The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series) (28 page)

I shrugged. “I’d rather deal with him than my dad.”

Jason still looked skeptical as he unlocked the doors and got in. I slid into the front passenger’s seat and buckled my seatbelt, then turned with a squeak of leather to look back at Chase as Jason pulled out of my driveway. “So what, he just told you to stick with me and make sure I don’t get abducted?”

Chase nodded. He was still in his muddy jeans and green jacket, which he had unzipped to reveal a black t-shirt.

“And how is it that you know my dad?” I asked when he didn’t elaborate further.

He glanced at Jason, then back to me. “We can discuss that later.”

I took my turn glancing at Jason, who was pretending to ignore our conversation, then turned my eyes back to Chase. “You know I’ll just tell him later.”

Chase crinkled his nose in irritation. “That is your choice, but the fact remains that it is none of his business.” He was silent for a moment, and I started to turn around to face forward when he asked, “So where are we going?”

I stopped my turn long enough to smile sweetly at him and mimic, “That is simply none of your business.”

I finished turning forward, still smiling. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a small smile crept across Jason’s face to match my own.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Jason’s apartment complex and parked in one of the many vacant spaces. It was one of the nicer apartment complexes in Shelby (which isn’t saying much, since it’s one of only three). He could afford it with the money he had made tracking down and aiding in the “disposal” of Dan, but I knew he’d have to take another job sometime soon. The money couldn’t last forever, especially now that I’d found out he only got half of what I did. I hunkered down and did my best not to think about it.

Jason turned off the ignition and glanced at me, obviously not wanting to leave me alone in the car with Chase. I gave him a subtle nod, letting him know that I could handle things, and he reluctantly exited the car and went up the concrete stairs to his apartment.

Without the car heater I began to shiver despite my turtleneck. Normally Jason would have left the car running for me, but I couldn’t blame him for being preoccupied. I looked out at the dreary cold streets to a couple walking in heavy winter coats. Okay, so maybe I could blame him just a little.

Chase stuck his head up beside my shoulder. “You want my jacket? It’s a little dirty . . . ”

I shook my head and answered quickly, “I’m fine.” Why, oh why didn’t I bring a jacket?

“You sure?” Chase pressed.

I nodded, not wanting to take his jacket on sheer principle.

“Suit yourself,” he replied as he leaned back into his seat and began humming. This time it sounded like Depeche Mode’s
Enjoy the Silence
.

Jason finally came trotting back down the stairs to rescue me, dressed in jeans and a navy sweater. He slid back into the driver’s seat and quickly started the car to blast the heat. He looked at me with an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“No worries,” I grumbled as we pulled out to head to Irvine’s.

Irvine’s is one of the few mediocre pizza parlors in town. There are one or two quality ones, but we always went to Irvine’s, don’t ask me why. After we parked, we walked straight into the brightly lit pizza parlor to get out of the cold.

Irvine’s is decorated to look like a retro diner complete with jukebox and red vinyl booths and stools. Lucy and the others were nowhere to be seen, so we slid into one of the large corner booths to wait. Jason slid in to sit on one side of me as Chase went around to the other end of the booth to slide in on my other side. I sat awkwardly with my hands in my lap and longed for the night to be over.

We ordered two extra-large pizzas and a few pitchers of soda as we waited. Finally Lela came striding through the door looking long and lean in all black with a stack of papers hugged to her chest. Lucy, Max, and Allison strode in shortly after her, all smartly dressed in heavy winter coats. Lela spotted us instantly and came clacking up in her high-heeled black boots. She slid in beside Chase, never questioning his presence. Lucy and Max slid in after her.

Allison paused in front of the table and gave Chase a less than friendly look. “Who are you?”

Chase gave her a stoic expression and stared back.

“This is Chase,” I answered tiredly.

Allison slid in next to Jason, flipping her long honey-blonde hair irritably, and grumbling something about a “rude, pretentious, slimeball,” or something of that nature.

I was surprised at Allison’s attitude. She usually took any opportunity she could to meet a new cute boy. I had a feeling it had something to do with her feeling left out lately. She was the only human left in the group, and now there was another presumably non-human guy that could potentially take up more of her friend time. And who said I wasn’t perceptive?

“Where’s Nick?” I asked.

“Who cares?” Allison grumbled.

“He said he’d meet us here,” Lela answered over her.

The waitress emerged from the kitchen with a pizza gripped in each of her hands. She set them on our table and promised to be right back with plates. Tension eased inside of me as the smell of cheese and mushrooms wafted up from the pizzas.

Lela waited long enough for the waitress to bring our plates, then got right down to business. She handed Lucy and Max their forms and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that they were only a few pages thick. Then she handed me my forms. I gaped at the stack of papers in my hands. It was a friggin’ book!

I turned to Lela with my jaw agape. “Seriously?” I asked incredulously.

She had the courtesy to look abashed. “Sorry Xoe, the only information the coalition really cares about is that of the pack leader.”

I sighed and set the packet down on the table, then took the offered pen from Lela. I grabbed my first slice of pizza with my left hand and began filling out my basic information with my right. Chase seemed to be taking things in stride, so I assumed my dad had filled him in on everything. He sat perfectly at ease as he devoured his first slice of pizza and ignored everyone. Jason was sitting closer to me than was necessary, and I was beginning to feel more than a little overwhelmed.

Nick showed up a few minutes after the pizza, and had to pull up a chair to sit at the edge of the table that wasn’t surrounded by the booth. Lela smiled and handed him a stack of papers. I began to go back to my paperwork, but something made me take a second look at Lela’s smile. Nick had looked down to his paperwork, but Lela continued to smile all googly-eyed at him. Oh man, she totally liked him. It made me trust him even less. Not because she liked him, but perhaps her judgment of him was clouded, and her judgment was all we had to go on in trusting him. I looked back down to my paperwork, feeling even more uneasy, if that was even possible.

By the time I had finished my second slice, Lucy, Max, and Nick had finished their forms and handed them back to Lela. I was still working on mine, and the questions were becoming more and more strange the further I got. Was it really necessary for them to know my blood type? Plus, I was entirely at a loss as to what I should put under the section labeled
preferred hunting grounds
.

Allison cleared her throat and gave me a meaningful look when I glanced at her. She and Lucy both excused themselves to go to the bathroom. Catching on, I got up and followed them. So it was terribly obvious that we wanted to talk amongst ourselves, could you really blame us? The three of us walked into the bathroom and shut the door firmly behind us.

After checking that all of the stalls were empty, Allison whirled on me and asked, “Who is that other guy and why is he here?”

I turned to Lucy. “I assume you filled her in on the stuff with my dad?”

Lucy nodded and I turned back to Allison. “Chase is my dad’s idea of a bodyguard.”

“Because of the abductions?” Lucy asked.

I nodded. “Yep, Jason and I caught him watching us in the woods.”

Allison frowned. “Why is he still with you?”

Lucy answered for me, already seeing my logic. “It’s him or your dad?”

I nodded again as I turned to push open the door. “Yep, the lesser of two evils.”

Allison pursed her lips. “I don’t like it.”

I stopped in mid-motion and smiled wanly. “Neither do I, but Chase is the least of our worries right now.”

Allison nodded her head in agreement. “I don’t think the pack thing is a good idea either.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting. I turned to fully face her again and cocked my head, waiting for her to explain her logic.

“It’s just . . . ” she began, then took a moment to consider her words. I noticed the chagrined expression on Lucy’s face and deduced that they had already discussed this. “It seems like a big commitment,” Allison went on. “You have to fill out all of these forms, and promise to meet with all of these people you don’t know, and then there’s Nick. How can we even begin to trust
him
? He came out of nowhere.”

I shrugged. “What else can we do?”

“That’s just it,” Allison continued. “It seems like there’s never any choice on anything. You have no choice but to let that Chase guy hang around, you have no choice but to form a pack. There should be choices.”

I was getting a headache. I met Lucy’s tired expression, identical to my own when I answered, “I agree, but there aren’t.”

Allison stomped her foot to bring attention back to herself. “How can you two be so calm about everything!”

Finally getting angry, I raised my voice, “Stop it Al! I can’t help what I am, or who my dad is, and Lucy couldn’t help being scratched by Dan. We’re just trying to make the best of our situations.”

“I know that!” Allison yelled back, her face becoming increasingly flushed. “But you should be upset about it!”

I began to shout back, but forced myself to stop. Getting angry in a public place was
so
not a good idea. I knew I should be understanding of Allison being upset, but there was only so much I could take. When it came down to it, Allison was upset because Lucy and I had problems, but
we
were the ones that actually had to deal with the problems. If dealing with them meant accepting things, then so be it.

Lucy reached for Allison to calm her down just as Lela peeked her head into the bathroom. “Everything all right?” she asked.

“Peachy,” Allison snapped, before stomping out of the bathroom past Lela. I gave Lucy a sad smile and we both followed her out.

Once we were back at the table, no one seemed to be very hungry anymore. No one argued when I offered to take home the leftovers, so I packed them up, then we all pitched in on the check and left. On the drive home I tossed my monstrous packet of forms on the floor of Jason’s car, kept my takeout box on my lap, and cranked up the radio, not wanting anymore conversation.

I was relieved to see my mom’s car in the driveway as we reached my house. I climbed out of the car and headed straight for my front door. I waited on the porch with the door open for Jason to go inside, but he made it obvious that he wanted me to go in first.

Chase waited expectantly, as if he would be coming inside as well. I regarded him. “You’re not coming in. Go ahead and call my dad. He can keep you company out here.” With that I strode inside and allowed Jason the pleasure of shutting the door in Chase’s face.

I quickly forgot my satisfaction as I paused in the living room and took a good look around, completely stunned. The couch, loveseat, and surrounding floor were cluttered with a multitude of shopping bags. Apparently my mom had engaged in a bit of retail therapy. I picked my way through the clutter, then jogged upstairs to her room and went in without knocking. She was passed out on her bed, shoes and trench coat still on.

I let out a sigh of relief, glad that she was home and . . . coping. I tugged off her plain brown shoes and put the royal purple throw from the foot of her bed over her. I closed the door gently as I left her room, even though I doubted anything short of a foghorn could wake her.

I went back downstairs to find Jason standing in the kitchen. His attention was on the window, or more precisely what he could see of Chase through the window. He had resumed his post on my porch swing, gently rocking it back and forth with his feet on the ground. Jason was so intent on trying to make Chase disappear by sheer force of will that I don’t think he even heard me approach.

I stepped right in front of him with my arms crossed and cleared my throat loudly.

He looked down at me, brow still furrowed. “I don’t like him,” he said, referring to Chase.

I shrugged. “Can’t say I really blame you.”

Jason and I both turned our attention back to the window. As the swing came forward and brought him into full view, Chase gave us a sarcastic salute, making Jason’s face turn red with anger. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper so easily (that was usually my job), and I wondered if there was something else that had him on edge.

I grabbed his hand and drew him away from the window, then wrapped my arms around his waist in a loose hug. I stared at him until he met my eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong,” I ordered.

Jason gave me a glimpse of his usual crooked smile. “You are far too perceptive,” he conceded.

I smiled back. “Tell me.”

“I received a job offer,” he said softly.

I cocked my head in question. “So . . . ?”

He licked his lips nervously. “So, I would need to leave immediately.”

I broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. “Oh.”

“I wouldn’t even consider it,” he said quickly, then went on more slowly, “but jobs can be few and far between. I can turn down this one, but there is no saying when the next offer will come along.”

“You should take it,” I said quickly, knowing that if I took any time to think about it, I’d ask him not to go.

“I know it’s bad timing . . . ” he began.

“Will you be gone long?” I interrupted, a little more snappishly than I had intended.

“Only a few days,” he answered, clearly relieved that I wasn’t going to make an extended issue out of him going. “I should be home before Christmas, definitely by your birthday.”