Daniel Taylor and the Dark Legacy (5 page)

“Bye,” he said, getting back onto his bike. He pedaled over to his driveway and directly into the garage. The door was always open when his mother wasn’t home. She had recently started working shifts at the hospital again.

That was fine for Daniel. The fewer people around, the better. If they discovered how different he was, they’d lock him away.

It won’t come to that
, he thought with grim determination.
I’d run away first. That would just mean I’d get to L.A. a little sooner.

As she stood before her mirror, Vanessa tried to cool down with the help of a fan. Shaking her head, she tried on a third bathing suit. “No, this one makes me look skeletal!” Her hip bones were clearly visible through the fabric.
I’m far too skinny. Not feminine enough
, she thought, frustrated. She stepped out of the swimsuit and finally decided on a white bikini. At least this one made her breasts look a little bigger. “That’s probably why Danny doesn’t want to come to the lake with me,” she muttered. “I’m as flat as a little girl.” It had been so hard for her to even ask him.

Sighing, she looked over to the window. She had shut the blinds earlier so that Daniel wouldn’t see her changing clothes. In some ways, it was convenient that they both had the attic rooms. As children, they had sent messages to each other in Morse code using flashlights … but that was a long time ago now.

Her heart heavy, she shook her head again.
He doesn’t want to go to the party with me, either. Damn it, if I weren’t so shy, I would have pestered him until he agreed to come!

Vanessa bent over her desk to pull on the cord that raised the blinds. She saw that Danny was also sitting at his desk, which was likewise directly in front of his window, so she grabbed her binoculars. She could easily recognize him without magnification — he was only a few meters away — but he still wasn’t wearing his shirt, and she wanted a closer look! She had gotten a quick glance at his muscular abs earlier, and her curiosity had been piqued.

It looked like Danny had just emerged from the shower, as his black hair was dripping wet. Dark, tangled strands fell across his face, enhancing his rugged attractiveness. Arms folded behind his head, he was leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling.

The sight of him made Vanessa go weak in the knees. “Wow!” She was so absorbed in the view that she didn’t care that a paper clip was pressing painfully into the elbow that was leaning on the desk.
If I could just bury my nose in that raven-black hair and kiss that slender neck
, she fantasized, still staring at him through the field glasses. For a seventeen-year-old, he was amazingly muscular; she had only really noticed that today. The last time she had seen him naked, they were five-year-olds in a wading pool. It was a pity that he didn’t want to go to the lake — she could have gotten an even better look at him. Vanessa was happy that for once he wasn’t over by his computer, where she couldn’t see him as well. Usually, the blinds in his room were shut the whole day long.

They used to go out together often, for ice cream or on other kid excursions, but more recently their relationship had changed. They weren’t kids anymore. Unfortunately. That made things more complicated.

Every morning when Daniel rode to school, she watched for him, and she kept watch on him in the schoolyard as well; she would have liked to be constantly at his side. It had been this way ever since junior high. Whenever she saw him, her stomach tightened with excitement, so much so that sometimes it was hard for her to eat anything. When she went to bed, she thought of him — his dark grey eyes and the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. She was lucky that schoolwork was so easy for her; otherwise, her grades would have suffered from her inability to get Danny off her mind.

“What spell have you cast on me?” she murmured, sighing.

Just as she was about to lower the binoculars, Daniel shifted in his chair. He turned to his desk and seemed to be writing something.

Is he actually doing his homework on a Friday afternoon? Since when has he been such a nerd?

He suddenly held up a big sheet of paper to his window on which he had written: “I know that you’re watching me!” Her heart stopped. She let go of the cord to her blinds and almost fell backward. Her pulse raced. He had seemed to look right at her with those catlike eyes of his!

How did he know?
Danny must have the instincts of a wild animal!

She restlessly paced up and down her room, changing into a light-colored T-shirt and a flowered skirt.
How embarrassing — Danny must think I’m some kind of Peeping Tom! Or he suspects it. Oh, no, what if he’s worked out that I have a crush on him? And what if he’s grossed out by it and won’t ever speak to me again?
Her blood ran cold. But her curiosity finally got the best of her.

She carefully pulled the blinds back up, but Daniel wasn’t sitting at his desk anymore. Before leaving, he had stuck another sheet of paper to his window: “Okay, I’ll go to the party with you.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Beaming, Vanessa pushed away from her desk and danced across the room like a crazed goblin.

Vanessa was still in seventh heaven as she lay down on her towel to dry off in the sun. The little lake surrounded by a forest, situated at the bottom of the hill on which Little Peak had been built, was an oasis for the local residents. In summer, everyone in town who didn’t have to work was there, and even now — at the end of October — it was still warm enough to swim in this part of California. Vendors and kiosks sold ice cream and other snacks, and there were areas for beach volleyball, basketball, and tennis, as well as a mini-golf course and a large playground. A track for inline skating and skateboarders had been built the previous year in the nearby forest, and the locals also enjoyed a well-maintained fitness trail. Vanessa had tried jogging there a few times, but had given up because she was worried she might get even thinner. She knew this was ridiculous, since a few extra muscles might give her a little more bulk. Maybe she should drop the excuses and start running again.

A ladybug was climbing up a nearby daisy. The sun warming her back, Vanessa dreamily watched as it tried to reach the next blade of grass.

Colleen touched her shoulder. “Look over there, Nessa — isn’t that Daniel jumping into the water? The one in the blue swim trunks.” Colleen nodded toward the opposite shore, her damp blond hair swaying slightly with the motion of her head.

Vanessa’s heart immediately beat a little faster. She pulled her cap lower over her eyes and examined the tall boy in the blue shorts. Even though they were some distance away, she recognized him immediately.
He’s basically a full-grown man, and I’m flat as a board
, she thought. The tightness in her chest was a clear indication of how crazy she was for Danny. “He said he didn’t want to come,” she murmured, feeling tremendous disappointment rising within her. He was probably ashamed to be seen with her.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Colleen had pulled her glasses out of her tote bag and was gazing over at the opposite shore. “Yeah, he’s got a certain something — a nice ass, to say the least.”

Nessa shrugged, hoping her flushed cheeks might be mistaken for sunburn. Colleen was her best friend, but Vanessa hadn’t yet told her anything. What she felt for Danny was a very personal secret.

“It’s a pity he’s such a weirdo,” Colleen said, putting her glasses away again.

Nessa spun around to face her. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know, he’s just so … different. Those bulky black clothes he always wears. He looks like the Grim Reaper’s son, or one of those Goth freaks.”

“Maybe he just likes black clothes. There are some Goths at our school, and I think they’re all right. They don’t bother anyone.”

“Why doesn’t Daniel hang out with them, then? He’s always alone.” Colleen frowned. “It wasn’t always like this.”

Vanessa also remembered that he used to hang around with other kids. When had that changed?

Colleen lowered her voice. “I can’t really explain it, but I find him a little spooky. He always looks so sinister, so … well, different.”

“Hmmm,” Nessa simply said, since she didn’t agree with Colleen’s assessment at all. Okay, scarcely at all. Daniel really had changed somewhat. Vanessa was happy to have a good friend like Colleen Clayton, even though she was a little jealous of her dazzling blue eyes and perfect figure. All the boys in school had the hots for her. No wonder Danny had never noticed her, next to her perfect friend! Colleen and she had many classes together, and Danny was in most of them as well.

“We should mark today in our calendars with a gold star,” Coll continued, grinning. “His swimsuit isn’t BLACK!”

“You nut!” Vanessa laughed and hit her lightly on the arm.

Colleen giggled. She rummaged through her bag and offered Vanessa a stick of gum. “I’m just saying!”

Nessa took the gum gratefully. Coll wasn’t like so many of their classmates, people who were only nice to her so that she’d do their homework. If Nessa were to tell her that she’d fallen for Danny, Colleen surely wouldn’t hit on him. Anyhow, the way it seemed, her friend didn’t want anything to do with him, which relieved Nessa immensely.

“You’ve known Daniel for a long time,” Colleen said. “Haven’t you noticed that he doesn’t have any friends? During breaks, he’s always alone, staring into space, and when anyone tries to talk to him, he can be so abrasive.”

“Yeah, I’ve known Danny my whole life. We played together a lot as kids. If his behavior is strange, I might not see it, just because I’m so used to it. He’s just the quiet type, I guess.”

“His parents must be a bit weird … he must have gotten it from somewhere.”

Vanessa unobtrusively watched Daniel as he swam laps across the lake. He glided through the water as smoothly as a fish, swimming underwater for several strokes at a time. “The Taylors seemed pretty normal to me.”

“Seemed?” Colleen raised an eyebrow.

“Well, his father moved out last year.”

“Oh, right.” Colleen scratched her chin. “I forgot about that.”

“His mother has gotten a little strange since then, but that’s understandable,” Vanessa went on. “It must have been awful when her husband suddenly left her.”

Her friend wrinkled her nose. “Do you think that’s why Daniel flunked those classes last year? He must have taken the breakup pretty hard.”

“As far as I know, he was never really close to his father. He was a typical mama’s boy.” Vanessa smiled, remembering how Daniel had literally clung to his mother’s apron strings as a small child. “Well, not anymore, of course. When he’s at home, he hides away in his room most of the time.”

Colleen nodded vigorously. “See, that’s what I mean — he isolates himself from everyone. There’s something wrong there.”

“I’d say it’s a fairly normal reaction,” Nessa murmured. She felt a pang in her chest. How hard it must have been for Daniel, watching his father disappear from their lives.

“My mom heard that the police brought him home last month!”

Vanessa’s pulse accelerated. Was Danny in trouble with the police? “I haven’t heard anything about that. What did he supposedly do?”

Collen shrugged. “No idea.”

Nessa was mad that her friend knew more about Daniel than she did. He hadn’t said anything to her; maybe it was just a rumor.

She glanced back toward the lake and saw that Daniel was swimming toward the shore. She could only see his shoulders and his dark hair, but her heart still skipped a beat.

“Guess what? He’s coming with me to Rebecca’s party.” She couldn’t quite believe it was true. He hadn’t actually said so in person, after all.

“You have a date with the unapproachable hermit?” Coll leaned closer, her eyes widening. “And you’re just telling me this
now
?”

“It’s not a date.” Nessa shook her head. “Danny’s my friend.”

“You mean, like, friends who kiss each other?”

“COLLEEN!” Vanessa watched Daniel out of the corner of her eye. Luckily, he was way too far away to overhear them. It looked like he hadn’t even seen them. “Couldn’t you speak a little softer?” Nessa glanced around them, but it didn’t seem like anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.