Rogue Wave (The Water Keepers, Book 2) (20 page)

I glanced down at the screen on my phone and found a text message from Heather which said,
Sleepover at my house tonight!

I wrote back,
Sounds fun, but I have to work at the yogurt shop
.

Just come over when you get off
,
s
he wrote back
. It’s called a sleepover for a reason. We’ll be here all night
:)

I was still staring at the screen on my phone when I entered the kitchen.

“Morning, honey,” Mom said from the table. “I hope you’re okay with cereal for breakfast. I didn’t really feel like cooking today.”

I glanced up from my phone briefly. “Um, sure. That’s fine.”

My feet hesitated for a moment while I contemplated Heather’s invitation for later tonight. Should I really go hang out with my friends? At least if I was with people, I wouldn’t be alone, but I had so much on my mind. I probably wouldn’t make for very good company. And somehow it felt like I needed to take some kind of action, do something about my situation to protect myself and my mom, and maybe even Rayne. Of course, I had no idea what that possibly might be. What could I do? There was no way I was any sort of match for Ash, and definitely not for Voss, if my suspicions were even correct that he was alive.

I was pretty sure Rayne would know what to do. Or at least, he had a better chance than I did, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. I was just plain scared. I knew if I told him what had happened, he would have to do something about it. He might try to track down Ash and confront him, or go back to wherever they were from to enlist help. I didn’t want him to get involved, or put himself in any sort of danger.

Instead, I did the only thing I felt was currently in my power to do.

“Mom,” I said, sitting down at the table. “We need to talk.”

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“I really don’t think you should go with Dr. Jensen out of town next week.”

“We’ve already talked about this,” she said impatiently.

“I know,” I whined. “But it didn’t feel like you were listening to anything I said. Just hear me out.”

Mom took a deep breath and placed her hand over mine. “Sadie-bear, this trip isn’t going to change anything. Mark and I are taking things slow. It’s not like we’re going to run off and get married in Vegas, and I’ve already told him that moving in together isn’t even an option until you’ve left for college. You don’t need to worry. I know Mark isn’t your father, and never will be, and I understand that it will be an adjustment for you to have a male figure in your life, but if you could just give it some time—”

“This has nothing to do with my father,” I complained. “Mom, you’re not listening. I don’t care about you dating someone new, or getting married, or moving in with someone, or whatever. I’m trying to warn you about Dr. Jensen. I think he’s involved in something bad, maybe illegal. I don’t trust him. I’m worried for your safety.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Mark is a good man.” She grabbed her bowl and stood from the table without finishing her food. “Sadie, I need this right now, okay? I know I hide it well, but I’ve been really stressed out and tired lately. I need a vacation. I have no energy to deal with this right now. It almost reminds me of how I felt when I had…” Her voice grew quiet.

“When you had
what
, Mom?” I said coldly. “Why can’t you just say it? You had cancer. You almost died. Then you met a guy, my father, who you thought would make your last fleeting moments of life worthwhile, and he left you helplessly alone and in the dark, for the rest of your life…because my father was a big, stupid, horrible jerk.”

Mom banged her bowl back to the table as she said, “That’s enough.” Then she stormed out of the room.

I was hit instantly with regret. I called after her, “Mom, wait.” But she was already gone. The front door slammed around the corner behind her.

Why was I fighting with her? All I wanted to do was keep her safe. Somehow I had let the bitterness I felt toward my father take over and come between us. I pulled up my mother’s cell phone number immediately and sent her a text.
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.
But even by the time I had pulled my car into the parking lot at school, I still hadn’t received a reply. I didn’t think I remembered my mother ever being so angry with me that she wouldn’t at least reply. It was just one more thing to pile up on top of my mountain of frustrations.

Heather was waiting at my locker when I approached through the crowded school hallway. “What’s wrong with
you
?” she said as soon as she caught a glimpse of my brooding face.

“I had a fight with my mom,” I said, turning the knob on my locker door. “Now she won’t even talk to me.”

“Well, if it was
my
mom, I would just shrug it off, because, you know, fighting with my mom is like a daily ritual, but you guys hardly ever fight.”

“I know,” I said. “And she seems really mad this time, like
crazy
mad.”

Heather shrugged. “Oh, just give it a couple of days. She’ll forget all about it.”

I shut the locker door. “Maybe. By the way, I was kind of thinking…I don’t know if I’m going to make it to the sleepover tonight.”

“No, you have to,” Heather complained. “You’re like, the guest of honor.”

“The guest of honor?” I repeated.

Heather’s face beamed. “Yep. Well, I know you’ve had a rough week with the whole thing breaking up with Rayne and the weird first kiss and all that. And I know sometimes I act kind of selfish, like I don’t care, which is totally
not
true. So, I just wanted to come up with a way to make sure you know how much I really do care. That’s when I came up with this sleepover idea. No boys allowed. At first I wanted it to be a big surprise party, and I was going to have Nicole find a way to bring you over to my house after work, but knowing Nicole, she would probably mess it up or forget or something. So anyway, now you know and there are no excuses. You are definitely coming.”

I smiled. How could I say no after an explanation like that? “Wow, thanks, Heather. That’s really sweet of you.”

“Well, I’m pretty much the best friend in the world,” she joked.

“You totally are,” I agreed. I gave her a little hug and left for my first class.

The day itself was basically normal. Nothing strange or out of the ordinary happened in any of my classes or at lunch. Yet, I couldn’t shake the fear hiding just below the surface of my thoughts all day, wondering what Ash was really up to. According to the files I came across in Dr. Jensen’s office, it seemed like Ash was using the doctor to treat people with Healing Water and record the results. But why? The Healing Water healed people. Wouldn’t Ash already know what the results would be? And even if he didn’t, why would he care one way or the other?

Was this about money? Was Ash involved in some kind of scheme to sell Healing Water to doctors to make a huge profit? Last I heard, Ash came from a very wealthy family, so that wouldn’t make sense unless there was any chance their money was all gone, but it didn’t seem likely.

If Ash’s father, Voss, was really alive like I feared, was he actually telling Ash what to do? I never fully understood why Voss abducted me in the first place, and I had tried very hard over the last five months to erase that day from my memory—which wasn’t too difficult considering I’d spent at least half the time during that experience passed out and on the verge of death.

But now, I wanted to remember every detail I could. I wished I had asked Rayne more questions, pushed him for an explanation. The problem was, I had been too scared to hear the answers. Deep down, I didn’t want to know. I wanted all along to pretend everything was normal, that I was normal. But getting back to normal was proving to be much more difficult than I ever imagined.

I purposely tried to zone out during last period, trying to give my mind a break. The end of the school day couldn’t come soon enough. I began fidgeting with my bracelet in between thoughts, wishing the hands on the clock would tick faster.

When I glanced down at my wrist, I noticed the color of my Watermark was turning dark, but that was fairly normal for this time of day. It had already been twenty-four hours since my last dose of Healing Water, and it felt like I had a long night ahead of me. I wanted to be sure to leave school right after class. That way, there wouldn’t be any chance I would run out of time to stop by Rayne’s before work. And it might not be a bad idea to mention to him where I was planning to be all night, just in case.

A thought occurred to me when I slid the bracelet up my arm and back down again. My mom said she was feeling sluggish lately. But she never got tired, at least, not physically. She had compared her energy level to back in the days when she found out she had cancer. There was no way she would have brought up the subject unless she was really serious. That meant, either there was some reason why the Healing Water wasn’t working for her right now, or she wasn’t receiving any Healing Water at all.

I made a mental note to ask Rayne about the issue when I got home. At one point he told me it was his responsibility to look after my mother, too. She was supposed to be his assignment almost as much as I was. But what if she really wasn’t getting any Healing Water lately like I suspected? What if she was getting sick again or what if she was making bad choices because she wasn’t able to think clearly? There was so much to worry about.

To push out the thoughts I tried to focus on my class and take a few notes from the math problems my teacher had written up on the board, but it didn’t last long. I had my necklace with the Water Briolette from Rayne tucked under my shirt as usual throughout the day, but now, without thinking about it, I pulled out the stone and began fiddling with it near the front of my chest. I slid the crystal up and down the silver chain between my fingers, staring at my teacher mindlessly, until a memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

I saw a vision of Voss in the cell where he had imprisoned me, clasping my necklace around his fist after stealing it from my neck. He pointed to his chest with an evil grin, bragging about his own Water Briolette, the one that was implanted in his heart.

A chill shivered up my arms. It made sense. Voss had a Water Briolette too, one he claimed to be much larger than mine. Maybe the stone was strong enough to keep him alive when he flew over the cliff at his beach house. If he survived, would he come after me again? The thought only deepened the fears I already had. It still didn’t help me figure out what to do about it.

Now I wanted more than anything to talk to Rayne about my suspicions. I wondered if he even knew about the stone in Voss’s chest. But how risky would it be? Was there somewhere I could talk to Rayne where I wasn’t being watched? When would I even have time? I would only have a few minutes after school to get to the yogurt shop, and then I was supposed to go straight to Heather’s slumber party, and Ash may already be aware of my plans, depending on how thorough his surveillance was. It could be too conspicuous if I did anything out of the ordinary.

I looked down at my notebook, where I’d copied only three of the ten math problems my teacher had written on the board. Maybe I could write Rayne a message and slip it in his pocket when I stopped at his house after school. I shot my eyes up at the clock. There was only five minutes left of class. All this time I had been counting down the minutes, but now I was frantically wishing for more time. I scribbled a note to Rayne on the paper as fast as I could, focusing only on the important points.

I don’t know what else to do. I think we’re being watched. Ash threatened me. He might hurt my mom. Dr. Jensen is involved. I think Voss is alive. Freaking out! I lost the diary. We need to talk somewhere safe.

The bell rang, and my shoulders jumped to my ears as I flinched. I wasn’t sure I’d said the right things in the note, but my time had run out. My eyes shifted warily around the room. I ripped the paper from my notepad and folded it up, shoving it in my pocket. Then I practically ran to my car.

I tried to appear normal driving home, hoping the nerves weren’t showing on my face. I didn’t want to show any outward signs that I was up to something, in case anyone really was tracking my every move. I also planned in my head what I was going to do when I got to Rayne’s house. I envisioned myself pulling some kind of smooth maneuver like a spy or thief, secretly sliding my note into Rayne’s pocket without detection, but I wasn’t sure I was skilled enough to pull it off. So, I came up with plan B.

When I pulled into my driveway, I threw the gear into park, speed-walked to my house, and grabbed my overnight bag out of the closet as quickly as possible. With my pajamas and a change of clothes thrown haphazardly into the bag, I hurried back out to my car and shoved it behind the seat. Then I closed the car door and tried to catch my breath, peeking into my pocket to make sure the note was still in place.

When I glanced up to cross the street, I saw Rayne already waiting for me by his front door. The gate was open to his yard, and I hurried over to meet him.

“Hey, sunshine,” he greeted. His smile dropped quickly to a look of concern. “Do you have a minute? I was hoping we could talk about what happened the other night, if you think you’re ready. I know you’re still mad at me for lying, but I just need a chance to explain.”

“Sorry, I have to run to work. I promise we’ll talk about it soon, when I have more time.” I held out my hand, signaling that I wanted my dose of Healing Water.

Rayne nodded with a small look of disappointment and pulled out his silver vial to release a drop over my palm. “Maybe when you get off?” he asked.

I looked down. “I have a slumber party to go to over at Heather’s. She has some kind of pity-party sleepover thing planned in my honor. I guess because of our break-up this week.” Rayne laughed once without humor and shook his head.

“You don’t need to read into it, though,” I assured him. “That’s just Heather being Heather. The truth is, I really want to talk to you, too. This just isn’t a good time.”