Made for You (24 page)

He stares at me, but instead of arguing, he nods. “Piper says she’ll stay until everyone else goes home. I tried to talk to her—not about
that
, but just talk. We were . . . civil.”

“Thank you.” I glance around the room, noticing more than a few gazes on us. I don’t want to say anything that can be overheard. “I saw her.”

“With him?”

I nod. Tears threaten to fill my eyes. The visions have been awful from the beginning, but now that I know without a doubt that they are real, they seem more horrific. The murderer will kill Piper. I don’t see any details I can ask her to change to try to prevent it—other than the fact that she was at home.

“We’ll figure it out,” Nate promises.

He waits until I give him a small smile and a nod, and then he calls out, “Hey, Madison, hold up a sec.”

Once he walks away, I fix a smile on my face and look around the room. Bailey sees me and comes to join me on the sofa. A few minutes later, I discover that she’ll die of breast cancer decades from now. It’s not a subject I can figure out how to mention casually. “Never too young for self-exams?” or “Did you know that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer?” aren’t sentences that fit neatly into a conversation about whether lowlights would be too daring for her personal style. I like Bailey, but she’s determined to only talk about surface subjects right now. I think it’s her way of avoiding the things we don’t want to think about: classmates’ murders, my giant facial scars, and how terrifying it is that our friends are dying.

The next hour is a mix of conversations and deaths. I discover that Laurel dies of something heart related, and Grayson dies in a car. I’m not sure if that means he’s a potential victim or not. Micki died in a car crash, but drunk driving is a more likely possibility with Grayson. He moved away too quickly for me to see much. I try a second time to get back to his death, but just when I finally convince him to rub a knot in my shoulder, Piper swats him away. She’s watching me curiously. I’m tempted to point out that grief and TBIs both make people act out of character; instead my attention drifts to Nate, who is talking to Madison again. It reminds me of parties when I watched him flirt with girl after girl. This time, though, Piper isn’t gossiping at my side.

I wave at Jamie. Unlike Reid and Grayson, he’s always been a bit standoffish. It’s not that he does anything rude. He just doesn’t seem to know what to say or do around me. His father has worked at the winery for our whole lives, just like Reid’s grandmother, but I think that detail makes Jamie nervous around me.

“Are you . . . did you need something?” Jamie asks as he comes toward me. He doesn’t sit, and I wonder how to convince him to touch me. It’s frustrating that they have to initiate the touch for me to get the visions.

“I’m just bored.” I try a flirtatious smile.

Jamie nods. “Because you’re on crutches.”

“Yes,” I say patiently. “And because I’m here by myself.”

He frowns. “Everyone’s here. You’re not alone.”

“Here on the
sofa
alone,” I clarify.

At that, he nods again, but he doesn’t join me. He stands staring at me silently until I’m ready to throw something at him. “Do you want to sit down with me?”

He shakes his head. “I’ll go find Grace or Piper for you.” Then he walks away.

So far I’ve only eliminated CeCe, Laurel, Robert, and Bailey as victims. That leaves Madison, Jamie, Jess, Reid, and possibly Grayson as potential victims. The boys are less likely, I think, but I still need to be sure.

Piper comes over as soon as Jamie leaves me.

“Hey,” she says as she flops down next to me.

This is it, my chance to talk to her, to try to figure out how to keep her safe. I smile at her and decide to go for as close to honest as I can be without telling her about the visions. She’s my friend, and I trust her in a lot of ways. I also know her well enough to know that this isn’t something I should share with her. She’s melodramatic on her best days.

“The killer is fixated on me,” I say bluntly.

Her mouth gapes open, and she blinks rapidly.

I barrel on, “He tried to kill me. He
did
kill the girl who was sleeping with my boyfriend. I think that means that he’s more likely to attack people closest to me, and Piper, you’ve been one of my closest friends since before we were even in school.”

“Jesus, Eva . . .” Her voice is breathy.

I grab her hand and squeeze. “I’m scared, Piper. I’m scared for all of us.” I look past her to the room full of our closest friends. “You and Grace, you’re the ones closest to me. Everyone at school knows that.” I look back at her. “Ask your parents to let you go stay with your grandmother down in Charleston. Stay at Bailey’s or somewhere else tonight.
Explain
it to them. They’ll listen to you.”

She squeezes my hand so tightly that it hurts. “And what about you?”

“Between the police passing by the house constantly, Nate at my side like a bodyguard, and the monitored alarm system, I’m safe here.” I meet her gaze and add, “The police can’t watch all of our houses constantly. I know they’re trying, but—please—leave right away. Tonight. Go see Grandmother Eliza for a few weeks.”

She stares at me for a moment before agreeing. “I’ll call my mom. She’ll let me go if I tell her I’m scared.” Quickly, my hand still in hers, she leans forward and wraps her other arm around me. “It will be okay.”

In another moment, she’s released me and is walking out of the room, her phone already in hand. I hope that’s enough. I
hope
she goes away tonight. Maybe I should tell everyone to get out of town.

I start to feel a little panic-stricken as I look around the room. I don’t want anyone to die. How many of them are at risk? So far, Robert and Piper were at risk in different ways. Who else here is? I need to know. I need to be sure they’re all safe. I start ticking names off my list and seeing who’s nearby.

Reid is standing to the side watching Nate and Madison talk. I need to check both Reid and Madison. She’s not even looking my way, so I catch Reid’s eye and call out, “Reid?”

He pulls his attention away from them and looks at me in what I think is gratitude. I didn’t ever notice him having an interest in Madison, but with the way he’s staring at her and Nate, I think I must’ve missed it. He looks left out. Maybe he can help me keep watch over her. Maybe that’s the key: I can ask friends to start sticking close to other friends. Not everyone can leave town. I know Reid can’t. He’s lived with his grandmother most of his life. His parents passed away when he was pretty young.

“What do you need?” Reid asks.

“Company?”

His dark expression fades completely. “As you wish.”

I can’t help laughing. Robert’s friends are all so different from one another. Where Jamie is aloof, Reid is impulsive, and Grayson is simply . . . nice. He’s friendly, but not particularly memorable. Sometimes I think they’re friends for the same reason Piper and CeCe are: a lifetime of habit and parental influence.

Reid drops down to the floor in front of me, and apparently decides that the most natural position is stretched out flat with his head aligned with my feet. “Sometimes I wish we had a joker hat to pass around,” he announces.

“Because I’m bored?”

“No. Because
I’m
bored. If we had a joker hat, we could pick someone to entertain us. I’ve spent half the parties this year talking to”—he waves his hand loosely from side to side, taking in the whole of our friends—“them. Sometimes, I find it all very depressing.”

I think about the nights Robert and I talked about feeling trapped by our families, confused by sorting out what we want from what we know we’re expected to do, and how stifling life in Jessup can feel. I can’t say I’m surprised that Reid feels the same way. I’m only surprised that he’s admitting it. We’re friends, but not of the let-me-confess-my-fears-and-doubts sort.

As much as I suddenly want to just talk to Reid, I need to finish what I set out to do. I failed with Jamie. I won’t fail here, too. I dangle my foot over the edge of the sofa in the hopes that Reid will brush up against it. Instead, he slides farther away. I can’t think of any other way to subtly get him to touch me. That’s when I realize that I’m being foolish: of all the people in the room, he’s the one least likely to look at me oddly for anything I do or say.

I reach down, extending my hand toward him, and say, “Put your hand on my pulse for a few seconds.”

He stares at me for an extra moment, but then he sits up and does as I asked.

A girl is screaming; another girl is yelling, “Stop it!”

I can’t believe that this is happening to me. I did everything right
.

I hear a car coming toward us. The road is dirt and gravel, and I hear the wheels crunch over it
.

Someone is hitting me, trying to hurt me. I turn to try to look at her though. I’d die to protect her, to keep her safe. I step backward, but before I can turn to see her, I feel a sharp burning pain in my chest. There’s a moment between the feeling and the realization, but I know then: it’s a bullet. I’ve been shot
.

I fall to the ground. I want to go to her, tell her that I love her, but I can’t move
.

I gasp as I return to the now. Reid is on the floor, his hand on my wrist. “It’s fast,” he says, and I realize that he’s talking about my pulse. “Are you feeling sick . . . or something?”

I shiver. “No.”

He’s watching me intently, but all I can do is offer him a weak smile and an even weaker explanation. “There’s just so much going on lately, you know?”

“You’re safe now, Eva,” Reid says. He’s still holding my wrist and staring at me. “I don’t think you have anything to fear.”

I pull away. “I’m sorry. It’s just . . .” My words fade as I try to figure out what to say. Sorry I just saw you become another victim? I swallow as I stare at him. How do I save him? There has to be
something
I can do. I think about the details of the vision, but I don’t have any immediate solutions.

“It’s fine.” He folds his hands together under his head. “You never need to tell me you’re sorry. For anything. I like that you don’t act like
them
all the time. I like that we can be honest, instead of pretending all the time.”

I’m so not honest right now. I don’t know what to do or say. Why
Reid
? Why would the killer shoot Reid? Who was he trying to reach? I know it’s not Piper. Who does Reid love so much that he got killed trying to save her? I’m terribly awkward as I blurt, “Do you like Madison?”

He stares up at me in apparent shock.

“I saw you watching her.”

Reid nods, but says nothing.

“You deserve to be happy. We all do,” I say. “If she’ll make you happy, do something about it.”

“Really? I don’t know if I should. It’s hard to know sometimes.”

“You can always talk to me if you need.” I smile at him. “I’m here for you, you know? I think . . . I think maybe we should spend more time together. Maybe you could visit me more.”

If I can keep him close, I reason, maybe I can keep him safer. He can’t leave town like Piper can, so I need another answer.

I’m not sure I’ve seen him so excited. “Really? You mean that?”

“Sure,” I say, more confidently now. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea, though, so I add, “Maybe we can talk about Madison, too. I saw you watching her, and I want you to be happy, you know?”

“Madison? You think so?”

“Definitely! Just be yourself, Reid. Talk to her like she was me.” I pause, feeling a little awkward, knowing it’s going to sound insane no matter how I say it, but I flash back to him standing outside, trying to reach the girl he loves, and getting shot. Quickly, I add, “But inside. Do it
inside
.”

“Okay.” He reaches up and touches my calf. “Thank you.”

I think about the killer, the recently dead, and I murmur, “I hope it helps.”

I’m still trying to figure out if there’s anything else I can say or do to keep Reid safe when Grace comes over and says, “Madison and Bailey left. They said to tell you good-bye.”

“Yeung,” Reid greets Grace.

She ignores him, instead looking back at me and adding, “I think everyone’s going to head out. Nate says you need a nap.”

“He wha—”

“And I agree,” Grace continues as if I hadn’t interrupted her. “So I’m going to get a ride home. I texted the General, and she said it’s okay as long as I’m in a group.”

“Robert can give you a ride,” I suggest.

She meets my eyes, and I see hesitation there. I’m certain that Robert’s not the killer, but I can’t tell Grace I have proof. I’m about to suggest she ask Piper when Reid speaks up.

“Do you want me to give you a ride, Yeung?” Reid offers. “Rob’s going the other way because Jamie is riding with him.”

I think about the vision. Could it have been Grace screaming? It was afternoon from the look of the light, although it was hard to tell because of the trees. It could’ve been evening. “Straight home, right? You’ll take her straight there.”

Reid gives me a wide smile. “Promise.”

“Text me when you get there,” I instruct.

CeCe walks over to join us, obviously having heard the discussion, and asks, “Can you take me too? I may be forced to scream if I have to listen to Jess go on about her new diet any longer.”

“Hmm. Make CeCe scream or not? That’s a hard question.” Reid crosses his arms and stares at her.

“Reid?” I say gently.

He looks at me, but doesn’t offer any smart remark. “Eva.”

“Would you
please
give CeCe a ride too? For me? Grace’s mother would feel better if she was with two people, and then I’d feel better because she wouldn’t be so worried that she’d deny me Grace’s company.”

Another wide smile comes over him, and he kisses my cheek again. “At your service as always.” Then he turns his attention to Grace and CeCe and announces, “Yeung gets shotgun.”

I think again about telling Reid more than I have, but I don’t know how. I quickly replay the details of my vision and then ask, “Are you going to talk to
her
tonight?”

“Should I?”