When the Shadows Fall by Elise Noble

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 31 - SKY

WHY DID THINGS always have to fall apart? Every time a chink of light shone onto my life, some asshole had to go and flip the switch. Again and again it had happened, ever since I was a little girl. When I finally got taken away from my dad and put into foster care, my first foster sister had hated me. I got moved from that place and met Lenny, only for us to be split up. My third foster mom said I had bad juju, but I’m pretty sure she was into voodoo. I wasn’t with her for long. She accidentally burned her flat to ashes when one of her spells went wrong.

That streak of luck had followed me across the Atlantic, it appeared. I’d begun to enjoy my life, and then the events at the Grove had brought it crashing down around my ears. I’d picked up the pieces as best I could, only for Rafael, the guy I’d come to trust, to pull away from me completely. He’d ghosted me. Every time I tried to call him, I got voicemail.

And I’d met Asher and Vanessa, only for fate or karma or whatever to step in once more. I’d been banned from talking to Asher outside of class, and now Vanessa was in tears. Again. It was only nine thirty a.m., and I’d found her like that when I came back to our room after a biology lesson in which Asher and I were made to sit at opposite ends of the lab. Halfway through class, someone passed me a note from him. Ezra had confiscated his phone.

“What did she do?” I asked.

It had to be Deandra again, right? Vanessa had just had a music lesson with the bitch.

She pointed at her desk, and I saw the mangled remains of her glasses sitting on her composition book. She didn’t wear them all the time, but she needed them for close-up work. One of the lenses was mostly intact, but the other was covered in a spiderweb of cracks and the arms were twisted.

“She knocked them off my desk and stepped on them.”

“Deandra?”

Vanessa nodded, and a tear rolled down her cheek and plopped from her chin.

“Let me guess—another accident?”

“That’s what she said.”

Was the girl dense? Was getting her hair washed in eau de toilet once not enough? Good grief. What was it my parkour teacher used to tell me every time an idiot got in our way?

“You can’t fix stupid, even with zip ties and duct tape,” I muttered.

“You can’t fix it, but you can knock it out with ketamine,” said the voice in my ear. Yup, Sofia was back on duty. She seemed slightly calmer today. Perhaps Emmy hadn’t been kidding about the meds?

“I just want her to leave me alone. Even the others looked shocked by what she did. Carlie apologised before she ran out after her.”

Had I contributed to the problem? I’d only been trying to help, but what if I’d pushed Deandra over the edge? A cornered dog always fought the hardest.

“I’m so sorry.” I seemed to be apologising a lot too lately, mostly on other people’s behalf. “Can you get new glasses? We could go to the mall on Sunday.”

“Maybe. I don’t have the money, but I can call my mom.”

“I can pay.”

“That’s not fair.”

But it was right. “I’m paying.”

“Don’t wait until the weekend,” Sofia told me. “Ryder’s on his way. Meet him at the gates and give him what’s left of the glasses, and Bradley can get another pair for you by this evening.”

I couldn’t answer, but it didn’t matter because Sofia wasn’t asking a question. She was telling me how it was going to be. For once, I didn’t mind her pushiness. Vanessa needed glasses, and perhaps the sweetest revenge on Deandra would be for Vanessa to turn up with a new pair first thing tomorrow morning.

“Can you manage for today?” I asked Vanessa.

“I don’t have much choice. We’ve got chemistry next—will you help me if I can’t see the textbook?”

“Sure. I’ll meet you in the chemistry lab, okay?”

“Ooh, the chemistry lab,” Sofia said. “I love chemistry labs. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

That evening, I found out what Ezra Rosenberg meant when he said they’d be putting extra monitoring in place. Ryder texted to say he had Vanessa’s new glasses plus a spare phone for Asher, but when I put on a pair of shoes to go and meet him, I only made it halfway across the living room before a voice stopped me.

“Where are you going?”

I turned to see Miss Brooks sitting on the couch by the fireplace, a novel splayed out across one thigh. She taught cello and violin, so I hadn’t had much interaction with her, but I knew her by reputation. Rumour said she’d been a dominatrix in a previous life.

“For a walk.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She stared at me. I stared at her. I knew I wasn’t going to win this one, so I shrugged and walked back upstairs. Then I opened the window and shinned down the sturdy tree outside. Rafael had taught me that head-on confrontation wasn’t always the best policy. Sometimes, a little out-of-the-box thinking was required.

The wind whipped through the trees and made their branches twist and bend as I jogged down the driveway. I didn’t mind the weather. I’d worn a dark tracksuit with a hood, and the dancing shadows helped me to blend in with the scenery. Ryder too. If I hadn’t known exactly where he’d be waiting, I’d never have found him. A hand flashed out from the undergrowth, I got a quick smile and a wave, and then he melted away into the darkness. I’d heard he was former special forces, and it showed.

But I’d learned a few tricks myself, and I stuck to the treeline, keeping my footsteps quiet out of habit even though there was nobody to hear them.

Or was there?

I was halfway up the driveway when I saw a silhouette heading towards me. Ah, shit. Had I been spotted? Or did other students make unauthorised pickups from their Man Friday late at night too? I ducked among the trees to wait for the interloper to pass, only to do a double take when I realised who it was.

“Asher?”

“Sky? Where are you?”

I quickly stepped out of the bushes and pulled him closer, keeping us both out of sight.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you, but when I got close to New Hall, I saw you climb down a tree and vanish in this direction. What are you? A ghost?”

“You got out? Don’t you have a babysitter?”

“Yeah, but it’s Dr. Pearson. He’s got bowel problems. He went to take a dump, which means I’ve got at least twenty minutes.”

“Here, take this.” I pressed the phone into his hand. “It should be charged.”

“A phone? Where did you get it?”

“My parents live nearby. Did you hear Deandra broke Vanessa’s glasses this morning? I wanted to get her a spare pair as a surprise, and I asked for a phone at the same time.”

“You’re too damn sweet, Sky Milburn.”

Malone. My name was Sky Malone, and I wished I could tell him. Mind you, he usually called me Chem Girl, so I figured I should celebrate the small wins.

“I’m sorry about last night.”

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who should’ve been faster.”

“Because I caused even more problems. Now they think we need chaperones.”

Asher ran his fingertips down my arm, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. When his hand reached mine, he twined our fingers together.

“Are they wrong?”

My heart went from tortoise to hare in half a second. What was he saying? Not… Not… I waited for the familiar tightness to grip my chest, for the air to stick in my lungs. But the panic didn’t come. And when I realised I was okay, I felt more confusion than relief.

“What did your parents say?” he asked. “I saw them here yesterday.”

“About us getting caught together? They’re fine with it.”

“They are? I thought the Rosenbergs were gonna shit bricks. I got the whole ‘how dare you risk the reputation of this school?’ lecture from Ezra, then Saul showed up, and he only stopped yelling when Grandma appeared and banged her cane on the floor. Ezra was ready to send me to public school until she stepped in. If he’d caught me with the test paper, I’d probably be on a plane back to San Diego right now.”

“I’m glad you’re not.”

“Me too.”

Asher watched me in the moonlight. What was he thinking? Trying to decide whether I was worth the trouble?

“Do you need to get back?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do.”

Then he kissed me. And it wasn’t a rabid, sloppy disaster like fourteen-year-old me’s first mistake with a boy, nor the nasty show of dominance I’d got from Brock Keaton. It definitely wasn’t a chaste peck on the cheek either. No, it was more like a continuation of our first fumbled attempt in the hallway outside Dr. Merrit’s office, except this time Asher’s tongue got farther and my toes curled in my trainers.

Wow. I never knew it could be like that.

“Neither did I,” he whispered.

Oops. Had I said that out loud? Thank goodness I’d left my comms unit charging or it would have been even more awkward.

“How long do you have left?” I could do that all over again.

He checked his watch. “I really have to go. I wish I could stay.”

“I’ll call you, Shortcut.”

“Don’t fall out of your tree, Chem.”

“I won’t.”

But I did have trouble climbing it. The strength had gone from my legs, and I had to haul myself up with arms and willpower. Asher had kissed me. And I’d survived to tell the tale. Wow. I slithered through the window and crawled over to my bed.

“Asher?” Vanessa asked from the other side of the room.

“Who else?” I pulled her glasses out of my pocket. “Here, I got you a present. Happy Christmas.”

“Huh?”

I was too tired to explain any further. No, not tired. Dazed. “Dazed” was the right word. I crawled under the covers and closed my eyes.