Milayna (31 page)

“Jake, Lily, Shayla. Who’s joining them?” My eyes roamed over everyone in the room. The electrical current seemed to follow my gaze. It touched each person as I looked at them, flowing from me to them. It created a bridge, of sorts, between us.

What is this? What am I supposed to do with it… another power to add to my freakishness? How am I supposed to know how to work it?

Then I had an idea. Turning, I looked at Chay. He leaned back in his chair and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. The current poked around, like an eleventh finger. It roamed around Chay’s face and neck, touching him. I felt nothing and was just about to give up on the whole thing—chalk it up to another bizzaro freaky demi-angel thing—when I looked into Chay’s eyes.

The current followed and as soon as it touched Chay’s eyes, I was hit full force with his emotions. They came at me so hard that I took half a step back. The current acted like an extension cord and plugged me into him. His emotions flowed right into me. I felt everything he felt. Saw it through his eyes.

He was full of questions. The strongest was what was going on with me. Yeah, I seconded that. But I also felt a sense of calmness. A bond. A strong tie of strength and protectiveness, and the word ‘mine’ was repeated. I sucked in a breath at the last feeling. Love. Strong, undeniable, unbreakable… love. My heart stuttered at the realization, and the current zipped up my arm, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up like little Roman soldiers.

I blinked and broke the connection. I turned to Muriel. “What?” she asked. I didn’t answer. I just looked in her eyes, and she squirmed in her seat. “Milayna?” Even with her nervousness and discomfort from me staring at her like a lion stalking its prey, I felt calmness when the current touched her, but she still worried. She was scared. Not just for her, but for me too. There was a definite bond between us. Love. Different from Chay’s. A familial love. But there was something else. Something I couldn’t reach. It was like she’d locked it in a closet. Hidden it from me.

I moved my gaze to Steven’s. He looked at me for a few seconds. The current locked on him, and the feelings that traveled over the bridge worried me. There was no calmness. He felt uneasy. There was no bond. He felt like an outsider in our group. There was no tie… he abruptly looked away and broke the connection. The current roamed over him. It didn’t stop moving, poking, searching. But Steven wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

The room erupted. I jumped and lost my focus. The crazy current fizzled. What had seemed like minutes for me and my freaky emotional zapper had really only been seconds. I was thrust back into real time. Everyone talked over each other. They all denied they were having thoughts of changing sides. All but one.

Steven.

I stared at him, waiting for him to say something. He looked at the toe of his shoe. I figured it would happen. He was Jake’s best friend. Of course Jake would try to convince him to change sides, but I had hoped he was stronger. That he’d come to the group for support instead of betraying us and turning traitor.

“If anyone is thinking about switching sides, do it now. The group doesn’t need you. We’ll fight on our own. And we don’t have a problem fighting you.” My gaze lingered on Steven, who still hadn’t looked up.

The doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here,” I said with a smile.

I paid the delivery guy and turned to take the pizza into the kitchen, stopping short when I came face-to-face with Steven. “Oh. I didn’t hear you walk up.” I backed up and hit the door behind me.

“Sorry, Milayna. I forgot I have somewhere I’m supposed to be. I’ll catch ya next time.” He hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands in his hoodie’s pocket. His voice was flat, just like the look on his face, emotionless, empty.

“Sure.” I moved out of his way, watching him walk out of the door and down the drive. He looked over his shoulder at me, his expression grim. Then I noticed them. Black boots with silver buckles. Just like in my vision the night the group went to the movie. “Chay, look at his boots.”

Chay took the pizza boxes from me. He didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. Steven had already switched sides.

One week, six days until my birthday.

It became a daily ritual at school. Lily walked by me in the hall and shouldered me. The harder the better, it seemed. Well, I’d had enough. I saw Lily and Shayla walking toward me, the ever-present sneer on their faces. Lily shouldered me like I knew she would. I stuck my foot in front of her. She landed facedown on the pile of books she was carrying.

“You’re in way over your head, Milayna,” Shayla said, helping Lily gather her things from the floor.

I couldn’t help the small smile on my lips. It felt so good to watch Lily sprawl out on the dirty floor. I wished I could’ve rewound time and watched it again.

“I’m not the one on my knees, Shayla.” I turned on my heel and walked away, but not before I saw someone in my peripheral vision bend down and help Shayla. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jeff.

Chay walked up beside me. “I swear, Milayna, if you don’t start waiting for me after class, I’m gonna—”

“What are you gonna do?” I interrupted and smiled up at him.

“Tell your dad,” Chay finished.

I burst out laughing. “You’re gonna be a tattletale?”

“This is serious,” he said quietly.

“I know. I’m sorry. Next time I’ll wait, but you have to be on time, Chay. You were late today.”

“Geez, nagging me already.” He lifted my book bag off my shoulder and swung it over his.

***

The school day flew by. I was in and out of classes quickly, and for the most part, painlessly. Except for calculus, where we were given three pages of homework. Three freakin’ pages! There should be child labor laws for homework.

The last bell rang and we all hurried from our seats, grabbing our books and running toward the door before the teacher could pile on any more homework.

“Can you believe the calculus homework?” I complained to Muriel.

We were walking down the hall to the gym. We had a swim meet that afternoon. I had to grab my bag out of my gym locker on the way to the bus. I hated riding the bus, with its awful smell and sticky floors. But it was school policy that students ride the buses to and from sporting events. Bonus.

We grabbed our swim bags and walked toward the grime-covered, faded yellow bus.

Crap, I forgot my swim cap on the bench in the locker room.

I turned and jogged back to the school. “Save me a seat,” I yelled over my shoulder to Muriel.

“Why? What are you doing?”

“I gotta grab my swim cap.”

“Milayna! Wait for me. You shouldn’t go alone.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m right behind you.”

I ran through the gym and into the locker room. After grabbing my swim cap, I hurried back through the gym. I was halfway across the room when the door swung open and I realized I had a problem. A big one.

Butterflies the size of birds swarmed my stomach, and a lump in my throat sealed them in. So much adrenaline mixed with my blood that it made me dizzy and a little queasy.

Stupid, stupid! Why am I so damn dense sometimes?

He advanced on me. I backed up until the back of my knees hit the bleachers, falling with a grunt. He smiled. His face was so beautiful. If I didn’t know what lay behind those denim-blue eyes, I would’ve bent to his every whim. But he wasn’t the good, hometown boy everyone thought he was. He was evil.

I couldn’t believe I’d once thought we belonged together. Now, I could see evil running through his veins. Evil that Azazel let loose when he turned. No, we didn’t belong together. Azazel and Jake belonged together. They were the perfect match.

“Come with me, Milayna. We’ll be great together. It’s so much easier on this side.” Jake spread his hands out at his sides, palms up.

I shook my head once. “Nothing is easy.”

“This is. It’s perfect.”

“Nothing is perfect,” I bit out.

He leaned over me. His face was so close I could feel his warm breath moving my hair. It smelled like a combination of the corn dogs served for lunch and breath mints. I wrinkled my nose and turned my face from the smell.

I shoved him as hard as I could, trying to move him enough to pass by. I needed out of the gym. It wasn’t safe to be there alone with him. It wasn’t safe to be there alone, period. One of his new friends could show up any minute.

What was I thinking coming alone?

I wasn’t. But pushing him did nothing. He didn’t even flinch. I might have been the highest demi-angel at our school, but I wasn’t Superman. Or Wonder Woman. Whatever.

I heard them before I saw them. Their grunts and groans were audible before their grotesque bodies materialized. I saw the smoke in the corner of the gym, smelled the sulfur. They were coming for me.

Damn. I wish I had wings.

“Okay, okay. Call off your goons.” I sighed, feigning resignation.

With a snap of his fingers, the smoke billowing in the corner disappeared. The groans of Hell went with it.

Perfect, my butt. They don’t sound like they’re having a party down there.

“What do you want me to do?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Tell him you’ll side with him and he’ll do the rest.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Easy.”

The door banged against the gym wall, and I jumped. I was sure Azazel was there, and I was finished. I’d failed.

“What are you two doing in here?” Coach Johnson bellowed.

My breath rushed out of my lungs. I’d never been so happy to see grumpy Coach Johnson, with his perpetual case of halitosis. I could have kissed him, stinky breath and all.

“I was just leaving.” I pushed Jake away.

He stood and gave one of his dazzling smiles, holding his palms out in front of him as if in surrender. “Have it your way, Milayna,” he whispered.

“What’s burning? Have you two been smoking?”

“No, sir,” I answered, looking Jake in the eyes. “Jake was just asking me to senior prom.”

“Oh, well, you two have at it then.” He grinned and winked at Jake—his star football player.

“No, no, that’s okay. I told him I already had plans for that night. I can’t go with him.” I stood and stepped around Jake, walking quickly toward the door before Coach Johnson left.

I ran down the hall to the doors and pushed through them so hard they smacked against the doorstops. I ran until I reached the bus and let out a huge breath when I sat on the ugly, green vinyl seat next to Muriel. Looking down, I realized my hands were shaking. In fact, it felt as if my whole insides were shaking.

“Milayna, what’s wrong? You’re shaking.” Muriel grabbed my hands.

“I ran into Jake.” My voice quivered and I couldn’t say his name above a whisper, like it was some kind of horrible curse word.

“Crap, what happened? Are you okay?” She squeezed my hands and pulled me toward her.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Coach Johnson walked in and I was able to get out of there, but it was close.”

“You can’t go anywhere without someone with you. You can’t take a chance something like that will happen again.” Muriel’s tone was firm. She almost sounded like my mother. I would have laughed at the thought if I wasn’t still reeling from my near date to Hell with its newest golden boy, Jake.

I let out a long breath—my cheeks puffed out. “I know.”

Even with the scare from Jake, the day didn’t end all bad. We won our swim meet.

***

After the swim meet, Chay was at the school to pick me up. I saw him through the window as we drove into the school’s parking lot, and I could tell by his face that Muriel had already texted him. His feet were planted shoulder width apart, his hands were clasped behind his back, and there wasn’t a trace of a smile on his lips anywhere.

Damn it!

“Thanks a lot, Muriel.” I glared at her.

“I thought maybe he could talk some sense into that stubborn brain of yours.” She shrugged a shoulder.

He met me at the door of the bus. As soon as I stepped out, he grabbed my bag, slung it over his shoulder, and stalked away. I followed close behind him. He opened the passenger’s door of the car for me to get in, shut it after me, and stalked around to the driver’s side.

Great. Just friggin’ wonderful. I don’t think he’s blinked since he’s picked me up.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Chay yelled as soon as he got in the car.

“I was just grabbing my clothes. I didn’t think—”

“Crap, Milayna, you can’t go running off like that. Why do you think everyone is going out of their way to make sure you aren’t alone?”

“Well, I didn’t ask them to,” I shot back. It wasn’t like I wanted everyone to have to wait on me, to interrupt their life and make me the center of it. “Wait. Everyone?”

“Yeah.”

“So that’s what you’re doing? Going out of your way to make sure I’m not alone?”

Not because I want to be with you, but because I have to rearrange my schedule to babysit you. Nice.

“Yes… No… that’s not what I meant.” I started to get out of the car. “Where are you going?” he called to me.

“To ride with Muriel.” I jerked my bag out of the car and slammed the door.

Jerk.

I jogged across the parking lot to catch Muriel before she left. She jumped when I yanked open the door of her car and slipped in, slamming it behind me. “Oh. Hi.” A frown pulled at her lips. “Everything okay?”

“Let’s just go home.” I forced a smile.

“What happened?” Muriel looked over at me when we were stopped at a red light. I ticked off the seconds in my head until it turned green. I just wanted to go home.

I sighed. “Nothing I want to talk about.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“No.” I let out a huge sigh. “I don’t know what I am.” I dropped my head in my hands.

“Okay. Well, what happened?”

“He basically said he was spending time with me because I wasn’t supposed to be alone,” I blurted.

Muriel snorted. “You know that’s not true, Milayna.”

Yeah. So why am I making an issue of it? Ugh. Sometimes, I don’t understand my own brain.

My stomach clenched and twisted. I gritted my teeth and hit the dashboard with my fist. I didn’t want a vision now, but my head started to pound and my eyes saw images of things that hadn’t happened yet.

“Muriel, I’m gonna have a vision.” I blew stray hair out of my face before cursing violently under my breath.

Come on. Give me a freaking break, please.

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

A gas station. No, a convenience store. A woman.

I concentrated on the store. I strained to see the name. Bob’s… something. I couldn’t make it out.

A woman. Spilled pop. A crushed bag of chips. A gun.

“Muriel, look for a convenience store called Bob’s.”

Gunshots. Blood.

“Hurry, Muriel.” I gripped the door handle so hard that my fingers ached. The tension snaked up my hand and my arm to my neck, where it slithered around and started tightening.

My insides were churning. I could feel my lunch swirl in my stomach, threating to make a repeat visit. I couldn’t help thinking of the Waterway. What if we didn’t get there in time? What if we didn’t find the woman?

Blue T-shirt stained with blood. A bloody hand.

“I see it. Hold on.” Muriel made a U-turn, earning several honks and a few fingers. She pulled into Bob’s Convenience Store’s parking lot.

“There, the blonde in the pink dress walking toward the door. We gotta stop her from going in the store.”

“Here.” Muriel pulled her wallet out of her purse and hurled it on the ground behind the woman.

I jumped out of the car. “Ma’am? Is this your wallet?”

The woman turned around, looked at Muriel’s neon green wallet, and shook her head. “No, that’s not mine.” Leave it to Muriel to have the ugliest wallet in history. The woman could tell right away it wasn’t hers.

The vision hadn’t changed.

Gunshots. Blood. The woman.