a black and blue shiner and smiled. But when I thought of my parents’ reaction to finding out I had been caught fighting the mayor’s daughter, my fantasy evaporated.

“Brooke, Laken,” Ethan warned, rushing in between us and extending his arms out around both of our shoulders. “Time to go.”

He hustled us down the hall, weaving between the other students. As I bumped into a few of them, Brooke asked, “Is she coming?”

“Yep. And she saw Laken, so we have to get out of here,” Ethan explained protectively.

“Wait!” I firmly planted my feet and ducked under Ethan’s arm. Brooke and Ethan stopped a few feet away from me and turned. “I’m not going to run out of here like a chicken. I didn’t do anything wrong except go out on a date. She doesn’t own Noah.” My eyes searched their faces for understanding and approval.

“Girl, you must have a death wish,” Brooke contended.

She looked beyond me, her face ghastly white. I whipped around to see Marlena and two of her friends marching down the hallway toward us. They walked like models on a runway, each step placed evenly with a casual, sexy sway to their hips. Marlena took front and center wearing a purple skirt, tall black boots, and a black sweater that contrasted with her long pale hair. The girls on each side of her were equally pretty and popular, one with long brown curls and the other one with shoulder-length light brown hair. The students in the hallway scattered out of their way. The three of them didn’t miss a beat in their expectation that a path would be cleared for them.

My heart pounded nervously as Marlena stared at me, her eyes narrowed and glowering.
What am I doing
?
I thought.
Brooke is right. I am crazy. I should have left while I still had the chance to get out of here in one piece.
I cringed and turned away from the approaching entourage, waiting for the shout of cruel words or the impact of a fist. I noticed that the students in the hall had grown particularly quiet as uneasy onlookers watched Marlena.

As I raised my eyebrows at Brooke and Ethan who both stood frozen in place, a dark figure dressed in all black brushed past me. Xander. His shoulder gently touched mine as he walked by. That was the closest he had come to me all day since I had turned down his invitation to the Homecoming dance. I whirled around just in time to see him intercept Marlena. He jumped in front of her, cutting off her direct path to me. She and the other two girls stopped immediately. From where I stood, I could only see his back and I couldn’t hear what he said to her. Her expression suddenly softened and her angry eyes moved away from me. She smiled, seeming to forget about me just like that.

The surrounding students resumed their chatter, drowning out any chance I might have to hear Xander and Marlena. Although I was curious to know what he was saying to her, it wasn’t that important at this moment. Here was my second chance to escape.

I smiled at Brooke and Ethan. “Okay. I’m ready to go now.”

“Finally!” Brooke huffed. “I guess your common sense caught up to you. Let’s go before she loses interest in Xander and remembers you.”

As Brooke wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders to lead me down the hallway toward the door, I looked behind to catch one last glimpse of Xander and Marlena. Xander’s back was still facing me, but I could see that Marlena was captivated by whatever he was saying. With a frown, I turned my attention back in the direction we were going. “What is he doing? Wasn’t it just like a week ago that he totally dissed her?” I asked.

“Seriously?” Brooke retorted. “Why do you care? He just saved your ass. I don’t think now is the time to question his change of heart.”

She continued hustling me through the crowded hallway. Ethan walked on my other side, blocking my escape route should I suddenly change my mind. But I wasn’t about to turn back and ask for the trouble I had just dodged. I only hoped that Marlena would back off for good. I didn’t want to return to school tomorrow only to have to run from her like some wide-eyed rabbit taking refuge in the bushes from a fox.

When the three of us emerged outside into the light rain, Brooke finally let go of me. A cool damp mist floated through the air, coating the maple leaves and lawn. The cars and trucks in the parking lot were sprinkled with droplets of water that glistened like beads of sweat. We followed the walkway until we reached the curb and stopped.

“Well, that was fun,” Brooke said sarcastically. “I just hope we don’t have to do it all over again tomorrow.”

“You read my mind,” I told her as I reached into my bag and pulled out my keys.

“Until we know for sure that Marlena has forgotten about you, Brooke and I will walk you to your classes this week. But I’m sure this will blow over in time,” Ethan said.

“I really hope that’s not necessary.” I shook my head. “I never thought I’d need bodyguards while I was still in high school. I figured that would be for later, you know, when I become a big movie star,” I joked.

Brooke laughed, swatting my shoulder. “You never told me you want to be an actress.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe I just realized it myself.”

Xander’s stories about California had made me realize there was a big world out there beyond our little New Hampshire town. Even though I didn’t really want to be an actress, it was fun to joke about it.

Brooke raised her eyebrows curiously. “Do you?” she asked seriously.

I laughed. “No. I’m only kidding.”

“Darn. That could have been fun as long as you took me with you. Well, I see my ride. I’ve got to run.” Brooke embraced me in a quick hug. When she pulled away, she turned to Ethan with a sparkle in her eyes, poking him playfully with her finger. “And you, don’t forget our deal from this morning.”

Ethan flashed her a bright smile. “I won’t.” Their eyes locked for a moment, and there it was again--that same connection I had noticed this morning.

With a quick wave to both of us, Brooke turned and rushed off through the drizzling rain to her ride. As Ethan and I walked in silence to the Explorer, I resisted asking him what was going on between him and Brooke. Had it been any other girl, I never would have given him a reprieve. But Ethan and Brooke were the farthest thing from my mind. Nothing could take my thoughts off Xander. I could still see the betrayal in his eyes from this morning and the interest in Marlena’s expression as he turned his charms on her this afternoon. Both visions were permanently etched in my memory, both equally disturbing.

As we began the drive home through the dreary rain, I forced the thoughts of Xander out of my mind and wondered when I might hear from Noah again. I hoped it would be soon because he was all I needed to sweep these other troubles away. With that thought, I turned my attention back to Ethan as the windshield wipers rose and fell in a perfect rhythm for the rest of the drive home.

Chapter 16

The drizzling rain persisted for another day. The weather was quite fitting for my dark mood. Between my falling out with Xander, his sudden interest in Marlena, and the fact that Noah hadn’t called or texted since he’d left our front yard Saturday night, my foul mood only intensified. Worried that Marlena would stalk me in the halls between every class, I dressed in jeans and sneakers in case I needed to run. A black hoodie completed my ensemble. Black matched my mood, and I could hide under the hood.

Neither the sneakers nor the hood were needed that day. I saw Marlena several times and she barely looked my way. By lunch, Brooke and Ethan reached the conclusion that she had forgotten about me and they stopped chasing me down to escort me to every class. I saw Xander in homeroom, but he ignored me from his seat on the other side of the room. Between classes, I caught glimpses of him flirting with Marlena. I pretended not to notice them, but jealousy whipped through me each time and I pried my eyes away to focus on something else like getting books out of my locker or checking messages on my phone.

Before my last class of the day, I was alone at my locker when I sensed someone behind me. I suddenly wished I had my hood pulled up over my hair as an unfamiliar snicker rose above the chatter in the hall. I spun around to find myself cornered by Mark and Eric, both of them wearing their green and gold letterman jackets.

“Hi, Laken,” Mark sneered with an evil smile. “We’d like to have a word with you about Saturday night.” His green eyes flashed angrily at me.

“Yeah,” Eric chimed in. “What your boyfriend did to us really wasn’t cool.”

I sucked in a deep breath, meeting Eric’s cold dark stare. Without blinking an eye, I said calmly, “He only did what he had to do. You two were drinking. What did you expect?”

“To have some shots and fun with that cute bartender,” Mark shot back. “But no, the new deputy in town had to swoop in and be a bigshot.”

“Look, he has a job to do. So next time, if you want to get served, look around to make sure there aren’t any cops in the room first.”

Eric smiled sinisterly, his stare sending hair-raising shivers through me. “She has a good point, Mark.” Eric slapped his friend on his shoulder.

“Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that her boyfriend ruined our weekend.”

“That’s right. She owes us. How do you think she can make it up to us?”

Mark grazed his eyes up and down the length of me. “I heard you were getting pretty cozy with that new guy, Xander whatever, even after your date with the cop. Sounds like you know how to have a good time.”

I didn’t like what he was suggesting. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told him.

“No?” Mark looked over at his friend. “She’s awfully defensive. You know what that means.”

“I don’t,” I said boldly. “Maybe you should fill me in.”

“Sure thing, honey.” Mark leaned so close to me that I could feel his hot breath on my face as he spoke. “It means you ruined our night and you owe us. And since we already have just about everything money can buy, we’re looking for something a little more basic. Something fun. Maybe Friday night, the three of us can go out.”

Eric smiled, his coal black eyes staring hotly at me. “Yeah. You’re kind of cute under that prim and proper exterior. What is it with you? Are high school guys not good enough?”

Mark sneered. “How old’s the cop? You must be putting out to keep him interested. We just want to share.”

He lifted a finger to my lips and I fought back a gag. I whipped my head to the side, nauseated by his repulsive touch.

Before I could respond, a female voice rang out from behind them. “She has plans that don’t include you two morons.”

Only one person could get away with calling the two star football players morons. Marlena.

Slowly, I turned back to face Mark, my eyes wide and my jaw dropped open. Marlena stood tall and confident behind them, her light blonde hair practically angelic compared to her black pants and black shirt.

She smacked each of them on the back of their heads. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do than give Laken a hard time?”

Mark spun around to face her, his expression confused. “Leave it alone, Marlena. This doesn’t concern you,” he shot at her.

She smiled slowly, her eyes amused. “You’re right. But it does concern Lauren and Sophie. I think they’d be quite interested to know what their boyfriends are up to right now.”

Eric’s dark eyes widened in panic as he turned to Mark. “Hey, man, maybe she’s right. I don’t want Sophie to know about this.” He glanced at me apologetically. “Sorry, Laken. We were just messing with you. Although it is cool you’re not as straight-laced as you’ve always seemed.”

“Gee, thanks,” I replied sarcastically.

But Mark didn’t give up. He glared at Marlena. “Don’t bring Lauren into this. She has nothing to do with this. I’m just trying to even the score. Her boyfriend busted us, so she owes us one.”

“She owes you nothing,” Marlena stated. “You should be thanking her boyfriend. He did you fools a favor. You could have ended up in the hospital, or worse, six feet under. So drop it.”

“When did you start sticking up for the nobodies around here?” Mark demanded.

Marlena let out a bored sigh. “Does it really matter? Leave her alone, or I’ll ruin you both, and you know I can.”

With a flip of her hair, she turned on her heels and disappeared into the crowd, leaving all of us speechless, including Carrie who had been standing behind her.

After a moment of silence, Mark looked over at Eric. “Fine. I’ll give it up.” He shot me a disdainful glance. “She’s probably not worth the risk, anyway.”

Without another word, the two boys turned and walked away into the crowd of passing students.

Relieved, I watched them high-five a few other football players. I hated to admit it, but regardless of her reasons, I was thankful that Marlena had stepped in when she did. As I relaxed, Carrie stepped toward me. She looked the part of the popular cheerleader with her long shiny brown hair, white ruffled blouse and red skirt. A concerned expression settled on her face. “Are you okay?” she asked me.

I smiled appreciatively as I met her warm brown eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Those boys sure like to rattle some chains, don’t they?”

She nodded her head in agreement.

“But I’m really confused. Why did Marlena stand up for me? I thought she hated me since I went out with Noah.”

Carrie gazed whimsically out at the students before turning her eyes back to me. “She did, yesterday. But that was before Xander asked her to go out with him. He’s even already asked her to the Homecoming dance.”

“Hmm,” I mused, fighting back a sharp pang of jealousy. “Is that so?”

“Unfortunately.”

I suddenly recognized a sad disappointment in her voice. “Were you hoping he would ask you to Homecoming?” I gently probed.

“Yes. I don’t know what happened. Last week, he seemed genuinely interested in me and then yesterday, poof, it went up in smoke. He just went after Marlena like a moth goes after a flame.”

“I’m surprised she said yes. He wasn’t very nice to her the first week of school when she invited him to a party at her house.”

“She’s fickle like that. And he apologized, said something like he didn’t know what had gotten into him that day. He blamed it on being so far from home, or something lame like that. So she gave him a second chance. Can’t say I wouldn’t have either. He’s gorgeous. No girl in her right mind would say no to him.”

I couldn’t help smiling since I had done exactly that just yesterday morning. But I didn’t tell Carrie about that. She didn’t need to know that he had chosen not one, but two girls over her. Besides, I couldn’t trust her not to tell Marlena. There was no telling how Marlena would react if she knew that she had been Xander’s second choice.

“Carrie, you’re beautiful and everyone likes you. There’s still plenty of time before the dance. I’m sure you’ll get a date.” I couldn’t believe that I was trying to cheer up one of the most popular girls in school about her dating life.

“Thanks. I hope so.” She smiled weakly. “Well, see you around.” With a half-hearted wave, she turned and walked away, leaving me alone at last.

By the time I found the book I needed for my last class, only a few students were left lingering in the hallway. I slammed my locker door shut as the bell rang. Cursing under my breath because I was now late, I took off running down the hall.

***

After school that day, Noah was waiting for me by the Explorer as Ethan and I headed across the parking lot. The rain had stopped, and sunshine peeked out from behind the thick clouds that were starting to break up.

The cars glistened with beads of water as I jogged across the wet pavement. A smile tugged at my mouth as my heart fluttered.

I swerved around a big puddle right before stopping in front of Noah. “Hi,” I said shyly, suddenly self-conscious about my old, boring sweatshirt and lackluster sneakers. They had served their purpose, but now I wished that I’d worn something a little prettier today.

“Hey there,” he responded warmly. “Hi, Ethan,” he called out over the top of the Explorer.

Ethan nodded. “Hey, Noah. How’s it going?” Without waiting for Noah’s answer, he added quickly, “Laken, I’ll wait for you in the truck.”

“Thanks,” I replied before returning my attention to Noah. “This is quite the surprise.”

“A good one, I hope?” he asked, his brown eyes studying me.

“Of course. I was beginning to wonder when I’d hear from you again.”

“Sorry about that. Sometimes I get so carried away with working on my book that I lose track of time. Every time I wanted to call you, it just ended up being too late.”

“Oh. I guess that’s understandable.”
Not really,
I thought.
But it will have to do. I guess he has his thing, and I have mine. Talking to animals.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I pushed my dismal thoughts aside.

“I just wanted to stop by and say hi because it’s been a slow afternoon. Is that okay?”

“I suppose,” I answered with a smile. He was so forgiven at this moment. “You can stop by every day if you want to.”

“And can I do this every day, too?”

He reached one arm out and curled it around my waist, pulling me against him. His other hand grazed my chin as he dipped his head down to gently press his lips to mine.

As quickly as his kiss began, it ended when he abruptly lifted his mouth away from me. “I hope it’s okay to kiss you in the school parking lot.”

“Hmmm,” I muttered with a deep sigh, trying to find my composure. Finally, I said, “Yes, of course it’s okay. I’d be more upset if you didn’t. How’s that for an answer?”

“Perfect.” He slid his arm away from my waist and I shifted my book bag strap as I felt it slide a little. “Well, I know you need to go and I can’t stay long either because I need to get back to the station, but I wanted to know if I can see you again this weekend.”

“I’d like that, but let’s stay away from the local bars.”

“Agreed. I hated leaving you like that, and believe me, it was no party at the station when I had to call those boys’ parents.” He shook his head as if trying to shake the memory out of his mind. “But you’ll have to decide what we’re going to do because I still don’t know the area that well. Is Saturday night okay again?”

After days of wondering why I hadn’t heard from him, happiness overwhelmed me. I fought to keep my cool while thinking to myself that Saturday seemed like a lifetime away. Today was only Tuesday! At least I could look forward to it, even if it meant four long restless nights dreaming about him. “Okay. But I have to warn you, I don’t have any great ideas of what we could do. Unless...” The only thing I could think of was pizza and a movie.