Divine Vices (29 page)

“I
need to know what happened tonight,” I said, closing the door behind us.

“What’d
you mean?”

“I
mean... I don’t know. My mind’s going crazy here. How did he get inside? How
did he wedge the doors closed first? All the windows and doors were closed and
locked before I left the house earlier, and there’s no sign of a break-in,” I
rambled out. “I didn’t hear anything, did you?”

Jack
shook his head.

“And
why would he have come after me? He knew you were there, so why?”

I
began trembling all over again, and my heart felt like it was about to burst
from my chest.

“It’s
okay,” he said, helping me over to the sofa and wrapping an arm around me.
“Just breathe, okay? Control your breathing, and it’ll calm the nerves.”

I
took several deep breathes until my heart rate regained a more natural rhythm.
“Where did you learn to do that?”

“Breathe?”
he chuckled.

“Fight.”

“You
saw how weird people were about me back in Arlington. Last thing I needed was
some conspiracy theory wacko coming after me and not have me be prepared, so I
took some martial arts classes when I got out of physical therapy following the
accident,” he confirmed. “I’m not too shabby. Good guy to have around when the
chips are down.”

“Like
when there’s a crazed wingnut out to get you?”

“Something
like that,” he said lightly, stroking my arm as I started to tear up. “You’re
safe now, okay? Every cop in town is on the lookout for this guy. Nobody’s
going to get to you.”

I
laughed painfully. “You know, I’ve been under the protection and constant
scrutiny of others my whole life. I’d simply been saving
living my life
until later. I always thought there’d be one, but here I am. It’s the eleventh
hour and I’m standing in the center of my entire existence, listening to the
timer tick away the last seconds of my life as I wait helplessly for the moment
that everything implodes on me.”

“Cassie...
don’t talk like that-”

“I’m
tired. I am so sick and tired of everything,” I gnashed. “All you’re ever told
when you’re younger is that you have to prepare for the future, prepare for what’s
coming up down the road. But what if there is no later? What if you don’t get
down the road? You’ve delayed living your life for nothing. All you have is
unfulfillment.”

“Cass,
you’re not dead. You’re right here. You’re tangible. You’re breathing.”

“I’ve
never been to a football game.”

“What?”

“I’ve
never gone to a local sporting event before,” I affirmed. “I’ve only played
hooky from school once in my whole life. I’ve never stayed out all night. I’ve
never taken my parents’ car without permission. I’ve never been with unsavory
guys. I’ve never thrown caution to wind and just been impulsive. Why not?”

I
turned and kissed him without warning.

He
regrettably pulled away. “Cassie-”

“Just
shut up,” I said, kissing him again.

“But
just so we’re clear,” he asked through a subtle smile, “is this you being
impulsive, or am I just one of the unsavory guys?”

“After
tonight’s display, I’m not sure if I can technically label you the second, but
I’d still like to think both. More things to check off my bucket list.” My
pulse began hammering again, but for an entirely different reason. Jack’s lips
pressed to my neck as he turned to me. Goosebumps streaked all over my skin as
his fingers raked gently down the small of my back.

He
suddenly pulled away again with what best looked like a grimace.

“What
is it?”

“Wow,
I can’t believe I’m actually saying this,” he said, deflating. “I don’t think
we should do this.”

I
actually started laughing. “Are you kidding me?”

“You’re
vulnerable, and I’d really feel like I was taking advantage... I’m sorry.”

I
climbed off the couch with nothing left in me but a smile. “Wow... Thank you.”

“I’m
not saying this to be offensive or anything, because you know how much I’d love
this, and you know how much I’d
really
love this... I’d just want you to
be in a better, um, state of mind, when you’d make that decision.”

He
got off the couch as well and gave me a kiss on the forehead before heading for
the door.

“That’s
too bad,” I chuckled.

“What
is?”

“Now
I know for certain that I’m gonna have to look elsewhere for an unsavory
fella.”

He
returned the smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

I
fell into the couch face first with a laugh as the door closed behind him.

“Well,
that was unexpected,” I mumbled.

Having
not slept more than an inconsecutive hour the whole night, I surrendered to
greet the morning and headed into the bar’s bathroom. Trying best to cover the
dark circles permeating under my eyes, I dabbed on what felt like half a bottle
of concealer and put my strictest concentration on adding some color to my
cheeks with some blush. Unfortunately, the bar’s lights were far from
flattering, so it was hard to tell if I had applied too much or too little. My
patience was practically nonexistent, so I tossed the brush back into my makeup
bag and called it quits after I slapped on some black eye shadow, liner, and
mascara.

With
a swipe of lip gloss and a change of clothes, I went out into the front of the
bar where my dad already had some coffee brewing. Despite my typical
distinction for my studded knee-high boots, I figured skyscraping heels and
sleep deprivation would not prove to be a friendly combination for me and
slipped on a pair of Chuck Taylor’s instead.

“Want
any?” asked my dad, as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Absolutely,”
I said, parking a seat at a stool and resting my head on the wood counter.

“Here.”
My dad put two cups in front of me.

“Do
I really look like I need both?” I chuckled weakly.

“The
other is for your friend out there,” replied my dad, pointing to the window.

“What?”
I climbed off my perch and headed over to the front. Just down the road, the
Impala’s glossy body shone in the dim glimmer of dawn. “Did you see when he
came here?”

“No,
you did. He never left after your little chat last night,” he said, eyeballing
me.

“...Sorry,
I know I should have said something to you. We just really needed to talk, and
I wasn’t sure if you’d agree to let him in here.”

“If
these walls weren’t as thin as paper, we would have had a problem. But it’s
fine,” he replied. “Next time though, a heads-up will be much obliged.”

“Understood.”

I
grabbed the coffees off the counter as my dad unlocked the front doors. Pushing
one open, he nodded to the cops who were still stationed outside. The brisk
morning air bit through my clothing as I strolled off down and across the
street to the driver’s door of the Impala. Jack’s head was resting up against
the side window with his blazer bunched between it and the glass for a little
cushion as his arms rested across his chest, his hands hidden behind the
insides of his leather jacket. I tapped lightly on the window, but he didn’t
respond.
Knock, knock, knock
. Still nothing. I eventually banged on the
glass, and he shot awake, his right hand snatching out a stainless steel
survival knife from inside his jacket.

I
threw my hands up in surrender. “Relax, Rambo. It’s just me. And coffee.”

He
chuckled as he breathed a sigh of relief, rolling the window down. “Thank you.”

I
handed him his cup as he wiped the bleariness from his eyes. “No problem. Have
you really been here all night?”

“Couldn’t
think of anything else better to do,” he said, tucking the knife back away.

“What’s
with the cutlery?”

“As
you’ve said before, I tend to find myself in rather sticky situations. Maine’s
laws don’t permit me the right to carry a gun for protection until I’m
eighteen, so I’ve resorted to the next best thing.”

“Well,
the cops do have the right to have guns, and I think they’ve have got a pretty
good handle on the situation.”

“A
couple of rookies with limited street action? Call me crazy, but that doesn’t
give me much comfort.”

“Okay,
you’re crazy,” I said smilingly. “You want some breakfast?”

“I
wasn’t aware the bar offered anything.”

“It
doesn’t, but the diner across the way does. And truth be told, I could go for
an omelet and some bacon right about now.”

Jack
rolled the window back up, climbed out, and locked the car. “Sounds delicious.”

The
two of us headed across the way, and I poked my head back into the bar. “We’re
going over to Nana’s for a bite. You wanna join?” I called out to my dad.

“Nah,
I’m good. Just bring me back a paper if you could,” he replied.

“Will
do.”

“Thank
you.”

Ginger,
our waitress, handed each of us a menu as we took a seat, but I didn’t need to
bother looking it over. I had been to Nana’s so many times, I could recite
every dish by heart. We ordered drinks and Ginger left us to decide on our
meals. As Jack debated over his options, I pulled out my cell phone to see that
I had been bombarded with a mass of calls and text messages. Most were from
Trish and Minnie, demanding an inside scoop of the “terrifying events”. The
rest were miscellaneous messages from other students that I didn’t even know
had my number, giving me best wishes for what they called my “brush with
death”. But still nothing from Ian.

“Everything
okay?” asked Jack, seeing me rub my eyebrows tiredly. “Let me take a stab and
guess who this is about...”

“I
haven’t heard anything from him since I left the party last night.”

“Can
I assume that perhaps my word holds a little more power than it did ten hours
ago?”

“Yes.”

“Give
it time. You two are as thick as thieves. Whatever happened, it’ll work itself
out.”

“Yeah,
well, you weren’t there last night. You didn’t hear what he said.”

“That
bad?”

I
nodded. “I thought he would have at least tried to contact me. Apologize
maybe.”

“Time.”

“I
hope you’re right, because I honestly don’t know what else to do. I mean, Ian
and I have never had a fight until now.”

“Anything
you maybe need to apologize for as well?”

“Perhaps,”
I said wincingly. “But the degrees of each of our offenses are in completely
different ballparks here. I’ll admit I mishandled some things, but Ian… He was
just...”

“Mean?”
Jack politely guessed.

“A
complete and total ass-hat.”

He
chuckled at the sight of Ginger returning to our table upon hearing my last
remark, delivering us our drinks.

“What
can I get for you, dear?” she asked me hesitantly.

“Spanish
omelet and a side order of bacon,” I replied shamefully, seeing her discomfort.

“And
you?”

“French
toast,” said Jack, handing her our menus.

“Add
profanity to my list of transgression worth apologizing for,” I commented as
Ginger moved on to her next table. “Wow, this is already proving to be an
interesting day.”

“And
I have a profound feeling it’s bound to get more.”

“Please
don’t say that.”

“It’s
hard not to,” he said, pointing out the café’s window to the patrol car that
was now stationed out front. “The student body is already going to be buzzing
about last night, and when Five-0 rolls up, it’ll only going get worse.”

“Aren’t
you supposed to be trying to comfort me?” I chuckled.

“Well,
you haven’t asked that of me before, but if that’s what you want then may I
point out that I’m gonna be sticking close to you all day?”

“That
would help, if it were true. You may or may not have noticed, but our schedules
aren’t exactly matching.”

“If
you need anything, I’ll only be a text message away. Promise.”

“So
if Mr. Rothenberg decides he wants to try and dissect me?”

“I’ll
be there in two heartbeats.”

“Why
two?”

“Because
it’s a long run to the biology lab. Gotta give me some time, love. I’m not the
Flash.”

I
finally laughed. “Much appreciated.”

“You
okay?”

“That’s
a rather vague question, with a very convoluted answer,” I said.

“You
holdin’ up though?”

“I’m
on my own two feet. But the unidentified psychotic attacker, cult related
murder, angry best friend, and unexplainable happenstances seem to keep getting
in the way of my smooth sailing,” I affirmed, dialing Gwen’s number into my
cell. “That’s odd.”

“What?”

I
put my cell on speakerphone, letting the automated recording on the other end
of the line play out loud. “We’re sorry... The number you are trying to reach
is not in service at this time.”

“You
think there’s something wrong with her phone?” he asked.

My
heart began hammering. I asked her to call me last night when she got home, and
I had received a text message from her. But now thinking about it, it could
have been from anyone... so long as they had possession of her phone. With what
she had uncovered, maybe someone was now onto her. What if they had already
gotten to her?

I
dialed in Ian’s number next, and, to my relief, I got the same the message. “I
think it’s the cell service.”

Jack
tried to call me as well with no luck, and he seemed abnormally concerned by
the instance. “This isn’t good.”

Panicked
then resurged through me. “Why do you say that?”

“Well,
how else are all the rumor weeds gonna spread their gossip?” he cracked,
looking out at the street. “Now, that’s a genuine concern.”

Three
squad cars drove right past the diner with their lights flashing and sirens
wailing, and I immediately bolted for the door.

“What’s
going on?” I asked, heading over to the officers parked out front.

“Everything’s
fine, miss. Just go back inside. They’ve got everything under control.”

“Don’t
pull that with us,” said Jack sternly, coming to my side. “What happened?”

All
I could think of was Gwen.

“They
just found that missing girl,” said one of the officers.

“Veronica?
Are you sure?” I asked all too urgently.

“Yeah,
a couple kids found her in the middle of the park on Madison.”

“Is
she okay?”

They
shook their heads.

“Is
it like the last attack?”

“We
can’t divulge that information.”

“Don’t
give us that shit,” snapped Jack, rolling up the sleeve on his left arm to
expose his bandages. “I think we’ve both earned the right to hear if this has
to do with what happened to us last night.”

The
two hesitated, but they eventually nodded. “There’s not much being said, but
from what’s coming over the radio, it sounds like it.”

“Come
on,” said Jack, motioning me back inside.

We
settled back in the booth just as our food came out of the kitchen.

“I’ve
suddenly lost my appetite,” I said, hiding my trembling hands under the table
as I tried to calm back down.

“When
was the last time you had anything to eat?”

I
just shrugged, knowing my answer wouldn’t play out in my favor.

“You
need to have something,” said Jack, pushing the plate closer to me. “Don’t
worry. I’m sure Gwen already has all the facts. As soon as we get to school, we
can find out what she knows. Okay?”

I
unwrapped the napkin binding my silverware and tried to keep the utensils in my
grasp steady as I stabbed my omelet, taking a healthy bite. “Happy?”

“You’re
here, so yeah.”