Spiral (Spiral Series) (23 page)

“I’ll clean the table later,” Andrew told me when I started to clear dishes. Grinning happily I led the way into the living room and everyone settled around me.

Maxie and Jill had gone in together for a spa day package that the three of us could use as a graduation celebration. I grinned. “This is awesome! Jill, you really agreed to this?”

Jill was examining her chipped nails and
g
nawed cuticles. “Under duress,” she explained. “I love you dearly.”

“She would probably be more likely to believe you if you didn’t sound so sarcastic,” Maxie pointed out.

“You would look really pretty if you tried,” said Andrew. He was sitting on the couch next to Casey, who was busy examining his friend’s video games. Jill turned on him in surprise and Andrew instantly went bright red.

“Are you saying I don’t look pretty now?”
s
he asked dangerously. Her black dyed hair was pulled up in a simple ponyta
i
l. She also was wearing glasses, but I had to admit, Jill
was
pretty in
a
sort of gothic touch-me-and-die kind of way.

Andrew cleared his throat and was about to say who
knew
what when Pierce cut in smoothly. “I think we all assumed that the answer to that was obvious.” Jill grinned at him and Andrew looked relieved.

I examined Pierce sidelong, trying to
do it without
Jackson notic
ing
.
Pierce’s
strong jaw was relaxed and his hands were hanging loosely at his sides.

Andrew
’s present was
two bracelets. I had gone shopping with Olivia a couple of weeks before as part of the whole bonding thing
,
and she must have told him that I liked
them
. I smiled brightly and gave him a hug. I had been worrying about what he might figure out to get me. Guys could be really hit or miss with gifts
,
and even if he had gotten me something horrible I would have worn it out of
a sense of
guilt.

“Thanks,” I said, beaming.

Jackson’s present was next. He had gotten me the complete wor
k
s of Jane Austen. I already had all the books, but not in a nice series I
would be proud to stick
on my shelf. I gave him a hug too.

Finally there
the small silver gift Pierce
had brought
. I was most nervous to open this one, which
was
why I had left it until the end.

I hadn’t said two words to Pierce since he
had arrived
, even though he had sat right next to me at dinner. No one’s presence had ever felt so unsettling
, and
I tried to tell myself that it was just all the unanswered questions swirling around in my life at the moment
.

The wrapping paper was a shiny silver. It
had
a
slightly raised
design that was soft to the touch
. Beautiful. I had never seen anything like it in stores.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I murmured to him.
I was looking down, but I could see his smile through my lashes.

“I wanted to,” he
said
. His voice was warm and comforting, like melting honey.

I
half-
nodded, trying to ignore Jackson’s scowl
, and
unwrapped the paper
with care, uncovering
a wonderfully ornate silver box. Designs
I had never seen before
were etched in
to
the sides. They took my breath away. Carefully
setting
the wrapping
to one side,
I ran my fingertips gently over the surface
of the box
, not wanting to mar the perfection.

“I
’
m noticing a theme,” Maxie murmured next to me. Pierce’s gift was entirely silver.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured. “Thank you.”

Maxie took the wrapping paper
and said,
“Since you didn’t tear it I can use it again
.
”

Pierce
just
grin
ned
.
“Actually,” he said
,
“
y
ou should open that.
The box itself isn’t
the only present.”

Jackson looked furious.

I knew I was blushing terribly as I flipped the lid of the box open and gasped. Inside was a
silver necklace on a thin silver chain
, lying delicately on a little white pillow. At the end was a spiral,
which looked as if
someone
had taken
her finger and spun it gently in the air in small circles
,
moving downwards.

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Ditto,” said Maxie over my shoulder. “I wish a guy would give me something like that.”

I thought Jackson might explode. Jill,
again taking him in hand
, said, “Hey Jackson, let
’
s go outside and
take
a walk.”

“No,” said Jackson. “I’m fine here.”

“No, you aren’t,” said Jill, standing up and taking a tight hold on his shoulder. “Come. Now.”

Jackson glared at
Jill
, but when he saw
that
she meant business he stood up. No one in their right mind messed with Jill
,
and that included jealous male friends, so out they went.

With Jackson gone there was a lot more air in the room.

“Are you going to put it on?” Maxie asked eagerly, watching me.
Unimpressed with jewelry,
Andrew and Casey had started playing a video game
,
so it was just Pierce, Maxie
,
and
I still paying attention
.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to meet Pierce’s steady gaze. “Um, it looks too nice to wear casually. I should probably just wear it for special occasions.”

Pierce didn’t flinch, but his eyes dimmed a little and I felt bad. I would
have
give
n
anything to put the light back in
to
his eyes
, and t
hat realization startled me. I
barely
kn
e
w this guy
,
and yet I felt like he was an old friend.

N
oticing the weird look on my face
Maxie
said, “Well, maybe you can wear it
to school tomorrow, just this once?”

“Yeah,” I said. “
An eighteenth birthday is worth
celebrat
ing
.”

Pierce smiled at me. A genuine smile.
Maybe things were going to be okay.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I had lost count of how many night
s
in a row that had happened. I felt disoriented and alone,
with the
darkness press
ing
in on my tired body and mind. When I opened my eyes I felt like I was wearing goggles t
hat blurred
my vision. I blink
ed
several times to clear my head
,
and
then
, throwing off the covers, I staggered to the bathroom. These nightmares were going to kill me.

Even when I was fully awake the nightmare of the Snake Man didn’t totally leave me.
The sound of his scream
echoed in my head
like air incinerating around me, so
hot and heavy I couldn’t breathe.

It was still dark out
side
, and
by now
I was familiar enough with the house that I didn’t need the light.
Happy first day of being eighteen to me, I thought ruefully.

Once I was back in bed I stayed sitting
up,
too upset to sleep.
To
try to
calm
myself
down I thought of something that made me happy. For years that
had been
Jackson
, and especially
one of the conversations we had
had many times in different forms
.

“I’ll always be there for you,” he
had said one time several years ago,
comforting me when the dreams around my birthday had gotten especially bad.

“But we’re so young,” I protested. I was definitely the pessimist
of the two of us
. “How do we know where we
’
ll be years from now?”

He had slid his strong arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. For a second I thought he might kiss me, but of course he
didn’t
.

“I just know,” he whispered into my ear. “I will always be there for you and I will always protect you. Count on it.”

A warm feeling had lodged in the pit of my stomach at his words. I had believed them whole
h
eartedly. Over the years Jackson had never done anything to make me think he felt otherwise.
Even when my dad had worried about my changing appearance - and he had - Jackson had stood by me and comforted me.