Текст книги "The Watcher"

Автор книги: Lisa Voisin

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The Watcher

 

 

By

Lisa Voisin

The characters and events in this book are fictitious.  Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.

If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher.  In such case the author has not received any payment for this “stripped book.”

The Watcher

Copyright © 2013 Lisa Voisin

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: (Print) 978-0-9856562-2-5

ISBN-13: (ebook) 978-0-9856562-1-8

Inkspell Publishing

5764 Woodbine Ave.

Pinckney, MI 48169

Edited By . Rie Langdon

Cover art By Najla Qamber

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.  The copying, scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.  Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials.  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Library of Congress Control Number:  2013900872

Praise for The Watcher:

Voisin's story builds in strength, easing readers into Mia's first encounter with another realm and drawing them on, inescapably, to the shocking discovery at the novel's heart. Inventive, romantic, and filled with tension, this is a great start to an intriguing series.  –A.M. Dellamonica, author of INDIGO SPRINGS and BLUE MAGIC.—winner of the Sunburst Award for Indigo Springs.

"Perfect for fans of angels and demons, Lisa Voisin has created an uplifting tale of redemption, love, and spirituality that gives hope. Never preachy, The Watcher is the perfect answer to critics who claim Young Adult literature is too dark."–Stephanie Lawton, author of Want and Shrapnel

"Voisin's THE WATCHER blends  paranormal mystery and  romance into a book that is sure to keep readers turning the pages late into the night."–Eileen Cook,  author of THE ALMOST TRUTH

“Filled with forbidden love and a war between good and evil. If you are a fan of the Twilight Saga and The Mortal Instrument series, you will love this book.”–Selena Lost in Thought

"This book was amazing and grabbed me from the very first chapter."–Angie Stanton-Johnson at Twinsie Talk Book Reviews

“[A] deliciously captivating story, that definitely earned FIVE STARS! “–Iris, from Booksessions

DEDICATION

For Matthew

Chapter One

I’d never seen a dead body before.

The man lay on the ground near an uprooted tree stump with his face turned away. His tangled gray hair glimmered like ancient pewter in the late summer sun. He wore plaid pants with muddy cuffs and leather shoes split with holes. His tattered brown coat, stained from years of wear, was far too warm for daytime. Had he been here all night?

Was he even breathing? Somebody should check. But since I was alone in the middle of a park, at the intersection of two heavily-wooded trails, “somebody” meant me.

If he were dead, his skin would be cold, but I didn’t want to touch him to find out. I couldn’t help him if he needed serious medical attention. I couldn’t even call 9-1-1. My cell phone was dead on the sofa at home. If only I could call Mom at the hospital. She’d know what to do.

He could be sleeping. I watched for the rise and fall of his chest. Either it wasn’t moving or my mind was playing tricks on me. I pulled a tissue from my purse and leaned over to place it in front of his nose. Loud cawing startled me. I vaulted, staggered over the man, and almost fell right on top of him.

Behind me, a crow landed on a high cedar branch and fluffed its shiny black wings.

“Stupid crow.” I turned back to the man.

The air chilled. Hoarfrost trickled down my spine, and over the aroma of cedar and damp earth I smelled rotten eggs. Covering my nose, I backed away.

A sharp pain pulsed behind my eyes, followed by a high-pitched hum. Squinting, I saw a hazy shadow appear over the man, the kind you see when clouds pass over the sun.

The shadow started to move, undulating at first, then roiling and twisting into a heavy smoke that grew darker, more substantial. Inky blackness folded in on itself like boiled tar, forming first a head, then a muzzle as the darkness stretched out into a neck…body…four legs.

What kind of shadow does this?

Then it growled.

My stomach clenched into a tiny fist, and a voice inside me shouted: Run. Now!

I sprinted down one of the trails, scanning the forest for any sign of shadows. The path narrowed until it was barely a few feet wide, and the gravel beneath me surrendered to dirt. Soon I was dodging serpentine roots and mossy, fallen logs. Low-hanging branches caught in my hair. My pace slowed. In the dense underbrush, looming trees birthed shadows everywhere, none of them like the one I’d just seen.

I stopped. Listened. Heard my own breathing and the whooshing of cars from the main road. In the distance, seagulls screeched at each other. Closer were more crows. Perhaps it was safe.

With a sudden crashing of leaves, the shadowy creature bounded through the underbrush, baring its teeth. Solid now, and huge, it was bigger than any dog, with fur so black as to absorb the light and red eyes that glowed like lasers. I tried to scream, but the air had been sucked from my lungs. I made only a dry rasp.

My heart hammering against my ribs, I pressed through a wall of branches to an open clearing and made a dash for it. The creature was on my heels, but then it flickered and faded back into the shadows like a ghost.

Looking for it, I twisted and tripped, bashing my knee. The creature melted out from the branches. Would shadow teeth hurt as bad as real ones?

I tried to get up, but my muscles trembled and refused to work. White static erased my thoughts.

As the creature slowly edged closer, sure of its prey, I closed my eyes, sucked in my breath, and, finally, screamed.

A blinding flash against my eyelids silenced me, so I kept my eyes closed. I heard a strange muttering, a chorus of male and female voices, layers of tones speaking all at once. They were clouded by static.

“Report.”

“A breach. I think it’s torn.”

“Well, seal it.”

“There’s a girl… No—it can’t be!”

“We should go.”

The voices stopped. A silent wind rushed over me, like a tickling of feathers against my skin. When I opened my eyes, everything around me had calmed. The sun shone brightly overhead and the park was empty. The shadowy creature was gone.

I gulped air into my aching lungs, waiting.

Across the clearing, at least forty yards away, stood a tall figure in a gray T-shirt and jeans. At that distance, I couldn’t tell how old he was. All I could make out was dark hair, a strong jaw, and the fact that he was staring right at me.

I nearly hollered at him, but stopped. For all I knew, he could be some kind of stalker who followed girls into the park. Or worse. Maybe the shadowy dog was his.

Who the hell are you? I thought.

The guy jolted as though I’d startled him.

Had he heard me? I hadn’t said a word.

Instead of speaking, he turned and walked away.

As I got up, brushing the wet grass off my sore knee and legs, I realized I was shaking. All I had were questions. The body I’d found—who was that? What had just happened? What was that horrible creature? How did it just disappear?

And most important, what did it want with me?

Chapter Two

I arrived at the mall tired and sweaty, with my stomach tangled in knots. The parking lot heaved with shoppers scurrying to take advantage of any last-minute back-to-school sales, while mothers pushed shopping carts filled with screaming kids. Even in public, the slightest shadow creeping along the pavement made me jump.

Inside the mall, my friend Heather lounged by the fountain, checking out the crowds. She waved, and just seeing her sent a flood of relief through me. Dressed in black and white, with her blond hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, everything about her looked crisp and fresh. Unlike me.

“Mia.” She rushed to hug me. “It’s so good to see you.”

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. I will not cry. “Hi,” was all I could say.

“I know we texted and emailed, but…” She paused, her smile fading. I must have looked worse than I thought. “You’re flushed. Did you run or something?”

“Uh, yeah.” I tried to stay calm, but my voice wavered. “Can I borrow your cell?”

She handed it to me. “Where’s yours?”

“It’s dead. Can you believe I left my charger in Denver?” My hands trembled as I dialed 9-1-1.

A woman’s voice answered, “9-1-1. What is your emergency?”

“I don’t know if it’s an emergency or not,” I began.

“Oh my God.” Heather leaned in. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Really,” I said to Heather and, covering my ear, spoke into the phone. “There’s this old man in the park, and he’s just lying there.”

“Was he breathing?” the woman asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Where exactly is he?”

I gave the man’s location, adding, “I think he’s homeless.”

“Okay, we’ll send a cruiser,” the woman said.

I hung up and handed the phone back to Heather.

“You found a body?” she asked.

Before I could answer, Fiona joined us. “You guys, Dean’s here! He just texted, and he wants to hang out.” Smiling, she bobbed up and down on her toes, which made her seem even taller.

“Now?” Heather asked.

“Yeah.” Fiona’s cell phone chirped. She checked it, her smile growing even brighter. “He’s nearby.”

“Well, it’s about time, I guess,” Heather said as Fiona typed her response. “You’ve been dropping hints all summer. If he didn’t ask you out, I was going to ask him for you.”

“The Dean?” I asked. My mind fuzzy, I strained to catch up. “Dean Wilson? The one you’ve been crazy about all year?”

Fiona turned to me, as though she’d just noticed I was there. “Hey, Mia, how was your summer?” She scanned my sweater and blue sundress. “Cute outfit.”

“Thanks,” I said, checking it for grass.

“You’ve got a twig.” Fiona motioned to the back of her strawberry-blond mane to show me, but when I touched my hair I didn’t feel anything, so she smiled and pulled it out herself. “What happened to you? You look…”

I knew what the next word out of her mouth should have been. She was holding back.

My legs still shook, so I perched on the edge of the fountain and contemplated how to explain what had happened. Part of me was screaming not to speak of it. Ever. As though talking about it would make it real. But it couldn’t be. Could it?

Both my friends were staring at me. My mouth was no doubt hanging open. I needed to say something.

“I–I’m not sure.” I hugged my knees into my chest. “I saw this old man and he wasn’t moving, and then this dog came at me. At least I think it was a dog.” What else could it have been? Remembering its red eyes, the way its form flickered and disappeared, I shuddered.

“Are you okay?” asked Fiona. I’d spaced out again.

I nodded.

“What kind of dog?” Heather asked.

What kind of dog, indeed. “It was huge and black, with a long muzzle, like Anubis.” I knew my reference was strange, but Heather had seen enough Egyptian art at my place to know what I meant.

Fiona sat beside me and smoothed the hem of her denim miniskirt. “Maybe it was a bear.”

Heather was her usual skeptical self. “A bear? In West Seattle?”

“Yeah. I saw this movie last week. It was set in New York after the apocalypse. A bear took over the city and started to eat people.”

“Oh my God, Fiona. Apocalypse? You don’t believe those horror movies you watch, do you?” Heather asked, hands on her hips.

Until this morning, I would have agreed with her. But what I saw could have come from a horror film. Not a bear, though. Something told me this thing was much worse. The memory of it receded, hazy now, as though I were recalling a nightmare.

“Of course I don’t.” Fiona crossed her long, lanky arms, ready to scrap. “How can you be sure it wasn’t a bear? Wild animals are displaced all the time by deforestation.”

“It’s probably a stray.” Heather turned her attention back to me. “What would make it attack you?”

“I wasn’t carrying dog treats, if that’s what you mean.” I meant it as a joke, but there was an edge to my voice. The entire experience had been surreal. How could I ever explain the way that shadow had formed over the old man? “Can we talk about something else?”

No longer paying attention, Fiona played with her hair and glanced around, no doubt looking for Dean.

Heather pulled a large envelope out of her bag and handed it to me. “Here. I found it at a shop in the U district—welcome back.”

“Wow. Thanks,” I said. My hands shook as I opened it, but if Heather noticed, she didn’t say anything.

Inside, on a piece of thin vellum paper, was a black and white design of angel wings, each feather meticulously outlined and shaded. They would fit perfectly between my shoulder blades.

“It’s temporary. Goes on matte, the kind they use in the movies.”

“They’re amazing, Heather,” I said, hugging her. “Thank you.” I’d wanted wings tattooed on my back ever since I first dreamt about them in the tenth grade. But my mom wouldn’t let me get them, not until I was at least eighteen.

“A real tattoo is so permanent,” Heather said.

“That’s the whole point,” I said, remembering the wings in my dream. Huge and white, they shimmered in the darkness. Someone was always trying to steal them. “They’d become a part of me.” No one could take them away.

Fiona turned back to me. “How was Denver?” she asked. “Did you have a nice visit with your dad?”

“All right.” I shrugged. “He worked a lot, as usual.” More like he was avoiding me. I hadn’t been back in over a year, since Mom and I moved away. This was supposed to be our chance to catch up, but I hardly saw him. He couldn’t even make time to drive me to the airport.

“Well, it’s good to have you back,” Fiona said. Her attention kept shifting to some guy in the food court. He had caramel-colored hair. When he turned around and waved, I realized it was Dean. I didn’t remember his hair being so light.

Fiona waved back at him and said, “I should go.”

Heather rolled something cherry-scented on her lips. “Text me if you want to meet up later,” she said. When she finished glossing, she reached an arm around my back and pulled a dead leaf from my long, tangled brown hair. “I brought a brush. Let’s get you tidied up.”

Before I could even think about how many strangers had seen me in this state, she had me back on my feet, hurtling into the crowds.

***

Our next stop, the food court, buzzed like an upset hornet’s nest. It was even shaped like one: circular with at least a dozen vendors along the outside. Inside, a large seating area wrapped itself around a small cluster of palm trees, and a high, Pantheon-shaped glass dome bled direct sunlight on everyone eating below.

Heather rushed off to get herself a smoothie and find us an empty table, but I had no idea what I wanted. I must have walked the perimeter three times before settling on some onion rings and a cola. After I ordered, the woman working the counter gave me a number and told me to wait, so I searched the rotunda for Heather.

Instead, I spotted a tall, broad-shouldered guy with wavy dark hair standing with his back against one of the palm trees. As he scanned the area with a steady, watchful gaze, I noticed his hair, his size, his gray T-shirt and jeans.

The guy from the park!

Instinctively, I ducked behind the garbage station so he couldn’t see me, and wondered what he was doing there. Had he followed me? He was younger than I’d thought, around my age, but that didn’t mean anything. Stalkers didn’t have to be old. In the park, he’d been in shadows. Now, sunlight from the domed ceiling caught the dust particles in the air and bathed him in a golden light—as though he were the Persian sun god Mithra himself—and for a moment, I forgot everything that had happened.

It was one of those rare times where I wished I could paint, just so I could catch the effect of that light playing off his skin. His features belonged in a painting too: straight nose, even jaw, full lips that curled slightly at the edges as though something amused him. Under any other circumstances, I might have found him attractive. That is, if my stomach hadn’t kept turning over from the second I recognized him.

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice said right behind me. She startled me so badly I jumped. “Number sixty-three?”

I turned. The woman who had taken my order handed me my food on a teal-colored tray.

“I called several times,” she scolded, and shaking her head, walked away.

Wondering if this woman had outed me, I turned back, but the guy was gone. Curiosity outweighing fear, I stepped out from my hiding place. He couldn’t have gone far. Had he run off? Sat down somewhere? Guys that tall usually stood out in crowds, but he had disappeared. When I was sure he wasn’t going to leap out at me from behind one of the palm trees, I went off in search of Heather. I found her sitting at a small table on the other side of the trees.

“What took you so long?” she demanded.

I raised my tray and made an apologetic face. “Had to wait for the onions to grow.”

I was so queasy I didn’t know if I could eat at first, but the onion rings and cola slid right down—the miracle of grease and sugar. I kept looking around in case the guy returned. He had to have gone somewhere. He couldn’t have just disappeared.

“Is everything okay? You’re acting weird,” Heather said.

“I don’t want you to freak out.”

“What do you mean you don’t want me to freak out?” she said. “What kind of opening is that?” Realizing how loud she was getting, she put down her drink and leaned across the table, lowering her voice. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, after the, um, dog chased me…there was this guy staring at me, and I’m not sure, but I think he’s here.”

“You think he’s here?”

“I might have seen him,” I replied.

She sat up, looking around frantically. “Do you think he’s following you?”

“I don’t know,” I said, wishing I hadn’t brought it up. There were plenty of guys my age who wore gray T-shirts and jeans. I could probably count a dozen today in the mall alone. Besides, this guy was taller, well over six feet, and broader in the shoulders.

“What does he look like?” She stood up. “We’ll go to security.”

“No.” Grabbing her arm, I pulled her back down. Now I had her fear to deal with as well as my own. “I can’t even be sure it was him. I think I’m just freaking out.”

“But—”

“Even if it was him, he hasn’t actually done anything, has he? So he was in the park and now he’s here? That’s not a crime,” I said, but I wasn’t sure which one of us needed convincing: me or her.

Taking a long, loud slurp from her almost-empty smoothie, she studied me, no doubt trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. “Okay, but if you see him again?”

“We’ll go right to security,” I promised.

Chapter Three

That night, I had the strangest dream.

Two great birds were locked in combat. Talons entwined, they spiraled toward the ground. One of them had blood pooling in holes where its eyes should have been. The other dripped blood from its claws. Behind them, the sky shone a purplish black, the color of bruises, and the air smelled of charcoal. As the birds fell, I kept wishing they would separate, that at least one of them would let go, flap its wings, and fly away.

I even cried out, trying to startle them out of their fight, but their battle seemed endless. And I could do nothing but watch, unable to reach them, unable to stop their fall.

***

It was the first day of school and the grounds hummed with excitement. Students hovered everywhere—some standing, some sitting, some walking and talking—greeting people they hadn’t seen in months. Above us, the September sun shone so bright and warm it could have been July. Blue sky reflected off the windows of the school, a tall, modern, wood building. Its three-story glass foyer let in tons of light and made me far too visible. Senior year should have been exciting, but all I wanted was to head inside where the walls could keep me safe.

“Safe” was a relative term. When I got to my locker, I discovered it was next to Elaine Carter’s. Apparently I got her spot in AP Ancient Civ last year when I’d first arrived at Westmont. She’d never forgiven me. I loved the class, but Elaine’s obsession made it like those ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz—they came with a half-crazed witch chasing after them, too. Before Dorothy could find out what she was in for and say no thanks, it was too late. The shoes were already on her feet.

Elaine always wore designer labels, not the knock-offs, and she’d had her red hair cropped short over the summer. If she weren’t such a bitch to me, I might have said she looked good. Instead, we gave each other tight-lipped smiles and fake hellos before I opened my locker and unloaded my bag. No point in being rude. Elaine ran a gossip blog so scandalous it would make Perez Hilton blush.

Being her neighbor wasn’t only inconvenient, it was dangerous. I’d have to watch everything I said so it couldn’t be used against me.

One of Elaine’s friends rushed up to her, so I hid behind my locker door, hoping they’d forget I was there. As I put my things away, I could hear the two of them gossiping.

“Congratulations on getting your own column,” the friend gushed.

Elaine had a column now? In the school paper? What had the rest of us done to deserve that?

“Thanks, Lor,” Elaine replied. “It’s about time we put something relevant in there.”

Something relevant? I had to bite my lip so I wouldn’t laugh out loud. With all the things going on in the world, how was gossip relevant?

Lor quickly changed the subject. “That new guy you saw.” She chewed a piece of gum loudly as she spoke. “His name’s Michael Fontaine, and he transferred from Sealth High.”

“Yeah,” Elaine said, “but is he newsworthy?”

She cracked her gum. “He had a major accident or something last spring—almost died—and couldn’t graduate. So he’s repeating senior year.”

“You’re sure?”

“Uh-huh. I hear he’s really different, too.”

I wondered what Lor meant by “different,” but they changed the subject. Perhaps he had been disfigured, or confined to a wheelchair. Mom had told me all sorts of stories about terrible accidents from her years of working in hospitals, enough to put me off ever becoming a nurse. I was half-tempted to ask, but I made the mistake of asking Elaine a question about a guy last year, out of curiosity, and she posted on her stupid blog that I was interested in him. She hated me that much. So I kept my head down and hurried off to class. It was going to be a long year.

I didn’t see my friends until lunchtime. Westmont High’s cafeteria consisted of an indoor concession stand and a common area the size of Macy’s with a wall of sliding glass windows rolled all the way open to let in the sun. Outside, a patio overlooked our track and football field, and the far edge of the school grounds backed onto a ravine.

Heather dashed for one of the large patio tables. “Let’s sit out here.”

I hesitated. Out here we’d be unprotected. Any sort of creature could come rushing right at us. “What if it gets cold?”

“Are you kidding? It’s practically summer out here.”

I nodded and sat with my back to the cafeteria so I could keep watch. Other students had obviously thought it was a good idea to spend lunch outside today, too. Some guys ran around tossing a football on the field, and a group of girls sat on the concrete, their voices a mixture of murmurs and squeals. Beside us, a few kids did their reading assignments in the sun. Everything seemed fine. There was safety in numbers, I hoped.

Fiona soon joined us. As we ate, I told them both about the strange dream I’d had the night before—how real it seemed—expecting I don’t know what. Understanding?

“Freud said that flying dreams are really about sex,” Heather answered plainly. She was planning to study psychology at college next year and had been reading everything she could get her hands on, from Freud to Psychology Today. She especially enjoyed diagnosing her friends. We were test subjects to her, lab bunnies.

“Sex?” Fiona perked up. “Now we’re talking!”

“Did you hear anything else Mia said?” Heather asked.

“Sex? How did you even get sex out of that?” I gulped my orange juice and gazed out the window, wondering why I’d bothered saying anything. The dream was vivid and gory. The birds were tragic. Surely I didn’t see sex that way. Not that I’d had that much experience to base it on. Making out with Paul Mathers at a party last summer didn’t count.

“It could represent two sides of your own nature battling things out,” Heather said. “You know, a fear of intimacy.”

“I don’t fear intimacy,” I said, wondering if anyone else thought that about me. “Granted I don’t have a boyfriend, but does that make me frigid or something?”

“Okay, abandonment then.”

At that exact moment, Heather’s boyfriend Jesse came along. He was with Dean, who slid onto the seat beside Fiona.

Jesse hesitated. I wondered how much he’d heard.

“Girl talk?” he asked.

“No,” I said, welcoming a change of topic. “Have a seat.”

Heather tucked a lock of blond hair behind her ear and grinned at Jesse. They were a blend of opposites. With his shoulder-length dark hair and leather jacket, he looked like a biker, while she was soft and feminine, verging on preppy.

Around Dean, Fiona’s smile brightened and her laughter grew louder and more frequent. I couldn’t help but think she was compensating for being two inches taller than him, but he ate it up. At least Heather played it a bit cooler with Jesse, so I wouldn’t have to be sick.

“Hey, we’re going hiking on Saturday—Fiona and I,” Heather said. “We’ve been going all summer. Wanna come?”

“Yeah, we discovered this great trail,” Fiona chimed in.

Hiking in the woods? Were they kidding me? I could barely stand eating outside on a busy patio.

I hesitated. “You going, Jesse?”

“Nope. Gotta work.”

“Come on,” Heather insisted. “The weather’s supposed to be great.”

Maybe I was being silly. It was time to live my life like a normal person again. “Okay,” I said slowly. Surely a hike would be fine. I wouldn’t be alone.

Jesse motioned to someone behind me. “Hey, Mike. Why don’t you join us?”

“Hi, Jesse,” said a rich, deep voice. It had just a hint of an accent.

I checked over my shoulder to see who was speaking and froze. Mike? It was the guy from the mall!

Fiona and Jesse moved over to make room for him at the table, and he ended up sitting across from me. Not knowing what to say, I studied the remains of my salad. If I recognized him, surely he must recognize me, too.

“Hi,” he said. “I’m Michael Fontaine.”

This was the new guy? Up close, he was even more attractive, and when his eyes widened for that fraction of a second after meeting mine, I actually thought I saw starlight. Could he be any more gorgeous?

“I’m Mia…short for Maria,” I offered. My palms began to sweat.

“Hello, Mia short for Maria.” His lips curved into a hint of a smile, but his gaze scorched right through me.

“H-hello.” I wanted to say something to him about the day before, but didn’t know how to start. Demanding to know what he’d been doing in the woods didn’t seem the best opening. “W-Where’d you come from?”

He raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. “The lunch line?”

“Actually,” I said, “I meant your accent.”

“We moved here from England when I was ten.”

He didn’t ask about me. In the background, I could hear Fiona laughing too loudly at something Dean said. The fact that I was having a totally awkward moment made her laughter even more irritating.

“You seem really familiar,” I blurted. “Have we met?”

He paled. “I don’t think so.”

Now what? Obviously he didn’t recognize me, and I couldn’t trust myself to speak without sounding stupid. Mia short for Maria and have we met? God, I am so useless!

One of the guys on the playing field shouted “Look out!” as a football hit the wall over my head. It landed on the concrete beside me. Michael got up and tossed the ball back to him.

“Careful,” he said.

“Thanks,” the guy shouted.

Michael folded his long legs back under our table and took a bite of his cheeseburger.

“Wasn’t it you?” I sputtered, wondering why I was going down that road again. What am I thinking?

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “What?”

Not wanting to draw anyone else’s attention to what I was about to say, I lowered my voice. “Weren’t you in the park yesterday morning?”

He let out his breath and smiled down at his plate. “That was you?”

So it was him. Sitting across from me, he didn’t seem too dangerous, unless you could kill someone with good looks. In which case he was lethal. “Whatever happened to…” I realized I couldn’t accurately describe what I’d seen, and there was a look in his eye that I couldn’t quite place. “Whatever happened to the weird dog?”

His smile never wavered. “Didn’t see any dogs.” It made me wonder if I’d noticed anything in his look at all.

“So you didn’t see anything?” I asked, trying not to show my desperation. I had hoped for a witness, someone to tell me I wasn’t crazy, that what I saw was real. But if it was, then what?

“Some girl screaming in the park.”

The blood rushed to my cheeks as I realized how insane I must have sounded. Not only was I asking about a dog he hadn’t seen, but I’d just let him know that the first time he saw me, I’d been screaming like a crazy person. No wonder he stared at me. Maybe I was seeing things and I actually was crazy.

No. I was sure there was a dog, or something. But it wasn’t the time to make my point. “What about at the mall? What were you doing there?”

“The mall?”

“Yeah, what were you doing there?”

“Um…” Swallowing another bite, he furrowed his brow as though he were seriously concerned about my mental health. “Shopping. You?”

“Shopping,” I said. Here I was thinking this guy was some kind of stalker when it was obvious he didn’t recognize me.

He turned his attention to his French fries and ate one. I followed by eating a forkful of salad. Heather and Jesse were telling a story about someone in their drama class, but Michael wasn’t listening. With his elbows propped on the table and his hands clasped, he took in his surroundings, sizing everything up. He seemed so observant; how could he not have seen that dog? Had it run away before he got there?