Shades of Amber (7 page)

“
What did I miss?” Bangs
hid her brown eyes, so I brushed them aside.

“
Not much.” My vague
answer led to her perusal of the whiteboard.

“
We have more class
time?”

“
Yes.” I
took her hand, enjoying the way her lashes fluttered as my thumb
stroked her wrist. “What did you really think of
The Phantom of the Opera
?”

She held my gaze for a few
seconds, and then drew circles in her notebook. “I thought it was
one big masquerade illustrated by Leroux to keep the readers
enthralled.”

I sat back, rubbing my
chin. She’d just given me another excuse to mention the
dance.

“
Speaking of masquerades,
will you go to the Halloween dance with me?”

“
I’m not
going.”

“
Why not? It sounds like
fun.”

“
We’re supposed to be
having a discussion,” Jade whispered.

“
We are. I’m discussing
how badly I want you to accompany me to the dance.”

She turned away, refusing
to glance at me until I focused on the project. Once that happened,
she scooted closer, allowing our arms and legs to “accidentally”
brush. I savored those moments, along with the rare times when she
smiled and laughed.

Although we shared several
classes, this was the only one where we sat together… unless I
could get someone to give up their seat. That might be a chore
since the neighbors in her other classes were interested in more
than study tips, but I’d manage. As pretty as Jade was, she didn’t
care about anything but school.

Unfortunately, that made
me want her more. I wanted her compassion, her trust, but more than
anything, I wanted her love.

“
So, will you go with me?”
I asked as we shifted our desks back.

Jade rolled her eyes. “You
never quit, do you?”

“
Not when it comes to
you.” The bell rang before she could answer, but she hadn’t said
no.

A few hours later, I found
her at the picnic area. I sat down and put my arm around her
shoulders, pleased when she didn’t move away.

“
What do you
want?”

I smiled. “Just
you.”

“
You’re
impossible.”

“
What do you want,
cher?”

“
I want you to leave me
alone.”

“
Tell me how to erase you
from my mind and I will,” I whispered. “I think about you when I
wake, when I sleep.” My fingers trailed her arm. “Say you’ll be my
girl, so I can fill my thoughts with us, instead.”

“
Haven’t you noticed?” Her
voice wavered. “You can’t woo me with empty words.”

“
I mean every
syllable.”

“
Please don’t.”

“
Don’t what?”

“
Please do not string me
along, Troy.” She leaned into me as I cupped her cheek.

“
I wouldn’t be able to let
you go if I tried.”

2010

Blood marred the clean
glass. I stepped aside as the crow slid down the window. Jade’s
expression was a glorious mixture of fear and longing. She knew
what it meant.

I was coming for her and
nothing would stop me. Not her change in activities, not her
friends—nothing. Jade would come to trust me again, I just had to
remind her how much she loved me.

The Halloween
Dance

Jade was finally beginning
to let her guard down.

On Wednesday, she gave me
her phone number, admitting that it might be nice to hear my voice
before she went to bed. I wanted a place in her dreams, so I called
at midnight, and we talked until she fell asleep.

When I texted Thursday
afternoon, she proposed we go to dinner and a movie. Everything
went well until she found my apartment key in her coat pocket. We
argued in the parking lot after dinner, but she couldn’t erase the
heat in her gaze. She enjoyed our sparring matches, and so did
I.

As I drove to get her
Friday night, I knew she was exactly what I needed in my life. I
pulled up to her house and parked my red Ferrari in the driveway.
It was a quaint two-story home with a screened in front porch. I
raised my hand to the door, but paused, deciding to open the box
with her corsage before I rang the bell.

After a moment, her mother
opened the door.

I smiled and shook her
hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Nightingale. I’m
Troy.”

“
It’s nice to meet you as
well.” Her gaze lingered on my mask, and then she turned toward the
stairs. “Jade, Troy is here!”

I didn’t have to wait
long. She was dressed as Christine, and I, as the Phantom. My
vocabulary vanished as my gaze trailed her cream bodice, down the
bell sleeves until the fabric flared around her hips and touched
the ground.

I slid the half mask onto
my hair so that I could fully admire her beauty. “You look lovely,
cher.”

Her expression shifted
from surprise to lust to cautious in less than thirty seconds, but
I was well adept at deciphering the puzzle that was my Jade. She
remained frozen, despite her mother’s attempts to pull her aside so
that I could enter.

“
Don’t
look so surprised, Jade. You’ve already mentioned that he
likes
The Phantom of the
Opera
as well.” She moved back. “Let me
grab the camera!”

As soon as her mother left
the room, I put my hands on Jade’s waist, pushing her inside. She
gasped when I pulled her against me, holding her tight as I
listened for Mrs. Nightingale’s footsteps.

“
How did you
know?”

“
I didn’t, I just thought
you’d enjoy having your own phantom.”

“
I do.” She wrapped her
arms around me as I caressed her shoulders.

When her mom returned, we
smiled and posed until Jade convinced her that twenty pictures were
more than enough, and then we were on our way.

My angel glanced at me as
we approached the car. “Did you know I’d have this
costume?”

“
No, but you look
beautiful.”

“
You look good too.” She
smiled up at me as I helped her into the passenger seat. “Maybe I
should’ve brought some kind of repellent to keep other women from
preying on you.”

I laughed as I got behind
the wheel. “I should say the same about you and other men. Any
suggestions?”

She shrugged. “Garlic
might work.”

My eyebrow rose. “Are
these vampires?”

“
Of course not, but garlic
breath might keep them away.”

I brought her hand to my
lips. “As long as you promise not to leave me.”

She shivered as my fingers
trailed her neck. “Don’t worry; I’ll even drag you to the restroom
with me.”

“
I wouldn’t mind.” I
started the engine instead of saying what I wanted to do to her in
that small room with a lock. Although we hadn’t discussed intimacy,
I knew she was waiting. I just hoped I was the one she waited
for.

The university’s ballroom
went silent as we entered. Jade was the epitome of grace as I swept
her along the dance floor. Her body yielded to mine in the most
amazing way, but I couldn’t allow my feelings to scare her away.
Every day, I fell harder, deeper.

My conscience knew it
wasn’t right to get involved with Jade, but I couldn’t let her go.
I would do anything to keep her in my arms.

¤¤¤¤

Shaken

What is this feeling that
makes me quake?

Makes my heart
quiver?

Makes my hands
shake?

The thought of you burns
in my mind,

Like a precious
photograph

Etched in time.

You say you're my
love...

My every
desire,

But these thoughts of
you

Set me on fire.

Not in the way that most
might think,

These flames are
completely

Smothering.

They call to
me,

Reach for me,

But all I can
think

Is that if they get near
me...

I'll never be
free!

-Jade

Chapter 7

2010

Jade

I didn’t want to think
about it, but perhaps I really was being haunted by Troy’s ghost.
He used to call me late at night, joking that he wanted to be in my
dreams. Now, it was working a bit too well. Even when I didn’t
answer, he joined me in the dark.

Two hours after his
midnight call, the phone rang again. I didn’t think, I hit ignore
and threw it across the room.

I went through the school
days like a member of the living dead—minus the pale skin and
zombie walk, and several of my teachers commented on my declining
grades. I was finally shocked back into reality on the way to my
car Tuesday afternoon.

A few feet away from my
parking spot, I noticed a paper flapping beneath the windshield
wiper. Inhaling slowly, I braced myself because the way my luck had
been going, it was either a ticket or a “Sorry I hit your car”
note. At the mere thought of someone having dinged my Beetle, I
broke into a run. My hair whipped in the wind as I inspected my
baby, but I couldn’t find a scratch.

As quickly as my relief
came, dread crept up my spine. I searched the parking lot for
loiterers, and then picked it up. Breaking the gold seal, my heart
sank as I scanned the thick stationary. I looked around again,
until I realized I was standing out in the open where anyone could
grab me.

My keys went from my
pocket to the door in record time. Once I was behind the wheel, I
hit the locks and exhaled. I felt like I’d just dodged a bullet,
considering what the note said.

You look tired, cher. What
did your English teacher say when you dozed in her class? Did you
tell her about me? If you answer your phone, I won’t call as
much.

P.S. look under the
passenger seat.

-Troy

Troy had been in my
car.

What if he tampered with
something?

I sat up and turned
slowly.

What if he was hiding like
in that urban legend?

My fingers dug into my
thigh as I peeked at my empty backseat. My relief was short lived
as I considered his postscript.

Leaning over the console,
I stiffened the instant my fingers brushed something cool. Beneath
the silver wrapping paper was a square box. My hand shook as I
withdrew the silver chain with amber beads. It looked antique. I
touched the amber stone in the center. It was warm.

It slipped from my hands
as I started the car.

How could a stone trap
heat when it was cold outside?

I shook my
head.

Troy knew exactly how to
hit me where it hurt. It was hard to resist a nice piece of
jewelry.

What was the gift that
kept on giving?

Insanity.

Wednesday the surprise was
at my desk in French class, along with a note.

Mi Amor,

You are more beautiful
every day.

Though it is almost
unbearable to be without you, I smile because we will be together
soon.

–
Troy

I didn’t want to see my
not so dead boyfriend again.

Was he a ghost? A zombie?
I wasn’t too keen on finding out.

I crumbled the note with
an unnecessary amount of force and threw it away. When I came back,
there was a slender box in my seat and inside, one crimson
rose.

I turned to the girl
behind me, wishing I knew her name. “Did you see who brought
this?”

“
No.”

Nodding, I turned to a
cluster of guys to my left. Their names were as foreign to me as
Latin or Spanish. “Did you guys see who left this?”

Once they shook their
heads, I turned around, wondering when I’d become so
disconnected.

My hand shook as I rubbed
my pounding chest.

I hadn’t felt this
helpless since the day Troy left me.

Although the rose wasn’t
personal, the note had been frightening.

“
We will be together
soon?” Yeah right!

On Thursday, there was a
medium sized package in my locker. The note fell to the ground as I
ripped into the silver wrapping paper.

“
What’s your deal?” I
muttered as I gazed down at the burgundy garment nestled in white
tissue paper. I lifted one of the thin straps until the dress
dangled from my fingertips. It was lovely, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t
accept anything from him.

I crammed it back in my
locker, ripped open the note, and tried to keep my calm.