The Gathering Darkness (23 page)

J
ared and his girlfriend Amy, who had gone out of her way to make me feel welcome during lunch earlier, came over to the truck to talk with Marcus and I. Amy came to my door. I rolled down the steamy window.

“Hiya, Brooke. I’m so glad you came tonight. You can hang out with us.”

Her excitement was contagious. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Wow, that’s a hot dress,” she said, sticking her bouncing, strawberry-blonde curls through the window. “Nice bling, too.”

Before I knew what was happening, she reached her hand into the cab and picked the pendant up off my dress. I held my breath. From the corner of my eye, I saw Marcus watching intently, probably holding his breath. I waited. Nothing happened.

“Awesome,” she said, and let it fall back to my chest. “So, are you guys coming or what?”

I looked at Marcus and lifted my eyebrows. I was as ready as I’d ever be. We got out of the truck and walked toward the school with Amy and Jared.

“Hey wait up,” a female voice called out from behind us.

The four of us looked back. Christy, another one of Marcus’ friends, and a couple of guys I’d seen around but hadn’t met yet, caught up to us.

“Hey, Marcus, Brooke. Glad you guys came,” Christy said, bouncing on her heels in front of us. Clearly, she was as excited as Amy.

“Cool dress, Brooke.” Christy nodded approvingly.

“Thanks. You two look awesome too.” I gestured to both Christy and Amy, who were dressed similar to me—short dresses and high heels.

“This is Dave and Jamie. Guys, this is Brooke,” Marcus said, finishing the introductions.

Jamie nudged me in the arm with his elbow as if he’d known me for years. “Nice to meet you, officially.”

His little gesture of friendliness built up my confidence. Dave just smiled and nodded. I returned his greeting.

The seven of us walked across the school parking lot together. Amy had eased herself in between Marcus and me. She and Christy were on either side of me now. They talked about their outfits and mine and how hot we looked. With the exception of Marcus and me, everyone babbled at once. I tried to keep up with all of the different conversations that were going on around me.

“What’s gotten into your cousin lately, anyway?” Christy, the bolder one, asked. “She and Megan have been acting weird all week. I couldn’t help but notice how rude they’ve been to you.”

Geez, did the whole school notice
? I hesitated, searching for an answer that would satisfy her enough to drop the subject. “I think it started with Megan—”

“Ugh, that bitch,” Amy said.

“You got that right, girl,” Christy said.

They waited for more from me.

“Um, I don’t think she’s liked me from the start, and Sammy
is
her best friend, so I guess that’s what it’s all about. Maybe she’s jealous,” I offered, as an afterthought. I shrugged and tried to look as confused as they did.

Amy put her arm around me. “Well, screw them. Stick with us. We’re more fun anyway.”

She and Christy laughed.

“Hey, who wants to take a detour to the bleachers for some herbal refreshment before going inside?” Dave asked. He was already on his way, followed by my new friends.

Marcus and I tagged along.

Once there, I declined the offer to get high. My brain was already on overload. I thought it best not to mess with it further. Marcus declined also, saying he had a sore throat.

I liked Marcus’ friends. They were cool, and reminded me of the friends I’d deserted back in Boston.

Finally, I was starting to feel relaxed, and allowed my mind this small measure of time to be free of the turmoil that dwelled there. It had been a long time since I’d laughed and had a good time. Not since that last fateful night in Boston, before I’d gotten picked up by the cops for under-age drinking.

While I was in the middle of laughing at Jared and Dave’s antics, I heard tires squealing. My laugh ended abruptly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I didn’t have to look to know who it was. Marcus put his arm around me and pulled me close.

The music blared from the open windows of the Civic as it pulled into the school parking lot. The ground vibrated under my feet from the boom of the subwoofer. My brief happiness was replaced with anxiety and turmoil once again.

Evan and Megan got out of the front, followed by Justin, Sammy and Robyn. Justin spotted us and waved. Poor guy, he was probably confused as to why Sammy and I weren’t speaking, thus not being able to hang around his usual friends.

“What’s up with your brother lately? Since when did he start hanging out with the juniors?” Christy asked Marcus, and then looked at me, horrified. “Oh. No offense, Brooke.”

I shrugged her comment off.

“It’s just that Evan always hung out with us.”

“Maybe he’s into Megan or Robyn again,” Marcus suggested.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Once they were long out of sight, I suggested we go in.

The gym, sparkling with mirrored balls and mood lighting, was conveniently located beside the cafeteria. A row of tables had been placed around the inside walls. Megan sat on top of one close to the gym door, dangling her long legs skillfully over the edge. Sammy sat on a chair beside her. As I walked past them, their icy glares sent chills down my spine. My insides turned cold, and I shivered.

Amy hooked one arm through mine and the other through Christy’s, pulling me along. By the time we’d reached our destination, a far corner of the gym, our procession had grown to more than a dozen people.

“Everyone thinks you’re cool,” Amy shouted in my ear over the music.

“Why would they think that?” I asked, bewildered, although her flattery made me blush.

“Because you’re from the city, and you’re dating one of the most popular guys at Deadwich High.” Her smile was reassuring. “It doesn’t get any cooler than that.”

“Oh.”

In that moment, I wished I was a senior, so I wouldn’t have to go back to classes with Sammy and Megan. So far, I liked hanging out with Amy and Christy. My best friend Courtney would approve.

The DJ played a rap song. My leg began to twitch.

“Can we borrow Brooke?” Amy asked Marcus, her entire body bouncing to the beat.

“I guess that’s up to Brooke.”

I guessed he imagined that I wouldn’t want to dance under the circumstances, but I surprised him and myself with my reply. “Okay. Just this once, though.”

My excitement was building as I let Amy drag me by the hand through the crowd. She and Christy hauled me over to a group of girls, some of whom I’d met over the past couple of weeks. Immediately, I started to bounce to the beat.

Three songs later, an odd feeling struck me in the chest. I promised the girls I’d be back, and after much pleading on their part for me to stay, they reluctantly let me go back to Marcus.

I missed him.

When I first left the group, I was a bit disoriented, until I saw the opened gym doors and the cafeteria beyond. From there I knew which corner to go to.

Sammy and Megan weren’t at their table when I walked by. I was relieved. A slow song came on. The lighting changed to angle more onto the mirror balls. Tiny flecks of light flickered across everyone and everything, looking like a million fireflies.

As I got close to where I’d left Marcus, I saw Megan standing in our corner. Her arms were wrapped around someone. As I stared through the gaps in the crowd, I realized it was Marcus. He had his hands on her. I felt a sharp stab to my newly swollen heart. My steps slowed, but something continued to push me in their direction. Why wasn’t he pushing her away? His hands caressed her back. A group of people walked in front of me, obstructing my view. After they’d passed I saw his face buried in her neck. The reflections from the facets on the mirror balls, danced over them. Her hands were in places mine had never been. Dave and Jamie looked on with eager grins. My stomach knotted.

From behind me, I felt a warm touch to my shoulder.

“Hey, are you looking for me?”

My heart skipped a beat. I closed my eyes and let out a long relieved breath. When I opened them again, Jamie and Dave were the only two people in the corner. Had I imagined it? I didn’t know. I turned my head toward the door. Megan sat on top of the table like she’d always been there. My mind was playing tricks on me. I turned and wrapped my arms around Marcus’ neck. He slid his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

“I missed you, Marcus.” I said into his ear.

“I missed you too, and if it wouldn’t have made me look so desperate, I would have come and collected you.”

“Collected? Like some sort of prize?” I teased him.

“No. You’re much more than a prize. You’re a treasure.”

Following a sudden urge, I pressed my mouth against the warm skin of his neck and held it there a few seconds, until I felt his pulse flutter against my lips. I kissed him there, lingering, and then lifted my head back. Although Marcus’ eyelids looked as heavy as mine felt, he held them open and lowered his mouth to mine. Our bodies melted together.

We kissed in the middle of the dance floor to the slow song that blasted from the speakers. Oblivious to the other couples who waltzed in circles around us, we stood still as if we were the only two people in the room.

Our tongues brushed lightly together for the first time. Excitement pulsed through my veins, and I grew warm all over.

Someone shattered the spell by yelling into our ears, “Get a room.”

Our kiss ended in a laugh. I laid my head on his shoulder as our bodies swayed to the music. I don’t know what came over me then, but I had a sudden urge to ditch the crowd.

I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. “Do you mind if we go?” The still-dancing girls would be disappointed, but I really wanted to be alone with Marcus, and I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Megan again.

Disappointment flashed across his face. “Do you want me to take you home?”

I shook my head. “Is there somewhere else we can go?”

A new light flicked on in his eyes. “We can go somewhere, if that’s what you want,” he said, with obvious interest. “There’s Jared. I’ll go tell him we’re leaving.”

“Okay, I have to use the washroom before we go. Meet me at the gym door.”

The music carried into the washroom. The words were muffled, but the music was audible. I put some lip gloss on and was pulling my fingers through my hair, when the door burst open, smashing loudly against the tiled wall. I snapped my head in the direction of the door.

M
egan in her silver heels and skimpy purple dress towered in the doorway. Her icy glare sent a chill across my body, instantly replacing the warm fuzzy feeling. Her eyes stayed glued to mine while she held the door open until the last of the girls left the room.

It wasn’t Megan who scared me. It was the darkness within her. If she’d been the Megan I’d met on the first day of school, I’d have pushed past her and left, but she wasn’t that girl.

I stood with one hand clinging to the sink, my body frozen to the spot, and watched as she closed the door behind her. She strutted toward me with purpose. Her perfect blonde waves cascaded down the sides of her face and past her revealing neckline.

She was the Megan from my nightmare.

With great effort, I found my voice, although it was weak. “What do you want?”

A wicked grin turned up the corners of her mouth. “What I want is very simple. I want you to break up with your boyfriend.” Her words, and the sharpness in which she’d spoken them, stunned me. “And I want you to do it tonight!”

“What?” My heart pounded in my throat.

“You heard me, Brooke.”

She took a step closer. The pendant turned cold as it had in Sammy’s bedroom. Its icy touch penetrated the fabric of my dress, turning my already cold skin colder.

“He loves me.” She glared at me in silence for a moment, as if remembering something and then added, “He told me so.”

The coldness penetrated through to my heart, where it left an ache.

“It’s true, Brooke. It was a long time ago. He said he would always love me, that there would never be anyone else for him.”

What if it was true? Why would she lie when I could just ask Marcus? Would he tell me the truth?

Her perfect face twisted into a snarl. “And then you came along and charmed him, like the
witch
you are.” The bitter hatred in her tone escalated. She took another step closer. “He will come back to me eventually, when he gets bored with you. I doubt you could satisfy him the way I can.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said in a quick breath.

Her blue eyes blackened. “I don’t care if you believe me or not. If you really care for him, you’ll leave him … tonight!” With her eyes fixed to mine, she smashed the side of her fist into the towel dispenser, leaving an impossible dent behind.

My insides shook. I couldn’t speak anymore. I took a stagger backwards, which put me against the tiled wall. There was nowhere else to go.

“He’s mine, so give him back before he gets hurt.” I saw a flash of vulnerability in her eyes, as well as heard it in her voice.