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“Asher is my brother, I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about you,” Eve argued.
“I’ll be fine. My dad is there at home all the time, and besides, he doesn’t know we went there. Just don’t give it away, and he never needs to.”
“Roger that.” Eve checked her phone and sighed. “Looks like I have a double shift tonight, so I have to take a rain check on the sleepover.”
“Really? I could just come to the diner and wait for you to finish.”
She studied me. “You really don’t want to be at home, do you?”
I shook my head, words rising and falling behind my lips. I couldn’t find the ones I wanted, because I didn’t know how I felt about any of it.
“I’ll hang out here as long as possible and work on my biology project and then head to the diner, what do you say?” I urged.
She sighed and shrugged. “It’s your night to squander, if that’s what you want.”
* * *
The school library was open until nine on Fridays. There was plenty going on at HHH until that time, with all the sports clubs, band practice, and even glee club.
I left the library as late as I could and wandered toward my locker. I shoved the biology project I was working on inside and headed for the bathrooms.
When I got out, someone was playing the drums down the hall, and a janitor was emptying trash cans. I waved hello to him before swinging open my locker. I hadn’t bothered locking it. Advanced-level biology projects weren’t exactly a hot commodity worth stealing. I had to remember to take it home, though, because I needed to work on it over the weekend. I stilled as I realized that my lock didn’t look quite the same as it had a few minutes ago.
The project was gone.
“What the hell?”
“Your friend took it for you. Over to the rink,” the janitor called over to me, being helpful.
Your friend took it?Ice ran through my veins. It seemed my standoff with Cayden was coming to an end. He was initiating contact, or more like provoking it.
If the damn project hadn’t been so important, I’d have just left anyway and gone over to Eve’s diner, but I couldn’t. I had to get it back. What was he up to? After days of the silent treatment, he was forcing contact. After everything in Midnight Falls, I had no idea what to think about him anymore.
Reluctantly, I headed toward the rink. A light drizzle hit my face as I walked across the school grounds toward the separate building. It would be winter break soon, and the weather in Hade Harbor was getting rough. In my hurry to go and get my project back, I’d left my coat in my locker.
I shivered, gripping the straps of my backpack tighter.Don’t be so nervous. He doesn’t even know you went to Midnight. As far as he knows, you’ve just been avoiding him. That’s all. Relax. He can probably smell fear.
With that daunting thought in mind, I pushed through the doors of the rink, surprised to see the foyer dark.
A glow of light came from the corridor leading to the rink. I followed it. The lights blazed over the ice, and John, the guy who drove the Zamboni, was just finishing up. He waved to me as he jumped down and headed off. Practice was over, then, and everyone had left. Well, not everyone, because clearly Cayden was here somewhere. I walked around the side of the ice, just as the lights went out.
I froze.
“John? I’m still here!” I called. Why would John turn off the light when he clearly knew that? My nerves from earlier returned full force. It hadn’t been John. It was Cayden, and he was here somewhere, in the dark.
“Hilarious, Cayden. Give me my project,” I called into the darkness.
“Come and get it, Ladybug. I’ve left it for you in the neutral zone.” His deep voice boomed around the rink.
I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. My eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkness, and the white square of ice was lighter than other places, but I couldn’t make out if there was something there or not. The neutral zone in hockey was the middle of the rink. He wanted me go out onto the ice.
“I sure hope it isn’t made of paper or anything else that will get damaged sitting out there,” he prompted me.
Damn him. I stepped out onto the ice, my sneakers sliding a little until I got my balance. I wasn’t a stranger to ice, thanks to my dad, but still, whatever game Cayden was playing, I was pretty sure he wanted to put me at a disadvantage, so the ice worked well.
I inched forward, arms out, wobbling as I went. It was quiet, and I could only hear my breath fogging in and out. I was cold from getting wet outside and shivered involuntarily. I really didn’t need to get sick right now.
As I moved at a snail’s pace toward the middle, I heard it. The faintswish-swooshof blades on ice. I stopped, wrapping my arms around myself. The air moved against me, and I knew Cayden had just blown past. My eyes were still adjusting, bit by bit, and I could make out his black-clad shape shooting like a bullet in wide laps.
