Wearing a smug grin, he approached us. “Hello, Samara. I'm glad you made it home safely.” His smile faltered when he looked at Caleb. “I take it you're staying out of trouble, Mr. Baker. Have you curbed your eating habits?”
“Within reason.” Almost instinctively, Caleb pulled me into the safety of his arms.
Ignoring the icy reply, Ruiz said, “Your level of consumption is no laughing matter, Mr. Baker. I've reported the incident with the three nurses you fed from on Thanksgiving night, and my superiors aren't pleased with what's taking place in this town. You're unpredictable and I'm not comfortable with you being alone with Samara.”
“I'm not comfortable with you talking about me like I'm not in the room,” I jumped in. “I'm also uncomfortable with you courting my mom while plotting to kill my boyfriend. So what's your point?”
For the briefest second, he looked insulted. “Samara, I'm not the bad guy here. I don't make the rules. I'm just following orders.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Why are you in my house?”
“Your mother needed help decorating, and she's very persuasive. She would've made a very powerful Cambion. Too bad Cambions are born, not made.” He stared pointedly at me. “For the most part.”
Any other day, any other time, I would've let the comment slide, but too much had happened to me in a matter of hours and there were too many sharp objects in the kitchen. I stepped away from Caleb's hold and got in the detective's face.
“I get it; I'm a freak of nature. But here's the thing, you're not my daddy, and I won't even let
him
tell me who I should date. I'm not scared of you or the people you work for. You're not a Cambion, and I doubt anyone will care if you go missing. So, as long as you continue to have these little activities with my mother, I get to spend time with Caleb. 'Cause frankly, I trust you as much as you trust him, possibly less.” I folded my arms and waited.
Both men remained silent, gawking at me with open mouths and blatant astonishment.
I was on top of my game when it came to telling someone off, a trait that I inherited from both sides of my family. My dad taught me to learn a person's weakness and attack at the proper time.
I knew Ruiz held a very soft spot for my mom, which put him in a compromising position. One wrong word to his superiors could lead to Caleb's execution, in turn, killing the only daughter of the woman he had the hots for. This was just another reason why people in general should never, ever date. It was just too complicated.
“All right,” Ruiz said. “But the rules still stand. No feeding on others, no leaving town. And if I hear so much as a whisper of an attack on another female . . .” He didn't need to finish his threat; his point had been made.
“Fine,” Caleb agreed.
“Fine,” I grumbled.
During the final round of our epic staring contest, Mom called from the living room. “David, can you help me with these lights?”
At the sound of Mom's voice, Ruiz's muscles relaxed. There was a flicker in his dark eyes, worry maybe, and then he quickly returned to his usual robotic pretext. He was a hard-ass who kept his emotions on ice, but for a split second, he dropped his shield. Caleb and I looked to each other, silently discussing the ripples of energy emitting off the detective's skin. Each vibe varied with a person's mood, but Caleb and I knew this particular emotion by heart. Desire.
I fought to keep my dinner from coming back up. Thankfully, I wasn't telepathic, so I was spared from having to read the sick thoughts this deviant had toward my poor mommy.
Trying to play it off, Ruiz upped the threat level in his tone a few more notches. “Don't forget what we discussed.” His glare bounced between the two of us as he walked backward to the living room.
When he left, Caleb stared at me with awe. “You're so . . .”
“Hood?” I guessed.
“Please.” He scoffed. “Try as you might, no one living in the suburbs can be hood. It's scientifically impossible. Actually, I was going for âextraordinary'. I've never met anyone like you.”
I shrugged, refusing to acknowledge the heat in my cheeks. “What can I say; I'm a rare and unique snowflake.”
“That you are, Miss Marshall.” He bowed his head like a gentleman. “I'd better go. I need to tell my brothers what's going on.”
On the way out, Mom stopped us at the foyer. “Caleb, you leaving already?”
“Yeah, I gotta get back to the hotel.”
Mom looked genuinely disappointed. “Oh, all right. I could've used the extra manpower. Drive safe.”
“Yeah, Caleb, drive safeâdon't want any more accidents.” I stuck my tongue out at him. Thinking of transportation sparked an idea. “Hey, Mom, since Caleb brought me home in a timely fashion tonight, can he take me to school tomorrow?”
Mom frowned. “I don't know. Don't wanna press my luck with the two of you.”
“Oh come on! It's not like we're gonna run off and elope. It's just a ride to school. Plus, you get to sleep in.” I looked to Caleb. “Be here at seven-twenty sharp.”
“Seven-twenty? In the morning? I'm rolling over right about that time. Why don't you take the bus?”
I stood stunned as if I'd been slapped. Caleb was nineteen and had gone to half a dozen schools in Europe, but even he had to know the universal code of high school politics. “Because I'm a senior, and riding the yellow Twinkie is social suicide. I know it's early, but it's only for one dayâI get my new car tomorrow afternoon. Aren't you supposed to be all loving and supportive, do or die and all that noise?”
“Not at seven in the morning. Is the sun even up then?”
Omigod, I had the worst boyfriend ever! Keeping my voice low, I said, “This would be a great way to make sure I'm safe. The house and my school may be shielded by oil, but the six miles in-between are not. Didn't you say you would protect me no matter what?” I batted my eyelashes.
He tightened his lips, looking like a petulant ten-year-old. “Be ready when I pull up.” He grumbled, then began the walk of shame to the door.
“You'd better get used to losing battles if you continue dating my daughter,” Mom called after him. “Samara's prone to getting her way.”
“I wonder where she gets that from,” Ruiz mumbled behind her while unpacking a box of extension cords.
I walked Caleb to the door, not willing to let him go just yet. Call me selfish, call me needy, but I just got him back. We had faced a lot of obstacles this past month, three hammers hitting us at the same time. From Caleb's recent stint in the hospital, the war with Tobias, and the Cambion royal family breathing down our necks, I craved one moment of normalcy.
I stepped outside with him and closed the door behind me. “Do you still think we're safe?”
He zipped up his coat and looked at me. Keeping a straight face, he said, “Yes.”
“That makes one of us,” I replied as he gave me a hug that I desperately needed.
His fingers burrowed into my hair and his chin settled on top of my head. “It's gonna be okay,” he whispered, his tone confident, full of a certainty I wished I had.
I took a huge gulp of air and held it and my eyes burned with unshed tears. Though I was dying for another explosive make-out session, I needed his comfort a whole lot more. I needed him to hold me and chase my fears away, to take me back to a time where I was ignorant of real harm. As long as he held me like this I could stay in that place and allow time to stop.
That was one thing Lilith and I could agree on.
3
I
woke up at o'dark-thirty to get ready for school.
Mom was still asleep, drained from all the decorating that went on long after I went to bed. Despite the energy I took from Caleb last night, I was surprisingly tired. I almost fell asleep in the shower. At least I didn't wake up on the ceiling this morning, so that was progress.
Wiping the steam off the mirror, I took a look at my reflection and found nothing noteworthy to report. My skin was a few shades lighter and now had an ashy tone of old cardboard. The red and white streak in my hair was fading, and I made a mental note to retouch it. I also needed a waxâmy eyebrows looked like two caterpillars trying to mate. My face refused to lose its baby fat, my small, puffy lips needed ChapStick, and my chin was there only in theory.
Lilith never sleeps, but she seemed more awake today, vibrating down the length of my torso and filling my eyes with an emerald shine. Maybe she thought I'd forgotten the mishap yesterday. Yeah, fat chance of that happening. My investigation may have been postponed, but not canceled. I pulled out a fresh pack of brown contacts and placed a lens over each eye, hiding Lilith's presence and everything that came with it.
The Thanksgiving holiday was murder on my waist line and each pair of jeans laughed at me as I tried to zip them up. Normally, our “internal roommates” burned energy pretty quickly, so one would think that would include calories. Oh no, not in my case, because there was no justice in the world and in general, I failed at life. Caleb ate more than the average sumo wrestler, yet he rocked a six-pack while I sported a kegger.
I thought of Caleb during my meager breakfast of dry toast and self-loathing. But I wasn't too depressed to appreciate the next phase of the holiday madness.
Phase two: the house.
Mom's decorations had really brought the Marshall Residence to life. Strings of garland hung around the entryways, and bows and holly were set in shrewdly placed areas around the room. The whole house smelled of apple pie from the candles in the living room. It was subtle and tasteful with careful splashes of color, proving that less really was more.
I had just finished a glass of orange juice when I heard a horn honking outside. He hadn't even bothered to come to the door? What a piece of work.
On my way out to meet him, I grabbed my jacket and Caleb's winter coat that he'd let me borrow the other day then looked around for my book bag and purse. Then I remembered that they were still in my locker at school. This whole blackout thing was throwing off my rhythm, but it helped to keep me focused. I was on a mission now and I wouldn't stop until I got answers.
A thin layer of frost dusted over the cars and rooftops. The early sun winked through the trees and caught the icy surfaces in a glassy shimmer. I dashed across the crisp grass to his Jeep. It was a good thing, too, because it looked like he was ready to take off at any minute. I climbed inside and withstood the hot blast of air from the heating vent.
“Morning, sunshine!” I said, all bright and full of pep just to annoy him.
He grumbled something and stared out to the street ahead, a pair of black aviator shades shielding his eyes. My Cake Boy wasn't a morning person by any stretch, which explained where my sudden fatigue came from. Him.
He had the “fresh out of bed” look, but then he always looked like that. It was kinda sexy the way his tousled hair naturally fell around his head and stuck up in the back. What people spent hours and a gallon of hair gel to accomplish, Caleb managed just by rolling over. “Oh, don't be that way. Consider it a labor of love.” I leaned in and pecked his cheek.
More grumbles came from his side of the Jeep as he put it into drive. “This is one thing I don't miss about school. This is inhumane.”
“Ain't it the truth,” I said with a sigh.
We didn't say much during the journey to schoolâwe were both still trying to wake up. He turned into the student parking lot and pulled next to Mia's red BMW that had stopped in the third aisle. As if he didn't own enough nerve, Caleb waved from his window, trying to get her attention.
I stared out of my own window, sulking. “Can you be any less subtle?”
“Can you be any more petty?” he replied.
My head whipped in his direction. “Me? She's the one who won't talk to me.”
“So now you two need to kiss and make up. You've been friends for over a decade. There's no need to ruin that over a misunderstanding.”
“Why don't you tell Mia that?”
He paused, his head tilted to the side, in quiet debate. “I think I will.”
“What?” I jumped, and he was out of the Jeep before I could stop him.
As Mia came around the front of her car, Caleb crossed her path. As usual, she dressed to the nines: a cream turtle neck sweater, some tight, I-can't-breathe-but-I-look-hot skinny jeans, and knee-high suede boots that matched her jacket. Her dark hair had been pulled into a high pony tail, and the up-do showed off a flashy pair of gold hoop earrings.
Just looking at her made my chest ache. I wanted my friend back, my partner in crime. We had been besties since the sand box, but you wouldn't know that by the way she was mean-muggin' the hell out of me right now. This Cambion businessâthe secrets, the liesâwere destroying every relationship I had, and Mia was one of the many casualties. Something told me it was going to get worse before it got better, and I could only hope Mia and I didn't kill each other before then.
Seeing as Caleb didn't go to this school, or any for that matter, it took a minute for Mia to recognize him. Once she was able to match the face with the location, she almost dropped the gourmet coffee in her hand.
“Omigod! Caleb!” she squealed and jumped into his arms.
“Hey stranger! How've you been?” Caleb swooped her up and spun her around.
When he set her down, she asked, “When did you get out of the hospital? Are you okay?”
He pushed the shades to the top of his head and smiled. “I, um, checked out Thanksgiving night. It was a bad food allergy, but I'm good now.”
“So I heard.” Mia's eyes narrowed at me, and then her stare settled to my wrist. Instinctively, I pulled my coat sleeve over my bracelet. Angry as she might've been, Mia was a jewelry snob and had probably appraised its retail value from across the lot.
“Anyway, I'm glad you're okay,” she said to Caleb. “You gave us a good scare on Halloween.”
His gaze dropped to his boots, and his dimples dug into his cheeks in a way that would appear bashful on anyone else. But for Caleb, it was a loaded weapon in the hands of a child, ignorant of the devastation he could cause. “I know, but I'm okay, really. So what is this I hear about you and Sam not getting along?” he asked.
The question ruined the good-natured mood. She folded her arms and looked away with her chin high. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“I have it on high authority that you're ignoring her. What happened?”
“Why don't you ask your girlfriend? I mean, she's still your girlfriend, isn't she, or did Malik Davis snatch her up?”
Whoa! That was about a nine on the bitchmeter. One side effect of having our allure with the opposite sex was the display of hostility by those of our own gender. Mia was no different, but she was never this rabid before, never to me. What was bringing this on?
I stepped between them, but Caleb pulled me back. “I told you, there's nothing going on with me and Malik. I wish you would believe me.”
She rolled her eyes and turned to our mediator. “Caleb, you're a good guy and I think you have a right to know what's been going on while you were in a
coma!
” She stressed the last part for my benefit. “Did she tell you about how she was creeping with another guy? You should've seen how she was throwing herself at him.”
“It wasn't even like that and you know it. Caleb knows that I'm not interested in Malik. Why don't you worry about your own love life and get your big nose out of mine?”
Mia gasped and her hand shot up to cover her nose. That was one of her most hated body parts, a feature that attested to her Filipino heritage. I didn't mean it in the literal sense, but the mere suggestion had her ready to scrap. “You got a problem with my nose? How about you do a few sit-ups before you start talking about somebody, jelly roll?”
I stumbled back in shock. Oh, she went there.
Caleb made a T shape with his hands. “Whoa, ladies, time out. It's not that serious. Mia, it's just one big misunderstandingâno need to fight over it. Speaking of love lives, how are you and Doug holding up?”
“They're not, and she's taking it out on me,” I answered in a huff. This whole argument was ridiculous. How old were we again? And Caleb, bless his heart, was trying to be the adult in the situation.
“Whatever. Look, you guys do what you wantâI don't care. Just stay away from me, Sam.” With a dramatic toss of her ponytail, she stomped away.
“Okay. I guess I'll see you in those
three classes
we share! Love you!” I called after Mia, who flipped me off in reply.
Great! Another hole in my life I needed to patch up. I'd have to wait until we both cooled down to talk to her again, or else we'd end up scratching each other's eyes out.
“That went well,” Caleb said cheerfully.
“Just another day at James City High,” I whimpered and rested my head on his chest.
“This is a sign, you know. Our draw is at its strongest with the broken-hearted and desperate. She's obviously miserable and that misery makes her highly sensitive to us.”
I knew what he was saying was true, but it didn't make the pain go away. I wouldn't give up, though. Not on her.
While Caleb held me, I noticed our theatrics were drawing a crowd, that of the female variety. Girls drew closer, riveted by the tall boy at my side.
“Um, I better go. The wolves are circling and I haven't fed today. I don't want to have all these teeny boppers after me,” he said and lowered his shades.
“Yeah, you better get lost, you dirty old man. Leave the young'uns alone.”
After a quick peck on the lips, I marched toward another day of education with a side of abuse. I barely made it to my locker before the circus began. The Courtneys, all three of them, strutted down the hall holding clipboards and passing out flyers. They wore matching V neck sweaters and pleated skirts with blue ribbons in their hair. Leading the march was Courtney B., the redheaded stepchild that I wanted to slap silly. The thought was extremely tempting given my current mood.
I hid my face in my locker, praying that they would just walk by me and pretend I didn't exist, as usual. By doing so, I was pleased to find that my book bag and cell phone hadn't moved from where I last placed them. That was one problem solved. Only ninety-nine more to go.
“Sabrina, I was wondering if you would be interested in signing this pledge. We're doing a fundraiser. Since you two were pretty close I'm sure you would like to contribute to the cause.”
Coming to terms with the fact that Courtney still couldn't remember my name after six years, I braced myself for another helping of insults. Slowly, I turned around to face the trio. “What fundraiser?”
“The Malik Davis foundation. We're offering support for his family while the police continue the search for him.” Courtney B. turned to her left to the blonde with a short pixy haircut. “Courtney G. is working on a fabulous collage with all of his pictures.” Then she regarded the brunette at her right whose skin was one big freckle. “And Courtney C. is setting up a talent show type deal to raise awareness. The principal already agreed to have a little performance for the pep rally next week.”
“Fabulous,” I said with no emotion. Envisioning a musical number in the middle of the day didn't inspire any.
With wide eyes, Courtney G.'s head tilted to the side like a confused collie. “Your hair is really thick. Do you wear weaves?”
I stared the girl up and down. “No. Do you?”
“Can I touch it?”
“Not if you want your hand back,” I answered quickly.
Courtney B. stepped closer and showed me the sign-in sheet on the clipboard. “So anyway, I need you to sign here and there, and there's a box you can check if you want to donate money to the gift basket.”
I stared blankly at her. “Gift basket?”
Courtney B. nodded. “It's really nice. All the students are chipping in andâ”
“Just give me the form.” I snatched the clipboard and scribbled my name on the empty space next to fifty other signatures. I didn't ignore the fact that most of the names were females. Tobias had definitely left his mark on the girls in my school.
When I handed it back, I expected our little exchange to be over, but she continued to stand there watching me with what appeared to be sympathy in her cold, gray eyes. But I knew differently.