The Darkness Within (6 page)

“Sounds perfect.” He tucked my hair behind my ear and leaned forward to whisper, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Sam.”

I had no idea what made him say that right now, but I knew he meant it. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him to me. “Maybe we can be a few minutes late,” I whispered back to him.

He gently pulled me back, just far enough to find my lips.

We entered the diner fifteen minutes later with a rush of “Sorry!” directed at Gloria’s glaring eyes. Ethan headed straight for the kitchen, while I practically ran behind the counter and put on my apron.

“You do know I can see your car through the windows,” Gloria said. “That boy needs to learn to control his hands.”

I stifled a laugh. Gloria had no idea Ethan and I lived together, and I didn’t dare let her find out. She’d have me fitted for a chastity belt before my shift was over. “Sorry, Gloria. Ethan’s just having a bad day.”

“Yes, well,
that
isn’t the answer to a bad day.” She didn’t need to glare at me again for me to get the meaning behind “that.”

I nodded, afraid anything I’d say would only make things worse.

The after-school rush poured in, and I happily ran to fill orders. Even waiting on my classmates was better than being lectured by Gloria, especially when I sensed a sex talk brewing. Tristan walked in and immediately waved to me.

“Hey, sit wherever you’d like. I’ll be right there.” I finished delivering a tray of sodas to a corner table and walked over to the booth where Tristan was. A girl was sitting across from him, her back to me. So Tristan was on a date. Interesting. I’d never seen or heard about him dating anyone. “Hi!” I said, eager to meet the girl, but my face fell the second I locked eyes on her.

Beth. Tristan was on a date with nosy Beth? No, she was dating Mark. Had Beth and Tristan become friends? Either way, this could
only mean bad news for the coven. Because while Tristan might be oblivious to his sister’s extracurricular activities in the woods with Dylan, Ethan, and me, Beth noticed everything.

6

I
STARED
at Beth like an idiot, unable to form words or even move. This was serious trouble. We’d been working so hard on keeping our identities a secret, and now Beth was getting seriously close to ruining everything.

“Are you going to pick that up?” Beth motioned to the ground. I had to tear my eyes off her to see that my pad and pen were lying on the floor. I hadn’t even realized I’d dropped them.

“Um, yeah.” I bent down, nearly smacking my head on the edge of the table.

“Whoa, watch it.” Tristan reached forward and covered the edge of the table with his hand. “I don’t want to have to drive you to the emergency room in the middle of my date.”

So it
was
officially a date. I’d been silently praying this was an innocent meeting. They’d run into each other in the parking lot, or Beth had already been seated when Tristan came in looking for a seat. But this had been planned. They were dating. Something must have happened between Mark and Beth after lunch. Who knew Beth was the type to move on so quickly? Mark had dodged a bullet getting rid of Beth, but now that bullet was aimed right for me.

“Sam.” Beth stared at me squatting on the ground. I still hadn’t picked up the pad or pen.

I snapped out of it. The worst thing I could do was act strange. It would only make Beth that much more suspicious, and then she’d
watch me even closer. I snatched up the pad and pen and got to my feet, being careful not to hit my head on the table on the way up. “Sorry. I haven’t eaten much today and my blood sugar’s a little low. I have to remember to grab a glass of lemonade next time I’m at the counter.”

“I didn’t know you were hypoglycemic.” Beth stared at me like she was trying to diagnose me on the spot.

“I’ve never been tested. I just feel kind of shaky sometimes when I need sugar.” I turned away from her and locked my eyes on Tristan. “So, do you need menus or do you know what you want?”

“I’m craving a bacon cheeseburger and curly fries.”

“Great. Anything to drink?”

“Coke is good. Oh, and do you have any bendy straws?” His eyes lit up like a three-year-old’s.

Oh, Tristan. This would be why I’d never seen him date before. “I’ll check.” I reluctantly turned to Beth.

“Wow, you’re not even writing this down. You must have a great memory. You’re lucky. People say I have a good memory, too. It makes school so much easier, don’t you think?” She smiled as she waited for my response.

“Yeah. Definitely. Did you need a menu?” I asked, trying to hurry this along.

“No. I’ll have a Cobb salad.”

“And to drink?”

“That lemonade you mentioned sounded great.”

I nodded. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“Don’t forget to pour yourself a lemonade, too!” Beth said.

I forced a smile and walked away. Seriously, she was nice, but she tried way too hard. So hard I questioned if the whole thing was a big act. I didn’t trust her at all. I wrote up their orders and placed the ticket in the window for Jackson, but Ethan met me instead.

“All I can think about is going to the mountaintop later.” He smiled, and my stomach fluttered.

“I can’t wait.” Maybe time alone, away from Beth and the coven and school, was exactly what Ethan and I needed to feel somewhat normal again.

I spent as little time as possible at Tristan and Beth’s table,
although she managed to corner me on her way to the bathroom to let me know she was dating both Mark and Tristan. Who knew she had it in her to juggle two guys? Not wanting to hear any more, I ran back and forth, taking Gloria’s tables, too. Anything to avoid Beth. Of course I apologized for being so busy and not checking on her and Tristan more.

“Wow, the owner sure works you hard.” Beth’s eyes fixed on mine. “She doesn’t seem to handle many tables on her own. Is it always like that?”

Why was I not surprised she was still watching me like a hawk even though she was on a date with Tristan? “Yeah, well, Gloria’s great, and since her feet hurt when she’s on them too much, I like to help out as much as I can. Can I get you two your check?” Hopefully, I didn’t sound as eager to be rid of them as I actually was.

Tristan nodded and rubbed his stomach. “I’m as stuffed as a roasted pig.”

I laughed. Maybe Shannon did have some good reasons for not wanting people to know Tristan was her brother. He had no clue what was embarrassing. I already had the check prepared for them, so I placed it on the table and cleared their dishes.

As I was heading back to the coffee pot to start my round of refills, I noticed the clock on the wall. 4:34. Damn it! Dylan was out back waiting for me. “Gloria, is it okay if I take five? I could use some fresh air.” It was still warm for October, so luckily she wouldn’t question the request.

“Sure. You go. You’ve been handling every table for the last hour. I can cover the coffee refills.” She took the pot, and I smiled before dashing out the back door.

Dylan was leaning against the driver’s side of his car. He drove a beat-up sedan he’d found abandoned on the side of the highway. But to anyone who wasn’t a witch, it looked like a BMW. Dylan told us it would make kids accept him more easily if he drove a nice car, and since he was a transfer like Ethan and me, we let the spell slide.

“You’re late.” He stood up straight, not looking happy at all. At least he wasn’t all googly-eyed. Maybe the crush was already a thing of the past.

“Sorry. The after-school crowd can get kind of crazy. Well, that
and
we have a problem.”

His head cocked to the side. “What kind of problem? Ethan?”

“No,” I snapped. Why did he have to go right for Ethan? “Beth.”

Dylan sighed. “What’s Little Miss Nosy up to now?”

“She’s dating Tristan.”

“Shannon’s brother?”

“Are there any other Tristans at school?” I had to lose the snippiness, but it was tough, considering how Dylan felt about Ethan and how he might have been feeling about me. “Sorry, I’m a little on edge. She’s watching me like a hawk. And you know if Tristan starts talking about Shannon or us, she’ll piece the puzzle together.”

“Then it looks like we need to work a little magic.” Shannon walked toward us, appearing out of nowhere.

“What was that?” I asked. “Did you—?”

“Simple camouflage spell. Nothing to it.” She waved her hand, dismissing the topic.

Dylan crossed his arms, obviously not happy. “Why did you need a spell to sneak up on us?”

“I wanted to hear what you two were talking about. It had to be interesting if you met in private. Keeping secrets from Ethan, Sam?” She
tsk
ed.

“Okay, can we get this all out in the open?” I looked back and forth between them. “We’re supposed to be like family, yet you two attacked Ethan at lunch. We need to help him, and now more than ever.”

Shannon sighed. “Because my twin brother is dating the blabbermouth.”

“Exactly,” Dylan and I said together.

“Cute.” Shannon made a face. “Seriously, does Ethan know about this?” She pointed back and forth between Dylan and me.

“There’s nothing to know about. I love Ethan. End of story.” I said it more for Dylan’s benefit than Shannon’s, but she nodded.

“Good. As long as that’s out in the open, I guess we can move on. Unless there’s something you’d like to say, Dylan?” Shannon eyed him, and the corner of her mouth tugged upward like she was holding back a grin. I made a mental note not to tell her any more
secrets. She was baiting Dylan. Letting him know she suspected his feelings. And worse, she was letting him know I was aware of them, too.

Dylan lowered his eyes. “I do have something else to say.”

Oh crap. Was he really going to talk about this with Shannon here?

He raised his eyes, focusing on me as if Shannon wasn’t even here. “I asked you to meet me because I think we need to do something about Ethan. He can’t be trusted to use his magic right now. He’s slipping up too much, and it could be dangerous for all of us.”

“I hate to agree,” Shannon said, “but now that Tristan is dating Beth, we need to be extra-careful.”

She was right. If Ethan slipped up in front of Beth, we were all in big trouble. It was bad enough he’d made the clay explode in the same class Beth was in. What if he did something around Tristan and Tristan told Beth?

Shannon smirked, which broke me out of my mental torment.

“How can you smile right now?” I couldn’t keep the annoyance out of my voice.

“I was just thinking.”

That couldn’t be good.

“I could do a little spell on Beth. Get her to stay away from Tristan and, by extension, us.”

“Would you lay off the spells on students?” Dylan was red with rage. “Damn it, Shannon. Ethan may be screwing up, but at least he’s not doing it on purpose. You’re being stupid and reckless.”

So Dylan didn’t totally blame Ethan for his spells gone wrong. That was good news.

“Stupid and reckless? I think you’re confusing me with your dear dead brother!” Shannon’s fists were clenched at her sides, and I was afraid she was going to throw a punch. But at the mention of Ben, Dylan opened his car door and got inside. His eyes lingered on mine before he slammed the door and peeled out of the parking lot.

“Did you really have to bring up Ben?” I was more than a little pissed at Shannon.

She shrugged. “You should be thanking me. I’m helping him get
over his little crush on you. That’s what you want, right? Or are you bored with Mr. Can’t Control His Magic?”

“No! I could never be bored with Ethan. He’s everything to me.”

“Good. Then let’s figure out how to control his magic and get Dylan to stop going all gaga over you.” She put her arm around my shoulder. “I’m on your side, Sam. You’re actually the last one I want to fight with right now.”

“Why? Because I have the power of two witches inside me?” I couldn’t resist. Shannon and I had started off as almost enemies. It was hard to just let go of that and be best friends, even if the coven was forcing us together.

“I’m not going to lie; that’s great motivation to play nice with you. But magic aside, it’s the two of us against the boys.”

I turned to face her, making her arm drop from my shoulders. “Why are we
against
the boys? I don’t want to be against Ethan in anything.”

“Ugh, love has made you blind.” She shook her head. “Dylan and Ethan are guys. They’re going to get all dominant with us. You just watch. I’d rather we were ready for that, so we can put them in their places.”

“Their places are right beside us. We’re all equals.”

Shannon rolled her eyes. “Tell that to Dylan. He thinks he’s the leader now that Ben’s gone.”

My stomach clenched. “Can we please stop mentioning Ben?”

“You seriously need to get over that. I get that Nora put you through hell, but you have to stop torturing yourself. No one else is.”

“I guess you missed the way Dylan glared at me right before he tore out of the parking lot.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Is that why you’re being so tolerant of his feelings for you? Because you feel bad about killing his brother?”