Page 94 of Animal's Reformation
“Are they reading the same book?”
“No, they’re reading the elf book that you and I read last fall, remember?”
“Uh-huh. I liked that one.”
“Me too. Now go take your seat because Ms. Colter is about to start class.”
Billy dashed over to his seat, and Olivia looked down at her phone.
Animal:R u still with me, babe?
Olivia:Class is starting. Gotta go. Sending u a big, deep, wet kiss for now.
She switched her phone to silent, slipped it into her pocket, and took a seat at one of the small tables in the back of the classroom, waiting for Harper to begin the afternoon session.
* * *
Olivia slammed herhand against the steering wheel, cussing up a storm after her fifth attempt to turn on the ignition resulted in nothing but a low grinding sound. The dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, then groaned. Leaning back against the headrest, she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands. The last thing she could afford was a pricey car repair.
“There go the shutters,” she said out loud. “Dammit!”
Olivia pulled the hood lever then slid out of the driver’s seat and walked around to the front of the car. She glanced around the parking lot and saw that there were a couple of cars parked over on the east side, but she didn’t recognize whose they were. Olivia pulled up the hood and looked inside even though she didn’t know a damn thing about cars. The jangle of wires and hoses looked like a bunch of snakes crawling in different directions.
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath as she continued to stare inside.
Why the hell did she think it was a good idea to stay late that night? If she’d decided to take the students’ workbooks home to grade, she’d have hitched a ride from Harper and would be nestled on her couch watching a movie. Instead, she was alone in the parking lot, looking at the inside of a broken car, and feeling a bit spooked, especially after what had happened to Samantha Paulson.
The trees she’d admired earlier that day now looked ominous and threatening in the encroaching darkness. The rustling of the branches sounded like whispering voices, and fear tore through her from the inside out. She pulled out her cellphone and quickly tapped in Animal’s number.
“What’s up, baby?”
Olivia latched on to his familiar voice like a drowning person grasping a life preserver. “My car won’t start.” Her voice trembled even though she tried to steady it as much as she could.
“Where are you?” Concern laced his words.
“In the school parking lot. I stayed late to do some grading.” The afternoon breeze had grown into a stronger wind that blew clouds of dust and leaves across the parking lot. “I’m starting to think that was a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“It’s silly, but I’m a little spooked. It’s the damn trees and wind.” A low moan echoed in the distance.
“Hang on,” Animal said, and she could hear him telling Lucy to put on her coat because they were going to help Olivia out. Warmth spread through her and she leaned against the front bumper of her car. “Babe? We’re on our way. Get inside your car and lock the doors. We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay,” she replied weakly, not ready to disengage the call.
The sound of gravel on tires made her heart leap into her throat. She peered around the raised hood and saw a car slowly approaching her. Her temples throbbed and blood rushed through her veins as she took a few steps backward as if trying to use the hood as her shield.
“Are you still with me, Olivia?”
“Yes.” Her lips had suddenly become parched and she licked them several times. “A car’s coming.”
“Get inside your car. Now.”
“I don’t think I can make it in time.” Her heart was beating so hard, so wildly, she feared it would tear through her chest. “It stopped,” she croaked.
“Olivia,” Animal said, but his voice faded away as fear seized her.
The passenger window slowly rolled down and a man leaned way over. The glow from one of the streetlights partially lit up the man’s face—Marcus Thurber. Olivia had thought she’d been the only employee left in the school after five o’clock had passed. Knowing that Thurber had been inside as well made her shiver in spite of the warm evening air.
