Chapter Three

The next day at school isn’t too bad, either. Jana, Blake’s girlfriend, never shows up. Blake won’t give a reason. He just says she’s “busy,” and talks about her through most of class. I don’t know why, but I’m really anxious to meet her.

The next thing I know, class is over, and I wait on a bench by the curb for the parking lot to clear out, just in case someone accidentally runs over the new girl.

A few leaves blow across the sidewalk on my way home, which makes me think about Mom. She used to tell me how beautiful it is here when the leaves change colors. Soon, I’ll get to experience the beauty myself, since autumn is just around the corner.

I twirl the silver heart locket between my fingers, thinking about how I should call Mom and Dad, but I don’t know if I’m emotionally stable enough for that yet.

When I got home from school the previous day, I picked up the necklace, still lying on the floor. It means a lot to Mom, and there has to be a reason she wants me to have it.

Too busy with my thoughts, I haven’t noticed the footsteps behind me, falling in sync with mine. How long have they been back there? One glance over my shoulder and I realize it’s two guys from school. I’ve seen them in the hallways, but don’t have any classes with them.

“Nice view from back here, sweetheart,” one of the guys says.

Oh, great. They’re those guys.

I don’t respond or acknowledge what he says. I continue walking up the sidewalk and through a subdivision of middle class houses. 

“Not going to talk to us? C’mon. We’re nice guys.”

“We’re, like, the welcome party,” the second one says.

“Just wanted to tell you you’re not welcome here.”

Both laugh and I think I hear a slap of hands. I continue to ignore them and quicken my pace.

Suddenly, a hand clutches my arm with frightening strength and whirls me around. Both guys have dark features, reminding me of someone else I know, though I can’t place my finger on who. The one who grabs me has the most sinister eyes I’ve ever seen. Almost as if evil took up residence somewhere behind his pupils. Flat. Cold. Unreadable.

“Too good to talk to us, huh?” he spits.

“Let go of my arm,” I snarl through gritted teeth. If I have to fight these two, there’s no way I’ll win. My only hope is to scream for help and hope someone hears me.

My stomach teeters, like I’m on a boat. I might hurl at any second. I’m scared shitless.

“When I speak to you, you answer me,” he says, getting way too close to my face.

“I said ‘let me go’.” I try pulling my arm out of his grasp. “When I tell you to do something, you listen to me.”

Bad idea, Candra. Really bad idea.

His grip tightens, and I’m about to scream. Something sparks, like electricity, between us and he wails, falling to the ground. The other guy reaches for him, trying to help him up.

He points a finger at me and says, “Mark my words. You’ll regret this.”

“Is there a problem?” a husky voice asks from behind me. I turn to see my hero.

It’s Benjamin.

My mouth falls open. Where’d he come from?

“Fine. Just fine,” the Boy with the Vacant Eyes replies, before I have a chance to open my mouth. He narrows his eyes at me. “I’ll deal with you later.”

“I think you need to leave her alone,” Benjamin warns. There’s an edge to his voice, like he’s controlling rage.

The two guys shake their heads and smirk. “Mom and Dad won’t be happy about this one.” They turn and leave the way they came.

Benjamin’s jaw twitches. He stares in their direction, even after they’re long gone.

Finally, I ask, “Mom and Dad? You’re their—”

“Brother? Yes,” he confirms.

I glance in the direction they had gone, but can’t see anything past the six-foot fence surrounding the home we stand beside. “Are they always like this?”

Benjamin nods. “You could say that.”

“Well, uh, thanks for saving my ass, I guess.”

“Let me know if they bother you again.” His eyebrows furrow, and it’s like his eyes put me under some sort of spell.

I lose my senses. My head goes numb. Everything fades around us.

I shake my head to lift the curse. “I hope you don’t get into any trouble. I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you around.”

Like nothing just happened, he fades around the corner and out of sight. Standing in place for a couple of minutes makes me look as dumb as I feel. He’s not coming back. There’s no point in me waiting for him. I’ll have to wait until I see him again.

My own, personal hero, I think. Not that I need one, but there’s something about him that I find comforting.

When I get home—my new home, anyway—Beth’s making dinner. She pokes her head around the corner as soon as I walk through the door.

“It’s just me,” I say.

“I wanted to be sure,” she calls from the kitchen. “How was school?”

“It was…different.” I don’t want to bring up the Conway brothers, or how they confronted me. Like I need more problems in my life…

I snatch a roll from the tray Beth pulls out of the oven. The bread is crispy and burns the tips of my fingers. I quickly take a bite, burning the roof of my mouth. The pain is fleeting—like I imagined it or something.

Weird, I think.

“So,” Beth begins, mixing some sort of food together in a big dish, “have you made new friends yet?”

“Um, I met this guy in one of my classes. He seems pretty cool.” I take another bite of the roll; it doesn’t burn my hand or my mouth this time. Totally weird.

“Oh, yeah? What’s his name?”

“Blake.”

“I bet he’s that Thomas boy. They’re a good clan.”

“Clan? Um, whatever.” My head shakes in response to her odd choice of words. “I’m going upstairs to do homework.”

Beth waves me off.

Homework? Yeah, right. Since when do I do that? Even if I wanted to put a pencil to paper, I couldn’t. My mind is frenzied with thoughts of Benjamin and his brothers. I’ve met a few bullies in my day, but this is at the top of the list. They’re full of pure hatred for me, and I have no idea why. I’ve only been here for how long? A few days? Not long enough to irritate someone, let alone make them hate me. And what’s with their eyes burning black?

The only thing I think about is what’s going to happen to me tomorrow and the day after that. I don’t want to deal with them every day. Just my luck, though, right? I get away from trouble and trouble finds me yet again.

I wonder what Sean and Layla are doing this very second. Are they still grounded? Last time I checked, neither was allowed to pick up a phone or get online. I have no way of communicating with them.

Some time passes before Beth calls me downstairs. She says dinner’s ready. I take my sweet time. My stomach argues with me, since the only food I’ve had all day is the roll in the kitchen. 

Randy’s not home from work yet. Apparently, he works the graveyard shift most nights. Something having to do with him being a manager at the bank. I thought only the dead stayed up that late. So, it’s just Beth and I.

“I heard from your mom today,” Beth says, taking a stab at her green beans.

“Really?” There’s no emotion in my voice. At least, that’s what I hope it comes off as.

“She asked about you.”

I play with my mashed potatoes and finally ask, “Did she?” My voice is foreign, even to me. Since when do I care that Mom checked on me?

“They’re worried about you, you know. You should give her a call when you get a chance, catch them up on what’s going on.”

I shrug. “Maybe later.”

Beth doesn’t say anything for the rest of the meal, which is completely awkward. Back home, dinner consisted of Mom picking up fast food on her way home from work, and eating in front of the TV. I suddenly feel sick at the thought of Charleston, and how I can’t go home anytime soon.

I push aside my plate, having lost my appetite, and quickly thank Beth for dinner, heading upstairs to my room—my only place of solace. I attempt to pull out my math book and figure out some equations, but that doesn’t work out so well. My every thought is consumed by what will happen tomorrow at school when I see Benjamin again. My insides toss and turn while I try figuring things out.

The more I think about it, the stranger my thoughts become. Why am I drawn to him? I don’t even know the guy, yet he came to my rescue.

I stand and stretch, walking to my window. I push the curtains aside. There, on the edge of the forest, are those same yellow eyes. I’m utterly absorbed by them. I wonder if my passing out episode is somehow related, but then I think how dumb that sounds.

They hold my gaze for a few seconds—vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

~*~

I attempt to talk to Benjamin the next day. Attempt is the key word. He wants nothing to do with my conversation. Completely ignores me. I wonder if he got in trouble the night before, for helping me.

When class lets out, I confront him in the hall.

“Could you at least pretend like I exist for two seconds?” I ask, trying to catch up with his brisk walk.

He stops, and I almost run into him. “I could, but I’m not going to,” he says, picking up pace again.

Breathless, I question, “You were nice to me yesterday, so what gives?”

We make it to his locker. He tosses a couple of books in the tiny cubbyhole, then pauses. “Listen, Candra, there are things you don’t understand, things you can’t possibly fathom right now. It’s obvious nothing has been explained to you, and it’s not my place to say anything.”

I almost laugh, but he’s so serious. “What are you talking about?”

“Exactly. I’ll see ya around,” he says, leaving me to collect my thoughts alone.

So I won’t look stupid, I rush to my next class. I feel the never-ending cycle of eyes bear down on me as I pass through the hallways. Never gets old.

New kid.

New meat.

Same as any other school. I hope someone else joins my ranks soon. I won’t feel isolated. I so hate being the shiny new toy all the kids want to play with.

The day passes by. All I want to do is sleep.

I’m the first one to take a seat in Geography. Blake enters the room soon after, followed by a short, dark-haired girl with freckles dusting the top of her nose and cheeks. I presume she’s Jana.

“Hi, I’m Jana.” She waves shyly, confirming my genius mind. “You must be Candra.” She and Blake take their seats in the row beside mine.

I bite my lip to keep from giggling. “I am.”

Jana’s not how I pictured her. She bounces when she walks. Too peppy, almost.

“I like your hair. Brown suits your eyes. They look almost pea green, you know,” she says. I squirm in my seat, not one for compliments. 

“Um, thanks.”

“So, where are you from again?” she asks.

“Charleston.”

“That’s pretty far from here. Do you miss it?” She watches me intently.

The twinge in my stomach tells me I miss it too much. “Yeah, I do.”

“Did you parents move here too?”

Blake nudges her arm and gives her the keep-your-mouth-shut look.

“It’s okay,” I say, interrupting their evil glares at each other. “No, my parents stayed in Charleston. I live with my aunt and uncle.”

“Really? How come?” she asks.

“Jana! Stop,” Blake scorns.

“A bit of trouble, I guess. They couldn’t handle me anymore.” I stare at the cream-colored linoleum tiles—and Jana and Blake’s black backpacks resting against their desks.

“Well, I’m sure everything will work out,” Jana says, patting my arm.

I sneer and say, “Yeah, right. I already know a couple of guys who hate me.”

Jana and Blake’s faces scrunch, and they give me confused stares.  

“Like who?” Blake asks.

“I-I can’t remember their names, only that they’re related to Benjamin somehow,” I stammer.

“Benjamin Conway. His brothers are Cameron and Ethan. They would hate you.” Jana practically growls the words.

My cheeks burn. “But why? I haven’t done anything to them.”

“You don’t have to,” Jana replies. “They hate you for who you are.”

“What?” I shake my head. “That’s not possible.” How is it that I just met these two, yet they seem to know about the Conways? Sure, it is likely word could’ve spread quickly about my run-in yesterday, but not that fast.

“Oh, it is. You just don’t know it yet.” She turns around and faces the front of the class.