The Keeper's Vow (14 page)

She opened her eyes and she was back in the
room—still rocking. When her eyes adjusted to the light, Tristan
was staring down at her.

“Quit being a pervert,” he said. His words
smashed into her like a car into a brick wall.

She pinched herself. This was another dream.
Another horrible unwanted dream. “Oh. My. God.”

“Yeah, and I was there with you for every
second of it. Pervert.”

She threw her pillow at him. She wanted to
curl into herself and implode. “It was a dream. Argh—why didn’t you
just pretend you didn’t see it! What’s wrong with you?”

Tristan smiled before he left the room,
“What would be the fun in that?”

I don’t like you,
she screamed loud
in her mind.
Omg, I do not like you. I don’t even like your
hair. Or your creepy, beady blue eyes. Omg, I do not like
you.

“
Pervert,”
she heard back. She wasn’t
sure if it was her brain echoing him, or his thoughts. O
f all
people, why him?
It was obvious. He was someone new in her life
and for the last five days he’d been invading her space and
thoughts
.
It’s only natural that you dream about someone
you’ve been around constantly.

She thought of her thoughts in a jar, but
this time with a jar made of sound proof glass and a wall that
reached to the stars. Not too long after she’d considered a sonar
proof wall, Allison walked into the room yawning.

“You’re still up?” Allison asked.

“I had a nightmare,” she said, frowning at
the wall.

Allison cocked her head to the side and
offered a sympathetic smile. “Still feeling overwhelmed?”

“No. But thanks for reminding me. I made out
with Tristan.”

“You what? When? Just now?”

“Dear God, no. In my nightmare. It was
terrible.”

“Seriously? That’s what you call a
nightmare?”

“You weren’t there. It was horrible. Then he
called me a pervert.”

“What did you try and cope a feel?
Unrequited love can be devastating.”

“No, he ninja stalked my nightmare, woke me
up, and then called me a pervert.”

“Ninja stalked your nightmare?” Allison
arched an eyebrow.

It was time to tell Allison the truth about
the fight Tristan and Katie had earlier—what he really meant about
getting her out of his head.

Allison listened intently. “You’re trying to
tell me he can
hear
your thoughts?”

Katie nodded.

“Wait—so I’m clear—not only can he read your
thoughts, but he also saw a dream you just had where you made-out
with him.”

“Correction: nightmare. And yes,” Katie
said, feeling a whole new sense of violation blanket her.

“And then he came up here, woke you up, and
called you a pervert?” Allison nearly murdered herself in a fit of
laughter.

“You’re supposed to be my friend.” Katie
said

“I can’t b-believe he called you a pervert.
How embarrassing.”

“My mind gets hijacked on a daily basis and
you laugh.” Katie threw the covers over her face and ignored
Allison’s jeers.

Allison pulled the covers off Katie with a
new look on her face. “Seriously though,” she started, “That’s
creepy. Does Lucy know?”

“I don’t know. If she did what good is
that?”

“Well for one—well—well, I guess it doesn’t
change anything,” Allison pulled at a few strands of hair. “It
explains a lot though.”

Katie waited.

“He always looks like he has a headache—I
don’t mean like that, but seriously. He looks at you a lot, like
randomly. I noticed when we were in the library today, he’d shoot
glances at you like every few minutes and sometimes he rubs his
temples and he’ll have this look on is face like—well it kind of
makes sense.”

“That I’m a headache?” Katie said, trying
desperately hard to ignore her body’s response to learning that he
looks
at her.

“Imagine if you heard my thoughts all the
time. All of them,
all the time
. The sheer amount would give
anyone a headache.”

“Poor Tristan, He has to listen to my
private thoughts all the time. The things I
don’t
want him
to hear. The things I don’t want anyone to hear.”

Allison frowned. “Why? Why can he?”

Kate and Allison spent a hour talking about
it. Where exactly Tristan came from. What he knew about her mother.
Why he wouldn’t tell her the truth. What Lucinda knew—whether or
not he was listening to them at that exact moment…. Always they
came to a dead end. Back to square one.

In the mist of Allison’s rhythmic nasal
honks, Katie heard a car door slam and went to the window in time
to see Brian waving as a car pulled out of the driveway. It was
after midnight.

She paced the room trying to figure out what
she should say to him. “
Couldn’t help but see you waving at your
friends. Tell me who they are and maybe I could wave next time
too.”
No, that sounded too desperate. “
Those your new
friends? Name and numbers please.”
No, too stalker-ish. “
You
don’t have to hide your new friends, Brian. I only want to know why
all of a sudden I’m not invited to sneak-out (insert smile).”
If only that one hadn’t made her feel like an ax-murderer.

She held her breath as heavy, dragged
footsteps climbed up the stairs. She opened the door just as he
reached the landing.

“You were out late,” she said, trying to
hide the bits of hysteria she felt. She knew she probably looked
manic with her hair falling all over the place. Stupid. Why didn’t
she check her hair?

“Mom already yelled at me for not calling. I
don’t need it from you,” he said.

“Why would I yell at you?”

He laughed. “I was just kidding.” He
hesitated before opening his room door.

Katie caught a whiff of something, maybe
alcohol? “Oh, well how was the movie?”

Guilt spread across his face like butter on
toast. “Oh it was a piece of shit.”

“I bet.” Why was she getting so angry?

He paused and she stared at his familiar
half-smile, trying to make sense of the tightening in her stomach.
“Err, night,” he said, closing his bedroom door.

The tightening in her stomach was just the
beginning. It was like she couldn’t stand to be around Brian. The
next day, after study-hall, he saw Katie with Traci and started
laughing with his “
movie” friends
. “Look, it’s Train-wreck
Traci, I heard she’s not even allowed to go within a five-mile
radius of a gun.”

Maybe Katie would have laughed too, or asked
the follow-up question,
“why?”
If it hadn’t pissed her off.
Traci was standing right there in the hall when he’d said it. She
had heard him. Katie knew it. It was in the way Traci adjusted her
rucksack and scratched her nose.

It was this,
Invincible Brian
that
Katie never liked. She had tolerated it because he was hardly like
that, maybe an hour out of the day or when he was around the wrong
people. But, as the week progressed
that
Brian showed his
face more often than not.

On Thursday Allison got a certificate for
being the only level-3, which was pretty big (according to Mr.
Carver, who looked like a proud father). Katie clapped and
congratulated Allison even though the only thing she knew about a
level-3 was that is was higher than her level-6. Actually, everyone
was higher than her level-6, even Tristan’s fake records put him at
level-4.

Everyone stopped clapping when a bubble of
laughs erupted from the other side of the classroom. It was Brian
cracking a joke about Allison having, “
level-3 man hands
.”
Allison’s hands were a little bigger than the average girl, but
they were
not
man hands.

Allison pretended not to hear it—she was
always too dignified to react to stupid jokes, but Katie saw the
way she gripped the certificate.

Brian was a giant jerk, and Katie made it a
point to give him the cold shoulder for acting like a douche-bag,
but it wasn’t just him that had her aggravated and on edge. This
one week was more torture than Katie had endured since she joined
the swimming team two years ago. There was a reason she’d quit this
year. She wanted a relaxing junior year, and now it was like she
couldn’t escape stress.

Homework piled, and between classes and
training, she was tired even when she was sleeping. Ever since
their first training session, Tristan didn’t say much more than
what was necessary. He only beat the crap out of her during their
training sessions and grunted when she didn’t turn in
assignments.

All the while, Sports Day loomed over her
like a stalker in a dark alley. She’d already conceded that she’d
come in last, she just didn’t want to do it in front of everyone
and their parents.

It was Friday and Katie could feel doom
moving closer to her. She sat down on the School steps and watched
cars pull-up and drive by. Sports Day was tomorrow. She could
always invite her dad and tell him that way. She laughed at
herself. The thought was stupid. Her dad would know right away that
something was up. Katie spending a Saturday at school?

She froze. They were supposed to go to the
zoo tomorrow. She smacked her forehead.

Tristan cursed under his breath behind
her.

“I know,” she said, hanging her head between
her legs. What a headache.

“No. I’m talking about that.”

Katie lifted her head and followed his gaze
out onto the street. Her heart constricted in her chest. Her dad
sat in his truck staring at her. Her and Tristan.

He knew.

Every thing about the disgusted look on his
face said he knew. His eyes bore into her.

Katie sat on the steps unsure of what to do.
Her dad’s face didn’t say he wanted to talk. It was the look of a
man completely betrayed. But why did she feel like she’d stabbed
him
in the back? Why was her heart in her throat? He was the
one who’d lied to her.

She stood up and prepared herself to walk
over.

Tristan grabbed her arm. “You don’t have to
go over there.”

Katie’s hands shook. It didn’t matter
whether she did or not. Her father started-up the truck and
left.

Time speed up and froze at the same time.
Why was this happening now? How did he know?

She took off running. Something told her if
she didn’t show up home ASAP things were going to be worse.

She made it a quarter of the way before she
started coughing.

“Katalina—” Tristan was right behind
her.

“Shit. Shit. I’m in so much trouble. He’s
going to kill me. How did he find out?”

“Katalina, you haven’t done anything wrong.”
Tristan shook her. “Look at me—you haven’t done anything
wrong.”

“I can’t deal with this. I can’t. I don’t
know what to do. He’s so pissed.”

Tristan gripped her shoulders so hard it
hurt, “If he threatens to do anything run.”

Katie shook her head, “What? He wouldn’t hit
me. No. Christ, no. He’s not crazy.” Tristan’s eyes pierced
straight into her mind.

“There are worse things.” He let her go. She
was completely thrown off. Why were there always worse things?

When she made it to her house, the truck was
in the driveway. Katie took a few deep breaths and walked to her
porch.

“You’ve done nothing wrong, Katalina.” Even
though Tristan said it over and over again, she felt like she’d
been caught half-naked with a boy.

She left Tristan and went inside. It was
silent except for the sound of the TV. He was in the living-room in
his usual spot on the couch. She stood in the doorway waiting for
him to notice her.

He didn’t move a muscle. The long wait made
her feet ache. He wasn’t going to say anything? He always said
something. Her heart pinched and pounded. She turned to leave when
he spoke.

“Who’s that boy.”

She didn’t say anything. That wasn’t what
she expected. “Just Tristan—he goes to my school.”

Silence.

Her feet throbbed from running and
anticipation. Was that what he was angry about? Did he know Tristan
or did he just dislike the fact that she was with a boy?

“Do you realize what you’ve done? Do you
know what I’ve gone through—
sacrificed
—to make sure you were
safe?”

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Katie said
in a small voice.

He looked at her through the slits of his
eyes. “If you ever talk to, look at, or speak about that family or
that boy, I swear to God, Katie.”

What was he saying? “Dad—”

“I had to hear it from
him
. Of all
people. You’re a liar and a coward. Look at me when I talk to you.
Never again are you allowed to go near those people.”

“You can’t—you can’t say that. They’re
family.”

“
Stupid
girl. I’m your family.
They’ll get you killed!”

Katie shook to the bone. It was true she was
scared—she was a coward, and a liar—but she wasn’t stupid. She
hadn’t had a choice. Not a real one. She had made the right
decision. “No.” She said barely audible.

“What?”

“I’m not stupid.” Tears started to fall. Her
throat burned with all the anger and fear she’d been keeping
inside. It was his fault she was in this situation.

“Well, you’re not smart.”

“How the
hell
is this my fault?” she
screamed. It came out like fire.

“Listen to me. And Goddamnit you better hear
me. You’re done. This little game you think you’ve been playing is
over. Never go to that house again.”

“You can’t stop me. They’re my family.
They
took care of me when you wouldn’t.” Katie never thought
she’d throw that in his face. Her childhood wasn’t all roses and
rainbows. Her and her dad had a tough time when she was young,
sometimes she had to stay with the Anderson’s for months because he
worked at odd times of the day—and sometimes drank too much. It
wasn’t like that now, they were fine now. At least that was the
silent agreement they’d come to.