Whispered Darkness by Jessica Sorensen Page 0,5

further explanation. I just swing around him and walk toward the other side of the fire.

I can feel his eyes on me.

I can feel all their eyes on me.

But there’s only one set of eyes I want to see.

Please, please let Kingsley be here, I think as I make my way past the crowd, searching for him.

I know there’s a chance he might not be here, especially with Foster being here. If he’s not, I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do …

I freeze as I reach the edge of the crowd and the open space shifts to a road where cars are parked. It’s darker over here, but in the shadows, I can make out two figures. While I can’t make out their faces, I sense that Foster is nearby.

Sense.

I’m starting to sense things now.

Is this another ability that Beth mentioned manifesting?

Before I get noticed, I duck between two vehicles and crouch down, straining to hear what they’re saying. In reality, I know they’re too far away for me to hear, but I still try, and somehow, I do manage to hear them. And very clearly.

“I don’t like this,” Foster says, irritation lacing every syllable. “My fucking brother is here, and if he sees me, he’ll …”

“He’ll what?” The sound of that voice sends a chill across my flesh.

Grey? Foster is talking to Grey?

What the hell?

“You know Kingsley isn’t going to do shit,” Grey continues. “And even if he tried, no one would believe him. You made sure of that.”

“True.” The frustration slowly fades from Foster’s voice. “Still, we should head to another party. Him being here … I’ve got a weird feeling about it.”

“Dude, you probably just smoked too much,” Grey replies. “You always get paranoid when you overdo it. Usually, you don’t give a shit about your brother. You need to remember that you have him wrapped around your little finger, just like you do everyone else. I don’t even know how you fucking do it. It’s amazing, though.”

“Maybe I was good at it, but I think I might be off my game,” Foster mumbles. “Which is why I think we need to roll right now. There’s a party up by Anna’s, which means a lot of higher-ups. I can probably get her to suck me off while we’re there, too.” He sounds amused by the idea.

I stab my fingernails into my palms until I feel blood trickle out of my flesh.

The entire conversation … what he said about Anna … Porter used to tell me all the time that Foster was a player. I never believed him, though, because I rarely saw anything that would lead me to believe that. Then again, I only saw what he wanted me to see. And honestly, I think sometimes I only saw what I wanted to, too blinded by the veil of my delusional feelings for him to see the truth.

I was an idiot. I can see that now.

“Let me just tell Eli we’re taking off. I’d text him, but he never checks his phone,” Grey says over the sound of footsteps.

“Hurry,” Foster replies. “I’m gonna stay here, light up, and make a call.”

They grow quiet then, but the footsteps get louder, which means they’re getting closer to me. I smash my lips together and hunker down lower, every one of my instincts screaming at me to hide.

Don’t let him see me.

Don’t let him know I overheard what he said.

Through the darkness, I spot a figure pass by. But another never appears.

A slamming heartbeat later, the smell of smoke floods my nostrils.

He’s close by and smoking. Shit.

I glance behind me, wondering if I should sneak out and try to backtrack to the fire, but what if he spots me? I guess it probably doesn’t matter. Eli is going to tell him that I’m here anyway. That is, if he hasn’t already.

As I’m mulling over what to do, I hear a phone ring.

He’s calling someone.

A few rings later, I find out who.

“Hey, this is Harlynn. You can leave me a message or you can just text me, because I’m probably just going to text you back anyway.” The sound of my voicemail fills up the silence.

Awesome. He’s calling me.

At least I don’t have my phone on me.

Instead of leaving a message, he hangs up.

“Where the fuck is she?” he mumbles to himself.

Like I have no reason not to answer my phone. Or be out at a party. Or not waiting around for him to call me. The