Don't Die Dragonfly (15 page)

I blinked innocently. “Me?”

“This is all your fault! You’d do anything to cause problems cause you’re jealous that Josh and I are tight.”

“How could I have anything to do with your flunking a test?”

“You must’ve told Blankenship.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said calmly.

“Liar!” He jabbed his finger close to my face. “You’re behind this!”

“Back off, man,” Josh said, gently pushing Evan’s hand down. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s trouble. Conniving, back-stabbing, sneaky, little bi—”

“Watch it! I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re way out of line.”

“Look at her! Can’t you see? She’s happy I’m ruined. She’s got it in for me.” Evan’s eyes narrowed to slits. “You can’t believe anything she says—she’d make up anything to turn you against me. She’s even crazier than Danielle, and Danielle is one messed-up chick.”

“That’s enough.” Josh hands tightened to fists. Evan looked shocked.

“Josh! You know me.”

“Yeah, I know you,” he said with a grimace. “Too well. I can overlook most of the stuff you pull, but you’ve got no right to attack Sabine.”

“You’re taking her side against me?”

“Appears so,” Josh said coolly.

“What would your brother say?” Evan glared at Josh.

I could see Josh tense. They faced each other, tight-lipped and angry.

“Fine!” Evan snapped at Josh, breaking their stare down. Then he turned to me, “Watch your back, Sabine. This is not over.” And he stormed off.

I may have won this round, but the war had only begun. And I’d made a dangerous enemy.

During my final period, I congratulated Manny. “It worked. Evan flunked and he’s off the team until his grades improve—which could be a quite a while without Danielle doing his homework.”

“Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.” Manny said. “Didn’t I tell you my powers of persuasion were infallible?”

“Thorn’s fortune cookie helped.”

“All part of my grand scheme, which came off beautifully, even if I say so myself.”

“And you will,” I teased. “Over and over.”

“Why deny brilliance? But you and Thorn helped, too. We make a great team, like Charlie’s Angels. I’m Charlie and you girls are my ‘angels.’”

“Thorn would knock that grin off your face if she heard you say that. And there’s nothing angelic about me—except sometimes I see angels.”

“Like now?” Manny whipped his head around, as if expecting a winged-being to pop up behind him.

“No.” I shook my head. “But Opal says people who attract trouble usually have a lot of angels watching over them. So you must have at least a dozen.”

He barked out a laugh so loud that everyone turned to look. But shameless Manny just bowed and waved to the class while I scooted low in my chair and hid behind the latest earth-shattering
Shout-Out
article I’d been proofing, “Teachers with Bad Breath—Is Mouthwash the Answer?”

After school, I stopped by my locker and felt a bit abandoned when no one was there to meet me. Josh had left early for a dentist appointment and Penny-Love was rah-rahing at cheer practice. I saw a lot of familiar faces as I started for home, but not anyone I wanted to hang out with, until I spotted a black-haired girl heading away from school, her single fishhook earring swinging with each step.

“Thorn!” I called, hurrying to catch up with her. “Wait up!”

She stopped, grinning when she saw me. “Hey, Sabine. I’ve been hoping to see you. I heard about Evan.”

“News travels fast.”

“Especially when it concerns the most popular jock at school. Everyone’s talking about poor, poor Evan,” Thorn said, her eyes twinkling under glitter eye shadow. “Off the team and flunking bio.”

“Such a tragedy,” I replied in mock sympathy.

“And after he worked so hard to stay on the team,” Thorn added. “Trashing the school, painting walls, copying a test, knocking out the janitor, and—”

“Trying to frame me,” I finished.

“Which backfired on him.”

“Even Josh knows he’s got problems. He’s too loyal just to give up on Evan, but he won’t fall for Evan’s lies anymore. And no more double dates.”

“So let’s celebrate.” Thorn adjusted her backpack straps. “Want to go to Trick and Treats for something sinfully chocolate? Anything you want—my treat.”

“Oooh, sounds great!” My mouth watered, until I remembered that I’d promised Nona I’d come directly home today. “But I can’t. Nona needs help with spring cleaning.”

“Spring cleaning in the fall?”

“Nona doesn’t follow normal rules. And she’s done so much for me, I don’t mind cleaning out the pantry and defrosting the freezer.”

“Some celebration,” Thorn grumbled. “Work, work, and more work.”

“But there are perks of the job—like ice cream.”

She brightened. “Ice cream?”

“A half-finished carton of Heavenly Hash may melt during the defrosting if someone doesn’t eat it first.”

“Say no more. I’m always willing to help a friend.” Then Thorn gave me a deep look. “But are you sure—sure you don’t mind being seen with me?”

“Why would I?” I tried not to think of Penny-Love’s reaction to my hanging out with Thorn.

“Your preppy cheerleading girlfriends won’t like it.” Thorn wiggled the silver ring in her left eyebrow.

“You think that matters to me?”

“Well … doesn’t it?”

“Maybe it did a little at first, but not now.” I jiggled my fishhook earring. “Being a little different is cool.”

“So, does that mean you’ll let me dye your hair blood red and spike it?” She arched an eyebrow at me.

“Not that different.” I punched her playfully, then we fell in step and talked all the way home.

At the entrance to our driveway, we stopped a moment while I checked the mailbox. Then I glanced at Thorn, wondering what she’d think of my home. It had taken me a week to work up the courage to invite Penny-Love over, and at first, she was put off by the dirt, weeds, and livestock smells. But she didn’t complain anymore and got along great with Nona, always eager to hear matchmaking stories.

As Thorn and I walked down the driveway, her eyes widened at the farmhouse I now called home.

“I know it’s rundown,” I said before she had a chance to criticize. “It’s older than air and needs a paint job, but that’s so expensive, and Nona does plan to fix those window frames and the broken porch step.”

“It’s—It’s … ” Thorn shook her head. “Fabulous!”

“Really?”

“You’re lucky to live in the country, instead of in a neighborhood where neighbors are close enough to hear you flush the toilet. Your animals are cool, too. Is that floppy-eared animal a goat?”

“Yeah. A Nubian.”

Thorn spread out her arms expressively. “It’s so roomy here. You should see the tiny box I live in—only three bedrooms and I have five siblings. But you have all this space for only two people!”

“Actually three.” I pointed to the barn where I could see Dominic lifting an ax and splitting wood.

“Who’s that? Your brother?”

“No!” Heat rose in my cheeks. “We’re not related—I barely know him. He’s just Dominic. He helps with the chores.”

“So he lives here?”

“Not in the house, the barn apartment.”

“Cool. He looks about our age, but I haven’t seen him at school.”

“He could be a drop-out or have graduated early, for all I know. I’ve asked my grandmother, but she won’t tell me any personal stuff about him.” I shook my head. “Don’t bother trying to talk to him. He’s complicated—doesn’t like people much. He’s just—different.” I changed the subject. “Anyway, you’ll love my grandmother. Come on inside.”

“Lead the way.”

I pushed open the front gate and a streak of white zoomed by my legs, rubbing against my ankles. Picking up Lillybelle, I cuddled her silky body in my arms.

“What fabulous mismatched eyes. She’s beautiful!” Thorn scratched Lillybelle by the ears and received an appreciative purr. “I wanted a cat, but my sister Meg is allergic. So we have fish.”

“Lillybelle loves fish,” I said teasingly.

“Well, she isn’t invited over to my house. But you can come anytime.”

“Is your family into the Goth look, too?”

“Not even!” She almost doubled over with laughter. “They’re so Brady Bunch, I want to puke most of the time. They can’t figure out what to make of me—and that’s the way I like it.”

Lillybelle squirmed in my arms and bounded toward the pasture as I stepped up on the porch. Opening the front door, I called out for Nona. She didn’t answer and wasn’t in the living room or her office. When I checked the kitchen, I found the freezer door open and packaged food stacked on the counters.

“Melted ice cream,” Thorn said, picking up a soggy, dripping container that had once been Heavenly Hash. She licked her fingers. “But it still tastes yummy.”

“I wonder why Nona started cleaning without me?”

“She must have got interrupted. It happens all the time at my place.”

“Her car is here,” I said with a peek out the front window. “So she has to be around somewhere.”

We left the kitchen and went through the rest of the house. I was starting to get worried, when I opened her bedroom door and found her sleeping.

“My father makes little snoring sounds like that, too,” Thorn whispered. “She looks so peaceful.”

“How can she just go to sleep with food melting in the kitchen?” I shut the door quietly.

“She must be really tired.”

“Nona has been working late hours,” I admitted. “I’ll let her sleep and finish up in the kitchen.”

Thorn jumped right in and started cleaning with me. Most of the food was still frozen—except for the ice cream and a soggy bag that used to be ice cubes. As I stacked food back into the freezer, my fingers stung with icy cold. By the time I was done, my hands were almsot completely numb.

Running hot water over my chilled fingers helped a little. My hands warmed, tingling back to life. But the rest of me suddenly wasn’t feeling so well. My head throbbed and my vision blurred. I stared down at the sink, mesmerized by the water pouring over my fingers. As I watched, the water darkened in color, from clear to blood red. Spilling on silverware and plates, swirling down the drain, flowing over my skin.

With a shriek, I stared down in horror at my hands. Was it really blood? Or was I going crazy? My left wrist throbbed, its color changing, too, as a dark shape with wings appeared etched in my flesh.

A dragonfly tattoo.

“NO!” I rubbed at the image. “Go away!”

Thorn tossed down a rag she’d been using to wipe the counter and hurried over to me. “What’s wrong?”

“The water! My wrist!” I cried, trembling. “It’s on me!”

“What? Are you hurt?”

“Look!” I stuck my arm out toward her. “Don’t you see it?”

“See what?” She shook her head, and when I looked back down, my hand had returned to normal. The blood and the dragonfly were gone.

“Talk to me, Sabine. Are you sick?”

I gulped a deep breath. “It’s not me … it’s her.”

“Who?”

“Danielle.” Fear thumped with my rapid heartbeats. “Either I’m losing my mind or I just had a vision—a warning. Danielle’s in trouble.”

“Go with your gut.” Thorn shut off the water faucet, then turned back to me. “Do you know her phone number?”

“Yeah,” I said, relieved Thorn understood and didn’t ask any unnecessary questions. Seconds later, I was dialing the number.

But it was busy.

“Why doesn’t she have call waiting?” I complained, slamming the receiver down.

“Want to keep trying?” Thorn asked.

“I don’t think there’s time. I don’t know what’s going on, just that I’m supposed to help her.”

“Then we’ll help her,” Thorn said. “Together.”

I ran to the hook where Nona normally left her car keys, but they weren’t there. I thought about Nona’s recent tendency to hide things from herself, and I wasn’t sure if there was any point in looking for them. I went into her room and whispered softly, “Nona, I need to use your car. Do you know where you left your keys?”

“Helene? Is that you? What do you need?” She rolled over and seemed to fall back to sleep. Nona was obviously exhausted; Helene was my mother’s name. Finding the keys could take time we didn’t have. We needed to get going.

Walking to Danielle’s house wouldn’t be fast enough, so I went to the shed where I kept my bicycle. Nona had a bike, too, and I offered it to Thorn. We started to kick off, when I heard a motor and saw an approaching cloud of dust. A white Dodge truck roared to a stop in front of us.

Dominic rolled down the window. “Need a ride?”

I was tempted to ask if Dagger had been spying on me again, but I was so grateful for the offer that I just nodded. “Thanks. Driving will be faster.”

Thorn was eyeing Dominic. Did she sense that he was different like us? Or was she interested in him the way Penny-Love had been? There wasn’t time for polite introductions, so I skipped that part and gave Dominic directions to Danielle’s house.

When the truck slowed to a stop five minutes later, my seatbelt was already off and I flew up a stone walkway to the door. I pressed the bell, over and over, until a tall man I recognized as Danielle’s father showed up.

Mr. Crother frowned at me. “One push of the bell would suffice.”

“Where’s Danielle?”

“Upstairs in her room.”

“I have to see her now,” I said, aware that Thorn had come up beside me. “I tried to call, but the line was busy.”

“I was on the computer.” He looked at us for a moment. “Go on up, but Danielle is probably sleeping. I haven’t seen her in hours.”