Kelley Armstrong - The Gathering

“Maya?”

I glanced over.

“What happened to your lip?” There wasn’t any nasty snap in Hayley’s voice now.

“It wasn’t Rafe,” I said.

I started to turn away again.

“He likes you.”

I looked at her.

She shrugged. “I’m just saying, if you didn’t want to break up, he’ll come back. He really likes you.” A sardonic twist of a smile. “Everyone does.”

She walked away. I wanted to go after her, but I didn’t know what to say.

I carried on along the path again and didn’t get far before someone else hailed me. When I saw Sam jogging along, I tensed and glanced around. We were still within sight of the school. Safe enough.

She stopped in front of me. For a minute, she just stared at my lip. Then she pulled her gaze up to my eyes and said, “I’m sorry.”

I remembered what Rafe said and what Mom said, and I resisted the urge to say “whatever” and walk away. But I wasn’t going to say “It’s okay,” either, because it wasn’t.

“Why’d you hit me?” I said.

“I didn’t mean to. I just—” Her gaze shunted to the side. “I get mad sometimes, okay? Like Daniel does, only he can control it and I—I can’t.”

“Like with Rafe’s sister?”

Her cheeks colored. “I wouldn’t have hit her. I could tell she was, you know, slow. But I was mad at Rafe for not taking a hint, and when she laughed at me for wanting him to stay away, I blew up. I stopped, though.”

“You didn’t with me.”

“I wanted those pages.”

“Why? Because they said your parents had been murdered? How come that’s a secret?”

I waited for her to explode. How come that’s a secret? Would I want everyone knowing my parents had been murdered? Would I want them asking questions? Looking at me funny? Wondering what exactly I’d seen?

She didn’t say any of that, just scowled and started to walk away.

“What else was in those pages?” I called.

She stopped, her shoulders tensing.

“There was more, wasn’t there? Something you didn’t want me to see.”

She turned, then, and gave me this look that made me shiver. A figure appeared around the bend, bearing down fast.

Sam opened her mouth, as if to say something, then wheeled to walk away—and smacked into Daniel.

“D-Daniel.”

“You going to take a swing at me, too, Sam?”

Sam stammered denials and Daniel told her off, but I wasn’t listening. Last night, I’d started to remember something Serena said about Sam before she died. Now seeing her with Daniel, it came back.

Serena had been at my place, holding down a rabbit while I changed its dressing.

“I had a run-in with Sam last night.”

“Sam?”

“Yeah. I was at the Blender with Nicole, when you and Daniel were taking this little guy to Dr. Hajek. There were a couple of summer boys there, college guys hiking the island. They came over and flirted with us. Nicole got shy, like she always does, and I was trying to show her how it’s done.”

“Uh-huh.”

She laughed. “Okay, I was kind of flirting back. But you know me. I don’t mean anything by it. Even Daniel only gives me hell for teasing the poor guys. Anyway, I’m flirting and Sam stops in to grab a burger. Acts like she doesn’t know us, of course. I talk to the guys a bit more, then Nic and I leave.”

“Okay.”

“I cut through the woods to Daniel’s place. I’m by the ridge, and who pops up? Sam. She tears a strip out of me for flirting with the summer boys. Says it’s disrespectful to Daniel. I tell her to mind her own freaking business. She gets really pissed. Calls me a blond twit who doesn’t appreciate what she’s got. She said someone needed to teach me a lesson. I laughed, which was the wrong thing to do, because she gave me this look, this really … scary look.”

Serena tried to laugh, but it came out shaky. “I know that sounds dumb, but it spooked me. Then Daniel got there. He heard us fighting. I told him what she was mad about—that I’d been flirting with summer boys. He just shrugged and said, ‘So?’ but Sam gives me that look again and stomps off.”

Was Rafe right that Sam had a crush on Daniel? I’d never thought so, but maybe she just didn’t express her feelings the way most girls did. Sam didn’t do anything the way most girls did.

I remembered my dream, about Serena being pulled under. She had gone down so fast she did seem to be dragged. And I had felt something grab my leg.

How angry had Sam been with Serena? How jealous over Daniel? Jealous enough to “teach her a lesson” that had gone very, very wrong?

But how would she do it? Slip into the water at the wooded edge, then swim under it and hold Serena down long enough to drown her?

That was crazy. No one could hold her breath longer than Serena.

Daniel brushed past Sam like she wasn’t there and came to me. He leaned down to whisper, “She do anything?”

I shook my head as the bell rang. We started back toward school.

“You need to stay away from her,” Daniel murmured when Sam was out of earshot.

“I know.”

RAFE DIDN’T SHOW UP that morning. With every passing minute the questions weighed heavier, until by the time the break bell went, I was so distracted, I didn’t hear it, just sat there, pretending to listen to a lesson long over.

Fingers tentatively touched my shoulder. I looked up to see Nicole. The classroom was almost empty. Daniel stood at the door, as if he’d just realized I hadn’t left my seat. Nicole mouthed, “I’ve got it,” and waved him on.

“Daydreaming, I guess.” I stood.

She cleared her throat. “I know I’m not the person you want to talk to about this. About Rafe. That’s why you didn’t call last night. I’m not Serena.”

“No, that’s not—”

“It is. I get that. You guys were best friends. Except, well, there are things you can’t talk to Daniel about, right? He didn’t like Rafe, so he’s happy you guys broke up. If you’re not happy about it, you can’t talk to him.”

She was right.

“You like Rafe.” She led me from the classroom, voice lowered as we walked into the crowded hall. “I don’t need to be Serena to see that. I’ve watched you with other guys, summer boys. That’s just for fun. This is different.”

Right again.

“Is it because of the party?” she asked. “You think maybe he did drug you? Because I’m sure it was Hayley. If you want, we could try to prove it—break into her place, look for the dope.”

I stared at Nicole.

Her cheeks colored. “What can I say—I’m a closet rebel. But if it’s not the party thing, is it because he came on strong when you were drugged? I could help with that, too. You guys arrange a date and I’ll be close by, so there’s someone you can call if things get out of hand.”

“You’ll be my secret bodyguard?” I grinned at her. “You really are a rebel.”

She flushed more. “Hardly. I just think you guys are good for each other.”

I looked at Nicole. I’d misjudged her. Just like I’d misjudged Sam. And maybe Hayley. And Rafe? I didn’t even want to think about that one.

I’d always considered myself such a good judge of character. The last few days, it seemed I was finding out I didn’t know anyone except Daniel.

“Do you want to come over this weekend?” I asked. “Mom’s taking the animals to the refuge in Victoria today, and I plan to go on the weekend to see the fledglings get their first flying lesson.”

Her eyes lit up. “Seriously? I’d love that. I’ve always wanted to go there.”