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Sunday flew by as I worked on homework and watched TV. Monday had arrived without warning, and I didn’t know whether to dread seeing Grayson or not.
Walking in a morning daze, I went to my locker and struggled with the lock again.
“Need help?” Grayson asked, resting up against the locker next to mine. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he smiled.
Heart pounding, I forced my breathing to stay even. Grayson may cause heart palpitations, but I had to figure out what I wanted. Especially with his family and their hatred of me.
“I can’t figure out this stupid lock,” I grumbled, kicking the locker as if it was at fault.
He leaned down and reached for the combination lock. “What’s the code again?”
Instead of fighting with the stupid thing, I gave him the combination for the second time this semester. With a smirk, he twisted the knob a few times and the metal banged as it opened.
“Thanks,” I grumbled, shuffling on my feet.
“My pleasure,” Grayson murmured so close to my ear I felt his warm breath. “I’ll see you in Drama class. I won’t be in Literature, though.”
With that, he made his way down the hallway, tossing a smirk over his shoulder. Then he smiled at a few girls swooning at him. God, he was so beautiful to look at, but so frustrating to deal with sometimes. I reached inside my locker and began pulling books out that I’d need for the first two classes along with my tablet. A note fluttered to the floor, stopping at the toe of my hot pink tennis shoes.
“What the heck?” I muttered to myself, picking up the note and folding it open.
Scrawled on a ripped, plain piece of paper was You won’t get away next time.
My blood ran cold and my hand trembled as I read it again. I searched the hallway in desperation, watching fellow students mill about as they headed to class. I knew exactly what the note meant, and it meant whoever wrote it knew I was the one who had interrupted the devil-worshiping meeting. And that somebody at the school was involved with them.
The little hallucination I had from yesterday made me even more nervous, because Sophia may have received notes like this too. But from whom? Who had access to the combination to the locker? Then my breath caught in my throat. Grayson. No, I didn’t want to believe he was part of that, but it made sense. He was in the woods that night and found me the first time. Was he just trying to win me over to figure out how to hurt me? Or worse, kill me?
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Allie said, prompting me to jolt.
I shoved the note into my backpack. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” I lied, again.
She frowned, and I was sure she didn’t believe me this time. “Are you sure? I’m really worried about you.”
“I’m fine. I promise.”
With a confused look, she watched as I shut my locker and then we strolled to our class together.
“You keep saying that, but I don’t believe it,” she said while playing with the strap on her bag. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”
With a sigh, I looked at her before we made our way into the classroom. “Of course.”
I was dishonest a lot to my friends and family lately, but I knew I had to say something soon. When the play was over, I planned to tell Allie everything. I’d ask her about Sophia, because I had wanted to since I found out they were friends.
We sat together in class and worked on homework together during study time. Guilt took over, and I looked at her. Why didn’t I trust Allie enough to tell her what was going on? Why didn’t I want to tell Kate and Derek, too? Because I was paranoid, at the fault of some apparition warning me not to trust anyone. But my friends? If I couldn’t trust them, who could I trust?
The note sitting in my bag was one reason. I didn’t want anyone hurt by my carelessness. The ghost was another. Who would believe me? God, I was a mess.
“What?” Allie whispered, noticing my sad gaze in her direction.
“There is something going on with me lately, but I’ll fill you in after this stupid play we have this weekend. You still coming?”
She smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it. We’ll all be there.”
“Thank you. That means the world to me,” I said with a sincere smile.
The rest of the day went fast, and I spent lunch at my normal table with my friends. They laughed and joked about trivial things, like Derek’s antics. I laughed with them, but I wasn’t really into it. My mind kept revolving around the note burning a menacing hole in my backpack.
Derek walked me to Drama class, his arm draped over my shoulder. “You seem off today. What’s up with that?”
“Oh, nothing. Just worried about the play,” I said, attempting a smile.
“You’ll be great. Besides, what could go wrong?”
I laughed. “Uh, forgetting my lines. Tripping on stage. Costume issues. A big zit on my face. The list could go on, you know.”
“Nah, you’ll surprise us all with your performance. You’ll be the talk of the town.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” I muttered.
Derek squeezed my shoulder before he made his way down the hall. I took a deep breath and walked into the auditorium, only to meet Grayson by the doorway. He smiled, but his eyes were unreadable with some unknown emotion blazing in their depths.
Glancing once at the hallway where Derek strolled away, he said, “You ready to act out a full play? We only have a few days to practice before this weekend.”
I stared at him for a few moments, wondering if he had left the threatening note. God, I hoped not. With a fake smile plastered on my face, I replied, “Yeah, let’s get this crap over with.”
*****
We had practiced our lines about ten times from start to finish. However, I still couldn’t remember mine. Catrina, Chris, and Grayson did, so why couldn’t I?
“You have to memorize your lines, Jazmin,” Catrina scolded.
“I’m trying!” I cried. “I haven’t acted before. Cut me some slack.”
“Guys, she’s right,” Grayson said, giving me a reassuring smile. “We need to find a different way for her to remember them.”
“What do you suggest?” Chris asked, shaking his head in frustration.
Grayson’s hand snatched the script from my hands. “Let’s try it without the words in front of your face, New Girl. If you mess up, just spurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Got it?”
“And what will that accomplish?” Catrina questioned with her hand on her hip.
Grayson snorted. “Sometimes, Catrina, the honesty of the moment can beat any script. Call it improvising.”
I shifted on my feet, unsure about his motives. However, if it meant I was forced to remember my lines, they’d be disappointed.
“Let’s begin again,” he said, walking off stage right.
Catrina came forward and took her position beside me with a sigh. Chris yelled out “action.”
The lines started with Catrina, so she said, “One day your love will come, Lena. You just have to be patient and stop looking for it.”
By some miracle, I remembered my line. “Oh, sure. Like some hot guy will just fall from the sky and land in my lap.”
She laughed. “Maybe. Maybe not. Look, I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay? Be careful going home.”
After Catrina exited the stage, as she was supposed to do, I walked around as though I was on a pretend beach. Grayson jumped and landed on the stage with a crash. With a groan, he stood and looked at me.
“Cue sappy music,” Chris muttered. “And go.”
My lines totally skipped my mind at seeing Grayson’s expression. He looked fierce and unwavering, like any god would be. I opened my mouth, trying to spit out the next line, but drew a blank again.
Grayson, going with the flow, came forward and walked around me. “Who are you? I’ve never seen such beauty.”
“I’m Lena,” I said, finally remembering that one.
His hands grabbed mine and I pulled back. This wasn’t part of the play, but the note left in my locker remained fresh.
“Don’t touch me,” I growled. “I don’t know who you are. You may be a serial killer for all I know.”
Grayson frowned, but he kept going with it. “Lena, I am no murderer. Sure, I’ve killed, but only when necessary.”
I scoffed. “When necessary? Murder is never necessary.”
“Lena leaves the scene,” Chris stated. “In comes another god. Blah, blah, blah. We all remember our lines, so you guys start again at act two.”
“I don’t remember this scene,” I whispered so only Grayson could hear.
“We’re at the beach again, and I’m wooing you,” he murmured back. Then he spouted his first line. “Lena, I may be many things, but I’ve never been in love. Not until I met you.”
So, like he had suggested, I improvised. “Love? What do you know of love?”
“I know how I feel about you. Sure, the feeling may be sudden, but don’t you feel it, too?”
“I don’t believe in love at first sight.”
Grayson, acting as his character, or so I thought, paced back and forth on the stage. “Have you never felt your heart skip a beat, your every thought centered on when you’d see the other person again? My thoughts always revolve around you, and rightfully so. You captured me from the moment I first saw you.”
I took a deep breath, fighting my real emotions. “How do I know you’re not telling me this just to hurt me in the end?”
“Because, Ja... Lena, I would never purposely hurt you. You’re my world, and I plan on showing you how wonderful love at first sight can be.”
Pausing because he’d almost said my name, I turned my back to him. I couldn’t face him, not with my doubts about him. I said, “And how do you plan on doing that? With flowers and gifts? With empty words and promises? We’re from different worlds. We’d never work.”
Although the script called for Grayson’s character to reveal who he was in the final act, my words rang true. His hands caressed my shoulders from behind.
“If you have faith in love, anything is possible,” Grayson said.
“Cut!” Chris yelled.
Ignoring the scene ending, Grayson whispered, “Words are useless, but actions aren’t. I’ll do anything to prove that to you, if you’ll let me.”
I closed my eyes as Catrina praised the improvisation on my part. Grayson’s warm hands still touched my shoulders, but I couldn’t pull away. I wanted to believe what was between us, but sometimes fear and mistrust can blur the lines of right and wrong.
A slow clap tore Grayson and me apart. Alyssa stood at the foot of the stage, her hands mockingly clapping at us. She smirked, and then her eyes found mine.
“What do you want, Alyssa,” Grayson sighed.
“Oh, just to see how Jazmin’s worthless acting was. You two have no chemistry together. The audience is supposed to feel sparks, to feel the love between the characters. This wasn’t it,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Alyssa,” Chris argued, “I don’t know what you saw, but you’re wrong. Grayson and Jazmin are perfect on stage together. Quit being jealous that you aren’t in Drama class with us.”
She frowned, her gaze narrowing in on Chris. “Please. I could out-act all of you at once.”
“Why aren’t you in Drama, then?” Catrina asked, her arms across her chest.
“Because I chose to study dance and potentially get into Julliard. We all know that acting on stage wasn’t going to look good on my resume.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Oh, of course she would expect to get into Julliard. The same girl who would never admit wrongdoing or pretend to be anything else but flawless.
Alyssa’s face contorted into an ugly expression. “And where are you going to college, Jazmin? We all know your parents can’t afford Julliard or Harvard.”
Before I could open my mouth, Grayson stepped forward and growled, “Don’t bring her parents into this, Alyssa. You need to watch yourself. We all know we shouldn’t be judged by our parents’ actions, isn’t that right? Otherwise, you’d be drinking a pitcher of mimosas by 9 a.m., just like your mother.”
Alyssa, as though slapped, recoiled in surprise. By her response, I knew she safely guarded her mother’s apparent drinking problem. That would explain why her father was the only one I’d ever met. Her family wasn’t as flawless as they seemed, and even though I hated the girl, the hurt on her face caught me off guard.
Tears misted along her lashes and she stormed out of the auditorium, slamming the double doors behind her.
“That was pretty low, Grayson,” Catrina said.
He wrapped his arm around my waist. “I don’t care. I’m sick of her picking on Jazmin. She needed to be put in her place and realize she isn’t perfect.”
Catrina sighed. “Still, airing her dirty laundry like that wasn’t the way to do it.”
“She doesn’t care that she does it to everyone else,” Grayson growled. “Alyssa will learn the hard way not to pick on somebody I care about.”
I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. The bell rang, and with a shake of her head, Catrina informed us that we’d practice again on Wednesday before she and Chris made their way out of the auditorium.
Removing myself from Grayson’s protective hold, I snatched my bag from the floor and made my way off stage.
“It may have been my lines, New Girl, but I meant every word I said,” Grayson called out.
I paused to look back at him. “So did I.”
*****
Once I was home and in my room, I pulled the note from my bag and read it again.
The scrawled words caused a shiver to run through me. If Grayson didn’t write it, then who did? Alyssa? She had every reason to threaten me. If I was out of the way, then Grayson would be all hers. Not that he wanted her, but she’d have an advantage with him. Did she know about the devil worshipers?
I debated calling the police, or at least telling my parents. If someone knew about what was going on, then maybe they’d be able to stop it. But I was afraid to tell anyone. To trust anyone with my secrets. Even though Sophia’s ghost scared me, I didn’t want to lose that connection. No matter how much I may be in danger, I wanted to solve her murder. She deserved as much. My rash decision may cause my demise, but at least I would try to give Sophia peace.
A knock on the door made me jump, and I shoved the note under my comforter.
“Can I come in?” Dad asked.
Pulling my tablet out to pretend I was studying, I said, “Yeah.”
Dressed in slacks and an unbuttoned dress shirt, he sat on the edge of my bed. He cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me about when the play was? And about Grayson?”
I set the device to the side and picked at the edge of my comforter. “I didn’t think the play was important. I don’t even want to do it. And there’s nothing to tell about Grayson.”
“I wish you wouldn’t keep things from me. We’ll be at the play to watch you perform. I got the schedule from the school today.” He sighed. “I know what I saw at the cookout. That kiss between the two of you wasn’t nothing, Jaz. Besides, his mother called to let us know you snuck off to meet him.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the play, Dad. I’m scared about it, and I didn’t want to disappoint you,” I replied, ignoring the statement about Grayson and his mother telling on us.
My father wasn’t going to let it go so easily. “And what are we supposed to think about Grayson, then? Isn’t he playing the main love interest in your play?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like...”
Dad raised his eyebrows. “Look, I remember my teenage years. I know what boys and girls do, and how they feel. I see the way he looks at you. I’m not stupid.”
I shook my head, unsure what to say. Just when I thought I really liked Grayson in return, I find something that made me doubt it all over again. Like the note currently sitting under my blanket. Sure, I didn’t know if Grayson had written it, but what if it had been another classmate?
“Are you even listening to me?” Dad asked with a shake of his head.
I bit my lip and then said, “Um...”
With a sigh, he removed himself from my bed. “I didn’t think so. Promise me something?” I nodded in agreement, and he continued, “Be careful when it comes to Grayson. You don’t know what his intentions are.”
As he left the room, I closed my eyes in frustration. Sadly, my father didn’t know how right he might be. Because if Grayson was a part of the devil worshiping crowd, I was in deep, deep crap.
