“Pretty sure I’m on school pick up and drop off duty for you and Kimber for the foreseeable future,” X explains, and I nod, studying him. He’s the all-American guy, that’s for sure. Handsome, athletic, charismatic, intelligent. Having him on our side is a good thing. It is. Even if I have inappropriate thoughts towards him sometimes. “Is there anything I can do to help today?” he asks cryptically, raising a single brow in question.
“You have schoolwork, too, don’t you?” I ask, and he gives me a look.
“Schoolwork doesn’t mean shit to me right now. How can I help you and Parrish? Like I said, I’m finishing the rest of my courses online. The schoolyear is nearly over anyway.” He shrugs his shoulders loosely. “My parents are trying to convince me to work part-time at their barcade, but other than that, I don’t have any responsibilities. Just tell me what you need.”
“Your parents own a barcade?” I ask, trying not to laugh. Not that the idea of a barcade doesn’t sound fun. A bunch of vintage arcade games and alcohol, that sounds like an intriguing mix. “That’s … an interesting business to get into.”
X grins at me and sits back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his headrest.
“Yeah. They bought it just before they moved to Portland. They ended up selling their house here but kept the business. It actually makes a decent amount of money.” He gives me a sideways smile, one that would absolutely catch my attention in a crowd. “You should stop by sometime during off-hours. I’ll make you a cherry soda from the soda fountain and you can kick my ass at Pac-Man or something.”
“You’re assuming that my gaming skills extend to vintage games,” I tease, and Maxx pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek, a dry expression on his face.
“They don’t?” he queries, cocking his head to one side. “According to Maxine, you can plop down in front of just about any game and kick its ass.”
Maxine.
The sound of my sister’s name is like ice water. I shiver and look away, and the mood in the car immediately shifts. Here we are having a normal conversation like normal people when the world is anything but normal. Parrish is dying; my sister is heartbroken; Danyella and Lumen probably despise me. What is wrong with me?
“Anyway, what can I do to help?” X offers up again, and I exhale sharply through my nose.
“I’ll send you all my social media logins,” I tell him as I open the door and glance back. “You can start combing through my notifications and see if anything stands out.”
I hop out of the vehicle and close the door just as Chasm comes outside to look for me.
“Morning, Little Sister,” he says, sliding his hands into his blazer pockets. He looks stunning, as always, dressed in the all-black blazer, slacks, and shiny dress shoes of the Whitehall Prep uniform. His tartan plaid tie with the lime-green stripes is stuck in his pocket; he only wears it when he gets yelled at by the administration. His amber eyes glide over me, making me shiver. “Anything new?”
“Nothing,” I reply with a dramatic sigh, giving him a hopeful look. “Lumen and Danyella?”
Chasm shakes his head slowly, reaching up to brush bright yellow strands of hair from his forehead.
“They haven’t said a damn thing to me today. As far as I can tell, everything is normal.”
Huh.
I don’t like that. For some reason, it unnerves me. Why hasn’t Danyella told anyone about our confession? I think about Lumen’s odd expression last night, but I have no idea what it could possibly mean.
She woke up in a field with no memory of having gotten there. Is it possible that what happened to me also happened to her? But why? And if so, would the Slayer aka Justin aka my bio dad really have just let her go?
“I’ll see if I can talk to them today,” I say as Chasm and I head back for the side doors of the school. I’m tempted to ask him about his dad, but I don’t want to stir shit up unnecessarily. We both have enough going on.
Once we’re inside the building, I can sense it.
Something is different.
People are looking at me, but not in the way they did before, like I was some sort of amusing curiosity. The mood has shifted dramatically—but mostly from the girls.
Crap.
Chasm notices, too, pausing and glancing down at me before lifting his gaze up and letting it trail down the length of the hallway.
“Lumen,” he says immediately, and my stomach drops.
What was it that Kimber said? That I got lucky at Whitehall, that Parrish and Lumen were keeping the rest of the populace in check.
But … what happens if Lumen actively sets out to destroy me? And Parrish is gone? What happens then?
