Death Before Daylight (29 page)

I was putting Crystal in danger by allowing
her to be around them, but she was dating Zac, and there was
nothing I could do about it. Asking Zac out alone wasn’t a
possibility, not without a potential fight breaking out. In the
end, if he were Darthon, the Dark would kill him. We would have to
kill Crystal’s boyfriend, and when she mourned, I would have to
comfort her. How I would face her was beyond me. I would lose her,
too, and I knew that was why Jonathon had brought it up in the car.
He didn’t want to say it out loud because he knew I would realize
it.

Everything was getting more complicated by
the second.

“Are you okay, Jess?”

“What?”

Robb leaned closer, and his finger skimmed my
cheek. “Your face is all red.”

I pulled away and stumbled into a trashcan.
It fell over, and half of the coffee shop stood up. Everyone’s eyes
were on me.

“Sorry,” I muttered and bent down to pick it
up.

“Relax.” Robb touched my shoulder as he knelt
down. I straightened up to get away, but he didn’t look at me as he
cleaned up my mess.

I had to shove my hands in my pockets to keep
them from shaking. I had lost my concentration.

“Robb.” The barista called his name as she
placed two cups of coffee on the counter. He grabbed the drinks and
apologized for the mess. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Happens
all the time.”

He shifted toward the exit. “Let’s go
outside.”

“I’m going to use the restroom,” I dismissed
myself so I didn’t have to follow him. Before he could question me
again, I said, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

I concentrated on my walking so I didn’t run.
Every step felt lighter than the first one, and every part of me
wanted to run just like I had so many times before. If I lost
control now, everyone would be in danger, and I wouldn’t even have
the chance to learn anything.

When I got into the bathroom, I locked the
door behind me.
“Jonathon.”
Our connection buzzed, and I had
to take two breaths before I felt it solidify.
“Jonathon.”

“
You okay?”
His voice was already
high.

“
Fine,”
I promised.
“Are you
close?”

“
I’m in the alleyway.”

That explained why the car was out of sight.
He had parked out of view.

“
Give me ten more minutes,”
I
said.

“
I don’t know if you have the
time.”

My heart pounded.
“What do you
mean?”

“
Zac and Crystal just walked past
me.”

I grabbed the doorknob and ran out of the
bathroom. Zac was taking Crystal away, and I couldn’t let that
happen. I practically broke down the exit door to get outside, and
the cold air slammed into me like it wanted to push me back.

Jonathon wasn’t wrong. Crystal and Zac were
walking down the street, and Robb was sitting at our table by
himself.

“Where are they going?” I asked and started
to walk toward them.

Robb stood up and grabbed my arm. “They just
wanted to talk,” he said, dropping his hand. “I think they wanted
more time alone.”

I stared at their backs as their bodies
melted into silhouettes against the street lamps. “Are they
fighting?”

“Not at all.” Robb pulled out my chair.
“They’re fine.”

I looked at him before glancing at Crystal.
If I followed her, it would look suspicious.
“Keep your eyes on
them,”
I spoke to Jonathon, and he confirmed my order.

She would be safe for now. I would have to
wait until they returned.

I plopped down in my seat, and a sigh escaped
me. I covered my mouth as if I could take it back, but I knew it
was too late. Robb had heard me. I glanced at him. “Sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay.” A smile
spread across his lips. “I know you don’t like me like that.”

My throat tightened so I couldn’t speak.

He didn’t talk either. He simply pulled out
his cigarettes, packed them against the palm of his hand, and
pulled one out. He put it up to his lips before he asked if I
minded.

“I don’t care,” I said, even though a part of
me did. The smoke bothered me, but the expression that had crossed
his face bothered me more.

Fine lines had appeared beneath his eyes, but
his gaze deepened as he lit it. The orange end lit up as he dragged
in, and his shoulders relaxed as he breathed out. “I know you only
agreed to this to get back at Eric.”

“It’s not like that—”

“I did it to get back at Linda,” he said it
so simply, like he wasn’t afraid of exposing his darker side, like
he wanted me to see all sides of him. He took another drag before
he spoke again, “But I don’t mind that we both agreed to it.” He
squinted through the cloud of smoke. “It means we have something in
common.”

I wanted to argue with him, to tell him I had
other reasons, but I couldn’t explain I was after Darthon. Robb
thought I was crazy enough after I told him about my nightmares. I
knew him well enough not to confide in him. Plus, the subject
matter wasn’t exactly acceptable.

“I guess,” I finally agreed as I leaned over
and picked up my second coffee.

“They’re good for one another, aren’t they?”
Robb’s voice sounded far away.

I wasn’t sure if he was talking about Crystal
and Zac or Eric and Linda until I studied him. His gaze was locked
on Crystal and Zac. When I glanced over my shoulder, they were near
the end of the street. They would have to come back soon.

“I guess.”

“Do you like Zac?”

My neck snapped as I turned to Robb.
“What?”

He shrugged. “You seem,” he paused,
“focused.”

“I don’t like him,” I practically snarled,
but the dramatic tone took the opposite effect I wanted to get
across.

Robb tilted his head. “He liked you for the
longest time,” he said. “I always thought you two would end up
together, especially after prom.” He took another drag, but he blew
his smoke away from the table. “I think he thought that, too.”

“Then, why’d he date Crystal?”

“Zac likes her, too.”

“You can’t like two people at the same time,”
I said.

“Why not?”

“Because,” I paused because I didn’t have an
argument. I had never liked two people at the same time. I had only
liked Eric, but I wasn’t everyone. I didn’t have the right to
discount other people’s feelings. Still, the concept was beyond me.
“I guess I just don’t feel that way,” I finally managed.

“You still like Eric?”

My face heated up, but it cooled the second
Robb’s chair scraped across the ground. He had moved closer. His
cigarette smoke burned my nostrils.

“I don’t like the smoking,” I choked.

He leaned over and put his cigarette out on
the table. “I know.”

The end sizzled out in a light stream of
gray. I watched it until it disappeared. Every part of it reminded
me of transporting as a shade, and every piece of me wanted to
transport back to the shelter, to the place Eric told me not to
leave. I was failing—again—and figuring out if Zac was Darthon
seemed to be getting further out of my reach.

“What’s this?” Robb’s fingers grazed my
neck.

I shivered and pulled back. “What?”

Robb didn’t try to touch me again. He stayed
in his chair and pointed to my collarbone. “You’re wearing a
necklace.”

My hand landed on my chest where the ring
laid against my sternum. “It’s just jewelry—”

His eyebrows lowered, settling right above
his eyes. They were golden in the dim light. “You’re still wearing
it, aren’t you?”

My grip tightened. “So, what?”

“So?” He placed his elbows on the table. “You
guys aren’t together anymore. He treated you like crap, Jess.”

“You don’t know him,” I snapped, but my voice
came out as a whisper.

“I know how he treated you,” he emphasized.
“From the beginning, that guy pushed you away.” He scooted his
chair closer, and every part of me was paralyzed. “How hard does he
have to shove you before you realize you’ve already fallen
down?”

Eric’s ring. It burned my palm through my
shirt, and my hand dropped to my lap. I stared at my hand as it
shook, but it only shook more when I saw my skin. It was red. I
hadn’t imagined it. The ring had physically burned me.

“Trust me for a minute?” Robb spoke, but his
voice sounded like it was underwater. I barely felt him as his
fingers skimmed the necklace, but his cold touch was strangely
soothing. It curled through my veins as he dragged his hand to the
nape of my neck. When he unclipped the jewelry, he pulled the
necklace up, and the ring burned my skin as he pulled it up.

I breathed when he finally took it away, and
the cold comfort dug against my gut. The feeling was one I felt
before. It reminded me of the red rain, the chilling river where I
had been reborn. My powers sizzled somewhere deep inside of me.

“See? It’s not that hard,” he spoke.

His voice broke the sickening sensation.

“Don’t you feel better?”

I did, but I wouldn’t admit it. The Light’s
power felt stronger, closer, and it tempted every part of me to
succumb to it. Even then, a second heartbeat had left me. Eric’s.
It was gone. As Robb dropped the jewelry on the table, it pinged
with the last beats I had felt. The blue jewelry was no longer
glowing. It looked like something I had never seen before, and I
knew it was the jewelry that had held me together all along. The
Light would not take me over.

I reached for it, but Robb put his hand over
it. “You don’t need him.”

“Give it back.” This time, my voice was
loud.

Robb didn’t budge. “You’ll get used to
it—”

I ignored his words, wrapped my hands around
his wrist, and yanked his hand away. The force was strong enough to
rock the table, and my ring dropped through a hole. I dove to the
ground and snatched it up before it stayed away for too long. I
didn’t even care about the necklace. I shoved the ring back onto my
finger. The metal burned, but the burn sizzled into my veins, and
my insides heated up. I was warm again. I could breathe again.

“Jess?”

I spun around, nearly hitting my head on the
table, and Crystal stepped back when we met eyes. She looked from
Robb to me, but she stayed focused on me as she walked over to me.
“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I muttered and stood up. Zac was by
her side. “I can’t do this.” The words left me.

Crystal’s arm threaded with mine in an
instant. “Want me to take you home?”

I nodded back. “Right now.” I didn’t even
look at Robb as I started to walk. Crystal had to call over her
shoulder to let them know we were leaving, and her words were the
best ones I had heard all night.

The worst ones came from Robb, but so did the
worst realization. The jewelry was more than jewelry. It didn’t
just connect Eric to me. It connected the Dark to my powers, and if
I took it off, I didn’t know what would happen, but I did know one
thing.

Eric was alive because of his mother’s
jewelry.

38

“It’s good to see you,” Mindy said for the
umpteenth time as she heated up the oven. I had only been home for
fifteen minutes, and she was already baking lemon cakes. Even
though I told her not to, she didn’t listen. A part of me was glad
she hadn’t.

“It’s good to be home,” I breathed and leaned
my chair on the back legs.

“Noah will be happy to see you,” she said,
even though we both knew the truth.

Her son was under an illusion. Noah wouldn’t
know I was even gone. He probably had false memories of me living
right next to him. My presence would be nothing unusual to him.

“How is he doing?” I asked, knowing he was at
a friend’s house. I would only get to see him for a minute before I
had to return to the shelter.

Mindy’s low hum made me look her way. When a
red curl fell from her bun, she blew it out of her face. “He’s a
little different,” she admitted, “but it won’t be long.”

I sat all four legs of my chair on the floor.
“You didn’t have to agree.”

“Yes, I did.” She picked up a tray and slid
it into the oven. “It’ll be fifteen minutes,” she said. “Think you
can stay that long?”

“Sure.”

She beamed as she walked around the kitchen
counter and came into the dining room. She brought tea with her,
and she slid a mug toward me before sitting next to me. There were
six chairs at our table, mainly because we always had Urte over,
but she sat in the chair closest to me. Mindy didn’t even hesitate
to put her hand on my shoulder.

“I am glad you’re home.”

“You can stop saying that,” I chuckled.

“Sorry.” Her face was as bright as her hair.
“It gets lonely here sometimes.”

My dad was practically gone, too. He rarely
left the shelter. I doubted they had seen one another much at all,
and the house was too big for two people. After my mother died, it
had echoed from my father’s silence. It hadn’t been loud again
until my stepfamily moved in.

“I know I don’t say this a lot—if ever,” I
hesitated and had to stare at the table to continue, “but I’m glad
you married my father. He’s happy now.”

Mindy didn’t talk until I looked up. “He’s
happier when you’re safe.”

My jaw locked, and then popped as I shifted
it around to speak again, “I’m sorry your son isn’t.” It was all
because of me that Noah had to be under an illusion.

“He’s safe because of you,” Mindy said, and
her squeaky voice had never sounded so comforting. “I know you
didn’t know him before, but he was really quiet until the
marriage.”

“He loves my dad—”

“Noah loves you,” she emphasized. “Really.
The boy doesn’t stop talking about you.” She took a sip of her tea,
and her bangs became frizzy in the steam. “He toughened up a lot
after he started spending time with you.”