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“Didn’t say. She’s got on her grumpy face, though, so brace yourself.” Rick waved good-bye before he retreated to the safety of the library.
While Balthazar walked toward the principal’s office, he wondered if leaving the dance early, even with permission from the other chaperones, was definitely against the rules. He wasn’t too worried about it in any case; it was difficult to get too anxious about your boss’s opinion when you were undead.
Nothing about it bothered him much until he walked into Principal Zaslow’s office and saw Skye sitting in one of the chairs, tears in her eyes.
Even before Zaslow said a word, Balthazar thought, Damn it. They found out.
“Mr. More, I’m afraid a student has come forward with some troubling allegations,” Zaslow said. She folded her blue-framed glasses on the desk in front of her. “Miss Tierney, you may go. I’ve already spoken to your parents; they’re on their way home.”
Oh, great, now her parents show up. “Is everything all right?” Balthazar said, keeping his voice steady but looking appropriately concerned.
“Good-bye, Miss Tierney,” Zaslow said, firmly dismissing her. Skye walked out without looking back at Balthazar once—exactly the right way to play it, he thought—and he didn’t stare after her.
Already Balthazar’s mind was racing. He had spent so much time worrying about the supernatural obstacles they were up against that he’d never seriously considered the more literal roadblocks they could face. If Skye’s parents chose this inconvenient time to become present in her life again, remaining near her would be even harder. If people were now watching him around Skye, or if he was fired before he had backup on the scene at school, it would make it that much more difficult to protect her—just as things had become much, much more dangerous.
“Now that we’re alone, Mr. More,” Zaslow said, “let’s cut to the chase. Are you sleeping with Skye Tierney?”
“Of course not,” he lied. He would have to lie. I’m not really a substitute teacher; I’m a vampire was not a great defense.
“Another student reported seeing you together leaving your house in the wee hours of the morning.”
Madison, he thought, remembering that flicker at the window. “That student is mistaken. I admit—I, ah, did have some company this weekend. Female company, I mean. And I must not have been as discreet as I needed to be.” Balthazar tried to look merely sheepish, rather than horrified. “Come to think of it, she’s around the same height, same coloring—I can see how someone might be confused if they saw us together from a distance.”
Zaslow didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t dismiss his explanation entirely. “Miss Tierney said that the two of you do spend some time together outside of school.”
Skye didn’t have as much experience as he did at these things, unfortunately—she’d cracked a little—but he knew what she must have told Zaslow. It was as clear as if she’d whispered it into his ear. “We both enjoy riding, so we inevitably end up running into each other on the trail. I’ve even rented one of her stable’s horses a few times. And we do talk.” Once again, a lie was stronger when laced with the truth. “You might know that she lost her brother almost a year ago. Well, my younger sister died tragically, too, and I know what it’s like to need someone to talk to.”
Because he’d admitted to going slightly over the line, he could see Zaslow was considering the idea that he was being honest. “You realize how easily that could be misconstrued.”
“Well. I do now.” He ran one hand through his hair, allowing the curls to show; the younger he looked at the moment, the better. “I’m sorry, Principal Zaslow. I’m new at this, and I guess I’m still figuring out where to draw the boundaries. But I’d never abuse her trust.” Yours, sure. I’m abusing that right now. Balthazar didn’t like that, but he knew better than to attempt to share any part of the truth.
“She said your friendship was just that. Friendship.” Zaslow sighed. “I’m inclined to believe you both. You haven’t done anything damaging—yet. But I can tell that girl thinks the world of you, which is why you need to back off. If you don’t, you’re going to have a brokenhearted teenage girl on your hands at best, a lawsuit by her parents against the school district at worst.”
“Never,” Balthazar said. He wasn’t sure exactly what her parents would be able to sue him for but devoutly hoped never to learn.
Zaslow looked more relieved than frustrated. “Listen—I want you to go in and talk with the counselor for a while. She’s ready for you, and she’ll be dealing with Skye for the next few weeks. I just need to be able to write this up to the satisfaction of Skye’s parents, and to clear your record so you won’t have any trouble getting hired in this state again.”
How quickly could he get that over with? An hour, Balthazar figured. Skye was smart enough to get home immediately and stay there until he came for her. “Okay. Sounds like a good idea.”
“And I meant what I said,” Zaslow said, leaning forward over her desk. “We don’t need a situation on our hands, and we don’t need gossip. Stay away from Skye Tierney.”
“I will,” he replied, thinking only of how quickly he could get to her again.
Chapter Twenty-four
IT’S BEEN SUGGESTED THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP with Mr. More may be inappropriate for that of a teacher and student.
Principal Zaslow had been so calm when she spoke—kindly, even—but Skye still felt like she wanted to throw up. Balthazar was only the second guy she’d ever been with, and to have the principal asking questions about it like it was something gross or dirty—it popped the happy bubble she’d been in since Friday night, and all those feelings of being trapped on every side were rushing back.
Skye’s phone rang as she crossed the quad, gravel crunching under her feet. Had to be her parents—though her phone didn’t recognize the number. Maybe they were calling from some office phone in the capitol building. “Hello?”
“Why, hello there,” Redgrave said. “Am I calling at a bad time?”
She froze in her tracks. “How did you get this number?”
“You put it in the public information on your Facebook profile. Which is an enormously stupid thing to do, by the way. Everyone knows there are all sorts of predators on the internet.” Even over the phone, it was obvious he was smiling. “So, I was wondering if you’d come to any final answer for me.”
“I told you I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” Her voice shook, and she wished it didn’t.
