Hotblood (26 page)

Valerie looked surprised and Snowy took that moment to grab my arm and drag me into the gym before Valerie could say anything else.

“
I am really going to kill her,” she muttered smiling brightly at Tawna. I stared at Snowy, feeling a little bit in awe. She had issues. I liked her like that. I liked her all the way to lunch when she set her tray next to me with an extra loud thump.

“
Good,” she began without preamble. “Forget about him by all means. Enjoy yourself, have fun with other people. It will drive him absolutely crazy, or I don’t know men.” She smirked. She apparently thought she did.

“
Snowy, I think you’re missing my point and the fact that I don’t want to talk about it.” I stared at my broccoli with all kinds of menace.

“
Dari.” She gave me a long-suffering look. “Right now, you don’t have a point. That’s your problem. You don’t have a clear goal. After you go to the festival with Bob, you’ll know. I’ll be there and so will Lewis, no doubt. It’ll give Lewis food for thought because you’re right; he hasn’t pursued you with any kind of intensity, and it’s not right for a man to make a woman do all the work. So are we going shopping tomorrow?” I nodded my affirmative, relieved she’d finally found some kind of closure to the topic of Lewis.

After lunch I was juggling my books when I looked up and saw Lewis. Valerie leaned against the wall, letting her effusive charms overwhelm him, laughing at something he said that she apparently found hilarious. I watched her put a hand with long manicured nails on his arm, seeming to squeeze his bicep. I stared at them both as I walked by, curious at the feeling inside my chest, the way the sight of her hand on his shirt, only his shirt, not even his skin made something inside me constrict, tighten, and burn. I met Lewis’ eyes evenly, coolly, then gave him a sweet smile as I murmured, “It’s so nice that the two newcomers can be such good friends.” I wasn’t sure if he heard me, but his eyes narrowed and there was a flash of that dangerous heat I’d seen in my backyard before I turned my head and kept walking. It felt like he was watching me, but I didn’t look to see. I climbed the stairs to Mrs. Lemon’s room and smiled brilliantly at Bob who came over and started regaling me with tales about how much fun we would have at the festival. I laughed loudly, relieved to get rid of some of the tension. The laugh was a little bit too intense, and I caught Ash looking at me from the corner of my eye.

“
Are you all right?” He asked me when everyone else had left after class.

I picked up my bag with deliberate care and smiled sweetly. “Not remotely. As far as I can tell no one in high school is supposed to be so I guess that makes me normal.” I thought about that for a minute and this time my smile was sincere. “Do you look at Valerie when she walks by?”

Ash’s brown eyes widened slightly. “No. She’s dangerous. I stay far away from her.”

I walked along with him glad he was willing to talk to me. “Well, I’m dangerous too.”

He smiled at me and it was like warm soup on a drizzly day. “You are dangerous like an avalanche or a tornado, not like a serpent.”

“
Is there really that much of a difference?” I asked, lingering at the door of the tower. Something about Ash made me want this conversation to go on. It may have had something to do with what I’d find on the other side of the door.

“
Excuse me,” Lewis said, brushing by Ash and opening the door. “Would you…” he said to me holding the door open.

“
In a minute,” I focused on Ash’s face and smiled at him. “Thank you for walking with me Ash. I’ll see you later at the festival.”

He nodded and moved away, his gaze locked on the floor.

I walked through the door and looked around, but as usual, all the tables were occupied except the one by the window. Lewis followed me, waiting for me to move. I took my time before settling into my chair and piling my books on the table.

“
It wasn’t what it looked like,” he said as soon as he sat down. I looked up at him holding my blank gaze on my face.

“
Excuse me?”

“
In the hallway what you saw was not what it looked like. I’m more particular about my friends than that.”

“
That is so sad. She really seems to need a friend, and you two looked so compatible.”

“
Did we?” he asked drily. “I hadn’t thought I made such a poor impression on you. You did say you liked me better than trees.”

“
Only some trees,” I said frowning. “One really. Don’t remind me where that conversation led.”

“
Why not? You have a very well manicured back yard. It was a delight to visit.”

I slammed down a book and glared at him, but the look on his face was so innocent I sighed. “Look, Lewis, you’ve made it perfectly clear that you’re not even remotely interested in romantic entanglements. If you want to be friends with Valerie, go for it. You can be friends with anyone you want.”

He raised his eyebrows then smiled slightly. “I made that perfectly clear, did I? What was it, lending you a priceless copy of my favorite book or stalking you that gave the message?”

“
Stalking me?” I stared at him. “The only person I’ve seen you pursue is my uncle.”

His smile widened. “That was probably the most fun I’ve had in this town.” I stared at him speechless. “I seem very good, don’t I? I could be Osmond’s better brother.” He smiled wickedly then focused on his book.

I felt bewildered. This was not where I expected this conversation to go. “You like me?” I could have bit my tongue off after I said it.

He looked up slowly and cocked his head. It was the same look he made in Mrs. Briggs class before he made a brilliant argument. “It’s your hair. I can’t help but like anyone with hair attached to their scalp so firmly.”

I nodded and couldn’t help giggling. I opened my own book determined that this conversation was over. So, he liked me? I tried not to think about it, to wonder about it. When you came right down to it, he hadn’t said yes. Of course, he hadn’t said no either.

After school I got a ride home with Snowy. She chatted the whole way, while I stared out the window thinking about Lewis.

“
Dari.” I glanced at her and offered an apologetic smile. “What are you going to wear to the fest?”

I looked down at my silk dress, and back up at her. “This.”

“
This is the end of summer fling. You’ve got to wear a summer dress. Why don’t we stop by my house and we can see if there’s something that would suit you. You are about my size only more defined.”

I looked at her carefully, wondering if there was an insult in there, but she smiled back at me cheerfully. I shrugged, not in the mood to fight. Lewis was still in my head. He had said he liked me, hadn’t he? He’d been joking, but I wasn’t sure about which parts.

Inside Snowy’s rambler, I stood in front of her floor length mirror, holding a little spaghetti strapped floral dress up to my body.

“
Where did you get this? It doesn’t seem like you at all.”

“
It’s not. My aunt gave it to me for my birthday last year. I haven’t gotten around to cleaning out my closet yet. I think you should try it on.” She rifled through the closet and came out with a mini skirt and a sleeveless polo. “This is perfect for me. Of course, I’m not going to be quite as casual as you. What about your hair? Do you want to leave it down? I know.”

I let Snowy mess with my hair. She kept it simple, only pulled up the sides into clips, and I went into the bathroom to change into the dress. It wasn’t bad. It showed more shoulder than I was used to, but it wasn’t too low. I heard the phone ring, and Snowy’s mother came down the hall calling my name. I stepped out, and she smiled as she took in my outfit.

“
Well.” Her Swedish accent was still heavy, “Aren’t you looking lovely today, Dariana. Your mother is on the phone. She wants to know where you are.”

“
Oh.” I stared at her for a minute. “You can tell her that I’m here.”

Snowy snorted behind me. “Mom, tell her I’ll take her home in a few minutes, and tell her we’re sorry,” Snowy added as her mother made her way down the hall. I looked from the mother to the daughter and couldn’t help the slight sigh. Snowy looked as gorgeous as her Swedish former model mother did. Why didn’t I get the looks of my mother? I shrugged it off as soon as I thought it. I didn’t want to be like my mother in any way.

Snowy kept glancing at me and smiling on the way home. It made me feel self-conscious, and I pulled the dress lower on my knees. I was wearing a pair of her sandals. She’d finally convinced me that while boots were the universal neutral, sandals were more appropriate for this particular occasion.

At my house I found my mother in the kitchen muttering under her breath while she smashed something in a mortar with the pestle. I stared at her impressed at the way she was taking her frustration out on it. She was still in her lab coat from work handling those medieval instruments like they were second nature to her.

“
Hi mother.” I settled on a bench and started to eat an apple.

“
Dariana.” She only looked up for a second before concentrating on her work. “Stupid!” I thought I heard her mutter.

“
Are you having fun?”

She glanced at me then shook her head. “What century are we in? I’m adjusting your father’s recipe in order to make it palatable for you. You have to drink absolute sludge and why? Perhaps psychologically there’s good reason for it, but in this day and age, when chemicals have been neatly processed into white pills, it doesn’t make a difference what shape it is, so long as you get it inside you.”

I shrugged. “That potion, as awful as it is, definitely works. Without it, my dreams are absolute nightmares. Besides, it’s not that bad mixed with Autumn. You should have tried the first batch. That was horrible.” It made me shudder to remember it.

“
I do this for a living you know. It isn’t as though I couldn’t come up with something that worked better and tasted better. If he’d warned me before this week, I could have developed it during the summer.”

I stared at her wondering why she was absorbed by this now. “You’re busy with whatever you’re working on. Don’t worry about me.”

“
Don’t worry about you?” She rested her elbows on the counter and directed her level gaze at me, her glasses slightly crooked and her hair in a rough ponytail that did nothing for her. She looked almost normal. “How exactly am I supposed to not worry about you when you disappear after school without telling me where you’re going?”

I finished chewing my apple before I answered her. “What’s the worst that could happen to me? Are you afraid I’ll lose my soul or something?” She winced, and I felt low. “I’m sorry mother. I didn’t mean it like that. I just hate it when people worry about me when I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’m a fury!”

My mother looked at me with a tight mouth. “For the moment, but who knows how long that will last.” She closed her eyes and I saw how very dark the circles were. She looked at me and forced a smile as she took off her lab coat. “You look very nice. Would you mind giving me a hand with these?” She gestured to the counter where I saw a stack of bowls of various sizes. “I have to take these to the festival a little early. Do you mind?”

I stared at her, bewildered at her change of subject then loaded up the car. My mother was worried about me. I could smell it under her perfume.

At school, my mother parked on the curb. I looked over the parking lot full of booths, a Ferris wheel, and some other small rides. After I dumped the bowls in the gym, I found a place on the grass, out of the way where I could be seen if someone was looking for me, but where I wouldn’t stand out too much. I let myself forget about my mother and soaked in the sun. I thought about Lewis, going over his words, the expression on his face, trying to figure out which parts had been sincere, or if he’d spent the entire time mocking me. Mocking reminded me of the Nether. I had a hard time breathing when I thought of him, that darkness and the way I felt wrapped up in him.

“
Dari!” Snowy cried and came towards me. I blinked back to the world of bright green grass and the smell of pavement and charcoal mixed with sunscreen. I smiled at Snowy and felt good beneath the warmth of the sun. “Come on, let’s go check out booths.”

I shook my head. “I promised Smoke I’d meet him here at five.”

“
Oh, come on,” she pouted.

“
That pout is so fake,” I said.

She laughed and shook out her hair, then settled on the grass beside me. “Of course it is. I won’t waste it on you in the future. I should know better, but you were someone I used to practice on. So tell me about study hall? Did anything happen?”

I shrugged uncomfortably. “He told me he didn’t like Valerie.”

“
And…” She nudged me.

“
He said he liked my scalp.” I scowled at her and she fell on her back laughing. “It wasn’t that funny,” I muttered.

“
Hmm. Well, that’s good,” she said after she had her giggles under control. “And so you told him you found his ears adorable?”

I rolled my eyes. “I told you we’re not romantic. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“
If you don’t like him you shouldn’t look so dreamy when you’re talking to him. Here, let’s practice. I’m Lewis, and you’re Dari. ‘Hi, Dari.” She batted her lashes at me and I laughed.

“
Snowy, you make a terrible Lewis. He doesn’t pout.”