Bo said, never taking his eyes off the stranger.
I looked back and forth between them, wondering what kind of silent battle was being waged and why no one else seemed to notice. When my gaze flicked back to Lars, I saw a cold grin drift across his lips right before he glanced at me and then turned his attention back to Trinity. In a way, I had the feeling that we'd somehow been marked, but marked for what I didn't know.
"Bo!"
Bo and I both turned to look toward the picnic tables, where Savannah sat with Devon. She was motioning us to come over.
I felt Bo's fingers brush the back of my head. I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He squatted down, twirling a lock of my hair around his finger, seemingly fascinated by it.
"I guess it's time we go make some plans for a double date, huh?"
Bo's lips were curved in a casual smile, but when his eyes met mine, I saw a hint of something worrisome in their depths, something he was trying to bury beneath his carefree expression.
I reached up to grab his hand where he fiddled with my hair. It was cool, where only a few short hours before I'd been able to feel intense heat.
"Tell me everything is going to be fine," I requested, knowing that it was impossible for him to guarantee such a thing, especially considering that he was dying.
"I'll make it as fine as I can," he replied.
"You're cold, Bo. Didn't you get...something to eat before school?"
"Yeah."
I wondered if worry or fear would burn through the blood he drank more quickly, like he said excitement would. I wanted to ask, but I didn't think I needed to. Something in his eyes told me that it did, and that he was much more concerned than he was willing to admit. He obviously didn't want me to know just how bad it was, so for his benefit, I stood to my feet and plastered a bright smile on my face.
"Then let's go make a date."
********
The weird parts of my day had apparently only just begun. Since I'd so publicly challenged Trinity, she hadn't really made as much of a stink as I'd suspected she would. The locker thing was a mild stunt, something that only brushed the surface of Trinity's deep and disturbing repertoire of vengeful schemes. Each day, especially when it came to cheerleading, I wondered when she'd make her move and how bad it was going to be.
Today, however, she threw me for a loop. She arrived at practice late, which wasn't unusual for Trinity, but she was all smiles, something that I hadn't seen much of since the incident.
I ignored her for the most part, the same as I'd done since I'd stood up to her. No sense waking up that sleeping dog any sooner than was absolutely necessary. The strange thing was that she responded to me cheerfully when I asked her to change position or straighten her arm or...well anything really. Her smile was wide and seemed genuine, but it was her eyes that concerned me. There was a gleam in them, a malevolent twinkle that made me extremely uncomfortable. It seemed as though she was laughing at me, like she'd made the final plans for her revenge and she was overflowing with the juiciness of it.
The thing I worried about most was whether or not her plotting, her ultimate revenge, now involved Lars.
Bo wasn't at my car when practice was over, which disappointed me more than I cared to admit. I scolded myself for wanting to spend every waking minute with him, for expecting him to feel the same way, but it had virtually no effect. I still felt deflated and depressed by the time I got home.
Those feelings were quickly forgotten, however, when I pulled into the driveway and parked behind Mom's car. I glanced at the dashboard clock. It was 5:45. Mom was never home before 10:00 unless Dad was there. Never. She always had some serious drinking to do after work and that took time.
The gloom of a dark, ominous cloud pressed down on my shoulders like a physical weight, making my feet feel like they were shod in concrete shoes. With each step, it seemed an effort to drag them forward, on toward the front