Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) (18 page)

“Don’t stand out too much,” she hissed
. Other drinkers had seen the entire thing. “We’ll get caught.”

I couldn’t believe two beers and a shot had affected me so much. I had to remind myself that I was a teenager with less experi
ence than I wanted to confess.

“I’m not handling this too well,” I said, but I was surprised
by the giggle that escaped me.

“It doesn’t matter if we stumble out after a couple,” she said, sliding a new drink over I hadn’t even seen her get. “One, however, is a problem.”

I didn’t reach for the glass, but Robb did. He took a sip from it, setting it down in front of me with a stillness that made my insides twist. He wasn’t even buzzed. “It’s always better after the first glass.” His words came out like a dare, and I snatched it from him like I had to prove myself.

I sipped
it and steadied my hand as I put it down. The liquid didn’t slosh around, and I grinned back at my friends. “You’re right,” I said, surprised my words weren’t a lie. “It does.”

Eric

The town was bigger than Hayworth, but that wasn’t a surprise.

I drove through the gridded streets with ease, wishing Hayworth had been planned as properly. I had the place memorized in a few minutes, and I watched as my clock ticked by
.

It looked different in the dark
. Older, but busier. People were everywhere, walking around in their own worlds, some of them clearly enhanced with alcohol. I stopped at a red light and watched as a group of boys passed by the front of my car. They didn’t even bother looking over, but I half-expected to see Zac among the group. It was the weekend, and their clothes were pressed. The amount of money floating through the desolate town was astounding. Hayworth was only fifteen minutes away, but the atmosphere changed as if I had passed a state line.

I wondered if the town’s
hotels were also booked, but it was too late to ask. Bars were closing, and the lights were going out. I should’ve been heading home myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn the car around. I wanted to see everything I hadn’t seen before, even though it was repetitive − one store after an eatery after a coffee shop. If I had left earlier, I could’ve gone inside.

I turned a corner only to face a mansion. Outside lights streamed down the sides, and I slowed down to peek at the carved words at the top.
St. Lucy High School.

I
recognized the name for one reason − Zac and Linda went there − and I tore my eyes away from it. I didn’t want to think about the guy Jessica had been doodling in her notebook. She warned me that she might date, and she would scorn me for getting distracted when she got her memory back. When − not if. I knew we would be together again, but the thought shattered like the lightning that smacked against the sky.

I tried to ignore the omen, but rain splattered across my windshield, and my heart sank. I tur
ned the car around.

Jessica

“A cab won’t be here for another hour,” Crystal complained, jumping in place as she tightened her coat. The bar was closed, and a misty rain fell from the sky. “I have to go home now.” Her mother had called, and Lola was furious.

Robb hung up his phone. “Zac isn’t answering, but his house isn’t far from here,” he said. “We could walk.”

Crystal groaned, but she wobbled forward. “Fine.”

I didn’t have much
of a choice. I followed her, concentrating on my feet. They felt like they secretly consumed alcohol on their own.

Everything looked
different. The sidewalks were wider − until a car drove by, then the sidewalks thinned into balance beams. Some lights were dim while others were as bright as the lightning above us. The storm blinded me, and the mist didn’t help. It was making my skin crawl, and I kept grabbing my arm like I was fighting off mosquitos.

“I hate
getting my hair wet,” Crystal said as she stomped in front of Robb and me. Her bleached hair had sprung out in tiny waves. I didn’t even know she straightened it.

“Why
did you have to wear that?” Robb’s voice glided over my shoulder as his hand landed on my hip.

“Wha—” I looked down, staring at his touch, but I didn’t move away. He was warm in the cold rain.

“You should wear dresses more often,” he continued, and my blush increased the liquor’s heat I was already feeling.

“I told her that a long time ago,” Crystal joined the conversation, but she didn’t seem to notice Robb’s touch. She was too busy tying her hair into a bun. We continued to walk behind her, and she whined about
Zac’s house the entire time. Her feelings for him had magically returned now that bartender Jeff wasn’t around.

A screeching noise made her stop talking. A two-door Mercedes parked at the curb, and the window sprang down to reveal a blonde woman. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked, and I recognize
d her as soon as I saw her glare land on Robb.

Linda.

Robb stepped away from me. “We were walking to Zac’s, but—”

“He’s busy,” Linda cut him off.

His chest sank. “Great.”

“
Now what?” Crystal groaned.

Robb sauntered up to Linda’s vehicle.
“Linda—” He didn’t have to ask.

“I can only fit one person at a time,” she sighed, dragging her manicured nails through her hair. They looked like claws.

“Me first,” Crystal volunteered, running to the other side. She was sitting in the passenger seat before I realized it. Time was moving too fast.

Linda’s
glower was the first thing I saw clearly. “I’ll be back for you in fifteen,” she said, but it didn’t sound nice. It sounded like she was coming back to fight me.

Her Mercedes shrilled as she skidded into a U-turn and disappeared.

Robb sighed. “Ignore her.”

“What is with you two anyway?” I asked, surprised by the harshness of my tone. I was no longer able to hold back what I was thinking.

Robb’s brown eyes were wide, but they squinted when he looked away. “We’re not together right now.”

Right now. Like they would be together again.

“Are you upset with me?” he asked.

I didn’t answer
because I didn’t know. My head was spinning too fast to collect my thoughts, let alone my feelings, so I buried myself with silence. My body tingled, and the feeling, somehow, seemed familiar in the darkness. The overwhelming vision of flying flowed through my veins, and I shifted from side to side as if I would take off at any moment.

“I really think we should talk, Jess. We have to talk about it sooner or later—Linda and I—Jess, I think you should consider—” Robb’s rambling was breaking my concentration. “Zac told me, and Crystal said you’re—dreaming.”

It was beautiful. The sky, I mean. It was clearer than anything else around me, and the midnight color mixed with the stormy clouds like an obscure painting. I wanted to paint it right now – right now, like how Robb and Linda weren’t together right now.

Robb grabbed my arm. “Are you even listening to me?”
His face swayed from side to side, and I could smell the bar on him.

My shoulder blades were digging into the brick wall
. “No,” I said, but it came out sounding like, “Err—mo.”

“Jess?” Robb was infuriated. “What do I need to do to get your attention?”

“Monthin.” I meant to say nothing, but Robb wasn’t deterred.

“I know one way,” he said, and then he kissed me.

He wasn’t suave, and he wasn’t delicate about it. He was desperate, and the taste of beer glided over my tongue. I wanted to puke.

“Let me go,” I mumbled, pushing his chest with my hand, but he shoved his leg against my thigh and missed my lips the secon
d time. “Robb,” I screeched, scratching him across the face.

He jerked back. “Stop shouting,” he screamed himself,
latching onto the same wrist I just freed. His grip stung the insides of my hand.

“You’re hurting me.
”

“You’re overreacting—”

I screamed as loud as I could and yelped when his hand wrapped around my throat. I froze, eyes locked with Robb − my friend − as he glared down at me. His threatening gaze was as tenacious as his hold. I wasn’t sure if he was going to kiss me or yell at me again, but he was interrupted.

A vehicle
squealed onto the curb, and the door opened before it came to a complete stop. “Hey!” A man’s shout caused Robb to drop his hand. “What are you doing?”

“Stay out of it,” Robb growled back, but he didn’t bother looking
over. Instead, he grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “This isn’t your problem.”

I stumbled, looking behind me as the other man followed. He was a silhouette in the headlights. “Let her go.”

Robb released me but spun around like he was going to fight. The other guy punched him across the face first. I fell to the ground in shock, landing in a puddle of freezing water as the rain escalated. Robb reared back, and the other guy grabbed his wrist, twisting it around his back before kicking him forward. Robb stumbled, splashing water across my face, but he didn’t look at me. He refocused on his opponent.

“I’d think twice before you turn this into a real f
ight,” the other guy warned.

Robb stared at him. “Whatever,” he growled, turning his shoulder as he stomped away. “She’s your responsibility now.” I watched him turn a corner before I realized the other guy was knee
ling next to me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and he froze when I met his eyes.

He had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen − as green as the blooming world in the summer. They sparkled in the rain, and they misted over as they searched mine.

“Jessica?” Hi
s voice had dropped into a whisper.

I studied his face, trying to put the facial features together. When I did, I could hardly breathe. Eric Welborn.

“I’m fine.” I was too embarrassed to say anything else. I couldn’t even look at him. Instead, I stared at the cuts on my shins and pushed myself up. My knees shook, and I grabbed the nearest wall to support myself. I stumbled against the brick wall, the world spinning as fast as my stomach was churning. I lost my balance, tumbling to the ground, but he caught me.

“Whoa.” His
breath brushed against my neck. “You’ve been drinking.”

“Just a little,” I said, hoping it didn’t sound as slurred to him as it did to me.

“A little?” Eric didn’t have to say he didn’t believe me. “I think you’ve had too much, Ms. Taylor.”

My name reminded me of the fact that I was with a fellow st
udent. He would tell, and everyone would know what Robb had done. What had Robb done? The memories already slipped away with my raging emotions.

“I didn’t—” I sniffled and gasped for breath through
my tears.

Eric tensed as I dug my nails into his shirt. His warm clothes comforted me. I just wanted to crawl into bed
– bed, and be warm − warm and comfortable − comfortable and wait − wait for my dream boy to come back to me. I didn’t want to be here.

“
What did Robb do to you, Jessica?” Eric’s voice hardened.

I wiped the tears from my face, telling myself it was only rain that drenched my body. “What are you
talking about?” I tried to lie despite the fact that he had seen, but Eric wasn’t playing along.

“Robb.”
His eyes were no longer sparkling. They were cold and blank. “Robb McLain.”

My drunken mind wasn’t agreeing with my thoughts. Nothing in my body wanted to work, but my hand met my
neck, and the soreness traveled through me. “He—he choked me.”

Eric’s jaw locked as he looked away, but he didn’t stop holding me up. When he cursed, his voice shook his
torso. It was only then that I realized my hand had gone from my neck to his shirt. “I’m going to kick his ass tomorrow—”

“No,” I begged. “Please. No.”

“I don’t want you to get treated that way,” he said, shifting his tone with disappointment. “And you shouldn’t either.”

I wanted to shout at him, but I pulled away instead, and my knees hit the ground again. I didn’t care that I was sitting in a puddle. The cold water had a
lready seeped into my clothes.

A wave of water moved over my feet, and I glanced up to see Eric
kneeling in front of me. He wasn’t leaving. “You’re really shaken up, aren’t you?” The thunder made it almost impossible to hear him.

He was still for a moment, but then he moved, and the lightning blinded me. His arms were
wrapped around my torso, and he had pulled me into his lap. His embrace startled me, but I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move.

I relaxed against his chest, drawn into the mom
ent I needed more than anything. It wasn’t until I pressed my ear against his torso that I heard it.