Page 5 of The 13th Daughter
Ethan's eyes flickered to Jeff's arm strapped to me like a life vest and arched a brow. My blush deepened. If I tried to shrugJeff off now, it would hurt his feelings, but I so did not want Ethan to think I had a thing for Jeff. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't do that to Jeff. He might not be boyfriend material, but he was my friend.
"Never?" Ethan asked.
"Never," I told him.
"That's a shame, Cassie Jayne Bishop," he grinned at me.
"There's the bell!" Kay groaned in relief and grabbed me. She dragged me down the hall toward our first period Physics class. "Where...how...and you told him your full name...spill it, CJ!"
"I met him last night," I told her. I rolled my eyes at her horror over the name thing. Even though I didn't buy into the nonsense, I usually didn't tell complete strangers my full name. I still couldn't figure out why I'd told him. Weird.
"He was at the party? Why didn't I see him?"
"Maybe because you were wasted?" I asked her dryly as we took our seats.
She rolled her eyes. "When did you meet him?"
I shifted in my seat, making a point to look down at my book and away from her face.
"Come on, CJ, you have to tell me," she lowered her voice to a whisper, catching sight of Mr. Mason coming through the door.
"Later."
"Now!"
I sighed. "He helped me get you home when you passed out."
Her eyes went as huge as mine did whenever I saw shoe sale at the mall and her expression become one of absolute horror. "NO!"
I winced. I knew it would upset her. I could feel the waves of horror coming off of her. It filled me up and I shuddered as the feelings washed through me. Kay and I shared some kind of weird connection. Sometimes, we could feel what the other felt. We'd decided a long time ago we were twins separated at birth.
"You said we walked, CJ." Blatant accusation filled her voice.
"We did. Ethan showed up when we got to Gallows Lane. You passed out and he carried you home."
"NO!" she wailed.
"Something you care to share with the rest of the class, Miss Martin?" Mr. Mason asked her.
"No, sir, Mr. Mason, sir." She buried her head in her book. She had to be remembering what she'd looked like this morning when she'd woken up covered in puke, her hair reeking of it. I'd die of embarrassment too.
Mr. Mason started his lecture on our newest unit and I tuned him out. Instead, I thought about Ethan. I reacted to him in a way I didn't other boys. He made me feel nervous, giddy, a little shy. No one had ever done that to me. Usually it was me who caused those reactions in a guy I was hunting. Mr. Melt In Your Mouth Gorgeous was an oddity, but a sinfully delightful one. I wanted him and I would have him.
Mr. Mason interrupted my silent musing by daring to ask me a question. I was forced to focus on the lecture. Sigh.
The rest of the day passed quickly and much to my dismay, I didn't see Ethan at all. I did, however, manage to somehow get trapped with Jeff at every turn. He latched on, and no matter how hard I shook, he stayed there. Dammit!
The only thing that made me hesitant was Ethan's question about my not going tonight. It's not like it was strange for him to go or anything. Most of the kids in New Salem would be there. Well, except for me.
Maybe Billy was right. Maybe I should go tonight. I could be wrong about everything, though I doubted it. Would it really hurt anything? It was a part of my family history after all and Ethan had hinted at going.
But I'd promised Emily.
What to do...
Chapter Three
I heardthe shouting match as I walked up the flagstone path to the front porch. My parents seemed to think civilized conversation consisted of screaming at each other these days. I debated going in. I hated it when they fought. They hadn't always been like this.
