Ever (21 page)

Jaren sounded so concerned that I looked up into his blue eyes and was abruptly lost in them.

“Any what?” I breathed.

“Energy. That girl’s a vamp if I ever saw one.” Jaren sounded frustrated.

“Well, if you could tell, then why did you talk to her?”

“Hey, she’s your friend. I was only trying to be nice. Being on the bad side of an energy vamp isn’t wise.”

“I don’t think friend is the correct term,” I grumbled.

“Well, you spend a lot of time with her. You don’t consider her a friend?”

“We were close when we were younger. Then her parents got a divorce. She…changed.”

The tenuous relationship between Val and me had progressed little by little until that day I spilled the
Artemis Vulgaris
stuff all over myself. Since that day, things had changed again. And now I was starting to understand why.

Val was a bona fide energy vampire.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Always an Outcast?

I
skipped lunch for the next few days. Naomi texted me, seeming genuinely concerned, which was unexpected and nice. I told her the truth: I had volunteered to copy papers for my Spanish teacher for a few extra points—that I didn’t really need. What I needed was to figure out what was going on without having to deal with Val at the same time. Being around Val was making me really uncomfortable now that I knew what she was doing.

I finished copying Señora Sevilla’s homework packets and dropped them off in the office. I lagged on the way back to my locker, unsure of what to do with myself. My eyes drifted over small circles of Populars, Goths and Stoners. The Cheerleaders were seated together near the outdoor amphitheater. A group of Athletes lounged by the trees at the rear of the commons, near the office. I glanced to my spot at the top of the stairs and a reddish-brown wisp caught my eye.

Val was up to no good from the looks of it. The way Jaren explained it, what she was doing wasn’t her fault. Val wasn’t even aware of her energy stealing. I wanted to stop her but I had no idea how. I sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time where Jaren was. Not that he was obligated to tell me his whereabouts or anything, but I hadn’t heard from him in almost twenty-four hours. It was a long stretch of time, considering we had communicated every day since the night he showed up outside my window.

Thoughts of curling up next to Jaren, sleeping cuddled against his muscled chest flooded my mind and a pleasurable sensation unfurled low in my belly. My body felt warm and an almost unbearable ache began to throb in a very sensitive place. I sucked in my breath, attracting the attention of two of the more mean-spirited Candy Girls.

“Like, what’s up with the freaking Outcasts this year?” One of them wondered loudly, sneering at me with obvious disdain.

I threw up my barriers fast and took off for the nearest bathroom, feeling like a total loser. Even with my new awareness and my energy shield, it seemed that I wasn’t immune to being scorned.

* * *

I plodded through the rest of the day, feeling sluggish in both mind and spirit. Jaren still hadn’t texted. What were the rules about texting guys anyway? I glanced again at the clock. Ten more minutes until fifth period was over. Then my nerves could fester in private.

I had already turned in my quiz. We had been instructed to read quietly at our desks or work on something from another class but I was too distracted to do anything. I fiddled with my hair, twirling it around my fingers. Almost everyone was done. The quiz had been easier than I had expected, given that I had only studied for an hour the night before. There was a lot of material to cover but somehow, the facts seemed be photographed into my brain. I just read the answers off of the page in my head.

“Turn it in, Leana. Time’s up.”

Leana?
How had it escaped my notice that she was in the same bio class as me? I glanced back to discover that Leana sat about four desks behind me, in the last seat of the row. Her face was screwed up in a tight mask of worry as her pencil hovered over the paper. It was only a chapter quiz and it wasn’t worth a lot of our grade, but Leana looked like she was taking the test really seriously. I felt a wave of negative energy shoot out from her as Hopkins approached to collect her work, and I slammed my barriers up to protect myself.

The expected blast never came. I pretended to be reaching for my backpack to take another look. Mystified, I watched as another new energy smoke phenomenon occurred. The brackish cloud that surrounded Leana did explode in a big cloud as I had anticipated, but before it could reach anyone, the mist swirled near Leana’s chest and then poured back into her, as though it was being suctioned by a vacuum. The area around Leana’s heart darkened for an instant, and then the smoke was gone.

Leana handed in her test without a word. The bell rang and she was the first one out the door. There was something…off about her. I couldn’t quite get a read on her energy but when I focused on her, I felt cold all over. I wanted to follow her—maybe even talk to her. But she would most likely snub me. Leana was a Popular-Athlete. Double the status.

And no matter how much I wanted to think things were different, I was still just an Outcast.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Turn Down the Volume, Please!

S
pring break was only ten days away, and I was no closer to figuring out who the crying girl was. The whole thing was stressing me out big time. To make matters worse, there was an almost constant hum in the back of my mind—the carnival music and the accompanying whine were taking up a lot of my mental space. Jaren was conspicuously absent, but I was hesitant to text him again. I had sent him two messages but he hadn’t yet responded, and I didn’t want to be a stalker. On the school front, things were going well. My grades were soaring and I was doing less work than I had ever done in my life. My barriers went up automatically now whenever the energy vampires were active around me.

I guess I was a little over-confident about my new abilities as I headed into biology. I never considered that the things I was experiencing could cause me physical pain. I was about to find out that I was wrong about that.

The minute I walked into the classroom, my crystal began to hum around my neck. The whisper was back, tickling the back of my mind. Why was the sound so faint? What did it mean—that I was hearing this now? Here? Without knowing why, I pictured a radio tuner in my head and mentally turned it up. Instantly, ear-shattering sobs wracked my brain. I jumped to my feet as the volume ratcheted up and up. My eardrums throbbed and my head felt like it was going to explode.

“Make it stop!” I cried, dropping to my knees next to my desk.

The screaming was deafening. I fell to my knees in the aisle and clapped my hands over my ears. Vaguely, I was aware of Hopkins running down the aisle. My ears felt like they were bleeding.

“Make it stop,” I begged, oblivious to the stares of my classmates. Something burst inside my head.

Then I was just…gone.

* * *

“Honey? Are you awake?”

I blinked. “Yes, Mom. What’s wrong?”

Why was she in my room? Wait—this wasn’t my room. The memory of that scream came rushing back and I let out a shriek, raising my arms to cover my ears, only to feel a painful tug. There was an IV drip in my arm, preventing me from moving all that much.

“What is it, Everleigh? Does your head hurt?”

No. It didn’t. I was okay…I hoped. I stared at my mom, puzzled. The last thing I remembered was walking into my bio class. Then the noise.

“What happened?” I asked.

“You passed out, Everleigh.” Mom explained. “Have you been feeling okay lately?”

Well, how was I supposed to answer that?

“Um, sure. I guess so.”

“Nothing out of the ordinary has been happening?” Mom probed, searching my face.

“Everything’s fine, Mom.”

The IV machine beeped and I noticed that the fluid was gone. A few minutes later, a woman in a white coat came in carrying a clipboard. “How are you feeling, young lady?”

“I feel…fine. A little spaced out, maybe.”

“Your blood sugar was low when you arrived. When was the last time you ate?”

I didn’t like this woman’s tone. She looked at me like I was some sort of science experiment.

“Um, I ate breakfast this morning.”

“What did your breakfast consist of?”

“I don’t really remember.”

The woman turned away from me and addressed my mom. “Your daughter is very underweight. I would recommend a referral to a nutritionist.”

My mouth fell open at her suggestion. “I don’t need—”

My mom cut in, “Thank you. I need Everleigh’s discharge papers, now.”

The nurse nodded curtly and walked out. I was glad to see her go.

“Mom, I don’t need a nutritionist! I eat!” I protested.

“I know, Everleigh. You’re perfectly healthy. What I can’t figure out is why you passed out at school. Mr. Hopkins said you were screaming about noise, but there was no noise in the classroom. Do you remember anything at all?”

The way my mom was staring at me made me a little uncomfortable. It was like she expected me to say something but I wasn’t sure what it was. I shrugged. “Not really.”

“Well, then, let’s get out of here. You need some rest and the best place for you to do that is at home.”

I wasn’t about to argue with that.

* * *

I was a drowsy puddle after the salt bath my mom ran for me. Soaking in the hot, lavender-scented water made my body feel clean and my head feel clear. I managed to pull on my leggings and an oversized sweatshirt before settling myself in bed. Reruns of
The Golden Girls
were on, and I didn’t have the energy to change the channel. Plus, those ladies were hilarious. I had watched the show with Gram all the time.

Bear scratched at the door and then nosed her way into my room. She leapt up onto the bed and curled around my head on my pillow. She used to do that, back when Gram passed. It was comforting. I dozed, thankful for the lack of visions, dreams or weird sounds when I closed my eyes.

The doorbell rang, rousing me from my nap. I sat up and sipped at the cool tea that sat on my bedside table. It was getting dark outside. I yawned, contemplating a snack, when there was a light knock on my bedroom door.

“Everleigh? There’s someone here to see you,” my mom called.

Val, Dara and Naomi had group texted me after school but I wasn’t in the mood to explain myself so I hadn’t responded yet.

“Sure, Mom,” I replied.

The door swung open, and I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t six gorgeous feet of Jaren Wilder. But there he was—looking worried.

“Are you okay?” He didn’t even wait for me to get up. Nope, not Jaren. He barged right on into my room. I caught the surprised look on my mom’s face as she stepped out of his way.

“Everleigh, you didn’t mention you knew Jaren?”

Oh, great. Now I was sure I was blushing. “Uh, yeah, Mom. He was on the field trip.”

“Oh. Okay. Do you want anything to drink?” she asked Jaren.

“No, thank you, Mrs. Jordan.” He flashed his megawatt smile her way and just like that, Jaren had won over my mom.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” she said as she walked out. “I’ll get you two some cookies.”

Two seconds later, he had crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. Oh, it was like being wrapped in a cocoon. Warmth radiated from the center of his chest to encircle me—almost like his heart was cradling mine.

“You didn’t answer me,” he murmured into my hair.

“Hm?” Was he talking? What was he talking about? It just felt so good to be in his arms.

“Are you okay? I heard you fainted in biology class. What happened, Ever?”

I sighed. “I’ll tell you, but…”

“What?”

“Could you just…stay right here, please?” I whispered.

“Of course.” His hand stroked through my hair sending chills of pleasure across my scalp.

Holy wow.

“Tell me.”

I remembered everything now and explained it to Jaren, even the radio tuner image that had caused everything to go haywire.

“Maybe my brain short-circuited or something?”