Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) (22 page)

“She wants to model her underwear for you,” I blurted.

“That’s ridiculous. I’ll take care of it.”

“That’s the definition of awkward. Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have said anything. She’ll move on once something more exciting than your arrival happens.”

“Trust me, she won’t bother you again,” he assured.

A
lthough technically he didn’t say he would call that night, it was implied. He didn’t show for school the next day, either. I could take a hint. He regretted his decision to tell me. So when he actually came to school, I ignored him the entire day.

I packed my book bag with binders necessary to complete the day’s homework before last hour. I didn’t care that I’d have an extra book—the class was close to the parking lot, and my locker wasn’t. Going back wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to run into him.

The student lot before or after school was not for the faint of heart. There were too many reckless drivers racing down the aisles, not looking for pedestrians or even other cars backing out. Perhaps they didn’t have to pay for their own insurance or car repairs.

I made it safely to my car and started the engine. I turned to look over my right shoulder, and that’s when I noticed Landon in the next car. How did he get out here so fast?

I backed out of the space and turned out of the lot, stopping at the light. Only my eyes moved up to check the rearview mirror. Landon pulled to a stop behind me, waved his phone around, and typed. My phone chimed.
That’s odd
. I had turned it on silent before school. I reached over to the passenger seat to dig it out of my bag.

R UR doors locked?

My hand reached over automatically to the door panel, and I looked back at him in the mirror. Something had drawn his attention to the right, so I scanned the sidewalk. I spotted a man dressed head to toe in monochromatic blue. My eyes locked with his, his face barely visible under the brim of his hat. My breath caught in my throat. It was the man in the trench coat from the football game. He had an air about him that demonstrated authority, and I knew it wasn’t good I was the subject of his focus. Over the distance between us, I could see the calculation in his eyes. I turned forward, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. The light turned green and I inched forward, silently urging the car in front of me to go, suddenly anxious to get out from under his stare. I took a quick check in the mirror to see Landon pull over to the side of the road.

I turned into my driveway but didn’t get out of the car. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I waited a few minutes and called Landon.

“Hi,” he answered.

“Was that a friend of yours?” I asked, knowing it wasn’t.

“More of an acquaintance,” he quipped.

“He was also at the football game.”

I paused to give him a chance to explain, but the silence stretched on.

“Okay, so, what, your family’s involved in the mob?”

“If only it was that straightforward. It’s too complicated to get into now.”

I waited for him to tell me he’d tell me tonight, maybe in a dream, but he didn’t offer.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I said, not bothering to hide the frustration in my voice.

“Bye.”

I ended the call and stalked into the house. I wondered how much trouble he was in. I wondered what he did, or didn’t do, to get him in that much trouble. I wondered why he just couldn’t tell me what he was involved in, once and for all.

I arrived at school early the next day, on the chance that I’d see him before class. I hoped to have a few minutes to talk, to see if he’d open up about what was going on with him.

Only a handful of cars sat in the lot when I pulled in. None of them were his.

I impatiently flipped through my favorite radio stations. Why did they all advertise at the same time? I switched the radio to CD mode and skipped from song to song, not satisfied with any of them.

I pretended to fuss with my backpack, unloading and loading my books, anything to waste time.

The lot filled up. I waited a few more minutes, then heaved my bag over a shoulder and headed inside. There were only so many things I could pretend to do in my car.

I entered my combination three times before I actually opened my locker.

Elyse popped up behind me. “Hey, I thought you said you would call me last night. Or I figured you’d at least text if you couldn’t talk.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, I forgot. I was distracted.”

“What, exactly, distracted you?” she teased.

“Uh, did I say distracted?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“I meant I didn’t feel right. My head hurt, and my stomach was uneasy. I didn’t do much of anything last night.” Except a lot of thinking. And worrying.

“You still seem a bit weird. Is something going on with you?”

“Unfortunately, it’s nothing that I’m aware of.”

“Alright. You’ll just have to wait until lunch to hear the latest about my crazy family.”

She always had entertaining family stories. “I’ll be on pins and needles all day.”

“Don’t I know it.”

• • •

Landon didn’t show for two days. On the third morning, he casually rolled into first hour moments before the bell. He didn’t hold eye contact for more than a glance, and it seemed that when it did happen, he was indifferently scanning the class. I could give a cold shoulder with the best of them—thanks to Elyse—but I usually knew why someone deserved to be ignored. In this case, I didn’t know what the issue was. It irritated me beyond reason.

I didn’t contribute much to the discussion and barely paid attention in class. Landon had no reason to explain that “old acquaintance” of his or his absence the past few days, other than we were sort of friends and he said we’d talk about another one of his abilities.

The only logical explanation I could think was that maybe he changed his mind and that’s why he was suddenly avoiding me.

I waited for class to end so I could confront him. As soon as the bell rang, I jumped up and trailed him into the hallway. I touched his arm to get his attention. He turned to look down at me and stopped. He looked hesitant and worried, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“What’s the deal?” I waited for him to respond, but he just stared at me. “Tell me,” I requested.

“The whole situation.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning everything. What I’ve done, what I have to do.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. His hands were fists at his side. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “And now you’re involved.”

“I’m involved? In what?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe he was discussing this with me, or regretting the fact that I had been pulled into whatever this was. I couldn’t tell.

“Are you going to enlighten me?”

“That’s going to be even more challenging.”

“You just said I’m involved in this! I deserve to know. It’s something that concerns you. You have to clue me in.”

“I don’t see how that’s going to help any.”

“So?” I prompted.

“So what?” he stubbornly replied.

“So what’s going on? That scary guy shows up, you text me, you’re short on the phone, then you’re not in school for two days.”

“I’m around.”

“You were not around.”

“You shouldn’t pay that much attention to my whereabouts.”

“You’re unbelievable. Did you forget you said that we would talk about that day in class and what it all meant? I thought you were going to open up.” I thought a lot more things too, like he was going to prove to me that he could tell me things without me having to tell secrets first. “At least I know where I stand with Trevor. He never got my hopes up.” His eyes softened, and he looked sad, which reflected how I felt behind the anger. I started to turn away, but he grabbed my hand.

“This isn’t how I wanted this to go.” The urgency in his voice was palpable. “I didn’t forget about what I said. I’m working on it. Trust me.”

I pulled my hand away and drifted through the crowded hallway.

That day ended up being one of the longest days in the history of the world. Each class dragged; I looked at the large silver clock every five minutes. I imagined the sound of each second ticking away. Even lunch hour seemed that it would never end, and he showed up for the last five minutes. At least Elyse didn’t bother me for an explanation. She assumed I still felt strange. That much was true.

I didn’t want to think about Landon, or Trevor, or broken promises, or all the weird stuff going on. I hated that so much of it was out of my control. Concentrating on school didn’t keep enough of my mind preoccupied, so I checked out. Thinking about nothing was easier than I anticipated it would be, and the best part was that it took all my focus.

It was my mantra for the day. The end of school couldn’t come fast enough. All I wanted to do was lock myself in my room, change into my comfortable PJs, and put on some music.

My plans changed when I got home. My dog was ecstatic to see me so I took her for a walk. I had the rest of the evening to sulk.

I mentally made a playlist to listen to as we walked around the neighborhood. By the time we returned home, I knew the order of the music for the night. I made a hot chocolate and headed to my room. I switched my MP3 player to stereo mode and turned up the volume. I sat on the edge of my bed and stared into space. I begrudgingly unzipped my backpack and pulled out my homework. I heard some papers land on the floor and figured I missed putting it in a folder. I looked down to see what it was.

I stared at the envelope with my name written on it. It wasn’t familiar handwriting. Puzzled, I picked it up and pulled out the card.

The art was a simple stick figure holding a white flag.

The inside contained a hand-written message. My heart rate increased.

Brynn,

This paper is spelled. Only you can see the writing, to all others it’s just a blank piece of paper. I’m working on what I said I’d do, but have to take additional steps to ensure it’s safe, which takes time. I’m not happy about this either.

Landon

He snuck a card into my backpack. What a thoughtful trick. I should make him sweat it out like he did to me, but what if he didn’t do it on purpose? I debated texting him tonight or waiting until I’d see him in the morning…if he’d be at school tomorrow. What if he disappeared for days again? That thought decided me.

I understand.

My phone chimed a few seconds later:
TY.

I joined my parents for dinner and helped clean up. I relaxed on the main level with them and watched a few DVRed shows. Then it was time to finish up homework, so I headed upstairs and changed into my comfy PJs.

Sleep came easy after an emotionally draining day.

It didn’t surprise me to dream about Landon and Trevor. I was frustrated with both of them for different reasons. They were constantly on my mind, and I didn’t know what to do to resolve the issues I had with each of them.

• • •

The next day I approached Landon. “Hey, I’m sorry I compared you to Trevor.”

“It’s true,” he said honestly. “But not because I choose it to be.”

I stared at him, knowing there was significance to the words he picked. “It’s tricky…I get it. I’ll have some patience. But you’re going to have to make up for it.”

“It will all be resolved in a few days. One way or another.”

A
fter school, I checked my phone and saw a message from Trevor asking if I wanted to meet for coffee.

I found him in our usual booth, tucked in the back corner, holding a cup of his favorite blend. He had ordered a cup for me. Two scones were on a plate in the center of the table.

I slid in across from him. “Hey, how ya been?” I hadn’t heard from him since his offer to get together after the Halloween party.

“Do you care for him?”

The simple question froze my body. That straightforward question, asked by someone I cared for and promised to never hurt, brought it into focus. It was one thing to be teased by Elyse and harassed by Emilee. It was another to have Trevor directly ask me. I could no longer avoid it. My heart pounded. It resonated through me as the silence stretched. My mind reeled.

“I mean, I figured you did, but I wanted to hear it from you.”

Even he could see it, sense it. I was lying to myself. I hadn’t admitted it—I hadn’t wanted to admit it. The consequences were immense. I had to be honest with him, and with myself, no matter how much it hurt us. Forcing my eyes to meet Trevor’s, I owed both of us that much.

“Yes.”

I felt like I was fading from the moment. Instead of feeling empowered or uncomfortable, I stayed right in the middle, not letting emotion wash over me. I had to deny the temptation to feel it. To feel something other than breathing. Was he enraged? Did he hate me? I felt like I betrayed him, betrayed myself. I didn’t want to think about Landon so much. I knew I had no right to.

“Thank you for being honest with me,” Trevor said.

There was more to it than that. I wasn’t a simple cut-and-dry thing.

“I need to explain—”

“No, that’s not necessary. I get it. I understand. Really.”

“But
I
don’t know what it means!”

“It means that in my absence, you fell for him. And the fact that it’s
him
is the worst part of this! Landon, who’s a lying, conniving, poor excuse for a man.”

“Don’t talk about him like that. He’s not the horrible person you make him out to be.”

“You’re talking like you think you’re friends with him,” Trevor accused more than asked. He was volcanically angry and trying to keep it in check.

“You asked me how I felt about him, and friends care for each other.”

“It doesn’t count as friendship if the feelings aren’t reciprocated.”

For a second, my resolve faltered. Maybe the doubt crept in from Landon being MIA these past few days and him taking so long to do something he told me he’d do.

“Why did you say that? I can be friends with anyone I want to. Besides, you don’t have a say-so in my life. You weren’t around. You kept me at arm’s length. You pushed me away. It was your decision!”