Even though we had five people involved in our fellowship of the talisman, there really only needed to be three: Dr. Reed, Jack, and me. Sierra and Dominic somehow snuck their way in to try to get something for themselves, but with the new information that it wasn't a coin, there wasn't any room for them on the team anymore.
Dominic and Sierra weren't trustworthy. It was pretty much that simple. And unless I got to talk to Jack without either one of them present, there was no way for us to move forward and try to figure out what the hell we were going to do with the latest development.
What was a better time to tell someone that we were maybe involved in some paranormal demon crap than over a nice dinner? Nothing.
When Jack stopped by our dorm on his way back from his jam session with Harvey and the rest of the untalented members of his band, it was the perfect time to make a smaller squad where all the information and action would be.
"Are you hungry?" I asked before he could even set his guitar down.
He nodded. "Do you even have to ask?"
I smiled. "I guess I should have known. If you want, you can take me out to dinner."
His eyes widened. "Seriously?"
It was the perfect plan to get him alone so I could tell him about the new situation we were in. Of course, I was serious.
I nodded. "It'll be fun."
Before Jack could answer, Sierra jumped into the conversation. "So does that mean that you're really not interested in Dominic?"
How many times did I have to tell her that I most definitely was not? He looked like an ocean breeze would knock him over, and yet he still had the ego of someone who could beat Jack up.
"Yes, that's exactly what it means," I said.
This wasn't a date, though. It was a well-thought-out business meeting where I formed a smaller committee by cutting out the people I didn't like or trust from the larger committee. Wasn't it obvious?
Sierra nodded, then went back to her studying. Even after Dominic was pretty clear that he didn't exactly care for her (which meant nothing other than he was an ass), she was still stuck on the idea like she was before she found out that he was majoring in international business. I figured that would have been a clue to let those feelings go.
"I'll be back in an hour. Is that enough time for you to get ready?" Jack asked.
I nodded. It most certainly wouldn't be enough time to get ready for a real date, but fortunately, we were just having a business meeting.
Jack smiled. "I'll see you then."
I gave him a smile as he headed out, and I let myself take a deep breath before taking a seat on my bed.
Sierra suspected nothing. Perfect.
The talisman was mine, and the only people who had any business being involved were Dr. Reed and Jack, who helped me find it. Leaving the other two behind wasn't anything personal.
***
"You ready, Lindsay?" Jack asked as he knocked on the other side of the door.
With the dress I was supposed to wear to Trailfest on, my hair curled and tied away from my face, and a little more mascara than usual, I was absolutely not ready. While I was trying to convince Sierra that the date was real, I failed to make sure that Jack knew it wasn't.
He liked me, and he had no idea that I knew. This would be fun.
It was this exact same lack of planning that got Sierra and Dominic involved in the first place, and as much as I wanted to fake sick, we made the plan an hour ago, and I had already exhausted that excuse.
Not your best work, Lindsay.
Jack knocked again. "Lindsay?"
After the failure known as Trailfest, what was I supposed to do? Telling him that it was a ploy to form a subgroup in the fellowship was only going to hurt him, but no matter how nice he was, he was my closest friend and that was all.
What was happening to me? Was this talisman siphoning IQ points straight from my brain? I paused. No, that wasn't possible. Probably.
"Give me one more second." I grabbed the artifact in question and stuffed it into my purse.
He laughed. "You don't have to fuss over this. It's just me."
"I don't fuss, Jack." I opened up the door, and while he usually reminded me of a lumberjack with the way he dressed, the plaid was gone in favor of a button-down and tie. Like a classy lumberjack.
"You only care enough to fuss when something is really important to you. I've known you for long enough to know that," he said. "You look beautiful."
I gave him a small smile. "Thank you. You look good too."
"So where do you want to go?"
"I really don't care. Anywhere we can talk."
Jack chuckled. "Well, that really narrows it down, doesn't it?"
I smiled. "I know. I'm very helpful."
"Have fun," Sierra called after us as I shut the door behind me.
Since the campus itself was almost like a small city, there really wasn't much of a need to leave it very much. Jack had been in Tillamook longer than me, and with his band, he had played at several cool places around town.
"So what about Three Arch Bar and Grille? Remember that place?" Jack suggested.
Not too far away was where he played one of his favorite gigs. Unlike Trailfest, it was a pretty casual and fun place where I watched him play while I was eating (and contrary to his version of the story, I was not alone—my temporary friend was just in the bathroom), and there was something about the vibe that drew me in. It was the same kind of force that convinced me to buy the metal detector that got us into this mess. Even after a year, I still didn't know what it was about him that made me wait hours for a moment to introduce myself, especially since everyone else in the band wasn't my cup of tea.
Most of the time, people wore out their welcome very quickly with me, but a year hadn't changed that feeling for me at all.
"Why wouldn't I remember the place we met? Don't be ridiculous." I smiled and shook my head. "So if you knew you were going to pick there, why didn't you tell me not to bother wearing a dress?"
He smiled. "Well, I couldn't let the Trailfest dress go to waste, could I?"
"I told you that I didn't buy anything new for that."
"Given your spending habits, I find that hard to believe."
I wasn't lying, but he had a point, and I couldn't help but let out a little laugh.
The inside was much quieter than the last time we were there. Without a band, none of the appeal was gone, though. Dull string lights dangled from the beams that ran across the room, and the walls had maps and artifacts from the Oregon Trail, even though Tillamook was not a town on it. It was too far south, but that didn't stop Trailfest either.
Until we would be left alone for more than five minutes, I couldn't mention anything. While the main idea was to keep Dominic and Sierra out of the loop, I couldn't rope the rest of the world right into it.
I waited for a few minutes after we ordered our food to ask. "Can we talk?"
"Nope. I brought you here just so we could sit in silence." He smiled. "What's on your mind?"
Maybe if I didn't mention that we were technically on a date, he would just forget about it. "So you know the coin?"
"I know you're obsessing over that thing, but you need to let it go for a couple of hours. It's just a coin, and it'll be right where you left it when you get back."
"It's not just a coin, though. Dr. Reed and I were talking, and it's not normal at all. She thinks we accidentally dug up—"
Jack interrupted me. "Lindsay, stop. It doesn't matter right now. You can tell me the same time you tell Dominic and Sierra."
"But I don't want them to know. I only want you for this."
"So that's what you wanted. You just wanted—" He shook his head, but I wasn't blind enough to miss that the light in his eyes was gone. "I'm so stupid. I should have known."
"Maybe if you would listen to me, it would clear some stuff up."
"I really don't think it will, so don't even waste any more of our time."
"Jack, it's a talisman. I don't know why we were supposed to find this, but we were, and now we have to figure out what we're gonna do with it. A talisman, Jack." I forced out a laugh.
He hesitated. "What?"
"I know it sounds crazy, and you're the only one I can trust. I need you to try to understand that."
Once again, he took a moment to respond. That had to be a good thing, right?
"Do you have it right now?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Can you prove what you're saying?"
"I—"
Prove it? It did whatever it wanted whenever it wanted. I didn't have any control over it. "Remember all that weird stuff that was happening?"
"I do. But in order for this to be a talisman, someone has to be controlling the magic," he said.
That couldn't be the case entirely. I didn't tell it to send a shot of ice cold through Sierra's arm when she stole it from me or to change the weather when Sierra got too close to the spot where we found it or to slam the door shut in Dominic's face when he was trying to fight me over the latest presentation in ASL.
I didn't control the talisman. Someone else was.
Before I could say that to Jack, the waiter brought out our food—the same cheeseburger I ordered the evening we met.
Would it really kill me to let this go? What was I supposed to do with a talisman on a Tuesday night? The food smelled good, and he and I were right back where we started.
Maybe I could let it go, but I wasn't going to let this go anywhere. Neither one of us needed that.
"So I guess my parents weren't bluffing about the money for this semester. Debbie made me check the little loan box on the finances website." I shook my head and stole a fry from Jack. "But whatever. It doesn't bother me really."
"Oh." Jack frowned. "I'm sorry. I thought they were going to come around eventually."
I shrugged. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. Maybe if Dominic keeps me at about a C in ASL, Dr. Reed follows through on her promise to give me an A in her class, and I can somehow not fail my other classes, we'll get back to our agreement next semester."
"If it makes you feel any better, you're better off than I am. I was so excited to get away from home that everything is gonna punch me in the face real soon."
Excited? Over the past year, he never mentioned anything about home—not even where he was from. It was always about his band Things We Found.
"Yeah?" I said.
He nodded. "Look, things are good now. I've got a good band—"
I interrupted. "Yeah, and it isn't good enough for you."
"Thanks, Lindsay, but you know I'm happy with them. And it's not gonna last much longer anyway, so I'm just trying to enjoy it all while I can."
College was only four years out of a lifetime, and time was running out. He was a year older than me and a year younger than the rest of the band, and geology was a bigger focus for his life afterward.
That rock to rock transition would be enough to drive anyone crazy.
"Well, at least you've got the talisman to keep you busy now," I said.
He nodded, but he still didn't seem nearly as impressed with it as I was. Once we did a little more research, maybe he'd be the correct level of excited.
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Hello, and thank you so much for reading!
So do you think Lindsay is going to be able to keep the secret from Dominic and Sierra?