Sunburst

I didn’t even bother to reply to him, I just sunk in to the driver’s seat and jabbed the keys in the ignition. I was halted in my getaway, though, when Jude yanked open the door leaning one of his arms on it and the other on the hood of my car. He bent down so our faces were just inches apart and smiled at me.

“What, Jude?” I shouted at him. I was so over this day.

He stared at me for a while without saying something. His eyes dipped from mine to my lips and then back up. He seemed a little confused.

“I just wanted to tell you to drive carefully.” His eyes danced with humor and I knew he was being ironic.

“Got it covered.”

“Your lips are swollen,” he said out of the blue.

My hand immediately flew to my mouth and I rubbed at my lips. I tried to decide if I was excited that Seth had kissed me like that or disturbed that his enthusiasm seemed to have something to do with his missing soul.

“Isn’t it interesting that even without his wiser faculties, he seems to recognize you as his?” Jude dropped a hand and reached forward. I sat stunned by his boldness, not thinking enough to make him stop. He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip and then smiled at me. “Fascinating.”

When he pulled his hand back I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Did you call Seven here? Were you spying on us?”

“Stella, my contract says that I protect you from every threat. If you don’t see your boy as a threat yet, then what are you waiting for?”

His words were like ice water in my veins- the reality check I was ignoring.

Taking in my stunned expression he laughed, “This is fun, isn’t it?”

“Screw you.”

And then I stomped on the gas pedal and let the door knock Jude out of the way. I sped

recklessly out of the parking lot and onto the highway, never once letting my foot off the gas. I was desperate to get away from Jude and the world he represented. I felt used tonight and somehow violated, and I hated it.

I just wanted to get away.

But by the headlights that stayed behind me all the way home, I realized I couldn’t get away. Jude, Aliah, Seven and the Darkness that consumed them would follow me everywhere.

And now that Darkness included Seth.

This wasn’t my lot in life, this was my battle.

And it was time to fight it.

Chapter Twelve

“You blew off ice cream?” Piper demanded first thing the next morning. “How could you blow off ice cream?”

“I was tired?” That sounded too unsure. “I was tired.” I repeated for good measure.

“I guess,” Piper huffed. She swiped at her heavy bangs. She was wearing at least twenty bangles on each wrist and they clanked together with her movement. As usual her outfit was half artsy-eclectic and half small-public-school-chic. She wore a baggy, red school shirt over a black cami. The t-shirt had been cut into a makeshift halter top and then she’d cut long vertical slits in the middle. She’d covered her shoulders, per dress code requirements, with a knee-length cardigan. She finished her look with black shimmery leggings and knee high boots that could have easily been a Jack Sparrow wardrobe option. Her eye makeup was dark and heavy and she had these huge, chunky gold earrings to complete the look.

She somehow managed to pull off her Bohemian high school student split personality and still look hot.

I used to think I could never get away with her daring style, but lately I was looking more and more Goth-cheerleader. My blonde hair would always belong in a shampoo commercial, but these days my outfits were becoming a uniform of short skirts and long trench coats. Daggers and swords and weapons; oh my. Anything to keep from showing up vulnerable and weaponless at the next Fallen fan club confrontation.

My eyeliner was a little dark, too, today. And I couldn’t explain that, except that I was also feeling a little dark today. After Seth’s epic kiss and then his equally epic brush-off, I couldn’t help but feel depressed. Plus the bothersome little fly that was Jude….

I was all Rebel without a Cause today.

And I think it showed more than I realized.

“We need to do something, Stel. We haven’t hung out in forever.” Piper whined. She pulled her books down for first hour class and looked at me sideways. “You’re always ditching me.”

“Because I’m sick and tired,” I reminded her.

“Sick and tired of what?” Jude interrupted.

When I looked up, he was leaning back against the bank of lockers to my left. He was holding two cups of coffee in his hand- as in latte’s, as in from Starbucks.

We didn’t have a Starbucks near here for at least forty-five minutes. That meant he somehow flew it back here this morning. Which would mean it would be frozen if he took it up that high.

“You,” I sighed, but my eyes were still on the confusing coffee and so I didn’t sound sincere.

Jude just grinned. “Coffee?”

“Isn’t it cold?” I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms.

“It was cold,” Jude caught my meaning. “But I’ve heated it up. It’s actually the perfect temperature.” He nudged the back of my hand with it and I could feel how hot it was through the cardboard cup.

I frowned. Why was he being nice to me?

“Is it poisoned?” I asked dryly.

He grinned bigger. “It’s not poisoned. It’s hazelnut. Do you like hazelnut?”

“I prefer caramel-vanilla.” I accepted the hot deluxe coffee and pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t smile. “For future reference.”

“Duly noted,” Jude said seriously.

“What is that?” Piper screeched when she noticed what was in my hands. “Where did you get that, Stella?”

“Uh….” Dang it. I did not want Piper having nice thoughts about Jude. But this was kind of unavoidable now.

“Would you like one, Piper?” Jude smiled at her- and this time he actually looked charming instead of his usual devilish self.

I suppressed my glow that was threatening to burn Jude to ash. He seemed to notice I was struggling and shot me a patronizing glare.

“I’m just being nice, Stella. You can’t keep me all to yourself, you know.” He handed Piper his other cup and she actually sighed when their fingers brushed. “It’s black with a little cream, is that alright?”

“Perfect,” she smiled at him. “You are officially an angel.”

Jude let out a bark of surprised laughter. “Did you hear that, Stel? Your friend thinks I’m an angel.”

“Oh, my gosh,” I groaned. But I still took a sip of my delicious coffee. I really did expect it to be poisoned, but it was fine. It was more than fine. It really was perfect.

Piper took a sip, too, and groaned in satisfaction. “Thank you, Jude.”

“You’re welcome.” He turned to look at me with raised eyebrows and waited expectantly.

I turned around and pulled out the books I needed, hoping he would just disappear.

“Stella!” Piper gasped. She leaned around me and said to Jude. “I’m so sorry about my friend! She’s not usually this rude! But she just broke up with her boyfriend.”

I closed my locker and slammed my forehead into it. “He wasn’t my boyfriend, Piper.”

He still wasn’t. But he wasn’t exactly not my boyfriend either.

Ugh. This was confusing.

“Oh, so what you’re saying is she’s on the rebound?” Jude put a hand on the back of my neck and squeezed. He kept it there even when I scrunched up my shoulders in an effort to remove him from me.

Piper laughed. “I think you’re going to have to get in line. There’s already competition.”

When Jude quirked a brow at her, she betrayed me by nodding her head in the direction of Tristan who was walking our way.

“The high school jock?” he burst out into laughter. “That is very interesting.” And then he walked away.

“Where are you going?” I demanded because I didn’t know what else to do.

He held up his pack of cigarettes and then pointed toward the door, but never turned around. Ok, even for Fallen, he was the weirdest boy I had ever met.

“Stella,” Piper’s sharp voice cut into my muddled thoughts. “Since when do you know him?”

“I don’t,” I answered immediately.

“Well, he thinks he knows you.”

“No kidding.”

“What was that about?” Tristan was finally upon us and scowling. He nodded his head in the direction of Jude and then scowled at our coffees. “And where did those come from?”

“Air mail?” I was the only one that fully got that.

Tristan scowled deeper.

“Stella’s apparently buddy-buddy with the new kid.” Piper offered helpfully. She shared a look with Tristan and then she shrugged.

What was that about?

Since when did they communicate?

“I’m not buddy-buddy with the new kid,” I slammed a hand down on my hip, adamant about this. “He won’t leave me alone!”

“And he brings her coffee,” Piper looked down at her cup meaningfully and the child in me wanted to slap the coffee out of her hands.

“He brought me coffee. One time! I’m telling you guys, I can’t get him to leave me alone. I promise you, I’m not encouraging his behavior, but there is nothing I can do about it!” Understatement of the year.

“We believe you, Stel,” Tristan said in a pacifying tone. “It’s alright. You don’t have to get mad.”

Which of course only made me madder.

“Whatever,” I huffed. “I’m going to class.”

I stomped off down the hallway, fully aware that I was throwing a temper tantrum. But still, I expected them to follow me. So when I turned around to check out where they were, nobody was more surprised than me that they were still standing where I left them in deep conversation. They were even leaning in to each other!

This was clearly some alternate universe. Seth was bad… bad-ish? My constant companion was a Fallen. And Tristan and Piper were getting along.

Irrational tears pricked at my eyes and I forced them back. It was just that everything felt wrong these days. And what was worse was that not long ago everything had seemed right, or could have been right. It felt like this was my fault. It felt like I had messed this all up.

And now I didn’t know how to fix it.

The tardy bell rang while I was standing outside of my classroom, but I couldn’t make myself go inside. Instead I watched out the window as Jude finished his cigarette in the shade of a huge oak tree.

I wouldn’t have bothered to watch him any other time, but there was suddenly a feeling of something so wrong and depraved around me that I had to be certain it wasn’t him. Immediately my feet were paralyzed in place. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel- and all I felt was fear.

Icy frost slid down the lockers to my left and below my feet. Each flake was delicately made; in each inch spread the most precisely-formed sickness.

Tendrils of evil snaked over my skin, the sheer frigidity of their evil searing my skin to the bone. When I looked down at my body, I was horrified to see the black wispy tails of Shadows covering my skin and clothes like octopus tentacles. And where they touched me was like no pain I had ever felt. The pain was so acute, so raw that I knew I would black out before I could do something to save myself.