A Demon Made Me Do It (6 page)

If there’s one thing Liora
and I agree upon, it’s to leave our body in a safe place for the
other to take over. Of course, this is much more important for me
to do than it is for her. I don’t really care where I wake
up;
I
can take
care of myself. But if I leave her somewhere unprotected, her frail
human state could spell trouble for both of us.

But mostly, I just don’t
want her wearing my clothes. All of my outfits are custom made
for
me
, and
there’s no way I’m letting her get her grubby paws on
them.

I burst through the cabin door with
seconds to spare. Tatiana sits on the floor with her eyes closed.
“Hello, dear, how was your evening?” she asks without opening
them.

“
Super,” I say, still
miffed at my rudimentary chore. I toss the sack of money on the
table and rush to the bedroom, the first waves of coldness already
flooding through me. With no time to hang them up, my clothes lie
on the floor beside the bed. Naked, I toss myself on it just as
everything goes black.

Chapter 3.
Liora

I keep my head low as I maneuver down
the crowded hallway toward my locker. It’s a conscious decision,
one designed to prevent me from rubbernecking like an idiot hoping
to catch a glimpse of Kieron somewhere. But I realize it’s not the
smartest idea as soon as I crash smack into the backside of Cade
Johnston, one of the school’s Neanderthal football
players.

“
Sorry,” I mumble and scoot
around him.

His friends snicker; one dramatically
recoils in mock horror. I roll my eyes and ignore their immature
antics, but hear one of them say, “Better burn that jacket, dude.
It’s probably jinxed now.”

What-ev-er
.

Corrine stands by my locker looking
like she’s ready to burst from her skin. She and I’ve hung out for
a few years. She doesn’t ask me too many personal questions and
isn’t nosy about my private life. That’s why I like her—her
preoccupation with her own drama prevents her from focusing too
much on mine. Her father is currently serving a life sentence for
killing a man during a drunken bar fight, so she lives with her
mom. But her mom is no prize, either. Perpetually unemployed and
permanently drunk, she barely manages to keep up the rent on the
trailer they share on the outskirts of town, a place inhabited by
the trashiest of the trash—poor even by Dove Creek standards. But
she’s the closest thing I have to a friend here, and I’m grateful
for her companionship.

“
Lee-OR-aa!” she hisses,
her eyes wide. “I can’t believe you totally missed it. Of all the
days to get sent home from school you pick yesterday and miss the
most amazing thing ever! Well not totally miss it, but oh my God,
why don’t you ever answer your phone at night? I tried calling you
like fifty times!” She stops to catch her breath, her chubby face
flushing pink.

I furrow my brow. Corrine tends to be
dramatic sometimes, but this is a bit over the top. “Slow down…I
didn’t get sent home, I left. What happened? Is everything
okay?”

She raises both her eyebrows and
smiles wide, revealing two deep dimples and badly crooked teeth. I
begin turning the combination to my lock but she places both hands
on my shoulders and pivots my body around.

“
That,” she whispers
breathlessly. “Isn’t it just
lovely
? Ahhh…”

I look to where a gaggle of girls has
clustered in the hallway. Correction, a gaggle of girls plus Kieron
standing in the middle, clearly loving the attention being plied on
him by half the cheerleading squad. Just as I expected.

I look back at Corrine and roll my
eyes. “Really? That’s what’s got you so worked up…some guy?” I just
hope my face isn’t as pink as hers. Just seeing Kieron again, in
the flesh, affirming that he is real and not a figment of my
overactive and unreliable imagination makes my blood pump
furiously. I focus on lining up the numbers on my combination lock,
which is exceedingly difficult with shaky hands.

She leans beside me and
cranes her neck to watch him. “Seriously, Liora, are you blind?
Have you not
seen
our selection of guys here, or should I say, lack
of?”

“
So he’s cute. Big whoop.
For all you know he could be a world-class jerk.” I fumble through
my locker and try to remember what books I’ll need for first period
English. Although after what happened yesterday, I’m not sure it
will even matter. Mr. Sodenberg will probably kick me out the
second he sees me.

Despite my best efforts, I
can’t help but peek in Kieron’s direction again. His dazzling smile
lights up the hallway and two more girls have joined his swarm of
admirers. “He seems like a total player,” I say and slam my locker
shut
.

Damn. I have to walk right
past him
.
I move
to Corrine’s other side so she can be a buffer as we head toward
Kieron and his expanding harem.

“
He’s the hottest thing
that’s ever stepped foot in this town, if you ask me. And
he’s
not
a jerk.
He’s
super
polite…I accidentally bumped into him leaving chemistry
yesterday, and he actually said ‘
excuse
me’
and asked if I was okay!” Corrine can
barely contain her glee.

“
Sounds like a real
gentleman.” I glance over my shoulder and glower as a pretty blonde
named Drusilla Van Vareen places her manicured hand on Kieron’s
arm. He says something to her and she laughs as if it’s the
funniest thing she’s ever heard. I try not to gag.

As we get closer Corrine suddenly
stops walking. She looks at me, over to Kieron, then back to me.
“Hmm,” she says with a small smile, “I hadn’t noticed how similar
you two look. Like you could almost be related or
something.”

I stare at her, dumfounded. Him: could
be a male super model. Me: not so much. “Um, clearly you need your
glasses checked.”

She tosses her head and lowers her
voice. “It’s just a few things, like how you both have the same
black hair and blue eyes. That’s an unusual combination. And you
both have such distinguished features that are very symmetrical.
Course he’s a lot tanner and taller than you, but other than
that—”

“
Casper the friendly ghost
is tanner than me,” I mumble. It’s true I’d noticed that his rich,
ebony hair was the same color as mine, but his eyes were definitely
a few shades darker.

Corrine shrugs and resumes walking,
her head close to mine. “Anyways, there’s all sorts of stories
going around about him,” she continues, “Dawn Lewis told me she
heard he was an actor from LA out here doing research for a movie
role. Taylor McKenzie said he was here as part of the FBI witness
relocation program because his parents are wealthy European royalty
who are being blackmailed. And Carrie Stevens said…”

“
Corinne, stop. His uncle
works at the mines. He just came out here to live with him. Ya’ll
are going bananas over nothing, and I’m sort of embarrassed to be
your friend right now,” I say, only half-joking.

“
Ugh, look at Druslutta
acting like she already owns him. I mean, three nights ago she was
making out with Cade Johnston at the Curley Q…wait,
what
? How do you know
that? Are you holding out on me?” She grabs my arm.

“
Ow, that’s attached, you
know.”

I feel Kieron’s eyes on me as we pass
by, but will myself not to look. The last thing I’m going to do is
join his swarm of admirers like some pathetic groupie.

“
...Oh, Manhattan is
marvelous
, all those
museums and plays and fabulous restaurants,” Drusilla coos as we
walk past. “I’d love for you to tell me all about your favorite
places…”

Corinne snorts. “Oh, give me a break,”
she grumbles bitterly. “She went to New York once when we were in
eighth grade for an uncle’s funeral or something. Now suddenly
she’s all big-citified and cultured?”

As I reach for the metal handle, Mr.
Sodenberg meets my gaze through the window of the door. His eyes
give a warning. Mine roll back in my head. He says nothing, so I
can only assume what Lucky said to poor Mr. Winters yesterday
somehow got relayed back to him. Corrine, with her poor eyesight,
sits in the front. I take my usual seat in the back, plopping my
bag on the empty chair beside me.

I silently recite my
earlier vows to myself. I must forget about Kieron. Right now, my
number one priority is getting through the day without Her showing
up. That means absolutely
no
zoning out. I have to stay alert, focused. Tatiana
had told me over breakfast that she’d spoken with Lucky, but I
wasn’t satisfied that she wouldn’t just pop in again if it suited
her purposes. So I’d taken the extra precaution of wearing a
crucifix necklace; hopefully this will discourage her or ensure her
quick departure if she does decide to make a cameo.

I open
Inferno
and practice translating the
words into French, a language I’m teaching myself. It’s the only
way it will hold my attention.

When a body brushes past me, I look up
and am surprised to see Kieron smiling down at me. “Hi, again,” he
says softly.

“
Hi.” My heart pounds
wildly, and I quickly return my gaze to Canto XXIV. But the words
become a blur as Kieron continues to hover.

“
Do you mind if I sit
here?” he asks.

I shrug noncommittally, still staring
at my book like it holds the answer to the meaning of life. “Suit
yourself.”

He chuckles. “Is this your
bag?”

“
Right, sorry.” I lean over
to snatch it up and place it on the other side of me. Kieron
gracefully maneuvers into the seat and smiles.

“
Doing better
today?”

“
Yes.” And I’m re-reading
the same sentence for the fifth time. My gaze lifts slightly to see
several students turned around in their seats, gawking at
us.

“
I’m happy to hear that.
Sorry to interrupt you…is that a good book? I’ve never read
it.”

“
It’s fascinating,” I
respond dryly.

“
Maybe you wouldn’t mind
filling me in, help me get up to speed—” The rest of his question
is cut off as Mr. Sodenberg calls the class to order.

If someone had offered me
ten million dollars to recall even
one
sentence Mr. Sodenberg uttered
during his entire lecture, I couldn’t do it. Even though I’m trying
with all my might to concentrate on what the teacher is saying,
it’s impossible with Kieron sitting less than two feet away. Fifty
minutes passes in a blur, and before I know it the bell is
ringing.

“
What’s your next class?”
Kieron asks as we both stand up.

“
History with
Jackson.”

“
What a happy coincidence.
So’s mine. We can walk there together.” It’s more of a command than
a request. He’s so close behind me I can smell the musky scent of
his aftershave. We make our way to the door and I notice several
girls, including Corrine, watching us like blood-thirsty hawks. I
give her what I hope is a reassuring smile but I can tell she’s not
buying it. Even though her next class is in the opposite direction,
she falls into step beside Kieron.

“
Kieron, have you met my
friend Corrine Olsen?” I ask, hoping to diffuse any awkwardness.
She stares at him in awe and I groan inwardly. I’m trying not to be
embarrassed for her, but she’s just acting so
swoony
. I’ve never seen her like this
before.

But if Kieron notices anything odd
about her behavior, he makes no indication of it. “Yes, I believe
we quite literally ran into each other the other day, but weren’t
properly introduced. Hello, Corrine, my name is Kieron Ambrose. How
do you do?”

“
F-fine,” Corrine stutters.
Her face is beet red. She gapes at both of us for a moment before
abruptly turning and rushing in the other direction. Kieron smiles
down at me.

“
Friendly people here,” he
says.

“
Yeah, a little
too
friendly,” I mutter
as Drusilla swoops in and touches his arm.

“
Oh, Kieron, there y’ar,”
she says, exaggerating her southern drawl. I’ve noticed she does
this whenever she talks to cute guys. She must’ve heard somewhere
they like it. Tramp. “I was hopin’ to have ya escort me to biology.
Give us a chance to chat.” She pronounces it
bah-awl-gy,
bats her false eyelashes,
and smiles coyly. Great. Now she’s morphed into Scarlett
O’Hara.

“
Can we do it later? I need
to talk with Liora for a moment,” he says, matching her phony
smile, eye-bat and all. Score one for Rhett Butler.

Drusilla is
not
used to boys saying
no to her. Her face freezes and at first she’s confused. Then her
gaze flickers over to me. For the first half-second, it seems like
she’s never seen me before; for the second, like I’m a fly in her
nonfat yogurt. But she quickly recovers. “Why, certainly, I
understand,” she says as if she’s never heard of anything more
ludicrous. “Find me at lunch. I’ll save us a seat by the fountains
where we can have some privacy…and not be
bothered
.”