Burn (10 page)

A downpour ignited as soon as the bell rang, which leaves ninety percent of the student body huddling en mass like ants under a leaf. You would think with all the rain they get on Paragon, they would offer us more shelter.

Ellis comes over, spilling his backpack onto the ground. “You guys hear they caught some kids going at it on top of the English building?” He laughs into the words. This is obviously the trivia he lives for.

“It was Nat.” Brielle closes in our circle. “Pierce came up. He’s all freaked out about losing his brother. He lost his sister like a year ago, and now he’s the only child. Anyway, I guess Nat has been suspended for three whole days.”

My heart sinks. Of course he’s all freaked out about losing his brother—dead is pretty much forever, unless you’re Chloe.
 

“Funeral is Friday.” Brielle smirks when she says it. “Isn’t that weird?”

“Why would that be weird?” I ask.

“It’s Halloween,” she whispers as though it were top secret. “I don’t know, it’s just wrong.”

“Yeah well, I’m not calling off the party.” Ellis growls. “I’m not letting some murderous lunatic ruin life for the rest of us.”

Ellis is right—ever since I moved here, I’ve been ruining life for the rest of them and flat out ending it for others.

“Don’t go there,” Gage says it hot in my ear. “You made so many things right.”

It amazes me sometimes that Gage doesn’t have to read my mind to know what I’m thinking. I pull in closer and let my head dip down over his chest. A violent clap of thunder explodes above us, rattling the windows of the surrounding buildings. I tighten my grip around his waist so hard I think I’m going to push through.
 
 

I look back and both Brielle and Ellis have disappeared.

“I don’t feel right about going to a party that night—any night ever again to be exact.” I should voluntarily ban myself from ever having fun again.

“We have to.” He tickles my ribs gently. “It’s the best party of the year.” He rests his lips on the top of my head momentarily. “I’ll even wear a costume if you want.”

“Really?”

“Really. Anything.”

“OK, how about a vampire?”

“Except that.” He averts his eyes as though he were rethinking the situation.

“Come on, vampires are cool and super sexy. It’s what I really want you to be. I’ll be Frankenstein’s daughter. I’ve got the neck, remember?”

“Yeah, well, my dad wanted me to let you know it’s time for the stitches to come out.”

“I’ll leave ‘
em
in until Saturday.” I shrug. “Tad saw them and thinks they’re some Goth experimental stage I’m going through.” I feel better talking to
Gage
—being with him. He has a way of removing the grime from the world and letting me see things clean and new the way he wants me to, if only for a moment.

Gage leans in and kisses me without reservation. He pulls back and his eyes linger into mine.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,
Skyla
.” His dimples dig into the sides of his cheeks, as though somehow highlighting the importance of what he’s saying.

The sky ignites with splinters of lightning that spider across the sky in pink and lavender hues.

I pull him in and lean my head up against his shoulder. Logan catches my eye from the doorway of the building across the way.
Lexy
is talking to him, but his full attention is locked in my direction.

I close my eyes and listen to the thunder roar over Paragon like a lion on fire.

“I love you,” Gage whispers directly into my ear.

“I know.” I can feel it, deep, in the marrow of my bones.

***

As soon as I get home, my mother whisks me away downtown. Turns out I’m
magnificently late
, as she phrased it, for my appointment with Dr. Booth.

Branches whip across the window of his office as we sit across from one another with matching folded hands, somber expressions, which I’m sure reflect boredom more than any other emotion.

“There’s rumor of a killer roaming free on the island.” He leans back without perforating his bleak expression. Dr. Booth is the psychiatrist I pretend to see in order to appease my mother and Tad.

His dark mat of hair, coupled with his squared off glasses gives him a comical quality I can’t quite pinpoint.

“Are you the killer,
Skyla
?” There’s no change in his affect. He may as well have asked if my mother and I plan on picking up fast food on the way home.

I don’t say anything, don’t dare posture myself, or so much as blink.

His fingers press together at the tips as he rocks back into his seat. “Thought so.”

***

I’m still reeling from my appointment with Dr. Booth. He saw right through me. It’s like I have the word killer etched on my forehead or something.

I run my fingers over the tiny paper butterflies pinned to the wall as I wait for Logan. I remember how Gage made them come to life for me, how he let one go and it flew to the ceiling like magic.

Logan shows up close to ten-thirty. For a while, I thought he wasn’t coming and started to fall asleep on the floor.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He gets on his elbows and lies down beside me.

His cologne smells fresh as he brushes my lips with a quick tender kiss.

“I had someone quit tonight, so I had to close.” He gives my back a gentle rub. “Heard Gage made his move. He came home and threw the L word around all over the place.” He looks startled, afraid, as though it rocked his very existence to witness it.

I don’t know what to say to that. Gage is diving in deep, and he’s starting to pull me down with him.

“Anyway, I’m not here to talk about Gage.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “Just wanted to let you know that I found out a little more about Holden
Kragger
.”

“What?” I’m thirsty to know anything.

“Their family owns a coffee shop out by Rockaway Point. They were always there. That, and the fact he and his brother were infamous for the way they treated girls.”

“I heard Nat is dating his brother.”

“Sort of. Lots of people are dating Pierce.” His fingers twitch in air quotes when he says the word
dating
. “Turns out, there’s an entire list of girls from East he toys with on a regular basis.”
 

“Oh,” I say, just taking him in. It feels strange with Logan sometimes. As if all this time I’ve spent with Gage has severely punctured something in our relationship.

“Is that all you have on Holden and Pierce?” I ask biting the tip of my finger then tracing his lips with it.

Logan leans in and gives a slow lingering kiss. His features soften as he pulls away. He studies me with an infinite sadness masked by the weakest smile. “One more thing. I’ve been combing through the copies from the book of Counts with my uncle. We’re able to see some kind of hierarchy. It has a list of regional leaders and locations in the back. There’s an infrastructure in place, that’s for sure.”

“Locations? Like Paragon?” A spike of adrenaline shoots through me.

“Like Paragon,” he says without blinking.

“Who’s in charge of the Countenance here?”

“A man named Arson.”

“Arson? What the hell kind of name is that?”

Logan shakes his head just barely. “Father of Holden and Pierce.”

“Oh no, I killed a Count.”

“Oh yes,
Skyla
.” He looks at me with a magnetic intensity that seems to weld our souls together. “Looks like our holy war is well underway.”
   

Chapter Fourteen

My Ride

Driving rain strums relentlessly against my window, vexing me with its wild tapping thumps, until I manage to crawl out of bed and head downstairs for breakfast.

The lights flicker in rhythm to the storm as the steady hum of a thousand drummers penetrates the walls with its insistent frenetic pace. There won’t be any peace in our world today.

“Morning.” My mother yawns and stretches, exposing her pink lace negligee from beneath her terry robe.
Mia and Melissa speed past me upstairs, already done with their breakfast.
“Hey,” Mom leans into me as I head to the fridge. “I don’t want to say anything around your sisters, but apparently that kid that died the other night was murdered.”

“Murdered?” The word feels rugged coming from my lips like corrugated cardboard.

“Yes!” Her eyes widen. “I don’t want you going off alone. Make sure to stick with Brielle or Gage.”

“Gage?” I ask sarcastically plucking the juice from the counter and filling a glass. “
Taddy
wants me to break up with him remember?”

She glances in the direction of his office. “I know you really care about Gage—I like him too. Just for the sake of maintaining household sanity, would you please let Tad think you’ve cooled it on the relationship?”

I examine her up and down. Is this what she’s become? Why are we sneaking around behind Tad’s back with my relationship status? Shouldn’t she stand up for me and tell him I can see whomever the hell I want?

“OK,” I reply. Maybe the two of us keeping a secret from Tad is a good thing, in a bonding sort of way.
 

Tad and Drake meander into the kitchen. I’ve never noticed until now how much they look alike. Something about this early morning disheveled state makes Drake look like a thinner, younger version of his father.

“Anyway, guess whose seventeenth birthday is right around the corner?” My mother chirps in an effort to change the subject.

Somehow I’ve managed to push my birthday as far out of my mind as possible. I’m too numb with the recent horrific developments in my life to have any genuine excitement over it. Then a thought hits me, and I take an emotional U-turn.

“You know what?” My mood spikes a little. “I think I’m finally going to get my license. Have I mentioned I already have a car?” I restrain myself from jumping when I say it.

“A car?” Tad echoes, disbelieving. His disapproving tone comes in clear—the one he seems to reserve just for me.

“Yeah, Logan and Gage have some old beat up car they want to get rid of and they offered to give it to me.”

“That’s right,
Skyla
,” Tad starts in sarcastically. “Let boys run around giving you expensive things, and see if they expect nothing in return. That’s exactly how you want to start off in life.” He shags out his paper.

“Honey,” my mother bites her lip. “He’s right. It’s not a good idea. I don’t think I can let you accept that kind of gift. I don’t care how old or beat up it is.”

“And who’s going to pay for insurance?” Tad cocks his head. “It’s bad enough we need to fit Drake on our policy.”

“What?” I look over at Drake shoveling in his cereal.

“I found an old hatchback for like two thousand bucks,” he mumbles through a mouth full of food. “Plus, I already have my license, so it’s a no brainer.”