Page 48 of Waysider
He smiled at her, revealing his dimples again. “Great. Let’s go.”
Teddy reached behind Cass and opened the door. A burst of warmth and noise greeted her. As she went inside, with Teddy close behind, Cass could hear the smokers talking about them before the door had fully closed. She fought the urge to roll her eyes and started making her way through the kitchen, which was even busier than it had been before. A card game had begun at the round table, and on the other side of the room, someone was doing a handstand on a keg. Students clustered around him, cheering and shouting. Pizza boxes covered the countertops and there was a huge puddle on the floor. Cass stepped over it, and a moment later, she finally reached the hallway.
Walking through a party with Teddy Crane was what she imagined it felt like to be Homecoming Queen. Everyone looked at them, everyone talked to them. Cass lost count of how many guys shouted Teddy’s name. He smiled and nodded constantly, but he stayed close to her, even when a couple of his friends tried to pull him away. Cass didn’t miss how the girls looked at her—some with skepticism, others with jealousy. Another night, it might’ve bothered her. But being possessed by the spirit of a murdered girl put things into perspective, and right now, all Cass wanted was to get the hell out of this house.
She raised her gaze toward the front door, relieved that she could actually see it now. Then she spotted Sinister and her stomach dropped.
After what just happened with the revenant, Cass had completely forgotten about what she’d witnessed right beforehand. In her mind’s eye, she saw Webster and Victoria springing apart again, their faces bathed in light and guilt. Fuck, Cass thought. She couldn’t deal with anything else tonight.
Teddy had noticed Sinister, too. When they reached him, Teddy clapped the Shadowripper on the shoulder and lowered his hands to sign. “Thanks for the invite, man. Great party.”
Sinister nodded and signed a brief response, then turned his gaze to Cass. Trying to hide her eagerness to leave, she forced a quick, polite smile. “See you around,” Cass said.
His blue eyes searched her expression. He was probably wondering if she was pissed about getting rejected, Cass thought, but she couldn’t exactly reassure him in front of Teddy. Plus she really, really wanted that burger. “I’m glad you came,” Sinister replied.
The softness in his voice made Cass’s mind flash with another image from tonight—a sad-eyed man sitting on a bench, holding a bouquet of flowers in his wrinkled hand. They’re not monsters. They’re people.
Cass attempted another smile, and this one wasn’t as forced. “So am I.”
Teddy moved to open the door, and as Cass followed, she swore she felt eyes boring into her. On the threshold, she allowed herself to look back. Cass expected to see Sinister talking to someone else, but he stood exactly how she’d left him. A frown hovering at the corners of his mouth, his eyes dark in the shadowed hallway. Cass felt that pull toward him again, and she fought it, remembering the rush of mortification when Sinister had said, I’m with Webster.
Cass quickly turned and walked out.
A minute later, she was making her way across campus with Teddy Crane. The pathways were just as quiet as the street had been earlier, with Sinister. No, Cass thought firmly. She wasn’t thinking about him. That was Future Cass’s problem.
“How did you learn sign language?” she asked Teddy abruptly, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. The night was cooler than she’d expected it to be for California.
“Self-taught,” he answered. A lock of bright hair fell into Teddy’s eye, and he reached up, raking it back with his fingers.
They walked beneath the archway at the end of the drive, and Teddy steered them to the left. Neon signs glowed up ahead. Cass had noticed the diner on the day of her arrival. It had been busier, then—tonight the colorful room beyond the windows was still, and the bell over the door was silent.
As they approached, Cass found herself glancing sidelong at Teddy. She was captivated by the absent grace of how he moved. Then, in the next breath, she was annoyed that she’d noticed. “How many languages do you know?” she asked next.
“Six. No, seven,” Teddy amended, pulling the door open for her. They walked inside, and Cass took in the checkered floors and chrome bar stools.
“Impressive, but somehow I’m not surprised.” She shot Teddy a teasing smile just before the hostess greeted them, a redhead in a blue uniform. The silver pin on her chest declared, Hi, my name is Cheryl.
She led them to a booth and set two menus down. As Cass and Teddy slid into their seats, another customer called for Cheryl, and annoyance flitted across her face. She turned toward a man sitting at the counter, her hair flashing in the florescent lights.
“Just a minute, Tom!” Cheryl hollered.
“I’m a paying customer, you know. I have rights!”
Cheryl’s nostrils flared. She visibly worked to control her expression as she turned back to Cass and Teddy. “I’m so sorry about my brother. I had to take him with me tonight. I’ll be right back, all right?”
She hurried away, and Teddy and Cass faced each other across the table. Suddenly she felt awkward, uncertain. Cass started to reach for her bangs. She caught herself and forced her hand back into her lap. She cleared her throat and said to Teddy, “Sorry if I ruined the party for you.”
He immediately shook his head. “You didn’t ruin anything. I was going to leave soon, anyway.”
Now Cass felt a whisper of curiosity. She would’ve thought the golden boy never left a party early. “How come?” she asked.
Some of the light left Teddy’s eyes. He folded his arms and leaned on the table. Tension filled the hard lines of his shoulders. “I just broke up with someone, and she was there tonight,” he admitted. “She doesn’t usually go to that sort of thing, so I figured it would be safe. Clearly I was wrong.”
Cass didn’t need to ask who his ex was—she remembered a moment she’d witnessed in the dining hall, the brief exchange between Teddy and the dark-haired Dreamwalker. She was about to respond when Cheryl returned and set two glasses of water down. The redhead took a notepad out of her apron and removed a pen from behind her ear, poising it over the paper. “Sorry about that. What can I get you?” she asked.
Teddy grinned at Cass. “Ladies first.”
She didn’t need any further prompting. Cass ordered a burger and fries, plus a large chocolate milkshake, and Teddy asked for the same. Once their waitress was gone, she realized she hadn’t gotten a chance to respond to his reason for leaving the party. Cass gave Teddy a sympathetic look and said, “Normally I would tell you to suck it up and face the problem head-on, but Victoria Chen is sort of terrifying.”
