UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Despite what North was saying, I still felt I needed the boys on my side before daring to suggest I was for the plan. A few of them were for it, some I wasn’t sure about, but knowing at least the majority was interested would at least meant maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea.
If I could only be sure they were really okay with this, perhaps I would start to believe.
Before North and I finally got downstairs, Luke had taken Kota’s car and left.
I stood on the front porch, rain coming down, looking at where the car had been. I’d hoped he was downstairs waiting. “Will he be back?” I asked. “Where did he go?”
“Probably to get away from me.” North grunted and then turned toward the dog house in the corner. “Now guess who has to figure out what to do with the skunk.”
I was supposed to get to the bottom of what Luke was running off for and now we’d gone and driven him away again.
Maybe it was because of North being so grouchy around him. Could Luke totally avoid his brother? Maybe they needed to get together and talk it out.
We changed-- North into dry jeans and a t-shirt, and I was wearing his pajama pants—tied tightly—and one of his black shirts. We sort of matched with all the black. I wasn’t wearing a bra, mine was still wet and hanging to dry. I held my phone in my hands, feeling the scratch marks on the back cover.
I helped North piece together a makeshift pen for the skunk so he couldn’t get into too much trouble around the house if we left. For now, he seemed content sleeping in the dog house.
“What are we going to do with a skunk?” North asked, peering into the pen and all the supplies.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Are you really upset about it?”
“I just don’t know what to do with one. Do you leave it alone like a cat? Or do you have to work with it every day like a bird?” He crouched, looking into the doghouse. “What are we going to name it?”
I wanted to suggest something, but I didn’t want to name him without Luke being around. “Maybe Luke should come up with it.”
“He said it was yours,” North said. He sighed, stood up and then motioned for me to go into the kitchen.
North and I ate some of the Chinese food. After, Kota called and had North drive me back so we could go over what to do the next day.
When we got to Nathan’s, North was opening my door, when he stopped and squinted at the house.
It was dark now and the drizzle eased once we got to the neighborhood, although the clouds remained dark, promising more rain later. A deeper chill had settled in. I thought he was seeing Kota or someone else at the door to welcome us in from the cold.
It took me a minute to realize he was looking at a white mask on one of the windows. I stared at it, too, suddenly panicked. Where there more? Even with the porch light on, I couldn’t see any other windows.
“Not this shit again,” North said. He groaned and opened my door wider so I could walk around him and then slammed it closed. He turned and urged me on toward the house. “I’m too tired to deal with this.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to agree with him. Is this where Luke went after he left? How was this his way to get back at North, if that’s why he was hanging up the masks?
I was angry, at first, for Luke pulling such a stunt again. Confusion was stronger, as I reasoned out why he would, and nothing really added up.
I was in a pair of North’s boots, too big for my feet, but more protection from puddles than my soaked Keds I’d left at the Taylor Compound. I hurried along, trying not to slip as I looked at the mask.
Once we were closer to the front door, I finally saw another one at a different window. If there were two, I suspected there were more. Disappointment seeped through my brain. How could he?
Once we were under the shelter of the porch’s overhang, I reached for North, catching his wrist, and urgently tugged him to a stop before he could put a key into the lock. “We can’t tell Kota this time.”
North lifted an eyebrow. “Baby, he’s got to know. We can’t keep secrets like this.”
I pouted. “Isn’t yelling at Luke about this just going to make things worse?”
North sighed and shook his head, putting his arm around my shoulders and tugging me toward the door. “Kota doesn’t yell,” he said. “I do.”
Still, it didn’t seem right. What did the masks mean to Luke? And why was he trying to scare us? I didn’t understand.
When we got inside, I kicked off the wet boots by the door and shirked the jacket as North went ahead, announcing us.
Kota and Nathan were at the dining table, mugs of steaming cocoa in their hands. Kota was wearing a green T-shirt, Nathan a red one, and both looked tired and ready to get to sleep. It seemed they were waiting on us.
I held my phone in my hand after having taken it out of the jacket. Even though I was happy to be dry, I felt like a lump in North’s loose clothes.
Seeing Kota and Nathan with cocoa, and finally being close to a familiar space, knowing there was a bed nearby, I yawned, my face feeling droopy with exhaustion.
Kota and Nathan had been asking North how things were going when I appeared. Kota stopped mid-sentence, took one look at me, and sat up straight. “Sang? What’s wrong?”
I blinked at him. I wanted to tell him what had happened, until I realized I’d been grounded with Luke under the expectation that I would get to the bottom of what was bothering him. If I didn’t, Luke would have to talk to Mr. Blackbourne. I’d failed in my attempt but was too exhausted to explain. “I’m tired,” I said simply. “I didn’t have enough time with Luke.”
“There’s masks outside on the windows,” North said quietly. “More Volto ones.”
Kota frowned. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Nathan got up from the chair, his clenched fists on the table as he leaned on it. “Right now?” he asked. “Why would he do it again?”
“Probably because I yelled at him,” North said.
Kota stood up slowly, touching the corner of his glasses. “Are you sure it was him?”
“He confessed last time, didn’t he?” North said, a low grumble. “It makes sense, though. I yelled at him while…well, interrupting Sang and him…when they were…”
I’d never heard North stumble with his words so much. He was protecting me and Luke from Kota. I understood now why keeping secrets was an issue with North, especially when I suggested we not tell him about the masks. We were already keeping a deep secret from Kota, and if we piled on more, he may never forgive us.
“It wasn’t North’s fault,” I said quickly. I moved to the table, sitting down in one of the chairs. I wanted to go to bed, but I needed to be here for this discussion and didn’t want North to take the blame for all of it. “He was worried and my phone wasn’t working.”
Nathan stood up fully and moved around the table toward the front of the house. “I want to see the masks,” he said. “I want to take them down.”
“Bring them in” Kota said, scooting closer to the table. He passed his mug of hot chocolate over to me. “Do you want some?”
His mug was still full. “Don’t you want it?”
“I’ll make another one,” he said. “You look chilled.”
I thanked him and took his offered mug. Nathan and North went outside to circle the house.
Kota got up and heated another mug of milk in the microwave. As he was waiting, he turned to me, looking at me across the kitchen island. “How is Luke?” he asked.
I pressed my lips together, absently turning the large mug, making a grinding noise as it dragged along the wood table. “I thought he was okay. He seemed sorry to have spooked us with the masks before.”
“What did you do with him?” he asked quietly. “You didn’t go to the diner.”
“I thought it would be better if we went somewhere quiet where I could talk to him,” I said. “Remember yesterday when I suggested we get his favorite junk food and stay the night here?”
He nodded as the microwave beeped. He took out the mug and shook a packet of cocoa mix before pouring it in. He found a spoon and brought it and his cocoa to the table, moving a chair next to me and sitting close. “I hope you don’t mind, but I did track your phone to keep an eye on where you were. It’s okay if you change plans like that, but next time, try to let me know where you’re going.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I assumed it would be okay. Maybe I relied a bit too much on Luke to let everyone know.”
He swirled his cocoa with the spoon, scraping the sides to mix it thoroughly. His elbow nudged mine. “I don’t want to be the guy who needs to know where you are every five minutes, but we do have unusual circumstances ourselves.”
“I know,” I said.
“Tell me if it bugs you.”
“It doesn’t bug me,” I said. “I know why.”
“Knowing why, and being comfortable with it might be two different things,” he said. He reached for a napkin to place his spoon on and then took a sip from his mug. After he swallowed, he spoke again. “And your phone wasn’t working? Do you mind if I have a look at it?”
I pressed my lips together, worried about him being able to see what was on there.
I needed to not keep secrets from Kota, but I hoped he would understand. “Some of the guys tell me things I don’t think they want everyone to know,” I said, taking the phone I’d placed on the table, and sliding it over to him.
Before I could let it go, he reached over, covering my hand with his, warming my fingers, drawing my attention. I looked up; his green eyes were soft, concerned.
“Sang,” he said quietly. “I understand you’ve gotten pretty close to them. I won’t read your messages. I’m not like that.”
My sister or my mother wouldn’t have hesitated to read anything of mine if I left it around. Even my diary had been written in code so my sister wouldn’t be able to snoop.
But that wasn’t Kota. I stretched my fingers underneath his hand around my phone. “I know. Sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Kota reached around my shoulders, pulling me into him for a hug. I accepted it, surrounding his torso with my arms. He kissed my brow quickly before I moved to lay my head on his shoulder.
I sighed into his neck, breathing in the sweet spice that was so familiar to me now. “I feel bad that I haven’t been able to help Luke,” I said.
“It’s not your fault,” he said. “Things happen and some of it is out of our control.”
Maybe he was right, but I hated to ask for Mr. Blackbourne’s help when he had so much on his plate. “Would it be okay if I talked to Mr. Blackbourne about him?”
Kota rubbed his hand smoothly along my back, his breath hot on the side of my head. “If you’d like. You’ll have to tell him everything.”
“Okay,” I said, pulling back a bit.
Kota released me, but kept a hand on my back, rubbing soothingly. “Have some of that cocoa and then you should probably call him tonight.”
“Should I tell him about the masks?”
“Yes,” Kota said. “Tell him everything.”
“Is Dr. Green okay?”
He looked down, turning to grab his own mug, staring down at the liquid. “I think so, but I’m more worried about what might happen. I’m worried that Mr. Hendricks is panicking and may expose a lot of people and take off, but I don’t think he started it…”
He was about to say more when North and Nathan came in. North dropped a pile of masks onto the table and sat down heavily into one of the chairs. He flicked some rain droplets off his brow. “Eight of them,” he said.
Kota raised an eyebrow, and then reached over, tracing a finger over the mask on the top of the pile. “Again? Are there eight windows?”
“No,” Nathan said, picking up his mug. He walked around to the sink with it. “There’s twelve, unless you count the tiny bathroom windows, and then there’s fourteen. Do the sliding glass doors count as a window?”
Kota frowned and then picked up a mask, inspecting it. “So why eight?”
“Ask Luke,” North said. “Maybe he found the set we threw away and that’s just how many he had.”
“I kept two,” Kota said. “So unless he found the ones I hid in my room…”
“Wouldn’t be the first time he borrowed stuff from someone’s rooms,” North said.
Kota adjusted his glasses and then flipped over the mask to check the back and then back to look at the front. He frowned. “Are these the same type?”
“Looks like them,” North said.
Kota flicked his eyes between North and Nathan, asking them silent questions but no one said anything.
Finally, Kota looked at me, and then slid my phone back at me. “I guess you know what to do. Let me know if your phone still won’t work, okay?”
I finished my cocoa, and excused myself to get ready for bed and to make the phone call.
My nerves started to rattle when I realized I’d promised to call Mr. Blackbourne before going to bed. I brushed my teeth and lingered in the bathroom, but the longer I put it off, the more nervous I got. It wasn’t that he’d yell at me, but I didn’t want to bother him, and I also secretly worried I would freeze up as soon as I heard his voice.
The boys continued to talk in the dining room. I went to Nathan’s bedroom and closed the door behind me. I left it unlocked, not wanting to forget and fall asleep after the conversation and lock them out.
Not that the lock would keep them out.
I sat on the bed, looking at my phone. To make sure he wasn’t in the middle of anything too dangerous, I sent a quick text message.
Sang: Hi. If you aren’t too busy and have a moment, could we talk?
I knew it was a copout, but I waited with the phone in my hands for a text or answer of some sort. Part of me hoped he’d say he was busy.
Moments passed and I was worried maybe my phone wasn’t working again. I considered leaving another message, or asking Kota for help to check and make sure.
I hoped nothing was wrong.
When the phone vibrated in my hands, my heart leapt into my throat. For a split second, I thought he was calling. The vibration somehow seemed stronger, like my phone understood that if it was from Mr. Blackbourne, it was too important to miss.
Mr. Blackbourne: I’ll be there in thirty minutes.
I gritted my teeth, sucking a breath through them, suddenly filled with energy. I stood up, pacing the carpet in my bare feet in front of Nathan’s bed. I held the phone, looking at his message again.
He was on his way. Had my message sounded that desperate?
My body shook where I stood. My eyes darted from Nathan’s dresser, the closet, the bed, as I tried to figure out what to do.
Should I change? I looked down at my clothes, at North’s pajama pants and the T-shirt. They were still a bit damp from the rain.
I went ahead and changed into a set of my own pajamas, feeling too awkward to change into proper clothes so late at night. I selected a pink T-shirt, and some soft gray pajama pants. The outfit would almost pass for normal clothes, if a little casual. I made sure to put on a more comfortable bra, one I could sleep in.
After that, I sat on the bed and waited. But then nerves got to me again. I decided I would lie in the bed. There was no way I would fall asleep knowing Mr. Blackbourne was on his way.
I stared at the ceiling with the pillow underneath my head. I thought about how he would enter and probably talk to the boys. They might think I asked him to come here.
I sighed. If it was inconvenient for him to come, he wouldn’t have, I was sure. I felt silly now for having been so nervous to call. I did feel a little better that I could talk to him face to face, though.
Sure that they’d call for me to come into the kitchen when he arrived, I allowed myself to try to relax, to warm my body and wait.
♥♥♥
A gentle touch on my shoulder woke me. My eyelids parted, taking in the darkness and the ceiling above me as my brain struggled to catch up.
“Miss Sorenson,” said a quiet, yet powerful voice.
I breathed in sharply through my nose, and started to sit up in a rush, even before I realized it was Mr. Blackbourne. Syllables came from my mouth, but nothing that resembled actual words.
Mr. Blackbourne was sitting on the edge of the bed, turned toward me. He hadn’t turned on the light, but even in the darkness, I could see the jacket of his usual gray suit was gone; I spotted it draped over the foot of the bed. His tie was a little loose, but other than that, he was still perfect. The black-rimmed glasses masked his gray eyes, and it was difficult to tell his mood in the dark.
How could I have fallen asleep? I swallowed, clearing my throat of sleep. “Mr. Blackbourne,” I said.
“May I turn on a light of some sort?” he asked. He motioned to the closet. “Will the closet light be too bright for you?”
“It’s fine,” I said, warmed that he was being so thoughtful. Where were Kota and the others? I glanced at the time, ten-thirty. It wasn’t incredibly late. I didn’t hear any voices coming from the rest of the house. Had they all gone to Kota’s?
Mr. Blackbourne stood up and went to the closet, closing it partway. He flicked the switch, a sliver of light brightening the room a little.
The glow reflected from his glasses. While his clothes were what I was familiar with, I noticed a few wrinkles in his pants, like he’d been sitting for a while.
“Is everything okay?” I asked quietly. “How’s Dr. Green?”
“He’ll be fine,” Mr. Blackbourne said, but offered nothing further as he turned back to the bed.
I shifted my legs to sit cross-legged on top of the blanket, giving him room.
This time, he sat closer. His outer thigh brushed up against my folded knees.
My cheeks heated as I was very close to his face now. I recalled a time he’d sat with me on my own bed, back when I still lived with my parents. Had he been that close then?
“Are you extremely tired?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly through my lips. “Unless there’s been a change, I’ll still be in in-school suspension tomorrow. There’s not much to do; I’ll be fine.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to endure another two days of that. I’m glad you suggested staying to Kota. They were all upset over your getting suspended, and are emotional about the situation with Dr. Green. No matter what happens now, we should continue our assignments at Ashley Waters unless it becomes impossible. We shouldn’t abandon this now when we’re so close.”
“Are we close to answers?” I asked.
“We hope so,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Right now, Victor is working overtime to see if Mr. Hendricks and his partners start pulling in large sums of money.”
“Why is Mr. Hendricks doing this now?”
“Something’s happened,” he said. “We’re not aware as to what, but it’s making him expedite his plans. According to our information, this wasn’t supposed to happen until closer to the end of the school year.”
“Was it me returning to school?” I asked.
“I don’t exactly know, but I don’t think so,” he said. “We do know he was surprised to hear you were back at school. I don’t think that was the single determining factor, but it might have been one of a few last straws that triggered his need to move quickly.”
“You really think it’s best if I stay in suspension?”
“I think it’s best that we all follow the rules for now. If we keep the police out of it by making it all look like just school-related trouble and nothing criminal, then it will not be the big distraction Mr. Hendricks was hoping for, and we may save this school yet.” He leaned back a bit, sliding a hand across the bed as he turned more toward me.
Part of his arm cut across my leg, and his elbow hovered over my knee. It was close enough that I felt the starched material of his shirt tracing over my pajamas. It might have been an unnoticeable thing to him, but for me, it was very close. I froze, fearing he’d pull away.
“This might be the hardest thing we’ll ever have to do,” he said quietly. “Sitting still, waiting patiently. It won’t be easy.”
I breathed in slowly, noting his signature fragrance--the spring soap—and how it mixed with the smells of the house and Nathan’s leather scent that lingered in the room. “What about next week? The new schedule?”
“I don’t want to plan that far ahead,” he said. “Let’s get through the next two days. We’ll talk about Monday over the weekend.”
It wasn’t like it would be very difficult, but I felt useless to be stuck in in-school suspension. “Let me know if you need anything,” I said.
The corner of his mouth lifted, a slight millimeter smile forming. “Didn’t you call me here for a reason?”
My heart fluttered at the way he said that. I suddenly wanted desperately to say something other than have to talk about Luke and the masks. I didn’t want to put more on his shoulders.
I was tempted to pretend I wanted to talk about him just to talk. It was something we’d never done. Could I ever ask Mr. Blackbourne simple questions about himself? What would I even ask him?
“You didn’t have to come all the way down if you were busy,” I said.
He shook his head slowly. “I’m always here for you, Miss Sorenson. I wasn’t busy, so it seemed a good idea to visit you in person.” His head tilted toward me. “How is everything?”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to admit things weren’t good. Perfection seemed to be the only acceptable answer for him, and everything I had to say wasn’t even close.
He waited for me to answer, but the more he looked at me, the more the words jumbled in my brain.
He lifted his hand from the bed, sitting up. He reached over and touched gently to the underside of my chin, lifting my head, commanding my attention.
“Tell me,” he said simply.
It was all the encouragement I needed. I explained quickly about the permanent marker, the small spat between North and Luke, then I told him about the masks, and everyone’s concerns about Luke and how he’d confessed to orchestrating the prank.
I kept it about Luke and tried to be brief about our date, but I couldn’t help but admit to my own doubts about the plan, and my nervousness in trying to figure out if Luke was for or against it.
“We’re not sure why he would do it again,” I said when I got to the part about the second set of masks. “Or if it is him.”
“Did you feel uncomfortable around Luke?” Mr. Blackbourne asked. He’d returned his palm to the bed, his arm close to my knee. “How do you feel about him? What’s your instinct telling you?”
I pressed my lips together, unsure about trusting my instincts. “He said he did the first set of masks, but he never explained why.”
“Does that bother you?”
“A little,” I said. “I didn’t want to press, when there were other things to talk to him about. Like where he goes when he disappears. And why. Well, I know he was on assignment the other day…”
“He wasn’t,” Mr. Blackbourne said quietly.
My head rose and I looked at him carefully, wondering if we were talking about different times. “He said he was, maybe…”
“He lied to you,” Mr. Blackbourne said, his lips pursing into a slight frown before he spoke again. “He wasn’t on assignment. I would have been notified immediately.”
My heart dipped then. I tilted my head down, hiding the shock and the sudden sweep of emotion. “Why would he do that?” I asked, forcing my voice to be steady.
“That’s what we’ll have to find out,” he said, his voice soothing. “He may have used it as an excuse for you to not worry about him. I’m afraid he might be having a hard time dealing with the new information you’ve learned.”
“He kissed me,” I said, still looking at my lap. “I thought meant he was accepting of it.”
“Perhaps he was,” he said. “However, there were only eight masks.”
“So you do think it means something?”
“It might be a coincidence, but there’s nine of us in the original group. That might be significant.”
My heart started pumping hard, and I began to tremble at the implication. “Do you think it means…that he is telling everyone he doesn’t feel he belongs? Or that he wants out?”
“It might be a reasonable argument to make as to his meaning, except…I’m not convinced,” he said. He reached again for me.
I stilled, expecting him to draw me up by my chin again.
Instead, his palm grazed my cheek. He drew me up, cradling my face with his hand.
His thumb slid across my skin, over the hairline by my ear.
My heart, and my breath, stopped simultaneously.
“He would never leave us, or you,” he said. “I may not understand what he’s up to, but I know Lucian Taylor. There’s something we’re not seeing, or we’re looking too closely at the wrong information. He may be upset right now, but he’s too far smitten by you to ever pull away.”
My tongue pressed to the top of my mouth. I swallowed back emotion, and begged my eyes not to let the tears I was feeling right then fall.
He held me a minute longer and then released me his arm returning to lay across my leg. Now, however, it wasn’t just barely touching. It was close, his arm pressed to my knee. It was a comfortable touch.
It warmed me from the inside out.
“Do you feel the same for him?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but the guilt of admitting it to him, when there were others to think about, made me pause.
A perfect eyebrow lifted, crossing above the top edge of his glasses. “Miss Sorenson?” he asked in a demanding tone.
I nodded. “I feel…strongly for him,” I said. I wasn’t going to admit how strongly, especially after tonight, after the kiss. He’d seemed so determined about the first date, and how he talked about a year later. He thought of the future, he’d been trying to picture me in it. For me, someone so unsure about her future, his day dreaming seemed to help me believe this might work out.
I’d skimmed over the words Luke had said to me. Luke hadn’t said anything about himself leaving. He was worried about me leaving.
“Mr. North Taylor mentioned you were a little hesitant about the plan. Did I misinterpret your intent?”
“I don’t dislike the plan,” I said as honestly as I could. “I fear the result, though. If I agree, and someone isn’t on board, I am afraid I’d have to leave the group. Or the group would break up. I don’t know how it would work.”
“There’s a thousand factors that could lead to it not working the way we want to. To be honest, the odds are against us.” He took a breath, sighing before he went on. “Maybe we’re thinking too far ahead.”
“What do you mean?”
He was quiet for a minute and brushed his palm down his thigh as he seemed to be thinking. “You’re worried about the end. But if the idea is sound and you want to try, maybe we should focus on that—on trying. There’s no harm in trying, right? If it’s not meant to be, we’ll know after we’ve tried. And if we have set parameters and clear boundaries, even if it doesn’t work, we should still be able to maintain our relationships as they are now.”
It sounded reasonable. “If everyone else wants to.”
“If you want to, I imagine they will. But you have to tell them you’d like to try, and then give it a good effort.” His gaze drifted over my face. “If you doubt it, they’ll doubt it, too.”
“I’m scared of what might happen.”
“Sometimes, you have to fake courage in order to find yours,” he said gently. “You have to put yourself out there and forget about the results. You just have to try your best and trust your instincts.”
North had seemed to lose his faith when I’d started to doubt. The others seemed reluctant—maybe he was right, maybe they were waiting on me. “So you think if I told them all I wanted to try, they’d believe in it more?”
That millimeter smile returned. “I don’t think any of them would dare fail in trying to make you happy,” he said. “Including me.”
My lips trembled as I kept them together, not daring to breathe or say anything that might ruin the moment. While I considered what all of us being together meant, Mr. Blackbourne was the hardest to imagine in that picture. I wasn’t even sure if he included himself in the plan.
These small slips of affection—a kind word, a gentle touch, his millimeter smile—hinted that he did think of me that way, but it was possible I was misinterpreting his actions.
“I should get going,” he said suddenly as he leaned away from me and turned to collect his coat. “You should sleep and be ready for tomorrow.”
“What about Luke?”
“I’ll talk to him,” he said. He turned, the silver in his eyes appearing to glow from the little light spilling out of the closet into the room. “You, Miss Sorenson, should summon up some courage. Talk to the ones you know have agreed to the plan, and have a strong heart-to-heart with them about trying. Luke should be included, when you get a chance.”
“I will,” I said, determined, even though I suspected it would take a lot of that fake courage he’d talked about.
He stood up, moving to the door and opening it before he turned and flicking off the closet light. My eyes took a moment to adjust.
When they did, Mr. Blackbourne was still standing in the doorway, looking in at me.
The silence loomed. I waited.
“Goodnight, Miss Sorenson,” he said in a whisper.
“Goodnight, Mr. Blackbourne.”