Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (4 page)

Distantly,
I heard the approach of soft voices outside the door. I was drained
of energy, burnt out from adrenaline, or I might have sat up.

Luckily,
I recognized the feminine voice as it giggled.
Sounds
like Becky is back.
My
roommate usually stayed out late, hanging out with whatever boy had
her current fancy.

Not
lifting my head, I heard the distinct 'click' of the door opening,
then closing gently. Louder were Becky's shoes, the heels clomping
on the hard wood. I didn't need to look to know what she was
wearing, it announced itself.

“
Hey,”
she said cheerfully, moving about the room and tossing things aside.
“You awake?”

Instead
of answering with words, I lifted an arm. The cool darkness of the
pillow was too wonderful for me to let it end just yet.

Becky
clicked her tongue, springs creaking when she sat on the mattress
across from mine. “Very friendly. What's up Gale? I didn't see
you all night, usually you're back before now.”

My
voice was muffled by the pressure of the cloth on my mouth. “I
didn't think you noticed that stuff.”

Laughing,
she tossed something at me. I felt it land on the middle of my back,
the sensation making me twitch. “Of course I notice. What, do
you think I'm too distracted by a date to know when things are
weird?”

I
did think that, actually,
I
thought in silent guilt.

“
Come
on,” she goaded me, throwing something else onto my bed. It
missed my back, sticking in my messy hair instead. “Talk to
me.”

Rolling
on my side to squint at the girl, I dug out the metal hoop trapped
in my red tresses. Becky tended to wear some of the biggest earrings
I'd ever seen. “Nothing to really talk about.”

“
Well
that's a lie,” she snorted.

Peering
at her sweet smile, I was reminded of Nethiun. “Okay. Yeah,
something happened tonight. I'm just honestly not sure how to
explain it.”

Wiggling
her perfectly shaped eyebrows, Becky sat up straighter. “Please
tell me this is about a boy. It is, isn't it?”

Tightening
my mouth, I tossed the earring at her. It landed harmlessly in her
lap, where she picked it up with manicured pink nails. “No,
not a boy. Well, okay—okay, sort of a boy, but not exactly.”

“
Wow,”
she said, eyes going wide. “You must really like him, you
can't talk straight.”

“
No!”
I blurted, sitting up in a rush. The other ring of metal slid off of
me, falling to the floor; forgotten. “Becky, you're jumping
ahead. I haven't even told you what happened.”

Shrugging,
she leaned back, kicking her feet idly. “Sure, but your face
says it all.”

Baffled,
I turned my head, catching my reflection in the screen of the laptop
on my desk. It was Becky's, but she'd been kind enough to call it
'ours' when we'd moved into the dorm.

I
couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. “What?”

“
You're
flustered, Gale. Out of sorts. That's what I'm talking about.”
Pointing at me accusingly, she grinned. “Whoever this guy is,
he left you thinking about him.”

That's...
true, but not the way she's thinking.

Running
fingers through my hair, I huffed loudly. “This so called guy
you think I'm apparently smitten with? He's a creep who stalked me
all over the place tonight.”

Her
face went blank. “Oh.”

“
So
you understand?” I asked in relief.

Cradling
her chin in her hands, she looked at the ceiling. “Wow, that's
crazy obsessive. What did you do to make this guy want you so bad?”

“
Bwa—I—wha—what!?”
Stunned, I threw my hands into the air and made a strangled noise.
“Are you
joking?
I didn't do anything! Becky, this is serious!”

“
I
know, I know,” she said, motioning at me as if it might calm
me down. “I'm just saying, you and I both know you've never
had a guy chasing you before.” Pausing, she squinted at me
thoughtfully. “Like, at all. You know?”

Inhaling
so much that my chest expanded, I held the air in for a long second.
Expelling it, I made myself talk quietly. “Yes. I know. But
this... this isn't like that.”

“
How
can you know that?”

“
I
just do! He said he'd been following me for a while, he knew my
name, he... Becky, stop smiling.”

“
Sorry,
sorry!” She giggled, covering her mouth to hide the evidence.
“Okay, fine. Let's say he isn't out to 'win your hand' or—”

“
Ew,”
I said, cutting in.

“
—
Or,”
she pushed on, “trying to date you. Then what does he want?”

Biting
the inside of my lip, I glanced at the bag of bread on the desk. “He
didn't say.”

“
Didn't
say?”

“
Yeah.
Or I guess, said he
wouldn't
say, or something.”

Becky
pouted, reaching down to kick her heels off. “What was his
name, did you get that out of him?”

Peeking
back at her, I hesitated. “Um. He said his named was Nethiun.”

“
Nethiun,”
she repeated.

Shrugging,
I pulled my legs in lotus style on my bed. “Weird, right?”

“
Depends.
Was he cute?”

Gaping,
I realized I was having trouble meeting her curious eyes. I saw her
grin quirk higher, and regretted the topic entirely.

“
Oh
God,” she laughed. “He was, wasn't he? Well, look, maybe
your crazy stalker guy means well and is just awkward or something.”

Looking
down at my hands, I made them curl into gentle fists, then spread
them again.
Why
don't I believe it could be that simple? Where is my suspicion
coming from?

Maybe
the fact he vanished without a word. I didn't see him leave, not a
trace.
“I was thinking about going to the police,” I whispered.

My
roommate stood up, digging into her own desk. “Hmn. Well, if
you're that worried, I say go for it.”

Caught
up in my thoughts, I only looked back at my hands.

“
Hey,
look,” she sighed, stripping off her jeans as she got changed
for bed. “You're clearly burnt out over all of this. Why don't
you come out tomorrow night with me and some friends? Get your mind
off of things?”

Furrowing
my eyebrows, I stared at her in doubt. “I don't know. Maybe.”
It
would beat being alone, this situation has me freaked out.

“
Good,”
she said, fluffing her long raven hair. “Then it's settled.
Maybe I'll even find you a date for the Fall festival, in case your
mystery boy turns out to be a serial killer.” She winked at me
in humor, but inside, my stomach twisted into a violent knot.

It
was the sort of tension that I knew wouldn't truly fade until I
managed, somehow, to find out what was going on.

I
needed to know who Nethiun was.

Somehow,
I'd have to figure it out.

****

I
didn't sleep well that night. The haze of strange dreams mixed with
black smoke and piercing eyes carried over long into my day.

English
was as bad as usual, thanks to the exhaustion.

Managing
to keep my eyes open was a chore, one Mr. Birch was keen to press.
Stumbling through the passages he asked me to read, I hoped Becky
might forget about asking me to go out that night.

All
I wanted was to curl up in bed and hide away from the world. I
didn't even have the energy to go to the police anymore, at this
rate.

Thus,
when Mr. Birch called out to me before I could flee down the hall, I
groaned inwards. Turning, I rubbed at the side of one eye and forced
a smile up into his serious face.

“
Hey,
Mr. Birch, what's up?”

“
Gale,”
he sighed, sitting on his desk carefully. “Are you alright?
You seem distracted.”

Making
my smile wider, I adjusted my bag. “Everything is fine, sure.”

He
knew I was lying, it was obvious. But in a miracle of social grace,
he didn't press me further. “Alright,” he said gently.
“But if you ever need to talk, you know you can come to me,
right?”

Can
I?
I
wondered, staring at the first glimmer of tenderness I'd seen the
man display in the weeks I'd been taking his class. He'd been
nothing but serious and strict our entire relationship.

I'm
sorry, Mr. Birch, I'm sure you mean well... but I just don't think
this is your business.

“
I
need to get going,” I said quickly, turning on my heel. “Uh,
thanks Mr. Birch. Have a good weekend.”

Behind
me, I heard him murmur. “You too, Gale.”

Almost
jogging down the hall, I hurried out into the crisp air and kept
right on going. I just needed to get away from the walls and
questions.

Maybe
I should have just told him what was going on. But how can I, when
I'm not even sure?

Kicking
a chunk of leaves aside, I pulled my dark blue jacket closer. My
plan was to head downtown, talk to the police, then meet up with
Becky to go out.

She'd
told me that morning the general plan, gather at the Gold Boar for
dancing and whatever else.

Her
optimistic plea that, perhaps later, we'd be able to sneak into a
twenty-one-plus club only made me shake my head.

I
made a quick detour through the park, tossing out crumbs from the
left over bread I'd stuffed in my jacket pockets.

Dropping
the hard chunks, I kept glancing around, unable to shake the feeling
that Nethiun might show up any minute.

When
I finally hurried off downtown, the sky only just turning red, I was
almost disappointed.