Authors: V J Chambers
Trembling (3 page)
Chapter Three
michaela666 (6:33:02): You're going to see her today,
right?
aird92 (6:33:44): everyday, u know that.
michaela666 (6:34:12): It worries me. If she figures out what you've done,
there could be bad repercussions.
aird92 (6:34:53): u worry about everything. she doesn't suspect anything.
michaela666 (6:35:33): And Jason? Does he suspect anything?
aird92 (06:35:48): stop worrying. geez!!!
Mr. Dingle turned the bell over and over in his hands.
"This is very simple, Azazel. Just tell me how you got the bell."
He didn't believe me. I didn't blame him. It sounded like something stupid that
a kid would say to get out of trouble. "It just showed up in my purse, I
swear," I said.
Mr. Dingle's office was covered in pictures of him holding a surf board. Where
in God's name did he go surfing? We were on the Gulf. There weren't any waves
here! Sometimes he was with other guys with surfboards. Sometimes he was with
different blonde, pretty girls. Weird.
"You can't expect me to believe that," he said.
"I know it sounds stupid," I said. "And I really hate your
stupid bell. But I didn't take it. I've been framed."
Mr. Dingle shook his head. "Why would someone do that?"
Why would someone do that? As I'd been walking up the office, I'd had time to
really look at the bell. It was silver, with a wooden handle. Nothing weird
about that at all. But there was something about the bell I'd never noticed before.
On the front of the bell, engraved into the metal was a picture of the sun,
rising over the ocean.
The Rising Sun.
Someone was trying to give me a message. The Sons. But I couldn't very well
tell Mr. Dingle that, now could I?
We went round and round for over an hour, which was kind of cool, because it
meant that I missed the rest of Mr. Sutherland's class. On the other hand, I
was freaked out, expecting the Sons to bust through the windows of Mr. Dingle's
office at any second. They'd be in black. The glass would shatter, flying out,
cutting our skin. It would be quick. One gun shot in Mr. Dingle's head. One in
mine. We'd slump dead over his desk, blood seeping into his papers. The Sons
would use silencers, so no one else would ever even know. At some point, one of
the secretaries would come in. She'd scream.
But that didn't happen. Instead, Mr. Dingle assigned me a week of detention,
starting tomorrow, so I could arrange transportation if necessary. He told me
he was going to call my parents.
"My parents are dead," I told him.
He looked a little taken aback when I said that. Sorry for me. That pissed me
off. How dare Mr. Dingle feel sorry for me? But after checking my records, he
promised he'd call Hallam. Wonderful. Like Hallam needed another reason to hate
me.
I returned to my 2nd/3rd block class. Apparently, word had spread. I was like a
celebrity or something. Whenever I walked in, everyone started clapping and
cheering. Our teacher, Ms. Ritter, calmed everyone down as best as she could. I
sat down in my regular seat and tried to concentrate on the math lesson. All I
could think about were the Sons. They'd put that bell in my purse for a reason.
Why? What were they planning? Why were they messing with me?
After 2nd/3rd, Jason and I had lunch. It was 10:30 at that point. We had the
earliest lunch shift in the school. I was never hungry at 10:30, so I usually
just bought some yogurt from the vending machine. Jason, however, being the
growing boy that he was, ate lunch. It kind of pissed me off, but I was used to
it. I'd grown up in house full of teenage boys. They ate. A lot. And they never
got fat, they just got taller. And taller. When I'd first met Jason, he'd been
about 5'10". Now he was pushing six feet.
Jude and I didn't share a lunch shift, but I'd see him in 6th/7th block. That
meant that I sat alone, waiting for Jason to come back with his tray every day.
Except today, everyone in school was stopping to congratulate me on stealing
Mr. Dingle's bell. At first, I tried to explain that I didn't know how I'd got
it, but no one believed me, so eventually, I just started smiling and shrugging
like I was proud of myself.
Jason sat down with me, carrying a tray loaded with chicken fingers and corn.
"What the hell?" he greeted me.
"I didn't do it," I said. "It just appeared in my purse."
"Really?"
Did he think I would lie to him? "Really," I said. "But I think
I know who did do it."
"Jude?" he asked.
"What?" I glared at him. "Jude didn't do it. Why would you even
think that?"
Jason shrugged. "So who did it then?"
"The Sons," I said.
"What?" said Jason. "Why would the Sons steal Mr. Dingle's
bell?"
"Have you ever looked closely at that bell? It's got a picture of a rising
sun on it. They're sending me a message. I don't know what it means, but it's
not good."
Jason took a bite of a chicken finger. "You're paranoid."
"You don't believe me?"
"It doesn't make any sense. Sorry. The Sons wouldn't steal a bell to send
you a message. They'd just . . . I don't know . . . kill you."
"But the sun
—
"
"Coincidence."
"So how did the bell get in my purse?"
"I don't know," said Jason.
"Someone set me up. Who would do that?"
"I don't know."
"It's not like anyone hates me around here. No one even knows I
exist."
At that moment, two girls stopped by my table. "You're Azazel,
right?" one asked.
"You stole the bell?"
I rolled my eyes. "That's me."
"Awesome," said one.
"Yeah, you rock," said the other.
"Thanks," I said.
They walked away.
"You were saying?" asked Jason.
"Well, no one knew who I was before this," I said. "I'm telling
you. The Sons are the only thing that makes any sense."
Jason shook his head. "I know you're always freaked out about them, but
you're wrong. And it doesn't make any sense."
I couldn't believe it. I had clearly been given a message from the Sons. A
warning. And Jason didn't believe me. "It does make sense."
"No," said Jason, "it doesn't. Look, the Sons know to leave us
alone. The minute they try anything, Hallam will go public with the information
that Edgar Weem is my father. Weem would never take that chance."
"What if someone's working without Weem's knowledge?" I said.
"Impossible. He's too high up in the Council for something like that to
happen. And he protects his own interests." Jason reached across the table
and took my hand. "Hey, Azazel, I know it's hard for you. If there was any
way that I go back in time and protect you from all of this, I would. I'm so
sorry that any of this ever happened to you. And I know it scares you. But it's
over. Okay? It's over. The Sons aren't chasing us. The Satanists are dead.
We're safe. Okay? We're safe now."
I squeezed his hand. I wanted to believe him. I really did. But . . .
"What if we're not?" I asked.
"We are," he said.
I pulled my hand back. I hugged myself. "I want you to take me to the
shooting range again."
Jason put down his chicken finger. "Jesus, Azazel, not this again."
"You haven't taken me in weeks," I said.
"Because you don't need to know how to shoot a gun," he said.
"I do so," I said. "I need to, even if no one's after us, so
that I can feel safe."
"We went twice a week for a month," said Jason. "You know the
basics. You're fine. We don't need to go again."
"What if I get out of practice?" I said. "And my aim still isn't
very good. I need to shoot more or else I'm going to lose everything I
know."
Jason sighed. "All I want is for us to be normal kids. But you can't let
this go. You keep living like we're still being chased. We're not."
"Jason . . ." I trailed off. He made me feel bad. I knew that all
Jason had ever wanted was a normal life. I didn't want to be the person who was
ruining that for him.
We were quiet for a while. Jason shoveled corn into his mouth. I opened my
yogurt and began to eat. A few more students stopped by to congratulate me on
my stealing of Mr. Dingle's bell.
"I have detention," I said when they were gone. "For a
week."
"That sucks," commented Jason.
"Yeah, it really does. Because I didn't do it."
Jason shook his head. "Why would someone frame you like that?"
I kept my mouth shut. I knew why. If Jason didn't want to believe me . . . But
maybe he was right. Maybe I was being paranoid. After all, I was the only one
who had nightmares. Jason was fine. He was well-adjusted. He loved living in
sunny
was . . .
Well,
it wasn't paradise.
* * *
After school, I found Jude and asked if he minded
giving Jason and I a ride home. He didn't mind. I met Jason at our regular
meeting spot in the front of the school. Jason smiled when he saw me, but his
smile faded when he saw Jude.
"Hi Jason," Jude greeted brightly.
"Hi," Jason muttered.
I wished Jason wouldn't be so blatantly rude to Jude.
"Jude's going to give us a ride home," I said.
"We can walk," said Jason.
"It's too hot," I said.
"It's not a problem," said Jude. "Really."
Jason shrugged his backpack further up on his shoulder. "Fine," he
said. "Let's go."
The three of us trudged silently to the student parking lot and Jude's car.
Jude drove an old Ford Aspire, which he'd painted bright purple. I offered to
sit in the back, but Jason shook his head at me. He didn't want to sit up front
with Jude. So Jason squeezed into the back seat of the car, and I sat up front.
Jude turned on the car and blasted the air conditioning. He backed the car up,
and we pulled out of the student parking lot.
"So, what did I miss in Mr. Sutherland's class?" I asked.
"Not much," said Jude. "Everyone was so excited about the fact
you stole the bell that not much got accomplished. How'd you do it,
anyway?"
"I didn't," I said. "Someone set me up."
"Did you do it, Jude?" Jason asked pointedly from the back.
"Me?" asked Jude. "Why would I get Azazel in trouble? She's my
BFF."
In the backseat, Jason snorted.
I turned around and glared at him.
"Why would someone set you up?" Jude asked.
"Yeah," said Jason. "Why, Azazel?"
I ignored Jason. "I don't know," I said. "Probably because they
didn't want to get in trouble for doing it." It was a message from the
Sons! Why didn't Jason believe me?
"That's screwed up," said Jude. "Sometimes people are
idiots."
"Yeah," I said.
"So, anyway, everybody was really excited about it," Jude continued.
"And Mr. Sutherland barely got to talk about the kidnapping of the
Limburger baby or whatever."
"Lindbergh baby," Jason corrected.
"Right," said Jude. "So, did you tell Dingle that you didn't do
it?"
"Yeah," I said. "But he didn't believe me. I have detention for
the rest of the week."
"Oh no," said Jude. "That totally sucks. What about Thursday?
You're supposed to work right after school."
"I'm just going to ask Mindy to trade shifts with me," I said.
"Think she will?"
"Probably," said Jude. "I'm really sorry that you have
detention. Especially for something you didn't do. And I'm going to miss you on
Thursday. Dammit."
"Yeah, it blows," I agreed. "So who's the Lindbergh baby?"
"Charles Lindbergh's son," said Jason from the back.
"Who's Charles Lindbergh?" I asked.
"I don't know," said Jude.
"We've been talking about him in class all week," said Jason.
"Really?" I asked. "It's hard to concentrate in that class.
Everyone's so noisy. They always get Mr. Sutherland off topic by asking him
about his life when he lived in
"Oh, right," said Jude. "Lindbergh like flew a plane over the
"Right," said Jason, sounding disgusted with both of us.
"So what happened to his baby?" I asked.
"It got kidnapped," said Jude.
"Oh," I said. "That sucks. Did they get him back?"
"I don't know. Mr. Sutherland didn't get to that," said Jude.
"Apparently, at first, they thought it was a practical joke, because
Lindbergh liked to hide the baby in the closet and pretend he didn't know where
he was."
"That's kind of messed up," I said. "Who would hide a baby as a
joke?"
"The guy flew across the
six other people had died trying to do it. Maybe he was just crazy,"
offered Jason.
I laughed. Jude didn't.
Hmm. Maybe this dislike was a two-way street.
"I always thought," said Jason, "that would be a good way to
pull off a kidnapping."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, kidnap someone in their own house," said Jason. "Tie
them up and knock them out, and keep them in their own attic."
"How would you get in and out of the house?" I asked.
"I don't know," said Jason. "Never worked that part out. But it
would be super cool, after you got the ransom money, to be like, 'Yeah, they
were two stories above you the whole time.'"
"That would be impossible to pull off," said Jude. "Besides, why
would you want to kidnap someone?"
"I wouldn't," said Jason. "Not really."
We had arrived at our apartment. Jude parked the car in the parking lot. I
wanted to invite him in, but I knew Jason wouldn't be cool with it. So I just
said goodbye to Jude, and Jason and I got out of the car.
When we got inside, Lilith wasn't there. She'd left a note that she was off job
hunting. Hallam was still at work, so we had the apartment to ourselves for a
while. Usually, I got right to work on my homework after school. I should have
today, especially since I was working later. I had to go in for about four
hours that evening. But I wasn't feeling like doing homework. I was frustrated
and confused about the turn of events at school. I wanted to talk to Jason
about it, but after what he'd said at lunch today, I felt like it would be a
bad idea. Instead, I hunted through the refrigerator for a snack.
Jason dropped off his books in his bedroom and joined me in the kitchen.
"Hey," he said. "I'm sorry about the way I reacted to what you
said at lunch."
I closed the refrigerator. "You mean you think I could be right about the
Sons?"
"Well," said Jason, "no. I don't think they're after us. But I'm
sorry if I made you feel stupid for thinking it. After everything that's
happened to us, I can see why you'd be jumping at shadows."
"I don't think that's what I'm doing," I said. "There was an
engraving of a rising sun on that bell."
"And that's a weird coincidence," said Jason. "It's
understandable that you'd freak out. And it is weird. That bell ending up in
your purse."
"Why do you think it happened?" I asked.
"Somebody's idea of a practical joke, I guess," said Jason.
"Like you said. Maybe that guy from the party that I beat up."
"You think?" I said.
"He'd be holding a grudge against you."
"Who was he? Does he go to our school?"
Jason shrugged.
"Jude said you put him in the hospital. Would he have even been at school
today?"
Jason shrugged again. "Maybe he got one of his friends to do it. There
were a bunch of people at that party."
Maybe Jason was right. There was probably a better explanation than the Sons of
the Rising Sun being after us. "You really think we're safe?" I said.
"I'm sure of it," he said.
I sighed. He was probably right. I was overly excitable. That dream I'd had
last night hadn't helped things either. "I had a nightmare last
night," I said.
"The one about your parents?" Jason asked.
"No," I said. I explained it to him. But I left out the part where
Toby turned into Jason. I didn't want Jason to think that any part of me, even
subconsciously, was ever afraid of him. "It was probably just because
Lilith showed up," I said.
"It sounds horrible," he said. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"I wanted to come crawl into bed with you," I admitted, "but I
was so scared. And I knew it would just piss Hallam off."
Jason folded me into his arms. "Screw Hallam," he whispered into my
ear. "If you need me, you come to me. Don't let him stop you."
I hugged him back, liking how safe I felt with arms around me. His strong, strong
arms. I snuggled against his chest. Jason stroked my hair. He kissed my
forehead.
I looked up at him, into his eyes. My breath caught in my throat. He was so
beautiful. Looking at him, close like this, I was so overwhelmed by how
gorgeous he was. And he was mine. My beautiful, strong, wonderful Jason. His
head dipped down and our lips met.
His lips were soft, supple against mine. But his arms held me close against
him, pulling me tight against his body. I touched his neck, followed the
outline of the muscles in his shoulders with my fingertips. He ran his hands
over my back, my waist. His hands around my rib cage, I felt so small. I kissed
him harder, parting his lips with my tongue.
Jason made a little noise in the back of his throat. He broke away for a
minute. "How long do we have until Hallam comes back?" he whispered.
"Almost an hour," I said.
"Your room or mine?" he asked, gazing into my eyes hungrily.
Less than fifteen minutes later, we were in my bedroom when we heard the front
door opening. We tensed against each other. Jason clenched his jaw. "I'm
going to kill him," he muttered.
I sighed and kissed him again. "Maybe," I said, "if we're just
really quiet . . ."
Jason kissed me. "He'll kill us," he said.
"Yeah," I said. Stupid Hallam.
A voice called out my name from the living room. But it wasn't Hallam.
It was Lilith.
Stupid Lilith. Grr. Jason and I
never
had any time alone together. And here
she was, ruining everything.
"Augh," I groaned. "It's Lilith."
Jason sat up. "Guess we need to see what she wants."
Lilith was moving through the house, calling my name. She knocked on my door.
"Azazel?" she asked.
"Yeah?" I said, trying to sound as annoyed as I felt, but finding
that there was no tone of voice quite strong enough.
"It's me," she said.
"One second," I said. Jason and I put ourselves back in order, and I
opened the door. "Hi, Lilith." I glared at her.
"Oh," she said. "Was I interrupting something?"
I didn't answer.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
"It's okay," said Jason from behind me, straightening the edge of his
shirt. "You didn't know."
Why was Jason telling her it was okay? It was not okay. It was anything but
okay. I wished like hell that Lilith was not in my house. "What do you
need?" I asked her.
"I just . . ." she trailed off. "You know, maybe I should go
watch some TV or something."
"No," said Jason, "don't be silly."
Don't be silly?! What was wrong with him?
"It's too late," I said. "Besides, it would be weird with you
here. Just tell me what you need."
"I was wondering if I could use your computer?" she asked. "To
check email and stuff?"
"Fine," I said. "It's in the living room. Knock yourself
out." She could see the damned thing. Why come ask me about it?
Lilith looked at the carpet. "Um . . . I don't know the password."
I sighed heavily, but I gave her the password.
"Thanks," said Lilith. "You guys go back to what you were
doing." She pulled the door closed.
What we were doing? Not bloody likely. I looked at Jason. He looked at me. He
shrugged. "Soon," he said.
"It's been like three weeks," I said.
"I know that," he said. He kissed my forehead. Then he left my
bedroom.
I plopped down on my bed.
"Azazel?" called Lilith from the living room.
"What?" I demanded.
"Do you mind if I sign on to the AOL Instant Messenger?"
"No," I said. "No, that's fine. Do whatever you want."
Clearly,
she would anyway.