Demon (37 page)

Justyn hardly spared the professor a glance. “Forget him,” he said with a wave of his hand. “They’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

Rebecca nodded, and they took a step toward the door. However, it was a mistake to take their eyes off him, even for a second, when he was still armed. Rebecca felt more than heard the swish of air as Professor Carter started to move. In an instant, he was up and running toward them, the razor blade in his hand.

“You killed my daughter!”

Rebecca turned back around just in time to see the knife coming at them, aimed at Justyn. He was only a step behind them. They had no defense. They had no time to run. Rebecca was sure he would cut Justyn down, and probably her too, before anyone could stop him.

“Hi-yay!”

The shout echoed through the room, startling everyone. It was followed by a jean-covered leg that crashed into Professor Carter’s chest and sent him sprawling to the ground. Rebecca and Justyn both stood in open-mouthed wonder as Frankie twisted the professor’s arm around to disable him. The knife fell to the ground, and a second later, Frankie pinned both the professor’s hands behind his back. Despite the fact Frankie was about half his size, he had Professor Carter positioned in a way that made him completely unable to move no matter how much he grunted and struggled.

“Yeah! Toby saves the day again!” Frankie announced. “Nothin’ gonna hurt
no one
when there’s a black belt around!” He actually laughed when Justyn and Rebecca still looked incredulous. “What? How do you think a twerpy genius like me made it through four years of high school without getting shoved in any lockers?”

Even as he finished the sentence, the police and firemen burst through the door. They relieved Frankie of his burden and led them all to the safety of the street curb. Rebecca watched as Livy was taken away in an ambulance, her face still chalk-white, but her wrists securely bound. The E.M.T.s assured them she would survive, but wouldn’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon. At the same time, Professor Carter fought and cursed as the detective, who had handled the rape case from the beginning, read him his rights and shoved him, handcuffs and all, inside the squad car.

While it seemed like a lifetime had passed, Rebecca realized it had only been about an hour since she’d stepped into her bedroom and found Livy waiting. It had been the longest hour of her life. Justyn told her that he ran out of his calculus class in the middle of his exam when he got the odd text message, feeling strongly that something was wrong. Frankie, seeing the distress on his face, risked failing his first test ever just to follow him. Rebecca owed her life to both of them. But thank goodness, it was all over. She was securely tucked away in the ambulance Justyn had insisted on. There, safe in the arms of the man she loved, she finally gave into the effects of the sleeping pills and left the nightmare of the
Demon Barber
far behind her.

“So let me get this straight.” Carmen leaned over as far into the front seat of the car as she could, as though she wanted to make sure they could see the dumbfounded expression on her face. “You got a text message about hamburgers and
that’s
what made you realize something was up?”

“Well, even if Becca had some crazy craving for a hamburger that she just absolutely
had
to have, she wouldn’t have asked me to pick them up for ‘us’. Seriously though, I almost ignored it, but it just kept nagging at me. I kept thinking about the note in my locker and the dream I kept having. Finally, I knew I couldn’t sit there anymore answering calculus questions unless I knew Becca was okay. I went out in the hall and tried to call her back. When she didn’t answer the phone, I took off.”

“Wow, so what you’re really telling us is that you being a salad-muncher is what saved the day.” Tom laughed. “Who’d have thunk it.”

“It was actually Frankie following Justyn that
really
saved the day,” Rebecca corrected them.

“Kinda like the way I saved all your sorry butts last year?” Carmen teased.

“Exactly.” Rebecca grinned. “Thank goodness he didn’t listen when Justyn told him to stay downstairs.”

Justyn nodded and laughed. “True. Please forget what I said about him being less threatening than a ten-year-old girl. With his black belt, you might be safer with him than you are with me. Besides, I wouldn’t want him to kick my butt.”

“Are they going to flunk you guys for running out of that class?” Tom asked.

Justyn snickered. “Not at all. In fact, it seems that when one of your teachers tries to kill you, it guarantees you a four-point-oh for the semester. We pretty much get a free ride through winter finals.”

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing,” Carmen said, sitting back and buckling her seatbelt. “You two sure do attract the crazies. Listening to all this makes me glad I left the drama of the drama club behind in high school.”

Tom chuckled and lifted his water bottle in salute. “Here’s to hoping you guys make it through at least one performance without anyone trying to kill you.”

“Hear, hear,” Justyn agreed, though he was too busy driving to actually toast. “But like Darlene keeps telling me, we must have burned off any bad karma we had accumulated by now. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from this point on.”

“Which means a happy ending to our real-life play?” Rebecca asked.

He smiled. “What other kind could there be?”

Rebecca sighed and sunk back into the faded leather of the ancient Mustang. It hadn’t changed much in the months it had spent parked in Darlene’s garage. Pieces of rust still fell on their heads as soon the accelerator reached sixty miles per hour. But Justyn had missed his baby and insisted on taking her out for a ride. Of course, being the ever-mysterious man that he was, he had yet to reveal where they were going. They had been heading south on the New Jersey parkway for a good twenty minutes, with the only clue to their destination being the pile of blankets Justyn had tossed into the backseat.

Tom and Carmen didn’t seem to mind the long drive. Once the conversation died down, they started making out, desperate and hungry to make up for the months they’d spent apart. Rebecca left them to their intimate moment and watched the trees flash by outside the car window. There were some evergreens sprinkled amongst the foliage, but for the most part, only a few golden leaves still clung to the branches. There was a definite chill in the air that foretold winter was on its way.

“So, you’re not going to nag me about where we’re going?” Justyn broke the silence. He reached across the seat to clasp her hand.

Rebecca shook her head. “I think I’m growing more patient as I get older. Either that or I’ve learned to enjoy your little surprises.”

It was only a few minutes later that Justyn turned off the parkway onto the exit that led to Wildwood, the same little island they had visited the last day of summer vacation. Back in August there had been a line of traffic that went on for miles, and it took them a good half hour just to cross the bridge and enter the city limits. In the late fall, it looked like a ghost town. They might have passed a total of five other cars on the whole ride down the desolate streets. Most of the businesses were shut down, and some even boarded up for the winter season. Even the restaurant they had eaten at, Duffy’s on the Lake, had a huge sign on the door that read
See You Next Summer.

“Ummm, dude, you do know that this place shuts down in the winter, right?” Tom asked. He had finally come up for air in order to peek out the window and see where Justyn was leading them.

“Nature never shuts down, Tom,” Justyn reminded him. “Besides, the ocean is much more enjoyable without all the tourists.”

Justyn pulled the Mustang over on a side street that was lined with huge hotels, whose parking lots were eerily empty. The spot was right across the street from the beach, which meant they didn’t have far to walk—another thing that would have been next to impossible in the summer without paying extravagant parking fees. In the winter though, even the parking meters were turned off.

“I never figured you for the type to take the Polar Bear Plunge,” Carmen teased, referring to an annual jump into the icy ocean water.

Justyn rolled his eyes. “I have no intention of getting wet, but if you two are up for some skinny-dipping, feel free.”

As he spoke, he pulled the stack of blankets out of the backseat and thrust half of them at Tom. Rebecca zipped her winter coat as she stepped out of the heated car into the chilly night air. The ocean breeze lashing her bare cheeks made it seem even colder than it had just a half an hour inland.

The four of them crossed under the deserted boardwalk and onto the vast stretch of sand beyond it, carrying only the blankets and their water bottles. It was a completely different atmosphere than it had been in the summer. Behind them, the Ferris wheels and roller coasters looked like giant metal skeletons looming over them in the dark. The only lights were a sprinkling of lampposts, whose bulbs had yet to burn out. During the tourist season, the beach was plowed every morning and cleaned of ocean debris. Now it was left in its all-natural splendor, with dunes of sand, piles of seaweed, and patches of driftwood lying in patches. The life guard stands had been packed away for the winter as well, leaving the shoreline utterly deserted and splendid in its untouched beauty.

“It’s freezing out here, Justyn,” Carmen complained. “Can you please tell us what we’re doing in the middle of nowhere?”

He gave her a mysterious smile. “You’ll see soon enough. Trust me. You’re all going to love this.”

“Don’t worry, babe.” Tom put his arm around Carmen. “I’ll keep you warm.”

That seemed to satisfy Carmen, and they started to set up their blankets as close to the coastline as they dared. They didn’t want to get soaked when the tide came in. Once they were settled in, they stared out at the water in silence. The night was perfectly clear, with the waxing moon filling the sky with its illumination. The stars twinkled like faraway diamonds. Without the lights on the pier to diminish their glow, they seemed clearer and brighter than ever. Rebecca wasn’t sure what Justyn had planned, but it was already a perfect night as far as she was concerned. She didn’t even feel cold, especially snuggled beside him under the blankets. At first he was tentative with his embrace, afraid he would hurt her bruised ribs. But the wounds were already healing, and all she wanted was to feel his arms around her. After some prompting, he pulled her a little closer.

“Okay. So, we’re sitting here waiting for what exactly?” Carmen asked after ten minutes had passed. Patience was a virtue Rebecca’s best friend still hadn’t mastered.

Justyn glanced at his watch, squinting to see the numbers in the dark. “Any minute now, Carmen. Any minute … wait! It’s starting. Look!”

Across the night sky, a beam of light spread over the horizon, brighter and more radiant than it would ever have appeared in the city. It flew across the sky and almost seemed to disappear into the murky water below.

“Wow! A shooting star!” Tom exclaimed. “But how did you…?”

Justyn held up a finger to silence him. “Wait for it.”

Another star shot across the horizon. Then another. Soon a whole chorus of heavenly lights was weaving a magical dance in the night sky. The group sat and stared in wonder, awed to silence by the beauty before them.

“It … it’s stunning,” Rebecca whispered, squeezing Justyn’s hand a little tighter.

“It’s a meteor shower,” Justyn explained. “I knew we could get a great view of it out here.”

“It really is awesome,” Carmen agreed grudgingly. “Even if it does take me hours to get the sand out of my….”

Rebecca punched her in the arm. “Don’t even say it, Carmen.”

Carmen only shrugged.

“Seriously, dude,” Tom said. “I know you’re about nature and stuff, but how did you know to be here at just the right time?”

Justyn raised an eyebrow. “It was all over the news and the Internet, Tom. You just need to pay attention.”

“So what are we supposed to do now? Make, like, a bazillion wishes?” Carmen asked. “One for each falling star?”

“You can if you like,” Justyn said. “But I only have one wish that really matters.”

Rebecca smiled. “What wish is that?”

“Technically, I’m not supposed to tell you,” he teased. “But I guess it can’t hurt. I wished to live happily ever after with you.”

Tom rolled his eyes. “So corny, dude,” he complained, but still reached out for Carmen’s hand. “Although, I guess happily ever after with the right girl wouldn’t be so bad.”

“To happy endings.” Rebecca raised her water bottle.

Since everyone had their hands free, they all clinked their plastic bottles—or in Justyn’s case—his reusable stainless steel canteen.

“To happy endings,” they all chorused.

The four of them leaned back into the blankets to enjoy the rest of nature’s play and their brief reunion. The next day, they would be heading back to school. Of course, winter break was only a month away. In the meantime, Rebecca enjoyed the time they had together. As she watched the meteors dance across the horizon, Justyn’s face seemed to shine almost as brightly as the stars themselves, at least in her eyes. It made Rebecca realize her happy ending was already in her grasp.

Coming Soon from Author Laura DeLuca