"But Talia Pizarro was the girl Kenzie really liked instead."
Oliver nodded and drew in another breath. "Plus, Logan had told me and Kenzie that you'd had some run-ins with Reapers and that was why we were training you, in case they came after you again. I know I overreacted, but scaring you and making you think there was another Reaper after you just seemed like the easiest, quickest way to make you forget about my crush on Kenzie."
Oliver stared at me, his green eyes bright and earnest in his face. "But I wasn't trying to hurt you. Not really. If you hadn't jumped out of the way of my Escalade, I was going to swerve to the other side of the street, and I made sure I put the arrow at least a foot away from your head in the library. I was just trying to scare you. That's all, Gwen. I swear."
His logic made sense, in a weird sort of way. Oliver had just wanted to give me something else to think about besides the fact that he was in love with someone who would probably never return his feelings. It was my own fault I'd jumped to the wrong conclusions and had been stupid enough not to see Preston for the villain that he really was.
It was just like when I'd asked Carson about all the freaky games and decorations at the carnival. Carson hadn't seen anything wrong with the Reaper masks and Nemean prowlers because they were a part of the world that he'd grown up in. Those things were normal to Carson, just like fighting and scaring your enemy were normal to a fierce Spartan warrior like Oliver. Just like Daphne hacking into a computer system and messing with another girl's grades or me breaking into people's rooms and trying to learn all their secrets was normal to us. Maybe we all just did things that seemed perfectly reasonable to us at the time, even if deep down we knew that these things were wrong, or that other people wouldn't understand or agree with us.
I shook my head. "Well, you did a good job. I thought there was a Reaper trying to kill me because of what happened to Jasmine."
Oliver's gaze sharpened. "What did you have to do with Jasmine?"
I sat there and told him all about Jasmine faking her own murder, trying to sacrifice Morgan to Loki, and how I'd gotten caught up in the middle of it all. The Spartan had just told me his secret. I figured it was only fair to tell one of mine. Besides, Oliver had helped save me by texting Logan and telling him we were in trouble. Then, after Preston had stormed off after me and Logan, Oliver had texted Nickamedes and the other professors and told them what was going on. Maybe he hadn't used his Spartan fighting skills, but Oliver was still a hero.
Oliver looked at me with new interest after I finished my story. "Logan always said you were kickass, but I didn't really believe him-until now."
"Why? Because most of the time I don't know the end of a sword from the back of my hand?"
"Something like that."
We grinned at each other.
After a moment, my smile faded. This time, I was the one who looked down and picked at the bed sheet. "So… Logan thinks that I'm kickass?"
Oliver winced. "I'm, uh, really not supposed to say anything about that."
I stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Spill it, Spartan."
For a second I thought he wasn't going to answer me, but then he sighed. "Yeah, Logan thinks that you're kickass. He talks about you all the time. The boy is totally obsessed with you, Gwen."
"So why is he with Savannah instead of me?" The jagged edges of my heart scraped together in my chest as I asked the question, but I wanted to know why-Ineededto know why.
"Logan has a problem with letting girls get close to him. I mean, really, really close to him and not just for-" Oliver bit off his words.
"Sex?" I asked in a wry tone.
He blushed a little. "Yeah, sex. I think you scare Logan, because he already cares so much about you. If he let you get closer to him, he'd be a total goner."
I didn't ask Oliver why Logan wouldn't let a girl get close to him. I knew the answer had something to do with that horrible memory I'd seen-the one of a young Logan standing over the dead, bloody bodies of his mother and sister.
"So… are we cool?" Oliver said, interrupting my thoughts.
"About you scaring the shit out of me?"
He gulped and nodded.
I grinned. "Yeah, we're cool."
Oliver hesitated. "And about Kenzie and how I feel about him-"
This time, I cut him off. "It's your secret. You keep it as long as you need to, and I'll do the same. But if you ever need somebody to talk to, I'm here. I'm pretty good at listening." My grin widened. "Since, you know, I'm all kickass and stuff."
Oliver snorted and rolled his eyes, like he wished he'd never told me that. Yeah, I wastotallygoing to get some mileage out of Logan's comment. After a moment, Oliver stretched out his closed fist toward me.
"Friends?" he asked in a quiet voice.
It occurred to me then that something unexpected and good had come out of this whole mess. I wouldn't want to face down another Reaper anytime soon. Okay, okay, I wouldn't want to battle another Reaperever,but this time, I thought the battle had been worth the reward.
I leaned forward and bumped my fist against Oliver's. "Definitely friends."
Chapter 24
Oliver and I left the infirmary and went out to face the others. Professor Metis, Coach Ajax, and Nickamedes wanted to question both of us, along with Logan, about what had happened in the construction site, so we all trooped into an office next to the infirmary. The grilling went on for about an hour. I told the whole story three times, from beginning to end, with a few small changes. Namely, that Preston had confessed to trying to run me over and shooting the arrow at me in the Library of Antiquities.
Under the table, out of sight of the profs, Oliver held out his fist to me again. I bumped it with mine once more, letting him know we were good. Logan stared at us, wondering what we were doing, but neither one of us looked at him. I'd promised Oliver I'd keep his secret, and I planned to make good on my vow. And I was okay with blaming Preston for everything, since, you know, the Reaper had tried to kill all three of us.
Finally, the professors wound down with their questions, and I asked the one-the only one-that I thought really mattered.
"What's going to happen to Preston?" I asked. After Ajax had taken Oliver to the infirmary, the coach had come back down to the construction site and helped Nickamedes slap a set of magically reinforced handcuffs on Preston, who'd been cursing all the while. I'd watched the two profs haul away the Reaper. I didn't know where they'd taken Preston, and I didn't really care. All I wanted was to make sure he'd never see the light of day again-or get a chance to make good on his horrible threat. You'd better finish me now, Gypsy. Or I'll get free one day, and I'll go kill that doddering old grandmother you love so much.Preston's cold, sneering voice rang in my head.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. That wasn't going to happen, I vowed. Nobody was hurting my Grandma Frost. No matter what I had to do to stop it. Metis, Ajax, and Nickamedes exchanged a look. "He'll be locked up at Mythos until we can question him," Metis said. "We want to find out as much as we can about the other Reapers he's been working with and what their plans are."