Текст книги "The Monster Within"
Автор книги: Kelly Hashway
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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 16 страниц)
CHAPTER SEVEN
I SPENT the night in Ethan’s arms. I barely slept, afraid I’d start gasping for air. I wouldn’t kill Ethan in my sleep. I’d never let that happen. So I lay awake, listening to his rhythmic breathing. I hoped he didn’t have a concussion, but he assured me it was only a scratch, nothing bad. Still, when the first rays of sun peeked through the window, and Ethan rolled over, I checked his head for gashes. Not a one. His pillow didn’t have so much as a drop of blood on it. He’d be okay.
I turned over to check the alarm clock. Ten after six. I had to get up and face my first day of school as Samantha Smith. Since Ethan had gone shopping during my training at the diner yesterday, we finally had more than crackers to eat. The good part about working at the diner every day after school was we’d never have to cook dinner for ourselves. Gloria said dinner was part of our wages. I think she just liked being motherly. She was sweet like that.
“Morning.” Ethan finally emerged from the bedroom, sleepyeyed with his hair sticking up in every direction. He was the only person I knew who could make disheveled look sexy.
“Good morning.” My eyes drifted to the bit of bare stomach that was exposed as he stretched his arms over his head.
“What? Do I have something on me?” He looked down, trying to figure out what I was staring at.
“No, it’s just you. I’m admiring you.” I smiled and took another spoonful of cereal.
His face lit up. “Admire all you want.” He kissed the top of my head before heading into the bathroom. Ethan got ready quicker than anyone I knew. I had about two minutes before he’d be rushing me out the door. I cleared my dishes and grabbed a protein bar for Ethan. He ate one every morning.
Someone had moved the rock back in place during the night. That, or the peeping Tom had tripped over it and knocked it back in place. Either way, we had to step over the rocks to get to the car. The drive to school wasn’t long at all. There were about ten schools in the area. Who knew a resort town would have so many local residents? The high school was huge. I had no doubt I’d get lost. We pulled into the parking spot Ethan had secured for us.
He squeezed my hand. “So we have to find the guidance office first. They’ll have our schedules. And then—”
“We’re split up and thrown to the wolves?”
“It won’t be that bad. So, we might not be in the same classes. It’s only school. We’ll be together at work and at home.”
“I know.” I was acting clingy again, and I didn’t like it. It wasn’t me. But I was nervous. It had been more than twenty-four hours since I’d killed Herman. What if that feeling came over me again at school? I didn’t want to kill anyone.
The guidance office was nestled in the middle of the school. The security or hall monitor, whatever he was called, brought us there. A little old lady who reminded me of my grandmother was sitting at the desk when we walked in.
“Can I help you?” She smiled at us, which threw me. Most people who worked in the school offices back home hated when they had to interact with the students, but this woman seemed happy to have someone to talk to.
“Hi, I’m Ethan Jones, and this is Samantha Smith. We’re transfer students.”
The woman—Mrs. Melrose, according to the nameplate on her desk—nodded and began flipping through some files. “Yes, I have your schedules right here. What a coincidence that you arrived together.”
Ethan and I forced smiles on our faces. How did we explain how we knew each other? I was supposed to be from Phoenix, and Ethan was supposed to be from Florida. It didn’t really make sense.
“We sort of bumped into each other in the parking lot. He looked as lost as I did,” I said, thinking on my feet.
Ethan nudged me with his foot, and the slightest smile crossed his lips. “I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to meet a pretty girl on my first day.” He winked at Mrs. Melrose. I think she misunderstood what he was saying, because I swear she started blushing. Yuck! She was well past the “cougar” label.
“Well, if you need anything, feel free to stop in the guidance office anytime.” She handed us our schedules.
We muttered “thank you” as we studied our schedules. It was worse than I’d thought. I was in all middle-level classes, which wasn’t bad, but Ethan’s schedule was packed with honors courses. He’d always done well in school, but he’d only taken honors history. The guy watched way too much of The History Channel. I wondered how he’d manage with such a tough schedule.
“At least we have lunch together,” he said, trying to make the best of the situation.
We managed to find our lockers. Ethan’s was at the opposite end of the hall from mine, which meant I probably wouldn’t even be able to catch a glimpse of him between classes with the crowded hallways.
He walked me to my locker and kissed me goodbye. “Good luck. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Hours. Lunch was hours away. I gave him my best fake smile and opened my locker. I realized I didn’t have any books yet, and I hadn’t worn a coat to school, so there was really nothing to put in my locker. I slammed it shut and looked for room 213, English literature with Mr. Ryan. I hoped we wouldn’t be studying Middle English. It was a different language and way too difficult to read.
When I got to the door, I wasn’t sure if I should walk in or knock. I could see Mr. Ryan sitting on the edge of his desk and reading from a book. I didn’t want to interrupt him, so I opened the door and quietly crept inside. I recognized the book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I’d read it sophomore year. At least I knew I’d do well on my first exam. Mr. Ryan’s reading was full of emotion, nothing like the way Mrs. Belfry read aloud to us back home.
No one even noticed me standing in the doorway. They were all into Mr. Ryan’s reading. I saw a few girls practically drooling and realized it might not just be Mr. Ryan’s voice that had them so mesmerized. He was young with dark, almost black hair, like mine. Even though he was sitting I could tell he was tall and in great shape. Yes, I might like English lit this year. Not that I had a crush on Mr. Ryan or anything. He was a teacher and that made him old in a completely different way. But he was easy to look at and listen to.
Finally, he shut the book and smiled. “Writing like this captures your heart and doesn’t let go. It’s like—” He turned and saw me for the first time. “Well, hello. Let me guess, Samantha Smith. New transfer student from…” He held his hand up. “Don’t tell me. I know this. Phoenix, right?”
I nodded. “You got it.”
“Any seat is fine. I don’t assign them. I want my students to feel comfortable. You can’t absorb great literature if you aren’t comfortable.”
I looked around, spotting an empty seat by the window.
“Grab a book on the back shelf.” He pointed to a bookshelf filled with not only school-approved books, but novels I’d buy if I saw them in a store. When I got really sick, Mom bought me a Kindle, and she let me load it with books. I wished I still had it. It would make staying awake at night a lot less boring.
“Have you read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde before?” Mr. Ryan asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, back at my old school.” I sat down with my novel.
“Would you care to pick up where I left off in the reading?”
Why did teachers always like to make the new kid read aloud? Did they think it would make the other students accept us? Because, really, it just made everyone look at you like the new school freak you were.
“Um, I don’t know where you were.” Lamest excuse ever.
“No problem,” Mr. Ryan said. “We are in chapter nine. Um, Mr. Milton, will you please show Ms. Smith the correct page and passage?”
The redhead sitting next to me leaned over and took my book, opening it to the page. He pointed to a paragraph. “There.”
“Thanks.” I wanted to sink into my seat and die of humiliation. Not only was I the new girl who had interrupted class, but now I had to read out loud. The girls in the front row glared at me. Thanks to me, they wouldn’t get to listen to Mr. Ryan’s hypnotic voice anymore. I cleared my throat and began reading, eager to get this over with.
“He put the glass to his lips, and drank at one gulp. A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change—he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter—and at the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arm raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.
“‘O God!’ I screamed, and ‘O God!’ again and again; for there before my eyes—pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death—there stood Henry Jekyll!”
I stopped, unable to read any more. It was too familiar, and not because I’d read it before. It was too familiar, because it was me. Or at least it could’ve described what was happening to me. Restored from death, pale and shaken, gasping with open mouth. It was what happened to me before…I stole the life from someone.
“Ms. Smith, is everything okay?” Mr. Ryan looked sympathetically at me.
“I-I’m sorry.” I let the book fall from my hands and ran from the room. I tried to ignore the whispers of the other students. I had no idea where the girls’ bathroom was, so I kept running. I found a stairwell first and decided that was a good enough place to hide. I flung open the door and ran down to the landing in the middle of the stairs. I sat down and buried my face in my knees. Life wasn’t supposed to be this hard, was it? I’d thought after having cancer, nothing would be difficult. Didn’t the universe owe me something? Or was this my punishment for giving in to what I’d become? For taking human life instead of letting my own drain out of me?
The bell rang, forcing me to wipe my tears and get up before I was trampled by hundreds of students rushing to their next class. I checked my schedule. French? How had I not noticed that before? I’d never taken French. I contemplated going to the guidance office and telling them there was a mistake. But they’d check my records—well, Samantha Smith’s records—and see there wasn’t any mistake. I wasn’t going to figure this out in the three minutes between classes, so I headed in the direction I thought French was in.
I turned the corner and bumped into a girl with a stud in her nose. “Watch it!” she yelled, giving me the evil eye.
“Sorry.” I found my classroom at the same time the late bell rang. Just great. I was going to have to enter the second room of the day with all eyes on me. I was reaching for the doorknob when I felt the first tightness in my lungs.
No! Not again! Not here! I turned and scanned the hallway. It was empty. Through the window in the door, I saw the teacher notice me and walk toward me. I took off, running back down the hall the way I’d come. I had to get away from everyone before I could take another life. It registered what that would mean. I’d die. Again.
Still, I pushed my legs forward, feeling the wobbliness creeping up them. I was losing control of my body. I managed to make it to the stairwell again, slumping forward as I pushed the door open. I fell to the floor. I was trapped. Too weak to pull the door back open or climb up the stairs. This was how it would end. My lungs tightened, making me sputter and cough. I watched my fingernails turn blue as my body went cold. “Ethan.” I wished I could see his face one last time, but at least this was the end. I would rather die than kill again.
The door opened behind me, and a guy nearly tripped over me. “Whoa!” He caught himself before he fell on top of me. I tried to back away, to keep him from touching me, but I couldn’t move.
“Hey, do you need the nurse?”
I couldn’t speak or even shake my head, and I cringed as he stepped closer. I had to warn him to stay back. Not to touch me.
“Come on. I’ll take you to her.” He bent down next to me. “Do you think you can walk if I help you?”
I felt the warmth radiating from his body. His leg was right next to my side, and I could feel it warming my hip. He reached for my hand.
“No,” I choked out.
He must have thought I was answering his question, because he said, “Okay, I think I can carry you.”
Before I could even attempt to protest, his arm wormed its way under my shoulders. My chest didn’t feel so tight anymore, and I tried to resist the urge to touch him as he scooped me into his arms. I stared at the artery in his neck. With every pulse, it called out to me. My fingers had a mind of their own and were working their way, crawling up the guy’s shirt. They found his neck and rested on his artery.
“Wow, you’re freezing cold,” he said.
I begged my brain to fight against my movements, to regain control, but my other hand was tugging at the guy’s shirt.
“Am I hurting you?” He repositioned me in his arms.
My hand found his skin and worked its way to his chest. The guy started to say something, but a pained look came over his face. I closed my eyes as his life flowed into me. He wobbled and fell to his knees, but I held on. I was holding him up now. Slowly I was returning to normal, and he was dying. Desire to live compelled me to hold on. Only one of us would survive. The monster within said it would be me.
After a minute, I felt the heat leave his body. He was dead. I opened my eyes, horrified at the disfigured face inches from mine. He was wrinkled and withered. No one would mistake him for a high-school student. He looked about ninety years old. I’d done it again, and this time it was a kid my own age. I was so disgusted with myself I wanted to vomit. But the hideous creature I’d become forced me to move him before someone found us. Between teachers on hall duty and the cop who patrolled the halls, this place had security all over it. It wouldn’t be long before someone came. Suddenly being the new kid who freaked and ran out of English lit seemed pretty good. I’d never be able to explain what had happened here.
I reached my arms around the guy and lifted him by his armpits. Immediately I could tell I wasn’t strong enough to carry him out of here. Stealing a person’s life didn’t make you superhuman. A monster, yes, but not superhuman. I decided to slide him across the floor. There was an emergency exit behind us. It would set off an alarm, though, and I’d never be able to drag the body away before someone saw us.
I leaned him against the door while I thought about my options. This exit wasn’t going to work, and no way could I drag the guy up the stairs. I went to the stairwell door, leading back to the hallway, and looked out it to see if the coast was clear. It wasn’t.
The school cop was walking down the hall, and he was heading my way.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I LUNGED to the side to get out of view of the window in the door. I had to do something. Now! I rushed to the exit door, a plan already forming in my mind. No one would recognize this guy as a student. I searched his pockets for a wallet, identification of some sort. His school ID was in his back pocket. I took it, shoving it into my jeans. I looked around for something to break the glass on the door. I had to make it look like this guy was breaking into the school.
I remembered seeing a fire extinguisher on the landing. I sprinted up to it and used the little metal bar meant to break the glass in case of an emergency. This definitely was an emergency. I grabbed the fire extinguisher, careful not to cut myself on the glass, and rushed back down the stairs. I peeked out the window. The cop was only a few doors down the hall. I ran at the emergency exit and rammed the end of the fire extinguisher into the glass. It took a few tries, but I managed to break it. And with the help of the handle, I was able to pull some glass shards so they fell on my side of the door. Maybe that would make it look like the window was smashed from the outside. I used my shoulder to open the exit door. The alarm blared in my ear. Definitely loud enough to give an old man a heart attack.
I took off back up the stairs, pausing only long enough to put the fire extinguisher back in the case. I ran the rest of the way up the stairs and waited behind the door. I was sure there would be an announcement the second the cop found the guy.
The alarm stopped, and the PA system crackled on. “Attention all students, faculty, and staff. The school is going into lockdown. Any students in the halls should report to the nearest classroom.”
The announcement repeated, and I walked to the nearest room. Oh crap! Mr. Ryan’s class. I knocked on the door.
“Ms. Smith?” Mr. Ryan looked at me like he’d seen a girl who’d committed social suicide. Even he knew I was off to a bad start here. “Come in, come in. I was about to lock the door.”
“Sorry. I was in the bathroom when I heard the announcement.”
“No problem. I guess this is turning out to be some first day for you, huh?”
The girl sitting in the desk by the door stuck her foot out and tripped me as I walked by. “Walk much?” she said with a laugh so nasty I wanted to smack her. If only she knew who she was dealing with. If only she saw my Mr. Hyde.
“You okay?” Mr. Ryan asked me after he told the class to push the desks to the back of the room and away from the door.
“Yeah.” Only I wasn’t okay. My victim count was up to three. I’d never be okay again.
I took an empty seat. Mr. Ryan looked around the room and smiled at us, probably trying to keep the class calm. Everyone was on edge since the announcement, and they didn’t have a clue that the real danger was in the room with them.
We were stranded in the room for another forty minutes. Mr. Ryan finally gave up and let us talk or do homework. Since I didn’t have a friend in the class or any homework to speak of, I sat there trying not to think about what was going on downstairs—what the police would find. I’d tried to keep my fingerprints off the emergency exit. But there was the broken glass on the fire-extinguisher case, and my fingerprints were all over that. Someone was bound to notice the broken glass case sooner or later.
The PA system crackled to life. “All students are to report to lunch. Sophomores report to the multipurpose room. Juniors and seniors report to the cafeteria. Lunch will be served in both locations. All teachers and staff not assigned to cafeteria duty, please report to the auditorium for a mandatory meeting.”
After the announcement repeated—because apparently they liked to say everything twice around here—Mr. Ryan unlocked the door. “Everyone to the cafeteria please. I don’t know what happened, but I suggest none of you cause any trouble. Do as you were instructed.”
Nods went around the room. People listened to Mr. Ryan. I was the last one to leave.
“Oh, Ms. Smith.” Mr. Ryan followed me out of the room. “I hope tomorrow’s a better day. Don’t judge us just yet, okay?”
I nodded. So far the school hadn’t done anything wrong. I had. The freak-out in class over the book we were reading, the fire alarm—they were my doing. And neither of those compared to the corpse in the stairwell.
I went to my locker, thinking maybe Ethan would meet me there before lunch. I’d grabbed a copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Mr. Ryan’s class on my way out, so I actually had something to put in my locker this time. It took me a minute to remember the combination. My hands shook, and my mind was spinning. I kept trying my old combination, from my old life. Who would’ve thought I’d miss my old life? But I did. Sure, the cancer had made things rough, awful even, but right now, I would’ve taken that over whatever this was. I’d rather be the one hurting than hurting other people.
I finally got my locker open, and the first thing I saw was a silver necklace hanging from the hook. I reached for it, surprised by its weight. It looked heavy, but it wasn’t. It was a spiderweb pattern, and in the center was a ruby, just like my ring. I’d forgotten about my ring. I had to ask Ethan when he thought we could drive out to his storage box and get it. I really missed wearing it.
I looked around for Ethan, expecting him to jump out and surprise me…again. The necklace was the first surprise. But since Ethan didn’t seem to be around, I put the necklace on myself. It felt oddly warm against my skin. After all, it had been hanging in a cold, empty locker. Ethan must have had it in his pocket before he snuck it in here. He amazed me sometimes. I didn’t even think he’d seen my locker combination on my schedule. He was sneaky, and I loved him for it.
I was so happy about my gift that I almost forgot about what was going on in the school. A teacher carrying a walkie-talkie started ushering kids out of the hall. “Get to where you’re supposed to be.” His voice was stern. “Seniors report to the cafeteria. If you’re not a senior, you have no business in this wing as it is, so move!”
I couldn’t wait for Ethan any longer. Maybe he’d already been sent to the cafeteria. That would explain why he hadn’t met me. I closed my locker and followed the crowd. I hadn’t seen the cafeteria yet, so I didn’t know how to get there on my own. For once, it felt nice to feel like I was part of the crowd, blending in, even if just on the outside.
We headed to a stairwell on the back side of the school—nowhere near the stairwell where… The hall monitors had those stairs blocked off. We were like cattle being herded. I stepped down the last stair when someone shoved me from behind. I fell forward, grabbing on to the backpack of the guy in front of me to avoid falling on my face.
“Hey.” He whirled around.
“Sorry.” I regained my composure, and a girl stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I recognized her as the one who’d tripped me in Mr. Ryan’s class. Not what I needed right now.
She looked me up and down and scoffed. “You know, Mr. Ryan was only being nice to you because he felt sorry for you. He can tell a loser when he sees one.”
“I bet he’s glad you sit by the door then, so he can get rid of you sooner at the end of class.” I’d had enough. I wasn’t letting this girl walk all over me.
She let out a guttural grunt and lunged at me, shoving me hard in the chest. I fell backward, hitting my tailbone on the bottom stair. Chants of “Fight, fight, fight!” rang out. I’d thought we were among the last people in the stairwell, but apparently news of a chick fight spreads quickly. Suddenly it seemed like half the school was there.
“Hey!” someone yelled, and most of the kids scattered. I figured it was the principal or something. A trip to the office would make my horrific day pretty much complete. “Ms. Tilby, report to Mr. Snyder’s office. Now.”
I looked up to see Mr. Ryan standing two stairs behind me. Oh, this wasn’t going to ease things between me and the ultimate fighter chick over here.
“But, Mr. Ryan, she—”
“I saw the whole thing, Ms. Tilby, and I’ll be having a discussion with Mr. Snyder as well. You better make sure our stories match, or you’ll find yourself suspended for a week instead of three days.”
Suspended? I closed my eyes and sighed. This girl was going to kill me the next time she saw me.
“Ugh!”
“Shannon,” Mr. Ryan said. She calmed down at the sound of her name, and I wondered if Mr. Ryan had called her by her first name on purpose. From what I’d seen, he always addressed people by last name.
Shannon glared at me one last time before heading for the office. I used the railing to lift myself up. I never knew you could have a pulse in your tailbone, but mine was throbbing.
“Are you okay?” Mr. Ryan reached out a hand, like he was getting ready to catch me if I stumbled.
“Seems like you’ve had to ask me that a lot today. You must think I’m the weakest girl on the planet.”
“Not at all. Like I told Ms. Tilby. I saw what happened between the two of you. I also heard what you both said.”
Ugh, he’d heard me talking smack. I wondered how many days suspension that would get me. Maybe Gloria would let me work an extra shift on those days. We could use the money.
“Normally I don’t encourage students to talk to each other in that manner, but seeing as you’re having a rough first day, I think you handled yourself rather well. Most girls your age would’ve pushed her back after she shoved you, but you kept your cool.”
That was me. Cool as a corpse.
“I think you should get to the cafeteria now. I have a meeting to get to. Actually, now I have two meetings to get to.” He shook his head.
“Sorry about that.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
I nodded and walked through the doors. “Um, do you think you could tell the principal it was just a misunderstanding? If Shannon hates me, she’ll make my life miserable.”
“I can’t lie.” Mr. Ryan sighed. “But I’ll let the principal know you would rather handle this yourself. He might go easier on her.”
“Thanks. Could you tell me where the cafeteria is?”
“Turn right and go about halfway down the hall. It’ll be on your right. You can’t miss it. You’ll hear it well before you get there. It gets pretty noisy, and with the extra crowd in there at once today, I’m sure it will be eardrum-shattering.”
“Thanks again.” I headed the rest of the way to the cafeteria on my own.
Mr. Ryan was right. The noise coming from the cafeteria was intense. And without even stepping inside, I knew what everyone was talking about. The alarm, what could have caused it, who was to blame. Who knew I’d become so popular on the first day of school?
I pulled the door open and was met by the stern stare of a teacher. “What took you so long?” she asked.
“Um, I’m new.” I hoped that would work. “I didn’t know where the cafeteria was and then there was—”
“Was what?” she prodded.
“A problem in the hallway, but Mr. Ryan took care of it for me.”
“Mr. Ryan? And what’s your name, so I can verify this with him later?”
“Sam. I mean, Samantha Smith.”
She took a pen out of her pocket and jotted my name down on a small slip of paper on the table next to her. “Very well. Go find a seat.”
I moved away from her, not wanting to be within sight of her glaring eyes. I didn’t see Ethan anywhere, and the longer I roamed around, the more attention I drew. Finally, I decided to get on the lunch line. I had a little money on me from my tips yesterday. Most of it was in a shoebox in my closet, but I brought some in case lunch wasn’t too disgusting. The line was winding down at this point. That was one perk to being late. I grabbed a red plastic tray and some plasticware. I saw they had salad, so at least something was edible. I took a big serving in case the hot food item was meatloaf or something equally rubbery and inedible.
When I got to the hot food station, I was glad I’d taken the extra salad. The woman behind the counter stood there with her ladle in one hand and a glove on the other. “Meatloaf and hot biscuits?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine with a salad.” I grabbed an apple sitting in a fruit bowl by the register, but that didn’t appease her either. “I guess I’ll take a biscuit, too.”
“$2.50,” the cashier said.
I gave her the money and followed the line back into the cafeteria. Now I had to find Ethan because I wasn’t sitting alone to eat my pathetic lunch.
I decided to walk around the edge of the cafeteria, thinking Ethan would be at the end of a table, since he didn’t know anyone either. I passed six rows of tables and still no Ethan. I turned the corner and walked up the side rows. Finally, I heard my name. I turned around and saw Ethan walking toward me.
“Hey, where have you been? I tried to stop by your locker, but they wouldn’t let us go down the hall. They sent us straight here. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He took me by the arm and led me to a table in the middle of the cafeteria.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about the incident with Shannon and Mr. Ryan, but I didn’t get the chance to because I was assaulted with a chorus of “hello” from a bunch of kids sitting at Ethan’s table.
“This is Sam,” Ethan said.
How had he made this many friends already? And wasn’t he in honors classes? These kids didn’t look like your typical brainy honor student types.
“I met these guys in Sculpture & Design.”
I had a hard time not choking on my salad. Ethan was the least artistic person I knew. He’d never pass a sculpture class.
I smiled at everyone and leaned toward Ethan. “How do you plan on pulling that off?” I whispered.
He took a sip of bottled water. “No problem. I told them I was big into abstract art at my old school. I made a bunch of weird-looking stuff, and they all thought it was genius. Even the teacher.”
Ethan was fitting into his new life with no problems, and really, he should’ve had the more difficult time trying to live up to the real Ethan Jones’s standards. My life should have been the easy one. Average student with no extracurricular talents. Piece of cake. But my day had sucked. Sucked the life right out of… No. I’d lose it if I thought about that guy.
I sighed, and the necklace wobbled a little, warming my skin where it touched. Okay, one part of my day hadn’t sucked. I had a beautiful new necklace from the best boyfriend I could ask for.
I leaned over and kissed Ethan’s cheek. “Thank you for my necklace. It’s beautiful. It’s going to match my ring perfectly when we get it from the storage place.”
Ethan pulled back. “What necklace?”
I elbowed him. “The one you left in my locker.” I smiled and held it up for him to see how much I loved it.
He narrowed his eyes. “Sam, I didn’t leave that in your locker.”
“Yes, you did. I found it before I came here. You must have put it there between classes to surprise me.” As I said it, I realized it couldn’t have been Ethan, or I wouldn’t have to explain this to him.
“It wasn’t me, Sam.”
“Then who?” I looked down at the necklace, the perfect match for the ring Ethan had given me.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
