SHORTLY BEFORE SEVEN o’clock on Saturday morning, I slipped through the front door of my current home. I expected no one to be up just yet, but Pamela was out of bed already, and I joined her in the kitchen to have a cup of tea and toast. When she caught me limping, I told her about the escapade with the river and the splinter in my leg and that I had met James Hunter, the vet.
After her initial worry about my accident, she was glad to hear that Tony and I had found a base to move on from, especially after my breakdown yesterday. She caressed my hair. “See, nothing is ever as bad as it looks at first sight.”
I could only laugh about that. “Well, the thing with Tony still looked bad after a week.”
“Some guys are just a little slower with opening up. It’s the result that counts. And if he drove you to Jimmy Hunter’s, he seems to be just the boy I remember.”
Yeah, maybe.
We didn’t sit alone for long, because my uncle joined us then in his pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, his hair standing at crazy angles. I hadn’t seen Uncle Jack like this in…well, I had never seen my uncle this way before. He looked out-of-his-mind tired, and grumpy wrinkles gathered around his eyes.
“Good morning, Sam,” he grumbled, sounding as worn out as he looked.
As he got a mug and poured himself a cup of scalding coffee, I leaned into Pam. “What’s the matter with him?”
“He was up most of the night trying to find his Constantin,” she replied, whispering like me.
“His what?”
“His Vacheron Constantin. His black watch, it was really expensive. He took it off yesterday after work, but when he went to put it on again after showering, he couldn’t remember where he’d left it.”
Jack sipped his black coffee, glaring at Pam over the brim of his mug, then he placed it on the counter and took a seat on one of the black leather bar stools. “I do remember where I put it. On the chest in our bedroom. I told you a hundred times.” He glanced at me. “You haven’t seen it anywhere, have you, Sam?”
Even if I’d walked past it, I sure hadn’t paid attention. “Sorry, no. But I can help you look for it. Let me just shower off the stench of smoke and campfire, then we can sweep the house together.”
Pamela appreciated my offer even though Uncle Jack looked at me skeptically. It was impossible to say what he was thinking, but he made me feel uncomfortable.
I hobbled to my room, grabbed fresh clothes, and took a welcome hot shower, taking care of my bandaged leg. By the time I stepped out of the stall, I realized how tired I really was. Some sleep would be great. But first, I had to help my uncle find his watch, then maybe get a little drawing homework done. Hopefully I could have a nap after lunch—especially if I wanted to be a good sport at Lisa’s sleepover tonight.
After toweling my hair dry, I gathered my clothes together with Tony’s sweatshirt and dropped them into the laundry chute. Tony wouldn’t want his hoodie back stinking like campfire.
As I walked out of the bathroom, Chloe came shuffling down the hall toward me on autopilot. She wore her silky pink dressing gown half-open, with her pink nightshirt flashing out underneath. Her hair was disheveled.
And freaking black.
“What the hell—” I stopped dead and stared at her, open-mouthed.
Chloe yawned, shoving strands of her newly dyed hair out of her eyes. “Get a grip, Samantha. It’s just a color.” She shoved past me into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Just a color? My ass. That was my hair color. She’d stolen it!
Chloe had always loathed black. She was a natural brunette—before she’d started to dye it blond. She’d hated dark hair all her life.
Rooted to the spot, I scratched my head. Who or what on earth had made her do that? Then again, it was none of my concern. Pushing the thought of my raven-haired cousin out of my mind, I went to find my uncle to help him search for his million-dollar watch. I heard him talking to my aunt in their bedroom and joined them. By now, Jack had changed into a pair of black trousers and a gray shirt. He looked presentable again as he pulled open one drawer after another in the chest opposite their bed, rummaging through each of them.
With her head in her hands, Pam sat at the edge of the king-sized bed. “Maybe you just thought you took it off because you do every day? We should start looking for it in the rest of the house.”
Jack insisted he’d put his watch nowhere else than on top of the heavy wooden chest where Pam also kept her jewelry case and some pictures of Chloe. Together, we skimmed the room from top to bottom once more, but when that clearly got us nowhere, we proceeded into their bathroom, the hallway, the front room, the dining room, and the kitchen. If that Valentin or Constantin watch was still somewhere inside the house, it must have turned invisible.
We gave up after a couple of hours—Uncle Jack frustrated to the bone and me feeling sorry for my aunt, because he seemed to blame her for not taking enough care when the house had been cleaned yesterday.
I went back to my room and planted myself on the desk chair, ready for some drawing. I had finished most of the projects this week. Only one more to do.
The final drawing had to be of speed. Any kind of speed. It had only taken me a second to come up with a great idea when I had read the instructions on Monday and seen that Tony had sketched a rollercoaster. I actually couldn’t wait to get started on it, because for my theme of speed, I chose a galloping horse.
I began outlining Lucifer’s strong body, his long neck, flattened ears, and outstretched legs. In the end, though, something seemed wrong. I couldn’t tell exactly what, but I assumed it must be his legs. Using the eraser, I first made subtle changes, then bigger changes, and finally I ripped the drawing paper from my pad, tossed it aside, and started from scratch.
Throughout the afternoon, I repeated the procedure three times, totally lost in my work. Until suddenly my cell phone went off next to me on the desk and tore me out of my concentration.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Do you want me to pick you up?” Susan chirped into the speaker.
“What? What time is it?” Oh no. I had totally forgotten about Lisa and the sleepover.
“Six fifteen. We’re supposed to be there in fifteen minutes. You don’t sound ready to go.”
“Umm…”
“Why don’t you sound ready to go, Sam? You ain’t gonna back out. I won’t let you.” She paused then continued in a not-so-demanding tone. “Unless your leg’s giving you trouble. Ryan said this morning you had to see the vet. So…do you need surgery or something?”
What freaky film was running in Susan’s head? Oh my God!
“No, Susan. I definitely don’t need surgery. I just got caught up with homework. I’ll be ready in ten minutes if that’s fine with you.”
“Fantastic. I’ll honk when I get there.” She paused then added with a conspiratorial note to her voice, “I’ll park a little farther down the road. I don’t want to be seen in front of Chloe’s house again. People will start to think I’m friends with her.”
“But you’re friends with me. And I live here, too.”
“Yeah. Right.” Susan heaved a dramatic sigh. “I suppose I’ll just have to get over that part. See you in ten.”
When she hung up, I left my desk a mess of scrunched paper, pencils, eraser dirt, and a half-empty bottle of water. A sleepover. What did people take to one? I wondered while I packed my pajama shorts and a tank top. I scratched my head and turned on the spot. An additional pair of socks couldn’t hurt. Really thick wool socks, so my feet wouldn’t get cold in Lisa’s room. And a blanket?
Crap. This was the first time I remembered Pamela’s sleeping bag. I hadn’t had a chance to bring it back home. My first thought was to go back to the campsite and fetch it. But that was a stupid idea. Susan would surely have packed it for me.
I slipped into my boots, slung the backpack over my shoulder, and walked downstairs to say goodbye to Aunt Pamela.
“Have fun, Sammy!” she shouted after me as a loud, double honk sounded outside and I walked out the door.
Mater’s engine was still running when I climbed in, and Susan drove off even before I could close the door. I threw her an incredulous look, but she just shrugged. “Don’t complain. I halted to let you get in. Is that nothing to you?”
Not staying a second too long in front of my family’s house, I got it. I shook my head, out of comebacks to her lunacy, and buckled up.
As we arrived at the street where Tony lived, Susan halted in front of the next house, which looked rather identical. But instead of the small pool that I could spot now in Mitchell’s yard, there was a shed in Lisa’s. I grabbed my backpack from the floor, then hesitated to get out.
“Did you bring my sleeping bag?” I asked Susan in a hopeful tone.
“I don’t have it. I had to carry so much this morning I just couldn’t carry your stuff, too. Tony got it. He said he’d swing by later.”
“I thought this was going to be a no-boys area tonight.”
“It is. But you need something to sleep in, don’t you?” Susan nodded for me to get out of the car. She locked her door and came around to lock mine, too, the ancient way—with the key actually sliding into the lock. “No worries, Sam,” she said then. “I’m sure Tony knows how to behave around you by now. Anyway, I think you two got along pretty well last night. I mean with him lending you his hoodie and all.”
And he’d driven me to the vet. “I’m not worried about him.” Not anymore. “I just don’t want to spoil our girls-only time. Maybe I should go grab it from Tony right now.”
“He isn’t home.”
“How do you know?”
“Soccer practice until seven thirty. Chill, Sam. He’ll give it to you when he gets home. And no one will mind.”
All right, if she said so.
We walked up to Lisa’s house and Susan entered without bothering to ring the bell. I, on the other hand, stopped on the doorstep, uncomfortable.
Susan grabbed the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled me inside. “Her parents aren’t home tonight, and Lisa said we should just come up to her room. Loosen up. I think recently I’ve hung out more in this place than my own room. It’s all cool.”
I climbed the semi-winding stairs after Susan and followed her into a room to the left. Lisa, Allie, and Simone were already there and arguing over the first movie they wanted to watch tonight.
“Hey, everyone.” I gave a quick wave toward where they sat on the bed.
Lisa jumped up and pulled my backpack from my shoulder. “Give me that and make yourself comfortable.” She placed it on the swivel chair in front of her desk, which was overloaded with books and some other stuff. It could hardly be the place where she did her homework.
I glanced around the rest of the room and found I liked it. Untidy to the core, with clothes tossed over furniture, random items such as a hairbrush, a bottle of OJ, and DVD cases littered the carpeted floor. It looked more like home than any room in my cousin’s house. A chest and wardrobe were placed against the wall with the door along with a hi-fi unit, and another shelf next to the desk held a widescreen TV.
Oh, Nicholas Hoult on that screen; I was so ready for it.
And I was lucky, Allie and Simone shared my enthusiasm for the film. We all moved together so everyone could sit on the bed while we watched it after we put on our PJs. Allie, Lisa, and I were in boy shorts and tank tops, while Susan wore long flannel bottoms and a sweatshirt. Supermodel Simone had to outdo us all with her long, silvery satin nightgown.
We’d inhaled three boxes of pizza and Nicholas was about to sling his arms around Teresa Palmer when a whistle from outside caught our attention. “That’s for you, Sam,” Lisa said, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Neither did I, and I didn’t understand what she meant anyway. “Huh?”
Now Lisa grabbed the remote for the DVD player and stopped Nicholas and Teresa mid-fall.
No—no! Don’t stop it. The kiss… I wanted to see the kiss. Ugh.
But it was too late.
“Your sleeping bag has arrived.” Lisa got out of bed and walked to the open window, leaning outside. “Hey, guys,” she said, and I could hear her surprise.
“Are you girls all dressed?” came Ryan Hunter’s voice, mischievous as always when he talked to his girlfriend.
“Yes. But you’d better not plan on coming up here.” A rustling sound like a tree in the wind drifted inside and cut Lisa short for a moment. “That’s against the rules,” she said next with a playful sharpness. At the same time she backed away from the window and turned to us. “Sorry, girls. I hope it’s okay with you if the guys come in for a moment?”
The guys? And come in how? I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling a little uncomfortable wearing my pajamas in front of the boys.
“Is Sasha with them?” Allie whispered excitedly.
“I couldn’t make him out in the dark,” Lisa murmured. “There’re many of them.”
Ryan was the first to climb through the window. While he hugged Lisa from behind and kissed her temple, Tony, Nick, Alex, and even Sasha Torres followed. The room was suddenly crowded and filled with wild blabbering.
Tony came toward the bed and tossed a rolled-up red bundle at me. I caught Pam’s sleeping bag and held it on my lap. “Thank you.”
He nodded once, then his gaze landed on the bandage on my bare leg. “Sexy socks, Summers. How’s that wound doing?”
I curled my toes. “No pain, no more limping. I guess I’m out of the woods.”
He smiled then, and that smile was…wow…pretty enough to hold my attention for a silent couple of seconds.
“You know,” Lisa told Tony from behind, “you could have dropped it on the doorstep. No need to bring half the soccer team up here to deliver it.”
He turned around. Immediately, his smile widened to a lewd grin as he let his gaze move slowly up and down her body. “Blame your boyfriend, pretty girl. He was the one that showed up at my house ten minutes ago and dragged me over here.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why, but the corners of my mouth turned downward at that look on Tony’s face. I couldn’t help it, but I didn’t like how he gaped at Lisa. And Ryan apparently didn’t like it either.
“Back off, Mitchell,” he warned Tony with a mocking note in his voice and hid Lisa behind his back. “She’s mine.”
Lisa giggled as she was shoved around by her boyfriend. She was probably used to the boys’ bantering and Tony’s coming on to her. I, however, wasn’t. Holy crap, it gave my heart a twinge that hurt and annoyed me more than not being able to watch sexy Nick Hoult with my friends.
Too weird.
I climbed over Susan’s legs, out of bed, and went to the bathroom. I’d been only half an hour ago, but I needed a minute to myself to sort this out. Where the heck had this uncomfortable feeling in my chest come from? I surely couldn’t be jealous of Lisa. No freaking way. Not because of Anthony Mitchell.
I glared at myself in the mirror. “You. Suck.”
Yeah, I did. When the hell had I grown feelings for stupid Mitchell? He was not my type. Or maybe he was, because I always fell for the blue-eyed blonds…
But tonight I refused to.
I squared my shoulders and swallowed the silly dryness in my throat. But when I went to walk out of the bathroom, I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. I cringed, remembering that I was wearing boy shorts and stupid pink wool socks. Oh, the misery of it. Why couldn’t I have brought freaking long pajamas like Susan tonight? Or even a silk gown like Simone. She definitely wasn’t embarrassed in front of Alex wearing that.
I slumped with my back against the door. Get a grip. Get. A. Grip! Now wasn’t the time to panic. And I was probably mistaken anyway. I’d misinterpreted that twinge in my chest. Totally. No such thing as infatuation right here. I’d only been annoyed because Lisa had gotten all the attention in the room and I’d gotten none. Yeah, right, that must have been it.
Ha ha, my inner self laughed at me. Like you’ve ever been a person to crave the attention in a room.
I told my inner self where she could go with her laughing and aggressively pulled the bathroom door open. Biting down on my molars, I went back to Lisa’s bedroom and found everyone sprawled out across the room: Susan and Allie still on the bed, Lisa in Ryan’s lap on her swivel chair, Alex and Simone cuddling up on the floor, and Nick, Sasha, and Tony fighting over the remote for the hi-fi unit in the corner.
I assumed the girls’ night was officially over. Great.