Mortal Obligation (2 page)

Shannon
opened her mouth to address Ree and Ree tried to not grimace. She knew Shannon would call her by her full name
– she always did. Ree would never understand why her mother had given her such a weird name. Really, what had her mother been thinking? And while Shannon's tone was generally friendly, Ree knew she did it just to irritate her as much as possible. They were in the same grade and had shared many classes over the years. Shannon never made an attempt to conceal the fact that she thought she was better than everyone else. Her imagined superiority was always there, waving like a banner for everyone to see. Using Ree’s full name was just another little way of calling her a weird art freak.

“Alastriana, how is the new job going?” Shannon asked over the guys’ conversation.

Ree’s eyes widened in confusion. This time, Shannon’s voice sounded unusual, like she was attempting to hurt Ree by using her whole name. Everyone at the table stopped speaking and turned to look at Shannon. The air in the room seemed to thicken for just a moment as Ree decided how to answer.

“Pretty good so far.” In fact, her new boss, Sophie, had been really awesome. She had even insisted Ree take the night off to go to the concert. Looking around the table briefly, she saw the uneasy looks on her friends’ faces. Paden rubbed a hand over his arm, and Ree noticed he had goose bumps.

“You don't actually work with the antiques, do you? My mother has a chair there for repair. I know she would have a fit to know a high schooler was playing with it,” Shannon said. The short girl flipped her hair over one shoulder and sneered at Ree.

“I’m sure Ree treats everything like it’s special.” Paden’s deep voice brokered no argument. He turned to look at Ree with eyes that had an intense quality she didn’t understand. She gulped. “Isn't that right Ree?”

“Um, yeah. Old things deserve a lot of respect and care.” Ree didn't look away from his eyes; she wanted to understand what was going on in his head, but the conversation and the serious look just didn't match. She wondered if even he knew what he was thinking.

Juliette cleared her throat before asking Bryce if he was going to finish his pizza. He looked at his half-eaten slice, then pushed it toward his girlfriend. Michael and Shannon left soon after; apparently they had tickets for the concert, as well. Bryce asked for the checks when the waitress came back and everyone rose to pay their bills.

Paden grabbed Ree's bill before she could even look at the total. “I asked you to come; I’m paying.”

Ree sighed. He was always trying to take care of her. When would he realize she was practically an adult? She was a junior in high school, with her very own job. Just because he was a year older didn't make him any more mature. “Really, Paden, I can pay for my own dinner! Besides, I'm getting a free concert out of the deal because your friend bailed on you. I should probably pay for
your
dinner.” She put a hand on her hip and gave him her stubborn face.

“I don't think so, Ree. I'm paying.” He flashed his lopsided grin before turning to follow the others. He turned back to look at her over his shoulder and jerked his head to signal that she should follow.

Sighing, she joined everyone at the counter. Bryce and Juliette were in line behind Michael and Shannon, waiting to settle their bill. Bryce was running his hands up and down Juliette’s arms in an attempt to warm her up.

“Are you cold? Why don't you put your jacket on?”

She shrugged. “I think I'm just standing in a draft. I got goose bumps all of a sudden.”

Shannon
snickered and turned to look at Juliette.

“Jules, are you not feeling well? Maybe you’re coming down with something.” She smiled like that was a joke.

“I certainly feel the need to vomit.” Juliette scrunched up her face and looked around the room. “But maybe I'm just allergic the cheap perfume I smell.” She glanced back at Shannon and sniffed loudly in her direction. “Yep, most definitely something cheap.”

Ree bit her bottom lip to keep from chuckling.  Juliette could never give a good reason why she hated Shannon so much. She said it was just natural, like rain, the sun, and Adam Sandler's jokes. Jules had a thing for Sandler, which was really lucky for Bryce. It was rare to find a beautiful, smart, and athletic girl that also enjoyed a good fart joke.

She looked at Shannon and her smile froze. The short girl’s eyes were dark, too dark. She tilted her head toward Juliette and made a sound that was something like a quiet snarl.

Jules stood her ground, bared her teeth in a weird grin, and said, “I should have known you escaped from a zoo.”

Michael turned around and put a hand on Shannon's shoulder. “Now, now, you two. You guys really could get along if you tried, you know.” Shannon straightened up, and tossed her dark hair out of her face. She sniffed and turned around without saying anything.

“Yeah, only if I ate out of a dog bowl,” Jules muttered. But it was quiet and she didn't take her eyes off of Shannon.

Ree was still looking at Michael, unable to look away. There was a cloud of black circling around his head. She blinked, but it didn't vanish liked she had hoped. As if drawn by her stare, he met her eyes and his mouth pulled at the corners in some parody of a smile. For the third time that night, Ree sucked in air through her teeth with surprise. Michael’s eyes were black. The pupils were so dilated you couldn’t see the normal brown. He chuckled after looking at her face, then turned back to the cashier to pay the bill.

Bryce turned and looked at Ree, his eyes wide. “Holy crap. Did you see that? He had, like, black eyes or something. Do you think they’re on drugs? Maybe that’s why they’re so weird,” he said in a harsh whisper.

Michael and Shannon stalked off toward the exit, his arm around her shoulders. They caught up with their friends and headed out the swinging doors.

Ree sighed when they were out of earshot. She hated being around those two. “What is
with
them?” Ree asked. “They really give me the creeps.”

“They smelled different. Did you notice that?” Juliette said quietly after they had all paid their bills. “I mean, I don’t think it was really perfume. They just smelled off, like old deli meat.”

“Old deli meat?” Bryce chuckled. “Maybe you’re coming down with a stomach bug.” Juliette pushed his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him as she shoved through the door.

Ree shook her head and looked at the clock above Paden’s shoulder.  With a surprise she realized they were running a little late. Hopefully the friends they were meeting weren’t waiting for them in the cold. Of course, knowing Melanie and Weylin, they had probably already made friends with the other people waiting outside and were involved in an animated conversation about computer graphics or special effects.

“We'll see you at the Civic Center,” Paden called as he and Ree made their way to his Corolla. He hit the unlock button on his keychain and walked to the passenger side of the car. Ree raised an eyebrow in question, but he merely shrugged and held the door open for her. This was somewhat new. She didn't really know how to respond, so she bit her lip and sat down in the seat before buckling the belt. He closed the door gently behind her. She looked up at him through her window as he turned around. For just a moment he paused, looking quickly about the parking lot and then shrugging to himself as if confused. He made his way to the driver’s side and reached for the handle. Again he paused, his gaze lingering on the dark corner Ree had watched earlier, and she felt a thrill of fear. Could he feel it, too? Had he seen something? Finally he opened the door and sat down in his seat. She immediately hit the automatic lock, making him look at her and smile.

“Afraid of the dark?” He asked with a quiet chuckle. But she noticed his eyes looked a little tense, and his smile a bit strained. He put the key in the ignition.

She rolled her eyes, trying to be nonchalant. “Just random muggers, vampires, and aliens.”

He laughed and turned the key to start the car.

Suddenly a violent shudder racked her body, causing her teeth to chatter. Her hand gripped the handle bar on the door, her knuckles white. If the feeling of being watched in the restaurant had been intense, it didn’t come close to explaining the fear that coursed through her body at that moment. Something dark ran in front of the car, barely brushing the bumper before the headlights came to life.

“What the hell was that?” Paden exclaimed, looking toward the moving bushes.

Ree shook her head and did her best to slow the beating of her heart.  For the first time in her life, since all of the weird things had started happening to her, she prayed it was all her imagination. Nothing more than an overactive fantasy life.  She had always wanted proof she wasn't insane, but now she would be happy to know it was only shadows playing tricks on her. She was pretty sure that a lot of artists were insane on some level, anyway. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm her heart. Yeah, she could work with the whole quietly insane artist thing. Paden’s hand touched her arm, causing her to jump. She cursed softly and looked up at him, her eyes wide.

“It's alright, Ree. Probably just a bird or something. Freaky timing, though.” He shook his head ruefully and pulled out of the parking lot.

The Center wasn’t far, but parking was dreadful. They were finally able to find a spot three blocks away and Ree was glad Paden had insisted on driving. She hated to parallel park— it was always a rather painful and embarrassing ordeal. The Civic Center was decorated in bright colors for the winter holidays. Twinkle lights were strung through the trees and Ree could hear Christmas music drifting into the street from some of the surrounding stores as they half-walked, half-ran toward the entrance. Weylin and Melanie, the friends that were waiting for them, were already standing in line.

Weylin was leaning against a railing with his hands in his pockets. He always looked so casual with his light brown, tousled hair and laughing brown eyes. Melanie was talking to some people Ree didn’t know, which was nothing unusual – she seemed to have friends everywhere. Ree waved at Mel, and smiled when Weylin held his arms out to hug her. He swung her around, making her laugh, and then ruffled her hair. She shoved his arm away and tried to fix the mess he’d made of her hair.

Bryce was standing with an arm around Juliette as they chatted quietly. They had apparently beaten Ree and Paden by a few minutes. Michael and the others were nowhere to be seen; thank God. She really hoped their tickets had them sitting somewhere far away from that group.

The line at the door was moving along pretty quickly now that they were seating people for the concert. As they neared the door, Ree reached into her pocket for the concert tickets Paden had handed her earlier that night.

“Crap!” She reached into her other pocket and grimaced. “I'll be right back. The tickets must have fallen out in the car.” She started to head back to where they had parked and Paden jogged after her.

“Wait up. I'll walk with you,” He slowed to her pace and looked down at her. “It's not safe out here by yourself.”

She suppressed a sigh as she looked up at him and smiled instead. He really was a delight to look at. The moonlight glinted in his eyes, and shone along the planes of his face. His hair waved gently in the light winter breeze. “My, aren't you the chivalrous one today? My very own knight in shining armor.”