ELSA'S POV
The sun was so deeply buried behind the clouds that there was no way to tell if it had set or not. After the long flight—chasing the sun westward so that it seemed unmoving in the sky—it was especially disorienting; time seemed oddly variable. It took me by surprise when the forest gave way to the first buildings, signaling that we were nearly home.
"You've been very quiet," Anna observed. "Did the plane make you sick?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Are you sad to leave?"
"Sad, yes. A little relieved, though."
She raised one eyebrow at me. I knew it was useless and—much as I hated to admit it—unnecessary to ask her to keep her eyes on the road.
"Iduna is so much more…perceptivethan Agnarr in some ways. It was making me jumpy."
Anna laughed. "Your mother has a very interesting mind. Almost childlike, but very insightful. She sees things differently than other people."
Insightful. It was a good description of my mother—when she was paying attention. Most of the time Iduna was so bewildered by her own life that she didn't notice much else. But this weekend she'd been paying plenty of attention to me.
Phil was busy—the high school baseball team he coached was in the playoffs—and being alone with Anna and me had only sharpened Iduna's focus. As soon as the hugs and squeals of delight were out of the way, Iduna began to watch. And as she'd watched, her wide blue eyes had become first confused and then concerned.
This morning we'd gone for a walk along the beach. She wanted to show off all the beauties of her new home, still hoping, I think, that the sun might lure me away from Forks. She'd also wanted to talk with me alone, and that was easily arranged. Anna had fabricated a term paper to give herself an excuse to stay indoors during the day.
In my head, I went through the conversation again…
Iduna and I ambled along the sidewalk, trying to stay in range of the infrequent palm tree shadows. Though it was early, the heat was smothering. The air was so heavy with moisture that just breathing in and out was giving my lungs a workout.
"Elsa?" my mother asked, looking out past the sand to the lightly crashing waves as she spoke.
"What is it, Mom?"
She sighed, not meeting my gaze. "I'm worried…"
"What's wrong?" I asked, anxious at once. "What can I do?"
"It's not me." She shook her head. "I'm worried about you… and Anna."
Iduna finally looked at me when she said her name, her face apologetic.
"Oh," I mumbled, fixing my eyes on a pair of joggers as they passed us, drenched with sweat.
"You two are more serious than I'd been thinking," she went on.
I frowned, quickly reviewing the last two days in my head. Anna and I had barely touched—in front of her, at least. I wondered if Iduna was about to give me a lecture on responsibility, too. I didn't mind that the way I had with Agnarr. Lectures on responsibility had been pretty common between my mother and I time and time again in the last ten years.
"There's something… strange about the way you two are together," she murmured, her forehead creasing over her troubled eyes. "The way she watches you—it's so… protective. Like she's about to throw herself in front of a bullet to save you or something."
I laughed, though I was still not able to meet her gaze. "That's a bad thing?"
"No." She frowned as she struggled for the words. "It's justdifferent. She's very intense about you… and very careful. I feel like I don't really understand your relationship. Like there's some secret I'm missing…"
"I think you're imagining things, Mom," I said quickly, struggling to keep my voice light. There was a flutter in my stomach. I'd forgotten how much my mothersaw. Something about her simple view of the world cut through all the distractions and pierced right to the truth of things. This had never been a problem before. Until now, there had never been a secret I couldn't tell her.
"I wish you could see the way she moves around you." She set her lips defensively.
"What do you mean?"
"The way she moves—she orients herself around you. When you move, even a little bit, she adjusts her position at the same time. Like magnets… or gravity. She's like a… satellite, or something. I've never seen anything like it."
She pursed her lips and stared down.
"Don't tell me," I teased, forcing a smile. "You're reading mystery novels again, aren't you? Or is it sci-fi this time?"
Iduna flushed a delicate pink. "That's beside the point."
"Found anything good?"
"Well, there was one—but that doesn't matter. We're talking about you right now."
"You should stick to romance, Mom. You know how you freak yourself out."
Her lips turned up at the corners. "I'm being silly, aren't I?"
For half a second I couldn't answer. Iduna was so easily swayed. Sometimes it was a good thing, because not all of her ideas were practical. But it pained me to see how quickly she caved in to my trivializing, especially since she was dead right this time.
She looked up, and I controlled my expression.
"Not silly—just being a mom."
She laughed and then gestured grandly toward the white sands stretching to the blue water.
"And all this isn't enough to get you to move back in with your silly mom?"
I wiped my hand dramatically across my forehead, and then pretended to wring my tank top out.
"You get used to the humidity," she promised.
"You can get used to the rain, too," I countered.
She elbowed me playfully and then took my arm as we walked back to her car.
Other than her worries about me, she seemed happy enough. Content. She still looked at Phil with goo-goo eyes, and that was comforting. Surely her life was full and satisfying. Surely she didn't miss me that much, even now…
Anna's icy fingers brushed my cheek. I looked up, blinking, coming back to the present. She leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"We're home, sleepy head. Time to awake."
We were stopped in front of Agnarr's house. The porch light was on and the cruiser was parked in the driveway. As I examined the house, I saw the curtain twitch in the living room window, flashing a line of yellow light across the dark lawn.
I sighed. I couldn't blame Agnarr for being antsy.
Anna must have been thinking the same thing, because her expression was stiff and her eyes remote as she came to get my door for me.
"How bad?" I asked.
"Hm?" Her eyes flickered to mine, "Oh, Agnarr's not going to be difficult," Anna promised, her voice level with no hint of humor. "He missed you."
My eyes narrowed in doubt. If that was the case, then why was Anna tensed as if for a battle?
"Elsa," she whispered, stopping me from climbing out of the car. "Are you still angry with me?"
"Angry?" I blinked, confused.
She laughed darkly. "You were very angry with me a few days ago. And…" her eyes dropped. "You had—have—every right to be."
I thought back to our fight before the trip, when she had disabled my truck to stop me from going to La Push to see Honeymaren. I hadn't let her come in my room that night, or the next, for that matter. I had also insisted on driving myself to school every day leading up to the trip. On the night when I finally let her come in after Agnarr had gone to bed, she spent most of our time together begging for my forgiveness and whispering apologies into my ear. If I couldn't hear the absolute sincerity in every word I would have thought she was putting on a show.
I thought for a moment before answering, "I wasveryangry with you," I said slowly, and she winced, "but I'm not so angry now. I'm more disappointed in the situation, I guess."
I could have told her I hated her and her reaction would have been less severe. Her face looked excruciatingly pained, she took my hands in hers, and her eyes bore into mine.
"I need you to know, Elsa, that I only stopped you from going because I love you and I couldn't let anything happen to you." Her voice was low and urgent.
"I know, you thought you were doing what was best." I said, solemnly.
She sighed, and lifted my hands to her cold lips. She kissed each of them again and again. "Perhaps, what I think is best isn't always the wisest course of action." She muttered between gentle kisses.
"Now you're realizing this?" I teased, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
Before I realized it, she had swiftly lifted her head, and caught my lips with her own. Her hands moved to either side of my face, and she kissed me deeply. My head spun from the surprise and the intensity of the kiss.
She slowly pulled away, "I'm sorry, Elsa."
"Mmm…" I mumbled. "Yup."
She laughed softly.
"Let's get inside before Agnarr comes out."
My bag was small, but she insisted on carrying it into the house. Agnarr opened the door just as we reached the porch.
"Welcome home, kid!" Agnarr shouted like he really meant it. "How was Jacksonville?"
"Moist. And buggy." I laughed.
"So Iduna didn't sell you on the University of Florida?"
"She tried. But I'd rather drink water than inhale it."
Agnarr's eyes flickered to Anna. "Did you have a nice time?"
"Yes," Anna answered in a serene voice. "Iduna was very hospitable."
"That's… um, good. Glad you had fun." Agnarr turned away from Anna and pulled me in for an unexpected hug.
"Impressive," I whispered in his ear.
He rumbled a laugh. "I really missed you, Elsa. The food around here sucks when you're gone."
"I'll get on it," I said as he let me go. "I think I missed my calling as a chef."
"Would you call Honeymaren first? She's been bugging me every five minutes since six o'clock this morning. I promised I'd have you call him before you even unpacked."
I glanced at Anna, she was too still, too cold beside me. The tension I had detected in the car was nothing compared to now.
"Honeymaren wants to talk to me?"
"Pretty bad, I'd say. He wouldn't tell me what it was about—just that it was important."
The phone rang then, shrill and demanding.
"That's her again, I'd bet my next paycheck," Agnarr muttered.
"I got it." I hurried to the kitchen.
Anna followed after me while Agnarr disappeared into the living room.
I grabbed the phone mid-ring, and twisted around so that I was facing the wall. "Hello?"
"You're back," Honeymaren said.
Her familiar husky voice sent a wave of wistfulness through me. A thousand memories spun in my head, tangling together—a rocky beach strewn with driftwood trees, a garage made of plastic sheds, warm sodas in a paper bag, a tiny room with one too-small shabby love-seat. The laughter in her deep-set black eyes, the feverish heat of her big hand around mine, the flash of his white teeth against her dark skin, her face stretching into the wide smile that had warmed my heart from the inside out.
It felt sort of like homesickness, this longing for the place and person who had sheltered me through such a dark time in my life.
I cleared the lump from my throat. "Yes," I answered.
"Why didn't you call me?" Honeymaren demanded.
His frustrated tone instantly got my back up. "Because I've been in the house for exactly four seconds and your call interrupted Agnarr telling me that you'd called."
"Oh…" Her tone became repentant, "Sorry."
"It's fine. Now, why are you harassing Agnarr?"
"I need to talk to you."
"I assumed that much, Honeymaren. Go ahead."
There was a short pause.
"You going to school tomorrow?"
I frowned to myself, unable to make sense of this question. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
Another pause.
"So what did you want to talk about, Honeymaren?"
She hesitated. "Nothing really, I guess. I…" She trailed off, and I heard her sigh deeply on the other end. "I wanted to hear your voice."
"Honeymaren… I'm really glad you called me. I…" But I didn't know what more to say. I wanted to tell her I was on my way to La Push right now. And I couldn't tell her that.
"I have to go," she said abruptly, her voice sounded torn.
"What?"
"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"But Honeymaren—"
"I'm sorry, Elsa."
"Honeymaren, wait—"
She was already gone. I listened to the dial tone with disbelief.
"Well, that was short," I muttered.
"Is everything all right?" Anna asked. her voice was low and careful.
I turned slowly to face her. Her expression was perfectly smooth—impossible to read.
"I don't know. I wonder what that was all about." It didn't make sense that Honeymaren had been hounding Agnarr all day just to ask me if I was going to school. And if he'd wanted to hear my voice, then why did he hang up so quickly?
"Your guess is probably better than mine," Anna said, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"Mmm," I murmured. That was true. I knew Honeymaren inside and out. It shouldn't be that complicated to figure out his motivations.
With my thoughts miles away—about fifteen miles away, up the road to La Push—I started combing though the fridge, assembling ingredients for Agnarr's dinner. Anna leaned against the counter, and I was distantly aware that her eyes were on my face, but too preoccupied to worry about what she saw there.
The school thing seemed like the key to me. That was the only real question Honeymaren had asked. And she had to be after an answer to something, or he wouldn't have been bugging Agnarr so persistently.
Why would my attendance record matter to her, though?
I tried to think about it in a logical way. So, if Ihadn'tbeen going to school tomorrow, what would be the problem with that, from Honeymaren's perspective? Agnarr had given me a little grief about missing a day of school so close to finals, but I'd convinced him that one Friday wasn't going to derail my studies. Honeymaren would hardly care about that.
My brain refused to come up with any brilliant insights. Maybe I was missing some vital piece of information.
What could have changed in the past three days that was so important to Honeymaren that would break her long streak of refusing to answer my phone calls and contact me? What difference could three days make?
I froze in the middle of the kitchen. The package of icy hamburger in my hands slipped through my numb fingers. It took me a slow second to miss the thud it should have made against the floor.
Anna had caught it and thrown it onto the counter. Her arms were already around me, her lips at my ear.
"What's wrong?"
I shook my head, dazed.
Three days could change everything.
It had been on my mind endlessly the last few weeks. If things changed, if I changed my mind or it became a necessity. I had been dwelling on how impossible college would be. How I wouldn't be able to be anywhere near people after I'd gone through the painful three-day conversion that would rob me of my mortality. The conversion that would make me forever a prisoner to my own thirst…
Had Agnarr told Billy that I'd vanished for three days? Had Billy jumped to conclusions? Had Honeymaren really been asking me if I was still human? Making sure that the werewolves' treaty was unbroken—that none of the Cullens had dared to bite a human… bite, not kill…?
But did he honestly think I would come home to Agnarr if that was the case?
Anna shook me. "Elsa?" she asked, truly anxious now.
"I think… I think she was checking," I mumbled. "Checking to make sure. That I'm human, I mean."
Anna stiffened, and a low hiss sounded in my ear.
"If it does come to that," I whispered. "We'd have to leave, and be so far away so that it doesn't break the treaty. We won't ever be able to come back."
Her arms tightened around me. "I know."
"Ahem." Agnarr cleared his voice loudly behind us.
I jumped, and then pulled free of Anna's arms, my face getting hot. Anna leaned back against the counter. Her eyes were tight. I could see worry in them, and anger.
"You had a long flight, kiddo, I can just call for a pizza," Agnarr offered.
"No, that's okay, Dad, I already started."
"Okay," Agnarr shrugged. He propped himself against the doorframe, folding his arms.
I sighed and got to work, trying to ignore my audience.
"If I asked you to do something, would you trust me?" Anna asked, an edge to her soft voice.
We were almost to school. Anna had been relaxed and joking just a moment ago, and now suddenly her hands were clenched tight on the steering wheel, her knuckles straining in an effort not to snap it into pieces.
I stared at her anxious expression—her eyes were far away, like she was listening to distant voices.
My pulse sped in response to her stress, but I answered carefully. "That depends."
We pulled into the school lot.
"I was afraid you would say that."
"What do you want me to do, Anna?"
"I want you to stay in the car." She pulled into her usual spot and turned the engine off as she spoke. "I want you to wait here until I come back for you."
"But…why?"
That was when I saw her. He wouldn't have been hard to miss, towering over the students the way she did, even if she hadn't been leaning against her black motorcycle, parked illegally on the sidewalk.
"Oh."
Honeymaren's face was a calm mask that I recognized well. It was the face she used when she was determined to keep her emotions in check, to keep herself under control. It made her look like a female version of Kristoff, the oldest of the wolves, the leader of the Quileute pack. But Honeymaren could never quite manage the perfect serenity Kristoff always exuded.
I'd forgotten how much this face bothered me. Though I'd gotten to know Kristoff pretty well before the Cullens had come back—to like him even—I'd never been able to completely shake the resentment I felt when Honeymaren mimicked Sam's expression. It was a stranger's face. She wasn't my Honeymaren when she wore it.
"You jumped to the wrong conclusion last night," Anna murmured. "She asked about school because she knew that I would be where you were. She was looking for a safe place to talk to me. A place with witnesses."
So I'd misinterpreted Honeymaren's motives last night. Missing information, that was the problem. Information like why in the world Honeymaren would want to talk to Anna.
"I'm not staying in the car," I said.
Anna groaned quietly. "Of course not. Well, let's get this over with."
Honeymaren's face hardened as we walked toward her, hand in hand.
I noticed other faces, too—the faces of my classmates. I noticed how their eyes widened as they took in all of the beautiful body of Honeymaren, muscled up the way no normal Eignteen-and-a-half-year-old ever had been. I saw those eyes rake over her tight black V-neck shirt—short-sleeved, though the day was unseasonably cool—her ragged, grease-smeared jeans, and the glossy black bike she leaned against. Their eyes didn't linger on her face—something about her expression had them glancing quickly away. And I noticed the wide berth everyone gave her, the bubble of space that no one dared to encroach on.
With a sense of astonishment, I realized that Honeymaren looked dangerous to them. How odd.
Anna stopped a few yards away from Honeymaren, and I could tell she was uncomfortable having me so close to a werewolf. She drew her hand back slightly, pulling me halfway behind her body.
"You could have called us," Anna said in a steel-hard voice.
"Sorry," Honeymaren answered with a smirk. "I don't have any leeches on my speed dial."
"You could have reached me at Elsa's house, of course. Or her cell phone."
Kristoff's jaw flexed, and his brows pulled together. He didn't answer.
"This is hardly the place, Kristoff. Could we discuss this later?"
"Sure, sure. I'll stop by your crypt after school." Honeymaren chuckled darkly. "What's wrong with now?"
Anna looked around pointedly, her eyes resting on the witnesses who were barely out of hearing range. A few people were hesitating on the sidewalk, their eyes bright with expectation. Like they were hoping a fight might break out to alleviate the tedium of another Monday morning. I saw Tyler Crowley nudge Austin Marks, and they both paused on their way to class.
"I already know what you came to say," Anna reminded Honeymaren in a voice so low thatIcould barely make it out. "Message delivered. Consider us warned."
Anna glanced down at me for a fleeting second with worried eyes.
"Warned?" I asked blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"You didn't tell her?" Honeymaren asked, her eyes widening with disbelief. "What, were you afraid she'd take our side?"
"Please drop it, Honeymaren," Anna said in an even voice.
"Why?" Honeymaren challenged.
I frowned in confusion. "What don't I know? Anna?"
Anna just glared at Honeymaren as if she hadn't heard me.
"Honeymaren?"
Honeymaren raised her eyebrow at me. "She didn't tell you that her big…brothercrossed the line Saturday night? The big one with the dark hair?" she asked, sarcasm in her voice. Then her eyes flickered back to Anna . "Paul was totally justified in—"
"It was no-man's land!" Anna hissed.
"Was not!"
Honeymaren was fuming visibly. Her hands trembled.
"Honeymaren, breathe, please." I shot her a look. She nodded her head and sucked in two deep lungfuls of air.
I turned back to Anna. "Cassandra and Paul?" I whispered. Paul was Honeymaren's most volatile pack brother. He was the one who'd lost control that day in the woods—the memory of the snarling gray wolf was suddenly vivid in my head. "What happened? Were they fighting?" I demanded. "Why? Did someone get hurt?"
"No one fought," Anna said quietly, only to me. "No one got hurt. Don't be anxious."
Honeymaren was staring at us with incredulous eyes. "You didn't tell her anything at all, did you? Is that why you took her away? So she wouldn't know that—?"
"Leave now." Anna cut her off mid-sentence, and her face was suddenly frightening—truly frightening. For a second, she looked like… like a vampire. She glared and Honeymaren with vicious, unveiled loathing.
Honeymaren raised her eyebrows, but made no other move. "Why haven't you told her?"
They faced each other in silence for a long moment. More students gathered behind Tyler and Austin. I saw Makayla next to Ben—Makayla had one hand on Ben's shoulder, like she was holding him in place.
In the dead silence, all the details suddenly fell into place for me with a burst of intuition.
Something Anna didn't want me to know.
Something that Honeymaren wouldn't have kept from me.
Something that had the Cullens and the wolves both in the woods, moving in hazardous proximity to each other.
Something that would cause Anna to insist that I fly across the country.
Something that Alice had seen in a vision last week—a vision Anna had lied to me about.
Something I'd been waiting for anyway. Something I knew would happen again, as much as I might wish it never would. It was never going to end, was it?
I felt the gasp of air pull through my lips, before I realized I had reacted. I managed to keep myself very still, despite my rising panic. My vision blurred only slightly around the edges.
"She came back for me," I choked out.
Samantha was never going to give up until I was dead. She would keep repeating the same pattern—feint and run, feint and run—until she found a hole through my defenders.
Maybe I'd get lucky. Maybe the Volturi would come for me first—they'd kill me quicker, at least.
Anna held me tight to her side, angling her body so that she was still between me and Honeymaren, and stroked my face with anxious hands. "It's fine," she whispered to me. "It's fine. I'll never let her get close to you, it's fine."
Then she glared at Honeymaren. "Does that answer your question, mongrel?"
"You don't think Elsa has a right to know?" Honeymaren challenged. "It's her life."
Anna kept her voice muted; even Tyler, edging forward by inches, would be unable to hear. "Why should she be frightened when she was never in danger?"
"Better frightened than lied to."
I tried to speak, but no sound came out. I couldn't help but picture her—I could see Samantha's face, her lips pulled back over her teeth, her crimson eyes glowing with the obsession of her vendetta; she held Elsa responsible for the demise of her love, Hans. Samantha wouldn't stop until Anna's love was taken from her, too.
Anan gently rubbed my back.
"Do you really think hurting her is better than protecting her?" she murmured.
"Elsa's tougher than you think," Honeymaren said. "And she's been through worse."
Abruptly, Honeymaren's expression shifted, her eyes seemed to focus on something that wasn't there, like she was was remembering something.
I felt Anna cringe. I glanced up at her, and her face was contorted in what could only be pain. For one ghastly moment, I was reminded of our afternoon in Italy, in the macabre tower room of the Volturi, where Jane had tortured Anna with her malignant gift, burning her with her thoughts alone…
The memory of the Volturi, the reality of what they represented snapped me out of my panic.
"What's the matter with you?" Honeymaren asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wait…"
Anna winced, but smoothed her expression with a little effort. She couldn't quite hide the agony in her eyes.
Honeymaren laughed, "That's funny," She smirked as she watched Anna's face.
I glanced, wide-eyed at Honeymaren.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"It's nothing, Elsa" Anna told me quietly. "Honeymaren has a good memory, that's all."
Honeymaren grinned, and Anna winced again.
"Honeymaren, stop! Whatever you're doing." I snapped.
"Sure, if you want." Honeymaren shrugged. "It's her own fault if she doesn't like the things I remember, though."
I glared at her, and she smiled back impishly—like a kid caught doing something she knows she shouldn't by someone who she knows won't punish her
"The principal's on his way to discourage loitering on school property," Anna murmured to me. "Let's get to English, Elsa, so you're not involved."
"Overprotective, isn't she?" Honeymaren said, talking just to me. "A little trouble makes life fun. Let me guess, you're not allowed to have fun, are you?"
Anna glowered, and her lips pulled back from her teeth ever so slightly.
"Knock it off, Maren," I said.
Honeymaren laughed. "That sounds like ano. Hey, if you ever feel like having a life again, you could come see me. I've still got your motorcycle in my garage."
This news distracted me. "You were supposed to sell that. You promised Agnarr you would." If I hadn't begged on Honeymaren's behalf—after all, he'd put weeks of labor into both motorcycles, and he deserved some kind of payback—Agnarr would have thrown my bike in a dumpster. And possibly set that dumpster on fire.
"Yeah, right. Like I would do that. It belongs to you, not me. Anyway, I'll hold on to it until you want it back."
A tiny hint of the smile I remembered was suddenly playing around the edges of her lips.
"Honeymaren's…"
She leaned forward, his face earnest now, the bitter sarcasm fading. "I think I might have been wrong before, you know, about not being able to be friends. Maybe we could manage it, on my side of the line. Come see me."
I was vividly conscious of Anna, her arms wrapped protectively around me, motionless as a stone. I shot a look at her face—it was calm, patient.
"I… Honeymaren, I…" the words kept catching, I wasn't sure what to say.
Honeymaren dropped the antagonist façade completely. It was like she'd forgotten Anna was there, or at least he was determined to act that way. "I miss you every day, Elsa. It's not the same without you."
"I know and I'm sorry, Honeymaren, I…"
She shook her head, and sighed. "I know. Doesn't matter, right? I guess I'll survive or something. Who needs friends?" She grimaced, trying to cover the pain with a thin attempt at bravado.
Honeymaren's suffering had always triggered my protective side. It was not entirely rational—Honeymaren was hardly in need of any physical protection I could offer. But my arms, pinned beneath Anna's yearned to reach out to her. To wrap around her big, warm waist in a silent promise of acceptance and comfort.
Anna's shielding arms had become restraints.
Honeymaren's eyes met mine and she smiled sadly. "I've got loads of time."
The words triggered a surge of emotion in me, and I wanted nothing more than to run to her But what could I do?
"Okay, get to class," a stern voice sounded behind us. "Move along, Mr. Crowley."
"Get to school, Honeymaren," I whispered, anxious as soon as I recognized the principal's voice. Honeymaren went to the Quileute school, but she might still get in trouble for trespassing or the equivalent.
Anan released me, taking just my hand and pulling me behind her body again.
Mr. Greene pushed through the circle of spectators, his brows pressing down like ominous storm clouds over his small eyes.
"I mean it," he was threatening. "Detention for anyone who's still standing here when I turn around again."
The audience melted away before he was finished with his sentence.
"Ah, Ms. Cullen. Do we have a problem here?"
"Not at all, Mr. Greene. We were just on our way to class."
"Excellent. I don't seem to recognize your friend." Mr. Greene turned his glower on Honeymaren. "Are you a new student here?"
Mr. Greene's eyes scrutinized Honeymaren, and I could see that she'd come to the same conclusion everyone else had: dangerous. A troublemaker.
"Nope," Honeymaren answered, half a smirk on her broad lips.
"Then I suggest you remove yourself from school property at once, young man, before I call the police."
Honeymaren's little smirk became a full-blown grin, and I knew she was picturing Agnarr showing up to arrest her. This grin was too bitter, too full of mocking to satisfy me. This wasn't the smile I'd been waiting to see.
Honeymaren said, "Yes, sir," and snapped a military salute before she climbed on her bike and kicked it to a start right there on the sidewalk. The engine snarled and then the tires squealed as he spun it sharply around. In a matter of seconds, Honeymaren raced out of sight.
Mr. Greene gnashed his teeth together while he watched the performance.
"Ms. Cullen, I expect you to ask your friend to refrain from trespassing again."
"He's no friend of mine, Mr. Greene, but I'll pass along the warning."
Mr. Greene pursed his lips. Anna's perfect grades and spotless record were clearly a factor in Mr. Greene's assessment of the incident. "I see. If you're worried about any trouble, I'd be happy to—"
"There's nothing to worry about, Mr. Greene. There won't be any trouble."
"I hope that's correct. Well, then. On to class. You, too, Ms. Winters."
Anna nodded, and pulled me quickly along toward the English building.
"Do you feel well enough to go to class?" she whispered when we were past the principal.
"Of course," I whispered back, not quite sure if it were actually true.
Whether I felt well or not was hardly the most important consideration. I needed to talk to Anna right away, and English class wasn't the ideal place for the conversation I had in mind.
But with Mr. Greene right behind us, there weren't a lot of other options.
We got to class a little late and took our seats quickly. Mr. Berty was reciting a Frost poem. He ignored our entrance, refusing to let us break his rhythm.
I yanked a blank page out of my notebook and started writing, my handwriting more illegible than normal thanks to my agitation.
What happened? Tell me everything. And screw the protecting me crap, please.
I shoved the note at Anna. She sighed, and then began writing. It took her less time than me, though she wrote an entire paragraph in her own personal calligraphy before she slipped the paper back.
Alice saw that Samantha was coming back. I took you out of town merely as a precaution—there was never a chance that she would have gotten anywhere close to you. Cassandra and Jasper very nearly had her, but Samantha seems to have some instinct for evasion. She escaped right down the Quileute boundary line as if she were reading it from a map. It didn't help that Alice's abilities were nullified by the Quileutes' involvement. To be fair, the Quileutes might have had her, too, if we hadn't gotten in the way. The big gray one though Cassandra was over the line, and he got defensive. Of course, Rapunzel reacted to that, and everyone left the chase to protect their companions. Frederic and Jasper got things calmed down before it got out of hand. But by then, Samantha had slipped away. That's everything.
I frowned at the letters on the page. All of them had been in on it—Cassandra, Jasper, Alice, Rapunzel, and Frederic. Maybe even Arianna, though she hadn't mentioned her. And then Paul and the rest of the Quileute pack. It might so easily have turned into a fight, my friends against my friends. Any one of them could have been hurt.
I shuddered.
Carefully, I scrubbed out the entire paragraph with my eraser and then I wrote over the top:
What about Agnarr? She could have been after him.
Anna was shaking her head before I finished, obviously going to downplay any danger on Agnarr's behalf. She held a hand out, but I ignored that and started again.
You can't know that Samantha wasn't thinking that, because you weren't here. Florida was a bad idea.
She took the paper from underneath my hand.
I wasn't about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive.
My previous worry was suddenly overshadowed by her response and the annoyance it caused. Like I couldn't fly across the country without bringing the plane down. Very funny.
So let's say my bad luck did crash the plane. What exactly are you going to do about it?
Why is the plane crashing?
She was trying to hide a smile now.
The pilots are passed out drunk.
Easy. I'd fly the plane.
Of course. I pursed my lips and tried again.
Both engines have exploded and we're falling in a death spiral toward the earth.
I'd wait until we were close enough to the ground, get a good grip on you, kick out the wall, and jump. Then I'd run you back to the scene of the accident, and we'd stumble around like the two luckiest survivors in history.
I stared at her wordlessly.
"What?" she whispered.
I shook my head. "Unbelievable," I mouthed.
I scrubbed out the disconcerting conversation and wrote one more line.
You will tell me next time.
I knew there would be a next time. The pattern would continue until someone lost.
Anna stared into my eyes for a long moment. I wondered what my face looked like—it felt cold, serious, and intense.
She sighed and then nodded once.
Thanks.
The paper disappeared from under my hand. I looked up, blinking in surprise, just as Mr. Berty came down the aisle.
"Is that something you'd like to share there, Mrs. Cullen?"
Anna looked up innocently and held out the sheet of paper on top of her folder. "My notes?" she asked, sounding confused.
Mr. Berty scanned the notes—no doubt a perfect transcription of his lecture—and then walked away frowning.
It was later, in Calculus—my one class without Anna—that I heard the gossip.
"My money's on the buff guy with the bike," someone was saying.
I peeked up to see that Tyler, Makayla, Austin, and Ben had their heads bent together, deep in conversation.
"Yeah," Makayla whispered. "Did you see thesizeof that Honeymaren kid? I think he could take Cullen down." Makayla sounded pleased by the idea.
"I don't think so," Ben disagreed. "There's something about Anan for a girl she's I know know intimidating you know. She's always so… confident. I have a feeling she can take care of herself."
"I'm with Ben," Tyler agreed. "Besides, if that other kid messed Anna up, you know those big Brother and Sisters of hers would get involved."Especially for hitting a girl you know.
"Have you been down to La Push lately?" Makayla asked. "Lauren and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago, and believe me, Honeymaren's friends are all just as big as she is."
"Huh," Tyler said. "Too bad it didn't turn into anything. Guess we'll never know how it would have turned out."
"It didn't look over to me," Austin said. "Maybe we'll get to see."
Makayla grinned. "Anyone in the mood for a bet?"
"Ten on Honeymaren," Austin said at once.
"Ten on Cullen," Tyler chimed in.
"Ten on Anna," Ben agreed.
"Honeymaren," Makayla said.
"Hey, do you guys know what it was about?" Austin wondered. "That might affect the odds."
"I can guess," Makayla said, and then she shot a glance at me at the same time that Ben and Tyler did.
From their expressions, none of them had realized I was in easy hearing distance. They all looked away quickly, shuffling the papers on their desks.
"I still say Honeymaren," Makayla muttered under her breath.