“How are we supposed to know which?”
“We don’t. Not without Ethan here.”
“Maybe he was wrong. Maybe—” She shook her head. “Maybe this isn’t even the right night, or the right plan. This was just a big guess on Ethan’s part, right? And according to what just happened here, he’s already wrong about Ms. Carlson.”
“I don’t know.” I could still feel the tension and dread in the air, but it was possible it wasn’t anything beyond my own anxiety.
I remembered seeing the Upyri burn up before my eyes. The woman from the first night, who tried to slit my throat. And the man, he’d been in three shells: the old man, Mr. Watkinson, and the hulking biker dude. I hadn’t seen him since the day before yesterday.
I glanced down at the faint scratch on my arm, the reminder of what I’d done to save Ethan. And I still had the healing wound on my other arm from where the Upyr had cut me Monday night.
If Ms. Carlson wasn’t the queen then I didn’t know what to do next.
Bree seemed distracted by the mass of kids congregated on the dance floor only a dozen feet away. She eyed the multi-colored streamers and balloons with wariness as the music shifted to a slow song before her gaze returned to me. “You look like you’re about ready to freak out.”
“No, I’m fine. Everything’s great. Not complicated or confusing or scary at all.”
“You like Ethan despite everything, don’t you?”
I just looked at her bleakly.
“I get it, Liv. I’m not stupid. He’s different. He’s a mess, actually. And he must be conflicted as hell by what he’s been doing lately. But I honestly believe that he’s not one of the bad guys.”
I let out a long, shaky sigh. “Everything he’s done, he’s done to help me.”
I knew that. But it didn’t change what he really was.
“When all of this is over are you going to give him a chance?” she asked.
“A chance to do what?”
“You know what I mean. On the phone, you said he has the same memories. That he is the same. He is Ethan.”
I wanted to argue with her and say he wasn’t, but I couldn’t find my voice for a moment. “It’s complicated.”
Bree snorted and I looked at her sharply.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just that it’s always complicated, isn’t it? It’s never easy, no matter who it is. How perfect you think they are, how hot, there’s always something messing things up. An ex they’re not over, an annoying habit, a tendency to lie, or cheat, or whatever. Boys are hard to figure out whether they’re human or...something else.”
“Is this you trying to give me a pep talk?”
“Is it working?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I tried.”
I scanned the crowded gym, looking for him again. “Besides, he’s leaving. He said so himself. I mean, why would he want to stay? I’m sure he has other places he’d rather be. Like right now. He’d obviously prefer to be away from me.”
“You haven’t exactly been giving him the warm and fuzzies from what I’ve seen. Maybe he’s around, but just keeping a safe distance.”
“Great. That helps.” I continued scanning the dance floor until I stopped on a familiar face. One who was staring at me with confusion.
Peter.
I should have known I wouldn’t be able to avoid him tonight.
I looked at Bree. “Give me a moment, okay?”
“No way. I’m supposed to watch your back.”
I crossed my arms. “Well, watch my back; just give me a couple minutes with Peter. I need to talk to him.”
“He could be an Upyr sent by the queen to kidnap you.”
Somehow I doubted it. I would think that a sneaky Upyr who wanted to get close to me wouldn’t pick someone I desperately wanted to avoid.
“A couple of minutes,” I said firmly again.
She flicked her hand at me. “Fine. Go.”
I walked right up to Peter, brushing past a couple people on the way and just avoiding getting my foot stomped on. He watched my approach with disdain.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Now?” he asked flatly.
“No time like the present.”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away from the crowd and off into a corner of the gym. A few white balloons had lost their helium lift and had drifted to the floor. I kicked them with the toe of my shoe as we walked.
“Didn’t know you were still coming tonight,” he grumbled.
“I wanted to apologize. Really. I didn’t want it to be like this between us.”
“Yeah, whatever. Done now?”
“I’m done.” I didn’t know why I’d even bothered to talk to him. This relationship wasn’t ending with us staying friends, that much was pretty clear.
He brushed past me and I thought he was going to rejoin the rest of the group, but he stopped and turned to me again. “Ethan Cole? Seriously, Liv? You cheated on me with Ethan Cole?”
“I didn’t cheat on you.”
“Right.”
“I didn’t.” Nothing I said tonight had half a chance of getting through to him.
“Honestly, if you were going to cheat on me, you could have at least done it with somebody who didn’t make me look like a jackass. If you picked that loser over me, then how bad could I be?”
I glared at him. “He’s not a loser.”
“I saw the way you looked at him yesterday morning. Like you wanted him. Like he mattered to you. Like you’re in love with him.”
Had it really been written all over my face that much?
“Well?” he prompted after a moment. “Are you going to deny that too?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This conversation is over, Peter.”
He looked disappointed by my answer. “You’re right. It is.”
“All I wanted to say was I’m sorry, Peter. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
A muscle in his cheek twitched. “I’m already over it.”
He walked off.
Well, that went well.
My phone buzzed with another text message. I pulled it out of my purse and looked at it, knowing it would be another one from my mother. I was ready to press the delete button before I even read it. I was so frustrated with her, with myself, with everyone.
But I read it in an instant and a gasp caught in my throat.
I’ve left your father. For good this time.
Chapter 20
This wasn’t happening. Not now.
I had a funny feeling it was all my fault, especially with that scene in the foyer with my father before I left for the dance only an hour ago.
They must have fought. Maybe I’d put doubts in his mind. The same doubts I had.
I pushed through the swinging doors leading out of the gymnasium and scrolled through my received messages, jabbing at the one that just came in. Her cell number. I needed to talk to her. I had to do something about this.
I’d made this mess and now I had to fix it.
I prayed that my phone would last. The battery wasn’t holding its charge properly. The screen was cracked. The browser didn’t work. And a lot of calls lately cut out on me. But I hoped it would last long enough that I could talk some sense into her.
She picked up after the third ring.
“Mom,” I said, plugging my other ear with my index finger so I could hear better. The noise from the dance was muffled out in the hallway, but it was still louder than complete silence. “What’s going on?”
“You got my messages.”
“Yes, I’m at prom right now.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you leave. I’m sure you look beautiful.”
“Mom, talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you leaving?”
“I never meant to stay, Liv. Originally, I came back just to pick up a few things that I’d left behind last year. I knew it was over.”
/> “So you changed your mind and decided to stay. Things happen. Look, I know I’ve been a bitch the last couple of weeks and I’m sorry about that.”
“You are?”
I couldn’t say it again and really mean it, so I didn’t even try. “Tell me what happened.”
“Your father and I went out for dinner after you left. He was distracted, moody. He started grilling me about my real reasons for returning. He hadn’t done that before. And I just lost it. I yelled. I told him that if he doesn’t want me anymore, then there was no reason I should be around. I made a scene in front of everyone, Liv. I’m so embarrassed. But I told him that I was leaving and this time he’d never see me again.”
My heart pounded. “Where are you?”
“I’m walking. I just left the restaurant and started walking.”
“Are you close to the school?”
“I’m a block away from the school on my way to the bus station.”
“Come here. We’ll talk about this in person.”
“Liv—are you sure you really want to help me?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Come here right now.”
“Thank you. This means more to me than you know.”
“Okay, but you—” The phone cut out. The battery was officially dead. I swore under my breath and shoved it into my purse.
I didn’t want to deal with this right now, but there was no other choice. If she got on a bus and left, my father would always wonder why she was gone and if he could have done something different, better. I knew him. This would eat away at him, especially since she’d stormed off in front of everyone at the restaurant.
Nothing was easy.
I swept past the front table. The kids who’d been selling tickets were still loitering, but almost everyone had already shown up.
Two hundred choice teenage bodies for your average swarm of bodiless Upyri wraiths to choose from.
Nothing had happened yet. And Ms. Carlson didn’t show any real sign of being the queen. Maybe Bree was right and Ethan was wrong. Frank could have the date screwed up. Was he even including leap years into his calculations? Maybe it wasn’t tonight at all that we had to be so worried about.
Maybe my biggest problem tonight would be dealing with my mother’s tendency to run away when things got tough.
Helen’s revelation as a liar with control issues.
Peter’s hurt feelings.
Ethan’s echoes.
That was more than enough problems to deal with for one Saturday night.
I waited behind the glass doors until she came into view. Then I pushed through and walked toward her.
“Olivia, honey,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” A weary impatience worked its way under my skin. Her answer for everything seemed to be running away and hurting people. “Just—let’s go somewhere where we can talk.”
“I don’t want anyone here seeing me like this,” she said, touching her face. “Oh, God, I look so old compared to you. Look how young and beautiful you look tonight.”
“You’re not old.”
“Sure, I am. I’m surprised your father would even consider giving me another chance.”
“He loves you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“He does.”
She stroked my hair off my forehead and tucked it behind my ear. “Is that enough? Is love enough to make everything okay?”
“I think it can be if the love is strong enough.”
She pressed her hand against her chest. “The love is here, but it’s dampened by time and pain and bad memories. I’m not sure it’s enough to change anything.”
“Mom—”
“It would take a truly intense love to change what needs to happen right now. I know you don’t understand that, but it’s true. And a few pleasant memories scattered through the years aren’t enough to really make a difference to me.”
She was so incredibly frustrating and selfish. “So you’re really leaving. There’s nothing I can say to change your mind.”
“I’m leaving, but I’ll still be with you.”
I snorted. “Right, like in my heart? Like the memories of you? That’s so lame. I don’t need a Hallmark card right now, Mom. I need answers. What am I supposed to tell Dad?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Tell him that I always resented how much he worked at that stupid magazine and how little attention he paid to me. Tell him that he didn’t realize what he had until it was too late and my love for him had turned into something cold and unpleasant. It was his fault I cheated on him. If he’d been more attentive, maybe I wouldn’t have.”
I stared at her. “Don’t say that. That’s not true.”
“Sure it is.”
“Then what was this last couple of weeks? You looked happy with him. You made him think you were staying.”
“Staying with a neglectful and forgetful man and a selfish, self-involved daughter?” She laughed at my look of shock. “I’m only speaking the truth. That’s what you wanted, right? You don’t want any more lies.”
She didn’t look angry, she looked confident, like she believed every nasty word that came out of her mouth.
“I don’t understand why you’re saying these things to me,” I said. “Why now? Why here?”
“You’re the one who asked me to come here.”
We now stood in the parking lot and except for plenty of cars, no one else was around. No one...except a man standing about twenty feet away, leaning against a car lit by a nearby lamp.
I didn’t recognize him for a moment, but then I did. He looked different, very different. He had shaved. His hair was shorter. He was wearing a suit.
It was Frank. He nodded at me in greeting when I spotted him.
I immediately started walking toward him.
“Olivia,” my mother said sharply.
Ignoring her might help me deal with every poisonous word she’d just spoken. Maybe she was hurt by the fight with my father and had decided to lash out at me. It didn’t mean I had to stand there and listen to her for another second.
“Frank,” I said, now breathless. “You look different.”
“Better?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Way.”
“I had to get all dolled up if I was coming here tonight. They might not allow me within a mile of the school if I didn’t shave and shower.”
“You’re probably right.” I inhaled shakily. “Have you seen Ethan? He was looking for you.”
“I saw him.”
I looked back at the school. I could see the lights from the main entrance from where we stood. “The teacher, Ms. Carlson, I don’t think it’s her. I think he might have been wrong.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Good eye, kid. Ethan made a good guess, but it wasn’t a great one. The boy’s not perfect. But you know what?”
“What?”
“He really does care about you. More than he should.”
I grimaced. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“You don’t have to say anything. But you should probably get in the car.”
“Why? Are we going somewhere?”
He nodded. “Not exactly sure where, but I know it’s close to the school.”
“We can’t leave.” I glanced over my shoulder at my mother who stood waiting a dozen feet away. “I need to find Ethan. I have to—”
Frank opened up the trunk so when I turned back to him I had a clear view of what was inside. All the air left my lungs in a rush.
Ethan lay inside the trunk, unconscious.
My eyes shot to Frank. “What are you doing?”
“One hundred years is a long time to wait for a plan to come together, kid, a damn long time. I’ve been waiting for tonight and it’s finally here.”
I turned as if in slow motion. “Mom, you have to go! Get out of here now!”
I started to run, but Frank clamped his hand down on my shoulder to stop me.
My mother
drew closer to me.
“No, what are you doing? I said you have to go!”
She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere, honey.”
“But—”
And then the truth hit me like a two-by-four right in my face. She looked too calm, too at ease, given the situation. And when she looked at Frank, it wasn’t with confusion or outrage that this man had his mitts clamped on her daughter.
It was with approval.
The queen. My mother was the queen.
“Get in the car, honey,” she said firmly. “Don’t make a fuss.”
My entire body shook, and it wasn’t the least bit cold out. It was warm, the perfect temperature. The sky was clear, dotted with stars. The full moon shone brightly down on the parking lot.
I looked at Ethan’s body lying in the trunk.
“He’s not dead,” my mother assured me. “But he will be if you don’t do exactly what we say.”
I stared at her with complete and utter shock. “How...I don’t understand how...?”
“A century ago we were locked away and couldn’t escape for so, so long.” Her expression held great pain. “Couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—barely, anyway. Just waiting, testing, and hoping that it would get better. That I could free myself. And I did. A few weeks ago I was able to summon the strength it took to tear myself out of that prison. A few others managed to escape behind me, but not many. The rest are still trapped until tonight. I finally have the power to free them and it’s now time for the Upyri to rise again, stronger than ever before.”
I shook my head. My heart felt like a lead weight in my chest. “But...my mother...”
Her lips curved. “You should know she didn’t feel guilt about leaving you—none at all. She did know she was a coward in the face of her responsibilities, but it wasn’t enough to make her change her mind. She’d broken up with her boyfriend a month ago, but she still loved her freedom. Freedom requires money. She came back to get some of the jewelry she’d left behind. As she was leaving in a hurry so she wouldn’t get caught she tripped and fell down the stairs. The broken neck was quick and painless.”
“She fell. She—she’s dead. And you stole her body.” My words were barely audible.
“I was keeping a close watch on you in my wraith form, wondering how to proceed while I waited for tonight. I was weakened. The power I required needed time to build. Opportunity presented itself in the form of your mother, but I did wait an hour to be sure her spirit had left completely. I didn’t want any additional complications.” Her lips curved. “You’re not a very forgiving person, Olivia. You hold tight to your pain and use it as a weapon against those who’ve hurt you. You didn’t trust her—trust me. I wonder if you ever would have. Since I’ve had the time, I’d begun to look at it as an interesting challenge.”