War and Order Page 2

  For real?

  "But if I catch you anywhere near that Smith boy, then I am pulling you out again, you hear me? I still haven't forgotten about the slumber party. Your Uncle Jeff is no longer at the school since he and his annoying wife Sophia apparently decided to travel through Asia over the next year. Typical of them to just take off like that, not caring about anyone but themselves," she said with a snort. "Just because they don't have kids. But that doesn’t mean I won't keep an eye on you, you hear me?"

  I nodded. I couldn't believe my incredible luck. Not only was I going back to school to be with my friends, but I was also not going to have to constantly look over my shoulder to watch for my stupid uncle.

  "I hear you," I said almost laughing, but choking it down so my mom wouldn’t know. "Loud and clear."

  Chapter Five

  "It's time for you to go back to school."

  They were eating breakfast when Amy's mom said the words. At first, Amy thought she was talking to her and found it strange. Of course she was going back to school this coming Monday, like everyone else. But seconds later, she realized her mom was talking to Melanie sitting next to her, a half-eaten bowl of cereal in front of her.

  "But…Mom? Don't you think Robyn's parents are still looking for her?" Amy asked.

  "A lot has happened since then. I hardly think Camille worries about Melanie anymore. I will have a talk with her and explain that Melanie controls her wolf very well now and that there is no reason to worry that she might expose any of us. Besides, Mr. Aran hasn't shown his face around here for two weeks now. I’m crossing my fingers that he is gone for good. It is important that Melanie finishes her schooling. We have to think about her future."

  Amy felt a pinch of worry in her stomach. She knew that her mother was right, but still. She was so protective of her best friend and feared what might happen to her. She had been through so much.

  "Are you okay with that?" she asked her.

  Melanie nodded, chewing. "Heck, yeah. I’m about to go insane from staying inside all the time."

  Amy's mom smiled. "Good. That's settled then."

  "Don't look at me that way," Melanie said when Amy's mom had left.

  "I'm not."

  "Yes, you are. I can feel it. You have that look in your eyes, that worried look."

  Amy exhaled. "Well, I’m sorry for worrying about you."

  "I am older than you, remember? Plus, I’ve been a wolf for a whole lot longer than you have been the dragon. Not to mention my mad skills at Taekwondo. I can take care of myself. If we should worry about anyone, it would be you."

  Amy finished her orange juice. Melanie was right. She was, after all, the one who had saved all of them at the slumber party at Jazmine's house a few weeks ago. Amy still shivered thinking about that night. It had come very close to ending badly for all of them. They hadn't told their parents what had happened and made a pact never to tell anyone what they had done to Mr. Aran. Jazmine had made all of them promise that it would stay between them all. Even Adrian—whom Amy didn't trust much, if at all—had made his promise. Meanwhile, the nasty spider-man was trapped inside of Jazmine's Yeti-cup, standing on a shelf high up in Jazmine's closet. He couldn't get out unless someone broke the spell, Jazmine had said, and that was why she didn't want anyone to know. If no one knew about this, then no one could free him. They were safe.

  "I’m going shopping. Is Kipp eating with us tonight?" Amy's mother asked as she returned, now dressed to go outside. The summer had been unusually cold this year, so they had to dress in their winter clothes even in August. Kipp had been hanging out with them almost every day lately and ate dinner with them almost every night. Yes, you could say they were dating, but Amy was reluctant to do so. She still wasn't certain that he would want to be with her once school started and all those long-legged blonde girls from the cheerleading squad were throwing themselves at him again. She was just waiting for him to realize that he was out of her league.

  Amy shook her head. "We're all meeting up at Sophie's later."

  Chapter Six

  "I don't want to go."

  "But you have to."

  Jazmine looked up at Adrian. They were lying on her bed, watching TV, and just hanging out. They had been doing that a lot lately. Just spending time together. You might say they were back together; Adrian certainly would say just that. After the incident at her slumber-party, Jazmine had realized how deeply she cared for him and that breaking up with him was nothing but her way of pushing him away because she was afraid of getting hurt. She had decided to give him a second chance and see what was going to happen. Her friends thought she was nuts for forgiving him for the way he had treated her that night, but they didn't know him the way she knew him. She knew there were certain things that were harder for him to control than for others, being what he was.

  "You know you do. You have this great future ahead of you."

  He held her tighter. "I'm just gonna miss you so…much."

  She chuckled and kissed him gently. "I'll miss you too. But I won't feel sorry for you. I refuse to. You should feel sorry for me instead. I’m the one who’s going to be stuck back here in old boring Shadow Hills, while you're out there taking the world by storm."

  There was a sound from her closet. A low rattling. Adrian chortled. "He's not giving up, is he?"

  Jazmine shook her head while looking at the closet door. The sound came from the Yeti that she had placed on the top shelf.

  "How long do you think it will take him to realize that it's no use to try and escape?" she asked, remembering how hard he had tried in the beginning and kept her awake at night with his loud noises, probably trying to get the lid off. But what he didn't realize was that the lid wasn't even completely closed. Yet he could never leave the cup. He was bound to it and it to him. And Jazmine planned on keeping it that way.

  BamBam slid through a crack in the door and came into Jazmine's room. He jumped onto her bed, meowing and spinning, rubbing himself against her leg. The cat was really a female, but since her dad had revealed himself being inside of it, she found it hard to call it a she.

  She took him in her lap and petted him. He too had kept a close eye on the closet and the Yeti. When they were alone, he and Jazmine had engaged in deep conversations. It felt good to have her dad close by again, and this time being able to talk to him about everything, even witchcraft. They didn't talk much about her mother, though. Jazmine had told him she didn't want to. She wanted to forget her, but her dad wouldn't let her and kept bringing her up whenever they were alone. It made their alone time tense from time to time, and she wished he would just stop.

  She hadn't told Adrian about her dad being inside the cat. She wanted to keep it between them. Even Aunt Tina didn't know. Things had been pretty good having Aunt Tina around, except for the food. She ruined just about any dish she tried to make, and they ended up eating at the diner a lot or ordering pizza. Jazmine didn't mind too much, but she did miss her mother's cooking.

  Aunt Tina had her own online-store where she sold crystals and rocks and occult stuff. It had been no problem for her to move to Shadow Hills to be able to take care of Jazmine. But it also meant she was home every day, and Jazmine was never alone anymore. Her aunt wasn't too fond of Adrian and insisted on the door to her room being kept open when he was there. Every now and then, she would pop in and ask them something completely random, then pop back out.

  "So, are you all packed?" Jazmine asked Adrian.

  He sighed. "My mom packed everything. She insists on taking me there on Monday too. Three hours in a car with my crazy mother. As if going there isn't torture enough already. Can't you come with me, please?"

  "I have school, remember?" she said.

  He sighed. "I know. I was just hoping for a second that it was still summer, and we had time." He leaned over and kissed her gently, pressing her down on the bed, when someone cleared their throat behind him. When they turned and looked, Aunt Tina was standing in the doorway, smiling awkwardl
y.

  "Has anyone seen my glasses?"

  Chapter Seven

  It was his last summer shift at the diner. Jayden had enjoyed working at the diner and, apparently, Sophie had liked having him around just as much. She had asked him to continue working on weekends and some afternoons during the week. He had accepted the offer, gladly. This meant he would have more money to take Ruelle places and it got him out of the house where his parents were still mourning the loss of his brother deeply. He was mourning himself, yes, but he preferred doing it among the living. Being busy with work, friends, and his girlfriend made him forget, and that was all he needed right now. He couldn't dwell on his sadness any longer.

  Jayden put on his apron, and Old Sophie handed him a cup of coffee with a smile. He took it and sipped it while preparing the counter and register for opening. There was usually a big run-in in the mornings from people wanting breakfast and coffee, and then it died down for a few hours till the next big rush-in for lunch. He knew the drill by now and could do the work in his sleep if he had to. Sophie's coffee wasn't very good, but he enjoyed the caffeine and waited for it to do its work on him.

  He had gotten to bed pretty late the night before. He had been hanging out with Ruelle at her house, playing basketball in her backyard, and eating her dad's grilled rib-eye steaks. Later, he and Ruelle had gone for a long walk before they ended up in her room, making out. He had returned home right before midnight, almost floating on a cloud of happiness. Once he had gotten back inside his own house, he had been overwhelmed with enormous guilt for being this happy when he had just lost his brother.

  But what good did it do anyone if he was unhappy? He didn't know. He just felt like he had to feel bad. He wasn't allowed to feel happiness. But it was hard for him not to since he was so deeply in love with Ruelle and she had told him she loved him too. They were destined to be together and…well, it just made him so incredibly happy that it was hard for him to keep the sadness and darkness in his life.

  Yes, he missed his brother. Yes, he mourned him. Of course he did. Logan was, after all, his brother, no matter how badly he had behaved toward him. At some point, he had to move on, right? But when? Was it too early? Was he allowed to? Was he expected to wait longer? To show his mourning longer?

  Ruelle didn't think so. He had talked to her about it, and she had told him that of course he was allowed to feel joy.

  "There is room for both," she had told him. Besides, one should never choose the sadness, she believed. It did no one any good.

  He loved the way she looked at the world. And he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. Eternity, in fact. The thought was intoxicating, yet frightening. It was a big choice for him that he soon had to make. He envied, in many ways, Jazmine and Amy, who didn't have a choice as to what they were to become. It just happened. Robyn was the only one who understood him and his situation. To have to choose something like that was a little much to cope with, he thought. That was one thing he couldn't discuss with Ruelle. She had to make the choice too, once she turned eighteen, but to her, it was nothing to question. She knew she wanted it.

  Jayden wanted it more now that he was with her, but he still had his doubts. And, as his seventeenth birthday was fast approaching, he knew he didn't have that long to decide.

  Chapter Eight

  "I’m coming back to school."

  It felt incredible to say the words. I looked at my friends around the table at the diner. Jayden was there too, taking our orders.

  "You're kidding me," Amy said.

  I shook my head. "Nope. I’m coming back. Monday morning, I'll be with the rest of you, walking the hallways of Shadow Hills High. Mom just told me this morning."

  "That's wonderful news, Robyn," Jazmine said.

  Jayden looked up from his notepad, and our eyes met. He smiled. "That's amazing, Robyn. What made her change her mind?"

  I chuckled. "Her company is suffering in her absence. She's even sending Veronika to school. With Adrian gone, my life might actually be bearable this year. No offense, Jazmine, I know you love him, but he makes my life miserable."

  "This is cause for celebration," Jayden exclaimed.

  "It sure is," Amy said. "Let's get some pie!"

  "I thought pie was for bad news," I said, looking at her skeptically.

  Amy frowned. "What are you talking about? Pie is for every occasion."

  We laughed, and Jayden wrote pie on his notepad and put it back in the pocket on his apron with a smile. Our eyes locked again for a few seconds, and I was filled with warmth but also sadness.

  "I'll get your burgers and milkshake first then."

  When he returned with our food, I noticed a flock of people gathering around the TV hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the diner.

  "What's going on?"

  "It's the explosion," Jayden said. "They've been talking about it all day."

  "What explosion?" I asked.

  "The one in Paris last night. Apparently, there was an explosion in a building that housed a restaurant, and a bunch of people were killed. Twenty-four dead so far."

  "Wow," I said, startled.

  "Yeah, a handful of those killed were American. There might be more since they haven't identified all of them," he continued. "It's been all over the news all day."

  "That's horrible," Amy said.

  "Have they said what caused the explosion?" I asked.

  "They say it was terrorism. Some suicide bomber walked in with a bomb on him or something like that," Jayden said.

  "How awful," Kipp said.

  I glanced at him. I wasn't too fond of him. I was happy for Amy that she had found a guy, but I was afraid that he might end up crushing Amy's heart. He had that heartbreaker look to him that I didn't like. I didn't tell Amy how I felt about him since I wanted her to be happy and knew she had her doubts herself. I didn't want to be the spark that ignited the fire.

  Jayden put a burger in front of me with another smile, and I dug in. I was feeling amazing today, and no suicide bomber in Paris or untrustworthy merman was going to ruin that. Things were shaping up for me, and I had a lot to celebrate.

  Chapter Nine

  I drove back to my street—my belly full of burger, milkshake, and pie—and parked in my driveway. Adrian was going to leave this coming Monday, and that meant the car was mine from now on. I would be able to drive to school and not arrive with my hair all frizzy and my forehead glistening with sweat from biking.

  I walked up to the house, humming happily, then walked inside and put my shoes in the shoe rack, neatly lined up next to the others in the closet. Then I walked into the living room, where I found my mother in my dad's embrace. The TV was on, and Adrian and my cousins were all watching the news.

  Is my mom crying?

  It wasn't something I had seen my mom do often, almost never, so it took me quite by surprise.

  "What's going on?" I asked, slightly fearful.

  My dad gave me a look. He shook his head.

  "Okay, you're scaring me now. What's going on?" I asked while walking closer. My mom wiped her eyes and sniffled. I had never seen her like this before. Everything else in life seemed to pass her quickly and emotionless. Not even when Jazmine's dad died did she shed a tear.

  "Mom?"

  She pulled herself together. It was obvious she was putting on a show for me, and it frightened me even further. Had this something to do with me?

  "It's Duncan's dad," my dad said.

  "What about him?"

  "He's…dead," my mom said.

  My eyes widened. "Dead? But…how?"

  "He was at the restaurant. The one in Paris," my dad said.

  My heart sank. "Duncan's dad was?"

  "And his mom. They were there together, but she got away," my mom said. "Just in time. We just heard from some of our mutual friends."

  Oh, dear God.

  I grabbed the phone in my pocket and looked at it. I found Duncan's number, then stormed up the stairs with it clut
ched to my ear. He picked it up just as I knocked the secret code on my door and Veronika opened it.

  "Duncan?" I moaned, closing the door to my bedroom behind me.

  Veronika looked at me, then sat down on the bed. I put my back against the door, then slid toward the carpet.

  "I…I just heard…how are you holding up? I am so so sorry, Duncan, I…I don't even…" I said.

  He sighed at the other end. It sounded worse than I had imagined. "Listen, Sprinkles…I have to talk to you later. My sister, Laura, who lives in London, is trying to get to Paris to be with our mother and try to get her back home. I'll call you back."

  "O-okay," I said, but he didn't even hear it. He had already hung up. I stared at the screen, wondering what he had to be going through right now. I knew he loved and honored his dad highly. He had always been his great role model in life. He had been that for two hundred and seventy-two years. Even for a vampire, the loss was a great one.

  Chapter Ten

  He never called me back. I fell asleep with my phone clutched in my hand and woke up Sunday morning drooling on my pillow. I wiped my mouth and sat up. Veronika was already up, playing with her doll. I watched her play for a little while, wondering what it was going to be like for her to go to school again. I felt a little worried about it since she still flickered and disappeared from time to time. Would it happen in class too? It didn't happen as often as it did when I first met her, and I had a feeling it had to do with the fact that she was very agitated and scared when she first got here. Now that things had settled down a little, it seemed that her time-traveling abilities had as well. My parents knew nothing about it, and I wasn't going to tell them. I guess I was afraid they might try and use it for themselves somehow. That was my fear in general for Veronika. That someone would find out what she was capable of and use it. I felt it was my responsibility to protect her.