The Lost Girl (6 page)

As to how many people would be attending, my question was quickly answered as I glanced at the massive crowd huddling outside the front doors, waiting for a chance to get in. The place looked packed!

Our record label’s experienced driver cannily bypassed the crowds in our SUV and parked at the back of the building, and we hurried inside, Jarvis and Johnson by our sides, plus a few extra security guards from the bookstore helping as an added precaution. We were led to a room with restricted access on the third floor, where offices were located.

“Sorry about the mess outside; word got out that Miss Worthington and Miss Sunford were coming to the event,
and the volume of people doubled,” a flustered middle-aged man explained as we stepped out of the elevator.

He signaled for us to follow him inside the private room, where we found Tiffany and Jackie already waiting for us. Tiffany was becoming a major celebrity in the city, and Jackie’s fame had risen considerably after she had started dating Harry.

“Hey, you came!” Harry greeted her happily, giving her a quick kiss.

“I thought I should drop by and support my man.” Jackie smiled. She was wearing black shorts, heeled boots and a sparkly purple top which complemented her vibrant pink lipstick. Her black hair was in her usual asymmetrical cut with a long side-bang sweeping over her eyes. She wrapped one arm around Harry’s waist and with the other waved a greeting to everybody else in the room. I forced a smile in her direction.

Despite the building being impressively big, the crowd today was still almost overwhelming. The security crew and event coordinators had a lot to organize before we could head downstairs to the signing room. As usual I tried to avoid being around Harry, because of Jackie. I could feel her distrustful glares at me while we waited.

And all the while I couldn’t shake a weird feeling I was having. Maybe it was the tension of having to deal with Jackie that was making me nervous, but something deep inside told me that, actually, it had nothing to do with her. I kept glancing around all the time, searching for something, although I didn’t even know what I was looking for. I just had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, telling me to be alert, warning me that something bad was about to happen.

“Are you all right?” Tristan asked, noticing my tense demeanor.

I shook my head, dismissing how irrational I was being. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

He didn’t have the chance to press the matter because the store’s supervisor announced they were ready for us downstairs.

“Wow!” Sammy exclaimed when we walked into the signing room.

A million camera flashes exploded in our direction; paparazzi, reporters and fans fought each other for a better spot to take their pictures. The room was completely overloaded; even the air felt stuffy and suffocating because the air conditioner couldn’t handle the extra heat generated by so many people in the room. Several tables had been placed side by side in a long row, for us to sit at, and a security line was secured a few feet in front, blocking any advance of fans towards us. And as usual, Jarvis and Johnson were at our backs to ensure our safety.

I sat down at a table between Tristan and Josh, looking around. There was a square glass table behind us, presumably where we could put any gifts we were handed, and a display of our albums had also been arranged. I smiled and turned my attention back to the crowd, preparing myself to meet the fans. From the looks of the throng, this was going to be a long day.

Five hours had passed and I was beginning to get tired, but I tried to cover it up as best I could. All those people had waited in line for such a long time, just for a chance to see us, even if it was for a brief moment. There were also a
lot of fans who pleaded to meet Tiffany or Jackie too, and obligingly they stepped forward to give a handshake and a quick hello.

The girl now in front of me was talking at the fastest tempo possible. I mentally nicknamed her “Flash Girl”.

“… and ohmygosh, you look sooo much prettier in person, I can’t believe I’m, like, actually talking to you!”

I glanced fleetingly to my right to see Tristan talking to another fan, who giggled and blushed all over. I could see he was beginning to become weary as well. Big crowds like this drained Tristan the most out of all of us.

I smiled and gave Flash Girl my autograph and she stepped out of the line while I prepared to talk with the next fan. A tall teenage boy stepped in front of me and handed me a poster to sign. He was wearing a long, heavy jacket and one hand was stuffed inside the pocket.

“I waited a long time to see you today,” he murmured.

“Yeah, I know! Thanks for coming. It’s crazy in here today, huh?” I said, scribbling quickly on the poster.

“I’m glad I got to meet you. I have something important to talk to you about.” I glanced up for the first time to have a look at the boy. He was very burly, with big strong arms and a taut, nervous face. The thing that drew most of my attention, though, was his eyes. I tensed up, reacting to them immediately.

Today was one of those days when I was really grateful for having my special ability. I’d had this skill since I was really young, but I hadn’t known then that I was one of a very few people in the world who could do it. At least, so far I hadn’t met any other person that was like me. Just by looking in someone’s eyes I could tell what a person is feeling; I could tell if they were nervous, sad or happy.
I couldn’t see exactly what they were “thinking”. I could guess many things, though. It’s called “empathy-sight”, as Miss Violet, my senior occult teacher, had explained to me. It could be real handy sometimes, but a real pain at other times. People needed to have their private feelings, and I couldn’t control my powers, couldn’t turn them off. When you are in a relationship, finding out what your significant other is feeling
all the time
can become a problem.

But today I was glad that I could read these things in other people, because otherwise I would have been completely unaware of what was going on inside this boy’s head. What I saw when I looked directly into his eyes scared the hell out of me.

Madness.

It was the best word to describe it.

“You should quit the band,
Joe
,” the boy said, his tone becoming urgent.

A jumble of confused emotions swirled around inside his mind in a chaotic blur. It made me slightly dizzy; the intensity of his feelings was too much; the agitation in his mind warned me that he was a second away from snapping.

I was so immersed in trying to decipher his scrambling thoughts that I wasn’t thinking straight. I should have said something, but nothing came out of my mouth. The eerie feeling I’d been having rushed back to my mind.

Something bad is going to happen today …

The boy snaked his hand out and grabbed my wrist, his eyes manic. “You have to stay away from these guys.
All of them.
They are no good for you!”

No one was paying attention to what was happening. I glanced over to Jarvis and Johnson but they weren’t looking my way.

The boy tightened his grip on my wrist. “I am serious,
Joe
!” He seemed angry at my silence. His emotions crashed around in his head, making mine hurt. He thought I was mocking him.

“Don’t you believe me?” he growled, tugging at my arm and making me lurch into the table. My sudden fear at last made me snap out of my daze and react normally to the situation.

“Stop it! Let go of me!” I shouted, standing up and pushing him away.

“No! You
have
to believe me!” he shouted back, and tried to pull my arm again, but I twisted it, making him lose his grip.

Thanks, martial arts training
, I thought to myself.

He leaned over the table, desperate to have a hold of me again, but he only managed to grab my necklace; he pulled it with a sharp tug. The necklace gave way and snapped; black beads scattered everywhere and I stumbled back as I escaped his hold on me.

Everything happened so fast then. In a second Tristan was leaping over the table and tackling the lunatic boy. Josh tried to catch me as I fell backwards, but we both ended up losing our balance and crashing through the glass table behind us. The sound of breaking glass was so loud that the entire room burst into a panicked commotion, as frightened cries and confused shouts exploded everywhere.

I lay crumpled on the floor with Josh, shards of glass all around us. My mind was still a chaotic mess, reeling from my foray into that lunatic boy’s mind. The room was in turmoil. The security line was broken and everybody was running over to us.

Where were Jarvis and Johnson?

Josh had glass all over him, too, his eyes wide and scared as he gazed at the uproar around us. I felt something warm and wet trickling down my face and I tried to stand up, but the crowd was so huge that we kept being pushed back to the floor. Josh wrapped his arms around me, trying to protect me, but when he saw his hand he stopped and stared at it with a puzzled expression, his eyes flashing with fear at what he saw. I glanced down; it was bathed in crimson red. There was blood all over him. That’s when I put two and two together.

My blood
.

The crowd’s fear slipped through me, making me feel even more helpless. I looked at Josh, fear and panic engulfing me. I couldn’t think straight; I couldn’t move!

Josh decided it was time to take action and scooped me up in his arms and carried me quickly to the elevator, pushing through the crowd like he was freaking Moses parting the waves. I tried to catch a glimpse of Tristan or any of the boys, but they were lost in the chaos. In a flash Big Johnson and Jarvis were at our side, helping to open the way. Well, better late than never, I supposed … Where the hell were they when that lunatic boy was going for my neck?

Jarvis used his usual threatening stare that caused people to get out of his way pretty fast, while Big Johnson shouted for people to move. Then we were inside the elevator and the doors were closing, leaving us huddling inside in shock.

I risked a glance at Big Johnson; his eyes were fixed on the doors, like he was expecting them to open at any moment to reveal a horde of invading monsters. His jaw was clenched tight and his forehead beaded with sweat. He noticed me staring and flicked his eyes to me for a moment. Guilt poured out of him like punch.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Gray!” he blurted out. “I didn’t notice what that guy was doing until it was too late. I should have been more attentive. It won’t ever happen again, Miss Gray, you have my word.”

“That’s okay, Big J,” I said, my voice trembling a little.

Jarvis was looking intensely at his cousin and me, his eyes also full of guilt.

The elevator pinged loudly into the eerie silence that followed, and the doors opened at the third floor. Josh darted out, still carrying me, and checked the empty hallway.

Holding the doors open with his bulk, Big Johnson boomed over his shoulder at his cousin: “Jarvis, you go back downstairs, check if everything is all right, find the others.” He issued his instructions in a hard, clipped tone; he was Chief of Security after all. “I’ll be here with Gray. Keep me posted on events.”

Although a part of me was really grateful that Big Johnson was going to stay with me, a bigger part was worried about Tristan and the boys still in the mess downstairs. They’d be needing all the help they could get. And the last time I had seen Tristan he was launching himself at that crazy boy. What if something happened to him?

“Johnson! Please … go with Jarvis, too. Help the boys, please. I’ll be fine.”

Josh turned and we both watched the two guards standing by the elevator doors, waiting to see what they’d do.

Big Johnson stepped out and signaled for Jarvis to follow his orders. “I won’t leave her side,” he said decisively. “Go now. Bring them all back here,” he ordered, with finality in his voice.

I hunched down in Josh’s arms, too shaken to argue any more. Big Johnson must know what he was doing.

Josh carried me inside the private room we’d used earlier, towards a big couch in one corner. As soon as he sat down, he lifted me gently onto the couch and started checking me to find out where the blood was coming from.

“Where does it hurt?” he asked urgently.

Big Johnson was surveying the room, barking orders into his radio and positioning himself close to the door to block anyone who tried to enter without his permission. I shook my head while Josh tended to me. I let out a deep breath which I didn’t realize until now that I’d been holding in. “My head stings a bit.”

“It looks like a superficial cut, but we might need to take you to a hospital, just to be sure it’s nothing serious,” Josh said, probing lightly at my head. Then he took off his shirt and wrapped it into a bundle. “Press this on your head to stop the bleeding. Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine,” he said calmly, trying to reassure me.

He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, causing me to lean my head on his big chest. His skin felt so warm, and the beat of his heart made me feel a lot calmer. My insides still churned in nervousness, though. I was so worried for Tristan, the boys and Tiffany; they were still down there in that pandemonium. I hoped they were okay.

The door burst open and I jumped, startled, my heart pounding in my chest in fright. Big Johnson was already blocking the path of whoever had barged in, but as swiftly as he had stepped forward, he moved away even faster to let a stricken-faced Tristan pass by. His intense gray gaze swept the room until he spotted the couch, and his eyes widened in fear when he saw me. Until now, he hadn’t seen all the blood. He ran to me and knelt in front of the couch. “Joe! Are you all right?” he asked, his voice deep with concern.

“I’m all right, Tris. Is everybody else okay?”

I looked behind him and saw Seth and Tiffany coming into the room, Harry and Jackie right behind them and a wide-eyed Sammy at their heels. I couldn’t see any sign of Jamie; come to think of it, I hadn’t noticed him in the signing room, either. But maybe he was still downstairs, trying to capture footage of the affray, as legal evidence rather than for souvenir purposes, I’d imagine. I hoped he was all right.