Opal

Chapter 27

Lesa practically tackled me the moment I stepped into school the following day. I hadn’t even made it to my locker. Grabbing my arm, she tugged me into the alcove near the trophy case.

I knew from the moment I saw her that somehow she knew something bad had happened. Her face was pale, eyes shadowed, and her lower lip trembled. I’d never seen her so upset.

“What’s wrong?” I forced my voice even.

Her fingers bit into my arm. “Carissa’s missing.”

I felt the blood drain from my face and croaked out a, “What?”

Eyes shiny, she nodded. “She had the flu, right? And apparently she got really sick in the last couple of days, running a high temperature. Her mom and dad took her to the hospital. They thought she had meningitis or something.”

She let out a shuddering breath. “I didn’t know anything until her parents called me this morning asking if I’d seen or talked to her. And I was like, ‘No. Why? She’s been too sick to get on the phone and all.’ And they told me she disappeared a couple of nights ago from the hospital room. Her parents have been looking for her and the police wouldn’t file a missing person’s report until she was gone for forty-eight hours.”

The horror that whiplashed through me wasn’t faked. I said a few things and I really didn’t know what. Lesa wasn’t processing anything anyway.

“They think she walked out of the hospital—that she was that sick and she’s probably out there somewhere, lost and confused.” Her voice trembled. “How could no one see and stop her?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

Lesa circled her arms around herself. “This isn’t happening, is it? It can’t be. Not Carissa.”

My heart felt like it was cracking. Most times I wanted to tell the truth and confide in Lesa, but this was one of those moments when nothing in this world could have made me want to be the bearer of this news.

There wasn’t anything I could say, but I wrapped my arms around her and held on until the first bell rang. We headed straight to class without our textbooks. It didn’t matter. News of Carissa’s disappearance had begun to spread, and no one was paying attention in class.

Kimmy announced at the end of class that the police were organizing a search party after school. She and Carissa hadn’t been friends, but that wasn’t important, I realized. Too many kids had disappeared, and it was touching everyone’s lives. I glanced over my shoulder at Daemon and he gave me a reassuring smile. It did little to soothe me. I was a bundle of nerves. When class ended, Lesa waited for me.

“I think I’m going home,” she said, blinking rapidly. “I don’t… I just can’t be here right now.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked, not wanting to leave her alone if she felt she needed someone.

Lesa shook her head. “No. But thank you.”

I gave her a quick hug and then watched her hurry from class, my heart heavy.

Daemon said nothing as he pressed a kiss to my temple. He knew there wasn’t anything to say. “Do you think we have time to join the search party before we leave?” I asked.

Both of us knew it was pointless, but it seemed a dishonor to her memory to not give her this respect. Or was it wrong to do it knowing what really happened? I didn’t know.

Daemon didn’t seem to know, either, but he agreed. “Of course.”

I wanted to leave the school, too. Especially since everyone was talking about Carissa and finding her. People were in high hopes that she would be found, because it seemed impossible that she’d end up like Simon.

Guilt and anger warred inside me, and throughout the day, I tipped into each side. Sitting in class seemed pointless when so many things hung in the balance. These people—these kids—had no idea what was going on around them. They lived in this blissful bubble of ignorance and not even the disappearances burst it. Only tiny holes were pricked by each disappearance and I was waiting for everyone to finally pop.

At lunch, for the first time, we all sat together. Even Blake joined us. My lack of appetite had nothing to do with the mystery food occupying my plate.

“Are you guys going to the search party?” Andrew asked.

I nodded. “But we’re still doing our own thing afterward.”

Blake scowled. “I really think you guys should wait.”

“Why?” I asked before Daemon could snap his head off his shoulders.

“You need to be working on building up a tolerance, not date night.” Across from him, Ash nodded in agreement. “That’s not what’s important right now.”

Daemon looked at him. “Shut up.”

Cheeks flushing, Blake leaned on the table. “We need every day that we can get if we have any hopes of doing this soon.”

A muscle flexed in Daemon’s jaw. “One day isn’t going to change anything. You guys can still practice or not. I don’t care.”

Blake started to protest, but Dawson stepped in. “Let them go. They need this. We’ll be fine.”

I picked up my fork, feeling my cheeks flame. Everyone thought I needed to get away, take some downtime, and I didn’t want them feeling sorry for or worrying about me. But tonight wasn’t date night. What Daemon and I had to do was going to be as tricky as playing with onyx.

As if he sensed my dark thoughts, he twisted beside me and his hand found mine under the table. He squeezed and for some reason I felt like crying. I was turning into such a wuss and it was all his fault.

I might have dreamed him up last night, because in the light of morning, he’d been gone and the pillow beside me didn’t carry that scent I could place anywhere. But I liked to think it was real. That I hadn’t dreamt him holding me close, his warm hands on my hips or his lips trailing down my neck.

If I had imagined that… Oh boy, my dreams were realistic. I couldn’t ask him, because that would be way too embarrassing, not to mention Daemon’s ego did not need to be stroked by the knowledge I was dreaming about him.

Thinking about his reaction to that, which would bring a whole lot of smugness to the table, I grinned a little. Daemon caught sight of it and my heart skipped a beat, because his heart had jumped first.

Sometimes the whole bizarro alien connection thing had its perks. Like it told me that I affected Daemon just as much as he affected me, and on days like this, I needed whatever pick-me-upper there was.