Deadly Little Games (13 page)

A
T SCHOOL THE
next day, I can’t seem to concentrate in any of my classes. What with everything that’s been happening with Adam, and the experience last night with Ben, I feel completely and emotionally spent.

I try to catch Kimmie and Wes up at lunch, filling them in on the words splashed across Adam’s door and all the drama going on with his friends, but Kimmie is less than interested, instead zeroing in on what happened with Ben: “So he was actually waiting for you when you got home?” she asks, peeling the lid off her yogurt.

“Was he upset that you were out playing Nancy Drew with Adam?” Wes asks.

“Quite the contrary,” I say, feeling my face go pink.

“
Oh, really
?” Kimmie asks, perking up. She gives her yogurt lid a lick. “Details, please.”

“Or, better yet, snapshots,” Wes says.

“Ben was a total gentleman,” I assure them.

“Okay, this respect thing he’s got going for you is getting way old,” she says. “Of course, you know I’m just jealous. What I wouldn’t give to have a hot guy like that respect me.”

“Speaking of hot guys and jealousy,” I say, “do you think Tray is jealous enough of Adam to think he deserves to die?”

“So, you
do
admit that Adam’s hot,” Kimmie says, raising her stud-pierced eyebrow at me.

“Not hot, just…”

“Smokin’,” she blurts out. “I mean, let’s face it, the boy’s a regular five-alarm fire.”

“But it doesn’t make sense,” Wes says. “Adam and Melissa only went out one time, and it was before Adam even knew that Tray was interested in her.”

“We can’t all be psychic.” Kimmie sighs.

“And, of course, we’re only hearing one side of the story,” I remind them.

“Well, one date or not, I suspect Melissa might just be psychotic enough to deem Adam maggot-feed-worthy for dumping her,” Kimmie says. “I mean, did you not see the way she looked at me yesterday? I swear, her fangs were showing.”

Wes shows off his own fangs, having dipped his mouth into a pool of ketchup. “So, what’s next?” he asks, doing his best Count Dracula impersonation.

I shrug, suddenly remembering how Adam never called me this morning, even though he said he would. “I should probably go back to Adam’s apartment to have a look at his door.”

“Want some company?” Wes asks. “I can bring along my spy tools. I’ve got a cool new UV-light device that picks up all traces of bodily fluids.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kimmie asks.

“You know you want to give it a try.” He winks. “I’ll even let you borrow my latex gloves.”

“Say no more,” she jokes. “I’m in.”

We arrange to meet in the back parking lot after school. Ben shows up, too, about ten cars away. He hops on his motorcycle and looks in my direction.

“I think someone’s waiting for you,” Wes nudges. “So, why not go say hello?”

“Or better yet, why not hop on his lap and have him drive you to heaven?” Kimmie says. “I mean, honestly, could that boy be any yummier?”

“Wait—what about your dad?” I ask her.

“Um, gross.” She makes a face. “You don’t seriously think my dad’s yummy, do you?”

“No.” I giggle. “I mean, you never filled me in on what’s going on with him…and his new girlfriend.”

Kimmie turns to me. Her face is completely serious despite the glitter sprinkled on her cheeks. “You don’t really want to interrupt this program to talk about my pedophile of a dad, do you?”

“I assume now’s not the right time to discuss him?”

“You assume right,” she says, nodding toward Lily (peace-loving) Randall and her posse of flower-power friends. It’s obvious that they’re admiring Ben, daring each other to go up and talk to him.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Ben’s getting scoped, that’s what,” Kimmie says. “And it was only a matter of time. One day a social outcast…”

“The next, Freetown High School’s hottest flavor,” Wes says, finishing her thought. “I overheard some girls in English saying how it’s sort of sexy the way he’s saved your life, like, ten times now.”

“It was actually three times,” I say, as if the distinction even matters.

“He’s still a hero,” Wes says.

“A
super
hero,” Kimmie clarifies, “with just the right amount of bad boy to keep him interesting.”

At the same moment, a couple of senior girls walk by him. They smile in his direction, but Ben remains focused on me.

“Get over there and mark your touchable territory,” Kimmie insists. “Mark it with a detentionworthy kiss.”

I make my way over to him, still feeling a bit vulnerable after last night. “Hi,” I say, stopping right in front of him. “I missed you today in chemistry.”

“I got to school a little late.”

“But you left my house early,” I say, wondering what time he
did
in fact leave—if he waited until I fell asleep or stayed until the last possible moment.

“I still overslept,” he explains.

“I’m sorry if that was my fault.”

“I think it
was
your fault.” He smiles wider. “Once I got home, I couldn’t really fall asleep. Too wound up, I guess.”

“Because of all the drama with Adam?”

He shakes his head and touches the side of my face, raising my chin slightly to kiss my lips. “Do you need a ride home?”

I peer over my shoulder at Wes and Kimmie, only to discover that Adam is there, too. He’s parked his Bronco in one of the empty spaces. Kimmie and Wes are talking to him through his driver’s-side window.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who wants to whisk you away,” Ben says.

“Wait here,” I say, reluctantly heading over to Adam’s car. Kimmie and Wes step aside.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Adam says. “I just didn’t know what else to do. I was going to call you, but then I thought you’d want to see it.”

“See what?” I ask, noticing how troubled he looks. His neck is splotchy, and all the color has drained from his face.

“Can you talk? Can we go somewhere to discuss everything?”

“Just tell me,” I insist. “What’s going on?”

“I got another one.”

“Another crossword puzzle?”

He nods and reaches into his pocket, unfolds a piece of paper, and hands it to me. It’s just like all the other ones. And the message is very clear:
I WANT TO SEE YOU BLEED
.

A
DAM WAITS WHILE
I tell Kimmie and Wes that I have to go.

“No big deal,” Wes says. “We’ll break in my UV light another time.”

I look back at Ben, knowing that for him it
is
a big deal. The last time Ben really cared for someone, Adam snatched her attention away. And here it’s happening again.

I give Kimmie and Wes a hug good-bye, and then I join Ben again. “Adam really needs me right now,” I tell him.

“Yeah, I kind of figured.” He looks down at his helmet, maybe so I can’t see his disappointment.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, wishing there could be some other way.

Ben nods and pulls his helmet on. He revs up his engine and drives away. Meanwhile, Lily Randall’s Volkswagen Bug follows close behind him, creating an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I tell Adam to take us to his apartment. We don’t really say much on the drive, mostly because I’m far too tense for small talk.

Adam can feel the tension, too: “I’m sorry to pull you away from your friends.”

“Forget it,” I say, knowing that, as hard as it was to leave Ben, I would’ve regretted it if I hadn’t.

We finally get to Adam’s building and climb the stairs to his apartment. To my complete and utter surprise, the writing on his door is gone.

Vanished
.

“What happened?” I ask.

It takes him a second before he realizes what I’m asking. “I washed it off,” he explains.

“
You
what?”

“I wasn’t going to, but I didn’t want the super to give me a hard time. Plus, I thought it might freak out some of my neighbors. You have to admit, death threats on doors can be pretty offensive, generally speaking. Not to mention the sheer fact that it made me look like a total asshole—like some old girlfriend was trying to get even.”

“Did you take pictures at least?”

“Actually, no.” He cringes. “That probably would’ve been a good idea.”

“But Tray saw the writing, right?”

“Um…” He nibbles his lip, clearly reading my angst.

“You told me he was with you last night. You said you called him.”

“I tried, but he didn’t pick up, and I didn’t want you to worry.”

“So, you lied?” I snap.

“I didn’t want you to worry,” he repeats. “Please, don’t be upset.”

“How can I not be? We’re talking about your life here. You can’t go erasing evidence off your door. And you can’t be lying to me, either. How am I supposed to help if you don’t tell me the truth?”

“Why
are
you helping me?” he asks, taking a step closer. “I mean, I’m grateful and all, and you know I love spending time with you, be it death-threat missions or pizza and a movie. It’s just…what do you get out of it? What’s this sudden interest in my life?”

My mouth drops open, but I manage a shrug, almost forgetting the fact that he knows nothing about my premonitions.

“What about Ben?” he continues; his brown eyes are piercing. “He can’t possibly think it’s a good idea for you to get involved with all this…to get involved with me.”

“Don’t worry about Ben.”

“Are
you
worried about him? Are you at all concerned about what he might think?”

“Ben trusts me,” I say, hoping to put an end to this line of questioning.

“That’s good,” he says, clearly sensing the sudden awkwardness between us. He fakes a smile and then turns to unlock the door.

I follow him inside; he stops me at the kitchen island. “I found it right here.” He points to the countertop.

“You found
what
right
where
?” I ask, feeling my face scrunch up in bewilderment.

“The crossword puzzle from today.” He pulls it out of his pocket. “I found it here when I was making breakfast this morning.”

“Wait, you didn’t get it in the mail?”

“I’m sorry; I thought I mentioned that.”

“No,” I say, holding back from whacking him in the head. “I think I would’ve remembered if someone had broken into your apartment.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and then lets out a stress-filled sigh.

“So, someone broke in here last night while you were asleep?”

“I’m not sure. I was thinking that, too, but then…what if I just didn’t see it last night when I got home?”

“Are you sure you didn’t set your mail down here, maybe even for a second, and then leave this piece behind?”

“What difference does it make?”

“It makes a huge difference.” My voice gets louder. “The difference between someone breaking in or not.” I peer around the kitchen and living room, trying to see if anything looks off.

“I don’t know.” He reaches for a box of cereal. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I would’ve noticed getting another puzzle in the mail, especially since we’ve been talking so much about this stuff.”

“Who has a key to your apartment?”

“No one that I know of.”

“None of your friends? Did you leave a spare under the doormat, maybe?”

“No, and no.”

“Then what?” I ask, completely frustrated.

“Look,” he says, running his fingers through his shaggy brown hair. “I don’t have all the answers. That’s why it’s a puzzle.”

“This isn’t funny,” I tell him. “Someone’s sending you threatening notes, writing twisted messages on your door, and possibly breaking into your apartment. Worrying isn’t an option. It’s an order.”

“So what do you order me to do?”

“Call the police.”

“And tell them what? That someone’s sending me crossword puzzles? That I got an angry message on my door, but I didn’t even feel the need to save it? They’ll give me a Breathalyzer test and ask me what I’ve been drinking.”

“At least they’ll have it all on record.”

Adam nods. But still, he doesn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

He hesitates, shuffling his feet as he snacks from the cereal box. It’s a full five seconds before he finally looks into my eyes again. “I really don’t feel comfortable bringing this up with you.”

“No secrets, remember?”

“Okay,” he says, letting out a giant breath. “Do you think Ben could be the one doing this? Maybe he’s trying to get me back for everything.”

“Seriously?” I ask.

“I mean, I almost wouldn’t blame him. It was totally ass of me to try and steal you away from him…even to seek him out in the first place, and to come back into his life. It’s all so heinous and embarrassing, which is exactly what I told my shrink.”

“It isn’t Ben,” I say, irritated that he could even think so. “Maybe it was Tray. You said yourself that he’s jealous of you.”

“Tray’s my friend. We were good friends before all that BS went down with Melissa.”

“You and Ben were good friends once, too,” I remind him.

Adam manages a subtle nod. “But that was a long time ago.”

“I know Ben, and he wouldn’t do this.” I give him the CliffsNotes version of what happened between Matt and me. “Ben saw what that did to me—how scared I was and how I didn’t know whom to trust.”

“All the more reason,” he says. “Ben saw how effective the stalking was.”

“He also saw how both people got caught. And this person will, too.”

“Maybe,” he says, continuing to snack.

“What about Melissa?” I ask. “She’s angry that you ended things with her. Maybe this is her way of teaching you a lesson.”

“A total possibility. I’m definitely sweet and studly enough to drive a girl literally insane, wouldn’t you say?” He flexes his biceps to be funny.

“Can we please try and be serious here?”

“If we must,” he says between bites. “But whether it’s Ben, Tray, or even Melissa, I really don’t feel like getting any of my past and/or present friends in trouble.”

“Even if one of them wants to see you bleed?” I nod toward the latest crossword puzzle sitting on the counter.

Adam looks at it and then at me, evidently still trying to decide.