Chapter 8
Noble
I don’t have to wait long to see Ivy again. As soon as I pull into the parking lot, I spot her car. She didn’t drive to school with Laney. That strikes me as odd since teenage girls seem generally incapable of doing anything solo, but I push any thoughts about why that might be out of my mind. Instead, I look for a parking space. There is one at the end of the row, and one two spaces down from Ivy. I know which one I should take. Van glances over at me nervously when I pull into the one near Ivy. Her hands clench around the strap of her backpack, and I scramble to avoid having to answer any awkward questions.
“You don’t want to stop hanging out with Laney, then you better get used to seeing her,” I say.
Van looks over at me. The doubt in her eyes is hard to miss. “Are you sure this is about me?”
“Get to class, Van.”
“Zander, about last night …”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know, but …”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” I snap at her.
She shrinks back and turns away from me. “I just wanted to apologize.”
“What?” I ask after taking a slow breath.
“I…I knew Ivy was going to come to class last night. I texted you to wait for me outside. Didn’t you get my text?”
“I did.”
“Then why didn’t you wait outside?”
“I did, but you were taking a long time. I got worried something was wrong.” I look over at Van, suddenly angry at her. “Why didn’t you just tell me she would be there?”
“I didn’t know if telling you she’d be there would keep you away…or make sure you did come in. I guess I should have told you either way,” Van says quietly. “I’m sorry.”
My hands finally slip from the steering wheel and fall limp at my sides. I sigh, but I don’t look over at her. My little sister sees so much. She was always the one being protected, but not anymore. “It’s okay. Thanks for stopping me.”
“Sure,” she whispers. Van’s hand moves to the door handle, but she doesn’t get out. “Ivy’s going to keep coming to the dance class. I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay with that, but I wanted to make sure you knew. Grandma can pick me up from work if you need her to. She’ll understand.”
“No,” I say a little too quickly. We turn to each other at the same time. I blanch at the worry and curiosity in Van’s gaze and struggle to explain my quick response. “Same goes for me, I guess. I have to get used to her, too.”
Van nods, but hardly seems convinced. When she doesn’t reach for the door right away, I worry she has more to say about Ivy. She does have another question, but it’s not about Ivy.
“Hey, do you remember the other day when I said I tasted something weird in the hallway?”
My fingers cinch closed around the steering wheel in panic. I would have preferred another accusing question about Ivy over this one. The effort it takes to answer her is not small. “Sure. Why?”
“The same thing happened last night at the studio.” She stares out the window pensively. “Do you have any idea what that was?”
The shake of my head is slow, grinding. “Who knows,” I manage to say. “The closer you get to your birthday, the more odd things you’ll experience. Just forget about it.”
YOU ARE READING
Wicked Hunger
Teen Fiction“Save him and hurt him, don’t save him and hurt him. Pain, either way. Delicious pain. Hunger will be the only one that wins. Hunger always wins.” Vanessa and Zander Roth are good at lying. Their whole life is a giant web of deceit made in an effor...
