Minutes Before Sunset (22 page)

40

Prom was tomorrow, and the school was reeling with excitement. Students practically danced around the halls, and it was only eight in the morning. The waxed, tiled floor was covered in sparkles, and the main hallway was draped with paper fans and fluorescent tissue balls. I’d spent thirty minutes trying to figure out the theme, but I couldn’t. Hayworth High looked like the inside of an arts and crafts store.

I didn’t have enough coffee to deal with this.

I shut my locker just as Robb leaned against the one next to mine. “Hey, Jess,” he said, and my eyes darted to the boy behind him. “I have someone I want you to meet—”

“I’m Zac,” the other boy said, positioning his body between us.

He had thick black hair and eyes to match. He was taller than Robb by a couple of inches, and his jawline aged him past high school years. I could see why he made fakes for a living. His clothes seemed to be pressed for intimidation reasons.

“Hi,” I said, barely shaking his hand.

He waved over his button-up shirt. “Private school, right?” He rolled his eyes, but I couldn’t manage a smile. However, he grinned, revealing a set of perfectly straight teeth. I bet he hadn’t even had braces.

“I didn’t catch your name,” he said, allowing his words to linger.

“This is Jess Taylor,” Robb said, and his brown eyes squinted. He knew I was uncomfortable.

I forced a meek smile. “Jess,” I repeated, unsure of why I couldn’t move. I didn’t like him, and I hadn’t given him a chance. What was wrong with me?
I prided myself on being open-minded, yet I could feel judgment twist my gut.

“I’m coming to your prom tomorrow,” Zac said, stepping away. He put his hands in his pockets, and I wondered if he’d felt my reluctance to meet him.

I cleared my throat and looked from Robb to him. “I thought only students from our school could go.”

“Other students can with an outside date form,” Robb said, and Zac shrugged.

“Crystal filled mine out,” he said, “and Robb filled out Linda’s.”

I snapped my fingers. “I forgot you said they were coming,” I said. “Where’s Linda?”

Robb shrugged, but Zac’s eyes lit up, showing the first sign of light. “You’ll meet her tomorrow,” he said. “She went to school today.”

I raised my brow. “And you didn’t?”

“Not yet,” he said, winking. “I’m not really into those things.”

Things. Like school was a choice.

I hugged my bag to my chest. “Yet you came here on your day off.”

His smile widened. “I drove Robb,” he said, and Robb shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“I’m getting my car cleaned for tomorrow,” he said. “Couldn’t exactly afford a limo.”

“I think that’s a little extreme anyway,” I said, trying to encourage him. For the first time since knowing Robb, he seemed insecure. I didn’t understand.

“So what guy am I going to have to drag you away from to dance?” Zac asked, and heat rushed over my cheeks.
Had he just said that?

Robb hit Zac’s arm. “Come on, man.”

“What?” Zac grinned, not even bothering to move his eyes away from me. “You didn’t tell me the new girl was so pretty.”

“I’m right here,” I said, raising a brow, but his cockiness didn’t subside.

“I know.”

I stared at my feet. I was not in the mood. Not when Shoman was still missing.

Robb hit him again, with more force this time, and Zac swayed, laughing as he grabbed his arm. “Okay. Okay. I’ll leave.” He turned around and waved behind his shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Jess,” he said, and I waited until he disappeared down the hallway.

“I can see why Crystal doesn’t like you bringing people around,” I said, and Robb sighed.

“Sorry about him,” he said. “He’s a nice guy; I promise. He’s just a little forward.”

“A little?”

Robb laughed and fiddled with his shirt. “That’s actually why I brought him in here to meet you,” he said. “I didn’t want any surprises tomorrow, and I definitely didn’t want him upsetting you.” Robb’s smile twitched. “It would make his day if you danced with him once—”

I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Robb.”

“Please,” he said, practically lowering himself to his knees. “The kid may seem confident, but I think he overcompensates.”

“One dance,” I said, trying not to smile. I had to admit that it was flattering. I only felt guilty for Shoman—a guy who didn’t even want me. I knew I had to let him go eventually. But could I? I didn’t know.

“Thanks, Jess,” Robb said, cocking his head to the side as the warning bell rang. “I can walk you to class if you want.”

I shrugged, and we started for my first hour English class. “Where’s Crystal anyway?” I asked. “I half expected her to intervene at any minute.”

“She would’ve if she was here,” he said, chuckling, “but prom is a big deal to her. She stayed home to prepare.”

I shook my head. “That’s a little extreme.”

“If you haven’t noticed,” he said. “She kind of is.”

I giggled, thinking of my best friend. She was always in everyone’s business, and she wasn’t even hesitant about it. If anything, she reveled in it. I normally didn’t enjoy people like her, but there was an innocence to her punk attitude she couldn’t hide. She was sensitive, and I admired that. I could hardly open up at all, and it was nice to know someone who could.

“I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow,” I admitted, wondering if my morning coffee had finally settled in my sleepy veins. I felt energized, and the decorations I had hated minutes before now seemed like a promise that everything was going to go right—even if it was only one night.

“Me, too, Jess,” Robb said. “Me, too.”

Maybe tomorrow would be amazing, and I’d finally let go of Shoman after all. I doubted it
.
But it was something I could hold on to.

41

As usual, someone knocked on my bedroom door the minute I’d arrived home and managed to relax. I was used to the lack of privacy, but I’d learned to despise it.

“Come in,” I said, not even bothering to get up. My door was unlocked, and it opened quickly. I spun around and stopped when my eyes settled on Jonathon Stone—Pierce’s human form. “What are you doing here?”

His thick glassed practically fell from his stout nose as his one good eye wandered around my bedroom. “Our fathers are talking,” he said, leaning against the doorframe. It was Saturday, but the meeting didn’t surprise me. Urte had been hovering ever since they were released from the shelter’s hospital.

“I’m sorry about the other day,” I began, but Jonathon waved his hands.

“I was stupid enough to ignore Urte’s warning,” he said. Jonathon had used his dad’s first name—no matter what form he was in—since he’d divorced his mother. His mother didn’t want him to be involved with the prophetic battle, and Urte had refused. She left Hayworth. She was no longer a part of the Dark, and Jonathon hadn’t spoken to her since. But he still resented his dad. We never talked about it, but it was understood.

“I’m still sorry,” I said, and he shrugged.

“How’s your arm?”

I shrugged back. “Still sore,” I admitted. “But I have my powers, which is a relief.”

“Me, too,” Jonathon said. “It’s probably a good thing you didn’t take your remedy. You’d be powerless for days.”

I cracked a smile. “I guess Luthicer is good for something.”

“Yeah; who knew?” Jonathon chuckled. “Are you going back to school Monday?” he asked, and I knew he’d noticed my absence. I could’ve gone. I just didn’t want to, and my father hadn’t made me.

“Unfortunately,” I said. “Did I miss anything on Friday?”

“Just the usual collection of teen angst that prom brings,” he said, shaking his head as he chuckled. “You should’ve seen how ridiculous people were acting.”

I remembered last year too clearly, girls whining about the three D’s—dates, dinner, and dresses. It was all so repetitive, yet I got a kick out of it. Although I’d never admit it.
Prom wasn’t my thing. It couldn’t be. I was friendless.

“Are you going?” I asked, and Jonathon’s brow rose.

“Are you joking?” he asked, waving his hands over himself. “I’m not exactly a lady’s man,” he said, grinning. At least he was comfortable with his different lives
.
“Now if I was Pierce—we’d be having a different discussion.”

“You could get someone as Jonathon,” I said, and he shrugged.

“I don’t think I’d want to,” he said. “I’d prefer someone who knows who I am—Pierce—not this guy.”

Jessica flashed through my mind. Did she like me as Eric?
I doubted it. I’d treated her horribly. I didn’t deserve her.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Jonathon practically whispered, and my shoulders tensed.

“What?”

He sighed. “I know when you’re thinking about her,” he said. “You mope, more so than usual.” He smirked, but I didn’t relax. “I’m sure she’ll be fine at prom.”

“Who said she went to our school?” I snapped.

“It’s Hayworth,” he said, fiddling with his glasses. “There’s an obnoxiously high chance she does.”

I took a careful breath, not wanting to sigh and give my thoughts away. “I guess.”

Jonathon opened his mouth to speak, but my door creaked open, and he stopped. Urte—as human George Stone—walked in, but my father lingered in the hallway.

“Jon, your brother is waiting for us at home,” George said, laying his hand on his son’s boney shoulder. Instead of his black hair, green eyes, and scruffy facial hair, he was clean-shaven and had long black hair. I wondered if he had the same insecurities as his son.

“We should go,” George said.

Jonathon glanced at me. “See you later.”

I waved, and the two were gone. I laid my hands on my knees and stared at my father, but he didn’t move. He cleared his throat. “Are you resting like you’re supposed to?” he asked.

“All day.”

“That’s good,” he said, running his hand over his balding head. “George tells me it’s prom night.”

I nodded.

“Were you planning on going?”

“No,” I said, but my body electrified. I could see Jessica tonight, and she wouldn’t even know. I wouldn’t be breaking any rules either.

I could drop by, make sure she’s happy, and leave. I didn’t have to talk to her or anything. I had dress clothes too. I’d been to enough funerals for that.

“Actually,” I said, standing. “I think I am.”

My father’s brow rose. “But—”

I forced a smile, hoping he’d buy my lie. “Just to get my thoughts off things,” I said. “Plus, it’s probably better for my image. The Light wouldn’t expect me if I started getting friends again.”

His jaw rocked from side to side. “You think they’d pay attention to social events like that?”

“They might,” I said, using Jonathon’s logic. “It’s Hayworth. It wouldn’t be hard to cross people off the suspect list, and the first descendant wouldn’t have friends.”

“That insinuates Darthon wouldn’t either.”

I forced a grin and a nod. “I will look around to see who’s absent,” I said. “Maybe we can beat them to it.”

He began to agree. “Okay,” he said. “But be careful, Eric. I wouldn’t want you to end up in the hospital again.”

“I won’t,” I promised, believing I could avoid any more trouble as long as I was human. Just for one more night.

42

Crystal tightened the black straps of my dress and smacked my back. “You’re good to go,” she said, and I turned around, lifting my shoulders. They stayed in place.

“Thanks,” I said, and she winked.

“You look great.”

“You, too,” I said, and she ruffled the poofs of silver on her sleeves. Her dress was super short, unlike the average prom dress, and her stilettoes added five inches to her petite height. She loved it.

“If only I could wear this every day,” she said, sitting in front of her vanity mirror. She pulled out eye shadow and applied it to one eyelid. Her dark eyes sparkled when she met my gaze in the reflection. “You know that car wreck you asked me about? That one where the young couple died?”

My heart stopped, and I sat on her bed, unable to stand. “Yeah—”

“I asked my mom about it,” she said, finishing her other eye. “It was really weird.”

I held my breath. My parents
.
“What was weird about it?”

“For one thing, their car was filled with all of their possessions, but they hadn’t put their house on the market,” she said. “My mom wanted the police to look more into it, but they figured the couple was moving.” Her eyes flickered as she slicked mascara on. “Seemed really sporadic if you ask me.”

She spun around and tied a ribbon around her wrist. “I mean, what kind of couple flees with a newborn without reason?” Her face flushed behind her heavy blush. “I think something happened.”

My tongue was heavy. I couldn’t say anything. They knew about the Dark
.
I was positive they had fled from it, but I didn’t know why. It didn’t make sense.

“Why’d you have me look into it anyway?” she asked. “Did you know them?”

“No,” I lied. “My dad came across it at work.”

Her brow rose, but she turned back to her mirror. She twisted her lip ring out and replaced it with a glittery one. “What does your dad do anyway?”

“I don’t know,” I lied again. He managed a small farming equipment company. He had no reason to find the article, except me, and I didn’t want her to know that. “I just thought it looked weird, too.”

“See?” Her eyes widened. “I want to know what happened,” she said, standing up and adjusting her dress. It crinkled. “The article didn’t even say what happened to their daughter.”

I was adopted.
“She was probably given to family members,” I said.

“Probably.”

“Crystal.” Her bedroom door opened, and a woman with short dark hair walked in. She was Crystal’s mirror image. “Your friends are here.”

“Thanks, Lola,” she said, and her mother left, not even bothering to say hi.

I hadn’t even known she was home.

“Don’t take it personally,” Crystal said, grabbing her clutch off her table. “She barely talks to me, let alone my friends.”

“Where’s your dad?” I asked, and she shrugged.

“Who knows?”

I bit my lip, and we didn’t talk about it again. Instead, she rushed out of her bedroom, and I collected my stuff, following quickly behind. When we hit the front door, Crystal burst out and shouted, “About time.”

Robb and Zac stood outside, and I couldn’t deny how well they’d cleaned up. Robb was in black, and Zac wore a white suit, bringing out the blackness of his hair and eyes. His hair was spiked up, the ends twirling in a hundred different directions, and his shoulders were broadened beneath his suit jacket. They looked good.

“Where have you guys been?” Crystal asked, and Robb groaned.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “We got caught in traffic. Everyone has their parents’ cars tonight.”

They continued to bicker as my heels clicked against the concrete. I walked over to them, and suddenly Zac’s hand was around my waist. He spun me around, and my vision settled on him when I stopped. My dress twisted. How had he gotten so close without me noticing?

He grinned. “You look great.”

I stepped back but found myself giggling. The attention felt nice. “Thanks,” I said. “You, too, Zac.”

His dark brow rose, and he smirked. “You remembered my name?”

“I met you yesterday,” I said. “It’s kind of hard to forget.”

He leaned in. “It’s impossible to forget you.”

I averted my eyes to hide my blush.
Was he serious?
Somehow, he didn’t even sound cheesy.

“You two ready to go?” Robb asked, suddenly standing next to us, and I nodded.

Robb and Zac rushed to the car, hitting one another, and Crystal grabbed my arm as we followed them to Robb’s Suburban. “Was Zac just flirting with you?”

“I—I think so.”

Crystal bounced. “Good for you, Jess,” she said, flickering her glittery eyes over me. “But I have to warn you. Linda is a little—oh, how should I say this—feisty.”

“Feisty?”

“She’s really protective of those two,” she said, rolling her eyes. “More so toward Robb than Zac, but she doesn’t like other girls around them.”

When Zac opened the car door to the backseat, I saw her. Linda’s golden hair glowed beneath the interior lights, and her diamond earrings sparkled. Her green eyes, like her jewelry, sparkled, too.

“You must be Jess,” she said as she eyed me, and I stared at her dress.

It was crimson red and clung to her body like she was preparing for a model shoot. It was slick, long, and gorgeous.

I averted my gaze and swallowed my nerves. Why did Robb’s friends have to be so intimidating?
They weren’t like the kids at Hayworth High; they were different. “Nice to meet you, Linda,” I said as I got in to sit in the middle seat.

She shifted away and stared out the window even though we weren’t moving. Crystal sat next to me, and Zac leaned over her. “Be nice, Linda,” he said. “Jess is my dancing partner.”

Linda’s neck turned, slowly and methodically. Her thin eyebrows rose, and she smiled, tight-lipped. “Oh, really?” She was looking right at me, and heat sizzled over my skin.

“We are going to dance,” I managed, and Zac chuckled, shutting the car door before he crawled into the passenger seat. No one spoke, but Crystal pinched my leg.

I jumped, looking at her, and she widened her eyes at me. Her message was loud and clear: don’t mess with Linda.

I smiled at my best friend before focusing on the windshield. At least I’d be able to see where we were going.

“Is everyone buckled up?” Robb asked, and we nodded before he backed out of the driveway. The night wasn’t looking as magnificent as I wanted it to be.