Page 22 of Blood Moon
“I’m jealous. I can barely get any of the boys or girls to wink back at me here. I thought the Midwest was supposed to be all rainbows and sunshine.”
“Wait … are you going around winking at everyone?”
She winked at me. “Absolutely.”
We both laughed and then the professor called for the start of class. Our first assigned reading wasWuthering Heights. I’d read it in high school last year, and I was all for vengeance, but this timing felt a little too close to home.
After class, we walked to lunch together, and I was thankful Naomi was a talker. It was the best distraction I didn’t know I needed, and while it didn’t alleviate all my worries, I found that Naomi was an extraordinary storyteller.
She told me the story of how she ended up in the wrong building for her finance class because she’d accidentally misread her schedule. Since she didn’t want to be late, she stole a bike that wasn’t locked up and rode it to the correct building. She assured me that she returned the bike after her next class, but I wasn’t judgmental about it; I might have done the same.
We had pizza for lunch, and we sat at the end of a long table, surrounded by people we didn’t know. While we ate, we let their conversations fill the void, but it was never for long. I quickly learned that Naomi didn’t live on campus like some of the other freshmen did. She stayed ten minutes away with one of her aunties who worked in the city.
“It’s better than a scholarship,” she admitted, but I told her she was welcome to visit mine and Stevie’s room whenever she needed a break during the day. Although we had a student center and private study rooms on campus, I figured it would be a nice gesture.
“Did you hear about the bear attack?” She asked, eyes wide. “My auntie went on and on about it. I guess one of her co-workers is a family friend of the victim.”
I wiped my mouth with a napkin, recalling the breaking news story. “It’s so tragic,” I said. “And also, just so completely out of left field. We don’t generally get bears in Kansas. I’m unsure why they wandered here.”
Naomi leaned in. “I heard they’re saying it was a bear as a cover up.”
No. Not this again. “As a cover up for what?” I asked, knowing full well I didn’t really want to know the answer.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. This is what my auntie was saying to me. She thinks a person did it.”
I folded my lips before speaking. It made me wonder how much Bobby knew about the case, and what he might tell me if he did. “A person? But wasn’t there a witness that said it was an animal?”
“Well … maybe some details got missed along the way?”
“Maybe,” I agreed, but I was still on the fence about all of it.
After lunch, I called Bobby. It went straight to voicemail, and that bothered me. Even in the field, he answered. He had his phone on him at all times, and when I lived with him, he was responsive—sometimes to a fault—but maybe I was being a bit too impatient. These days, time was restless. I checked our conversation history. The last text came from me. He’d read it but hadn’t responded; that was unusual for him.
My last class was uneventful, so much so that I found myself ebbing in and out of consciousness. I’d hardly slept the night before. Even with all my friends in the room with me, my thoughts had been muddled with the way Julian stared at me beneath the cloudy night sky, the way he looked at my necklace, knowing more about it than I did. And then Rena. How she had withheld imperative information that could very well keep me alive—which was her incentive for writing, I’d assumed—only now I was shaking fists and trembling teeth. I felt so thinned out, my world spun in a cataclysmic fit of ceaselessness. It would only take a breath for everything to come toppling over.
After class, I made my way to the Averill Athletic Center. I’d promised the girls I’d sit in on one of their practices. It was the distraction I needed, and if that didn’t work, I’d throw myself into the pages ofWuthering Heights.
They welcomed me with waves and smiles once they caught sight of me. My stomach formed into a bundle of knots as I found a spot on the bleachers. Envy pierced me. Had I spent more time dancing than running—something I sincerely enjoyed prior to Rena leaving—then perhaps I’d be good enough to audition for the team, but as my thoughts sank deeper, I was unsure if I’d ever be who I was then, if that spark I’d had would ever catch fire and burn again.
Soon, the marching band strolled in with their instruments secured in their hands. The coaches blew their whistles, and as they ran their sequence, my phone vibrated with a text from Bobby. The relief I felt was remarkable. I’d already decided that if I hadn’t heard from him by tomorrow, I would find a way to the house—to his department—to make sure he was okay.
Bug, I hope you’re having a blast
Sorry I missed your call. The office has been a bit busy the last 2 days
Stay safe out there, kiddo, and if you need anything give me a holler
It was the most dadliest text ever, and yet, I felt my mouth curve into a smile. I hated how much I missed him already. The realization made me feel ill, that feeling tightening around my gut. The letter from Rena. The necklace. The constant threats to my well-being. Bobby would lose it if he knew. Part of me wanted to tell him, but I hesitated out of instinct. To keep him safe. To keep our sanity intact. He’d only interrogate me. And for what? I had no real answers. Not yet.
CHAPTER13
We were born together; we should not die apart.
Article IV, Lost Letters from Aadan the First
Someone whispered my name. The sound was breathy and deep.
A pause, and I gripped the wooden handrail, glanced past my shoulder. I was headed down the grand staircase to the coffee shop located on the first floor of the Faulkner Library. It was a temperate evening. The waning sunlight poured through the stained glass windows, smearing the wooden walls and bookcases with blue and green and orange.
