Page 247 of Ominous: Part 1
She sighs, and I know she isn’t done yet. I want to get out and slam the damn door, but I know I’ll get my phone back sooner if I don’t.
“Eden.”
I grind my teeth together, but somehow manage to make my,“What?”sound less hostile than I feel.
“Do you know he’s texted you sixty-three times?”
I close my eyes tight, resting my temple against the cool glass. I know she hasn’t read my texts, because neither her nor Reece know my passcode, and I turned off my notification previews before Eli dropped me off, knowing I would be in trouble.
He doesn’t know I got my phone taken away, or that I’m grounded. I told him yesterday my phone died Tuesday night and I fell asleep before I could charge it, even though I’ve barely slept at all. Today, I’m sure he’ll ask me what the hell happened to my phonelast night.For some reason, I don’t want him to know I’m in trouble. I’m not sure why. Maybe I don’t want him to hate my parents. Part of me wants to protect him from their suspicions. I know he doesn’t have many feelings left to hurt, but if I can spare him any damage, I’ll try.
“Probably memes,” I lie, because I don’t know what else to say.Dammit, Eli.I have to tell him now, and I knew I would today before we have to spend the weekend apart. He mentioned his wrestling tournament, telling me to cancel with Amanda, but I told him I already did because I have work, which is a lie. I just didn’t want him to think I was choosing someone over him.
Now I’ll have to come clean.
Mom says nothing at my back. I know she doesn’t believe my bullshit.
“It’s… a lot,” she says softly.
I curl my fingers tighter around my backpack strap. Yeah, it is. It’s Eli.He’s a lot.He’s perfect for me. The thought of sixty-three messages to read doesn’t scare me. If anything, I’m excited, but I give none of that away to Mom.
She sighs again, ultimately deciding to drop it. “We’ll have fun this weekend, okay? I’ll pick you up early tomorrow so we can go then instead of Saturday.” She’s adopted a tone of false cheer, and I don’t believe her, but I really,reallywant to go to Eli’s beach house on Halloween because then we have fall break afterward, and I’ll probably lie and say I’m with Luna, but she won’t let me go anywhere if I don’t behave.
“Yeah,” I say, turning to give her a fake smile. “We will.”
She reaches for my shoulder, and I bite my tongue, refusing to flinch as I see the jagged scar on her arm. “Have a good day, okay? I’ll be right here when school lets out.” She drops her hand and I nod, still smiling as I get out of the van, closing the door softly behind me when I really want to break the thing off its hinges.
Immediately, someone falls into step with me, and at first, I think it’s Eli. I spin around, looking for Mom’s green van, hoping she doesn’t see.
But then Dominic speaks, and my attention goes to him as I stop walking, arching a brow up at him.
“Nice van,” he says, flashing a smile that doesn’t quite meet his tired eyes. I guess him and I are both full of shit today.
I shake my head, hands by my sides as I turn from him and head up the walkway to the propped open red door of Castle Hall.
He walks beside me, hands in his pockets, and I glance at his boat shoes. A different pair from his white ones, these are tan. I give him another quick look and note the circles beneath his eyes, a breakout on his chin, and his roots are freshly bleached. He’s squinting from the sun as he looks ahead, a rare break in cloud cover for the day, but I can tell he’s a million miles away from here.
I’m surprised he’s been back at school. I know Winslet was missing for a year, and the news about her death is a couple weeks old, but still. It seems like a lot to process in such a short amount of time, particularly when there are no answers. Then again, I’ve never had loss touch me so close before. I know people can die. I like graveyards, and reminders of death. Flirting with it, like when Eli takes my breath away.
But it’s never got its hooks in me, not yet.
“Luna wants to be your friend, you know?”
I almost trip over my own two feet, black boots scuffing on the stone walkway. I reach for the metal divider between the small set of stairs we were headed up, balancing myself. “What?” I ask, my mouth dry. Luna and I haven’t really spoken much recently, didn’t talk at Eli’s latest party, and we rarely see each other during the school day.
“You good?” Dom asks, amusement sparking in his eyes as we get up the steps and keep walking, people brushing by us, some guys calling his name. He throws up his hand, and I see one of the people he’s waving at has a Trafalgar Swim hoodie on, and it does not say “dragons.”
I make a note to ask Eli about the dragonfly wrestling one.
“Shut up,” I murmur, a blush grazing my cheeks as I do, but I stare straight ahead. Dominic doesn’t know about the code word. I clear my throat. “Why are you telling me this? Has she told you that?”
“Yes. She misses him, and since he’s obsessed withyou,well…” He shrugs.
“I’m a way to get to him, in other words?” I keep my eyes on the mass of students heading through the open door.
“Sure,” Dom says. “She’s not half bad, really.”
I snort in reply.
