Sunburst (Starbright Series) (25 page)

             
“You’re lying.”

             
“I’m Fallen, I’m
supposed
to lie.” A light went out in his eyes when he said that. It was like one moment he was enjoying torturing me the same way I enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, and then he was vacant and hollow.

             
“Why do you want to go shopping with us so bad?” I whined, knowing that he was much more dangerous as the broken bad boy than the obnoxious stalker. I felt sorry for him and my conscience all of a sudden wanted to make a case for him. Maybe he was lonely, maybe he needed a friend, maybe his life was in jeopardy if he didn’t do his job better.

             
Which was all stupid since I couldn’t care less what happened to Jude and would be grateful if he was taken off my hands.

             
His eyes softened some; they seemed more human than ever before, and he looked up from under those thick eye lashes and…. and then didn’t say anything. He just looked at me like I should be able to fill in the blanks.

             
“You can come,” my mom announced. She had been peculiarly quiet until then. Her hand rested casually on the top of the car and even though her eyes were still intently watching Jude, they seemed to have softened some.

             
“What?” I screeched.

             
“Better to have him with us where we can see exactly what he’s up to than skulking in the shadows.”

             
My gaze swiveled back to Jude and I narrowed my eyes. He had three seconds to back out of this or I was going to stab him in the kidney- for real.

             
“I prefer to think of it as light lurking, but I appreciate the consideration.” Jude grinned at me and then slid down into the seat and slammed the door in my face.

             
“Mom,” I hissed. “What are you doing?”

             
“Stella, this boy is our enemy,” she explained firmly. “But he’s also out of our reach and charged with spending the next year with you. I want to get to know as much about him as possible. I will feel better when I have been able to study him.”

             
And then she climbed into her seat and slammed the door.

             
I supposed she had a point. It would be beneficial to everyone if we knew more about Jude and the forces he worked with. Plus, maybe he had seen Seth recently.

             
Only muttering a little bit under my breath, I walked around the car and got into the passenger’s side. We had almost an hour drive into Omaha and the mall we were planning to shop at. I had to endure the entire trip with Jude behind me.

             
As soon as my mom pulled out onto the main highway the back window rolled down and we were immediately hit with the suck and pull of rapid wind. I grabbed at my hair so I could keep it from whipping my mom in the face and whirled around to face Jude.

             
“Close the window,” I growled.

             
He was playing with a cigarette wedged between his middle and third finger, rolling it back and forth, back and forth. Slowly his gaze tore away from his nicotine addiction and raised an eyebrow at me.

             
“I need to smoke,” he said carefully. He slipped the tip of his cigarette in between his lips and pressed them down around the cigarette. “I was being thoughtful.”

             
“Being thoughtful means waiting to smoke when you’re not in a crowded car.”

             
He took the cigarette back out of his mouth and squeezed the tip between those same fingers and looked at me like he wanted to strangle me. “You’re not being a very gracious hostess today.”

             
“You’re not going to smoke in this car, no matter how much you insult me.”

             
He groaned and then draggd his free hand down his face. “God, it’s like you honestly have a giant stick up your ass all the time. It’s just a cigarette.”

             
“Mom!” I enlisted help.

             
“Keep the window down, Jude,” my mother said sternly. And then she rolled down her window an inch so there was better airflow.

             
Jude grinned at me and immediately lit up. He inhaled deeply and his eyes sort of rolled back in his head in an expression of pure bliss. I gaped at him. And then at my mother. And then back at him.

             
What was happening?

             
“Mom!” My voice sounded way too pitchy.

             
She just shrugged her shoulder. “It was nice of him to be so considerate. I want to reward his good behavior.”

             
That did nothing but baffle me further. But Jude found a way to speak for us. “Thank you Celina. I appreciate your hospitality. If only it was genetic.”

             
I whipped my head around to burn a hole through his chest with my superheated hands but he blew a stream of white smoke in my face before I could say anything. I sat back sputtering and coughing, swiping my hands in front of my face.

             
“You’re vile,” I growled finally.

             
“This is going to be such a fun day,” he beamed.

Chapter Twenty

             
The mall was busy on Saturday and the prom dress stock was low. That’s what I got for waiting until a week before prom to look for a dress. My mom and I were on a mission though. We were determined.

             
Surprisingly Jude didn’t complain at all. At least not about the monotonous shopping. He would always give me a disapproving look whenever I picked out a dress that was not up to his standards.

             
Which was apparently all of them.

             
And he insisted on being a very active part in our selecting process.

             
The weirdest part was that my mom went along with it, giving him everything he wanted. In fact, he had almost stopped talking to me completely, in favor of bonding with my mom.

             
It was very confusing and I hated it.

             
“Maybe you should try a different style,” Jude suggested after we had been through almost every dress in the latest department store.

             
I just snorted.

             
“Jude might be right, kid,” my mom held up an option that was nothing like the long, full gowns I’d been drawn to most of the day.

             
I was mesmerized by it, completely hypnotized by the delicate, feminine lines and pretty detailing. I took it from her, and noticed I was wearing a smile for the first time since we arrived at the mall. I immediately took off for the dressing room and stripped.

             
Struggling with the zipper just a little bit, I finally wrangled myself into it and then walked out into the dressing room hallway so I could get a better look in their three-paneled mirror.

             
I pulled my hair over my shoulder and admired the gorgeous dress that fit me perfectly. The shimmery, pale, nude material highlighted the golden color of my skin. The high, modest neck, styled in a boat neck fashion ended in cap sleeves just over my shoulders. A sweetheart-shaped satin front made it acceptable for places other than nude beaches.

Despite initially appearing ultra-modest
, the back was almost completely sheer until the middle of my back, where glittery, gold detailing created a pattern of elegant, long stemmed flowers all the way to the hem. The stems wrapped around to the front, making the satin interesting and delicate. The skirt flared out with layer after layer of the bronzed tulle and ended mid-thigh in ballerina-esque detail.

             
“Wow, Stella,” my mom breathed. “You’re stunning.”

             
I looked up to smile at her but caught Jude’s eyes instead. He was leaning against the doorway to the changing room, playing with another cigarette. His eyes were dark from this far away, but our gazes seemed to tangle together and get stuck in a third grade staring contest.

             
I lifted one eyebrow in sarcastic expectation. He apparently couldn’t think of anything though, but finally he just nodded his approval and then ducked back into the main part of the store.

             
I sighed at his weirdness and turned around to my mom, “This is the one. It’s perfect.”

             
“Tristan is going to die,” she agreed quickly.

             
“I thought you were Team Seth?” I asked jokingly.

             
She gave me a look that said she was way too mature to play these games but then laughed ruining her entire image of maturity. “I’m Team Prom. It doesn’t matter who takes you as long as you get to look this lovely!”

             
“I think I’m Team Prom, too,” I laughed. I reached under  my arm and looked at the price tag. “Holy cow, it’s kind of expensive though.” A sick feeling settled in my stomach at the price of this one dress. I still needed shoes.

             
“Let me see.” My mom walked over and held the tag in her own hands for a while before looking up at me with a resolved expression on her face. “We’re buying this dress. It doesn’t matter how much it is.”

             
“Mom, can we afford it?” I whispered.

             
“Sure,” she shrugged with an easy going smile. “Money is just money. We can make more. Or we can lose it all. It doesn’t really matter. This place is not our home, Stella.”

             
“Who are you? What have you done with my mother?” I gaped.

             
She shook her head at me and straightened the top of my dress a little before saying, “If anything, this whole thing with Seth has made us realize how important this time is for you. When you turn eighteen everything is going to change for you. You only have a little bit of time left to make the most of this gift of freedom and independence. Your father and I want you to make the most of it. We know how hard that will be while Seth is taken away from you, though. And that’s why moments like these are all the more important. I want you to go to prom and have the time of your life. I want you to enjoy humanity while you still can.”

             
Her speech brought tears to my eyes as it sank in. I would be done with humanity in just under fifteen months- completely done. She was right about making the most of the time I was given. I just hated that Seth couldn’t be a part of this, too.

             
Still, I understood her point and really wanted the dress anyway.

             
“Yay!” I squealed in a tiny voice. I whirled around to admire the dress for a few more minutes before it was time to take it off.

             
“I’m going to see if I can find some shoes to go with it,” my mom beamed at me and then slipped out the open doorway.

             
I rocked back and forth on my bare feet admiring the dress in every angle and on every side. I felt so pretty. I just loved it.

             
Jude reappeared behind me, like a thunder cloud on my bright sunny day. I barely gave him an acknowledging glance before returning back to the staring at the dress.

             
“Tristan’s a lucky guy.”

             
I looked up and met Jude’s eyes in the mirror. He was closer than I thought he was and I jumped a little, surprised by his body standing right behind me. His voice was growly and a bit hoarse. And his charcoal eyes looked black in this dim light.

             
I whirled around and the movement brought the strong smell of smoke and mint into my nose. He must have disappeared to go smoke really quickly.

             
“You snuck up on me,” I breathed, feeling inexplicably out of breath.

             
“You know,” he smirked. “For a Star, you are not very good at the surprise attack thing.”

             
“Are you surprise attacking me?” I asked purposefully naïve.

             
“Maybe,” he answered seriously.

             
A shiver skittered down my spine. I had no idea what he meant. Was he being candidly honest? Were Seth and the contract and Aliah, all just a show? Or was he just teasing me?

             
He was impossible to read.              

             
He trailed the tips of his finger over my lower back, just where the tight, cinched bodice met the full, poofy skirt. “Prom’s a big deal?” he asked right in my ear and his minty, post-smoking, breath tickled my neck.

             
Just when I was about to scold him for being inappropriate, he pulled back and plopped down into one of the half-circle chairs. Then I decided it was stupid to think he was flirting with me. He looked so angry and menacing in the girly, floral chair. His long, jean-clad legs stretched out in front of him, his motorcycle boots remained untied and loose on his feet, and his arms hung around the back of the chair too casually.

             
He looked every bit the bad boy, fallen angel he was.

             
“Why are you really here, Jude?” I ignored his comment.

             
He shrugged and met my angry glare with a steadiness that unnerved me. “I have a job to do.”

             
“A job that includes dress shopping? I’m not buying it.”

             
He looked around the small hallway, lined with slatted wooden doors on the other side, finally dragging his gaze back to mine. “You’re not exactly safe these days, Stel. My life is on the line, too, if something happens to you.”

             
“I thought I was off limits. Why wouldn’t I be safe?”

             
“You tell me,” he sighed.

             
“My life is no more dangerous now than it was before.” Which was obviously a lie, but I needed to get Jude out of my day-to-day activities. “And I can take care of myself.”

             
His lips twitched obnoxiously, causing him to look away. “I remember Heaven.”

             
That caught me completely off guard. “What?” My voice was barely a croak.

             
“I remember Heaven,” he said louder, just to be an ass. “I was there, you know, before the whole Fallen thing. I remember what it was like, what the people up there were like.”

             
“Alright,” I said slowly. Where was he going with this?

             
“You’re nothing like them,” he finally said. “You’re different.”

             
“Wow,” I cocked my head back and resisted the urge to stab him. “Thank you." My tone was pure, undiluted acid, and I felt my skin start to burn into a glow.

             
He just chuckled at me. “See? This is what I mean. All this attitude and defiance. You definitely belong down here. They wouldn’t know what to do with you up there.”

“What about you?” I challenged. “Where do you belong?”
His eyes started to darken angrily and his jaw clenched tight. “I’m where I belong,” he growled.

“You were meant to be Fallen?” I challenged. “Your kidnapper just knew at the age of eight you

were going to be one of the baddest, meanest guys out there?” I rolled my eyes and turned back around.

             
“What I’m saying is that it all worked out for me.”

             
“Jude, how did you get pulled into the contract?” I asked in a softer voice. I was totally playing on the fact that I knew he somewhat respected me. There were things I didn’t know. The more Jude hung around, the more I realized how in the dark I was about the…. Dark side. And he was my answer to it all- to how to save Seth. But first I had to get him to trust me.

             
“I told you, I was the right age.”

             
“But they could have picked someone older that just hung around and didn’t make contact with me. It’s not like I get attacked at school.” He raised his eyebrows at me and I amended, “Not very often, anyway.”

             
“You were just attacked a couple weeks ago, Sweetheart,” he growled at me. “I saved your life.”

             
“You saved my life?” I laughed. “And never, ever call me sweetheart again.”

             
He jumped to his feet and took two fast steps forward so we were standing just inches away from each other. “I saved your life.” His words were firm truth and I believed him. I didn’t want to believe him, but I did. “Sweetheart,” he finished on a breathy growl.

             
“How about these,” my mom asked brightly from the doorway. She walked further into the space eyeing Jude and I carefully. She was holding simple nude pumps that would match perfectly.

             
I stepped back from Jude and took the shoes from her, offering a reassuring smile. “Perfect. Thanks, Mom.”

             
I slipped into them and went back to admiring myself in the mirror, ignoring Jude completely. I didn’t know what to think about him, but it was so obvious how dangerous he was to me and my life.

             
Thankfully he stayed quiet the rest of the trip. The shoes looked amazing with the dress, so I went back in and changed while my mom took the items to the register. I was surprised to find Jude waiting for me when I came out of the changing room. He was draped in the same chair and his eyes immediately locked on mine when I walked out.

             
Just when I thought we were going to start arguing again, he got to his feet and walked out ahead of me. He remained silent the entire way home. I probably would have forgotten about him entirely, if it wasn’t for his constant need to smoke.

             
Such a disgusting habit and one I didn’t even understand. He was an Angel for goodness sakes! It wasn’t like he could feel the buzz of nicotine, or even waste away his lungs or throat. He was completely impervious to the effects, so why do it?