Between Lies Read online

  Her answer was so low, I had to strain to hear it. “He knows.”

  My next question seemed pointless because I could tell from her body language, but I had to ask it out loud and hear the answer. “Has he helped you in any way?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  I inhaled and exhaled slowly a few times. “Thank you for telling me that. I’ll take it from here.”

  “What do you plan on doing?” I noticed her hand was starting to tremble in mine and I rushed to reassure her.

  “Right now, nothing. I’m not going to bring you into it. I’ll get him to admit it to me on his own. And then I’ll demand an insanely excellent reason for why he hasn’t done anything.”

  “I don’t want to cause trouble between you two.”

  “Molly, your comments a little while ago make sense to me now. I mean, about why you said them. And you aren’t the one who’s causing this problem. I would have expected him to jump in right away and help you the way he helped me. The fact that he hasn’t… well, that’s something I need to figure out.” I gave her a long hug and whispered in her ear. “What’s important is we’re back together and our eyes are wide open.”

  When we let go of each other, she was smiling through her tears. “I hate that I have to go, but I have to get to school.” I heard the dread in her voice and my heart ached for her. “Are you good? About the brawl and the crazy girls?” She frowned. “Why do these kinds of people have to be everywhere?”

  I couldn’t keep from giggling at that last part. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m beginning to realize there are more people like these girls in the world than I care to think about. But your advice is going to help me. And you should take it, too. We are queens, Molly.” I affected a snotty tone. “We shall act accordingly and anyone who deigns to treat us as trash shall be crushed like the insect they are.” I was playing around, but there was a hint of truth in what I said. We grinned at each other.

  She was starting to look like herself again and it made me happy. The whole conversation had. We’d leaned on each other as we had our whole lives, minus the past few months. It felt good.

  “Thank you, Mo. You helped me. And I hope I helped you.”

  She grabbed me into another quick hug and waved her hand airily. “It’s what we do.” We laughed, the tension and seriousness gone now. Grabbing her purse, she kissed the air toward me before gliding out of the room. “I’m practicing my queen walk,” she called back to me. I grinned.

  I sat there a few minutes after she’d left, replaying everything we’d talked about. I wasn’t shocked at her decision with Jacob. I’d been close to doing the same thing with Kade, and I couldn’t and wouldn’t judge. What bothered me were Jill’s antics and Kade not doing anything about it. I glanced at the clock. I still had time to call him. I dug around for my phone and noticed it had barely any charge left. I’d have to make this quick.

  He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, gorgeous.”

  Part of me still melted, but a tougher part of me, the one that just discovered he may not be as perfect as I thought, didn’t react. “Hi, Kade.”

  If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. “How did your first day go? Were the humans nice to my girl?”

  I paused to consider how to answer that. “Well… some were really nice.”

  “Uh-oh. There’s a huge ‘but’ in there somewhere. Tell me what happened.” His rich voice wrapped around me in a metaphorical hug, and despite my anger, it was as soothing and relaxing as always. I hated that he was thawing me out.

  “The quick rundown is I got trapped between two groups of girls both fighting over me to use as leverage, I guess, in their Homecoming queen campaigns. Apparently, it’s a huge deal with humans. They actually fought… over me, Kade.” I shook my head as I thought about that again. “Anyway,” I continued, “then I fell in the hallway between classes and sufficiently embarrassed myself. This girl—her name’s Harper—came to my rescue. She’s nice.”

  “Oh Sade, are you okay? I can only imagine how stressed you must be.”

  “No, actually, I’m good. Molly stopped by on her way to school and helped redirect my feelings. We had a nice, long talk.”

  “Molly stopped by?” A hint of confusion, and maybe trepidation, crept into his voice.

  “Yes.”

  “I thought your friendship with her was on the rocks. Why didn’t you ask me to come over? Or, we could have met somewhere like usual.”

  I tried to think of what I wanted to say. The fact was, calling Molly was still instinctual, especially since my problem was something right up her alley. I knew she’d have practical advice, not merely some loving words that would make me feel better for a few minutes.

  “Sadie?”

  “Kade, I think— ”

  The phone went dead. Dammit, dammit! I rummaged through my bag looking for the charger and cord, but by the time I found them, I realized Kade would already be in class.

  I slumped on my bed, irritated that I hadn’t had time to get to the bottom of things with him. As I lay there, fatigue swept over me. It had been a long day. A stressful day. My eyelids grew heavy. I barely had the energy to set the alarm on my phone before I curled into myself and fell asleep.

  Chapter Four

  I dreaded seeing Angie and Kitty again. As I got ready for school, Molly’s advice echoed in my ears. Head up, act like a queen, I’m in charge. It was my new mantra and I had it on repeat in my head.

  Since I was going to act like a queen, I figured I’d better look like one and took extra time and care doing my makeup and hair. Most of the girls at school wore jeans and cute tops, but some, like Angie and Kitty, seemed one step above that. Examining my closet, I contemplated wearing a skirt or dress. Yet, memories of how that had turned out for me last time flashed through my brain, and I quickly dismissed the idea. Instead, I pulled on some flared jeans and a white button-down shirt that ended in a scalloped hem. I curled my hair slightly, just enough to give it some bounce, and pulled it into a ponytail. After staring at my limited jewelry selection, I finally chose some silver hoop earrings, a simple silver chain necklace, and a silver bangle. Adding some black heeled boots completed the look. I stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of my closet door and assessed myself. I looked pretty good.

  I walked through the stillness of our house. Everyone else was asleep, and I was beginning to relish this quiet time. Soon, I’d be surrounded by the clanging of bells and the slamming of metal locker doors. The school atmosphere was a different kind of chaos than I wasn’t used to, but that didn’t mean I was necessarily opposed to it. It was just loud and I figured it would take time for my sensitive ears to adjust.

  I made my way downstairs to the kitchen to get some coffee, when suddenly my boot caught on something and I missed the next step. As I fell, I heard a loud hiss erupt from the fuzzy mass I’d tripped over.

  “What the—” I yelled as I went down, landing with my head in the carpeted hallway and my legs resting on the bottom few wooden steps of the stairway. I saw the hissing figure move and I scrambled to my feet, ready to run if it decided to attack. There was a bright flash. I yelped and blinked at the sudden light. When I could see again, Mom and Dad were peering down at me from the top of the stairs.

  “What’s all the noise about?” Mom’s voice was fuzzy and she frowned in confusion.

  Dad took the whole scene in with a glance and pushed Mom back toward their room. “She tripped on the cat. Go back to bed and I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Cat? When did we get a cat?” My heartbeat was still in the process of slowing down. Had I been so busy preparing for high school that I missed getting a cat? Had we always had a cat and I forgot?

  “He’s a new arrival. Sophia and Josh found him on the street and insisted on bringing him home. He seems pretty friendly.” As if to contradict him, the cat looked at me and hissed.

  “Yeah, Dad. Real friendly.”

  “Well, you did just trip over him. He�
��s probably a little frazzled.”

  “He’s frazzled? What about me? I had no idea the thing existed! He trips me and I fall down the stairs, and he’s the one frazzled?”

  He sighed. “Well, you know what I mean.”

  Grumbling to myself, I did a quick check to see if anything was broken and collected my bag from the floor where it had landed. “I gotta get coffee and head to school. I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay, honey. How’s that going? School?”

  “Dad, now’s not the time to get into it. In a word, it’s okay. But I gotta go.” I threw him a wave, stuck my tongue out at the cat, and, deciding I didn’t have time for coffee anymore, grabbed my keys from the bowl near the front door and hurried out to my car.

  It was a gloomy day, having rained throughout the night.The orange-red color beckoned to me. It was the color of freedom and I’d even fallen a little bit in love with the car itself. I had named her Bessie and we were slowly getting the hang of each other. I slid into the front seat and and patted the steering wheel. A quick check of the time affirmed that I was going to have to hurry if I didn’t want to be late. Which I definitely didn’t. I slid my sunglasses on and cranked up the volume on the stereo as I pulled out of the driveway.

  I tried to ignore the little flutter of butterflies in my stomach. Head up, act like a queen, you’re in charge. With no idea what to expect from either group of girls today, I wished I didn’t care—it would make things much easier. I gave myself a little pep talk as I drove through the small town. Pulling into the parking lot, I sighed in relief that there were still kids clumped in groups around the front of the building. Maybe I wouldn’t have to rush.

  Clambering out of my car, I checked to make sure I had everything. Remembering how I’d let the time get away from me at lunch the day before, I double-checked for my pills and resolved to go to the restroom right before lunch to take them.

  “Hi, Sadie!”

  “Sadie, hey, how are you?”

  Kids called out to me as I walked by. I smiled and nodded back, but on the inside I was anxious. I was used to being the plain one, the one people made fun of. This kind of welcome was foreign to me. I replayed Molly’s words to myself. Pick who you want to hang out with… you have the control. My shoulders straightened a bit. I smiled and said “hi” back to the next person who greeted me and a sliver of power crept through my veins.

  Confident in where I was going, I strode through the halls to my locker, my head held high. But it dropped when I saw spikes of black hair visible above the other kids’ heads. Standing right where my locker was located. Seriously? I couldn’t even make it into the classroom before he accosted me?

  I glared at him as I walked up. He was leaning against the locker next to mine, his usual smirk on his face. Today he wore black jeans and a gray hoodie with the words “Bite Me” on it. I gave him my own smirk when I read it. Little did he know. For a second I wished I could drink blood. That would definitely make him steer clear of me.

  “What do you want?”

  “Good morning to you, too, Sadie.” He grinned as shock reverberated through me. He’d used my name without being forced. Why did that make me feel so… weird?

  “Um, morning. So, did you need something?”

  “I thought we could touch base real quick before first period.” I gave him a blank look and he sighed. “Our project? We need to ask any questions we may have soon. Did you read over the project material?”

  The project. Crap. I had totally forgotten about it in all the craziness from yesterday. “Ah, no, I haven’t had a chance yet. I will tonight, though. I promise.” I paused for a second and decided to continue. “I didn’t take you for the type to care about schoolwork.”

  I watched as his face transformed from relaxed to irritated. “Just because I look like a loser doesn’t mean I am one.”

  Surprised at his unexpected reaction, I backpedaled. “I don’t think you’re a loser. I just didn’t think…” I trailed off because I honestly didn’t know what I thought. I’d meant to get a reaction, but this wasn’t what I’d expected.

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll see you in class.”

  He walked away, his shoulders stiff, and I realized I’d hurt his feelings. Guilt washed over me. Silently berating myself, I twirled the dial on my locker and dug out the books I’d need for the morning. I slammed the door shut and turned around. A startled oath escaped my lips as I stared into Angie’s determined face.

  “You disappeared at lunch yesterday.” I physically flinched at her tone but then remembered I was supposed to be in charge and straightened my shoulders.

  “You were in the middle of a fight with Kitty, and I didn’t want to get in the way.” I kept my tone cool. That’s it, Sadie.

  “It wasn’t a fight. We just needed to work some things out.” Her eyes bored into mine but I refused to be intimidated.

  “When hair starts flying, I call it a fight.” I started to move past her, but she blocked my way. I was getting irritated by all the interruptions in my morning plan, and my words came out a little sharper than I thought. “Move, Angie. I’m going to be late for class.”

  Her features shifted, softened until she was looking at me with an almost pleading expression. “Sade… may I call you Sade?… I was hoping I could persuade you to join my campaign for Homecoming queen. You’ll be such an asset to the team, and I’ll nominate you for the Court. Can’t you see it? It’ll be magical with you, Trina, and Becca by my side. We’ll be wearing sexy dresses and get the hottest dates for our escorts. Of course, I’ll be in the middle of it all as queen.” She stared off into the distance with a look of rapture on her face, no doubt imagining her fifteen minutes of fame.

  “Well, no, Angie, I can’t see it because I’ve never experienced a Homecoming. It sounds nice and all, but I don’t think I’m the best one to help you with this.”

  Her face immediately changed. “So, you’re going to help Kitty instead.” Her words were flat and trying to keep up with her moods gave me the sensation of mental whiplash. And her insinuation annoyed me further.

  “No, I’m not helping Kitty, either.”

  There was a brief pause before Angie erupted. “Oh, I get it! You’re going after the crown yourself. You think you have what it takes to be queen? Who do you think you are?” She sniffed, sudden condescension dripping from her words.

  Completely over the conversation, I stepped around her. “I have to get to class. And for the record, I’m not after your precious crown and you can’t call me Sade.” With that parting shot, I hurried to History, now in an even worse mood. When I caught a glimpse of Cam sitting with his head bent over a stack of papers, shame weighed on me. Resolving to make things right, I walked to my desk, threw my stuff down, and sat backward in the chair, facing him.

  “Cam, please look at me.” In slow motion, he tilted his head up until we were looking at each other. Buried underneath his tough expression, I saw hurt. I sighed. “I didn’t mean what I said. I come from a… different… background, and I’m not used to guys looking like you.” He glared at me and I stuttered trying to explain myself. “I… I just mean that all the boys I know dress in a more… polished… style. So, to me, you give a slight impression that you don’t care much about school. I assumed that included the schoolwork, too, and I’m sorry and didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” I was rushing, stumbling through my words. Realizing I wasn’t making anything better, I stopped talking. He continued to stare at me a second before lowering his head once again.

  Resigned, I turned around in my chair right as Mrs. Moody walked in, her usual smile on her face. “Good morning, students! Is everyone ready for another fantastic day?”

  Half-hearted murmurs of agreement filled the room, but she acted like everyone had cheered. Clapping her hands together, her smile grew even more radiant. “Wonderful! Let’s all get our books out and turn to page one hundred and ninety-three.”

  For the rest of the class, I listened to Cam’s
movements from behind me. He seemed agitated and I felt worse and worse as class wore on. I wasn’t used to being the one who made others feel bad. Even though I had my issues with him, I didn’t want my foot-in-mouth syndrome to be one of them.

  When the bell rang, I caught his arm before he’d barely even stood. “Can we meet after school and make a plan for the project?” My eyes pleaded with him to give me that chance. He studied me before finally nodding.

  “In the courtyard. You remember from yesterday?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll be there at three-thirty.”

  I breathed deeply with relief and flashed him a small smile. “I’ll be there.” Watching him walk away, I felt a twinge of something, but I pushed it away.

  ***

  Angie wasn’t in Biology, but Trina and Becca were. They acted like nothing was wrong, and I figured Angie hadn’t told them about our locker conversation. But even so, I was still expecting some sort of reaction about the lunch brawl. Instead, I was greeted with smiles and idle chit chat. I kept up my end of the discussion, but I was beginning to think high school was a much weirder place than anything could ever be in my vampire world.

  Tuning the girls out, I watched as Coach Anderson organized a stack of tubs on his desk. My stomach churned at the thought of what might be in them. To distract myself from the thought of a frog’s insides, I studied him instead. I still marveled at his resemblance to Kade. They had to be related, but I couldn’t think of a way that was possible. I dug my phone out of my bag and aimed the camera at him from under the table. I snapped a quick picture as he cleared his throat and called everyone’s attention to the front. I would show it to Kade and see what he thought.

  Luckily, we weren’t actually cutting into the frogs today. Instead, Coach Anderson hung a large and detailed diagram of what we were going to be studying when we did start the dissection process. Trying not to think about it, I doodled in my notebook instead. We’d made it through about half the class time when Angie slipped in and handed Coach Anderson a note. He glanced at it with a grimace and gave it back to her. She made her way to our table and gave me an angelic smile as if our earlier confrontation had never happened. I ignored her and continued sketching, but from the corner of my eye, I saw her lean over and start whispering to Becca. My ears picked up on the words “queen”, “disagreeable”, and “team player”. I had a pretty good idea she was talking about me, especially since Becca kept giving me the side-eye. Trina was left out of the conversation and I was beginning to understand that she wasn’t the same as the others. Maybe she’d been dragged into this against her will, too. I wondered if I should try talking to her.