The Cloak and Dagger (Preview)

2 -

"Oh. My. God." Mac's jaw dropped, her coffee mug almost slipping from her grasp. "Holly, I am so sorry. Are you okay? How are you feeling? Are you - "

I held up a hand, cutting off her babbling. "Mac, I'm fine. Really. I just got a bump on the head."

"A bump on the head?" Mac snorted. "C'mon, Holly, that's one hell of a bruise on your forehead."

"She is right," Jamie agreed from the couch in the living room. "That bruise is rather bulbous."

"Gee, thanks, Jamie."

"Come off it, Holly, you were assaulted. You can't just blow it off like it's nothing."

I loved Mac and Jamie - the third member of our trio - like no other. They were my support system, the ones that held my hands while I trudged my way through classes at NYU to get my BS degree and listened to my complaining about the troubles in my life - like my school loans and the idiots I ran into at my job at a university library.

The one thing I didn't care too much for was that Mac and Jamie had the habit of ganging up on me on matters they were united on. Apparently, my assault was one of them.

I wanted to forget what had happened last night. I did not need my best friends reminding me of all that happened. Those clammy hands, the suffocating feeling, the screaming...that was something I could go my entire life without remembering.

Mac had come barging into my room around nine this morning, all but hysterical about the note my mom had left for her. She'd yanked me out of bed, forced me to eat a huge breakfast of waffles, Cinnamon Life cereal and eggs, then called Jamie and demanded that he come over for moral support.

I wasn't going to lie - I was still shaken up about what had happened. I was jumpy, startling at every loud noise or sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. I had no idea what would make me feel normal after what had happened, but I knew my best friends fussing over me wasn't the right answer.

But, a long soak in a hot bath with a good book could do wonders for a person if they were stressed.

"Holly?" Mac snapped her fingers in front of my face, nearly causing me to topple off the arm chair onto the floor. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I am now," I said sourly. "Will you please just drop this, Mac? Jamie? Seriously. So I got a little beat up, big deal. The police are looking for whoever it was and that's that."

Jamie assessed me with his unusually bright blue eyes over the rim of his coffee mug.

Jamie Sandoval was the type of person that made you feel like you were being x-rayed whenever he looked at you, and not in a good way. That was why so many people were uncomfortable around him. Jamie just knew things.

"I think you're lying," Jamie said, sighing heavily. "But whatever. You know we're here for you if you need us."

"I know, Jamie," I said, doing my best to smile at him.

"Well, duh!" Mac tossed herself down onto the couch beside Jamie, her vibrant red curls bouncing. "That's why we're the best. I just can't believe something like that happened to our Holly, you know?"

"Honey." Jamie gave Mac a pitying look. "You do realize we live in Manhattan, right? People are assaulted every day."

"Yeah, yeah, but I mean - "

"Guys, this isn't dropping the subject," I said loudly. "There has to be more important things we can talk about than my little trip to the ER."

"Okay, then. We can talk about my disastrous date the other night." Jamie got to his feet, stretched his lanky form, and slouched into the kitchen. "I swear, this guy would've made Lucas Ore look like a jewel in comparison."