Betrayal - By Lee Nichols Page 0,33
me seriously.”
“I don’t think he takes anything seriously.”
We stood as Coach came in, and my helmet, which I’d propped on my head like sunglasses, slipped and clattered to the wooden floor.
The ghost jocks snorted, and one said, And they say she can kill wraiths.
Sure, if she trips and falls on them, the other said. Then they laughed hysterically. It was like having my own personal booing team.
“You have to admit he’s cute, though,” Natalie said, handing me back my helmet. “Think one of his parents is Asian?”
“I don’t know. Didn’t you ask?” It wasn’t like Natalie was shy.
“He doesn’t talk about his parents much,” she mused, a dreamy look in her eyes. “It’s hard to believe that gorgeous face could be the product of two boring white people.”
He was undeniably hot, even if I was in love with someone else. But Natalie’s dazed look said something more. “You like him, don’t you?”
“What?” she said. “With Harry gone, there’s no one worth flirting with, that’s all.”
“Fine.” Who was I to deny Natalie a little innocent flirtation? God knows what kind of trouble she’d get into without it.
After lunch, I found a quiet corner in the library and tried to sense Coby and Edmund. I didn’t immediately feel either of them, and didn’t push it. After yelling at Lukas for bossing ghosts around, it seemed hypocritical to summon them. Instead I researched my World Civ paper.
The rest of the day went okay—still a little chilly, socially, but Harry was gone and I managed to avoid Sara. Lukas was too busy flirting with a senior girl to join us at the gate, so Natalie and I walked home together.
We talked about nothing in particular until I suddenly blurted, “Max contacted me.”
She frowned. “How?”
“By ghost,” I said. “He compelled some girl to memorize a message and sent her to me.”
“I’ve never heard of that.”
“Me either. Wonder if Simon has. Anyway, she …” I started to explain more about the ghost girl, but a familiar humming noise suddenly filled my brain.
“She what?” Natalie asked.
“What?” I tried to clear my head. “I don’t know. I forgot what I was going to say.”
“Is Max all right?”
“He’s okay, I guess. I got the sense he wasn’t in Nepal or Tibet—wherever he’s supposed to be. He said he didn’t have anything to do with the ghostkeeper killings, thank you, Captain Obvious. And then there was some stuff about defeating Neos.” I bit my lip. “Do you think that’s what he’s been doing all along—looking for Neos? Did he know before we did that Neos was responsible? Why wouldn’t he tell the Knell?”
Natalie shrugged. “Your parents aren’t really fans.”
“Mmm. Do you think I should tell Simon?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know. What if Max has a legitimate reason for keeping this stuff from the Knell?” I’d tell Bennett, even though he’d probably spill it to the Knell, but he wasn’t here.
Natalie fiddled with her hair, looking like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to say something.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. I—I heard from Bennett. He texted me to make sure we’re okay. I guess he heard about the ghasts.”
I stopped on the sidewalk. “Where is he?”
“He didn’t say.”
Why had he texted her and not me? It made me sick to my stomach. It was okay when I thought he was ignoring both of us, but now it felt like his friendship with Natalie was more important that whatever was going on between him and me.
“Did he mention me?” I felt pathetic asking, but had to know.
“He wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“Then why didn’t he text me?” I kicked a pile of fallen maple leaves. “Guys are so confusing. All girls want is to know where we stand. He and I have this perfect night in New York, and the next morning he’s barely speaking to me. Now he can’t even bother to text me? Guys are supposed to be the straightforward communicators, but they’re not. They have no idea how they feel, what they should say or not say. They suck. And it’s not just that they suck, they—”
“Emma!”
I realized she’d said my name three times. “What?”
“Bennett loves you. You know that. You just have to wait until we dispel Neos. Then you can ride off into the sunset together or whatever.”
I grunted. “I guess. But guys still suck.”
“Don’t talk that way,” Lukas said, stepping beside me. “You’re hurting my feelings.”
“You’re an idiot,” Natalie told him.
“Are you saying that just because I’m a guy?” Lukas asked.
Natalie shrugged, as if to say, what