Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) (14 page)

“Jess thinks someone was outside her house the other night,” Robb said, turning around to stare at Zac.

Zac’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “Why would you think that?”

“I thought
Robb saw him,” I admitted.

Zac looked back at his friend. “Who’d you see?”

“Not sure,” he said, contradicting his raccoon answer.

“You said you didn’t see someone,” I said, but the boys stared at one another, refusing to move. I didn’t understand. I had to wave my hands to get them to look at me again. “What did you see?”

Robb sighed, “I thought—”

“He didn’t see anything,” Zac said, leaning over to punch his friend in the shoulder. “He’s just kidding.”

“I was just freaking you out, Jess,” Robb said.

Crystal threw her hands in
to the air. “Not funny,” she said. “You two are so immature.” She tapped the top of my foot. “Do you like them?”

I tore my eyes away to look at my toes. Yellow stars settled on sparkling purple polish, and I felt the first burst of relief I had all night. “They’re beautiful
.”

“I thought you’d like them.”

“They’re just toes,” Robb grumbled.

Crystal groaned. “Do you have to ruin everything?”

“Trust me,” he said. “I didn’t ruin anything.”

Zac stood up from the bed and grabbed his papers. “I’ll come back later,” he said, only turning to wave to me. “See you later, Jess,” he said, and no one stopped him. He dipped out of the room before anyone could speak, and we waited until the sound of the garage door stopped.

“Well, that was weird,” Crystal said, laying down on her stomach. Robb watched her as she kicked her legs back and forth.

“I don’t think either of you s
hould date him,” he said.

Crystal gasped.
“I don’t like him. Jess—”

“I’ve known you long enough to tell, Crystal,” he said. “Just trust me on this one.”

Crystal’s face was beyond red. It was an entirely new color. “What’s your problem?” she asked, rolling over to pick up her things.

Robb stopped her. “I’m not trying to start anything,” he said, speaking quickly. “I just wanted to say what I thought.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have.”

“Crystal—”

She grabbed the door, but I was the one to stop her this time. “Come on, Crystal,” I started. “At least he didn’t say anything in front of Zac.”

“Are you seriously taking Robb’s side?”

“I’m not taking sides,” I clarified. “I don’t want anyone to fight.”

She seethed for a moment, but Robb sighed and reached for her hand. She didn’t shake hi
m away. “I’m stressed out,” he said. “I didn’t mean it.”

“You didn’t?”

“I’m in a bad mood,” he admitted.

“So
, don’t take it out on me,” Crystal said, stomping across the room. She yanked a mirror out of her purse and pushed her bleached hair to the side. Her face wasn’t red anymore, but I doubted she felt any better. Her hands were still shaking.

I cleared my throat to avoid the silence and watched as Robb put his head in his hands.
He was a complete wreck, and he wasn’t trying to hide it anymore.

“Is there anything w
e can do to help?” I asked.

Robb lifted his head, peering between his fingers. “To
help what?” His voice cracked.

“You,”
I said.

His chestnut eyes looked
over my face. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes glazed over as his thoughts consumed him. He was far away, but I didn’t know how far away he actually was.

“We should go out soon,” Crystal su
ggested, answering for him.

Robb straightened up. “Where?” he asked, his voice rushed with desperation.

“The bars.”

“I don’t know about that,” I started, but Crystal waved my worries away.

“We’re going, and it’ll be a fun way to relax,” she said. “I’m sure you could use a break from your dreams.”

“They aren’t that bad.
”

“You freaked out when Robb said he saw something. Not to mention the freak out in t
he restaurant.” Crystal argued.

Robb agreed.
“You need to relax just as much as the rest of us.”

My stomach twisted, but they were right. “I could try it.”

Crystal cheered, “Let’s go this weekend.”

“I need two weeks.” Robb made a money gesture with his fingers. “It’ll be more fun if we wait.”

“Then, it’s decided,” she said. “We’ll go then − just the three of us.”

“No Zac,” Robb clarified.

“Or Linda,” Crystal added.

H
e laid his hand out for a handshake. “Deal,” he said, and it was done. We were going, and we were going to forget.

Eric

I stretched my legs as far as I could without straining my ribs. I breathed, released, and did it again before looking back at Teresa. She was sitting on the railing overlooking the river, eating a Popsicle despite the cooling weather.

“Aren’t thos
e for the summer?” I asked.

H
er blue lips spread into a sugary grin. “I like them more in the cold,” she said. “They don’t melt as fast.”

“You’re strange.”

“And you’re missing out,” she retorted, kicking her legs against the metal. It tinged, vibrating beneath her, and I wondered how the metal hadn’t moved when Jessica had jumped onto it the first time we met.

I looked away, trying to distract myself with the park, but I couldn’t. She was always on my mind, and I hated the fact that she hadn’t come back over sin
ce the time she left early. Our talks at school had stopped, and I didn’t understand why.

“How is she?” Teresa asked.

I winced. I was hoping she’d avoid the topic since we just rekindled our friendship.

“She seems good,” I answered, attempting to sound enthusiastic, but Camille knew me better th
an I wanted her to at the moment.

She plopped down
on the grass in front of me, and she pressed her feet against mine. “I’ll help you,” she said, and her black hair bobbed to the right as she swished it out of her eyes.

I grabbed her hands, and she pulled me forward into a stretch that was hard to do on my own. The
human healing process was beyond me.

“I am sorry,” she said, pulling me a little bit further.

“About what?”

“What I said to your father.”

I sighed, and she let me go so I could straighten out. Her face was paler than I remembered, and I wondered if it were from training. Most of her free time was spent in the underground shelter.

“Did my father tell you what he gave me?” I asked, thinking of the b
lack box. I had put it in my desk and couldn’t bring myself to take it out again.

“No.” T
eresa’s lips thinned. “What did he give you?”

I
stretched my arm across my chest. It stung, but it was easier than the other stretch. “I’m going back to school tomorrow.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“I’ll have a lot of catching up to do,” I continued.

She rolled her eyes.
“There’s the Eric I know.”

Her words brought me back to a time s
he spent chasing Jonathon and me around, struggling to stop us from getting into trouble. Half of the time, she didn’t stop us − she joined.

“Do
you ever miss it?” I asked.

S
he closed her eyes. I hadn’t realized how long her eyelashes were until they were all I had to stare at.

“S
ure, but we can’t go back to it.” She knew what I was referring to. She never needed an explanation. “We can only go forward.”

“Who says it’ll be resolved once we win?”

“No one,” she said. “But it’s a start, and I think we could all use a new one.”

I agreed. “Y
ou’d be relieved of your guard duties, Ms. Young.”

She lifted her finger, shaking
it back and forth. “I’ll always be your guard, Eric,” she said. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this friendship that easily.”

I chuckled, and she reached out for my hands again.

“I thought we were done stretching,” I said.

She leaned further to grab them.
“We won’t be done until you’re better.”

“That might
take awhile.”

“
Stop talking,” she ordered.

I followed her instructions and
stared at the grass between my legs, wishing it wasn’t drying up despite the previous rain. If I could choose my powers, I would’ve wanted the ability to freeze time. I didn’t want winter to happen.

I
tried to let go of Teresa, but she strained herself to grab my hands, locking me in a position. “Don’t move,” she said, knowing what I had just realized.

The Light was near, and the last thing we needed to do was react to the energy humans couldn’t feel. I continued my stretch with beads of sweat forming on my neck. If they appea
red, I didn’t know what we’d do. For once, I wished I had my telepathic capabilities. I could talk to Camille without any hesitation, but we were restrained to human silence.

I moved my leg to the side, and Teresa let my hands go. I stretched once more, and she stood up. “We should go home,” she said, acting better than I could.

I nodded and rushed to the street, knowing Teresa’s BMW was only feet away. We climbed in, and Camille sped off, cranking her radio to drown out our thoughts. I gripped the door handle and waited every agonizing second before we reached my house. She slammed her car into park, and I rushed inside before she could even get out of her car. The front door smacked into the wall, and Mindy jumped from the couch downstairs.

“Eric?” Her voice could’ve split glass. “What’s wrong?”

I caught my breath as Teresa whisked past me. “Just trying to get back into shape,” she dismissed my stepmother’s worries. “Is Mr. Welborn here?”

“No,” she said, sinking back into he
r chair. “He left with George an hour ago.”

“Thank you,” Teresa said, climbing the stairs without an invite. I followed her, and she silenced my bedroom when we got inside. The Dark energy teased my insides to transform, and I gritted my teeth against the churning sensation.

Teresa, on the other hand, stood still as her body transformed into the half-breed she had always been. I knew she was communicating with someone. When she flickered back into a human, I grabbed her arm.

“
What’s happening?” I asked.

Camille stared past me. “The Light,” she said. “They agreed to a war.”

Jessica

“We agreed to come here, didn’t we?”

The fair-haired adults radiated past the pallid couple sitting across from the room. The two couples stared at one another, ignoring their dimly lit surroundings.

“How do I know you are Darthon’s parents?” The pale woman was the furthest from my viewpoint. I didn’t recognize any of them, but she seemed most out of place.

“How do we know you’re Shoman’s?”

A f
lurry of words resulted in a deafening static until the oldest man slammed his hand on the table. “There isn’t a purpose for us to agree to this,” he said. “We are destined to win.”

“But win
what, Bracke?” the illuminated woman revealed his name. “A battle? One death? Who says we’ll give up at that?”

“You won’t have powers,” Bracke argued.

“We still have weapons.”

“We are immune to human devices.”

“Not if you’re a human when we use them.” The woman’s counterpart − an equally glowing man − was threatening.

Bracke grabbed his counterpart’s hand. “Aren’t you confident in Darthon’s capabilities?”

The woman smiled. “But we’re also confident in our own,” she said. “Darthon is not the only one who wants to see the Dark fall.”

Bracke’s grip tightened. “You want bloodshed, even if it means your own people.”

The yearning in their sharpened expressions confirmed it. “It would be a proud death if we died together.” They even spoke in unison. “We may not know Shoman’s birthday, but we can feel it coming. Knowing the date is your only advantage,” they continued. “We know much more.”

…

When I woke up, I was standing in my front yard, and the daylight was smothering my sleepy eyes. I rubbed them with shaky hands, and images of my dream flashed over my eyelids. I couldn’t keep my eyes closed. They sprang open, but the images didn’t disappear. The women. The men. The sound of their voices was unforgettable.

“Jessie?”

I turned around to see my father, returning from work in his pressed clothes. “What are you doing out here?” he asked. “Your mother said you were napping.”