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“I’m afraid you’ll have to endure another two days of that. I’m glad you suggested staying to Kota. They were all upset over your getting suspended, and are emotional about the situation with Dr. Green. No matter what happens now, we should continue our assignments at Ashley Waters unless it becomes impossible. We shouldn’t abandon this now when we’re so close.”
“Are we close to answers?” I asked.
“We hope so,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Right now, Victor is working overtime to see if Mr. Hendricks and his partners start pulling in large sums of money.”
“Why is Mr. Hendricks doing this now?”
“Something’s happened,” he said. “We’re not aware as to what, but it’s making him expedite his plans. According to our information, this wasn’t supposed to happen until closer to the end of the school year.”
“Was it me returning to school?” I asked.
“I don’t exactly know, but I don’t think so,” he said. “We do know he was surprised to hear you were back at school. I don’t think that was the single determining factor, but it might have been one of a few last straws that triggered his need to move quickly.”
“You really think it’s best if I stay in suspension?”
“I think it’s best that we all follow the rules for now. If we keep the police out of it by making it all look like just school-related trouble and nothing criminal, then it will not be the big distraction Mr. Hendricks was hoping for, and we may save this school yet.” He leaned back a bit, sliding a hand across the bed as he turned more toward me.
Part of his arm cut across my leg, and his elbow hovered over my knee. It was close enough that I felt the starched material of his shirt tracing over my pajamas. It might have been an unnoticeable thing to him, but for me, it was very close. I froze, fearing he’d pull away.
“This might be the hardest thing we’ll ever have to do,” he said quietly. “Sitting still, waiting patiently. It won’t be easy.”
I breathed in slowly, noting his signature fragrance--the spring soap—and how it mixed with the smells of the house and Nathan’s leather scent that lingered in the room. “What about next week? The new schedule?”
“I don’t want to plan that far ahead,” he said. “Let’s get through the next two days. We’ll talk about Monday over the weekend.”
It wasn’t like it would be very difficult, but I felt useless to be stuck in in-school suspension. “Let me know if you need anything,” I said.
The corner of his mouth lifted, a slight millimeter smile forming. “Didn’t you call me here for a reason?”
My heart fluttered at the way he said that. I suddenly wanted desperately to say something other than have to talk about Luke and the masks. I didn’t want to put more on his shoulders.
I was tempted to pretend I wanted to talk about him just to talk. It was something we’d never done. Could I ever ask Mr. Blackbourne simple questions about himself? What would I even ask him?
“You didn’t have to come all the way down if you were busy,” I said.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m always here for you, Miss Sorenson. I wasn’t busy, so it seemed a good idea to visit you in person.” His head tilted toward me. “How is everything?”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to admit things weren’t good. Perfection seemed to be the only acceptable answer for him, and everything I had to say wasn’t even close.
He waited for me to answer, but the more he looked at me, the more the words jumbled in my brain.
He lifted his hand from the bed, sitting up. He reached over and touched gently to the underside of my chin, lifting my head, commanding my attention.
“Tell me,” he said simply.
It was all the encouragement I needed. I explained quickly about the permanent marker, the small spat between North and Luke, then I told him about the masks, and everyone’s concerns about Luke and how he’d confessed to orchestrating the prank.
I kept it about Luke and tried to be brief about our date, but I couldn’t help but admit to my own doubts about the plan, and my nervousness in trying to figure out if Luke was for or against it.
“We’re not sure why he would do it again,” I said when I got to the part about the second set of masks. “Or if it is him.”
“Did you feel uncomfortable around Luke?” Mr. Blackbourne asked. He’d returned his palm to the bed, his arm close to my knee. “How do you feel about him? What’s your instinct telling you?”
I pressed my lips together, unsure about trusting my instincts. “He said he did the first set of masks, but he never explained why.”
“Does that bother you?”
“A little,” I said. “I didn’t want to press, when there were other things to talk to him about. Like where he goes when he disappears. And why. Well, I know he was on assignment the other day…”
“He wasn’t,” Mr. Blackbourne said quietly.
My head rose and I looked at him carefully, wondering if we were talking about different times. “He said he was, maybe…”
“He lied to you,” Mr. Blackbourne said, his lips pursing into a slight frown before he spoke again. “He wasn’t on assignment. I would have been notified immediately.”
My heart dipped then. I tilted my head down, hiding the shock and the sudden sweep of emotion. “Why would he do that?” I asked, forcing my voice to be steady.
“That’s what we’ll have to find out,” he said, his voice soothing. “He may have used it as an excuse for you to not worry about him. I’m afraid he might be having a hard time dealing with the new information you’ve learned.”
“He kissed me,” I said, still looking at my lap. “I thought meant he was accepting of it.”
“Perhaps he was,” he said. “However, there were only eight masks.”
“So you do think it means something?”
“It might be a coincidence, but there’s nine of us in the original group. That might be significant.”
My heart started pumping hard, and I began to tremble at the implication. “Do you think it means…that he is telling everyone he doesn’t feel he belongs? Or that he wants out?”
“It might be a reasonable argument to make as to his meaning, except…I’m not convinced,” he said. He reached again for me.
I stilled, expecting him to draw me up by my chin again.
Instead, his palm grazed my cheek. He drew me up, cradling my face with his hand.
His thumb slid across my skin, over the hairline by my ear.
My heart, and my breath, stopped simultaneously.
“He would never leave us, or you,” he said. “I may not understand what he’s up to, but I know Lucian Taylor. There’s something we’re not seeing, or we’re looking too closely at the wrong information. He may be upset right now, but he’s too far smitten by you to ever pull away.”
My tongue pressed to the top of my mouth. I swallowed back emotion, and begged my eyes not to let the tears I was feeling right then fall.
He held me a minute longer and then released me his arm returning to lay across my leg. Now, however, it wasn’t just barely touching. It was close, his arm pressed to my knee. It was a comfortable touch.
It warmed me from the inside out.
“Do you feel the same for him?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the guilt of admitting it to him, when there were others to think about, made me pause.
A perfect eyebrow lifted, crossing above the top edge of his glasses. “Miss Sorenson?” he asked in a demanding tone.
I nodded. “I feel…strongly for him,” I said. I wasn’t going to admit how strongly, especially after tonight, after the kiss. He’d seemed so determined about the first date, and how he talked about a year later. He thought of the future, he’d been trying to picture me in it. For me, someone so unsure about her future, his day dreaming seemed to help me believe this might work out.
I’d skimmed over the words Luke had said to me. Luke hadn’t said anything a
bout himself leaving. He was worried about me leaving.
“Mr. North Taylor mentioned you were a little hesitant about the plan. Did I misinterpret your intent?”
“I don’t dislike the plan,” I said as honestly as I could. “I fear the result, though. If I agree, and someone isn’t on board, I am afraid I’d have to leave the group. Or the group would break up. I don’t know how it would work.”
