Page 21 of Blood Moon
Abi stopped her, pulled her back in place. “Sixty seconds, remember?”
Stevie smacked her lips and whispered a prayer to me, and Em suggested we count out loud to sixty.
I mumbled out the numbers while I stared into the darkened forest with my friends, squeezing Stevie’s hand. The longer we counted, the more nervous I became.
What would happen if those eyes appeared again? What if we really did see something that wasn’t a bear? Would that make this real—would that mean the stories were always true? That the people with the signs outside that park were onto something?
And if itwerereal, then what? Is that why Rena wanted me to stay safe?
But when we got to sixty, nothing happened. Not even a critter skittered in the trees.
I sighed in relief.
“See,” Abi said, closing the window. “It’s not real.”
And I agreed. It wasn’t real. It never was.
CHAPTER12
Some called us Children of Darkness; it was much too difficult for them to comprehend our light.
Article I, Lost Letters from Aadan the First
The second day of classes, I found out I had History with Julian in the Lansing Building. He sat rows away from me, far across the room.
His presence was exasperating. No, he didn’t look at me, didn’t bother to breathe in my direction. It was idiotic for me to even care, but when everything had started out so hostile between the two of us, what was I supposed to think, tofeel?
Julian had vital information that could potentially change the trajectory of my time here at Lakeland University. There was something he and my mother were warning me of, something I wassupposedto know, and even after pressing him on what he meant regarding my safety, he looked at me with a pity that was unbearable.
Seems like you already know,he’d said. But I didn’t. I knew nothing, and it drove me mad. My first plan of action was to corner him outside the class and demand he talk to me so I knew what to prepare myself for, but the moment class was over, he was already gone. There was no sign of him in the hallway or outside the building, and I was convinced he was avoiding me.
I made a face and pushed my hair behind my ear. It didn’t look like getting information from him would be easy.What a jerk.
Fortunately, English class was in the same building, just up on the third floor.
I was out of breath by the time I made it to the door, but I saw Naomi sitting in one of the rows, and I hurried to the empty seat next to her before it could be taken by someone else.
“Hey,” I said, catching my breath and pulling out a notebook from my bag.
Her eyes brightened the moment she saw me, and she clapped quietly. “Mira, it’s so good to see you again. Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry for rambling yesterday. I was just … nerves, you know?”
I nodded. “Trust me, I get it.”
“Really?” she said, her brows squishing together. “I can be a bit much sometimes, but you seem really nice—at least nice enough to put up with me.”
I smiled, thoroughly impressed with myself and the compliment she gave me. After Rena left, I wouldn’t have categorized myself as someone who wasnice… because at the time, I’d been someone who was trying to survive, someone who was trying to live their life without a mother. I’d become dissociative and flighty. I’d developed anxiety and was deeply afraid of being left behind, so on that level, I understood Naomi. I knew how anxiety had the power to change you from your true self … at times, it was insufferable.
“I meant to ask you,” she said, changing the tune. “Are you going to the football game next Saturday? I heard it was going to be this big thing. I didn’t realize how good the football team was.”
I clicked the pen in my hand, thinking of Seven and how he’d very much love to see me there. “I was considering it. I have a friend who invited me.”
Naomi’s mouth popped open, and she leaned in, a smile spreading on her face. “A friend, huh? Like aboyfriend?”
I snickered, knowing how much Seven would delight in this conversation. “He is a boy,” I agreed. “He actually plays on the team.”
Naomi gasped. “Be so for real.”
“I am!”
