Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) (21 page)

“Crystal’s mom dropped off your purse this morning,” she revealed her knowledge. “Lola said Crystal showed up intoxicated without you, and I called Robb’s phone, but he didn’t answer.”

His name made my empty stomach lurch. “It’s not what you think,” I attempted, but she cut me off.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Jessie,” she said. “But I’m worried. Your father is, too.” She was paler than I had ever seen her before. “I know you’re a teenager, but this is so unlike you—”

“I know,” I managed. “And I’m sorry. I just got caught up, and it won’t hap
pen again.” It was a promise I knew I would keep, but strangely enough, I wanted to keep it because I promised Eric.

My mom
laid her hands in her lap. “What happened, Jessie?”

I didn’t know what to tell her, but I knew I couldn’t tell her everything. I couldn’t even tell myself. “My friend helped me,” I explained. “I stayed at his house.”

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “His?”

“Eric,” I clarified. “Nothing happened.”

Her face twisted. “Isn’t he that Welborn kid? The one with the Charger − the one who wrecked his Charger?”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “It’s okay. He put me in a guest room.” I couldn’t tell her it was his room.

Her eyes lingered on my expression like she already knew, and I prepared myself for her nice side to slip into the protective parent she usually was. Instead, she stood up, crossed the room, and draped her arms around my shoulders. She squeezed me into a hug, and I winced as she brushed my neck.

“I love you, Jessie,” she said, holding my shoulders as she stepped back. “You know that your father and I are here for you.”

I couldn’t believe it.

“I know, Mom
.”

She touched my hair as it began to curl. “So
, you can come talk to us when you need to,” she continued, tapping her fingertip against my forehead. “But don’t think we’ll tolerate this a second time.”

I had to bite
my lip. I didn’t want to speak because I was afraid I’d cry. I didn’t deserve her help. I had broken her rules, acted recklessly, and lied about it. I wanted to be yelled at. I wanted to be grounded or punished or anything. Just not dismissed as if I hadn’t done anything.

“Get some sleep,” she said, turning to my door. “It’ll help with the hangover.”

Before I could thank her, she left and shut my door. I wished she had slammed it. I was shaking, and I wrapped my arms around my chest to keep my sobs inside, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t deny the truth any longer. I cried.

Eric

“Does it hurt here?” The doctor pressed my chest for the hundredth time.

“Not at all.
”

“How about here?” He had
barely moved his finger.

“Nope.”

His brow furrowed behind his glasses. “Now, don’t lie to me, Eric,” he pretended to joke, but he failed miserably.

“I’m not lying,” I said, and
for once, I was telling the truth. The pressure didn’t hurt. It was more annoying than anything. “I feel fine.” Aside from my senses. They were enhancing as we spoke, and I knew it was because I accepted the fact that I was fully healed. I could turn into a shade whenever I wanted to, and my body yearned for the transition.

The florescent lights stung, and the smells curdled in my lungs. Every time I moved, the sheet beneath me ripped, and I cringed
. It was hard enough to ignore the sounds of six other patients in the same hallway as they did the same thing. Service clerks tapped their keyboards, and someone banged on a nearby vending machine. If the customer moved it to the left, the snack would be free.

“Is there any pain here?”

“There’s no pain, Doc,” I replied, fighting the urge to rub my temples. “I think I’m healed.”

The man didn’t say anything as he sat down and glanced over the computer screen turned away from me. I kicked my legs back and forth, staring at the photos on the walls
− two mountains and one informative piece on STDs. I wished I hadn’t tried to distract myself.

“Sir.” There was a knocking on the door as it opened, and it reminded
me of how Noah entered my room. “The boy’s father is here.”

I tensed when he appeared. “Yo
u’re home early,” I said, but he was concentrating on the doctor.

“Hello, Mr. Welborn,” the doctor said, shaking his hand. “How was your trip?” Apparently, the entire town knew about it, which was exactly what the Dark wanted.

“Tiring, but good,” he answered. “Sorry I’m late.”

“At least one of us knew you
were coming,” I spoke up, but, again, they ignored me.

“I
would’ve called, but I don’t like using the phone when I’m driving,” my father excused. “Wouldn’t want to crash.” I gritted my teeth as he continued to talk to my doctor. “How are things looking?”

“Eric healed a little earlier than I expected,” he said, suddenly switching from his interrogation to
agreeing with me. “But that’s a sign of a healthy, young man.”

“That’s nice to hear,” I muttered, but neither reacted to my comment.

“My son is a healthy kid,” my father remarked.

“We need more healthy youth,” the doctor said.

“Eric doesn’t play videogames,” he said. “He likes exercise.”

And my training,
I spoke telepathically for the first time in weeks, and my father’s eyes slid to mine. He was not happy.

“Back in my day that’s all we did
− exercise,” the doctor continued.

I winced at the
“back-in-my-day” line. Stories always followed, and I was too eager to be free to listen to it. Sure enough, the doctor opened his mouth and babbled about his schooldays. The two men laughed like old buddies, and I rolled my eyes, standing from the table.

“Well, it’s been great,
” I said, folding my arms as I moved toward the door. “Can I have my papers?”

The doctor blinked, and my father draped his arm around the man. “We’ll catch
up another time, Kenneth.” Excellent. Now they were on a first name basis.

“Sounds good, James,” he said, ripping off a paper to
give me. I snatched it like it was the secret to the prophecy. “Don’t let me see you for crashing again.”

“Don’t worry about that, Doc,” I said, straightening my shirt out. “My new car barely hits forty when I try to crash it.”

The doctor paled.

“Sarcasm,” I clarified, but the man didn’t laugh.

My father grabbed my sleeve. “Let’s go,” he mumbled and dragged me from the room. “What are you thinking?”

“It was funny.”

“Hardly,” he said, but he was smiling. Apparently, I inherited his sense of humor.

We were free from the human hospital in minutes, and when I got to the parking lot, he let me go. I stood on the concrete sidewalk and looked over his face, searching for any sign of contentment. I was waiting for him to say he knew about Jessica, but he remained silent.

“How was your week?” he asked.

I pulled my car keys from my pocket. “Thanks for the car,” I said, finally able to show him my appreciation.

“You’ll need it,” he said, returning to his cold demeanor. “Are you feeling better?”

I thought that was obvious,
I responded telepathically.

“Good.” His lip twitched.
Now, you better start training again.

“
I will tomorrow,” I replied aloud.

“Tonight,” he corrected. “You will go tonight.”
Urte’s waiting for you already.

Of course he was. “I have school in the morning.” And I had to confront Robb.

My father pulled his glasses out of his shirt pocket. “That’s never stopped you before.”

He paid more attention to my actions than I wanted to believe. “Fine,” I said, and he started to walk away. This time, I was the one to grab his shirt. “Wait.”

He stared at my grip like it was the first time we had touched. “What do you need?”

I cleared my throat.
“Do you know where Jessica’s parents are buried?”

“What?” His tone was sharp. “Why would you ask that?”

“I—uh—” I couldn’t explain. Not yet. “Just curious.”

He straightened out, looming over my height, but he didn’t speak. His hand snaked into his back pocket, and he pulled out his wallet. In seconds, he had his business card out, and his fingertips hovered over the back. Scrawling black words appeared beneath his touch.

“You should be able to get there before it gets dark out,” he said, handing over the address.

“But training—”

“Go tomorrow,” he suggested. “Before training.”

I glanced at the address with confusion. I knew the location. “There isn’t a cemetery there.”

“Trust me.” My father’s expression slid into a knowledgeable grin. “You’ll find it.” With that, he turned his back and walked away. I stared, unable to look away as he strode away, his shoulders bouncing in a slight chuckle.

Jessica

The classroom bell sounded more like a death sentence than a routine warning to sit down. I hadn’t slept the night before, not when I knew I would be facing Robb, and I bit my nails as I stared at the clock. He had one more bell before he would show up − Eric, too.

I shivered at the reminder of my midn
ight hero. For once, I wished he didn’t always show up at the last minute. I wanted him next to me, and I wouldn’t even be ashamed to admit it to him.

“Jess,” Crystal exasperated as she collapsed in Eric’s chair. “What happened to you?” she asked, widening her eyes. “I filled up your voicemail trying to reach you—”

“I don’t use my cell phone,” I muttered, realizing she was clueless. I was tempted to take off my scarf and show her the bruises Robb had given me.

“Yeah, I know,” she exhaled, rolling
her eyes. “But you could’ve made an exception after Robb and you disappeared. He hasn’t talked to me either.”

“For being a reporter, you’re really uni
nformed.” I avoided the explanation since we were surrounded by eavesdropping teens.

“I shouldn’t have to ask my best friends what happened to them.”
She stuck out her bottom lip.

I sighed, knowing I had to find a way to tell her, but
I was too late.

“Good morning.” The greeting was as sudden as his appearance. Robb McLain. He was standing in front of my desk, and I couldn’t bring myself to say a word. Crystal was too busy screeching.

“What happened to your face?” she yelled, and my eyes landed on his black eye.

“Got in a fight with some
psycho,” Robb dismissed coldly.

“I like the sound of that nickname.”

Robb tensed as Eric brushed past him. He dropped his bag on the floor as the final bell rang. The room was silent as the two glared at one another.

Eric was as still as a predator, and Robb mimicked his posture poorly. His arms were folded. “What do you want, Welborn?”

“I don’t want anything from you,” Eric said, leaning his lower back against the countertop. “But I bet Jessica does.”

“Jessica?” Robb repeated my full name with bitterness.

“An apology,” Eric clarified, waving his hand toward me. “I’d like to hear it, too.”

Robb’s face flushed. “Is that your business?”

“I think you made it mine.”

“Boys,” Ms. Hinkel’s voice attempted to interrupt their tension, but they didn’t budge. “Take your seats. You, too, Crystal.”

She flew to her desk, and Robb stepped backwards, refusing to show his back to Eric. “We’ll talk after class,” Robb muttered to me before he left.

I shoved my hands under the table to prevent myself from seeing them shake. Eric, however, didn’t ignore them as he sat down next to me. “Are you okay?
” he whispered the question he asked too many times for me to bear.

“Better now that you’re here,” I replied, surprised by my honesty. Eric blinked, and I flushed. “How was your doctor’s appointment?”

He pointed to his ribs. “All healed.” His words relaxed me.

“Good,”
I whispered, ending our conversation as class began. I was relieved when the teacher put on a documentary, and the class was distracted. I faced forward and lost myself to the film about genetics.

The recessive genes fascinated me the most
− the ones that didn’t necessarily show up but still retained a significance people couldn’t deny. I wondered if my parents were surprised by my blue eyes or worried about disorders they could pass on. I didn’t know anything about their health, but my curiosity was returning. I cursed myself for not asking for their records when I had visited Eric in the hospital.

I
glanced at the boy in my peripheral vision. One second, he was a stern outcast, practically begging for trouble, and the next second he would be a teasing, crossword champ. He was intelligent and attractive, but he didn’t seem to care about the effect he had on everyone. He either scared or excited them. To me, he did both.