Page 50 of Sinister Legacy
Marcus sidles up next to Madison and leans his back against the lockers. “I’m only young once, and wearing a letterman jacket is a privilege. One day, I’ll be in my forties and reminiscing about the time I was a young, popular football player in high school.”
Rolling her eyes, Madison pops her gum.
Marcus lifts his chin to the lockers across the hallway. “So, King and the rest haven’t returned yet?”
“Do you blame them?” Cassie asks, pocketing her mirror. “One of their friends was murdered.”
“They were close,” I say quietly, and they all look at me.
Madison reaches out to squeeze my arm gently with a soft smile on her lips. Liam buries his nose in my hair and breathes me in before putting his lips to my ear and whispering, “Want me to stay with you after school?”
“No, I have that thing…” I don’t. I just want to be alone.
He seems to understand because he steers me down the hallway. The others follow behind. Liam and Marcus discuss an upcoming game that was canceled at today’s assembly. Their deep voices fade into nothingness as I walk toward the front doors looming up ahead. The rain outside lashes against the glass. It’s a gloomy and miserable day.
Liam slides his arm from around me and walks ahead to open the door. I’m vaguely aware of Marcus’s aftershave as he guides me forward with his hand between my shoulder blades.
We step outside into the chilly autumn afternoon. It was freezing this morning, but now it’s milder. The weather forecast predicted a flurry of snow, but it’s raining instead.
Wet, mushy leaves get crushed beneath my shoes as we hurry across the parking lot to where Liam’s blue sports car is parked.
Cassie shrieks, holding her backpack over her hair. Marcus’s warm hand is still on my back, and the heat in that one spot right between my shoulder blades remains my main focus as he opens the passenger door.
“Get inside, Keira.”
So maybe I’m a mess and have been since the news broke. I got the name wrong in the changing room. If I had guessed Jasper’s name, he would be alive now.
But he’s not alive.
He’s dead.
Marcus straps me in while Liam tosses his backpack in the backseat, where Cassie runs her fingers through her wet hair.
“See you tomorrow,” Marcus says to Liam. “I’m driving Madison home.”
The passenger door shuts and then Liam, seated sideways with his forearm on the steering wheel, clears his throat. “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to my house, babe?”
“I’m sure.”
Liam directs his attention to Cassie in the backseat. “You going straight home?”
While they talk, I stare out the window at the school building. It’s dark outside because of the gloomy weather, so the lit-up windows look bright, but inside those gray walls dwells evil.
The principal was brutally murdered in his office, and a student was attacked in the bathroom. The killer has walked those hallways, blending in with the students.
As I look away, a shiver crawls down my spine. I can’t help but feel like I’m being watched.
With a final glance in my direction, Liam starts the engine, but my gaze stays locked on the metaphorical blood on my hands.
“Play the game, Keira. Guess a name.”
* * *
The central heating slaps me in the face as I walk through the doorway and toe off my shoes before kicking them to the side. The house smells of curry and a scented vanilla candle that sits on the console table in the lobby. Mom is cooking in the kitchen, and my stepdad is seated in the armchair in the living room, watching a replay of last night’s football game.
I walk upstairs and hurry to my room, the steps creaking beneath my feet. My hair is soaked, and the strands have clumped together.
Pressing my shoulder to the door, I emerge into my bedroom and drop my backpack to the floor. It’s dark, so I reach out to flip the switch while combing my fingers through my wet hair.
