Shattered Souls, page 5
The instant our connection severed, I could breathe again, and my lungs inflated on a jagged breath. With my heart pounding in my throat, and Maddox at least two blocks away, sweet relief flooded my veins. This is what I get for screwing with the timeline.
Maddox spun the bike around at the end of the block, burning a black streak into the pavement as he whipped back toward me, rearing up on one wheel. He blew me a kiss, pushing the bike to its limits as he showed off, doing donuts in the middle of Main Street until the overwhelming scent of scorched rubber filled the air.
A hysterical laugh bubbled out of me, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to hold it back. A nagging little voice in my head shouted at me to go to him, and I had to block it out. I had no clue what came next, but I’d have to consider my next steps carefully.
Sam’s yellow Mini Cooper screeched to a stop along the curb, forcing Maddox to swerve around her.
“Watch it, asshole!” She flipped him off before leaning across the passenger seat to open the door for me. Her huge Jackie O sunglasses slid to the end of her nose as she barked out, “Get in.”
Without giving it a second thought, I scooped my bag from the sidewalk and jumped in, using every drop of my withering willpower to keep from shooting another glance at Maddox. “Thanks.”
“Hey, don’t mention it.” Sam waved a hand, stomping on the gas before I’d even closed the door. The convertible sprang forward, leaving Maddox in our dust. “So what’s up with Ghost Rider?”
I threw my head back and laughed. No way could she know I’d thought Maddox was a ghost last time. “Just showing off, I guess.”
“Boys...” She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and cackled. “Am I right?”
“Definitely.” I stared out the window, expecting Maddox to come around every corner.
Sam cleared her throat, drawing my attention back to her. “So why do you still look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
This time when my neck prickled, it had nothing to do with Maddox’s proximity. “I don’t know... I had a nightmare last night. I guess it’s still sort of haunting me a little.”
“Don’t you hate that?” Sam’s eyes lit up. “I had a super-creepy dream the other night too. I dreamed Adam Levine streaked the campus quad, but as he ran by, he turned into my grandpa Ray.”
Before I could stop myself, I finished her thought. “Do I dare ask how you know what your grandfather looks like naked?”
“Definitely not.” Sam threw me a side-eye glance, making me laugh even harder. The space between her eyebrows puckered as she studied me like an unsolvable math equation.
“How about some music?” Averting my eyes, I dialed up the volume on her radio until Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” vibrated from the speakers. “Summer isn’t over until we pull into the U-Maine parking lot, am I right?”
“I was just about to say that!” Her mouth hung open for an extra few seconds. “I don’t know why, but every time I talk to you, I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”
“Yeah, me too.” The smile died on my lips, and I pulled my sunglasses from my purse to hide behind the dark lenses. “Weird, right?”
“So weird.” Without another word, she floored it, making her tires squeal as she turned the corner onto the U-Maine campus.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sam whipped her convertible Mini into the spot beside Paige’s shiny red Honda and slammed the brakes. She giggled as I pried my fingers from the “oh shit” handle. “Sorry.”
“Are you though?” I flexed my hand and chuckled.
Beaming at me, she slid her sunglasses to the top of her head like a tiara. “Not really.”
“Didn’t think so.” With a steadying breath, I cracked the door and steeled myself for another confrontation with Paige.
With her long legs and red stilettos on display, Paige slid gracefully out of her car and arched an over-plucked eyebrow in my direction. In her little blue dress and sparkly shoes, she reminded me of a bitchy Dorothy wreaking havoc along the yellow brick road. “You’re still here? I was hoping you’d gone back to Virginia.”
“Nope.” I pressed my lips together to pop the P as I climbed out of the car. I hated that even knowing how everything would play out, I still let her get under my skin. “Still here.”
Hannah bounced toward me with a goofy grin. “Got any juicy gossip for us, mind reader? Oh! You probably knew I was gonna say that before I even said it.”
If she only knew.
“You probably get really good grades, don’t you?” Hannah hip checked me, knocking me off-balance. “I’ll bet you know all the answers before they even pass out the test, right?”
Paige rolled her eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Hannah. If she could do all that, she wouldn’t be enrolled at the Port Michael campus, now would she?”
A familiar wave of sadness hit me as I thought of my forgotten scholarship to Georgetown. If Jane had sent me farther back, would I have done things differently? Would I have still found Laith if I’d never come to Port Michael? Or was I always destined to come here, thanks to the curse?
Before I could follow that train of thought to the end, Sam shoved Paige out her way to walk around the car. “Okay, hand over your schedule.”
I did as she asked, quickly queuing up my schedule and handing her my iPhone. When it came to Sam, resistance was futile. The sooner she got what she wanted, the sooner I could tune her out and scan the quad for Maddox. He had to be here... somewhere.
“Oh my God, we’re in French together.” Sam’s squeal broke my concentration. “How awesome is that? You even highlighted it, like you totally knew.”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I suspected Laith would’ve gotten a kick out of the grift I had going on, since he’d run almost the same game on Capone with sports scores.
Hannah read over Sam’s shoulder, flashing her teeth in a wide smile. “Oh, hey, I enrolled in that European history class too.”
“That’s great.” I had to dig deep to work up even a drop of enthusiasm for school when what I really wanted was to fast-forward to Will Clark’s party. “I guess I’ll see you every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at ten.”
Hannah nodded.
“Doesn’t look like we have any classes together. So sad.” Paige puffed out her bottom lip and huffed out a fake sigh.
“Well, I wouldn’t be a very good psychic if we did, now would I?” I flashed a sugary smile.
Paige scowled but kept whatever she was thinking to herself.
“Oh, yay!” Sam pumped her fist. “I thought I was going to have to get you to switch classes to be free for lunch at one, but you already are. You really are psychic, aren’t you?”
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. After all the other changes I’d made to the timeline, I figured a few preemptive tweaks to my schedule couldn’t really hurt anything. “It just seemed like the most obvious choice.”
“It really is.” Sam handed back my phone.
“So...” Hannah smirked at Sam. “Besides our mandatory lunch hour, what classes did you sign up for? Music Appreciation? Basket Weaving 101? Intro to Hot Guys?”
“No. But if you find Intro to Hot Guys on the registration page, let me know. I’ll drop pre-calc and take that instead.” Sam bumped Hannah with her shoulder, and they both laughed. “Seriously though, unlike Ava, I’m taking normal freshman classes. Pre-calc, Intro to Creative Writing, Western Civilizations, Sociology...”
I opened my mouth to add “French,” but before I had the chance, the growl of a motorcycle drew my attention to the parking lot behind us.
Sam spun around. “Hey, what’s Ghost Rider doing here?”
I struggled to keep my face neutral while my stomach did backflips. Keeping my head down as if going over my schedule, I covertly watched Maddox circle the parking lot, searching for something. Or someone. Me.
“What the hell does he want?” Sam took a step forward, tilting her head to the side like a curious puppy.
“What does who want?” Hannah shoved between us to stare at the flame-orange bike and the angry boy riding it. “Who’s that?”
“No clue.” Sam elbowed Hannah to reclaim her position. “But I’m pretty sure he tried to run Ava over this morning. That totally could’ve been me. I’m on the cross-country team, you know. We practice every morning. Rain or shine. Sleet or snow.” She narrowed her eyes at Maddox. “He’d better not even think of running me off the road if he knows what’s good for him!”
While Maddox did circles around the lot, the sound of squealing tires drew everyone’s attention to the black sports car pulling in. I didn’t need to see the dark floppy hair or gray hoodie to know it was Abercrombie even before he jumped out.
Hannah cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey, Finch! Nice wheels.”
Abercrombie winked and blew Hannah a kiss.
“Oh my God, Hannah.” Paige groaned. “I thought you were done with Aaron Finch.”
“I did too, but the weirdest thing happened at the lighthouse party.” Hannah got a dreamy look in her eyes while Abercrombie slowly made his way toward us. “Don’t ask me, because I legit have no idea how to explain it, but I think we might actually be dating this time.”
“No way!” Sam shrieked, and just like that, Maddox was forgotten.
“Way.” Hannah wrapped one arm around Sam’s shoulder and the other around mine to whisper. “It’s the craziest thing ever. I think Ava here might be my good luck charm.”
“Hannah Banana.” Abercrombie ran up behind us, making Hannah squeal with glee. He scooped her up and swung her around before planting a sloppy kiss on her glittery lips. With his arm rested over Hannah’s back, Abercrombie nodded to me. “Oh hey, new girl. I see you haven’t ditched your stalker yet.”
“Stalker?” Sam’s eyebrows shot up, and she gawked at me as if I’d grown a third boob.
Abercrombie shot a glance over his shoulder. “Pretty sure that’s the same guy from the lighthouse. Either that, or there’s an army of tall, pissed-off, leather-jacket-wearing dudes roaming Port Michael on vintage bikes. Totally a possibility.” He bobbed his head and snickered.
As if their heads were all attached to the same string, Sam, Hannah, and Paige turned toward Maddox, where he leaned against the “Welcome, Freshmen” sign, watching me in all his leather-clad glory.
“Holy hell.” Sam gaped at Maddox. “That’s your stalker?”
Instinctively, I absorbed every inch of him from the toes of his black Doc Martens to his tousled hair. Darkness swirled in Maddox’s expression, sending an unpleasant ripple down my spine, and I froze, like a mouse caught in a snake’s gaze. I had no idea if I’d caused his black mood, or if it had always been there, and I’d just been too blinded by the curse to notice. The back of my neck burned as electricity pulsed through my veins in time with my racing heart. With every ragged breath I took, my mouth dried out a little more. I may as well have chugged a pail of sand. The urge to flee warred with my desire to fall into him. A genuine ripple of fear zipped through me. If I didn’t move soon, I’d never escape.
“Wait...” Sam cocked her head in that perplexed expression of hers, again, staring at me like I was the mother-loving Sphinx with the answers to the universe. The gears seemed to turn behind her eyes, and she huffed out a noisy breath. “You knew he was that hot under the helmet and didn’t say anything? Girl, you’ve been holding out on me.”
“I didn’t... I wasn’t... It’s not like that.” My heart pounded in my ears as I stumbled over the lies one by one until I came up with something that at least sounded remotely true. “We haven’t officially met yet or anything. He just showed up.”
“If you don’t want him, he can totally stalk me anytime.” Paige twirled a long lock of her hair into a silky black rope. “That boy is hot with a capital H-A-W-T.”
“Hey, Paige.” Hannah cackled. “Wipe the drool off your chin.”
“Oh, shut up, Hannah.”
“Come on, let’s go.” I tugged Sam’s sleeve, desperate to put some space between myself and Maddox before the soul curse had me caving to his charms too. “We’re gonna be late to orientation.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Ghost Rider.” Sam stole another peek at Maddox before turning back to me. Her eyes lit up. “Hey, do you think he has a brother?”
An icy prickle rolled down my spine like a drop of cold rain. The cracks in the timeline were spreading, and I had no idea what would crawl out next.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ferocious waves hammered the rocky coast as Maddox marched forward through the blackness. Briny mist coated my skin, soaking clean through my clothes and leaving me damp, but the icy gleam in his eyes froze me solid where I stood. Maddox vibrated with rage as he closed the distance between us. Like a pair of freshly lit wicks, Maddox’s dark eyes flickered between my face and Laith’s hand in mine.
With every step he took, the prickling intensified until blistering pain exploded down my neck. As if he felt it too, Maddox threw his head back and let loose with a gut-wrenching howl before dropping to his hands and knees to crawl forward. His features twisted into an unrecognizable mask, his bones crackling and snapping like dried twigs as he morphed into a fire-breathing dragon. The beast towered over us, eclipsing the lighthouse in the distance, and Laith’s grip on my hand tightened.
Two glittering black eyes glared down at me, telling me he wanted to consume me. Devour me. His giant mouth stretched wide, and I tasted the rot and decay on his breath as he growled.
Choking back fear, I opened my mouth, but instead of a shriek of abject terror, I let out a primal scream. Out of nowhere, a cool weight settled into my palm, and my fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of the sword.
As if he read my mind, the dragon reared back, and fire spewed from its nostrils, charring the air around me.
“Run!” Shoving Laith aside, I lunged forward, light glinting from the heavy blade in my hand, but I wasn't fast enough. The dragon struck out with a massive claw, and bright-red blood bloomed across Laith's chest.
“Why didn’t you save me, Ava?” Pain etched across Laith’s face, and his eyes went dark as he crumpled to the wet ground.
“No!”
Every morning for a week, I woke up screaming, my heart hammering, my soul shattering... and Laith still gone. I’d had almost the same nightmare in my last life, but the dragon always fell, crumbling into dust at the end of Maddox’s sword. But Maddox wasn’t my savior anymore—if he ever really was. I’d taken back the reins of my own destiny, but no matter how hard I tried, or how many nights I relived the same moment, I couldn’t seem to save Laith. Not only had I failed to save him in my nightmares, but unlike before, he hadn’t come to me in my dreams.
Night after night, I lay awake, terrified to fall asleep—afraid that somehow my subconscious worked to seal Laith’s fate—but just as frightened that if I didn’t dream, I’d miss him. What if my inability to save him was what kept him away? Fear plagued my waking hours, and the dragon roamed my sleep. Laith had to be out there somewhere—lost in limbo, maybe—but there had to be a way to reach him.
ONCE UPON A TIME, I’D longed to see Maddox around every corner, but at that moment, as his bike idled on the side of the road across from the corner coffee shop, I would’ve rather faced down an army of dragons.
“How does he always know where I’m going to be before I even get there?” In the back of my mind, I knew he simply followed the soul bond, but knowing did nothing to ease my discomfort.
“Could be worse...” Sam paid for her frozen macchiato while sneaking a peek at my stalker across the street. “At least he’s cute.”
I groaned into my double espresso. The near-toxic levels of caffeine coursing through my veins had me constantly on edge, but it was also the only thing keeping me awake. Sleep had officially become my enemy. “Please don’t tell me your Aunt Betty has an ugly stalker.”
Sam’s mouth fell open, leaving her straw stuck to her bottom lip like a cosmic exclamation point.
“What?”
She flicked it free with her tongue. “How’d you know about my Aunt Betty?”
“You told me all about the ghost messing with the settings on her...” As soon as the words came out, I realized what I’d done. Sam had told me all about her Aunt Betty, but in the old timeline, not this one.
“On her toaster? No, I didn’t.” What little color she had left drained from Sam’s face. “You really are psychic, aren’t you?”
“Come on, Sam.” With a nervous chuckle, I darted my eyes around the room, all too aware of the curious glances. I shoved the door, held it open, and urged her to walk through it before we attracted any more unwanted attention. “You don’t really believe that.”
Oblivious to my growing panic, she stood her ground, locking her gaze on mine. “Actually, I do. I believe in a lot of crazy things... ghosts, past lives, and yeah... even psychics.”
The words past lives sucked the breath out of me. My mouth filled with excuses, and I had to swallow hard to choke them down. “Well, I don’t.” So many lies.
“There’s something you’re not telling me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I will, and when I do... ” Sam’s eyes probed so deep, my soul itched. “I’ll get the truth out of you.”
I forced back a shudder at her thinly veiled threat. “The truth is way more boring than you think. I’m not a psychic, a ghost, or a witch. Seriously, I couldn’t be more ordinary if I tried.”
“My Aunt Betty was a witch in a past life.” Her suspicions momentarily forgotten, Sam walked through the open door and toward the car.
Her bombshell stopped me in my tracks. The blood rushed from my extremities, and my heart took off like helicopter blades, making my ribs rattle as they turned my guts into confetti. Jane’s words flooded back to me. “...we are naturally drawn to the same souls, time and time again. And yours has a particularly strong draw for my family.”
Forcing life back into my limbs, I chased her down the sidewalk. “A witch?”
