Siren's Song (11 page)

A sad smile touches his mouth as his head rolls across the lockers so he can look at me again. “I believe I mentioned being obsessed.” His face suddenly seems tired, older somehow, like he has lived a long time and is tired of the whole thing, like he is hopeless.

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Seventeen.”

“How long have you been seventeen?” I know it's a ridiculous question, but my heart slams in my chest and I hold my breath, waiting for his answer. There is just something strange about him, something dark, and yet I'm drawn to him, want to know all about him.

He laughs and this time the smile reaches his eyes. “Since last October thirty-first.” He steps closer to me. I freeze as his warm palm cups my cheek, covering the whole expanse. “See, I'm warm.” He drops his hand. “And I eat lasagna, too. Lots of it.”

October thirty-first? Halloween? “Your cousin, Taylin, her birthday is October thirty-first, too.”

Luke's smile fades and his gaze moves to a spot on my forehead, like he can't look me in the eyes. “It's complicated, Jule.” His eyes move down to meet mine. They are narrowed, fierce and sad again. He drops his voice even though the hall is virtually empty. “You and I,” he shakes his head, “we shouldn't be together. I'm…dangerous.”

“You leave a dry towel for me on the porch, but you're dangerous?” My eyes are narrowed right along with his now.

Luke swallows and glances away. “I can't go into it. Just know that we,” he looks back, “we can't be together, ever.” With that, he pivots on his heel and heads toward the outer doors, away from the cafeteria.

“Is Matt's birthday also on Halloween?” I yell after him, but he won't take the bait. He slams into the double doors at the end of the hall. One of them bangs against the brick outer wall with a crunch. When the door swings back it doesn't close but hangs like an injured wing on its metal hinges.

* * *

The next morning before homeroom, I find a note in my locker. My heart thumps into overtime and I glance around. No Luke. I unfold it.

Stay away from Luke Whitmore. He's dangerous
.

More chills. At this rate, I'd better start carrying a sweater. There's no signature, of course. I glance around again, but don't see anyone paying attention to me. I look back at the thin scrawl. It looks like a girl's handwriting. Probably Taylin. And she's not telling me anything that Luke hasn't already said, but somehow seeing the words written down, and by another party who seems to really know Luke, is freaky. Like there should be some sort of horror music playing in the background.

A finger taps my shoulder and I spin around. Madison grins at me. “You're jumpy.”

My hand is flat against my pounding heart. “I didn't hear you.”

“Lost in thought?” Madison loops her arm through mine and pulls me toward homeroom. My heart slows enough to let my brain function. “So…Derek,” she starts. I wait, but she doesn't continue.

“I know Derek,” I say. She laughs and pulls me into the seat next to her.

A quick scan of the room shows no Luke.

“It's his birthday today,” she informs me, which makes me think about the strange coincidence of another birthday.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, and I got him a cake,” she giggles. “We're planning to ambush him at lunch,” she whispers conspiratorially. “Will you be there?”

“I plan to eat lunch.”

“Good.”

Luke walks in and looks right at me. He's wearing jeans today, and a black T-shirt with some hockey logo on it. It hugs his chest and upper arms, and his biceps bulge when he lifts his bag of books. No time to stop at his locker, I guess. Luke sits, his gaze still on me. He smiles a lazy, lopsided grin. What the hell? He tells me that we can't be together and then he smiles at me? Madison evaporates, along with everyone else in the room. It feels like I'm in a tunnel leading directly to him. I notice the way his hair lies around his jaw that has a shadow of a beard. His blue-black eyes look bluer today and his lips…I wet my own as I watch the way his mouth straightens from his grin, his gaze intensifying as he stares back.

“So, what do you think? Should I ask him?” Madison pulls at my shoulder and I blink, turning to look at her.

“What?” I ask weakly.

Madison loses her constant smile. She huffs, her cheeks red. “Should I ask Derek to Homecoming? I think he'd rather go with you.” Her gaze moves back and forth between me and Luke. Her smile creeps back. “But maybe you're already going with Luke. If you're not, you should be. God, get a room,” she giggles. “The temp has risen, like, ten degrees since you two started staring at each other.”

“No.” I shake my head and her grin weakens. “But yes, you should ask Derek.”

“But what if he says no because he wants to ask you?”

I frown. Could that happen? “Tell him you heard I was going with someone else–Luke, I guess. Invite him and suggest we double-date. By the time he finds out Luke and I aren't going together it will be too late.” She nods, considering. “But really, Madison, I don't think he's going to ask me.” I smile reassuringly. “I'm sure he'll be thrilled if you ask him.”

“You think so?” Her face takes on the hopeful, dreamy gaze of a stereotypical teen girl in love. Ugh! Does love make you look like that?

“Definitely.” I nod for emphasis, but her look says she wants more. “You're a drama freak, he's a drama freak. You'll probably get married and have lots of little drama freaks.”

She laughs and looks relieved. “I'll ask him tomorrow night at the bonfire. You going?”

I glance in Luke's direction, but Mrs. Rozinski is reminding him not to be tardy since he keeps cutting it close in the mornings. “Yeah, I think Carly said something about it. We're going together.” Will Luke be there? Probably flanked by his two bodyguards. “Speaking of birthdays, do you know when Matt Kenzie's birthday is?”

Madison shrugs and gathers her books as the tone sounds. “No idea. I don't hang with the jocks. Drama freak, remember? See you at lunch.”

Luke's at his locker when I get out there. I walk to mine and spin the combination. He's unloading his book bag, head bent behind his door. I wait. When he doesn't move, I peek around. He's reading a note. His hair hangs so I can't see his face, but his hand crumples the small piece of paper.

“I got one of those today, too,” I say casually. His head snaps toward me so fast I almost step back.

“What?”

I point to the small ball of paper in his hand. “A note, in my locker. Does yours warn you to stay away from me?” I sound calm, cheerful, even. It's a total mask.

“Is that what yours said?”

I grab the note, handing it to him. He reads it quickly and his frown turns murderous. I take a small instinctive step back, giving him some room as his fist crumples my note to match his own. They drop on the floor. Maybe this is a bad time to rip into him about handing out my locker combination. “I figure it's from Taylin. I'm not going to ask how she knows my combination.” Okay, so I had to mention it. No ripping, though.

“I'll take care of it,” he grinds out. He lifts his hand, the back of his finger touching my cheek in a gentle caress. “I won't let anyone hurt you.” I can only nod. Luke drops his hand, shuts his locker and strides off in the opposite direction from chemistry.

I watch him turn the corner and my gaze drops to the floor where the twin notes sit. I grab them and start walking. The first one I open is mine. I open the next. It's the same handwriting. I stop in the middle of a wave of students hurrying to class as I read the words.

Stay strong, Lucas. She's a Siren, your Siren. Stay away from her. One way or another, brother, we're helping you
.

When I slide into my seat by Kiara, I notice that neither Luke nor Taylin is in the back. “Hey, girl,” Kiara says, and I twitch. “Relax,” she smiles. She glances behind us. “No glares and stares today?” She sighs sarcastically. “It just won't be the same.” Luke and Taylin don't show up. I can barely focus on the Krebs cycle.

Luke makes it to English and actually sits next to me. I turn to him immediately. “What did you do to Taylin?”

“Worried about her?”

“Well…yeah, I guess. I don't need her more pissed at me.”

“I just talked to her.” He smiles, but his face is tense, eyes hard. “I let her know she is never to send notes to you again and never to enter your locker.”

“I'm getting the combination changed.”

“Don't bother. If she wants to get in, she will.” His hand skims mine where it rests against my lap. The heat from his palm sizzles up my arm to flush my cheeks. “But she won't.”

“She doesn't seem the type to be easily controlled,” I whisper as the teacher passes out a chart listing the basic elements of a story.

“Tay doesn't have a choice. Neither does Matt.” He gives me a grim smile. “I'm in charge.”

“In charge? What are you? Some sort of weird Halloween pack?”

Laughter sits along the lines of his face even though it doesn't erupt. His fingers trail down one of my waves of hair. He catches it to rub between his thumb and finger.

“Like silk, warm, the color of rich earth with the smell of lilacs,” he whispers so that only I can hear. I hang on his words like they are a caress. Like a spell, they distract me from my question. I open my mouth to say something—not sure what, but something.

“I swear, Jule, I won't let anyone hurt you.” He lets my hair go and turns forward so that his last words are barely audible at all. “Not even me.”

* * *

“So, what are you two?” Carly asks at our table in the cafeteria. “Lindsey said he was fondling your hair in English and that you two were whispering.”

“God, Carly, I don't know.” I run down the events of the morning.

“No shit,” Carly says and shakes her head.

“Do you know when Matt's birthday is? Because I'm pretty sure Taylin and Luke both have Halloween birthdays.”

Carly stares, open-mouthed. I can see bits of chewed-up pizza in there.
Eeww!
She swallows. “October thirty-first.” She lowers her voice. “What do you think that means? They all have the same birthday.”

“I don't know, but it's frickin' weird. And they act so protective around Luke, even though I don't think Luke needs any protecting.”

“From the notes, it sounds like they think they need to protect him from hurting you.” She sips her soda, eyebrows raised.

“But why would he hurt me? I think…well, he seems to like me. Sometimes, anyway.”

“His bad temper?”

“The boy leaves me lasagna and feeds my dog.”

“He breaks into your house when you're all alone and has befriended your only protector.”

“Mica? Some protector. He could just lock her in a closet.”

Carly shrugs. “I don't know. Granted, the boy is hot with those biceps and his rough cover-model perfection, but if he's dangerous, you should stay away from him. Call the cops the next time he breaks in.”

“God, Carly, you flip opinions so fast I can't keep up. If I call the cops, he'll think I'm as paranoid as my mom. And I can just see the faces of the police when I tell them he broke in and left me dinner.”

She shrugs and chews. She tips her head meaningfully toward the double doors.

Luke walks into the cafeteria. Taylin follows him silently, tray in hand. She doesn't even glance in my direction. His gaze dances across me and he smiles softly, almost intimately as he walks toward the jocks sitting with Matt against the far side of the room. Matt makes room for them, and amazingly it seems the jocks have no qualms about letting them sit at their table.

“Hey, Madison is flapping her hand at us. She must have Derek's cake,” Carly says and stands. “Let's go.”

I head over with Carly to Madison where she lights a large number one and seven on top of a cake with the drama masks iced on top. “Think the candles will make the alarm go off?” I wonder out loud.

“We'll be quick about it,” Madison whispers with a giggle. “He's over there.” She picks the cake up and the three of us march across the cafeteria to where Derek sits with a few other people from drama. Apparently they are in on it, too, because as soon as they see us, one girl starts singing the Happy Birthday song.

I join in, singing softly, but my voice still carries. All eyes turn toward me, but it feels too good to stop. The magic bubbles out on my breath, a sweet ribbon of sound. It's just a short, simple song. Not enough to entrance anyone, I think.

A roar fills the cafeteria and interrupts the song. I turn, my words splintered by the ferocity in that sound. Luke stares straight into my eyes as he breathes hard. His hands are solid fists at his sides, as if he's fighting back some mutant force that threatens to change him into the Incredible Hulk right before my eyes. His face pinches taut, fierce. His black eyes reflect an unnatural sheen and narrow with what looks like demonic fury.

“Luke?” I whisper.

He charges.

7

“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”
~James Stephens

Matt tackles Luke from behind, his thick, football-player arms encircling Luke's hips. Black, swirling tattoos, half-hidden by the sleeves of Luke's shirt, entwine his arms.

“Stop!” Taylin yells. She jumps on the table and throws her arms wide as if casting some sort of spell. She's also staring at me, so I assume I'm the one who should stop, even though I already have. Maybe she means Luke. I'm frozen in horror. As if on cue, the rest of the small group around Derek continues the end of the birthday song, their weak voices jumbled together.

“Shit!” someone yells, and the group spins to witness Luke lifting Matt over his head like some professional wrestler about to end his opponent's career by breaking his spine. Shrieks blend into yells as the rest of the football team wake up and race toward their cursing captain.