Jared stilled and regarded him a long while before responding. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Really?”
“And this doesn’t have anything to do with Lorelei.”
Brooklyn decided to jump in. “Would you both just give it a rest?”
“If you fight,” Glitch asked, excitement lighting his face, “are you gonna stop time again?”
I rolled my eyes. “Glitch, could you try to be a little helpful and put a stop to this?”
He almost laughed. “And get my ass kicked? Not likely.”
With jaw clenched in frustration, I finally said, “If I have to, boys, I’ll go for the shins again.”
“Boys?” Cameron said.
I looked at him. “You two might want to consider that before starting World War Three in the food court.”
After a moment, they both settled back in their chairs and focused on the trays before them instead of each other. But how long the truce would last, I didn’t know. The shin thing would only get me so far.
Of course, not knowing how long the truce would last was only one of a million things I didn’t know. I didn’t know how long Jared would be with us, if the principal had recognized him, or even if the sheriff believed us.
And what would Jared do now? Would he really stay with us? I thought about my dream. Was that woman real? Was Jared really on a mission? Was he really created from light and darkness? Did he like the cream-colored sweater I was wearing? Would he like my hair better pulled back? Did he like skinny pasty asthmatic chicks or did he prefer girls with boobs?
“Well, hello there, Lorelei, Brooklyn.” Fearless captain of the cheerleaders, aka the creature whose name shall not be spoken aloud, and Amber Gonzales, her second in command, walked up to us, interrupting in the process a very important moment of reflection. The Southern belles stood behind their brave leader, as disciples tended to do.
Tabitha and Amber—otherwise known as T and A—feigned a syrupy sweetness as they glanced between me and Brooklyn, waiting for a reply.
“Hi, Glitch,” Tabitha said when she realized we weren’t biting. Glitch threw them a bright smile. Ever since he fixed her laptop in three minutes flat, she’d been civil to him. “I just wanted to see how our newest student at Riley High was settling in.”
Yeah, right. Annoyed, I looked past her to Ashlee and Sydnee Southern. Though they had their red and white cheerleading outfits on for the pep rally, they still seemed disheveled, distracted. They practically hid behind Tabitha and Amber, viewing Jared as though he were the Antichrist.
Interesting.
“You’ve met Tabitha,” Glitch said politely to Jared.
“Hello again, Jared Kovach,” Tabitha said. “I wanted to mention that it’s spirit week and you showed up just in time.” She flashed him a smile more plastic than Barbie’s. Either that or my inferiority complex was rearing its ugly head.
Jared’s mouth spread into a patient mask of benevolence.
“And,” Amber said, practically drooling as she ogled him, “it’s tradition for new arrivals to help with the pep rally.”
“And this is Amber Gonzales,” Glitch continued.
Clearly impressed, Amber’s lashes fluttered like a lovesick butterfly’s wings. Not that I could blame her, but as my grandmother would say, my feathers were ruffled.
Brooklyn quirked her lips in doubt. “Tradition?”
“It’s a new tradition,” Amber shot back.
“Clearly the deeper meaning of the word has escaped you.”
I
“You just show up, Jared Kovach. We’ll do the rest.”
I couldn’t believe the open invitation oozing out of Tabitha’s mouth. I forced myself to calm despite the annoyance sizzling inside me. I was jealous. It was pathetic. Tabitha and Amber were so much more in his league, and I was neon green with envy because of it.
A clunk sounded beside me as Ashlee dropped her phone. It landed under my chair. When she reached for it, her long sleeve rode up her arm and I saw one of the most bizarre things I’d ever seen … well, that day anyway. Her arm had been mutilated. In alarm, I grabbed for her wrist and pushed the sleeve past her elbow before she jerked it out of my grasp. I got a flash of fear when I touched her, but that was about it. Some prophet.
Without a word, she shot daggers at me and walked away with her twin in tow.
“What was that about?” Brooklyn asked under her breath. But I didn’t want to say anything in front of team spirit.
“The gym at two,” Tabitha said to Jared, finalizing her dastardly plan. “It’ll be fun.”
As they strolled away to wherever it was sugar-frosted flakes strolled to, Glitch just had to comment on Tabitha’s name, as usual. “Tabitha Sind,” he said with a smile of admiration. “You gotta respect a girl whose name is not only a complete sentence, but an intriguing one at that.”
A plan formed as I watched Amber, Ashlee, and Sydnee follow Tabitha to their table. Their mother had basically abandoned them for an investment broker, but that was months ago. They had changed recently, become withdrawn and despondent. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were being abused in some way. If so, we needed more info, more proof to go on besides the fact that they had a few hairs out of place. Ashlee had resorted to cutting herself, and I wanted to know why. If they were being mistreated, I could go to Grandma and Grandpa with hard evidence, hopefully enough to get them moved to a safe location. But I needed to know for certain who or what was causing their distress.
“Okay, guys,” I said to Brooklyn and Glitch. “It’s time to initiate surveillance. We need to find out what’s going on with Ash and Syd. Who’s up for tonight?”
“It’s Friday night!” Glitch said in protest. “And I’m grounded.”
“When are you not grounded? It’s not as though that’s ever stopped you.”
“But we haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in days,” he said, grasping for excuses.
“Oh yeah, like you were planning to go to bed early. I’m telling you, something is happening.”
“Exactly. A football game. I have to be there.”
“No,” I said, “with the Southern twins. Did you see Ashlee’s arm? Something is so wrong with them.”
“Trust me,” Cameron cut in, “there ain’t a thing wrong with those two, unless you count the unusual and exquisite length of their legs.”
Brooklyn turned a tight-lipped smile on him. “Thanks so much for that penis-driven observation.”
“Anytime, moon pie,” he said with a smirk. “Jealous?”
Glitch laughed humorlessly, his tone mocking.
She rolled her eyes. “As if.”
Cameron leveled an amused smile on Glitch before refocusing on his fork. “Course, there is a ghost haunting them,” he added as if in afterthought.
“A what?” I lunged closer to him. “What did you say?”
“A ghost,” he said with a shrug, “ever since they moved into that new house.”
“Are you serious? A real live ghost?”
“Ghosts aren’t alive,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Wow. I didn’t know ghosts existed. ’Course, until yesterday, I didn’t know for absolutely certain angels existed either. Or pretty much any supernatural being. I had faith and I knew in my heart, but seeing an angel in person was a different matter entirely. And I darned sure didn’t know I was a prophet.
Brooklyn was unconvinced. “You’re lying. That house can’t be haunted. They just built it.”
“Right,” Jared said, jumping into the conversation, “but where did they build it?”
Cameron met his eyes and shook his head as though they were suddenly the best of friends and the rest of us were drooling idiots. “No one ever thinks about the land.”
Jared shrugged his brows and nodded in agreement.
“So, land can have ghosts?” Brooklyn asked.
