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  “Right,” he said slowly. “I am.” His lips twitched upward into a small smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  I shivered and tugged my bag closer. “I’m just grabbing a book.” I walked backward making my way toward the exit. My locker was halfway down the hall—halfway between Vincent and the only way out.

  “I wanted to talk with you,” he said, moving closer.

  “You did,” I squeaked, taking another step backward.

  “Yeah, I did.” He took a step forward, his long legs gaining ground better than my short ones.

  “What’s up?” I kept moving backward until I was at my locker.

  “I wanted to say… sorry…you know, for earlier.”

  “Gosh,” I exhaled, noticing he didn’t look very sorry. “No Biggy.” I turned my lock, angling my body so I kept him in my sights the entire time. He was about five feet from me and that is where I wanted him to stay.

  “Yeah, it’s just,” he sighed. “I kind-of don’t get what is going on with you and my brother,” he said tonelessly.

  Glancing down in my locker, I grabbed out the book I needed and slammed my locker shut. I looked up and gasped. He was right in front of me, staring down at me, his face unreadable. Gone was the fun-flirty- smile, I had grown used to and in its place was something …different. “Ah, I’m not sure I’m following,” I deflected, shoving my book in my bag and started moving toward the door.

  “Amber. Amber. Amber,” he exhaled and rubbed his hands over his face. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “That’s my… name. He eh,” I laughed, trying to keep my voice light. I didn’t know why but he was freaking me out. I was almost to the door. Three steps and I’d be in the clear… “Can we finish this later? I gotta go,” I called over my shoulder not waiting for his answer and shoved through the door. Relieved to be outside, I took a deep breath. For once I was even happy to see the dreary rain soaked landscape and gray cloudless sky.

  Warily, I glanced inside, expecting him to be standing at the door but Vincent was gone. Not wasting another minute, I ran all the way around the school to the parking lot. By the time I made it to my car, I was gasping for breath with a stitch in my side. I dug in my bag for my keys and grabbed them. There weren’t any cars left in the lot. The temperature was dropping and fog swirled across the wet pavement creeping forward.

  “Dangit. Where’d Viktor go?” I couldn’t believe he just left without telling me.

  Fumbling with my keys, I unlocked my car. Jumping inside, I relocked my doors.

  Of course, I didn’t have Viktor’s number and he didn’t have mine. I pulled out my phone anyway and quickly checked it for a message or a missed call. There weren’t any. Just a text from Mom telling me what she wanted from the store. I scanned the list, noticing right away it was nothing dire. All she wanted was a bottle of Advil, some Ginger Ale and frozen pizza. “Seriously Mom?”

  Irritated, I put the keys in the ignition and started Peggy Sue—the car groaned to life, barely. The engine sputtered. Feathering the pedal, I gave it gas to get the engine running steadily and put the car in reverse. I wasn’t going to wait around for Viktor. Obviously, he blew me off, which didn’t make a bit of sense. Turning, I slowly backed out of the parking space. I put the car in drive and started out of the deserted lot. The fog that was creeping forward was now hanging heavily in the air making visibility harder than usual. I almost preferred the deluge of rainfall to the ominous fog.

  A horn blared from behind and I slammed on my brakes. Faint lights beamed through my windshield and whipped around, pulling alongside my car on the passenger side. Up close, I could tell it was Viktor’s SUV. Leaning over, I unrolled the window and looked out.

  The window slowly lowered and music blared from inside.

  “Where’d you go?” I asked, yelling over the heavy thumping bass.

  “Hold on,” he yelled. His head disappeared. The music stopped abruptly and his head came back into view.

  “What happened to you?” I asked, leaning over.

  “I had to do something,” he said evasively.

  This irritated me. “Oh—kay,” I said, wiping the water off the inside of my door. It had started to spit rain and I was getting wet.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Oh…” I leaned back. “I have to stop by the store real quick and then drop the stuff at home.”

  “You want to leave your car here or…” he left the sentence open.

  “Ah, not really,” I hedged. I did not want to leave my car at school. “Do you mind meeting me at my house in say, an hour?”

  “Sure, I guess.” An irritated look flitted over his face.

  “Well,” I backtracked. “Do you just want me to meet you at the hospital?”

  “Nah, it’s cool.” He shook his head, and he glanced inside his SUV. He turned and looked back at me. “Why don’t I just follow you to the store and then you can jump in with me after you drop your stuff off at home.”

  “Sure.” I sat there a minute.

  “I’m ready when you are,” he said, revving his engine. Exhaust fumes whirled in my face.

  Coughing, I nodded and rolled back up my window and then situated myself in the seat. Pulling on my seatbelt, I put the car in drive and headed out of the parking lot. The lights from his SUV beaming through my back window were a constant all the way to the store. It took about fifteen minutes and then I pulled into the lot at the Thriftway. Grabbing only my wallet, I jumped out and headed over to the driver’s side of his SUV. The window was up and the glass was tinted so I couldn’t see him. I knocked on the glass and after what seemed like a really long time, the window slowly lowered. I was already wet from standing in the drizzle for so long.

  “Sorry,” he gave me a sheepish smile and shook his phone. “I was on a call.”

  “I’ll just be a minute.” I didn’t ask him to come with me. Instead, I just turned and ran into the store. Grabbing a hand basket I headed over to the where they kept the aspirin and tossed the Advil in my basket and then grabbed a pizza out of the frozen foods, the Ginger Ale, and was in line in less than five minutes. On impulse I grabbed some Red Hots and tossed them on the belt too. Luckily, Sandy wasn’t at the checkout today so I didn’t have to endure the Spanish inquisition while my stuff was rang up and bagged. Instead a guy about my age was at the register and his nametag said Clarke. He had greasy hair and a few angry pimples that were ready to explode. He lifted my Red Hots, gave me a strange look, and then tossed them in the bag.

  “That’ll be twenty three dollars and seventy cents,” he said in a pitchy voice.

  “I charged it.”

  Not saying anything, he punched a few buttons. The drawer to the register dinged open and he slammed it shut forcefully like he was ticked off at something or someone.

  “Thanks.” I grabbed my receipt, groceries, and headed out of the store as fast as I could. It was weird, I felt as though he was watching me. I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough…he was. A sharp pang of fear shot through me. Pulling up my hood, I left the store and headed back to my car.

  twenty three

  Traffic slowed to a stop. There was something going on near the Timber Museum, beside the Visitor’s Center where I had met Glinda for the tour. There were at least four police cars in the lot. Lights whirled from one of the cars that blocked the entrance. Fog hung heavily around the area like a shroud. Moving past the scene, I glanced in the lot, trying to see what was going on. There were a lot of people standing around and as I pulled past I noticed a red convertible.

  Intent on getting home, I didn’t pay much attention to it but something niggled in the back of my mind, eluding me. I was sure it would come to me in time. Once I was past the turn off to the museum, the traffic thinned out and I hit the gas and sped down 101 toward home. I made it home in less than ten minutes. Pulling into my street, I glanced in the rear view mirror to see if Viktor was still behind me but I didn’t see him. I pulled into the driveway.
I wanted to get inside the house and fix myself before he showed up. Obviously, he was caught in traffic.

  Grabbing the groceries and my messenger bag, I climbed out of the car and headed to the house. It was already getting dark and the porch light was on.

  Shoving through the door, I set the groceries down and took off my jacket, hanging it on the hook by the door. Water dripped on the little striped rug where we usually put our shoes. I wiped my feet and headed to the kitchen. Mom was standing at the stove making tea. Not a good sign. She always made tea when she was depressed about something. She turned with a hopeful look on her face.

  “Hey Mom, I got your stuff.” I carried the bags inside.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she sighed, the hopeful expression fading just as quickly as it appeared. Her face was red and she looked like she’d been crying. “What are you doing home?”

  “I brought your groceries. The ones you asked me for… remember?” I pulled out the Ginger Ale and put it in the fridge and the pizza in the freezer. “Here,” I said, handing her the aspirin.

  “Oh right.” She took it and set it on the counter. “Thanks,” she sighed heavily and lifted up her cup of tea.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, Amber,” she whined. “I think Ken is dumping me.”

  “What?” I gaped. “Why would you say that?” I wasn’t sure what to think, Mom was always so melodramatic. Her mood changed with whatever book she was reading and more often than not, she made up drama to match the characters in her books. It was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

  “He hasn’t called me back.” She pushed out her lip like a pouty kid.

  “How long has it been?”

  “About three hours.” She took a sip of her tea and hugged her midsection. She was wearing her velour track suit; her hair and makeup were done.

  “Is that all?” I tried not to roll my eyes. “Mom, he’s a cop. He has stuff to do, you know.”

  “Well, he always calls me right back and tonight he didn’t.” She shoved her lip out more. “Not even a text.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Pulling a glass down from the cupboard, I got a glass of water. “I’m sure he just got tied up.” I took a drink, leaning on the counter. “Oh, you know what, there was something going on at the museum. I bet he got tied up there.”

  “What was going on?”

  “I’m not sure but there were a lot of cop cars and I think I may have seen him there.” Okay, so that was a lie but she didn’t know that and besides, he could have been there. I didn’t look that hard.

  “Oh,” she said and chewed on her nail. “You think that’s what happened?”

  “I’m sure of it,” I lied. I could hope. If not she would flip out and she had been so good lately too.

  “So are you staying in?” She cradled her cup.

  “I’m supposed to go to the hospital with Viktor.”

  She perked up and leaned around me to look down the hall toward the front door.

  “He’s not here yet,” I told her.

  “Oh,” she sighed and took another sip of her tea. “What time is he coming?”

  “He should be here soon.” I glanced at the clock. It was quarter till five. I wondered how long visiting hours lasted.

  “Don’t you need to get ready?”

  “What’s wrong with how I look?”

  “Your clothes are fine but…” Her brow furrowed. “You should really fix your hair.”

  Frowning, I ran my hand over my hair not even realizing it was damp and growing in volume as it dried. “I guess I should.”

  There was a faint knock on the front door.

  “Oh, that’s him.” I set my glass down. “Do you mind getting that so I can fix myself real quick?”

  “Sure,” she chirped. At least that seemed to perk her up. She hastened to the door and I ran up the stairs.

  Once I fixed myself as best as I could, I ran back down the stairs. To my surprise it wasn’t Viktor at the door but instead, Vincent. He had his hands shoved in his pants pockets, looking skittish. When he saw me his eyes brightened.

  “Amber,” Mom gushed a little too enthusiastically. “You didn’t tell me Viktor had a brother.” She pushed my arm and mouthed, “He’s cute.”

  Color bloomed to my cheeks. If I could die of embarrassment now would be the time to do it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky. “Um, it hasn’t really come up.”

  The door was open and lights flashed in the driveway. Mom glanced out the open door. “Who do we have here?” she giggled and opened the storm door, peering out.

  “So, ah, what’s up?” I tried to ignore my mom.

  “I just wanted to talk with you for a second,” he said, his eyes flicked nervously over to my mom. She was standing precariously close to him. Actually, she had her hand on his arm.

  “Mom,” I gritted. “Who’s here?” I asked just for something to say. I was sure it was Viktor and suddenly felt trapped and didn’t know what to do. My heart was pounding really fast.

  She ducked her head back inside, releasing Vincent’s arm. “It’s Ken,” she chirped, enthusiastically, all remnants of her earlier devastation completely gone.

  “Great!” I said with a bit too much gusto to cover my profound relief that it wasn’t Viktor yet.

  Mom grabbed her coat, shoved her feet in a pair of boots, and ran out the door to greet him. I should have been thankful she was gone but I wasn’t. It just made standing with Vincent all the more awkward.

  “So, what’s up?” I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up at him. His hair was wet and slicked back away from his face. Mom was right about one thing, he did look really cute. He had on a leather jacket and faded blue jeans and was sporting another one of his super hero tshirts. This one was Iron Man.

  “I ah…” He angled toward me. “I wanted to say sorry, for earlier…at school.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I lied.

  “Come on, Amber,” he exhaled and shook his head. “I was being a dick.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” he snapped, his eyes flickered.

  “Ahhh,” I said slowly. “Well thanks…I guess.” I stepped back.

  “This is not coming out right.” He dashed his hand through his hair. “Listen, I just don’t want to ruin the friendship we have over something stupid…you know.” It seemed like he was having a hard time voicing his feelings. I felt bad.

  “You’re allowed to be in a dicky mood you know,” I said trying to lighten the mood. “Just don’t let it happen again,” I added in a stern voice.

  “I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me.” His lips twitched.

  “How’s that?” I deadpanned.

  “I’m wearing my lucky t-shirt.” He plucked at his shirt and waggled his brows.

  “Well, it is a pretty sweet shirt.”

  “Yeah, I thought you might like it.”

  “How could I not,” I laughed, feeling better. “It’s Iron Man. What’s there not to like.”

  His gaze locked with mine, his green eyes glittering.

  I felt a strange swooping in my belly. “So, does this one unleash one of your super powers too?” I lifted my brow.

  “Yeah, my powers of persuasion,” he said. He widened his eyes. “Is it working?”

  “That depends on what you’re trying to persuade me to do.”

  “I want you to run off in the sunset with me.” His face was serious so I didn’t know if he was kidding.

  I blinked stupidly, not sure what to say to that. “So how’d you know where I lived?” I asked changing the subject.

  “You told me…remember?”

  “Yeah, sure…right,” I said even though I didn’t remember telling him.

  “So, you want to go grab a coffee or something?” he gave me a lopsided grin. The one that made him look utterly adorable. It was hard to deny that face but I had to.

  “Um, I’m going to see Glinda with Viktor, remember?”
/>   His smile vanished. “Oh, right,” he exhaled. “How could I forget,” he muttered. His entire demeanor changed. Gone was the easy camaraderie we just had and in its place was a stilted silence. He glanced over his shoulder and his body tensed. “Well…” he stepped forward. “Since you’re bailing on coffee with me, can I at least have a hug?”

  “Um…” My brow creased. “Sure.”

  His lips pulled up into a slow grin, he stepped up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me into a full body hug. My face pressed against his hard chest. I inhaled deeply. He smelled really good. My body relaxed against his as I hugged him back. It was strangely comforting being in his arms and something else…something I didn’t quite understand. I felt his warm breath on my neck as he nuzzled his face in my hair. Prickles of awareness sprang up on my skin. He pulled back, just a bit, and looked down into my face.

  For one breathless moment, I transported back to the dance when he looked at me the same way. His face lowered, closing the distance, and I knew he was going to kiss me…

  Someone cleared their throat and I was ripped back to the here and now.

  A slow wicked smile spread over Vincent’s face.

  Reeling from my almost kiss, I stumbled backward and tried to disengage my body from Vincent’s. His hand lingered on my waist though. I looked over at Viktor and my heart stopped. He was looking at me with such intensity, I couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought, let alone catch my breath.

  “Hey,” I mumbled stupidly, stepping away from Vincent until he was no longer touching me. I didn’t dare look at him though, I was afraid at what I would see on his face.

  “You ready to go or did you change your mind?” Viktor’s face was unreadable.

  I felt like there was a double meaning in his words. “No,” I croaked. “I just need to um, grab something and I’ll be ready to go.” I tried to sound breezy but by the look on his face I wasn’t doing a very good job. “I’ll be right back.” Being a coward, I rushed from the room, not even saying goodbye to Vincent and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

  Once I was safely closed inside, I could finally breathe. Leaning on the sink, I tried to get my rampant emotions under control. “What am I doing?”