The Girl and The Raven (17 page)

I bolt upright, the afghan falling from my shoulders. “So what does this mean? The man who broke into my room is Seamus McAllister? What does he want?”

* * * *

Marcus and I take the box of letters back to my room. I place it on the shelf in my closet, except for the letter from Seamus, and Momma’s final letter to Jude, which I tuck under my mattress, next to my knife.

“You should’ve left them with Persephone. She wants to show them to Henry,” Marcus whispers as he closes the closet door.

“They can read them in the next couple of days.” I hope to talk Persephone out of reading through them with Henry. I don’t want them to find out my own mother never wanted me.

Marcus looks at me quizzically.

“So Seamus is our gray-haired mystery man,” I say.

“How did he even know you were in Chicago?” Marcus asks. He slides open the window. “And why does he want the letters so bad?”

I nibble my bottom lip as I ponder his question. Is it possible that Seamus tracked us down in Lexington and someone told him Momma’s dead and I moved here? Why would he care about the letter after all these years?

“If Seamus believes I have Momma’s letters, maybe he’s afraid I’ll let Jude read them.” I shudder as I recall Jude’s grip on Marcus’ arm. The bloody wound. I’m guessing that was nothing for Jude. “If Jude finds out Seamus ratted him out...”

Marcus finishes my sentence. “Jude will kill him.”

The doorbell rings at precisely seven-thirty. Marcus is taking me to the movies. I hear Bernard’s voice as he answers the door. After a touch of lip-gloss and a quick swipe of eye shadow on each lid, I go to the living room to save Marcus from my suddenly overprotective uncles. Who knew they’d be this worked up over my first date?

Marcus smiles when he sees me in my blue jeans and pink wrap blouse. I’m wearing the perfume that Katie and her mom gave me for my birthday. It smells amazing. I hope he likes it.

Marcus looks good—very good—in his blue jeans and gray and blue shirt. Who am I kidding? Marcus is one of those super lucky people who can wear torn sweats and an ugly t-shirt and still look amazing.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

I’m flush with excitement, eager to be alone with him. “Yes.”

Bernard coughs and Sheldon reaches out and pulls me into a hug. I suppress a smile as I hug him back.

“You two have fun, but not too much fun,” Sheldon says, his tone gruff. “Marcus, you’ll have Lucy back home by eleven?”

“Yes, sir.”

I hug Bernard and we make our escape. Marcus holds the passenger door of his black Toyota Camry for me. I slide inside.
My first date.
The words run through my head and my pulse speeds up in response.

We listen to music on our way to the movie theater. Marcus’ taste is different than what I’m used to. Now I understand why he has vinyl records in his apartment. He likes some older stuff, which is surprisingly good, and the cds in his glove compartment and center console are bands that aren’t played to death on the radio.

“So…you play guitar?” I ask, eager to learn everything I can about him. “How long?”

“Since I was about nine,” he says. “My dad bought me a series of lessons. I loved it immediately. Playing…well, it came naturally to me. After the lessons ran out, I continued to teach myself. There’s a lot of great information online.”

“Will you play for me sometime?” I imagine the two of us hanging out on the roof on a hot summer day. We’d sit on a blanket with a picnic lunch spread out between us. Marcus would play his guitar. “Wait…your dad? You’ve never mentioned him before. Where is he?”

Marcus’ posture goes rigid. “He’s gone.”

My breath hitches. “Marcus, I’m so sorry. My condol—”

“He’s just gone,” Marcus says. “Can we talk about something else?”

I slump back in my seat. Did his dad take off? Where was his mom? I try not to dwell on his parents. The subject clearly upsets him.

“I wish we were going to the same school,” I say finally. A new group of kids. They couldn’t be any worse than the kids at my prior school, right? Thoughts of Caroline and Ella surface and I’m not reassured.

He casts a sideways glance at me. “You’ll do just fine. You’re the new girl—and very pretty. You’ll get a lot of attention.”

I’m surprised by the bitterness in his voice.

As we pull into the movie theater parking lot, there are a bunch of kids standing around. Obviously the social scene in the parking lot is a big part of a night at the show.

Marcus comes around and opens the door for me. He doesn’t back up much, so as I push myself out of the car, we stand close enough I can feel his warm breath on my cheek. My eyes focus on his mouth and I experience a strange pulling sensation in my belly. I forget to breathe. The noise in the parking lot falls away. I wonder what it would be like to feel his lips pressed against mine. I flick my tongue across my dry lips nervously. Marcus stares unblinking. He swallows hard and takes two steps back.

“Um…we should get inside.” He takes my hand and leads me through the parking lot.

We move in sync toward the theater. He holds my hand with confidence, like he’s been holding it forever. I suddenly wish we were back at his apartment, sitting on the couch. Maybe he would play a song for me on his guitar.

“Heeeeyyyy, Tennessee.”

There’s only one person in the whole world who calls me that.

The crowd around him parts and suddenly we’re the object of everyone’s inspection. Dylan unfolds himself off a black sports car and saunters over.

“Hi Dylan.”

“Hey.” He nods at Marcus. “Who’s your friend?”

I make introductions, then explain to Marcus. “Dylan’s younger brother and sister are the kids I take care of during the week.”

The two of them shake hands and size each other up. I glance past Dylan and notice his friends watching us—the popular crowd—and cringe. A blonde girl, who appears to be wearing several hundred dollars worth of clothes glares at me. Dylan’s girlfriend? I think Caroline said her name was Rachel.

“What are you seeing?” Dylan nods toward the theater. I can’t help but notice the outline of his muscled chest and shoulders through his tight gray shirt.

I take a step closer to Marcus, slipping my hand back into his. “The new zombie movie.” I look past Dylan at Rachel. Her short skirt and skintight top draw appreciative glances from Dylan’s friends. Three-inch heels to the movies? I glance down at my outfit and suddenly feel plain. Marcus told me I looked pretty tonight. Was he just saying that to be nice? With his looks, he would be much better off with someone like Rachel. I pull my hand from Marcus’ and stuff it in my pocket. I return my focus to Dylan, trying to keep my glum mood from showing. “What about you?”

“Good question.” Dylan shakes his head and casts an annoyed glance over his shoulder. “The group I’m with can’t make up their minds.” That’s when I catch Rachel’s appreciative glances directed straight at Marcus. I bristle.

“We should get inside.” Marcus grabs my hand and gives a subtle tug, his eyes flicking to Dylan. “Good to meet you, Dylan.”

“Yeah, you, too.” Dylan flashes his killer smile. “Oh, Lucy, thanks again for the bike ride the other day. I’m hoping we can do it again soon.”

Marcus’ grip tightens as he pulls me toward the theater. I yank my arm free, confused by his anger, and follow him inside.

Once we get our tickets, sodas and popcorn and make our way to our seats, I chance a look at him. He stares stonily at the ads on the movie screen.

“Instead of being mad, you could ask me about the bike ride,” I point out, setting my coke in the cup holder.

“Hey, it’s none of my business,” Marcus says coolly, his shoulders rising and falling indifferently. “You act like you’re into me and then I find out you’re into some clown from St. Aquinas, too. Whatever works for you, Lucy.”

“It
is
his family I work for,” I point out, feeling defensive. “He and I took Ethan and Brandi for a bike ride. I don’t know the city, the bike trails….any of it. I did it to make the kids happy.”

I wait for him to respond, tension knotting in my stomach. Why should I care so much that he’s angry with me? I didn’t do anything wrong. Or did I?

“So there’s nothing between you two?” Marcus turns to me, his eyes probing mine.

“No.” I shake my head. “Until recently, I couldn’t stand him.”

“Really?” He stares at me a moment longer as if to be absolutely sure, then grins a little. “Then I apologize.”

“I forgive you. You should ask questions before jumping to conclusions, though.” I grab my coke and take a long drink, relieved.

Marcus doesn’t know me at all if he thinks I could like two guys at once. A vision of Dylan fills my thoughts. The day at the beach, when I caught him watching me. I felt something stir inside of me. I bite my lip and push it from my mind.

“Just be careful with him. He’s a perfect fit for St. Aquinas.”

There’s no missing the sarcasm.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s an elitist. Don’t tell me you haven’t picked up on it,” he says, slumping in his seat. “You’re going to be surrounded by others like him. Ella and Caroline, too.”

“That’s pretty harsh. You need to stop picking on my school.”

Katie, Suzie and Cloe are awesome. I have to believe there are plenty of others like them. But…what if I made a horrible mistake? Maybe I should’ve picked Trinity. What if these kids are as bad—or worse—than those I dealt with at Lexington High? I force the feelings of fear away. If it’s terrible, Sheldon and Bernard will let me transfer.

A moment later the theater goes dark as the previews begin. I glance at Marcus from the corner of my eye. My heart drops when I catch him watching me. He seems to be over his anger about Dylan. I smile and quickly return my eyes to the screen.

“Popcorn?” Marcus whispers, holding the container out to me.

As I reach for a handful of popcorn, our gaze locks and, this time, neither of us is in a hurry to look away. My stomach can’t decide whether to drop down to my toes or squirrel up to my throat.

“Here, why don’t you hold it.” He sets the bucket on my lap.

“Um…thanks.”

The movie starts. Marcus clears his throat and shifts in his seat, inching closer. My pulse quickens. I remind myself to breathe. I let a minute pass before I lean toward him. When our shoulders touch, I think my heart might burst, it’s hammering so hard. I close my eyes and pray my nervousness won’t bring on a fireball.

It’s impossible to pay attention to the movie. I’m too aware of him sitting beside me. Every movement he makes sends another shiver through me. When his hand reaches for popcorn, brushing across mine in the process, a thrill races through me. By his third reach, I casually extend my fingers so we touch again. The popcorn is forgotten as his hand grabs hold of mine. A tremor passes between us and I’m not sure if it’s him or me...or both of us.

I try to relax, but the movie turns out to be more of a thriller than I expected. Marcus laughs when I cover my eyes during a particularly intense scene. Later, he pulls me to him when the violence gets to be too much. I bury my face in his throat, finding solace from the blood and guts, relishing the feel of his arm wrapped around me. I want to press my lips against the tender skin of his throat, but chicken out.

On the drive home, all I can think about is whether or not he’s going to kiss me goodnight. Then he brings up the letters.

“Henry said he’ll have the box back to you in a week or so,” Marcus says. “He wants to study them.”

“If any of them wind up missing...” I warn. I tried to talk Persephone and Henry out of reading them. I should’ve known. It’s impossible to sway Persephone.

Marcus laughs as he pulls smoothly into a parking spot in front of the three-flat. “It’s Henry we’re talking about. He’ll have them back to you fully intact and in date order.”

“I need to ask you something.” I stare straight ahead, bracing myself. “In the one letter, my mother tells Jude that she spoke to Gram about him. She found stuff out about him. Did Gram know about Jude before? You talk about how she wanted to keep Jude away from me. Then…” I slide a sideway glance at him. “You and Jude spoke about someone that night at the three-flat. Jude said: ‘she’s dead. You’re no longer honor bound to her.’ Were you talking about Gram?”

Marcus purses his lips and nods, his eyes glued to the steering wheel.

“Did Jude kill her?”

“I believe he did.”

More secrets. It takes a moment to find my voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He looks at me. “Because Persephone and Henry didn’t want me to tell you. They don’t happen to agree with me.”

I think back to the day he and I met in Aiden and Marcus’ apartment. “I don’t think he hated Gram.” He hated Momma. At the mention of her name, his expression grew dark and scary. I won’t forget that.

Marcus glares at me “Are you crazy? You heard what he said to me that night out front!”