A Whisper To A Scream (12 page)

I place my hand on Wren’s shoulder and
squeeze. She glances at me momentarily, smiles, and then looks back
out her windshield. We ride in silence the rest of the way.

Chapter 11: Bloodlust

The North Place Mall was like a harem of
temptation for someone like Adam. That was one of the key reasons
why he avoided malls all-together unless he was stalking a
potential victim.

Three attractive teenage girls walked passed
him and were checking him out. His head snapped around, his eyes
followed them. All three of them glanced over their shoulder at him
and giggled. Adam started toward them, but caught himself before
his urge overwhelmed him. He suppressed the urge by shoving his
fist in his mouth and biting down on his knuckle—hard. His sharp
canines drew blood.

The bitter metallic blood dripped into his
mouth and danced over his taste buds. Adam sucked on the open
wounds, to help the blood clot.

Katie slid up next to him and tugged on his
arm. “Come on Adam. You can watch me try on clothes.”

That was the last thing Adam wanted to do. He
exhaled when the thought of ripping out Katie’s jugular seemed more
appealing than watching her try on outfits.

Katie’s finger trailed up his torso and Adam
felt his stomach lurch. “There is this cute mini-skirt in….”

Adam yanked his arm away and cut her off. “I
don’t want to, Katie,” he said flatly.

He wished Ellory were here. If she were here,
he wouldn’t be on edge, Katie wouldn’t be touching him, and his
urges wouldn’t be overwhelming him.

More girls passed him. Adam knew he had to
leave. He had to go home. He felt stupid for agreeing when Blake
invited him along in the first place. He stalked toward the
exit.

Katie followed him. “Where are you going?”
she called after him.

Her shrill, piercing voice made his skin
crawl. He clenched his jaw and balled up his fists. Inside he kept
repeating,
contain yourself.

She lowered her voice and smiled, trying to
be flirtatious, but it made Adam nauseous. “Where do you think
you’re going?” She reached out for Adam’s hand. He didn’t respond.
Instead, he clasped his hands together because his fingers were
trembling. The blood on her neck was calling out to him. Adam
closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Can you just leave me
alone, please Katie?”

Adam opened an eye as Katie pouted and puffed
out her bottom lip. She needed to just let him go. Adam turned and
Katie gripped his arm. Adam was seconds away from choking the life
out of her until, he saw Ellory.

He whipped around and saw her stalking toward
the music store. He peeled Katie’s fingers from his arm. “Later,
Katie.” Then he followed Ellory.

She was the first girl he could tolerate long
enough to actually get to know a little bit about her. Ellory had
issues. She was tragically flawed, but that didn’t keep Adam from
being fascinated by her.

For the first time, he enjoyed another
person’s company. There was something lurking deep inside of his
hollow shell. Even though he was certain it wasn’t love. That tiny
twinge of a something gave him hope. And for a sadistic sociopath
like Adam Jacobs that tiny twinge was the biggest shock of his
life.

Chapter 12: Kiss Me

Wren and Molly wanted to go to Victoria’s
Secret, so I part ways with them at the entrance and stalk toward
FYE. I’ve got an appointment Steven Tyler and I don’t want to miss
it. His raspy, shrieking voice already plays out in my mind as I
hum the melody to Dream On.

I catch a glimpse of Adam on my way. He’s
with Blake, Katie, Megan, and two more people they hang out with, a
girl Corinne Connor, who is co-captain of the cheerleading squad
and Josh Turner. I try not to be too obvious when I stare at him.
But I’m so caught up in him I almost bump into a woman. I stop
inches in front of her. “I’m sorry.”

She scowls, her cat-like blue-green eyes are
pools of anger, and the ivory skin on her heart-shaped face is
pink. “Damn kids. You never pay attention to where you’re
going.”

I ignore her rude comment and continue on my
way.

FYE isn’t crowded at all. There are a few
stragglers, in the aisles checking out some DVDs, but other than
that it’s pretty quiet. I’m glad. Now, I can totally unwind, put on
a pair of headphones in the back of the store, and whip out my air
guitar if necessary.

In the back of the store, I slip on the head
phones, and I’m immediately captivated as the first song begins.
Most girls my age don’t appreciate this kind of music. In my
opinion, this is real music. It’s haunting, poetic, and
carefully-crafted. Not that techno teeny bopper crap that only
sounds good because of all the machines the record label uses to
make it.

I’m absorbed. Lost in a sea of guitar solos.
So far gone that I barely feel the tap on my shoulder. Then the
person taps me again. Startled, I whip around and chuck the
headphones at them. Adam stands in front of me. He holds the
headphones up and laughs. “Good catch,” I quip.

“You know,” he begins as he places the
headphones on the holder, “These are bolted to the wall.”

“If your reflexes weren’t so spot on, I still
could have hit you with them.”

“Maybe.”

My eyes center on his lips. I think about how
bad I want to crush mine to his. I think about what he might taste
like today. My stomach swirls. Touch me. I want him to touch me.
“Are you following me?”

“So what if I am?” he muses.

“So you’re stalking me?”

Another vague answer. “Maybe.” I pick up a CD
from the rack and walk to the register. “But, I was at the mall
first,” he says. “How do I know you aren’t stalking me?”

Sometimes, I think about it. “Believe me,” I
assure him. “I’m not.” I set my CD on the counter and the clerk
rings it up. Adam reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a wad
of cash. I stop him. “I don’t need your charity.”

He holds up his left hand with a CD in it. “I
wasn’t giving you any.”

“Oh,” I say quietly. I’m angry with myself
for assuming he was going to pay for my purchase. And I’m
embarrassed. So embarrassed that red flushes my cheeks and as soon
as I pay for the CD the clerk hands me my change, the bag, and then
I bolt from the store.

I don’t make it very far.

“Hey! Wait up!” Adam jogs toward me as a
crowd of people pass by. Loud voices echo off the high ceilings.
Even through my head is telling me to run, I slow down allowing him
to catch up. “Let me walk with you.”

Katie, Megan, Corinne, Blake, and Josh are
walking toward us. Katie sneers at me. She’s acting like she’s got
animal instincts. Adam is her territory and I’m trespassing. But
he’s not her territory. He’s mine. And it’s about time I let her
know that.

She inches away when I place my hand flat on
Adam’s chest. He comes to a halt and I spin around to face him. He
gazes at me confused as I slide my hands up his chest. He leans
down and whispers, “What are you doing?”

Honestly, I don’t know. “Just go with it,” I
tell him. Then I smother his mouth with mine. I kiss him hard.
Entwining my fingers in his hair, clutching on to him as his arms
wrap around me tighter. I block out Katie as she yells an insulting
word. I block out everything. There’s no one in the mall. It’s
empty. All the stores are closed and it’s just me and Adam.

He pulls out of the kiss breathless and a
little part of me dies inside. He rests his forehead against mine
while we both steady our breathing. I already want to kiss him over
and over and over again. I want time to stand still again. He
brushes his lips gently over mine and breathes, “That was
amazing.”

I agree. What’s even more amazing, the look
on Katie’s face as I strut past her and when Adam shouts, “I’ll
call you.”

A joyous feeling flourishes through me. I
can’t wait for that phone call to come.

****

I walk into Victoria’s Secret to Wren and
Molly spraying body splash into the air and lifting their noses to
sniff it. I wave the mist out of my face as Molly steps forward
with a frown. “Where have you been?”

“I told you I was going to buy a CD. Geez,
who are you my Mom?”

Molly crosses her arms and taps her foot.
“That was over an hour ago!”

Sometimes Molly can overreact and it gets on
my nerves. I eye her scornfully. “Nobody said we were on a time
schedule.”

Wren steps forward and stands in between me
and Molly. “That’s enough guys. Molly, who cares? Ells, you ready
to leave?”

“Yeah.” My eyes wander back and forth between
Molly’s hands and Wren’s. “You guys didn’t find anything?”

Wren shakes her head. Molly looks at her
fingernails, annoyed. “Everything was so picked over,” she says
haughtily.

We ride home in silence. I watch the cars
passing by on the freeway, trying to hold back a smile. Closing my
eyes, I think of my steamy spine-tingling kiss with Adam. I don’t
think I’ll ever forget it. No… Think isn’t the right word. Will is
correct. I will never forget the kiss with Adam in the middle of
the North Place Mall. His kisses are like the bite from a poisonous
snake. Sitting in the car, I can feel the venom spreading. I can
feel it writhing in my veins. I’m so elated that I don’t care if
the venom kills me.

Wren drops me off and Mom greets me at the
door with a furious look and a wagging finger. “Where have you
been?”

I start toward my bedroom. “At the mall.”

“You’re supposed to be grounded!” she yells,
her temper flaring.

“Then why did you leave me money?” I
completely forgot about being grounded. I assumed she did too.

Mom throws her hands up in the air. “For
pizza!”

“Forty dollars for pizza? Then you should
have said it was for pizza in your note.” How could she expect me
to know what the money was for if she didn’t specify it? “I’m not a
mind reader, Mom. Sorry.”

“Oh you’re gonna be sorry!” she threatens.
“You’ll be making up for this next weekend.”

“You can’t be serious?”

She looks at me sternly. “Do I look
serious?”

“Mom. Please.”

“Go to your room,” she huffs and points to my
open door.

Go to my room? What am I? Five years old? I
start laughing. Me finding Mom funny enrages her further. “I’m
serious, Ellory! Go! Now!”

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. “I was on
my way here anyway!” I snap and slam the door.

Pacing, I stop in front of my bed. Was my
trip to the mall worth all the trouble I got into? Absolutely.

Fury surges throughout my body. I clench my
jaw, letting out a frustrated scream and I punch my pillow. If I’m
grounded next weekend that mean I won’t get to see Adam. All I want
to do is see Adam. And spend time with him. And feel the heat from
his arms as they cover me.

I lie down on my bed and exhale. I know what
will make me feel better. I put the CD I just bought into the CD
player on my nightstand and press play. The music blares from the
speakers and drowns out everything. Including all of my teenage
woes.

Chapter 13: Lunch Date

I’m dragging. I’ve got a serious case of the
Monday’s. No matter what I do, I do it lazily, unable to get myself
motivated. Even when I walk to Wren’s car. I feel like I’m moving
at a snail’s pace.

My day takes an unexpected turn for the worst
when I arrive at first period English and notice Adam isn’t there.
Katie, however, has been hard at work spreading vicious lies
involving my romantic moment with Adam at the mall.

“You should have seen the way she threw
herself at him,” she whispers to a classmate. “It was pathetic
really.”

Jealousy is a bitch named Katie Halston. But
at least she knows how I felt when I saw him with her. The tardy
bell will ring in a minute. Even with a time crunch I know I’ll be
perfectly capable of making her life hell in sixty seconds.

At her desk, my fist comes crashing down.
Blasting the desk. Shaking it. Katie jumps, breathes, then snarls,
“Well, well. If it isn’t the town tramp.”

I laugh. “That’s funny. I thought someone
else already held that title. God, what’s her name? Uh. It’s on the
tip on my tongue. Oh yeah. It’s your mother.”

She rises from her seat slowly—like I’m
supposed to be afraid of her. Then she crosses her arms and shakes
her head with a bit of attitude. “You’re just jealous because Adam
spent last night with me.”

I’m not buying it. “You’re a liar. Do you
really expect me to believe that?”

“Believe what you want,” she cackles evilly.
“Adam said, and I quote, she drooled like a dog when she kissed me.
And that’s funny because you really are a bitch.”

I inhale deeply and lick my lips. If Katie
wants a bitch, I’ll give her a bitch.

Even though Katie acts like she’s all that. I
know she has insecurities. Her family being one of the many. She
always likes to pretend like she has this picture perfect family.
Kind of like the ones you see in the picture frames at the store.
Happy. Loving. Normal. When in reality hers is anything but
normal.

Katie is ashamed of her background. Ashamed
of her flesh and blood. I’m the only one who knows this. Now so
will everyone else. “Maybe I should call your Dad and tell him his
daughter has a dirty mouth. Oh, that’s right. You don’t know who he
is!”

“Shut up!” Her voice goes up an octave.

I command the attention of the classroom,
cupping my hands over my mouth. “That’s right everybody! Logan’s
Prom Queen is a bastard!” I lower my hands glaring. “My Dad may
have left me, but at least I know who he is. Who’s yours? The
mailman?”

Thank God I anticipate her fist striking out
at me. I dodge it with ease.

“Miss Halston!” Miss Winkle shouts from the
door. “To the office, now!”

My face screams pure satisfaction.
Game…Set…Match…Skank.