Chapter Eighteen

With only two weeks to go until Lacey’s birthday not much had changed in Angel’s Bend. The town was quiet, no demons had made their presence felt and school was the same as ever - busy but boring. It was almost as if the threat didn’t exist. But for Lacey, only the relief of lunch and the countdown until the Exhibition made the days bearable. That, and Cam. He made an odd sight, keeping his nightly vigil at Lacey’s window with a silver dagger exposed at his hip and his luminescent skin shining under the lamplight. Even if they didn’t speak, Lacey was comforted by his presence. She knew he was keeping the demons at bay.

Making her way down to the oval, Lacey saw the gang already ensconced in their usual spot under the tree. The twins were there, guarding Zac, and Ty and Abbie were sitting close, holding hands. The rest of the circle was tight, leaving no room for her. Nobody spoke. Their ears were plugged, listening to something. As she got closer, Lacey could hear the faint strains of the music emanating from their earbuds. It was those damn trumpets again. Sounded God awful coming second hand from their ears, so it must have been hideous inside their heads. But why were they all listening to the same thing? Sometimes these kids were plain weird.

Walking up to them, Lacey threw her bag on the ground and sat down, hoping to gain some form of acknowledgement. She waited, leaning her back against her school bag. “Hey,” she said, determinedly ignoring the row of backs presented to her. It was as if they were in a trance or something.

Taking out her earbuds, Abbie turned around. Her expression was sullen as if she were fighting her own demon. Lacey had never seen her so pale. The girl who’d been so brave in the library the other day looked to be a distant memory.

“Hi Lacey,” she said. “I thought you weren’t coming today. You haven’t been down here for ages.” She stared down at her blackened nails and picked a loose fleck of polish off.

“I’ve been getting everything finished for the Exhibition. You all done with your pieces?”

“All, but.”

“Wish I was that organised. I’ll be changing stuff up to the last minute, the way I’m going.”

“That’s because you’re so anal about it.”

Woah. Where had that come from?

“That’s because I have to be.”

“Whatever.”

Lacey plucked a daisy from beside her, on the lawn, and began to divest it of its petals. What the hell was going on? The Abbie she knew was so supportive, so enthusiastic about everything. Yet, today the negativity was oozing from her. And she seemed listless or tired or something. What the hell had changed?

“You okay, Abs?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Abbie shrugged with indifference and melted back into silence. The rest of the group sat poised, like they were waiting for her reaction. It was so weird.

“Nice necklace,” Ty said, at last. He pulled his earphones from his ears and pocketed them, indicating the sigil hanging around Lacey’s neck. “Is it new?”

“Yeah, Cam gave it to me. It’s pretty, don’t you think?” Her hand went to her neck, fingering the engravings on the sigil, feeling the strength of its words protecting her.

“If you like pink.”

“I do, actually.”

Lacey didn’t miss the pointed look exchanged between Ty and Zac or the eyes that were suddenly trained to her chest, as if she’d gotten fake boobs on the weekend. She had no idea what was going on but clearly it involved Cam. Zac and Cam. Again.

“So, you’re in with Foster, now are you?” The sneer on Zac’s face was most unattractive.

“We’re friends. Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s nice. I’m allowed to have more than one friend, aren’t I?” Lacey straightened. The cheek of Zac trying to micromanage every relationship she had. It wasn’t like they were boyfriend and girlfriend or anything. She looked around the group, hoping for support but even Ty was quiet.

“I thought you were going to be one of us?”

Lacey groaned. Not again. “Seriously. This may sound pathetic but it’s a free country.”

Zac shrugged and bent over to whisper something to Abbie, who was spread out on the grass beside Lola. As if driven by remote, Abbie rolled to her knees, pushing to stand up. “Lets walk,” she said. “I feel like exercise.”

“Ah, okay.”

Ignoring the fact that she’d never seen Abbie ‘exercise’ since they met, Lacey pulled a chicken roll from her bag and set off around the oval with her friend. While they walked, she unwrapped one end of its plastic casing and tore it in half, offering some to Abbie who waved it away. “I think I caught a stomach bug. The sight of food makes me puke these last few days.”

“Must be all the winter germs.”

“Yeah. Must be.”

It didn’t take long before they reached the goal posts at the far end. Sensing that Abbie wanted to say something out of earshot, Lacey figured it was probably safe to talk now. “What’s up?”

“Um, I don’t know how to say this….”

“How about you just spit it out, then?”

“Look, we all know you’ve been hanging out with Cam, that you’re friends.” Unable to look Lacey in the eye, she rushed the words out.

“So?”

“Well, as you’re closest friend, I was sort of designated the spokesperson. We don’t think you should see him anymore. He’s a freak.”

Lacey stood, disbelieving. “And how did everyone know that Cam and I are friends? Apart from what just happened then, there would have been no clue.”

Abbie swallowed. Her tongue ran nervously over her lips as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I guess I told Ty. He must have mentioned it to Zac. Now Zac’s annoyed.”

“Why? I don’t understand what Cam’s done. Why can’t I hang with him?”

“Its not my place to talk about it.”

“But it’s your place to warn me off?” Lacey glanced back across the oval. The group under the tree had stopped talking and were watching intently the happenings between her and Abbie. “What’s wrong with your buddies? Are they too gutless to tell me themselves?”

“I’m the newest member. I have to do a bit of dirty work.”

Lacey shook her head, sadly. “Oh for Pete’s sake, do you realise how totally primary school that sounds? It’s ridiculous, Abbie. If Zac can’t come over here and give me some good reasons, for himself, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to ignore the warning. Go back and tell your stupid little gang I can be friends with whoever I please, and if they don’t like it then I won’t be friends with them, or you, anymore.”

Taking an angry bite of her roll, she stomped off to finish their lap of the oval.

“Lacey, please,” Abbie called after her.

“No! I like Cam. He’s kind and gentle and if Zac can’t handle that, then he’s not who I thought he was. And you should know better. You’re supposed to be my friend. You should be supporting me. Instead, you’re going along with everything they say, just so you can be in that crummy gang. Geez, I have enough to deal with, without you being all manic.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. Look at you. You may as well have a sign on your head that says ‘I belong to Ty’ cause that’s how you act. You blabbed my private business to your boyfriend and now everyone’s angry.”

“I didn’t know it was private.”

“Well, what else did you think it’d be? It’s not like the town’s in love with Cam. My friendship with him is private. I wanted to share it with you because I thought you were my friend but now I’m wondering.”

Abbie started to cry. Lacey could hear her feeble sobs. Now what was she going to do? She couldn’t leave her there. She’d behaved like a total idiot but she was Lacey’s only true friend. They needed each other. A heavy sigh escaped Lacey’s lips as she walked back to Abbie’s side.

“I’m sorry, that comment was way out of line.”

“I’m sorry, too. You’re right. I should be defending you. Cam’s never done a thing to me. I don’t know what the boys’ beef is about.”

“Still friends?” Lacey wrapped her arms around her.

Abbie squeezed. “Yep. And if I open my mouth again you have permission to hit me.”

“So, what’s all this with Zac then? Why are you doing his dirty work?”

“Its not like I want to, but Zac convinced me. He’s so into you but he’s frustrated and angry that Cam is always in the picture. He said I should talk to you, ‘cause I’m the only one who can get close enough without Cam ‘popping out from behind a fuckin’ tree’ as he put it.” She gave a small smile at that. “He thinks Cam’s up to something. Something strange or possibly dangerous.”

Ha. Like Zac didn’t go around threatening people with a knife.

“So he likes me a lot? And he’s just worried?”

“Yeah. He said he’s tried to tell you, but he said every time he gets close to you, Cam appears and you take his side. He thinks Cam may have brainwashed you or something. He’s worried Cam will hurt you.”

Lacey’s eyes bulged. “What, physically?”

“Mmm. If you came into the gang with us, we could protect you.”

Lacey shook her head. This was getting ridiculous. Cam dangerous? Surely not. He was so sweet, so gentle. Yet, he had practically stalked her in the beginning. And he did have a few aggressive protection issues. He was also very anti-Zac for no good reason. Lacey thought for a moment more. The sigil on her chest winked in the sunlight. Just what did she know about the pendant he’d given her? She’d taken him at his word but it could as easily be evil as good. She’d have no idea. Could it be possible that Cam was the evil one, that this was all a trick to get her in? He’d said that the demons could try to trick her to win her over. Who was she meant to believe?

*****

The decision to go to the maze wasn’t that hard in hindsight. Lacey had always been one for seeing the good in people. Why should Cam be any different? Sure, the things Zac had told Abbie were true, as were the things Lacey knew about Cam. But despite what everyone seemed to think, he wasn’t weird or dangerous. They didn’t understand him because they weren’t working with a full set of facts. If they’d known Cam was an angel, they would have seen him in a totally different light. Wouldn’t they?

Arriving at the maze, Lacey called out to Cam but received no reply. She knew he’d be in the centre, putting the final touches to his renovation of Saint Michael and probably hadn’t heard her, but it had been worth a shot. They’d spoken in recent days, pondering what excuse he could give for staying on in the town when his work was done. He had to be there to protect her, but without some form of cover, people would begin to talk.

“Cam!” She ran through the maze at speed, its twists and turns no longer an issue. “Cam!”

A voice came from the around the corner. “Lacey.”

She dived into his arms, heaving breath. “I’ve been running, all the way from school. I had to see you.”

Cam pulled her closer. His body was a fortress against her troubles. “Shh. Breathe.”

Lacey felt herself calming as she looked up into his eyes. She took in the scent of him, heavy and sweet like sandalwood incense and a slow breath of release escaped her lips. Sanctuary. A tear rolled down her cheek, marking a silvery trail to her chin. She wiped it away. He couldn’t be the bad guy. Her natural instincts would have warned her against him. If he were evil, she’d have known.

Cam searched her face for clues. “What happened? Has someone tried to hurt you?”

Lacey stilled. “Oh God. No, no. I had this huge fight with Abbie at lunch. She told Ty that I’ve been hanging with you and they tried to do some crazy intervention on me or something.”

“They were that worried?”

“Zac says you’re evil and at one point I was so confused with their reasoning, they almost had me believing it.” Pushing another tear off her cheek, Lacey looked deep into Cam’s eyes. “Its not true, is it? You’re not the evil force here? Zac’s just acting jealous, right?”

Cam moved away. Wordlessly, he began to pace the perimetre of the walled garden, his face a picture of concern.

“Cam?”

Worried, Lacey took to following. His steps were quick, frenzied and she had to scramble to keep up. “Cam? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Shh. I’m thinking. I need time to process. I need quiet.”

What the hell was he talking about? Now, Lacey was worried too. She’d only meant to come here to confirm her thoughts in her head, to prove to herself that she was right, that Cam was the good guy. All through the afternoon she’d been unable to concentrate on class. Her brain had been so back and forth, Abbie could have told her she’d married Justin Beiber in the lunch break and she would have believed it. It had been all she could do to stay at school for the remainder of the day. Now, Cam had thoughts and he wasn’t going to share. God damn him. This wasn’t fair.

Cam had climbed to the top of the statue. He was sitting on Saint Michael’s shoulder, his woodland green eyes trained somewhere in the distance. His head was cocked, almost as if listening.

“Cam?” Lacey’s whisper travelled up the statue and into his consciousness.

He smiled down. An ethereal smile of love. Then, he reached towards her, hand outstretched. “Come up.”

Lacey took it and began to climb.

“What’re we doing?” she asked, perching herself next to him.

“Shh. Listening.”

“What are we listening for?”

“We won’t be listening for anything if you don’t shush.”

“But I thought you could only hear my thoughts? What’s the point of listening?”

“Sometimes, I can pick up strains of others, especially if they concern you.”

“But…”

Cam put two fingers to her lips. “Hush.”

Against his fingers, Lacey’s mouth silenced. She should never have let Abbie get inside her head. There was no way Cam was the bad guy. You only had to look at him to see that.

“Cam?” she said, after a bit.

“Yes?”

“Did you hear anything?”

“I know who’s after you. His thoughts are everywhere. I don’t know how I could have missed them.”

“Maybe you were distracted.”

Cam’s arm wound around Lacey’s shoulder. “Maybe I was.”