Walking in the Shadows (9 page)

“Isn’t the newest movie
based on the third book?” I asked
,
feeling nauseous. I couldn’t understand what this had to do with why my parents were dead.

“Oh, well
,
Evan’s mate Faye is the only one of the Cabe coven left
,
but the Grays think they are safe so they start living a nor
mal life among humans again.  Faye can’t understand why her sister betrayed t
hem and she’s still after Naria,” t
he girl answered,
her eyes wide with anticipation.

“All this over
Naria? They can’t marry from
people from
other covens?
”
Kirsten
asked
,
re
turning with an armful of clothes
.

“Well, the good vamps
don’t usually mate with
the
bad
vamps
because their history is so different
…the last novel was the best. It showed all the history of th
e vampires that are good
,
versus the ones that are bad
. The other covens understand the living among humans, but they don’t understand the treating them as equals. It’s a constant war between the covens that are bad and the ones that ar
e good and the humans,” s
he replied
,
and she jumped up and down as she looked in the case of jewelry
.
“Oh, is that a
C
oach bracelet?”

I took the key from my pocket and unl
ocked the case
,
handing
the bracelet
to the girl
.
“Genuine.”

“No way
!” s
he
yelped
as she
clipped it on her wrist and then
looked at the price tag
.
“No way
!”

“Genuine
Coach
, yes that’s the price,
”
Kirsten
replied
,
turning from her rack of clothes.

“Serious
ly? That is totally amazing
!
I’
ll so
oo
take this! Do you have any more Coach tr
easures hidden in your shop? I’
m a Coach fa-nat-ic!”

“
I’
ll l
ead her to the purses and shoes,
”
Kirsten
said
,
nodding over her shoulder as she headed into the right side of the store.

My thoughts drifted away from the reason behind the murders
and
to what had happened to my parents.
I didn’
t understand how my parents had been unknowingly given the drugs that subdued them. Had it been a waitre
ss? Or was it someone they knew?
I struggled to recall the events
,
biting at my nails in anxiety.

“Whoa
,
there
,
K
iller.
If t
hose weren’t
fake you would have no nails!”
Kirsten
remarked
,
breaking into my thoughts as she walked back with the Coach-ee.

“Goo
d thing th
e
n
,
right?”
I replied,
my
stomach tensed and twisted
with nerves.

“I’
m so happy right now!”
t
he girl announced
.
She cocked her head
at me as she placed down her stash of Coach products
.
“Do I know y
ou?”

“I’
m a transfer—remember
,
I already said I go to Amherst
?
”
I said
,
wondering if the bleach vat had made her as stupid as she looked.

“I don’t
go to Amherst. I live in Cambridge
.
”
S
he scrunched her nose.

“I g
o to the Coffee Book Nook
there
,
” I
mentioned
as I rang
her items up.

“I work there!” s
he replied
.
“
Oh, you have th
at super hot college boyfriend with the killer eyes and those muscles!”

“Would you like to be added to our mailing list?”
Kirsten cut in to change the subject
,
and t
he g
irl cooed yes as I
han
ded her change back to her
.

Kirsten
slipped into the back r
oom and
returned with a prese
nt just as the girl w
as leaving
.
“
Happy Birthday!”
she said.

“Seriously,
Kirsten
you didn’
t have to,
” I
mumbled
,
suddenly aware of my lack of celebrating
.

“Who else do you have to buy you a gift? Everyone deserves a card and a present to unwrap on their birthday.”

“My birthday was a week ago
,
and I got a car!”
I replied
as I accepted the gift.

“Well, I couldn’t do it on your birthday because I knew
you would be expecting it. It’
s more of a surprise this way and
the car you bought fo
r yourself, so it doesn’t count,
”
s
he said
, and
her face
was
eager to see me open the gift.

“Very cute!” I
commented
looking at the card of a cat with a birthday hat on
.
It felt as though it had been forever since I had opened a present
,
and I had forgotten how
nice it felt.  Inside was a super soft
royal blue tunic sweater and ankle boots
.
“This is beautiful!”

She wrapped me in a hug
.
“Just like you
.
”
S
he
smiled
as she
held me at arm’s length
.
“Your parent
s would be very proud of you
—
I’
m sure of it.
Y
ou have turned out
to be
a matu
re, self-
sufficient
,
young lady determined to do well for yourself.”

“I
don’t know about that. I’
m so jumbled up about everything I can barely keep a straight head…especially around Tad and anyt
ime I think about my parents all I can see is death
,
”
I
sighed
,
and I
could feel t
he tears building in my eyes.
“What the hell is wrong with me?”

Kirsten
put
her arm around me and squeezed
.
“Nothing at all.
”

As I looked up I saw Tad standing just outside the door. His hands were in his
pockets and
his jaw
was
clenched.
When his eyes met mine he swallowed, looked away and continued walking.

“I don’t think I can believe you,”
I whispered back.

“
Vera
, come on
!
”
Kirsten
soothed
as I shrugged her arm off me.

I shook m
y head and grabbed my back pack,
saying,
“Thanks for the
present;
I’ll lock the door behind me on my way out.”

It seemed s
leep deprivation was b
ecoming my best friend
, for I was staying up until one in the morning staring at my lap top screen watching my
parents’
names blink in the Google search
bar. I was afraid to hit enter and more
afraid to see what would come up on the murders. It had been two years, two whole years since the day
I had been told my parents were dead
,
and I had the sinking feeling something bad was going to happen. It had been a little ov
er a year since the last
murder;
moreover
,
it had been a year since
I had ru
n as quick
ly
as legally possible from whom I had been. It had taken almost that long to become a legal adult, get the money
straightened out and get my
name changed. Who was Abigail? Who was
Vera
? I felt
as though I was neither person.
I felt like I wasn’t a person at all anymore.

“
Vera
,
why
do
you think that this was
the
last of
Shakespeare
’s works
I had the cl
ass read in this unit?” Tad asked
,
breaking into my thoughts
.

My head shot up and the words tumbled out before I thought
.
“I don’t know.”

“Y
ou have no idea at all?”
h
e pushed with his lips in a straight line.

“Can you repeat the question?”

His eyes were furious and the bell rang
,
savi
ng me. I shoved my books in
my messenger
bag
and stood to
rush out of the room
.
“
Vera
, a word please,
”
Tad ordered
.

Jaz
bit her lip and mouthed
.
“Good luck.”

Lily
laughed and flipped her hair
,
giving me th
e nastiest look I had ever seen—
as if to say ‘s
erves you right.’

“I really can’t be
late for my
next class,
” I replied
,
and rushed past Tad. I heard him throw the book he was holding across the room and cringed as I heard him swear. I had disrespected him as a teache
r and as a person.
I rushed not
to my next class
,
but out the front
door and
to my car. As I
looked up I saw him standing
at the door I had just exi
ted
with
his arms crossed in irritation and worry.
I slammed the car into reverse and didn’t look back.

I curs
ed myself for always having to be early as
I stood and stared into my locker
,
praying that some student would walk in the door before Tad realized I was already here.

“
Vera
?” Tad
asked
from behind me.

“Yes?”
I said not turning
,
but speaking into my locker.

“Would you please come into my classroom?
I need to speak to you,” h
e ordered with his voice soft
.

I followed him into his classroom
and glanced over my shoulder to make sure that no one was within ear shot, but before I could speak, Tad did.

“It’s like you don’t respect me anymore
,
and I know this sucks, but I don’t like it either.”

“No, that is not it,”
I replied my voice cracking
.
“I can’t sleep
anymore and
everything…everything
reminds me of what I’
ve lost. Between you and my parents
,
everything is gone. I know I
shouldn’t treat you like this
—
”
I trailed off
,
biting my lip as I stared at the wood grain of his desk.