Chapter 11 #2
I squint into the darkness, and for a split second, I swear I see a pair of wide eyes gleaming like polished onyx.
Then they’re gone, and I see only the backside of a lean man with legs that seem too long for his squat torso.
He’s hurrying away, leaving me alone on the empty street with my hammering heart and the certainty that whatever’s happening to me isn’t just in my head.
When I finally reach my dorm room, I’m half-running. Tia looks up in surprise as I burst through the door, flushed and breathless.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” she asks, setting aside the book she was reading. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Not a ghost,” I say, dropping my bag and collapsing onto my bed. “But something creepy. And it was watching me.”
“It?” Tia’s dark eyes go wide. “Like an animal?”
“Maybe? No. I don’t think so.”
Tia cocks her head. “Should I wait for that answer to circle around again before I jump on it?”
I drop my voice to something lower than a whisper. “I think there’s someone spying on me.”
“Like now?” She’s whispering too.
“What? No.” I realize we’re whispering and reset my voice back to normal. “When I was walking back. It makes sense, right? Whoever warned me away from the Whitehall party had to know I’d been invited, right? It’s not like I’ve advertised it.”
“Yeah, well, that’s easy. It was Chase,” she says, in a voice that suggests this is a dead issue. “You bumped into him the day of the tour, and then you bumped into him again before class on day one. And you’re adorable, so he’s all into you and he started watching you. It’s like a romcom.”
“A romcom with a stalker?”
“Well, the funny kind of stalker,” she says, swishing her hand as if to wave away my criticism.
“And since he’s hot for you, he’s afraid that if you go to Whitehall, you might meet some insanely rich frat guy who’ll sweep you off your feet, and Chase will never have a chance.
So he sends you the mysterious text. Besides, mysterious warnings from hot guys are practically an engraved invitation to adventure. ”
I can’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “You’re insane.”
“Please. I’m the perfect amount of curious and reckless.”
“You also don’t have all the evidence.”
“Oh? Well, enlighten me.”
So I do. I tell her about Chase flat-out telling me to stay away from Whitehall.
“But he never said why?”
“Nope.”
“Well, that’s not helpful at all.”
“My point exactly. But at least he said it to my face instead of lurking around being cryptic.”
“True. And that makes him less dark and mysterious,” Tia says. “So, bonus, right?”
“Oh, he’s still dark and mysterious,” I say, thinking of my dream.
Her head cocks, like a dog who’s picked up on a specific frequency. “That sounds like a story you haven’t yet told your favorite roomie. Keep secrets, and you might wake up with frogs in your sheets.”
“Frogs,” I repeat, trying hard not to laugh.
“I thought about spiders, but that was too icky. Even for a joke.” She grabs one of my pillows, then sprawls on her stomach, her feet up in the air. “Start at the beginning and give me every ooey-gooey detail.”
“It’s not ooey or gooey,” I tell her, leaning against my headboard.
The truth is, I should be shutting this conversation down.
We may have done some serious bonding over the last few days, but the whole Chase in my dreams thing is a little much to dump on a new friend. Even one as open-minded as Tia.
“Quit running scenarios in your head,” she orders. “Just tell me.”
So I bite the bullet, ignore what I just told myself, and do just that.
When I’m done, she gapes at me. “But that’s—I mean, that’s…”
“Freaky. Impossible. Utterly insane,” I finish for her. “Yeah, I know.”
“All that. But pretty fucking cool if it’s true.”
“It’s true,” I say, my throat tight.
Immediately, she grabs my hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. I believe you. I really, truly believe you.”
“Why?”
“Are you saying you’ve been lying?”
“Tia! Of course, I’m telling the truth.”
“Well, then,” she says, as if that solves everything.
And I guess it does.
Except for whatever it is that she’s not telling me.
I reach up to finger Mom’s ring at my neck, only to remember it’s in my treasure box.
I sigh, wishing she were here for all of this.
Wanting her to hold me safe from the dreams as we talk about boys and school and growing up.
I never got that, and now I’m dealing with all this freakish stuff, and I don’t have my mom around to talk to about the mundane or the freaky.
Which totally sucks.
“Cora?” Tia’s brow furrows with concern.
“Sorry. Just—I guess I’m just glad you’re here.” She’s hardly a surrogate mom, but she definitely fills the best friend slot.
For a second, I think she’s going to push, but then she sits back, her voice gentle when she says, “Does he know? I mean—is it him in your dreams or are you just dreaming of him?”
“Chase? Oh, he knows,” I say, mentally shifting back on topic. “And it’s him. I’m sure of it.”
She stares me down. “And you’re sure because…?”
“It’s like he’s trying to keep it a secret, but he’s trying too hard. And there’s the sizzle.”
She pushes herself up so that she can sit on her knees. “Sizzle?”
“When we touch—even if I just brush up against him—it’s like…I don’t know…electricity, I guess.”
“That’s kind of romantic.”
I shake my head, not willing to admit to myself how much I wish that were true. “I’m just a project to him. He’s protecting me in the dreams. And here too. That’s why he was at the store. He was getting books and herbs for protection spells.”
“And you’re sure that’s about you?”
I nod. I can’t explain why, but I’m positive.
“Well, at least he’s chivalrous. And every relationship has to start somewhere.”
I laugh. “I think I love you.”
“Better not tell Chase. I think he’s the jealous type.” She hops off my bed, muttering something about going to the library to write a paper. “But what’s the final verdict?” she asks as she grabs her backpack. “Whitehall tomorrow? Or do we listen to your Secret Service detail?”
“Whitehall,” I say. “I want answers. And if he thinks it’s so damn dangerous, he can follow us there.”
“Cool,” Tia says, then winks. “If we’re lucky, maybe he’ll even bring his golden dragon.”