Book of Love (23 page)

I knew she was too smart to believe I wanted
to go just to hang out. “I need to keep an eye on my brother. I
don’t trust him.” I started the car.

“
Why don’t you trust
him?”

Jane’s curiosity toward him was a concern of
mine. I knew the dream had thrown her off, but it wouldn’t happen
again.

“
Greg is someone that needs
to be watched,” I replied plainly.

I saw her face turn to understanding. “I get
that.” She laughed sarcastically. “Perhaps Emily will be there, and
then we could both benefit from the night.”

I felt guilty for making her go, especially
when I’d had a more meaningful night planned. “I know this isn’t
really your thing. I’m sorry to drag you along.”

Jane was looking out the window as we
reversed and turned around in the driveway. I saw her shrug from
the corner of my eye. “I guess if you’re there, though, I can
handle it.”

I grinned, wanting to feel my own body react
to the happiness, but it only felt her. Jane’s attention remained
on the world outside the window. I watched her, unconcerned with
the road, not that it really mattered if I watched it. I didn’t
have to. What was important was that she was beginning to like
me.

“
Max?” She finally made a
move to look at me, so I quickly turned my gaze forward, pretending
to be responsible.

“
Yes,
Beautiful?”
I shifted in my seat, trying to look as though I
hadn’t been staring at her.

She grinned. “Thanks for letting me meet
your grandfather. It really means a lot to me. I don’t think you
can understand just how much.”

I nodded. “I can understand.”

She exhaled with a smile. “Yeah, I suppose
you do.” She sat up straight with a change of energy toward the
coming situation. “Well, it’ll be an adventure at least. Don’t you
think?” She changed the subject.

I laughed once. “Yeah, you’re right about
that,” I agreed.

Emily:

I saw Alexis from across the room. Our eyes
met and she gave me an excited wave. Her wave faded as her eyes
wandered to Wes beside me, a noticeably confused look on her face.
Wes tapped me on the arm, leaning close to my ear.

“
I’m going to find the
beer. Maybe it’ll help keep me calm.” He chuckled, nibbling my ear.
“Do you want one?”

I nodded, not bothering to look at him as my
eyes remained locked on Alexis, not wanting to lose her in the
crowd. I made my way toward her, and Wes and I parted.

Alexis yelled over the
music as I reached her, “Hey, Em. What are you doing with
him?”
She looked
disgusted that I’d even talk to Wes. She knew he was a far cry from
our regular type, but then again, she had no clue that my lack of
chastity was a lie. Unfortunately hers wasn’t.

“
Leave it alone, Alexis.” I
hissed, hoping to sound mean enough that she’d drop the
subject.

“
Fine.”
She glared at me, but
brushed it off rather quickly. “So, I saw that new guy here.” She
took a sip of what looked like a sugary malt beverage, but she’d
taken the label off the bottle to avoid letting anyone find out she
drank anything but beer and hard liquor.

I felt my stomach twist. I
grabbed her.
“Which
new guy?” I searched her eyes, finding my answer.

Alexis looked at me slyly, withholding the
information just to piss me off. Too bad it didn’t really work on a
mind reader. “You know, the mysterious new boy.” She traced her
tongue along the rim of her bottle.

I looked away, disgusted.

Alexis giggled, narrowing
her eyes. “The dark one, of course. Who’d you think I meant? The
poser brother,
Max?”
She laughed. “I mean, he’s cute, too, but I can tell he’s a
goody-goody underneath it all. It’s the green-eyed one I’m
interested in.” She pressed her chin into the air.

“
Greg?” I gawked. “I don’t
know,” I mumbled. A loud sigh passed my lips and I shook my head.
“There’s something about him I’m not too sure about, Alexis.” I was
trying to deter her attention away from Greg.

Alexis snorted.
“You
think he’s bad
news? Since when do you care?” She sounded mad that I’d tried to
warn her, but then again, she was always mad. Her weight shifted
dramatically. “See,
there he is.”
She looked across the room from under her lashes,
trying to look sultry.

I attempted to follow her gaze, shivering as
I pictured his dark face from class. I didn’t want to be near him,
knowing that I lacked control in his presence.

Greg spotted us, staring for a moment before
approaching with a mischievous grin. Alexis adjusted her top
suggestively. I was thankful that he was looking at her and not me,
but as he got closer, his gaze suddenly locked with mine. Alexis’
elbow found its way into my side. I winced, but the pain didn’t
matter. His glowing green gaze had already grabbed me.

Where was Wes?
I felt my heart begin to race, the screams from
Greg low, but still there. My skin was crawling from the noise, my
body freezing as though suddenly made of stone.

“
Hey, girls.” Greg nodded
toward me. “Emily.” His voice snaked above the screams in his
head.

I listened to them for a moment, trying to
calm my own mind enough to hear what they said. I heard children’s
voices, women and men. Some screamed for help, others screamed in
plain agony.

I shook them away with a grimace. “Leave us
alone.”

Alexis nudged me
again.
“Emily,”
she hissed. “Don’t be so rude!”

Greg turned his attention back to Alexis. He
blinked twice, and then smiled. “Do you want to dance, Alexis?”

I calculated his movements
with meticulous attention. My head was screaming as the voices in
his were.
No, Alexis. Don’t!
I wanted to say the words out loud, but my lips
wouldn’t move.

Greg glared at me as he put his arm over her
shoulder, walking her away from me. I was helpless to stop them,
confused by what was happening. The screaming faded as they
disappeared into the crowd, the music flooding back to my ears. My
frozen skin began to melt and I felt a release in my chest. I
inhaled, finding I’d forgotten to breath. I could move again, but
all I could think of now was finding Wes.

Jane:

We walked up to the party. I was too
distracted to care about advancing my relationship with Max at the
moment, too worried about where I would find Emily, and with whom.
At least this time, I had Max to help me.

I know I didn’t know Max all that well, but
there was something that made me trust him, made me feel safe
enough to tell him things I never told anyone. I wanted to tell him
about my ability to foresee death, but there was always something
stealing the moment away. At the same time, though, maybe I was too
scared.

As Max and I entered, I scanned the room for
Emily, but didn’t see her among the faces of my peers. The music
pounded in my ears, leaving them ringing. Max put his arm around my
shoulder, pulling me close to him and protecting me within a shell
of his arms. People danced all around us, their arms flailing in
their inebriated states. I didn’t care about any of them, instead
shutting my eyes and breathing deep, Max’s musky scent tickling my
senses.

He squeezed my arm to get my attention. “I’m
going to try to find Greg,” he yelled.

His voice stung my ears, but I nodded in
agreement.

Max left me standing in the middle of the
room as everyone seemed to stare. They saw me as a threat, a party
wrecker, and most of all, a complete loser. I licked my lips and
dropped my gaze to the floor. I quickly worked my way through the
crowd, trying my best to disappear to the side of the room. I was
being thrashed around, the house filled to the brim with bodies,
reeking of beer. The ground below me shook from the weight, covered
in a thin sticky layer of—I didn’t even want to know. I began to
wonder what parent would allow their kid to do this sort of thing,
but most parents were oblivious, or at the very least, in
denial.

I squeezed my way along the wall, moving
toward an arch that led into an adjoining room. Reaching it, I
slipped into what looked like the kitchen. I stood in the middle of
the space, finally finding some air. A kid from my English class
walked in and went straight to the fridge. He grabbed the remnants
of a six pack from the middle shelf and handed me one of the two
that were left, not bothering to ask if I’d even wanted one. As
though he was in a trance, he left the room, re-entering the dance
party that was happening in the living room.

I stared at the beer for a moment, the chill
of it comforting on my hot hand. The can began to perspire, and I
found myself suddenly thirsty as the condensation began to drip to
the ground. I popped the top, bringing it to my lips. The tart
smell of barley filled my nostrils and I took a sip. I wrinkled my
face in distaste as I swallowed. It was horrible, but the bubbles
felt good on my dry throat. As I lowered the can from in front of
my eyes, I saw Emily among the crowd in the living room. She was
scanning the swarm with a look of fear on her face.

Finding a nearby table, I placed the beer
down and brought my hands to my mouth. “Emily!” I tried to yell
over the crowd. She didn’t seem to hear me, so I began to walk
toward her, pressing through the swarm and slowly gaining ground.
“Emily!” I yelled again. This time she heard me and her head
snapped in my direction, her auburn hair flying about her
shoulders. Her face was filled with relief as our gazes met.

“
Jane!” She yelled back,
waving. She ducked her head and began to make her way toward me. We
met in the middle.

“
Emily…” I was almost out
of breath, my arms feeling taxed as though the sea of people were
in fact the sea itself.

Emily grabbed my arm. “Jane, I need to find
Wes.”

I furrowed my brow. “Wes is here?” A small
part of me felt better knowing that he was.

Emily rolled her eyes, grabbing me as she
pushed through the crowd, trying to get us back to the kitchen
where it would be easier to talk. We finally made it to the room a
moment later, my arm red where Emily was still grasping me.

I twisted to face her; she looked frantic.
“Listen, Jane. I know this is going to sound strange, but I think
there’s something dangerous about Max and his brother.”

I felt my heart
stop.
How did she know about Greg?
“Emily, what are you talking about? Max is fine.”
I tried to deny it, not willing to give him up.

Emily shook me. “Jane, I don’t have time for
to you be naïve, okay? There is something about them I don’t
trust.”

I glared at her, crossing my arms against my
chest. “Max is fine, Emily. You’re hardly the one to judge.”

She shook her head, her
arms in the air. “Then at least believe me when I say that his
brother is dangerous. I mean, I
know
that you do.”

I laughed slightly. “Okay, I agree with you
there. But I don’t understand. How do you know all this?”

“
I’ll explain later, Jane,
but I think Alexis is in trouble.” Her eyes were wide.

Everything was happening so fast. “In
trouble? What do you mean?”

Emily was pacing in small circles. “Greg
took her to dance, but now I can’t find her or Wes.”

“
Greg
did
what?”
I’d heard what she said, but hearing it made the hairs on my
arm stand on end.

“
Emily!” I heard a yell
from the other room, and we both looked.

Emily’s face was
relieved.
“Wes!”
She yelled back.

I saw Wes push his way into the room.

“
There
you
ar—”
He froze when he saw me, his body becoming rigid.

Neither of us spoke for a moment as we
stared at each other, speechless.

Emily finally grumbled,
shaking her head as though irritated. “Listen, Jane. There are some
things you need to understand. I’ve been meaning to find a better
time to tell you, but I have a feeling this is as good as it’s
going to get.” Emily’s eyes scanned mine, a weight carried within
them. “The truth of the matter is,
well...”
She exhaled, seeming to
gather her words.

“
What,
Em?”
My own words were curt. I didn’t have time for her
games.

“
It’s
just that...
”
She eyed Wes one last time. He gave her an approving nod.
“I
hear
things,
Jane, and Wes, well, he changes
into
things. Mostly animals. That’s
what all the pain was about.” She was nodding arbitrarily, as
though urging me to find what she was saying
acceptable—
believable.

I was in shock. I said nothing.

Emily went on. “Because I
can
hear
things,
Jane, I also know that you
dream
about certain things…” She shook her head, her
eyes now avoiding mine.
“Apparently.”
She continued to eye
Wes, “And then... Wes and I are dating. Got it?” Emily paused as
though the fact that they were dating was meant to shock me, but it
wasn’t that part that was shocking. It was the first three things
she’d said. “But right now it’s important we find Alexis. So,
please, Jane, try to keep up!” Emily’s cheeks were
flushed.