By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) (6 page)

I didn't spot him amongst the students
crowded together in the cafeteria. When he failed to show, I took a
seat with David and Jenna at our usual table. They gave me
identical puzzled expressions when I didn't eat, but quickly became
distracted in their usual gossip session with the other students
crammed around us. I tuned them all out, my numerous worries
warring for dominance of my thoughts.

I gazed off into the distance, eyes unfocused
as I tried to work out how Caleb figured into the whole thing.
Someone passed into my line of sight, and I snapped out of my
reverie. Melanie Hoffs, tray in hand, made her way across the room
to an empty table in the corner.

Her dark brown hair went uncombed and there
were deep circles under her hazel eyes. Her skin was pale, causing
the light smattering of freckles across her nose to stand out even
more than usual.

Several of my friends pointed in her
direction, disdain mingled with amusement on their faces. The words
"what a loser" and "maybe she'll be next—if we're lucky" reached my
ears and my mouth gaped open in shock. Sobs came from the corner,
and I turned to see Melanie quickly collecting her things, tears
running down her face.

Everything seemed so surreal—as if I watched
from some far off place, helpless to make it stop. The laughter
only increased at Melanie's apparent distress, and the more they
laughed, the more disjointed her movements became. At last, she
gave up and ran out of the room.

I slammed back into real time. Standing, I
shook my head in disgust at my friends.

"Assholes," I muttered.

They froze, the laughter dying on their lips
as they turned to study me. Before they could respond, I swept up
both of our things and left the room. It took a while, but
eventually I found her crying in the girl's restroom. She had
hidden herself inside one of the stalls.

We were the only occupants, so I locked the
entrance and dropped our bags on a faux leather lounger against the
wall. Taking a seat, I waited for her to come out. Eventually, the
lock slid back and she emerged, her face puffy and red. She went to
the sink and splashed water against it, only spying me once she
looked into the mirror. She whirled around with a hand to her
chest.

"What do you want?"

Guilt flooded through me at her suspicious
tone. "I brought your things for you." I motioned at her bag lying
beside me. "I-I'm sorry about Kim."

She didn't say anything and the uncomfortable
silence stretched out until I simply had to break it. "My friends
are jerks. I'm sorry they did that to you."

A small laugh bubbled out of her. "You're
sorry?"

"Yes. I really am."

She pressed a paper towel to her face and
dabbed at her eyes. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"What? No!"

"I remember you from the spring dance last
year—you don't give a damn about me or Kim. Don't pretend that you
do." She crumbled the towel and threw it away. "Did they send you
in here?"

"No, I came because I was worried about
you."

She smirked, the expression twisting her face
into one of complete disdain. "Just go. Run and tell them all about
what you saw. I'm sure you'll all get a good laugh over the whole
thing.

With that, she grabbed her bag and jerked the
door open. I sat stunned, unable to follow or deny I didn't deserve
everything she'd said.

o0o

I studied myself in the restroom mirror and
adjusted the straps of my pale green gown, chosen because it
brought out the color of my eyes. The dress fit well, softly
accentuating the curve of my hips. The scooped neck revealed just a
hint of cleavage, and I pressed my hand against my breasts, my skin
alive with an electrical charge of anticipation.

No, not anticipation—fear.

Tonight would be the night I would lose my
virginity.

Somehow I expected it to show on my face, but
in the reflection was the same old Makenna. Only scared.
Disappointment settled inside me.

I didn't want this. Not now, and not with
David. But could I back out at this point? It seemed unlikely. He
had spoken of nothing else all week— murmuring soft words in my ear
while his hands stole quick caresses under my T-shirt. It was the
logical next step in our relationship, he'd pleaded.

With a resigned breath, I stepped back into
the gymnasium, determined to put a stop to our plans.

Even before I reached the dance floor, I
could tell something was off. A large group of students was
gathered in a tight circle, and shrieks of laughter sounded above
the pulsating music. David's tall figure stood out in the center of
the pack. I pushed through the throng, figuring it was one of his
goofball friends showing off in the middle.

As I neared, David draped an arm around my
shoulders and pulled me tightly against him. He dropped a kiss on
my lips and chuckled softly as he watched the action in front of
us. Focused on finding a way to break the news to him without
causing a huge fight, I didn't immediately notice the activity
causing all the hoopla.

When I did, my mouth went dry. Chants of
"Dance! Dance! Dance!" echoed in my ears as I watched Kim Urwin and
Melanie Hoffs huddled together in the center of the pack of
frenzied students. Each time they tried to break through the crowd,
unfriendly hands pushed them back in the middle.

I watched in horror as Melanie stepped
forward and screamed at the group. "Leave us alone!"

This only roused the crowd further and soon
both girls were reduced to tears as they continued to struggle in
vain to free themselves. I watched as my friends continued their
games. I wanted to scream at them to stop—to pull the girls from
captivity. But I did nothing. Frozen in place, I watched in
silence, unable to come to their aid, yet unable to leave or turn
away.

For a brief moment, Melanie's eyes locked
with mine. I saw an accusation in their depths and my face burned
with guilt at my inability to stand up to my friends.

Next thing I knew, my mom rushed in with her
fellow chaperones to break things up. With comforting arms around
their shoulders, she led the two girls off the floor. I'd done
nothing, and my shame was immense.

David and I hadn't slept together that night.
Luckily, he'd gotten so drunk he'd passed out before he could talk
me out of my lovely green dress.

With him lying half out of the bathroom in
our hotel room, I'd silently slipped out of the door, shoes in
hand, and called Ty to come pick me up. He hadn't said a single
word when he arrived, only tucked me in beside him and drove home
in silence.

o0o

The door swung open behind me, and I snapped
out of my memories. I'd moved in front of the mirror, and in the
reflection, Jenna approached, eyes narrowed.

"What the hell are you doing, Mac?"

I turned on the water and quickly lathered my
hands. "I'd think that'd be pretty obvious given the room and
all."

She clamped down on my arm and forced me to
face her. "What was that little scene in the cafeteria all about?
You embarrassed the hell out of yourself—and us, your friends."

Shrugging out of her grip, I reached for some
paper towels. "I could ask the same of you. Why in the world would
you pick on her that way?"

"That's beside the point. She's nothing to
us. Why would you defend her?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "What's wrong
with you? Her best friend was just killed and you used that to
tease her. God, you disgust me."

I brushed past her and grabbed my things.
Before I could leave, her voice stopped me.

"Watch yourself, Mac. You're nothing at this
high school without your friends."

I focused on the door before me as the
vehemence beneath her words sank in. She was right, crossing my
group would equate to social suicide. Taking a deep breath, I
straightened my spine and pushed out the door, determined that I
didn't give a damn.

I kept my head down the rest of the day.
Several members of my group watched me from time to time, but I
avoided them as I moved between classes, praying for the day to
come to an end. When at last the final bell rang, I made my way to
my mother's classroom.

"Mind if I ride home with you today?"

"What, no David?" She was rightfully
confused. The few times I didn't ride home with him, I usually went
with Ty. I had only glimpsed Ty a couple of times throughout the
day. Every time I got close to him, he had abruptly disappeared
into the crowd.

"I just thought I'd ride with you today." I
kept my voice carefully nonchalant.

She smiled and squeezed my arm. "Give me just
a few minutes. I need to grab some things from the office."

I had no difficulty pinpointing her mood.
Once we were buckled into her SUV, she chattered on incessantly, a
little too happy and upbeat to be believable.

"Mom, what really happened to Kim?" I cut
in.

She sighed deeply, her eyes steady on the
road. "I knew you were going to ask."

"Well?"

She didn't immediately answer. I began to
think she wouldn't.

"It was an animal attack. They found tracks
all around her body. And what with..." She paused. "With the
condition of her body, they think it must've been a rather large
animal that did it."

"It's true then."

She grimaced. "I'm afraid so."

"But the police said we were safe—how could
they know that? It could be anywhere!" Like in a darkened school
corridor. I shivered.

She placed a calming hand on my knee. "Honey,
it's fine. They tracked it and...well...it's over."

"Oh." I suddenly felt very stupid for my
thoughts about Caleb. He was just a punk who probably got off on
scaring me.

"Are you sure?" For whatever reason, tension
still crawled across my shoulders.

We pulled into our driveway, and she brushed
the hair out of my face. "Positive. But just for my peace of mind,
stick close to town, okay? No going off alone, and especially not
into the woods. Not until we know for certain there aren't any
others."

"Okay."

She studied me for a long moment, her
emotions transparent.
What if it had been me?
her eyes
said.

When at last her gaze had traveled over every
contour of my face, as if to confirm I was indeed all right, she
turned away. "Come on. I bet your father's starving."

o0o

I couldn't find Ty that afternoon.

When I emerged from the trees between our
houses after attempting to catch him yet again, David's car was
parked in the driveway. The sight made me want to run in the
opposite direction. But I couldn't do that. I hesitated a moment
outside the back door, rehearsing what I would say until I had it
down.

"I think we should break up. I think we
should break up." I said the words softly to myself, and at last
buoyed by the growing confidence in my voice, went inside.

Seated alone in the living room, David stood
when I entered.

"Hey," he said. "I looked for you after
school. Where were you?"

I swallowed hard, my mantra suddenly leaving
me. "I got a ride with my mom."

"Everything okay?" He pulled me down onto the
couch beside him. "You were weird at lunch."

My brows threatened to quirk up. So that's
what he called it. "No...I..."

Do it, Mac. Do it.

"Listen, David..."

"Makenna! There you are." My mother swept
into the room, a can of soda in hand.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wilhelm," David said with his
charm-the-pants-off-of-you smile. "I was just about to ask Makenna
if she wanted to hit the movies tonight."

I opened my mouth to protest.

"That's a wonderful idea," my mom said, the
worry around her eyes suddenly alleviated.

"But it's a school night," I said.

She waved me off. "Go—have fun."

Take your mind off everything that
happened
, her eyes pleaded.

How could I say no? I soon found myself being
ushered out the front door.

As I suspected, we didn't go to the movies.
We ended up out at the old drive-in instead. All of our friends
were already there, including Jenna who flashed me a smug smile as
I stepped out of David's car.

Headlights illuminated the overgrown field
where most of the poles had been stripped of equipment and were
crooked or flattened to the ground—martyrs to the constant
party-goers need to destroy everything around them.

Surrounded by wilderness, the large movie
screen stood riddled with graffiti. In the center of the lights, a
large metal trash can blazed, casting long shadows over the group
as they tipped back plastic cups filled from a keg in the back of
one of the pick-up trucks. My own beer grew warm, and when no one
was looking, I emptied it onto the ground.

Loud music blared through the night air, and
one by one, couples started to pair off and head out to the
surrounding woods or into one of the cars' crowded backseats. The
sounds of horny teenagers going at it made me
uncomfortable—especially when David started to give me "the
look."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and
squeezed. "Let's go for a walk."

I tensed and pulled away. "Listen. I need to
go home—it's getting late and I have a ton of homework for
tomorrow. Plus I promised my mom..."

"Come on, Mac! Just a short walk. You
probably finished all your work already, anyway." He lowered his
voice and leaned in close. "I know you're a good girl. I promise to
behave."

There would be no winning with him. "A short
one...that's it. Then we're going home."

"Fine." He was all innocence as he grabbed my
hand and laced his fingers through mine. "Come on—there's a spot I
want to show you."