Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,32
hated that she had that effect on me.
“Thought so. Meet me outside the Quad at lunch, and don’t be late,” she ordered and then stalked off down the hall toward Carly who was deep in conversation with a small group of cheerleaders—or Ice Girls as they preferred to be called.
With my heart wedged somewhere between my throat and chest, I took my time getting the rest of my stuff out of my locker in the hope that Trace would make an appearance and we could hopefully squash some of the uncomfortableness before class, but he never ended up showing up at his locker.
Either he was avoiding me completely, or he’d already made his way to class without me.
I’d barely managed to simmer my heart down by the time I made it to homeroom only to have it sink to the floor when I realized Trace wasn’t in class either. Was he so upset with me that he decided to skip homeroom altogether? Damn. If I felt bad before, I was feeling like an utter piece of dog shit now. And could I really blame the guy?
All I’d done for the last few weeks was push and pull him like he was the rope in some demented tug of war game. What did I expect him to feel? It was a miracle that he’d put up with it for as long as he had.
But still, I hadn’t meant to hurt him.
I hadn’t meant to play hot and cold with him.
I was trying to do what was right for him—to stay close and keep an eye on him—all while fighting my very present and complicated feelings for him. Feelings I couldn’t admit to no matter how bad I wanted to scream out that I still loved him. I knew I couldn’t make the slightest move on that front until I was absolutely sure he would be safe.
But what if that never happened? What if I never got that guarantee?
What then?
My unfinished business with Trace lingered over me for most of the day. It was only when I’d spotted him after recess chatting privately with Caleb that the sinking feeling in my stomach finally let up. At least he hadn’t blown off the whole day—just his class with me. Again, that was something.
Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived when I noticed how tense the conversation between Caleb and Trace appeared to be. I couldn’t glean anything from where I was standing, but their hushed voices and creased foreheads spoke volumes. Whatever they were talking about, it was serious, and I had every intention of getting the full scoop.
As soon as they were done, I watched them fist bump and then waited patiently for Trace to turn the corner before closing in on Caleb at the water fountain.
“What’s up, Blackburn?” he greeted me and then leaned down to take a drink as I stood in front of him with my arms folded rigidly across my chest.
“What was that about?” I asked, skipping the niceties.
He finished slurping up his drink of water and then straightened. “What was what about?”
“That,” I said, pointing to where he’d been standing with Trace just a moment ago. “What were you guys talking about? It looked serious.”
“Oh, that,” he said as he ran his hand through his copper hair and then tugged at the ends, tussling it. “It was nothing.”
“Nothing?” I glared at him as my inner panic mounted. “You’re lying to me. Why are you lying to me?”
Caleb’s face sobered. “Can we talk about this later, Blackburn. This isn’t the place or the time.”
Like hell it wasn’t. Grabbing him by his letterman jacket, I hauled him to the supply closet and then shoved him inside, closing the door behind myself.
“This better?” I asked, making a dramatic gesture around the very cramped (but private) quarters. I didn’t bother waiting for a response when I said, “Start talking.”
He shot me an irritated look and then slumped back against a spare desk. “He asked me to work a spell for him.”
“A spell?” I croaked out as every drop of moisture left my mouth. “What kind of spell?”
“The kind that might help you remember something.”
My eyes widened. “Remember what?”
“Everything,” he said with a shrug. “He wants me to do a Memory Revival spell to help bring his memories back.”
“Oh, my god!” I said, dropping my head into my hands as I folded over. This was so much freaking worse than I thought. Also, there wasn’t enough proper air in this puny closet.