Suzanne’s eyes widened. “Oh. Okay. I didn’t upset you or anything, did I?”
I just shook my head, then busied myself collecting my gear. As the rest of class continued the exercise, I made my way over to the cubbies and grabbed my bag.
I heard Coach Gibson call out my name just as the door slammed shut behind me. I hurried down the stairs with no idea where I was going. It didn’t matter, not really. I just needed air.
Afraid that the coach might send someone after me, I picked up my pace, jogging away from the building at a brisk clip, my bag banging against my side.
The chapel, I decided. Of course—no one would bother me there. I quickened my pace as my destination came into view above the treetops. A couple of minutes later, I hurried inside and made my way through the vestibule and down the aisle, toward the rear-most pews.
Panting, I slid into a seat. I’d only just caught my breath when the door banged open behind me. I turned, startled to find Tyler there, making his way toward me. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “Needed some air, that’s all.”
He moved closer, leaning against the edge of the pew now. “Well, something must’ve happened in there to make you run out the way you did. What’s going on, Violet?”
“It’s just . . . something that Suzanne said.” I took a deep, calming breath. “I think she was just trying to be nice. You know, about Kate.”
“Ah, I see.” He slid onto the pew, scooting in beside me. “The old ‘I’ll pretend to be comforting when I’m really just digging for details’ kinda thing?”
“Yeah. Pretty much. I just—I don’t want to talk about it. Not to anyone who wasn’t her friend, who wasn’t there that night. I know that’s probably weird.”
He reached for my hand. “Nah, not weird at all.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back tears. “I can’t help but think about that night—replay it over and over in my head. I barely even talked to her. She was busy with Jack, and I . . .” I trailed off, shaking my head. “I’m trying to remember the last thing I said to her. It was something like ‘wait here—don’t go outside.’ If I had known those would be the last words I’d say to her—”
“Don’t,” Tyler said, squeezing my hand. “Just don’t, okay? You’re going to drive yourself nuts. There was no way you could have known. No way you could have prevented it.”
“I should have known. If I hadn’t been so distracted—”
“It was your fucking birthday, Violet. Look, I know you feel responsible. I get that. Trust me. I’ve played a few rounds of ‘what if’ in my head too. What if I’d fought a little harder for her; what if she’d been with me that night instead of Jack.” He brushed his thumb over my knuckles, his head bowed over our joined hands. “I realize I didn’t know her as long as you did—as long as the rest of you did. But I liked Kate, Violet. Really liked her.” He lifted his gaze to meet mine, and I was shocked to see that his clear green eyes were glistening with tears.
“I know you did,” I said, even though I hadn’t realized how much until that very moment. “I’m sorry. I was being selfish. I didn’t even think about you—about what you might be going through.”
“She was fun. Uncomplicated.” A single tear rolled down his cheek. “I miss her.”
I did the only thing I could think to do then—I gathered him in my arms, allowing him to press his face against my breastbone as I stroked his hair. “I miss her too,” I said. Soon his tears had dampened the front of my shirt, but I didn’t care. He needed this. We needed it. I was clinging to him desperately, holding on to the one person whose guilt might just match my own, who understood that tangled mess of emotions swirling inside me whenever I thought of Kate.
Several minutes passed in silence as we sat there holding each other, sharing our grief. Outside, the bells pealed to signal the end of sixth period. A crow cawed loudly—once, twice. Somehow, we didn’t hear the door to the chapel open. We missed the approaching footsteps.
“Violet?”
I shoved Tyler away with a gasp, stunned to see Aidan standing there at the end of the aisle, just outside the vestibule.
Watching us.
The pain etched into his features was undeniable as his expression shifted from disbelief to anger in a heartbeat.
I realized then that pushing Tyler away had been a bad move on my part. It made me look guilty, like I’d been caught doing something that I shouldn’t. Crap.
“Listen, man,” Tyler said, turning toward Aidan with a grimace. “This is not what it looks like.”
“Oh, yeah?” Aidan said, his voice so level and cool that my blood turned to ice in my veins. “Because it looked like you two were all over each other.”
Tyler held up two hands in surrender. “Seriously, dude, don’t be mad at her. She was just comforting me.”
“Shut up, Bennett,” Aidan said. His eyes were beginning to go vampiric, rimmed in red now. I was afraid to look at his incisors. This was a very bad combination, a dangerous one—jealous teenage boy plus overprotective vampire. I needed to neutralize the situation, but how?
“It was all me, man,” Tyler pressed on foolishly. “I came after her, just to make sure she was okay, and then I started bawling like a pussy. She was just being nice.”
“Oh, I have no doubt that you were just waiting for an opportunity to make your move,” Aidan said with a shrug. “I’ve always suspected you have a thing for her.”
Tyler rose and slipped into the aisle facing Aidan. “Why don’t we talk about this later, after you’ve had a chance to calm down? I don’t like the way your eyes look right now. Violet, maybe you should get out of here.”
Did he think he was protecting me? From Aidan? He was the one who was going to need protection—any minute now if he didn’t shut up.
“You’re making it worse, Ty,” I managed to say. “Just go, okay?”
“I’m not leaving you here with him.” Tyler swept an arm in Aidan’s direction. “He may be your boyfriend, but dude’s a vampire. An angry one,” he added under his breath.
In the blink of an eye, Aidan had him by the throat, pressed up against the chapel’s wall ten yards from where they’d been standing just a second before.
I was on my feet in an instant, because this . . . this was not going to be a fair fight. “Let him go, Aidan!”
He ignored me. Tyler was gasping for breath now, his eyes beginning to bulge. He was no match for Aidan’s superhuman strength; no mortal was.
Fear racing through my veins, I reached for Aidan’s shoulder. “Let him go!” I repeated. “He was telling you the truth—we weren’t doing anything.”
Aidan just ignored me, squeezing tighter instead. Tyler’s face was ashen now.
In full panic mode, I began to tug at Aidan’s arm, forcing him to turn and look at me. His terrifying red gaze met my steady, pleading one. “You’re going to kill him,” I said forcefully.
Inexplicably, he cried out in pain, releasing Tyler and cradling the hand that had been around Tyler’s throat.
Tyler slumped to the ground in a heap.
“What did you do?” Aidan gasped, flexing his hand.
I could only gape at the sight, barely able to believe it. Aidan’s hand was somehow misshapen, his fingers curled and bent at impossible angles. Yet, as I watched wide-eyed, his hand began to morph back to normal in a matter of seconds—just like that.
“Molecules,” Tyler choked out, propped up on one elbow now. “I moved ’em around. You know, when you lost your focus.”