Shadows (8 page)

Luke quickly dumped the water over the flames. They sizzled, then went out, leaving a black scorch mark on the table. ‘Whoa,’ he said.

‘Yeah,’ Eve agreed. She didn’t say more than that. She was afraid that her voice would come out all shaky. Tremors were zipping through her body, and she
wasn’t sure she could stand up right that second even if she wanted to. What was going to happen next? Was she going to burn down her house? Was she going to maim someone? Was she going to explode into bits?

‘Sorry I used all your water. You look like you could use it,’ Luke said.

Eve nodded silently.

‘Well, you’ve definitely proved you can do more than look pretty,’ Luke commented, his eyes on the scorch mark. His voice was actually a little shaky, Eve realized. Maybe he was afraid of her now.

‘Jess thought there might be a connection between my power-bursts and my emotions,’ Eve said. Her voice was a little higher than usual, but steady. She realized she was gripping the edge of the table with both hands, and relaxed them. ‘We tried an experiment to prove it, but it didn’t work.’

‘Jess could be right. You
were
getting really frustrated about not being able to move the paper,’ Luke said thoughtfully. ‘What about outside when you got sparks?’

‘Well, I
was
a little mad at you,’ Eve admitted.

‘What? Why?’ Luke cried.

Eve had to laugh. He really didn’t get it. He was such a boy. ‘Because you were teasing me about brushing my
hair. You’re always teasing me about stuff like that. And you basically said I was stupid.’

‘I did not,’ Luke protested.

‘You did too,’ she insisted. ‘When we were talking about what to do with the Gandhi report.’

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. And slowly he pushed his hair off his face, thinking. ‘I don’t think you’re stupid,’ he said, his voice more serious than she’d ever heard it before.

‘OK,’ Eve said. ‘Thanks.’

‘And I definitely think I’m going to be a lot more careful what I say to you,’ he added, the teasing edge coming back into his tone.

‘You should be afraid,’ Eve said. ‘Everyone should. Maybe I need to stay away from people. If I’m going to be a freak, what does it matter if I’m a home-schooled freak on top of it?’

Luke laughed. ‘
So
not going to happen. I’m going to help you figure out what exactly your powers are, and how you can control them.’ He smirked. ‘My hair doesn’t grow into my brain, so it shouldn’t be a problem for me.’

Eve flicked some water at him from the puddle on the table.

‘Ooooh, scary,’ Luke joked. For the first time, Eve
was happy he was teasing her. It made things feel normal. If he could still make fun of her, how afraid could he possibly be? Maybe she wasn’t some kind of terrifying mutant after all.

‘OK, brainiac, how are we going to figure it out?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know yet,’ he admitted. ‘But don’t you worry. We’ll figure it out, no matter what.’

She wanted to believe him. Really, really wanted to.

Eve couldn’t wait for lunch. Not because she was that hungry – and definitely not because she was craving the cafeteria food. The menu was planned by the chef at Nikolai’s Restaurant on Main Street, but somehow the school cooks managed to make all the food bland anyway. Still, lunch was the one time all day when Eve could sit and talk to her best friend for more than a minute. And she couldn’t wait to tell Jess about the new-and-improved Luke – and about her fire-starting talent.

Jess had been at cheerleading try-outs until pretty late the night before – she’d texted Eve to say she’d made the team; and they hadn’t walked to school together today because Eve had an early-morning dentist appointment. Jess was so going to be
I told you so
over Eve deciding Luke was a decent guy. Not her Favourite Guy in School – that title still went to the
mysterious, nice-smelling, crooked-smiling Mal, with his deep chocolate eyes. But truly, a decent guy. Even sweet maybe.

She could hardly believe Jess didn’t know about the fire stuff and the Luke sweetness. If your best friend didn’t know something, was it even real?

As soon as the bell rang announcing the end of third period, Eve jumped up and rushed out of the door – and smack into Mal.

‘Excuse me. Sorry,’ she blurted, backing up a half-step. ‘I just had something important I wanted to—Never mind.’

There was something about Mal’s silence that made Eve babble a little. Or maybe it was his hotness that had that effect. He gave her the crooked Mal smile, and suddenly it didn’t seem so urgent to get to the cafeteria any more.

‘Sorry,’ she said again.

‘No problem,’ he told her.

He didn’t move out of her way. She didn’t move around him. They just stood there, looking at each other. Eve felt herself starting to blush, felt her heart pounding. Yeah, Mal still held the title of Eve’s Favourite Guy. She felt herself wanting to babble again. Just to break the silence … and the tension.

Mal’s smile grew wider, like he could tell she was getting antsy.

‘You really don’t talk, do you?’ Eve asked.

‘What’s the point of saying things that don’t matter?’ he replied.

‘So if you’re quiet it’s because you have nothing important to say?’ she asked. Why was he just standing there looking at her, then? Why didn’t he go sit down if she was so unimportant?

‘I might be thinking important things that aren’t cool to say out loud,’ he told her.

Eve frowned. What did he even mean by that? Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Was he thinking
Eve is so hot that I really want to kiss her?
Or was he thinking
Eve is so boring that I really wish she’d go away?
Because it wouldn’t be cool to say either one of those things out loud.

‘Now you’re the one not talking,’ Mal pointed out.

‘Malaya,’ Eve said.

He raised his dark eyebrows, surprised.

‘That’s your name,’ she guessed. ‘I told you I’d figure it out.’

Mal chuckled low in his throat, and the sound sent a thrill up Eve’s spine. ‘I’m right, right? It means “sandalwood trees”. It can be a boy’s name or a girl’s.
Obviously, very obviously, for you it would be boy. It’s Sanskrit.’

‘You’ve been doing your homework,’ he said. Then he leaned in close and whispered in her ear. ‘That’s not my name.’

The warmth of his breath on her cheek was so distracting that Eve couldn’t come up with another guess. Mal smiled again, then silently walked past her into the classroom.

Dazed, Eve headed on down the hallway.
At least I didn’t tell him he smelled good that time
, she thought.

‘Eve!’ Jess ran up to her. ‘Just wanted to tell you I won’t be at lunch. The squad is going to eat together so we can pick out our new uniforms.’

‘You guys!’ Bet Carrothers joined them. ‘Come on! Marcus Z is driving to the pizza place. He wants to show off his new car. A Mini Coop. We’re going to see how many people can squeeze in. He told me to come find you.’

‘I have a cheer thing,’ Jess said.

‘Too bad for you!’ Bet taunted with a smile. ‘Let’s go, Eve!’

‘Can I come over after school?’ Eve called to Jess as Olivia propelled her down the hall. ‘I have a ton to tell you.’

‘Sure, but I have practice,’ Jess called back. ‘I’ll meet you right after that.’

Half an hour until cheerleading is over
, Eve thought as she meandered along Main Street after school, doing a little window shopping with Katy. ‘I can’t believe it’s starting to get dark earlier already,’ Katy commented.

‘I hadn’t even noticed,’ Eve answered. It definitely wasn’t anywhere near dark yet.

‘It’s lots darker than it was this time last week,’ Katy said. Her cell rang. She rolled her eyes as she read the text message. ‘I’m supposed to bring home some detergent. My mom used five exclamation marks. For detergent. I guess I should head to the store. You should go back and try on that hat we saw – the one with the little belt on it. I predict it would look amazing on you.’

‘Maybe I will,’ Eve said. Katy gave a wave and crossed the street. Eve decided she’d try on the hat some other time. She kept walking. At the corner of Main and Medway Lane she paused.

Jess’s house was to the left. She could go there and hang out with Peter until Jess got home. Or …

Eve turned right. Why not take the long way to the Merediths’ house? Medway Lane was the oldest street
in Deepdene, and it ran in a big loop from the centre of town out to the shoreline and back. Sure, it was a long walk, but if she went right on Medway it would eventually lead her back round to where the Merediths lived. And on the way, she would pass the rock god’s old mansion. She was curious about how the renovation looked. The place had been falling apart the last time she’d seen it.

Yeah
, Eve thought.
Tell yourself that enough times and maybe you’ll actually believe you aren’t accidentally-on-purpose trying to run into the mysterious Mal.

Well, what if she was? Was that so wrong? And she had an excuse all ready if the accidentally-on-purpose happened. She’d just say she was curious about the renovation of the rock god’s old mansion, where Mal happened to live. In fact, Eve really needed to start calling it Mal’s house.

The ever-present sound of the waves grew louder as Eve got closer to Mal’s. Of course the mansion was beach-front. A new scent mixed in with the tangy ocean air. Smoke.
Mmmm
. Maybe Mal and his family were having a barbecue. Maybe Mal would be outside.
Double mmm
.

Eve slowed down, nearing the hedge that ran along the side of the road and all the way round the house to
make sure it was screened from prying eyes. The hedge had been planted way back when the mansion was built, and it was tall and dense and almost impossible to see through.

A laugh on the wind caught Eve’s attention. She was coming up to one of the public access ways down to the beach – a narrow path through the dunes ending in a creaky old set of rough wooden steps. She’d been down on the beach before, of course, and she remembered the thick iron door in the hedge at the back of the mansion that led out to the pathway. When they were kids, she and Jess used to dare each other to knock on the door. The story was that the rock star’s ghost might answer and let you in, but if he did, you’d never be seen again.

Eve smiled, remembering. That door onto the beach path probably hadn’t been opened in fifty years, by a ghost or a human or anything. For all she knew, the hedge had grown so thick over the other side that nobody in the rock star’s old house even knew the door was there.

I should ask Mal about it
, she thought. At least it would give her something to say to him.

Another loud laugh reached her ears, and she hesitated as four guys – they looked like they were
probably seniors in high school – trotted up the wooden steps from the path to the road. Eve didn’t recognize them, which was odd. It was past tourist season, and she knew pretty much everyone who lived in town year-round, at least by sight. The guys headed up the street in front of Eve, then turned into Mal’s driveway, where the hedge curved. Maybe they were friends of his from … wherever it was he’d come from. Mr Talkative had never said, but Eve had heard he and his family had moved to Deepdene from Ohio. She smiled. Maybe if they had their accidentally-on-purpose meeting, she’d find out. Maybe she’d even finally find out what Mal was short for!

Eve reached Mal’s driveway and took a hopeful – and hopefully not too stalkerish – peek down it. The four boys hadn’t gotten far. They were clustered about halfway up the long drive. And they were looking right back at Eve. Mal wasn’t with them, and she didn’t see any sign of a barbecue. Or a security guard. Or anyone else on the whole street who might notice a girl and four guys who had just come up by way of the beach.

Today’s obviously not the day Mal and I get some non-school time together
, Eve thought.

One of the guys let out a high giggle, like he’d just heard a particularly nasty joke. Then all of them
looked at Eve. Suddenly it didn’t seem like such a great idea to take a walk past the old, supposedly cursed house. Who cared about the renovation? She picked up her pace.

‘Hey! Where are you going so fast?’ one of the guys called out.

‘Yeah. Come back, cutie,’ another guy yelled.

Right. Like that will work
, Eve thought, without slowing down. A few seconds later, she heard footsteps, then that same sneering giggle. The guys were coming after her.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and her breath caught in her throat. Deepdene was such a tiny town, it had always seemed like the safest place in the world. Eve didn’t know what she was supposed to do. Should she turn round and confront them, or just act like she didn’t know they were there?

There wasn’t time to decide. Two of the boys circled around in front of her, blocking her way. The other two took up positions on either side of her.
OK, keep it light
, Eve advised herself, although she couldn’t stop the prickles of fear snaking through her body.

‘Sorry, guys. I can’t hang today,’ Eve told them. ‘My dad has this thing about helping around the house. I’m scheduled to make dinner – even though I always burn
everything.’
There. Now at least they’ll think someone’s waiting for me
, she thought. It couldn’t hurt for them to know she would be missed. Even though they were just messing around. Probably.

‘Not a problem. We’ll take care of Daddy for you.’ The guy to her right – freckled, with way too much product in his hair – threw one arm around her shoulders. Eve wanted to shove it off, but didn’t. She was sticking with the plan of keeping things light, because what else could she do? The houses were all set so far back from the street and so far apart. No one was going to glance out of a window and see that she needed an assist. Maybe if she played along for a while, she’d get lucky and somebody would drive by.

She kept walking. The two guys in front of her walked backwards to give her room. The guys on either side kept pace with her. Eve’s eyes darted around the road. They were the only ones on it. Her heart sank.