Masquerade (21 page)

Finally, a slow song came on, and I
thought we would make our escape, but Sam towed me out into the
crowd and wrapped his arms around me. This kind of dancing was
really good. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, Sam relaxing
right along with me. We moved with each other to the music, and I
hoped the song would never end.

Then the power went out.

The music stopped playing and all the
lights went out. I didn’t realize how dark it would be without any
lights. Sam stiffened and tightened his arms around me. People
around us screeched and laughed. Some of the guys made ghostly
sounds.

Then a wolf howled.

It sounded way too real for it to be a
drunken guy. People around us started whispering
nervously.

Sam tucked my head further into his
chest, and I could feel his heart hammering away. He leaned in to
whisper, “Let’s make our way toward the house. Don’t let go of
me.”

I nodded.

“
Do you have your whistle?”
he asked.

Panic bubbled up in my chest. Did he
think that some wild animal was going to take advantage of the dark
and start attacking people? What if it was the same animal from the
other night? I reached under my shirt and palmed the
whistle.

“
Sam?”

His muscles were bunching and rippling
beneath his skin in a way that I never knew was possible. I tried
to take comfort in the fact that he was clearly ripped.

Before I could truly start
freaking out the lights
came back on.
Kimber’s dad was on the upper deck and yelled down at the crowd.
“Sorry! The breaker blew!”

Everyone cheered, and the DJ started
up another slow song. I wondered when my heart would return to
normal. Sam titled my head back and stared into my face. “You
okay?”

“
Yeah. Are you?”

He nodded and pulled me close again.
Seconds later he pulled back. “I’ll be right back.”

“
Where are you going?” I
asked, alarmed.

“
The bathroom,” he called
and ran toward the edge of the dance floor. Instead of turning
toward the house, he disappeared into the trees.

Where was he going? Last
time I checked, the bathroom was not in the woods.
I was about to follow when someone caught my
hand. I turned, ready to yell, when I saw who it was.
“Brice.”

“
I thought he’d never leave
you alone.” He smiled.

That smile used to make my
palms sweat.
Before
. We were practically an item last summer. Then I was
attacked, scarred, and emotionally wrecked. Brice had come to visit
me in the hospital once. He’d taken one look at my face and hadn’t
talked to me since.

“
Who? Sam?” I
stuttered.

“
Dance with me,” he said,
flashing a smile and blinding me with his dimples. I let him sweep
me forward because I was so shocked.

“
You want to dance with
me?” I asked. He was holding me a little too close so I eased back,
creating some distance.

“
Haven’t seen you around
much this year,” he said.

“
I’ve been
busy.”

“
I’ve missed you,” he
whispered, leaning in.

“
You have?”

He nodded. “It’s good to see you out,
having fun. Like old times. Remember?”

Was he hitting on me?

“
I heard you were going to
take Jenna’s place on the cheer squad next year as team
captain.”

Ahh, he thought I was going to be
popular again. I stepped back, cutting off our dance. “I need to go
find Sam.”

“
Let him go. We had
something good last year.”

“
Maybe,” I said, wetting my
lips. “But that was before you came to the hospital and were
disgusted by my face.” Where had that come from?

His blue eyes widened, and he shoved a
hand through his perfect blond hair. “I wasn’t, I’m
not…”

“
It’s okay, Brice. Really.
I’m with Sam now.”

“
You’re going to blow me
off?” He seemed incredulous. “For the new guy?”

I noticed that people around us were
staring. This was going to be all over school tomorrow.

I tried to think of something to say
that wouldn’t embarrass him. Or me. A deep hard voice answered for
me. “You heard her. She’s with me now.”

Sam stepped around me to face Brice.
They measured each other for long moments, and I held my breath.
Then Brice smiled. “Hey, man. That’s cool. Can’t blame a guy for
trying.”

He walked away.

When he was gone everyone turned
toward Sam and me. Kimber came through the crowd. “The DJ’s giving
away free stuff at his booth!” she announced.

That took all of the attention away
from us. I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I told
her.

“
You looked like you needed
some help.”

I turned
questioning eyes to Sam. “I thought you were
going to the bathroom.”

“
I did,” he answered
vaguely, his eyes darted through the crowd to land on Brice again.
I wasn’t worried about Brice. He was an idiot.

I grabbed his hand. “You went into the
woods, Sam. You didn’t go to the house.”

Beside me Kimber burst out laughing.
“Guys pee all over the place, Heven.”

Sam laughed and looked down at me, his
eyes twinkling with amusement.

“
I guess they do.” I
laughed, feeling silly. What else would he go in the woods to do?
All the excitement lately has been going to my head; I’m seeing
danger in my boyfriend peeing in the woods, what next?

Some guy walked by
carrying a tray full of drinks. The cups were so full they splashed
over the sides as he danced. “Oooh! I need one of those.” Kimber
said and went off to grab one.

Sam touched my fingers. “Are you
alright?”

“
Yeah. I guess that
blackout just made me a little nervous.”

Sam wrapped an arm around my shoulders
and pulled me close. “You’re safe.”

I shifted and rose up on
tiptoes to brush a kiss over his lips. He always made me feel so
much better. He made a low growl in his throat as he deepened the
kiss. I laughed against his lips.

“
Break it up you two.”
Kimber exclaimed. Sam pulled back but swiftly came back to press a
quick kiss to my lips.

I giggled. Kimber reached out and
wrapped her arm through mine. “Let’s take a walk.”

“
Sam and I were dancing,”
I protested.

“
Oh, please. You managed
to find the only person on this planet as bad at dancing as you
are.” Kimber said. “Besides we haven’t had any girl time.” As she
towed me away I looked back over my shoulder. Sam was standing in
the crowd with a frown on his face. I smiled and blew him a kiss.
His lips titled up.

Beside me Kimber slurped
her drink. “Maybe you should take it easy on those,” I said, eyeing
the cup.

“
It’s my
birthday.”

For the first time I
noticed that she was towing me toward the lake. At the water’s edge
she stepped onto the dock. “Kimber, this is far enough.”

“
Oh, come on, the stars are
beautiful over the water.”

Fear licked into my belly, and I
turned back to look for Sam. He wasn’t far behind us, someone had
stopped him to talk, and he was smiling.

“
Oh, come on, Heven. Don’t
be such a baby.” Kimber said a hint of annoyance in her
voice.

Maybe it shouldn’t have,
but her comment stung. I knew she was half-drunk, and I knew that
she was probably kidding, but she hit a soft spot. I
was
scared a lot. I was
always looking over my shoulder, and I was always seeking out
reassurance from Sam. I
did
act like a baby. But, I didn’t want to. Bravely,
I stepped up on the dock, ignoring the shivers of fear that ran up
my back. I looked up at the stars and realized that Kimber was
right. They were beautiful. When we stopped I realized we were
almost to the end and the lake stretched before us. My nerves, not
long forgotten, returned. “Let’s go back now.”

She didn’t respond, and I looked over
at her. She was drinking her punch and looking out across the
water. “What did Brice want?”

I rolled my eyes. “To get back
together.”

She turned and stared at
me.

“
He somehow got it in his
head that I would be back on the squad next year and be team
captain. He’s only interested in popularity.”

“
Sam and Brice.”

“
What?”

“
You have two hot guys
after you.”

“
C’mon Kimber. You know how
Brice is.
Sam
and
I are together.”

“
Soon you’ll be back on the
squad, head cheerleader.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want that
anymore.”

She snorted and rolled her
eyes. “Get real. I saw you earlier with the girls. Giggling,
laughing
–
just
like old times. Everyone just loves Heven, even my own boyfriend.
”

I drew back in shock. She seemed angry
that I was having a fun time tonight. “We were just reminiscing,
telling Sam about that campout last year.”

“
They just ate up your
words. This is my party.
My night.” She
pointed to herself as she spoke.

“
I wasn’t trying to take
anything from you.” I said, still trying to understand what her
problem was. How drunk was she?

“
You never mean to take
anything – but somehow you are always the one who has it
all.”

“
Kimber–” I started but
she ignored me and plowed on with her words.

“
Before
your accident everything was
always all about you. No one ever saw me. I was always in your
shadow. But then you started hiding and everyone started to see
me.” She looked over at me, her eyes spearing me through the dark.
“Now you’re trying to take what I finally have.”

“
Kimber,
I had no idea that you felt this way – I …” My words trailed away
when she pulled her shirt over her head and kicked off her
shoes
.

“
What are you doing?” I
asked nervously.

“
Doing what you’re too
chicken to do.” With that she dove off the deck and into the dark
water.

“
Kimber!” I yelled after
her. Was she insane? That water had to be freezing! And she was
half-naked.

I waited a few beats, but she never
came back up.

“
Kimber!” I yelled again.
“This isn’t funny.”

My stomach began cramping. What if
she’d hit her head? What if she was too drunk to swim? I looked
across the water, praying she would pop up and laugh.

She didn’t.

I itched to jump in after her, but I
couldn’t. She knew I couldn’t. Terrified of the water from a young
age, I’d never learned how to swim.

I wondered if my stupid fear would get
my best friend killed.

Frantic now, I turned to yell for
help. I knew Sam was close by. Just as I was about to yell, a group
of guys ran by without their shirts.

“
Skinny dipping!” one
yelled and they all began jumping.

I tried to step
back, to hurry out of their way. But the dock was
narrow and there wasn’t anywhere else to go.

Except down.

I slipped right off the dock and
plunged down into the dark water.

I struggled, trying to find
my way to the surface, but everywhere I turned there was water. I
couldn’t see anything, and it was
so cold.
Panic seized me, and I felt as if a giant hand reached out and
squeezed my lungs. My chest burned as I struggled to figure out
which way was up. I forced my eyes opened searching for light, but
there wasn’t any. Only darkness. I felt something brush against me,
and I reached out, hoping that Kimber had seen me fall and was
trying to help. My hand closed over something soft. Something
furry. I let out a scream, bubbles filling my vision. The next
thing I knew I was being tugged down, toward the empty bottom of
the lake. My body spun into action, kicking out, trying to get
away. I looked down trying to see what had me but strands of my
hair covered my face and I pushed at them all the while kicking.
When I realized that my kicks weren’t strong enough I let go of my
hair and started punching. I felt a surge of satisfaction when my
fist connected with something solid.

Unfortunately, my
satisfaction was short lived, and I blacked out.

When I opened my eyes the
first thing I saw was the stars. Then I felt an enormous pressure
on my chest, like someone was sitting on me. Then, Sam’s face
filled my sight, and I stared up at him, breathless. My face and
limbs were numb from the cold. I opened my mouth to breathe or
speak but nothing happened. Swiftly, Sam
flipped me onto my side and water poured out of my mouth. I
gagged and coughed, gasping for precious oxygen to fill my
lungs.