Solstice Page 6

  “Was there anything in it?” She’s looking at me like she knows the answer. But I don’t want to tell her about the feather.

  I shake my head and lie. “It was empty.” I lift the lid, and she flinches, but I hold the box open and show her the inside. It is void of anything except its ebony interior.

  For a moment, my mom has stopped breathing, but she does look inside. “Are you sure?”

  I nod. “Yeah, sure.” Why is my mom so interested?

  “Okay, then.” My mom is apparently going to let this box thing go.

  I relax and scoot it away, not wanting to put it aside, but at the same time, not wanting my mom to see my interest in it.

  “I need to go away this weekend,” she says out of nowhere.

  It’s nothing new; we’ve gone on trips before, sometimes for the council, sometimes to buy plants. “Where are we going?”

  But my mom shakes her head. “I’m going alone.”

  “What about me?” My mom’s never left me alone before.

  She gives me a weak smile. “You’ll stay here.”

  My heart stops in my chest. She can’t be serious. Me. Stay alone? Without my mom? Is it some kind of test? Is she trying to see what I will do given the chance?

  “I’ll make sure there’s enough food so you don’t even have to leave.”

  “When?” I manage to say, hoping that, of all the mixed feelings going through me, she doesn’t hear the anticipation in my voice. I force my face to remain calm, though I’m not sure if I succeed.

  “Friday morning,” she says. “I’ll get back on Monday.”

  Friday. It’s the night I’m supposed to sneak out with Reese. And, like the Fates are rearranging my life, now I won’t even have to sneak out. I can do whatever I want. Thinking about it makes my palms sweaty. My mom would kill me if she knew what I had planned.

  “You’ll be fine,” she says like she’s trying to convince herself. “If you need help, you can go over to Chloe’s.”

  “Where are you going?” I’m not sure I can think of a situation extreme enough for my mom to leave me alone.

  My mom looks away. “I have business to take care of.”

  “What kind of business?”

  She doesn’t want to tell me; I’m sure of it. And the more she doesn’t want to tell me, the more I want to know.

  “You better get to bed,” she says.

  “What kind of business, Mom?”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “Because I want to know.”

  My mom looks at me a final time then looks away. “Family business.”

  “What family?” My chest tightens. It has to be my father.

  “I have things to talk about with your father.”

  I act surprised. “My father?”

  She nods.

  “Where?” I’m trying to keep my voice calm.

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that he doesn’t find out where you are. And I plan to make absolutely certain he doesn’t.”

  An eerie chill runs though me. The father I’ve never known. My mom said he’d left when she was pregnant. That he got involved in some terrorist group and got thrown in prison after they blew up some giant water still being built in Nevada. Hundreds of people died in the explosion, and he was the person named responsible. He went to prison without even trying to deny his actions, and then he escaped less than a year later. And now, my mom’s planning to run off and meet with him alone?

  “I should go with you,” I say, though the thought makes me queasy. His note had been nothing short of cloaked threats.

  “No. You shouldn’t.”

  “But he could hurt you,” I say.

  My mom gives me a small smile. “I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you. Not the other way around.”

  I open my mouth to argue again, but my mom stops me.

  “Go to bed. You have school tomorrow.”

  Chapter 9

  Plans

  Even though I’m running late, I take my time, walking through what used to be the parking lot when I get to school. A couple years ago, the city council finally tore up the blacktop and attempted to plant some native greenery. Global Warming kills the atmosphere, so cars are taxed and restricted, and now most people don’t drive, which means a parking lot at a high school is no longer necessary, especially one made of blistering, black asphalt. Sometimes Chloe waits for me here in the mornings, but today she must already be in class like I know I should be.

  I check the thermometers before I go in and resync my FON to match it. At one hundred and nine, we shouldn’t have to worry about another heat bubble today. Maybe not all weekend. The reporters must be wrong. And I can hardly believe my mom is actually going away. I mean, this has never happened. I head into school and pass the bathroom, thinking of Tanni, wishing she’d been a figment manifested from the deep recesses of my mind. But I touch the tender bump on my head. The blood’s scabbed over into a thin line which my curly hair hides—even in a ponytail. But it still hurts, and I know the bathroom—and Tanni—were real.

  Shayne’s not in Social Sciences. I try not to spend the entire time wondering where he is. And in truth, I’m thinking more about Chloe. I haven’t talked to her since the tattoo parlor. I can’t get the words Chloe will die out of my mind. Or the image of Tanni’s empty eye sockets. And so, as soon as the bell rings, I look at no one, stop nowhere, and head to Study Hall.

  Chloe’s there, waiting for me.

  “What happened? I must’ve tried to text you a hundred times.” She jumps up from her chair and rushes over before I even get to the table.

  I push the image of Tanni out of my mind. But her horrible words won’t budge. Chloe will die. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing! I heard you got sent home yesterday. That you bumped your head.”

  I nod. “I slipped in the bathroom. It was nothing.” I pull aside my hair so she can see the scab.

  Chloe looks at it. “They sent you home for that?”

  “Yeah. I think I passed out. Some freshman found me.”

  Chloe lets go and walks back over to the table. “I’m so glad it wasn’t something serious.”

  I smile and nod, but Tanni’s haunting eyes come back to me, burned into my mind, and I think it was serious. “Yeah, me too. How’d you find out?”

  Chloe’s eyes get a dreamy look. “Reese told me. This morning in Physics.”

  How did Reese know? I haven’t talked to him since he came by. My chest spasms; I need to tell Chloe about my plans.

  “My mom’s leaving town this weekend.” I say it casually, but as soon as the words are out, my stomach starts flipping.

  Chloe drops the stylus she’s picked up. She hasn’t started studying. Neither of us gets much studying done during Study Hall. “No. Way.”

  I nod and bite my lower lip. “Yeah. She leaves Friday morning.”

  “Oh. My. God.” Chloe’s excitement is infectious.

  But I don’t want the whole school to know. “Shhhh!” The kids sitting two tables over have stopped writing and look at us.

  “Piper, do you realize how huge this is? What are we going to do?”

  The flipping in my stomach continues. “She told me to stay home all weekend.”

  Chloe rolls her eyes. “I didn’t ask what she told you to do. I asked what we’re going to do.”

  “Chloe…”

  “What?” Her eyelids lower, and her eyes narrow. She knows I don’t plan to sit around watering the plants all weekend.

  “I have to tell you something. I swear I don’t know how this happened and I have no clue how to get out of it.” Or if I want to get out of it.

  “Out of what?” she says.

  I sigh and make a silent wish she won’t hate me forever. “I think I got asked out for Friday night.” I whisper it because I really can’t believe it myself. And even if it’s not Shayne, I’ve still never been anywhere with a guy alone.

  “Like on a date?”

  “Shhhh!”


  “Shayne?” At least she lowers her voice.

  I shake my head, though now that she voices it, I’m torn between wanting it to be Reese and wanting it to be Shayne. I can’t believe Shayne wasn’t in class today.

  “Then who?”

  “Reese.” I can barely get the name out, and I watch her face to gauge her reaction.

  The smile stays on Chloe’s face though it falls into a shadow of itself. “Wow. Reese.”

  I realize Chloe is giving me the excuse I need because, as each minute brings me closer to Friday, my stomach tightens from nerves. Or excitement. At this point, I’m not very clear. “I’m going to tell him I can’t go. I’ll tell him I have other plans.”

  Her eyes are moist, but she’s fighting to hold back her hurt. “He talks to me the entire class. He seems so interested,” she says.

  “He should be,” I say. “He’s an idiot if he’s not.”

  Chloe sits there, looking down at the table. I squeeze her hand, but she doesn’t return the gesture.

  “I’ll tell him I can’t make it.”

  But finally Chloe shakes her head, and her face brightens back to some semblance of what it was before. “No. No, you need to go. You’ve never been on a date.”

  I lean close. “I don’t mind. I don’t really want to go.”

  “You have to go.” Her smile is halfhearted, but still there.

  “No, really. I’ll tell him I have to study.”

  Chloe blows out a breath. “Please, Piper. Do you realize how huge this is?”

  I nod, realizing also how much trouble I’ll be in if my mom ever finds out.

  “I’ll come over beforehand. I can help you get ready.”

  I look and see Chloe’s eyes have returned to normal, happiness shining through her. Like she really is happy for me somewhere inside. And Tanni’s horrible words come back to me hard.

  Chloe will die.

  It can’t be right. Not now. Chloe’s only eighteen like me. She’s got her whole life ahead of her. The whole thing was a dream. Or a nightmare. And just not real.

  I smile. “Are you sure? Because I don’t mind—”

  Chloe puts up her hand. “Don’t say another word about it. So how about Saturday?”

  Saturday. I haven’t even thought that far in advance. “How about it?”

  “Let’s go somewhere. Let’s do something fun.”

  “Like what?” I ask.

  Chloe shrugs. “Leave that to me. So where’s she going?”

  I lower my voice and spit it out. “She’s going to see my father.”

  Chloe’s eyes shoot open. “Your father?”

  I nod.

  “You know where he is?” she asks.

  “No. But apparently my mom does. And she’s not bringing me along.”

  “So will you get to meet him?”

  I shrug, because even though everything I know about him tells me I should stay far away, I do want to meet him. “I’m not sure.” And then I tell her about the note. Even though I’ve destroyed the piece of paper, the words are etched in my mind.

  “He asked what frightened you? God, that’s creepy.”

  “Yeah,” I say.

  “Piper, the whole note sounds creepy.” She brings her hand to her tattoo and feels the skin underneath. The same way I’ve been doing. “He’ll be seeing you soon?”

  She’s confirmed my exact thoughts, and heaviness pushes into my mind. “Why can’t I just have a normal family like yours? Why is it that, after eighteen years of running from some phantom father, he really does have to turn out to be as bad as my mom’s told me?”

  Chloe grabs my hand. “You don’t need him. You’ve been fine without him this long. Let your mom go away, do whatever she needs to do. We’ll go off and have our fun, and then things can just be normal.”

  I laugh. Like things have ever been normal. Still, Chloe can be pretty convincing when she wants to be.

  “So she’ll be back…?”

  “Monday,” I say.

  Chloe clasps her hands together in front of her. “We are going to have so much fun.”

  I know she’s right. My mom will take care of my father. He’ll stay out of our lives. And Chloe will not die. Tanni was a figment of my imagination. People don’t walk around with fog in their eye sockets spouting gloom and doom fortunes. It’s just not the way life is.

  Chapter 10

  Date

  I peek outside at ten o’clock on Friday night and see Reese staring up at my window. The fact that he knows exactly which window is mine is both creepy and flattering. I try to focus on the flattering part.

  I open the front door and call to him. “Hey.”

  His eyes shift in my direction. “Hey.”

  “My mom’s gone for the weekend,” I say. Maybe it’s not the smartest thing to tell him, but my rush of freedom is controlling my mind.

  A grin forms on his face like he’s just found a way to fix the lottery. “That is perfect.”

  He walks up the steps to the door, and I notice he’s carrying a bundle of pink calla lilies. At first, I think he’s brought me a potted plant, but when he moves his hands forward, I see they’re clipped at the stems. I can’t help the shock that registers on my face. There are huge penalties for being caught with cut flowers. Not to mention if my mom sees these, she’ll freak.

  But my mom’s not here.

  “I brought you flowers.” He looks past me into the Botanical Haven like he’s making sure I’m really alone.

  Chloe left fifteen minutes ago; I don’t know if I should invite him in.

  “They’re illegal,” I say, which I know sounds so goody-goody, but he’s breaking the law. Once they’re cut, they don’t help the atmosphere.

  “No one will see them.” He looks down at the flowers. “And they reminded me of you.”

  “Dead?” I say before I can stop myself. Because that’s what cut flowers are. Dead flowers.

  Reese cups one of the blooms with his hand. “Fresh. Vibrant. Exciting.” And the way he holds the flower hints at how he feels about me.

  “Thank you,” I say. “I love them.” And in that moment, they become more than just cut flowers. They become a symbol of something forbidden. I move aside, and he takes this as his cue to enter.

  Reese passes the flowers to me, and I catch their scent. With it, I catch his aroma. Same as before, but stronger. Red wine. Thick and dry. Powerful yet velvety smooth. Like a Merlot or a Cabernet. I close my eyes and take a deep inhale, pretending I’m smelling the flowers. But really it’s Reese I want more of. His overriding fragrance that’s making me forget everything but his wonderful presence. I take another breath and know I need to open my eyes. When I do, he’s staring at me.

  I find a vase for the calla lilies and set them on the counter. When I turn, he’s behind me, close to me. So close I can hardly move.

  “God, you look gorgeous.”

  Chloe told me the same thing. Well, maybe not in those exact words. She helped me pick out the dress—thin spaghetti straps holding up black cotton fabric which reaches to just above my knees. Red designs swirl on the black from the waist down.

  Reese takes a step back and looks at me—up and down. He takes in each part of me, and I feel like I’m being savored. One piece at a time. It makes me feel like I actually am gorgeous and exciting like he said. By the time he reaches my feet, even in the humid air, I’m shaking, and I never want him to take his eyes off me even though they’re revealing something almost feral.

  He steps close and brushes my cheek with his hand. “You’re nervous.”

  Nervous minimizes how I’m feeling. “Not at all,” I say.

  “I like that you’re nervous.”

  Before I can respond, he leans his face forward and brushes his lips against mine. Just a hint of a kiss, but it sends all sorts of crazy shivers down through me. My very first kiss.

  This is life without my mom around.

  It’s exhilarating.

  He pulls awa
y and increases the distance between us, and his smile reaches his eyes.

  “So where are we going?” I place my hands on the counter behind me and try to calm the quivering emotions running through me. I decide I should breathe through my mouth until I can get the scent of Reese’s body out of my nostrils.

  He shrugs. “Anywhere.”

  “That’s a start,” I say.

  “We could climb the steel struts of the dome,” he suggests.

  I don’t know if he’s serious, but I don’t want to fall to my death at the age of eighteen. “I’m not sure I’m up for that.”

  “Okay, then. How about we break into the city planetarium and have a picnic under the stars?”

  I laugh because I know he must be kidding. “Tempting. But maybe something less…”

  “Illegal?” he suggests.

  “Yeah. Less illegal.”

  It’s like Reese actually has to consider this. “Legal is normally boring.”

  “How about dinner?” I say. “Will that be too boring?” I’ve eaten little to nothing in the last week, and I’ve never been out to dinner with anyone besides my mom or Chloe.

  “Dinner,” Reese says. “I can work with that.”

  Reese has a car. I’m not sure how he got the permit for it; they’re mostly reserved for CEOs, and senators, and even some of the members of the council though most of them opt out. I’ve been in cars a handful of times but haven’t set foot in one for at least five years. Reese opens the door for me and helps me get in. His car’s low to the ground, black, and kind of reminds me of a cockroach. But the leather seats inside engulf my body, and I try to relax.

  “It won’t start unless the belts are done.” He reaches across me, and his arm brushes my chest as he clips the belt secure.

  I try not to flinch, but shivers run up my neck, and I think of his kiss. Then he moves his arm away and shuts the door. I feel eyes on me as he walks around to the other side. Not Reese’s eyes. Someone is watching me. My mind flashes to Tanni and her soulless eyes. Her words come to me. I try to push them away, but they’re too fast. Chloe will die.

  “What?” Reese is already in the car and fastening his own belt.