going to tell her I was here?” he asked as he grabbed my weapon and pushed it away.
I bit my lip. “Well …no,” I had to admit.
“Guess I’m safe then,” he said dryly.
“Whatever,” I said, roll ing my eyes. “Look—why are you here, anyway? And why did you follow me earlier today?
And what did you and my mom talk about this morning?
She wouldn’t tell me, and it’s been bugging me all day.” The questions came pouring out like water from a dam that had just been released. I had plenty more to fire at him too, but just then the scream of a distant siren reminded me of one question that took priority over all the others: “Wait… you’re here? And you’re okay!”
“What?”
“Your car— that wreck— I thought…”
“Oh, that,” he said with a look of sudden understanding.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He frowned, and was quiet for a long time.
“Well ?” I final y pressured.
He let out an aggravated sigh. “It’s not real y important but… remember how I told you to stay away from Sera?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah but…what does Sera have to do with any of this?”
“Well …” he looked at me expectantly.
I stared at him blankly for a moment, somewhat annoyed that he couldn’t just answer me—but then a sudden realization hit me.
“Wait—what?” Are you saying the wreck was somehow her fault?”
“Oh wow—you’re not as dumb as I thought.”
It took ever once of personal restraint I had to ignore the jab. “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said impatiently. “My mom and me were at the road like a minute after it happened—and there was no you when we got there, and definitely no Sera.”
“Right.” He didn’t elaborate.
I could feel my temper flaring. “Right? Is that all you’re going to say? I mean, don’t beat around the bush or anything—it’s not like I need sleep.”
“There are more important things than sleep at the moment,” he said.
“For you, maybe—but I feel like crap, so sleep is kind of high on my priority list right now. So how about you just tell me what happened to Sera and then go away?”
“Why do you care what happened to her?”
I was surprised by the question. “…I just want to know if she’s okay,” I said.
“She’s fine,” he said shortly.
“Oh…wel , that’s good then,” I said in a carefull voice.
He said nothing to that, just folded his arms across his chest and gazed skyward, a thoughtful look on his face. “To be fair, I guess I kind of had it coming,” he said after a few moments of silence.
“What?”
“I did the same thing to her a few weeks ago,” he said, bringing his gaze back down to meet mine. “So I guess it’s kind of a running joke between us now—making each other wreck our cars.”
Surely he was kidding.
“That’s…probably the worst joke I’ve ever heard,” I said, my eyes widening slightly.
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug.
“Definitely.” This man was insane. Why was I still standing here talking to him? I should’ve ran inside and barricaded the door shut behind me. For some reason though, I couldn’t move. His gaze was fixed on me now, and it was haunting—I wanted to stare forever and look away at the same time. His eyes were supposed to be pale blue, I remembered, but in the moonlight they looked almost completely white. It was mesmerizing.
And I didn’t like it one bit.
Standing next to him I felt powerless. Something told me I was going to have to listen to what he had to say whether I liked it or not, and that if I ran away from him now I would regret it forever. So I didn’t move. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to forget about his morbid attempt at humor.
“We’re getting off track,” I said.
“Yeah…” He looked distracted all of a sudden. “We should probably wait for Vanessa though, before we say anything else.”
He was real y testing my patience. “Fine. Okay. When is Vanessa getting—” My
I bit my lip. “Well …no,” I had to admit.
“Guess I’m safe then,” he said dryly.
“Whatever,” I said, roll ing my eyes. “Look—why are you here, anyway? And why did you follow me earlier today?
And what did you and my mom talk about this morning?
She wouldn’t tell me, and it’s been bugging me all day.” The questions came pouring out like water from a dam that had just been released. I had plenty more to fire at him too, but just then the scream of a distant siren reminded me of one question that took priority over all the others: “Wait… you’re here? And you’re okay!”
“What?”
“Your car— that wreck— I thought…”
“Oh, that,” he said with a look of sudden understanding.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He frowned, and was quiet for a long time.
“Well ?” I final y pressured.
He let out an aggravated sigh. “It’s not real y important but… remember how I told you to stay away from Sera?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah but…what does Sera have to do with any of this?”
“Well …” he looked at me expectantly.
I stared at him blankly for a moment, somewhat annoyed that he couldn’t just answer me—but then a sudden realization hit me.
“Wait—what?” Are you saying the wreck was somehow her fault?”
“Oh wow—you’re not as dumb as I thought.”
It took ever once of personal restraint I had to ignore the jab. “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said impatiently. “My mom and me were at the road like a minute after it happened—and there was no you when we got there, and definitely no Sera.”
“Right.” He didn’t elaborate.
I could feel my temper flaring. “Right? Is that all you’re going to say? I mean, don’t beat around the bush or anything—it’s not like I need sleep.”
“There are more important things than sleep at the moment,” he said.
“For you, maybe—but I feel like crap, so sleep is kind of high on my priority list right now. So how about you just tell me what happened to Sera and then go away?”
“Why do you care what happened to her?”
I was surprised by the question. “…I just want to know if she’s okay,” I said.
“She’s fine,” he said shortly.
“Oh…wel , that’s good then,” I said in a carefull voice.
He said nothing to that, just folded his arms across his chest and gazed skyward, a thoughtful look on his face. “To be fair, I guess I kind of had it coming,” he said after a few moments of silence.
“What?”
“I did the same thing to her a few weeks ago,” he said, bringing his gaze back down to meet mine. “So I guess it’s kind of a running joke between us now—making each other wreck our cars.”
Surely he was kidding.
“That’s…probably the worst joke I’ve ever heard,” I said, my eyes widening slightly.
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug.
“Definitely.” This man was insane. Why was I still standing here talking to him? I should’ve ran inside and barricaded the door shut behind me. For some reason though, I couldn’t move. His gaze was fixed on me now, and it was haunting—I wanted to stare forever and look away at the same time. His eyes were supposed to be pale blue, I remembered, but in the moonlight they looked almost completely white. It was mesmerizing.
And I didn’t like it one bit.
Standing next to him I felt powerless. Something told me I was going to have to listen to what he had to say whether I liked it or not, and that if I ran away from him now I would regret it forever. So I didn’t move. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to forget about his morbid attempt at humor.
“We’re getting off track,” I said.
“Yeah…” He looked distracted all of a sudden. “We should probably wait for Vanessa though, before we say anything else.”
He was real y testing my patience. “Fine. Okay. When is Vanessa getting—” My
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