Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series (5 page)

I barely heard the screeching of tires when a car swerved around the corner, slamming on the breaks in front of my house. The headlights were left on, and Caleb swung out of the Dodge, leaving the door wide open. He jogged over to me, cupping my face in his hands. He was smiling. “You did it” he said. I let the laughter flow from me. I was freezing, and the sound of my happiness mixed with noise of the chattering of my teeth. I dragged my hair away from my eyes so I could see Caleb better. “I really did it.”

He let go of me and placed his hand at the small of my back, looking up into the sky, bracing himself against the gale. The wind swirled around my house only. The rest of the empty street was as still and peaceful as a postcard. It was like I was standing in the middle of the twilight zone. It was a good job I had no neighbors. The trees rustled forcefully behind me and I heard the heavy snapping of a tree branch.

Caleb turned to me. “You did good,” he said. I strained to hear him through the racket of the wind, so I took a step closer to him.

“You need to stop it now, though. Before anyone notices.”

I nodded in understanding. “But I don’t know how,” I said. He ducked down and looked me in the eye, pushing my hair back out of my face and held onto my hands. “I think you do.”

I shook my head in answer to him.

“I know you can do it,” he said. “You can do anything.”

I put my hand up to his cheek and let it stay there. I let my head get in sync with my heart and I tuned in to the heavy beating of it. I worked on slowing it down and brought my whole focus back to reality, what was real, and what was now. The dream had got me worked up, and now, I needed to forget it.

My hand was still resting on Caleb’s face when the brutal winds steadily died down and the noise disintegrated into a low whistle until it disappeared completely into the night. The air was still and unmoving, but my skin was frozen from the icy gusts that were no longer clawing at me.

Caleb brushed his hand through his hair. “That’s it,” he said. I opened my eyes and looked around me. It was peaceful. My eyes settled on Ressler and Drake. When did Drake get here? He stood leaning against the railings of the porch, and Ressler sat on the steps next to him. Caleb’s gaze followed mine, and in answer to the question that must have been plain on my face, he said, “Drake came with me.”

Really? I never even noticed him. I stared at Drake and he brought his hand to his head in a salute. I smiled at him.

“Let’s go inside. It’s freezing.” Caleb put his hand on my shoulder and walked me back into the house along with Drake and Ressler.

***

The door bell sounded and I ran over to it. I opened it up and took the flat box from the courier and signed his slip of paper. “Thanks,” I said, and closed the door behind him. I dashed back up to my bedroom and opened up the box. I peeled away the layers of silver crate paper and pulled out the black satin leotard. I turned it in my hands then lay it on the bed and carefully peeled away another layer of paper and took out the black wings. It was Halloween and the night of the school dance.

Mellissa gasped. “Wow.” She leaned forward and spread her fingers over the delicate, silky feathers. “That costume is amazing.”

It was amazing. I loved it; it was beyond perfect.

An hour later, I pulled the last strand of my hair through the flat iron. I ran my fingers through it, and because my waves were now poker straight, it glided down my back hanging a few inches shy of my waist. I put in my diamond earrings from Caleb and switched off the hot iron. I went downstairs where Mellissa was waiting, dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She looked great. Her hair was in thick waves, curling around her face, and she wore a purple, sequin shell bra with an elastic, sparkling green, fish tail skirt.

“You look great,” I said to her.

I stuck my finger under the rim of my leotard and pulled it out where it was beginning to disappear into my butt cheek. Mellissa laughed behind me.

“Nice, Pria. I hope you’re not going to have wedgies all night.” I laughed and stuck my tongue out at her. I would definitely have wedgies all night. The leotard fit where it touched. I slid my feet into my black, heeled over the knee boots. I grabbed my wings off the table in the dining room and handed them to Mellissa. “Put these on for me please.” She wrestled her way up off the couch, restricted by her skirt and pushed herself up one arm. I held out my hand to her and pulled her up.

“This skirt is really going to get on my nerves tonight,” she complained. I stuck my arms out and she slipped on the thin straps of the wings. I went over to the mirror and turned with my back to it, looking over my shoulder. The black wings spread wide from my back and dipped down, narrowing at the bottom, brushing against the backs of my booted calves. They shimmered with subtle, silvery glittering strands.

“You look too sexy for a school dance, aren’t you scared they’ll throw you out?” Mellissa asked me.

“What about you?” I said. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re wearing a bra.”

“Hell yes, they better throw me out for being too sexy. That’s the plan anyway.”

I grabbed my IPhone from the fireplace and threw it into my black, glittering clutch. Caleb had bought me a new IPhone after deciding my old smashed one was too unreliable to use anymore. There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it.

A pirate and a… pilot? Stood on the other side of the threshold. Drake lowered his black, oversized tricorn hat and bowed down. He was wearing baggy, brown buccaneer pants, tucked into black, Caribbean boots. His off white, loose shirt was tucked into his trousers and left half open so I could see quite a bit of his solid, tanned chest. I had to admit, he was the best looking pirate I had ever seen.

I put my focus to Ressler. "What are you supposed to be?" I asked.

He lowered his reflective aviators. “Top gun,” he said. He was wearing a dark green jumpsuit with an array of different piloting badges. The top of the jumpsuit was open and he wore a white tee underneath, or a tank top, I couldn’t really tell. Yeah, I guess I could see the similarity there. Tom Cruise eat your heart out.

"You look good," I said to both of them. "But Ressler, you don’t even go to school with us. Why are you dressed up?"

"I'm your date."

"My date? How do you know I don’t already have a date?” I asked. He was right, I didn’t have a date, but he was being far too presumptuous.

"Well, I was hoping you didn't," he said, half smiling. He slowly looked me up and down. “Nice boots,” he said.

Mellissa barged past me and looped her arm through Drakes. She held her overly tight skirt well above her knees with the tail cinched between her fingers. "Drake, you look great," she said. "Actually, you look really hot." Mellissa put her palm flat to his exposed chest and ran her finger over his skin. “I like you as a pirate. Shiver me timbers,” she said, in a weird accent, impersonating the voice of a pirate.

I rolled my eyes.

"Ressler," Mellissa continued. "You can be Pria's date because she hasn't got one, she’s just too proud to admit it, bless her." She clenched her fists tightly in excitement and grinned through her teeth. I guess I was going with Ressler then.

We pulled up outside of school in Ressler’s Mercedes and everything from a giant Smurf, to Barbie, had turned up. The dance was being held in the school gym and the dance committee had done a great job. That was hard for me to admit considering Tamara was head of the committee. Black spider web was strewn from the rafters, cradling glowing, carved pumpkins. The DJ Booth was set up at the back of the gym hall and the DJ was dressed as Dracula with fake blood dripping from his mouth and fangs. Fake candelabras had been attached to the walls, giving off a dim flickering light, and a huge, silver disco ball had been hung. We found a table off to the side of the gym and Mellissa and I sat down while Drake and Ressler went to get us some punch.

“This reeks of Tamara,” Mellissa said, with a look of distaste. “She’s so OTT. I bet this cost a fortune.”

I glanced appreciatively at all the décor. “I hate to say it, but I think it looks good.”

Mellissa’s eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “Speaking of OTT, here she comes with a H-O-T-T-Y.”

I craned my neck to look over my shoulder and I automatically pulled my mouth into a hard line. Tamara was wearing a tight, red mini dress with a speared red tail attached at the back with red horns over her long blonde hair. Red ribbon laced all the way up to her thighs from the heels she wore.

“Well she’s dressed appropriately, I have to give her that,” Mellissa all but hissed. “She’s definitely the fucking devil.”

“Mellissa,” I said, scorching her with a deep frown.

“What?” I can’t swear now?”

I turned back to look at Tamara. I didn’t really want to, but it was like a car crash; I just couldn’t take my eyes off it. It wasn’t what Tamara was wearing that bothered me, she could show up naked for all I care. It was who she was with that grabbed my attention and made the blood thrum angrily through my veins.

Caleb stood next to her dressed in a black suit and white shirt. The top button of his shirt was undone and his jacket was open. He had his hands in the front pockets of his slacks and I unknowingly clenched my fists into balls when Tamara leaned over into his space, gripping onto his arms and whispered something into his ear. His eyes were cast down to the gym floor and he when he nodded his response, she kissed him on the cheek and drifted off over to the DJ.

“Are you okay there, Pria? You look like a bull ready to attack.”

Well I had just saw red, that was for certain. I shifted my body and turned so I was facing Mellissa, who was looking at me like she expected me to jump up and transform into the hulk.

“I don’t know why I care,” I said. I picked my clutch up and banged it against the table.

“He just left with Drake and Ressler,” Mellissa said. “I hope they beat him up.”

I had to laugh at the idea. It was a nice thought.

“Don’t let him get to you, babe. He’s an ass. If he wants to be with Tamara, we should feel sorry for him, not be angry.”

I wished that was the case.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Really.”

Mellissa smiled at something behind my back and the seat next to me was pulled out. A big brown and grey shaggy wolf in the schools blue and white letterman jacket and dark blue jeans sat down next to me. Bare hands pulled the wolf head off, and Jason Monroe smiled, running a hand over his short, dark hair. He smiled at Mellissa. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said back at him. I was relieved that Drake wasn’t here to see the way she was looking at him.

“You look amazing,” Jason said. His eyes were nearly popping out of his head just looking at her. He turned to me. “You too Pria,” he said, but with nowhere near as much lust on his face and only half like he meant it.

“Thanks,” I grumbled. “I like your costume.”

“The whole football team are dressed the same. We’re a wolf pack.”

“That’s great,” I said sarcastically. He didn’t notice the sarcasm, though. He was much too involved in staring at Mellissa.

“That was fun the other night at the party.”

“Yeah, I had fun,” Mellissa agreed.

“Apart from that guy. Who was that?” Jason asked. “Your boyfriend or something?” It was hard to miss the hesitation in Mellissa’s answer and I furrowed my brows while she just sat there with an awkward smile on her face. This was something we needed to talk about later.

“Yeah,” she eventually said.

“He looked pissed. Was everything okay?” Jason held his hairy wolf head in his hands, facing it in my direction and the ugly thing was snarling at me with its fangs bared.

“No, yeah, he was fine. Just a little mad that I was so drunk.”

“It’s too bad that you’ve got a boyfriend,” Jason said. He looked genuinely disappointed. “I did come over here to ask you to dance.”

I shook my head firmly in Mellissa’s direction.

“Sorry,” she said. “Maybe next time?”

“Next time,” Jason said. “I’ll see you then?”

“Absolutely,” Mellissa said with an obvious glint in her eye.

WTF?

“Bye Jason,” I said loudly, hurrying along the departing process.

When he finally left, I leaned in over the table closer to Mellissa. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “You still like him, I can see that. But what if Drake saw that, huh? Don’t you want to be with him anymore?”

Mellissa looked away from me to the dancing bodies that moved along to ‘monster mash’.

“It’s not that,” she said, avoiding all eye contact. “I like Drake. Maybe even a little bit too much.”

I sat back. “What does that even mean?”

“Guys like Drake, they don’t hang around forever. One day he will leave here and find something better, and so I’ve decided I need to keep my options open. Besides, Jason’s cute.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

“Well I am.”

“Does Drake know?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“No. But don’t worry, I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him tonight.”

Mellissa was right. She didn’t know it, but Drake was a fallen angel, and wouldn’t age. Therefore, he would never look any different, which only meant one thing. Sooner or later he would have to leave before Mellissa, or anyone else, realized there was something strange going on. That was when it dawned on me that Ressler would need to do the same. Would I still see them? The night suddenly felt very forlorn.