Anna (guest): I'm fairly confused about your first suggestion, what is it that you mean? Actually wait... I get it...just had a brain blast...new chapter forming in my head... And as for the romance, I feel like it might feel a little less because Patch is a guy, so while he's romantic, he's going to be a bit more blunt and to the point about it than Nora would be (she's also kind of melodramatic at times). I also feel like the real good romance didn't really start kicking in until next book, but that's just me. I tried to add a little more to the next chapter!
This will be the last post for this week; no more until probably next Thursday! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter binge lol, as I enjoyed posting so quickly. We also got up to the 500s in views on Sunday; that was crazy awesome! Let's do that again!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Still, she stayed frozen.
"Who was that?" I asked louder. What's wrong, Angel? Nora's body began shaking, and I moved towards her protectively. Finally, she swallowed and turned towards me.
"Vee broke into the high school with Elliot and Jules. They want me to meet them. I think Elliot's going to hurt Vee if I don't go." She looked up at me, eyes sharp with fear. "I think he's going to hurt her if I do."
I folded my arms and frowned, trying to make the connection. "Elliot?" The baseball groper? Blondie?
"Last week at the library I found an article that said he was questioned in a murder investigation at his old school, Kinghorn Prep. He walked into the computer lab and saw me reading it. Ever since that night, I've gotten a bad vibe from him. A really bad vibe. I think he even broke into my bedroom to steal the article back."
In her room? What was he doing there? Why wouldn't I have sensed that? I supposed, since I was only there twice, I'd miss it. It had been extremely easy to get in, but I was Fallen. Elliot was only human…
"Anything else I should know?" The idea that Blondie had snuck into her room while I wasn't there to protect Nora was eating at me.
"The girl who was murdered was Elliot's girlfriend. She was hanged from a tree. Just now on the phone, he said 'If you don't come, there's a tree in the common area with Vee's name on it.'"
That would explain Nora's shock. But Elliot?
"I've seen Elliot. He seems cocky and a little aggressive, but he doesn't strike me as a killer." I honestly couldn't see Blondie pulling anything off more than maybe beating Vee around; he wouldn't have enough man power to drag her and hang her himself. I'd never suspect him of anything else, but he was prowling around Nora and threatening her safety… Still, Nora would never forgive me if I called his bluff with her best friend's life. I pulled my keys from Nora's front pocket. "I'll drive over and check things out. I won't be long." I could easily dispatch him.
"I think we should call the police." Nora added.
You're cute, Angel. "You'll send Vee to juvie for destruction of property and B and E." But who? "One more thing. Jules. Who is this guy?" It was the first I'd ever heard of him. Whoever he was, he might just be enough to manhandle Vee.
"Elliot's friend. He was at the arcade the night we saw you."
My frown only deepened. "If there was another guy, I would remember." My memory rarely, if ever, failed me. There wasn't anyone else there that night. That night was pivotal for me. I remembered it perfectly, from the moment Nora saw me to the moment I left her house.
I opened the door, and Nora followed me. The janitor, who was sweeping, looked shocked at me. I returned it with a challenging expression. Problem? He quickly went back to his sweeping. Nora, to her credit, didn't focus on him.
"Elliot is expecting me, not you." She said, worried. "If I don't show up, who knows what will happen to Vee? That's a risk I'm not going to take."
I looked down at her, and I saw her face filled with worry and determination. I wasn't willing to let her go herself, but I knew how hardheaded she could be and I didn't want her to try to subvert me and get hurt.
"If I let you come, you'll listen to my instructions and follow them carefully?"
"Yes."
"If I tell you to jump?"
"I'll jump."
"If I tell you to stay in the car?"
Her eyes dropped momentarily, and I briefly toyed with the idea of blatantly saying no.
"I'll stay in the car." She murmured, pouting.
I continued walking, pulling out my fob and pointing it at the Jeep. Suddenly, I stopped.
"Shit!" I murmured, upset. My car! More specifically, my tires!
"What's wrong?" Nora asked, concerned.
"Tires." What shit timing! What did she run over?
"I can't believe it! I drove over two nails?" she exclaimed. I kneeled down to observe the damage. There were two quarter sized holes in the tire, and the damage didn't extend. If it were a nail, the tire would have ripped and had a tear. This wasn't Nora's negligence, this was personal.
"Screwdriver. This was an intentional attack." I looked up at Nora. Her eyes thinned, and she scanned mine, seeing if she could trust me. To my relief she must have decided to, because she looked back at the tires.
"Who would do that?"
I stood up. "The list is long."
"Are you trying to tell me you have a lot of enemies?"
"I've upset a few people. A lot of folks place bets they can't win. Then they blame me for walking off with their car, or more." Ah, well. I'd fix the wheels later. Right now, we were supposed to be in a rush to the school. I turned to the car next to mine and pulled its handle. Open. How stupid of its owner. Sitting down, I began to reach for the wires underneath the wheel.
"What are you doing?" Nora demanded. In my excitement to hot wire the car, I'd forgotten who I was with. If it had been Rixon, he'd have questioned why I didn't pick a better car. What a shame that crime had become so mindless for me. What a shame that I felt no shame about that.
"Looking for the spare key." Finding what I was looking for, I eventually connected the wires and started the car. "Seat belt." I said, looking at Nora.
Nora's face was apoplectic. "I'm not stealing a car."
Why are we still here? I shrugged. "We need it now. They don't."
"It's stealing. It's wrong."
I leaned back in the seat, staring at her. She's your friend; we should probably get going.
"First rule of auto theft: Try not to hang around the crime scene longer than necessary." I said, smiling. I'd learned that one in the 20s.
Nora's lips pursed. "Hang on one minute." She jogged back to the theater. Rolling my eyes, I disconnected the car and swung out. She's SO not a criminal. I guess I couldn't be upset about it; it made her better than me. An Angel. Rixon would be getting on me so bad…I could only imagine his expression if he saw me right now. Aww, you're going to actually ask? How sweet!
I walked in just as Nora got to the crux of what she wanted.
"You want to borrow my car?"
"Actually…yes."
How is this less embarrassing than stealing the car?!
"It's a piece of junk. It's no Jeep Commander." At the point, the guy looked at me apologetically.
"Does it run?" Nora asked, bringing his attention back to her.
"If by run you mean do the wheels roll, yeah it runs. But it's not for loan." Sorry hun, no matter how cute you are.
Losing patience, I pulled out my wallet and grabbed some money. Three one hundred dollar bills. This was the last of my recent pool game money.
"I changed my mind," dude said, pocketing my money and handing me his keys.
"What's the make and color?"
"Hard to tell. Part Volkswagen, part Chevette. It used to be blue. That was before it corroded to orange. You'll fill the tank up before you return it?" He sounded so hopeful.
You're lucky I'm not holding a knife to your throat to make you give me the shitty car for free. You're lucky Angel is watching me and I have to be almost good.
I placed another twenty in his pocket. "Just in case we forget." Before he could ask anything else and I punch him in the nose, I turned and walked out. Nora quickly followed, with a pleased look on her face.
"I could have talked him into giving me his keys," she said, nonchalantly. "I just needed a little more time. And by the way, why do you bus tables at the Borderline if you're loaded?"
"I'm not," Technically. "I won the money off a pool game a couple nights back. The bank is officially closed." Chauncey's money, or the money I'd earned from other…things, didn't count. They were off record. I opened the door for her, then got inside myself.
While I drove, Nora stared out the window. Occasionally she'd look at me, and her expression would warm, and she'd turn away and go cold again. I would have grabbed her hand, but she was wringing them in her lap.
Finally, I pulled up to the school. Coldwater was looking abnormally frightening for the simple school building. I also had the worst feeling. Instinctual; whoever was inside practically had malice rolling off of them. The fact that I could feel it from outside, combined with the fact that I couldn't specifically place it, let me know that I was up against someone much more powerful than originally thought. Could Elliot be a Nephil? He was never this powerful when I'd seen him before. Recently turned? No…this Jules? Could he be the one? I'd never sensed him before, but Nora said he'd been there. How?
"I just got a really bad feeling." Nora said, looking outside.
No kidding. "Stay in the car and keep out of sight." I commanded her, handing her the keys. "If anybody comes out of the building, take off."
I got out of the car and walked into the street, looking up at the school. Not only could I feel the malice, but it was like it beckoned, no, challenged me, inside. The worst part was that it was…familiar. It was so thick, so heavy, that I couldn't place it, but something about it nagged at me. I was never shaken by scenery, but the way the school looked along with the cloud of hate, I didn't even want to be near it, let alone let Nora inside.
When I got to the door, I looked back at her. She peered from the car, unable to see me, worried. Before I could make any rash decisions, I opened the door and walked inside.
Lots of comments on length of chapters. I don't know; the way and length I write are kind of my style; I don't make them too short to upset anybody, honestly... Still, next chapter is actually the longest of them all. Read and review!
