Eternal (22 page)

I ran a finger over my cell’s slick screen, debating whether or not I should actually text Whitney. With my luck, the second we got into a conversation, Cece would come back. It seemed best to just wait patiently, but the longer she was gone, the more nervous I became.

Setting aside my cell, I rose and padded over to the window, pulling back the curtains to gaze out at the starry night. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery glow across the lawn and the treetops beyond.

They were out there somewhere, Aidan and Jenna. I hated the thought of them together. Still, I felt stupid for sending Cece out to spy on them. I resisted the urge to look over at the still form lying on the bed—just an empty shell. I wanted to shake her, to tell her that I’d changed my mind. Instead, I leaned against the window, pressing my forehead to the cool glass, and took a deep, calming breath.

In through my nose, out through my mouth. The glass fogged, obscuring my vision as the minutes ticked by. Slowly, one after another, until I didn’t think I could stand it any longer.
Hurry, hurry.
I tapped my foot impatiently, wanting to retrieve my cell so I could check the time. How many minutes had passed? Ten? Fifteen? I’d totally lost track.

Careful to keep my back to Cece’s body, I shuffled over to my bed and retrieved my cell, then hurried back to the window. I glanced down at the screen with a huff of frustration—only seven minutes had passed. Not nearly enough time for her to have seen anything worthwhile.

I had to distract myself. Keeping the volume off, I checked my e-mail. Then my text messages. Then my social networks. With nothing else left to do, I tapped open a game.

“I’m baaack,” came Cece’s singsong voice behind me just as the game loaded.

Relief washed over me as I turned toward her, watching as she sat up and reached for the bottle of water beside her bed.

She took several long chugs, the plastic crinkling noisily as it emptied. “Whew, I’m thirsty,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of one hand.

I clicked my cell’s volume switch back on and tossed the phone to my bed. “From the projecting?”

“Nah, from the Mexican food at lunch,” she answered with a laugh.

I drummed my fingers on my thighs. “So?”

Her brows drew together. “So, what?”

I gave her a pointed look. “Aren’t you going to tell me what happened out there?”

“Oh, right. Well, first off, I wish I could scrub my eyeballs. Did you know that she strips
naked
before going wolf?”

“Yeah, I know.” Aidan had told me that last year.

“And she’s certainly not shy. The little skank stripped down to nothing, right there in front of Aidan.”

Of course she did.

Cece winced. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, it’s fine.” I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. “What did he do?”

“You really want to hear this?”

“I have to,” I said. “Go on.”

She shrugged. “He just watched. I mean, he didn’t look like he was turned on or anything,” she added hastily. “He was just, you know, standing there watching. With his arms folded, looking kind of bored.”

“Uh-huh. Go on.”

“So Jenna does her little striptease and then picks up her clothes and walks over and hands them to him. He’s still just kind of watching her. His eyes were on her face the whole time, I swear.”

I wasn’t entirely sure I believed her, but I motioned for her to continue.

“And then she says, ‘You know, for a vampire you’re not that bad.’ And then she kinda . . . I don’t know . . . runs a finger down the side of his face.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“You said you wanted to hear this,” Cece said haltingly.

I swallowed hard. “I do. Continue.”

“So she says, ‘I don’t have to run tonight.’ Aidan didn’t say anything, so she adds, ‘I’m not fragile like your little pet. You could bite me, if that’s what it takes to turn you on. I’d heal as soon as I shifted.’ I have no idea what she meant by that.”

“I guess shifting speeds up the healing process for her or something,” I speculated, fighting the urge to hunt her down and
rip her limb from limb. “So what’d he say to her little proposition?”

Cece glanced down at her hands, suddenly unable to meet my eyes.

Uh-oh.

“Just tell me,” I whispered.

“Fine. Just . . . don’t shoot the messenger, okay? You’re the one who made me spy on them.”

“Tell me,” I repeated.

“He said, ‘Maybe later.’ And next thing I know, Jenna drops to the ground. It was crazy, Violet. It’s like one second she’s her, and the next she’s this . . . this . . .
creature
. But her eyes”—she shuddered—“they were the same.”

“Maybe later?” My mind was stuck on Aidan’s reply—the details about her shifting seemed irrelevant now. “You’re sure that’s what he said?”

She fiddled with her earrings. “Pretty sure. Not a hundred percent, but . . . yeah, I think that’s what he said. And then . . . well, Jenna-the-wolf just took off running. Aidan sort of wadded up her clothes and went and sat on the bench at the edge of the woods. That’s when I came back.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.” I headed for the door.

Cece half rose from the bed. “Wait, where are you going?”

I didn’t stop to answer her. Instead, I hurried out to the bathroom next door, stopping at the sink to splash cold water on my face.

What was this—payback? Or was there more to their relationship—his and Jenna’s—than Aidan had let on? I couldn’t help but think the latter, since he had no idea that Cece was there, watching and listening. And without an audience, well . . . what kind of payback was that? What was the point if I didn’t know about it? Was it possible that he’d been lying to me about Jenna all along? What other explanation
was
there?

This time, I really
was
going to be sick.

Fifteen minutes later, my face washed and teeth brushed, I shambled back to my room. Cece was sitting on my bed, my cell clutched to her ear.

“Yeah, she just walked in now,” she said.
Matthew
, she mouthed, pointing to the phone. “Here, I’ll let you talk to her.”

She held out my cell, and I took it with still-shaking hands. “Hello?”

“Are you okay?” he asked without preamble.

“Yeah, I’m . . . it’s fine.”

“It doesn’t feel fine. I got a really strong sense from you just now. Something’s not right.”

“Yeah, well . . . some things aren’t
Sâbbat
-related, you know. This is just . . . a relationship issue. Private stuff.” My cheeks were flaming now.

“With Aidan, you mean? Then it is
Sâbbat
-related, Violet. Anything to do with a vampire is.”

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “Not this. I promise, okay?”

“Can you meet me in my office in ten minutes?” he pressed.

“No! Do you know what time it is? It’s after lights-out. I can’t just sneak off to your office.”

“Your mark is fine? What about your bracelet?”

I glanced down at my wrist. “They’re both fine. Seriously.”

I heard him exhale loudly. “Okay, then. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. You need to chill—you’re stressing me out here.”

“Well, how do you think I feel? God, Violet. I suddenly felt physically ill, like someone was ripping out my insides.” His voice was sharp, his frustration evident.

I had no idea that my mental state affected him quite so strongly. “I’m sorry, Matthew. I sometimes forget how connected we are.”

“It’s okay. I just hope—”

I heard a muffled voice in the background. “Is everything okay?” A
female
voice.

“Everything’s fine,” came his reply. “I’ll let you go,” he said, louder now.

I glanced over at the clock on my bedside table. It was well after midnight. What was he doing with a woman in his room after midnight? “Is that Charlie?” I asked, my voice rising.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow” was all he said before abruptly ending the call.

I stared down at my silent phone in surprise. “That was weird,” I said, glancing up at Cece’s questioning gaze. “Don’t ask.”

“Are you kidding? I mean, the dude sounded frantic. I only answered your phone because he wasn’t giving up, by the way. It started ringing the second you walked out, and he just kept calling, over and over again. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t.” I slumped onto my bed, my heart still pounding. “I guess our connection is getting stronger. But it’s so weird—it’s only one way. You know, him reading my emotional state, but not the other way around. I guess he thought I was in mortal danger or something.”

She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“And,” I added, drawing it out for emphasis, “there was someone there with him. A woman. I’m assuming it was the mysterious Charlie. You know, the one who apparently isn’t his girlfriend
but is somehow there in his room with him after midnight. On a school night.”

Cece pursed her mouth, looking thoughtful. “Well, how do you know he was in his room? Maybe they were somewhere else.”

“Good point.” I hadn’t even considered that. “He must have been on campus, though, because he wanted to meet in his office in ten minutes.”

Cece rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine if you got caught? How in the world would you explain that one? ‘Oh, yeah . . . I know he’s a teacher, and a really,
really
hot one, but he and I are just good friends. It’s not a booty call, I swear.’ ”

I tossed a pillow at her, laughing now. Leave it to Cece to lighten my mood, even at a time like this. I was going to miss her
so
much. That thought alone wiped the smile right off my face.

“You okay?” Cece asked.

I sighed heavily. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“Hey, right back at you, girlfriend.”

“You better call or text me, like, every day.”

“You know I will. And hey, I can do my semester abroad in Paris. Junior year.”

“You better. You won’t even need student housing—you can stay with us.” My voice broke on the last word.
Us
. Was there still an ‘us’? I wasn’t sure, not after what I’d heard tonight.

Even when Aidan had been off at the Tribunal, he’d somehow felt closer than he did right now. What was happening to us? The future that had once seemed so certain, so solid, despite the improbability of him getting his cure, now seemed ephemeral, like a hazy mist that was looping and curling on the breeze, just out of reach.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with Aidan?” Cece asked, as if she could read my mind. “Because even
I
know this is out of character for him. He hates Jenna. I’m sure of it. And you two have been somehow off for the past few days. Even Josh noticed, and he’s pretty clueless about that kind of thing.”

My inner debate over whether or not to tell her the truth lasted all of five seconds. “Suzanne said something to me during fencing class the other day. About Kate. I don’t know why I got so upset, but I ran out and Tyler came after me. We started talking about her, about how much he liked her, how much we missed her. We were just . . . I don’t know . . . sitting there holding each other.”

Realization dawned in Cece’s eyes. “Oh, sweet Jesus. Aidan caught you, didn’t he?”

“Bingo.”

“Oh, man. I guess that explains Tyler’s busted face. But you told Aidan what was going on, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but right now he’s not listening to what I’m saying. He’s too busy sulking.”

“Well, this sheds new light on what I saw out there tonight, doesn’t it? Maybe he was just trying to get back at you.”

“If he were trying to get back at me, wouldn’t it be better to do it right in front of me? He has no idea that I know about this, Cee. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

I glanced over at the window, the view unchanged beyond the panes of glass. “Do you think it’s ‘later’ yet?”

“Later? Oh . . . right.” She shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “You’re going to worry about this all night, aren’t you?”

“Yup,” I answered with a nod.

“Any chance you’re going to get any sleep?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She rose, reaching for her robe. “Okay, then. I’m going to the lounge to get us some coffee. Snacks too?”

“Definitely.” I reached for my purse and dug out a couple of crumpled dollar bills.

She waved away my offer of money as she pulled on her fuzzy bunny slippers. “No, this one’s on me.”

A bittersweet smile tugged at my mouth as I watched her thump off down the hall toward the lounge. It was going to be a long, sugar-and-caffeine-fueled night. But I knew without a doubt that if anyone could help me through it, Cece could.

S
ince I had to skip senior ditch day on Friday, I decided to watch the sun rise from the loft in the chapel instead. As soon as Cece left, joining the horde of whispering seniors gathering in the East Hall lounge, I slipped on a pair of running shorts and a T-shirt and jogged across the dark, silent campus.

By the time I reached the last set of steps to the loft, I was breathless. I swiped at the thin sheen of sweat on my forehead with the back of one hand, then hustled up the ladder, pulling myself onto the wooden platform with a heaving sigh.

Only, I wasn’t alone.

“What are you doing here?” Aidan asked, turning to face me. “It’s senior ditch day. You’re supposed to be at the cemetery.”

“Seemed like a better idea to stay here,” I said with a shrug. “Otherwise, Matth—Dr. Byrne,” I corrected, “would have insisted on tagging along. I figured that wouldn’t make me very popular.”

“Won’t your little friend be terribly disappointed?”

“Won’t Jenna?” I shot back. My jealousy had grown and festered since that first sleepless night. Each day since, I’d become angrier and more confused, my feelings a tangled mess of insecurity and self-righteous fury.

Aidan turned back toward the wall, but I could see his jaw working, the muscles flexing as he stood rigidly with his hands fisted by his sides. Several seconds passed in silence.

“I suppose that means your little spy reported back to you,” he said at last.