Page 14 of Soul of Shadow
“Oh,” Charlie said. “It’s you.”
His eyes glinted as he smirked down at her. The chain, which she first noticed the day before, was still around his neck, dipping down into his T-shirt so that she couldn’t see if anything hung from its end. “It’s me.”
“Wait,” said Lou. “Do you two know each other?”
“Only in passing,” Elias said without taking his eyes off Charlie. “We ran into each other in the woods yesterday.”
“You were inthe woods?” Abigail’s voice climbed several decibels. “What the hell were you doing there?”
Charlie winced and glanced over at Lou, who was already looking back, eyes wide.
“No,” Abigail said. “You two didnot.”
“Anyway,” Lou said loudly, redirecting her gaze to Elias. “What can we do for you?”
An excellent question, Charlie thought. Unwillingly, she looked back at the boy standing above her. He was still staring down, as if he had never looked away.
For several seconds, Elias didn’t speak. His eyes danced with something unspoken. Charlie felt oddly nervous, as if he might suddenly pull out a knife.
How ridiculous, she thought, shaking away the feeling.If he really is dangerous, he wouldn’t do anything in the middle of a public cafeteria, would he?
Then, as abruptly as a light switching on, his expression changed. Melted to one of need and vulnerability. “I have a headache.” He touched his temple, just below his dark curls, and winced theatrically. “Your brother mentioned that you usually carry Advil?”
Charlie narrowed her eyes. He was lying. She was sure of it. And yet, what ulterior motive could he have for coming over here? Was it just to loom threateningly over her? Or was there something more?
The more she interacted with this boy, the less she understood him.
“Well?” he prompted.
“Sure.” Charlie picked up her backpack from the bench and unzipped the front pocket. She reached inside for the little white bottle that always sat at the bottom. “I do carry Advil, thoughI’m surprised Mason knows that.”I’m surprised he knowsanythingabout meis what she didn’t say.
She held out the bottle.
Slowly, Elias lifted his hand—pale but noticeably strong—and picked up the Advil. As his fingers brushed her palm, Charlie jerked her hand back. She had to hold in a hiss. His hand was hot.Impossiblyhot, as if he had just pulled it out of an oven. His touch burned.
Elias tilted his head, a smirk playing at his mouth. “Something wrong?”
Charlie stared at him.What the hell?What was wrong with this boy? Was he ill? He didn’tlooksick. He stood as tall and confident as he had the day before, no sweat on his brow, no worry in his eyes.
She glanced over at her friends, who were looking at her as if she’d lost her mind. And maybe she had. How else could she explain the last two days?
“No,” Charlie said at last, unable to look back at Elias. “No, nothing wrong at all.”
7
Charlie and Mason arrived home at exactly the same time. This was unusual; they both carpooled with their respective friends, and Mason’s group had far more people than she did. Charlie had always thought of this as being some sort of statement by her older brother. That he would rather cram into a car with five other boys than suffer through thirty minutes with his little sister.
Today, however, Charlie pulled up in the Bronco right as Mason was walking up the driveway. When twisted around in her seat and squinted out the back side window, she saw an unfamiliar car turning the corner in the distance. Something low and black. An old convertible, maybe. Definitely not belonging to one of Mason’s friends. She would remember a car like that.
She had a sneaking suspicion who it belonged to.
Charlie stepped out onto the driveway and slammed the door of the Bronco as Mason reached the front door. He hadn’t even bothered to turn around when he heard her pull in.
“Who just dropped you off?” she asked.
“Nice to see you, too, sis,” Mason said over his shoulder as he put his key into the lock.
“I’m serious, Mason.” She crossed the front lawn, coming up behind him. “That wasn’t Elias, was it?”
