Whispered Secrets, Jay Mirano [top young adult novels txt] 📗

frame."
Excited murmurs now, interspersed with muffled giggling.
"These days, it's not enough to just be pretty or popular," Lacey began, her voice sounding chillingly ominous. "You have to be memorable. You have to do something truly outlandish. I'm not talking about fame, here. I'm talking about infamy."
"What do you mean?" Dayna asked, voice hushed and brimming with excitement.
"I'm talking about Jake. You don't think I'm dating him because I actually <i>like him, do you?"
The three girls broke down in a cavalcade of raucous laughter, but I just went cold. Jake really cared about Lacey, and all the while she was just using him.
"Everyone knows Jake is the biggest loser in school," Lacey resumed, fading hints of laughter still clinging to her words. "Well, except maybe Sam Lorden. Let's just say Jake is the biggest <i>guy loser."
My shock was now turning to anger, and I had to refrain from bursting from my cubicle haven and smashing Lacey's face into the wall.
"Yeah, Dayna and I couldn't understand why you were dating that weirdo," Sarah giggled.
"I'm going to humiliate him at prom," Lacey said, her voice chilling once more. "Before voting starts, that is. I'm going to make Jake wish he was never born. That way, I can remind everyone that I am <i>not to be messed with. They would be insane not to vote for me then."
The girlish laughter started up once more, causing a trail of gooseflesh to bloom on my arms. I pulled my knees even closer to my chest and nestled my chin on top of them. My stomach was churning with a mixture of dread and pure, unbridled hatred. I couldn't let Lacey get away with this, even if Jake <i>was ignoring me.
"We should probably get back to class," Dayna said, followed by the rustle of handbags ascending shoulders. "Mr Bates will rip me a new one if I'm gone too long."
The girls bustled from the bathroom, their giggling resounding off the walls long after they had left. As soon as I was sure they were well and truly gone, I tentatively made my way from the stall. I examined my face in the mirror, puffy and tear-streaked. But my problems didn't matter any more; by the sounds of things, Lacey was going to make this pregnancy rumor look like small fry compared with what she had planned for Jake. I splashed cold water on my face and prepared to face the world.

Chapter V

I pounded on Jake’s door, my hand bunched up in a tight fist. I stepped back to peer up at his bedroom window. The light was off.
“Jake! Jake, are you there?”
Silence.
I whipped out my phone and dialed his number again; as seemed to be the norm these days, his phone was off. I swallowed away the threat of frustrated tears and started pounding on his front door again. He couldn’t hide from me forever.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the door finally opened.
“What is it, Sam? Are you okay?” Jake’s Mom peered down at me, her kind face furrowed with concern.
“Uh, not exactly. I really need to speak with Jake. Is he here?”
Mrs Turner bit down on her lip, her eyebrows knitted tightly together. “He isn’t, no. Are you sure I can’t help?”
“Quite sure. Do you know where he is?”
Mrs Turner hesitated, eying my warily. “I really shouldn’t tell you,” she said, wringing her hands. “I wish you’d come inside and talk to me instead.”
I shook my head vehemently. “It’s really important that I see Jake.”
Jake’s mom sighed, sweeping a lock of ebony hair behind her ears. “He’s with Lacey.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured. Do you know where they are?”
Mrs Turner suddenly looked a lot paler than usual. “I do, but…”
“But what?”
She sighed again. “They’re at the park,” she took my hands in hers, her touch warm. “But please promise me you won’t go. Just stay here, wait for him to get back.”
I pulled away, searching her face for the reason behind her odd behavior – she’d never acted this way before. “I promise,” I lied. “But I’ll go wait at home. Maybe I’ll catch him at school tomorrow.”
She nodded, looking immensely relieved. “I’ll tell him you stopped by.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, shooting her a polite smile.
I made my way back down the drive, acutely aware of being watched from the open doorway. I turned back and gave her a wave, but she remained stoic, wooden.
I merged with the darkness of the night, pulling my jacket closer around me. Winter was starting to set in now, its chill already lacing the air. My conscience told me to just go home, to see Jake in the morning and tell him everything then. But there was an ineffable niggling feeling deep within me, as if luring me to the park and to Jake. The sooner Jake knew the truth, I reasoned, the better.
So I glanced back over my shoulder, making sure Mrs Turner had gone back inside, and turned around in the direction of the park. I couldn’t fathom why the two of them would go there alone at night, but I supposed I was about to find out.
The orange glow of the streetlamps lit my way, spreading their puddles of light before me. Some flickered as I passed beneath, and my superstitious side let out a whisper of dread. I pushed it aside and continued on, my shoulders hunched against the cool breeze.
The park came into sight, standing out starkly among the matchbox houses that dominated the suburb. But all I could see was an inky pool of darkness, accented by the glimmer of moonlight reflecting off dormant swing sets.
I opened the gate and let myself in, the rusty steel shrieking in protest as I did. I kept to the path, reassured by the feel of smooth, packed earth beneath my feet. Whenever I felt the ground soften with dewy grass I felt my way back to the trail.
I ended up in the children’s play area, the path underfoot merging into loose bark. I stumbled over to the slide, its surface slicked with the first kisses of frost. I climbed to the top, using the touches of moonlight shimmering on the steps as a guide. I sat at the crest of the slide, knees pulled up to my chest, and surveyed the park around me.
There was no sign of Lacey and Jake, not even the subtlest hint of life. I started to think that Mrs Turner had tricked me; perhaps that’s why she was acting so on edge. It would also explain why she made me promise not to go to the park after them.
I let out a curse under my breath, planning to give Mrs Turner a piece of my mind the next time I saw her. As I prepared to climb down, I did one final sweep of the park, scrutinizing every nook and cranny.
And that’s when I saw it; a flicker of pale light. It was obscured by a grove of trees, and you could only see it when the wind picked up a touch and carried the arms of flame-like light with it, like a flag in the breeze.
I clambered down the slide, not caring that I missed most of the steps. I took off towards the patch of forest, careful not to crush too many twigs and alert them to my presence. I’d make my grand appearance, in time. I just wanted to make sure I picked the right moment.
The pale light grew as I approached, its edges blurred and shimmering. And the more branches I pushed aside, the more lights I saw. There were dozens of them, arranged in a wide circle. Some were blindingly white, others a vibrant green or a deep crimson. They looked like little fires, but I’d never seen fire possess such intense color.
I took position behind a large shrub, my face hidden by its leafy hands. I could see Lacey, standing in the middle of the circle. But she looked different. She looked trapped.
I heard a murmuring somewhere to my left, quiet at first, but slowly growing louder and louder. The voice was unmistakably Jake’s, but the tone of his words sent a shiver down my spine. He was speaking a language I’d never heard before, and it sounded antiquated and enigmatic as it slipped off his tongue.
Lacey let out a soft noise, a panicked noise. She advanced towards the edge of the circle, her eyes glittering with fear. Every time she got near a flame she’d jump backwards, as if actually burned. She was tearing her hands through her hair, shaking her head over and over. Jake’s voice only got louder.
Lacey screamed then, long and animalistic. She fell to her knees, her fingers digging into the dirt. I could see the flames reflecting in her clenched teeth, and for a moment I thought she might actually be crying.
Whatever Jake was doing, it clearly wasn’t good. Lacey looked as though she was in physical pain, as if she were being burned from the inside out. And as much as I despised Lacey, I couldn’t just stand around while she was hurt.
“Jake, stop!” I cried, emerging from my shrub and holding my hands out in front of me. I could feel the heat from the flames radiating outward, warming my legs. “You’re hurting her!”
Jake’s head snapped up, and for a moment I caught the trance-like glaze covering his eyes. And then it was gone, and his face twisted into a scowl. “Sam, get out of here right now. Leave!”
Jake made a move toward me, his hands flexing, threatening to curl into a fist. He glanced over at Lacey and his glare deepened.
“Sam, you have to help me!” Lacey sounded out of breath, and her voice was hoarse. “Jake’s trying to kill me!”
My stomach constricted. Surely Jake wouldn’t do that? I felt myself shaking my head, suddenly feeling clammy and cold all over, despite the fire.
“It’s true! You have to get me out of here, or he’s going to really hurt me.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Jake growled through clenched teeth. “You don’t understand. Go back home, Sam. Go back home and stay there.”
I desperately searched Jake’s face for any trace of the Jake I loved, but all I saw was bitterness and fury. “What are you going to do to her, Jake?”
“That’s none of your concern!”
“He’s going to kill me!” Lacey was advancing towards me, her blonde hair a wild halo around her face. “Please, you have to help.”
Lacey reached her hand out, flinching every time a flame would spring higher. I moved to take it, and Jake lunged towards me. He gripped me hard by the shoulders, his eyes boring into mine.
“Sam you have to go home. I’ll come by and explain everything, but you have to leave right now,” he said the last two words slow and menacing, and I felt a cold sweat bloom on my forehead. I shrugged him off, giving him a defiant stare-down despite wanting more than anything to cower away from him.
“Tell me what’s happening – now.”
“Just please, get –”
Lacey let loose another shriek, and my attention was ripped toward her. She had a strange look on her face, an almost serene nothingness. Her eyes were level with mine, and I couldn’t look away. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break her gaze.
I could hear Jake shouting something, but it sounded foreign and distant, like a thunderstorm far out at sea. My entire body felt numb, and I was dimly aware