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Ryan’s voice was low and raspy when he spoke. “Do you understand me?”
My pulse quickened as his gaze pierced into me. I heard a warning bell go off in my head as he slowly leaned in closer and I jerked back. I turned just in time to see Simon opening the door of the auditorium carrying a brown paper bag. I watched as he walked towards us, his eyes only for me.
“I hope you’re in the mood for burgers and fries,” he said as he set the bag down on the bleachers.
“Sounds perfect,” I said with a smile, although my appetite had vanished. I was just relieved that Simon hadn’t seen anything. I forced myself to unwrap a burger and take a bite, studiously avoiding Ryan’s gaze. I was confused about what had just happened. Was Ryan going to kiss me? Maybe I had just misinterpreted his actions. The most confusing part was that even though I had pulled back, a part of me had wanted to lean in, to feel his lips against mine and find out if there was actually anything between us.
The thought made me guilty and I felt like I was betraying Simon. I didn’t doubt my love for him, but then why was I being tempted by someone else?
I tried to clear my head as the day wore on. The last thing I needed was to be distracted by my confusing emotions when I needed to concentrate on training and getting stronger for the day when I would face my father. I told myself I was being weak and soft by getting pulled in different directions by my emotions and I resolved to be stronger.
“We can’t stay here all night,” Simon said as he checked his watch. Not only had we eaten lunch in the auditorium, we had eaten dinner there as well. “It’s almost ten o’clock.”
“But what if something happens overnight?” I protested. “We don’t know when it’s going to happen.”
“Simon’s right,” Ryan agreed, surprising both Simon and I. “There’s no point in facing the vardoger if you’re weak. I know you want to save the person from your vision, and you will, but this is also to make you stronger. Don’t wear yourself out for the battle so that you end up losing the war.”
I opened my mouth to respond but Ryan continued to speak. “Plus, you might have the vision again tonight while you sleep that’ll clue you in to the identity.” He looked around the auditorium dismissively. “I doubt you’ll get a good night’s sleep here.”
I sighed, unable to refute the logic of his words, although a part of me desperately wanted to stay. I was afraid of missing the attack, but Ryan was right and I agreed to go home.
“You must be exhausted,” Sarah said sympathetically when we got home. I had kept in touch with her throughout the day through text messages, but I was still relieved to see her safe and sound on the living room couch along with Grant.
“We didn’t really do much besides watch students play basketball.” I rubbed my bottom ruefully. “Next time I think I’m going to take some cushions. Those bleachers are hard.”
“Joel called me tonight,” Grant said to Simon. “Marcus already told him that we were playing at the East End on Saturday and he was calling me to confirm it. I told him we would since we already told Marcus that it was okay.”
Simon nodded although he didn’t look enthused by the prospect. “It’s probably best to get some things back to normal.”
“Good. Marcus wanted to know if we can practice tomorrow afternoon.” Grant’s tone wasn’t overly enthusiastic. He still watched Simon with a calculated eye, as if he expected him to attack at any moment.
Simon turned to me before responding to Grant. “I assume you’re planning on spending all day at the auditorium again tomorrow.”
“Yes, unless I have a vision tonight where I find out more.”
Simon turned back to Grant. “Sorry, not tomorrow.”
Grant seemed to accept Simon’s response but I spoke up. “Simon, you can go practice with the band tomorrow. You said it was best to get things back to normal. You practicing with Grant and Marcus is normal.”
Simon lifted a challenging brow. “I was talking about other people, not me. I’ll always be far from normal.”
I sighed but didn’t argue any further. I knew Simon had a similar feeling as I did in that he wanted the others to go back to living their lives normally. The fact that we couldn’t made the desire for the people we cared about to do so even stronger. He would never be normal and neither would I. It was an odd thought to be comforting, but it was. I never had to worry about being alone.
I reminded myself that it probably wasn’t a good idea to be alone with Ryan, so it was another reason not to argue with Simon. After what had happened today at the auditorium, whether it was real or imagined, I had to be more on guard around him, especially when it came to my emotions. That would be easier with Simon around.
It was a relief to fall into bed, but I was frustrated the next morning when I woke up vision-free. Ryan, Simon and I trudged back to the auditorium to spend another day there and I prayed that today wouldn’t be another fruitless endeavor.
We were rewarded when the fencing team strolled in at around eleven in the morning. Britney scowled when she saw us but Amanda smiled and walked over.
“Hi guys.”
“Hi,” I greeted with a smile. “It’s good to see you again.” I felt the need to explain why we were here even though she hadn’t asked. “We’re taking a break between classes. I didn’t realize the fencing team was practicing today.”
“We have a big match tomorrow,” Amanda said. “I always stress out way too much about it. I end up coming to practice on my own at night to make sure I’m as prepared as possible for the next day’s match.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great,” I said sincerely.
I waited until Amanda had walked away to speak. “So I guess we have to stay tonight until she comes back to practice on her own. That would be the perfect time for her vardoger to strike.”
