Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) (28 page)

“So
, let’s take a couple of hours,” Zac suggested. “All of us can get lunch and talk.” He was smirking. “Unless you’re too tired, of course. You look like you didn’t sleep last night.”

I ha
d seen myself in the mirror. My lack of sleep wasn’t obvious, but I bet my shaking hands were. Zac’s eyes were all over them.

“Who
’s the present for?” he questioned.

I tightened my grip, hoping my fingers would
lock in place, and turned to Robb. “I’d appreciate if you got your car out of my driveway,” I said.

Robb’s eyes widened when I met his gaze. He hadn’t been expecting it.

“I’d do anything to make it up to you, Jess,” he spoke as if he hadn’t heard what I said. “Anything.”

“See?” Zac’s voice had deepened. “He cares about you.”

“And Linda?” I asked, hoping to gain an advantage. “I would think she’d want to be a part of this conversation.” I doubted she even knew what Robb did.

“Come on, Jess,” Zac coaxed. “
Let’s focus on the problem here. Robb was drunk and—” His black eyes dipped to my neck, but I knew my bruises were gone. “Robb hit you.” His tone made my injuries feel as if they’d returned.

“He choked me,” I corrected in a shaky voice.

The darkness in Zac’s eyes was suddenly more frightening than what Robb had done. I moved away only for him to reposition himself.

I glared at him. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

He leaned in. “But haven’t you been through worse?”

I froze as Crystal rushed to my side. She grabbed my arm like she was my bodyguard. “She doesn’t want to,” she said, but her voice was quieter than usual.

Zac skimmed his hand across her arm. “Friendships shouldn’t end so easily, don’t you think?”

It wasn’t easy, but Crystal didn’t argue, and I couldn’t speak. Zac knew something
, and he had threatened me with it.

“You were both drunk,” Zac continued, controlling the debate. “Neither of you knew what you were doing.”

Robb sulked over from his Suburban, his hands in his pockets. “I know it isn’t forgivable,” he said. “But I can try to make it up to you.”

“And everyone can use more friends,” Zac added. “No one likes to be alone.”

His words lingered like his continuous threat. It hadn’t even occurred to me that going out alone was dangerous because I was too focused on Eric.

“I’m not alone,” I said, gesturing to Crystal, and she straightened up.

“But she wants you two to be friends again,” Zac spoke for her, meeting her eyes. “Or is that not what you told me last night?”

I whipped around to face her, and the flush of her cheeks gave away her guilt.

“I thought you were on my side,” I said.

“I am,” she squeaked, signaling what I was already thinking. She was a completely different person when Zac was around.

“She just wants her friends to get along,” Zac said. “Is that so bad?”

He made it sound simple, like Robb and I had argued over what party to go to
, but it wasn’t. And my life wasn’t either. Petty drama couldn’t even be compared to what had happened the night before.

“Think of everything Robb’s helped you through, Jess,” Zac said. “Like your nightmares.” He brought up my biggest problem like he could read my mind. “Those st
opped, didn’t they?”

When I looked at him, he was grinning. Next to me, Crystal looked
like she would faint over his smile. Robb folded his arms. I only wanted to get away, but I didn’t want to be alone, and I wasn’t sure how to trust Crystal. I had a decision to make, and I had to make it quickly.

I turned to Robb.
“I can try to forgive you.”

H
is eyebrows shot up. “Really?” His tone was as heightened as when we met. “You mean that, Jess?”

I forced a nod. “But I can’t hang out. I n
eed to go somewhere,” I said, grabbing Crystal. “And you’re coming with me.”

“What
?” She couldn’t comprehend why I wanted her around. She didn’t know that I needed her as protection.

“I’m running errands that need your expertise,” I said, eyeing her until she agreed. My anger was second to my situation with Eric, so I turned to the bo
ys. “We’ll get lunch tomorrow.”

“I’m busy tomorrow,” Robb spoke before Zac for the first time. “Both of us are.”

“Then, next week,” I dismissed, moving toward my car. “We’ll get together then.”

“Okay,” Robb agreed, bouncing up with newfound energy. “Thank you, Jess.”

“Sure thing,” I responded, and Robb ran back to his car, ready to move it.

Zac, however, didn’t move. “Mind if I talk to Jess for a minute, Crystal?” he asked her without moving his eyes away from me.

She blinked, and Zac grabbed her arm, pulling her close. He laid a kiss on her lips, and I sucked in a breath. “I’ll call you later,” he said, and she left like he controlled her.

When she was out of earshot,
I folded my arms. “Your relationship sure took off.”

H
e dragged his thumb over his lip. “Jealous?”

Heat spread over my face. “You better be good to her,” I warned, but he didn’t budge.

“I was wrong about you, Jess,” he said, walking past me. “You are capable.”

I watched his back, contemplating my own verbal assault until he disappeared i
nto Robb’s car. They backed out, and Zac waved before I rushed to my car. I threw Eric’s present in the backseat and got behind the wheel, slamming the door behind me.

“Dump him,” I said.

Crystal looked like she would cry. “I’m sorry. I wanted to talk to you first, but—”

“You didn’t hear me, did you?” I
turned my torso to glare at her. “I don’t care about you coming over with Robb. Just dump Zac.”

She was pale. “I—I can’t. I like him.”

“He’s an asshole,” I said, telling her what he said as he left.

Her lip qui
vered like she couldn’t fathom it. “He’s sweet to me,” she justified. “He’s probably still hurt from prom.”

“That’s not an excuse,” I said, and Crystal was quiet. “You can do better, and you know it.”

“I’m not like you, Jess,” she said, and I reached across the car to shake her shoulders. When I stopped, her eyes were wide.

“You’re smart, capable, and pretty,” I argued. “You don’t need them.”

“But you forgave Robb,” she said. “Doesn’t that mean something?”

I couldn’t tell her I only forgave him
to get them to leave. I had someone after me, and Zac seemed to know about it. I didn’t want to think about how close I came to meeting whoever was after me. “I guess,” I surrendered, knowing I needed to keep myself safe before I dealt with my personal life.

I started the engine and backed out of the driveway, trying not to dwell on my emotions. I didn’t have time for that.

“Are we dropping off Eric’s present?” Crystal asked, knowing what was inside.

“No,” I said, unsure of how close I could get to
him without risking everything. “We’re going Christmas shopping, and you’re sleeping over.”

Eric

“Happy birthday,” Mindy cheered as I lifted new headphones out of the box she had wrapped them in. “I hope you like them.”

“They’re great.
” I attempted to look excited. “Thank you.”

“He’ll use them so much he’ll need a new pair next year,” George
joked.

Jonathon
tried to grab the glass from his father’s hand. “You’ve had too much to drink,” he said, but George pulled away.

“Nonsense.” T
he beer sloshed around. “It’s Eric’s birthday. We’re here to celebrate.”

Or get so drunk that we can’t remember the
prophetic battle
, Jonathon ranted to me.

He’ll be fine,
I said, hoping to calm my friend, but we both knew it was a lie. How George would fight drunk was beyond me, but he also had hours until it happened. The sun wouldn’t set for a while.

“My present
− on the table,” George slurred.

“Thanks, George,” I said, moving upstairs. Teresa and Jonathon followed me. We sat at the kitchen table, overlooking the living room, and Noah bounced around us.

“What is it?” he asked.

Mindy waved her son away. “Let them
talk, Noah,” she said, and he obeyed her without a pout. He was continuing to mature, and I wanted to reward him for it.

“Here,” I said, handing it to my stepbrother. “You open it.”

He grabbed it. “Really?”

“Why not?”

His grin looked like it could break his face in half, and he tore the gift open. “It’s a gift card.” He sounded disappointed.

“I thought putting it in a big box would be
funny,” George laughed to himself, turning to my silent father. “What did you get him, Jim?”

“He already gave me a present,” I answered for h
im. Everyone had curious stares but my father. His old, brown eyes lit up, and we nodded to each other, knowing the black box my mother left me was possibly the most important gift I would ever receive. But I didn’t want to talk about it.

“I got you a
nother present,” my father said, resting against the wall. I wondered if he had drank as much as George. “I just haven’t picked it up yet.”

My brow rose. “Another one?”
You didn’t need to do that.

Yes, I did,
he responded telepathically first. “I’m giving it to you after your birthday,” he explained. “I want to make sure you can survive the responsibility of being eighteen before I give it to you.”

Everyone laughed like it was a joke, even though mostly everyone knew it wasn’t.

I laid my hands in my lap and stared at the table as the adults started their own conversation. Noah ran to his bedroom, and I knew no one would hear us.

Teresa laid a hand on my shoulder. “It’s still your birthday,” she said. “Try to enjoy what you can.
We don’t even know if it’ll happen tonight.”

“It’s my birthday,” I grumbled. “It’s happening tonight.”

“If it were that simple, the Light would be knocking on your front door,” she argued.

“B
ut they want a war,” Jonathon said. “And it’s obviously for their advantage.”

“They want to wait.
” Teresa suddenly took our side. “But I don’t see why.”

“Me neither.”
I knew the Light had said they wanted to take out as many people with them as possible, but the theory relied solely on their downfall. A war was their surrender, but they weren’t acting as if they were giving up. They were still after Jessica and me.

“It didn’t work,” I said, informing Camille
of the situation with Jessica.

“Wha
t do you mean it didn’t work?”

“I don’t think I have to explain it more than I alread
y have,” I said. “She doesn’t remember, and she doesn’t want to.”

Teresa
’s glance shifted between Jonathon and me. “But she needs to defend herself.”

“It’s too late, Camille.”
It was useless to hide her Dark name on the day of the battle.

“No,” she said
, standing up. “It’s not.”

I grabbed her arm as she attempted to rush away. “What are you thinking?” I hissed, knowing my father was watching.

I can do everything Luthicer can,
she entered my mind, and my stomach twisted. She didn’t care if my father could sense it. She was going to force the spell off.

You could hurt her,
I said, refusing to let go of my guard.

She laid her hand on mine and slowly pulled my fingers off of her wrist. “And
you need to trust me,” she said before turning around and walking down the steps.

I followed h
er, brushing past my family. “I’m walking Teresa out.”

“Me, too,” Jonathon joined.

We had the front door open before anyone could question us, and we had frozen in the doorway before we realized what was in front of us.

A young girl stood on the driveway. Her hair was as white as the recent snowfall, and her eyes were pools of ink, yet she somehow stared at us. She was a light.

I slammed the door behind me, and Jonathon put up a silence barrier, but we couldn’t transform. Not until sunset. And we were hours away. Teresa was the only one capable of protecting my family, and she was Camille before I could order her to transform.

In a second, my guard’s hands were wrapped around the girl’s hair, and the light’s face was shoved into the ground. If I hadn’t grabbed Camille’s arm, she would’ve broken her neck.

“I’m on your side,” the girl screamed, but Camille didn’t let go of the girl’s hair. Their resemblance made them look like sisters. “Shoman, I swear—”