the hall filled with peering eyes. The water-stained ceiling felt safer, a place to find freedom.
“Scarlett?”
At the mention of my name, I found Cinnamon Bun staring at me, offering me the books and papers that had fallen. My hair had gone rogue and invaded my face, so I tucked each side behind an ear before retrieving my things, keeping them close to my heart.
He stuck his hands in his pockets, a cocky grin on his face. “That’s your name, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Ace. New here from Texas.”
Being the great social butterfly that I was, I gave him what hid in my arsenal—a simple nod. Haha. My social skills were hilarious.
He laughed and looked to the floor for a moment before his gaze found mine again. “We had class together this morning. The teacher called your name.” He held out a familiar piece of paper and I took it. “I already have yours.” Then he winked at me.
With that mysterious ending, he turned and left, the other students giving him a wide berth. Once Ace had gone, the crowd turned and stared at me. Violet included.
The paper had his phone number scribbled on it. I had to force the lump lodged in my throat down. “Did that just happen?”
“Yep.” Violet peeked around me to make sure he was really gone. “That’s the Cinnamon Bun. Mcafee is his last name. He arrived today. Rumor has it he’s bad news. Texas threw him out of the system because of behavioral problems. Family here took him in. Now he has a serious eye on you. He heard about your tragic cage and is certain he can release the ensnared beautiful ballerina.”
“How did he get my phone number?” I glanced at the paper again, with its untidy scrawl, almost tempted to let it fall to the floor. It felt hot in my hands.
“Beats me. I didn’t hear that much. Just that he’s been asking around. How did you not notice him in the class you have together? Brando looked like he wanted to eat you up. That guy looks like he just wants to lick you. Honestly, though, there is no comparison. Brando Fausti is a man. Cinnamon Bun is still in high school.”
I peeked down the hall, just to make sure he was gone. “I don’t even know which class we have together. I’ve been preoccupied.”
“Uh huh.” She rolled her eyes and twisted her lips to one side. “You live in an airless black balloon, Sandy. You act like you don’t know most people here, and you’ve met them more than a time or two.”
“I don’t act like anything, Violet. I just can’t…pay attention like I used to. I forget. A lot.” And it was the truth. I found that after Elliott’s accident, I blocked things out, especially people I didn’t have time or energy for. After a while, they melted into the grim fog, and seldom were they brought to the forefront of my thoughts again.
Her eyes softened. “I know.”
A tender moment passed between us before I cleared my throat. Earlier thoughts came rushing back to me, thoughts I had time and energy for. “Do you know where Brando lives?”
“No, but I can ask Mick. But before we go any further. Am I privy to this information? Or is this end of story?”
I ignored her sarcastic tone, my agenda pushing me on. “I need a ride.”
Suspicion pushed out any tenderness in her eyes. “I can do that.”
“All right. Let’s find Mick. Time is of the essence and I need to stop home first.”
“That won’t be a problem. Finding Mick, I mean. He’s right there—staring at you. Again.”
My head whipped around to find him staring, just like Violet had said, at me. I couldn’t understand the look on his face. His eyes were looking at me, but they were wide. Every so often his gaze would shift to the route Ace had taken on his way out. Something told me Mick Lewis was attempting to connect the pieces of a puzzle.
Intuition toward Brando Fausti reigned supreme, but I found that sometimes this peculiar sense extended to others. Not as it did to him though; it was as different as sweet grapes to tangy beets. No rule book had come with this peculiar sense that I had inherited, so there was no way for me to tell what was right or wrong—or if any of this was real, apart from the humming in my blood that sang to me when Brando was near, or screamed when he