The Darkest Dream (The Darkest Trilogy) (3 page)

“It’s better than being grounded,
Phe
…”
 
I offered, following behind.
 

“I just missed curfew, that’s all…”

“You missed curfew by…what was it, six hours?”
 
She scowled at me.

“We were celebrating the win!”
 
Her tone was defensive and I laughed then, shaking my head at her.
 

“Next time, tell Jonathan to keep the celebration short.”
 
I spoke of Phoebe’s most recent boyfriend.
 
Last weekend, in celebration of the school’s basketball victory, to which the lauded Jonathan Grant had led the team, Phoebe had gotten a bit carried away and had been caught sneaking in at the crack of dawn.
 

“Oh no, it was definitely worth it.”
 
She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously and I laughed, this time rolling my eyes.
 
“You should come with us next time.
 
Jon said that Brian told him that he thinks you’re really cute.”
 
I wrinkled my nose, putting my hands out in front of me in protest.
 

“No way,
Phe
.
 
I’ll leave the basketball boys to you.”
 
I thought about it for a moment before adding further.
 
“In fact, I’ll leave
all
the boys to you.
 
Definitely not something I need to distract myself with.
 
Maybe I’ll take up knitting…that’s a fun hobby, isn’t it?”

Sure, I could probably use a distraction…but a senior year fling?
 
No thanks.

“
Boys
are a fun hobby, Luce,
”
 
she
said, grinning ear to ear.
 
“Honestly, though?”
 
she
paused and bit her lip softly.
 
“I think Jonathan is a bit more than a distraction.”
 
The two had been dating for several months now, which was quite an accomplishment for Phoebe.
 
I let out a low whistle, my eyes widening.

“You’ve fallen?”
 
I asked incredulously.
 

“Oh, I’ve
splatted
.”
 

It was a system we’d developed years ago to describe the stages of our relationships—from crush, all the way to the real thing: Tripping, falling, and
splatting
.
 
I moved forward in a sudden rush and hugged my friend excitedly before quickly stepping back to take her in.
 
She really did seem happier these days…and I was only just noticing.
 
I really must be out of it lately, I thought.
 

“Now we just have to find someone for you.”
 
She reached out and tapped me on the nose and I shook my head in annoyance.
 
“
Which brings me to my next question.
 
Who was this dark and intense boy you were asking about last night?
 
He might do, until
Brayden
wakes up and realizes you’re his destiny, that is.”
 

Shaking my head once more, I chose to ignore the comment that had been tagged on to her question with a little wink.
 
Phoebe had, for several years, insisted that her older brother
Brayden
was my soul mate.
 
It seemed not to matter that neither one of us had expressed any form of interest.

“It was nothing—he just—he was really familiar, that’s all.
 
Just wondered if maybe I’d seen him at the diner before.”
 
I placed my hands on her shoulders and turned her around, directing her toward the door.
 
“And I think that’s your cue,
hun
.”
 
She giggled, stopping in front of the door and turning around once more to look at me.

“You’re working with me tonight, aren’t you?”
 

“You start at
four,
I’m not on ‘til eight.”
Phe’s
face fell. “Your dad gave me the extra few hours off so I could get some work done…outside of work.
 
I need to finish up some paperwork from the lawyer—and get started on that essay for Lit.”
 

What a strange combination of activities, I mused—especially for a seventeen year old.
 

It felt like all I’d been doing for the last few months was paperwork—signing papers to guarantee my emancipation, filing papers to settle my father’s estate, signing my name a hundred times to complete the sale of the house I’d grown up in…

Then there was the paperwork that came with senior year.
 
College applications, financial aid forms, scholarship essays…it felt like it would never end.
  

I thought fondly of the
Phe’s
dad.
 
Ryan Mason had guided me through as much of the process as he could, stepping in where I would normally have gone to my own father.
 

Nathan Malone had been a good father—he took care of me just as much as I’d taken care of him, the two of us relying on each other.
 
I tried to recall the happy times—him chasing
Phe
and I around at the park, sitting beside me as we watched a movie, taking me out for ice cream to celebrate my SAT scores.
   

But then memories of a cold, sterile hospital room spilled into my mind and I shook them away, forcing my attention back to the present.
 
Phe
was watching me, and I bit the inside of my lip, hoping she wouldn’t push me to talk about it.
 

“I’ll try to finish up earlier, though.”
 
I offered, hoping to placate her—and as Phoebe’s face immediately brightened, I knew I was off the hook.
 

“Thanks, Luce.”
 
She clapped excitedly before picking up her purse and looking around the apartment, her expression softening as she took a moment.
 
Her smile was warm, the sparkle there in her eyes as she met mine.
 
“I think this is good for you,”

“I think so, too.”
 
I told her, returning her smile.
 
A small wave of hope trickled through me, and I realized I was actually looking forward to whatever the future had to offer me.
 
The worst had to be behind me now, didn’t it?
 

“I’ll see you in a few hours, alright?”
 
I told my best friend and
Phe
nodded, her eyes sweeping over the apartment once more.
 
I imagined she was envisioning the nights she and I would have here, in this apartment—the laughs, the silly dance parties, the movie nights.
 

Because that’s what I saw as I looked around.
 
A new life—a door opening to a world of even bigger possibilities when, in just a few months, the two of us would move on and leave this town behind.
 

Yes, Glover was my home—it would always be home.
 
But I was ready to move on.
 
There was an entire world out there, and sometimes I could feel the anticipation to discover it buzzing in my fingertips.
 

It was like I knew there was more, just waiting around the corner.
 
And I was so close, I could almost touch it.

When I looked over at Phoebe again, I noticed her frozen in place, her eyes clouding over—seemingly out of focus as she spaced out.
 

“
Phe
?”
 
I questioned, a wave of panic rising within me for the briefest of moments as I started toward her.
 
“You okay?”

“What?
 
Oh, yeah.
 
Just zoned out, I guess.
 
I’ll see you in a few hours, Luce!”
 
She rolled her eyes at herself as she shook her head, waving her hand in the air.
 
“Elephant shoe,
”
 
she
called over her shoulder as she opened the door.

“Elephant shoe,
”
 
I
called back, watching the door close behind my pixie-like friend.
 
My forehead creased with concern as I turned and peeked through the peephole, making certain
Phe
had made it down the hallway.
 

An odd feeling of déjà-vu washed over me and I felt the urge to follow after her—but with a loud sigh, I brushed it off as nothing more than paranoia and turned back to the bleak apartment.
 

A brief memory of a warm, brightly lit living room danced before my eyes—a couple swaying softly together as I peeked from behind the banister, at the time just a young girl.

As suddenly as it came, I pushed it away and, tying my golden blonde hair up in a ponytail, I immediately settled in at the small desk, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand.
 

Eventually, I would forget all about it.

I sighed, pulling my damp hair into the ponytail I usually wore to work.
 
The ponytail, it
seemed, that I wore ever more increasingly—a
symbol, perhaps, of my constant preoccupation.
 
In my mind, I ran over a checklist, making sure I had taken care of everything—the various signatures, the appropriate formatting for my Lit essay, the few chores that needed doing around the house, the bills that needed paying.
 

A moment later, I grabbed my purse and hurried to the door, locking it behind me as I shook my head at my tardiness.
 
I could imagine
Phe
, sitting at the counter and drumming her fingers irritably against the surface.
 
There wouldn’t be a crowd—probably barely even a customer, as everyone would be at the local high school watching yet another championship game.
 

Here I had gotten
Phe’s
hopes up with the thought of an early arrival, and I was actually going to be late.

I walked out of the building—the heavy slamming of the door bringing me back to reality.
 
Glancing both ways, I crossed the street and cut through the park as the sun set behind me, trying to keep my focus on
Phe
rather than letting the darkness of the cool night air seep into me.
 
I could feel it there, waiting, like it always did.

I tried to decide the best way I could make it up to her.
 

I could let her leave early, I decided.
 
I could cover with Ellie and Ryan and tell them that she was staying the night at my place tonight—certainly they wouldn’t turn
me
down, after all that had happened lately.
 

Now much more pleased with myself, I gave a nod.
 
Maybe it was a little bit macabre, exploiting her parents’ sympathy over the recent death of my father.
 
But
Phe
deserved a night of fun—after all, I thought, ignoring the subtle pang in my own chest, she’d found someone, hadn’t she?

The last thing I wanted for my friend was for her to be alone.
 

Nearing the street on which the diner, Ellie’s Place, resided, I found myself shivering.
 
I tightened the jacket around me, glancing up at the stars beginning to flicker high in the night sky in some vain attempt to distract myself.
 
As I passed the alley, the memory of the man from last night came flooding over me.
 
I shook my head, forcing it away.
 

Secretly, however, I was grateful that another, much less welcome memory hadn’t come in its place.

I neared the diner and cut through another smaller alley—this one leading to the back door, which entered directly into the undersized locker room.
 
I paused to put my purse in the locker that had belonged to me for the last two years—smiling softly at the photo of myself and
Phe
from years ago that hung inside it.
 

As I began to remove my jacket, I heard a loud crash come from the dining area and froze, straining to hear more—assuming
Phe
had probably just dropped someone’s order.
 

The moment I heard my friend cry out, I rushed toward the doors—barely able to stop myself before rushing through them.
 
Logic told me that I needed to observe the situation before rushing into it.

There was a pale man standing with his back angled so that I could only see their profiles—because he was holding
Phe
. Her hands were pinned tightly behind her back, and her expression was strained with agony.

“
Phe
—
”
 
I
whispered to myself, my palms pressed to the door as I moved without thought, panic flaring up inside me.
 
The door pushed forward easily, but I stopped myself once more before walking through it.
 

All I wanted to do was get to
Phe
—but I knew I would be of no use to either of us if I ran out there without any sort of strategy.
 
I needed to find help—I needed someone to call the police—where was David, the cook?
 
Why weren’t any customers helping her?

“Now, now, old friend.
 
Be polite.”
 
It was the man holding her who spoke—but he was talking to someone I hadn’t yet seen.
 
“I’m offering you the world, Darren.
 
A life we dreamed of together.
 
Don’t you remember what it was like?”

“I won’t help you, Demetrius.”
 
My eyes darted around the room as I peeked through the small crack of the open door, searching for whoever Darren might be.
 
The diner was empty except for the man and
Phe
—and then I spotted another man—this one the one I had run into the night before, and three men standing behind him that I did not recognize.