Page 26

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

The gym was so loud .

Last time Theo stood in the gym waiting for a basketball game to start, he’d had the hunger blotting most of it out. Now, watching everybody file in, chatting and whispering and yelling across the room at people they’d known their whole lives, music blaring from the speakers overhead, Theo had to force himself not to cover his ears.

Perfume pierced the stench of sweat and popcorn. Theo turned to see Felicity sidling up to him, hair swishing behind her.

“You didn’t reply to my texts.”

Theo blinked blearily. She hadn’t brought it up in the last two days. He’d hoped she had forgotten her unanswered McDonald’s invite.

“I was busy,” Theo said. He looked up at the bleachers at his parents wedged next to the Fletchers. “We’ll catch up tonight, right? Celebration dinner.”

She shook her head. She was looking tired again, shoulders slumped with it. Her makeup was thicker than ever, her smile extra sharp to make up for it.

She flipped her not-so-shiny hair over her shoulder. “I have shit to do.”

“Practice?” He nodded down at her knuckles, which were swollen again. “Or are you ditching it for a party?”

Felicity gave him an unreadable look. She looked exhausted. The bone-deep kind, not just the gymnastics kind.

Theo sighed. “Look. I know something’s been up with you. Something’s going on with you and your mom, right? I know I’ve been busy lately, but?—”

Felicity laughed. It was her smarmy you-couldn’t-possibly-know-what-I’m-going-through laugh, which Theo thought she had grown out of in middle school. It used to come right before Felicity lashing out with whatever she’d been going through lately. Taking her problems and turning them into something to cut you with.

But Felicity just stared at him. Then she squeezed his cheeks, voice taking on a strange desperation. “What are my chances of talking you into ditching that celebration dinner, huh? We can find a party. You’d be the guest of honor.”

Theo looked pointedly at the bleachers where his parents were watching .

“No,” Felicity said, smile twisting. “Of course not.”

She gave him a little shake, a frown forming on her tired face. “You’re so cold. What happened to the warm-up?”

“I’ll be fine,” he told her. “Liss?—”

But she was already turning away, heading back toward the bleachers where there was a spot waiting for her next to the Fletchers.

Theo breathed in. Wood polish and sweat. The telltale stink of hair gel and eucalyptus arriving behind him.

“Hi, Aaron,” Theo said.

Aaron jogged up, eyes on Felicity’s retreating back. “Did she finally say something?”

Theo shook his head, stomach swimming with guilt. She might have said something if he’d agreed to ditch his parents later.

Aaron’s jaw twitched as he watched Felicity climb the bleachers toward his parents.

“You look distracted as shit,” he told Theo waspishly, finally tearing his gaze away. “Cut it out.”

“I’m focused as shit,” Theo corrected him. “Shut up.”

“Just saying, people are watching.” Aaron aimed a wave at their parents sitting together in the bleachers. “Don’t want to disappoint.”

Theo watched their parents wave back, all of them smiling wide. They’d bonded over it when they were small: two boys with a weight on their shoulders, placed by their doting parents. They’d never drop it. They wouldn’t dare .

“Not to mention Coach,” Aaron continued. “He’s been pissed off this week. Don’t wanna see what he’ll do to us if you screw up again. Sorry, if we screw up again.”

Theo glanced at Coach Cheech, who was watching the crowd with an intensity that made Theo uncomfortable. He swallowed, trying to shake the knot of worry in his gut.

Kade would be here soon. They’d go to the disabled stall, and all the distant noises of the waiting gym would fade away. The stress, the game, the Fletchers, his parents’ expectations—all the worry would drain out of him with each pull of Kade’s blood, dark and delicious. Maybe he’d get to make Kade laugh again. And on top of that he’d get to gloat: Coach Cheech had showed up to the game after all. Whatever was going down at the tree, it wasn’t important enough to miss the big game.

“Which you won’t,” Aaron said. “Because you’re not at all distracted—uh, hello, I’m talking .”

“You always are,” Theo said, distracted. He’d just caught a familiar face coming around the corner of the gym hallway. A face that sent a renewed rush of worry through him.

Sundance Renfield waved.

“One second,” Theo told Aaron, and jogged over. He pulled Sundance into the hallway, out of sight of the rest of the gym. “Miss Sundance, hi. What’s happening? You smell—I mean, you look really stressed.”

If she noticed his slip of the tongue, she didn’t mention it. She was wearing her work uniform again. She was out of breath, her sleeve exposing her bra strap, like she’d been running and forgot to pull it back up.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have your number, and I don’t know who else to ask. Have you seen Kade?”

Theo blinked. The worry in his gut swarmed out to fill the rest of his body, roaring and unstoppable.

“No,” he said, proud of how calm his voice sounded. Cocky and assured. Just like normal. “Why?”

Sundance ran a hand through her dark frizzy hair. She smiled, short and nervous, trying to convince herself she was overreacting. “He never came home last night. I wouldn’t…I know how Kade can be, alright? I waited, but he still isn’t home, and he’s not answering my texts. I know he can be a mess, but he always answers. Eventually.”

“What do you think happened?” Theo asked.

She sighed. “When he cut himself in the woods. You saw him fall? He didn’t just show up covered in blood?”

“No,” Theo said automatically. “No, I saw him fall. I—wait. You think he hurt himself?”

She shrugged jerkily. But there was a terrible worry in her eyes, enough to make Theo’s stomach sink.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said, not meeting his eyes. It came out rushed, quiet, like she didn’t want him to hear.

Theo nodded, biting his cheek so hard it would’ve split human skin.

“Okay,” he said, voice squeaky. He cleared his throat. “Alright. Have you called the cops? ”

Sundance snorted bitterly. “They won’t take it as a missing person until it’s been forty-eight hours. Probably not even then. Said he was always the running away type.”

She said it so flatly, holding onto her elbows. Theo thought back to that tiny kitchen: photographs on the fridge of Kade as a kid holding up a sewing kit, Kade and his aunt standing in a river. Concert stubs to a band Theo had never heard of. Painted magnets spelling out LOVE U AUNTIE. The walls forest green, the overhead light warm and inviting. There was none of the cool emptiness Theo had grown up with. It felt like a kitchen from a childhood movie, one where the parent helped the kid crack an egg in a bowl in the middle of a montage.

Always the running away type , Theo thought. Two weeks ago he would have agreed. Two weeks ago he wouldn’t have given a shit Monster’s aunt hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning. Even now there was a spark of doubt: maybe Kade had charged off into the rain last night and decided, screw this. Screw this town, screw this jock, withdrawls are better than staying here one more second.

But he looked at this woman, stout and dark and sturdy, and knew: Kade would never run away from his aunt. Not without telling her first.

“I know you two aren’t close,” Sundance continued. “And I’m sorry for butting in like this. But I didn’t know who else to?— ”

She stopped as Theo put a hand on her shoulder.

“Go home,” Theo said. “Maybe he’ll come back. I’ll check out some, uh, other places he might be.”

She gave him a wary look. “Like where? Kade doesn’t go anywhere. Unless you count walks in the woods.”

“I know a few places,” Theo said reassuringly, hoping he sounded like he knew what the hell he was talking about. “I’ll check them out. You just?—”

A stony voice piped up behind him. “You can’t be serious.”

Theo stiffened. He took a quick breath, and there it was: eucalyptus and hair gel. He turned to find Aaron glaring at them, incredulous.

“You better mean you’re doing this after the game.”

Theo avoided his gaze, giving Sundance a strained smile. “I’ll go look for him. You go home.”

She eyed Aaron warily. “If you’re waiting until after the game, I might try those woods.”

“I’ll look,” Theo said quickly. “Seriously, you go home.”

“Excuse me?” Aaron’s mouth twisted, the barest downward flicker. “You’re seriously leaving to go chase your loser hookup? He’s not even that good in bed.”

“What?” Theo’s face twisted in shock. Aaron had to be joking, but why say that in front of Kade’s aunt?

“I’ll get out of your hair,” Sundance said hurriedly, giving Aaron another withering look. She touched Theo’s arm. “Thank you. Kade doesn’t have many friends, so… thank you.”

Theo watched her leave. He wanted to say something comforting, something to get that tension out of her shoulders. But he couldn’t think of anything.

“Good riddance,” Aaron spat, as the door to the parking lot pulled closed at the end of the hallway.

Theo sighed. “Aaron. Jesus . You couldn’t have saved that shit for after she left?”

“Hey, she knows exactly who her kid is. Don’t stand there and pretend…”

Aaron kept talking, but Theo didn’t hear it. Aaron had raised a hand to scratch irritatedly at his basketball shirt, and in doing so he shook something loose: several pale flakes, as large and as thick as a thumbnail.

Monster skin, Theo thought with a dull horror.

He stared at it, his stomach churning as the realization set in.

He’s going to stab you in the back, Kade had told him. And you’ll just walk into the knife.

Theo saw red.

Aaron let out a shocked laugh as Theo grabbed him by the shirt. “Whoa, what’s?—?”

The laugh guttered as Theo yanked him into the disabled bathrooms, shoving him up against the mirror. Aaron’s feet dangled half a foot off the ground.

“Ooookay,” Aaron said, strained. Still trying to play it cool. To have the upper hand. “You know what, maybe you weren’t lying. Maybe you are on drugs. ”

“Where is he?” Theo spat.

Aaron’s faux-calm smile slipped. “What?”

“Are your parents in on it? Are you hiding the creature, too?” Theo shook him, banging Aaron’s head back into the glass. “Tell me where he is!”

“The what ? My parents—?” Aaron spluttered. It had been a long time since Theo had seen him so off balance. “Are you ACTUALLY high?”

Theo swiped a flake off Aaron’s basketball shirt and held it in his face. “What’s this?”

“I…dandruff? I don’t?—”

“You use anti-dandruff shampoo. You have a five-step hair care routine.”

“I don’t know !” Aaron writhed against his grip. He grabbed Theo’s wrists, eyes widening when they didn’t budge. They went even wider as Theo leaned in until their noses grazed.

“Where. Is. Kade ?”

Aaron stopped wriggling. A disbelieving smile flinched over his face. “Why do you care ? He’s in a ditch somewhere, sleeping off a bender. Or he talked the wrong person into a fight and finally got what he deserved!”

Theo shook him hard.

Aaron’s head banged back against the wall. He groaned in pain, eyes filling.

“He’s a liar ,” Aaron tried. His voice cracked. “You can’t listen to anything he says. Seriously . Is he telling you we were together? ”

“Together,” Theo repeated. Every word made sense, but it still took a moment for it to click in his head, it was so ridiculous. He’s not even that good in bed.

The realization must’ve shown on his face, because Aaron nodded, pointy chin digging into Theo’s hands. “It’s a lie . He was obsessed with me, I entertained him because it was funny watching him make goo-goo eyes at me. Then he got weird, and I shut it down. He went crazy .”

Theo shook his head. He couldn’t imagine any version of Kade who would get obsessed with Aaron, let alone make goo-goo eyes at him. He tried to picture Kade leaning in for a kiss, threading his fingers through Aaron’s gelled hair. It didn’t work. He tried imagining Aaron thumbing at the base of Kade’s stubbled scalp, leaning on Kade’s desk as his sewing machine hummed.

His stomach twisted. “You did start that fight in the movie theater parking lot.”

Aaron spat a desperate laugh. “He tried to kiss me! In public . I had to. It would’ve gotten back to my parents, I…I had to.”

“You beat the crap out of him,” Theo whispered. He lowered Aaron to the ground, letting go of his shirt. He didn’t want to touch him anymore.

“He beat the crap out of me, too,” Aaron protested. “He’s called Monster for a reason. He’s not a good guy. When did you start thinking he was?”

Theo didn’t answer. Monster kept circling in his head. Two weeks ago, he’d believed it. How could he not, with all that growling and snarling and launching himself at people in the cafeteria? With his strange black clothes and weird jewelry and head shaved down to the scalp? He filled his workbooks with line after line of dark scribbles—no words, just darkness. He bared his teeth at teachers . There were so many rumors about him, and he never denied them when you asked, he just scowled and flipped you off. Or grinned and flipped you off, which was even more disconcerting. He showed up to parties already wasted and always ended up in a fight before the night was over. He got arrested and he was constantly in detention and he looked at you like he’d take a chunk out of you if you came any closer.

And it was all bullshit. It was bullshit .

Tears gleamed in Aaron’s eyes. “Theo?—”

“ Don’t ,” Theo growled, shoving him.

Aaron’s shoulder crashed into the mirror. The glass cracked. Theo didn’t bother sticking around to listen to Aaron’s pained gasp as he spun toward the door and marched out. He stormed into the gym, into all its overwhelming lights and noise, and grabbed Coach Cheech by the back of his shirt.

“ Where is Kade? ” he snarled, low in his ear. “Why aren’t you at the tree? What’s so important about tonight?”

Coach Cheech whirled to face him, panicked, already sucking on his mustache.

“Don’t bullshit me,” Theo warned him. “You tell me or I’ll break your arm right here. ”

Coach Cheech rubbed his arm. He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t shrug him off, either. He jerked his head, and Theo followed him into a corner that was less full of curious teammates.

“I don’t know what you mean about Renfield,” Coach Cheech said once they were out of earshot. “And based off that tree comment, I’m betting that it was you two assholes in my house this week. Tonight’s the only night of the year when the…when they can do the ritual.”

He sent an anxious glance around the gym, sucking again on his mustache. He didn’t know who all the vampires were, Theo remembered. If any of them were listening in, they’d have to count on all the ambient crowd noise to keep this conversation private.

Theo lowered his voice. “Then why the hell are you still here?”

“They won’t do the ritual this year. Everything isn’t set up yet. If Kade’s missing, they probably took him for safekeeping.”

“What? Wait—Kade’s part of the ritual?”

Coach Cheech nodded seriously.

“I gotta go get him,” Theo said, mind racing. “Can we…the Fletchers…”

Coach Cheech grabbed his chin. “Don’t look at them, dumbass!”

Theo jerked his gaze away from the Fletchers, who were currently leaning over his parents to talk to Felicity. “ They’re hunters, right? We can ask them for backup!”

“I wouldn’t.” Coach Cheech’s teeth scraped his upper lip. “They’re…don’t freak out. But they voted on killing you. Alright? Say you’re too much of a risk. If we take ’em, they’re more likely to kill both of you than risk the ritual going down next year.”

Theo’s ears rang. They voted on killing you .

“Does…does Aaron know?”

“Not yet. But that won’t last.” Coach Cheech frowned over Theo’s shoulder. “Jesus, what’d you say to the kid? Looks like he’s gonna burst into tears right here on the court.”

Theo turned, catching a glimpse of Aaron looking more upset than Theo had ever seen him in public, before Coach Cheech dragged him back.

“Let’s just try and find Renfield,” he said. “You can sense him, right?”

Theo stared at him blankly.

Coach Cheech sighed. “The stories always said you’d be able to sense him.”

“Stories,” Theo repeated, a wave of memories hitting him all at once—Kade gleeful and grinning, you want me with you on your little vampire adventure, let’s unravel this dark little mystery and see where it leads, the plot thickens. There were stories about them. Kade was going to have a shitfit.

Coach Cheech waved him down. “You can tell where he is, right? ”

“I can hear his heartbeat louder than anyone else’s.”

Coach Cheech held a thick finger in front of his face. Theo had had that finger in his face enough times to know it meant shut up and listen.

“Focus,” Coach Cheech instructed. “Where is Kade?”

Theo looked around amid the music and chatter and people pretending not to watch the coach having a stern talk with the star player.

Coach Cheech slapped him softly in the cheek. “Hey! Where is he?”

“I don’t—” Theo clenched his jaw. His eyes slipped shut. Decades of old, stale popcorn, rubber, deodorant. Adults talking, kids yelling over each other. Music making his head throb in time with the beat. Snatches of the Fletchers talking with Felicity ( it’s so cute how your mom still packs you snacks for these things ), a snippet of his parents whispering ( what is he doing, should I go down there ), Aaron’s breathing, tight and upset near the hallway.

“Go deeper,” Coach Cheech told him. Suddenly his voice sounded far away. Something else was creeping on the edges of Theo’s senses: a fast thumping. The telltale scent of cheap metal and softness, wool and old liquor, nerves and terror-sweat.

Theo chased it.

“That’s it,” came Coach Cheech’s voice, distorted and faint. “Follow him down.”

Theo didn’t hear the rest of it. The thunder of Kade’s loud heart was getting closer. Dirt and leaves. Bark against his back. Hands bound, ropes biting his slim wrists, shaking against a warped tree trunk.

Theo’s eyes flew open. “Someone has him tied to the tree. We need to go.”

Part of him was still stuck with Kade. The din of the gym was muffled, the scents dulled as he turned and walked straight into Victor Fairgood.

“Whoa,” Victor said, rocking with the impact. “Save some for the court! Where are you going with that look on your face? The game’s about to start.”

“Dad,” Theo said. He blinked hard. The background chatter of the gym rushed back in, the cloying scent of popcorn drowning out any trace of dirt. It was floorboards under him, not roots. No bark pressed against his back, just his dad’s hand, wide and imposing.

Theo swallowed. “I…I need to go.”

“Excuse me?” Victor shook his head, smiling stiffly. “You need to fix your mistake. Or will our dinner with the Fletchers be another consolation dinner?”

“Right,” Theo said distractedly. “I mean, no, it won’t. I mean?—”

He looked at Coach Cheech beseechingly.

“Uh,” Coach Cheech started. “Look, Victor.”

“Cheech, do me a favor and hush.” Victor reached up and rested a hand in Theo’s hair. Loose, almost friendly. Theo had to stop himself from flinching.

“My friend’s in trouble,” he tried. “I gotta go check on him. ”

Victor’s hand tightened into a fist. “The only thing you need to do right now is get out there and kill those Westside Hawks.”

“Dad.” Theo glanced around the gym. People were pointing and whispering. Not everybody, but enough. Aaron was watching from the hallway, brow furrowed. He’d seen Victor do this a couple of times, but never in public. Up in the stands, Felicity was trying to smile at whatever the Fletchers were saying, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Theo tugged gently on Victor’s wrist. “ Dad . People are looking.”

“Let them look,” Victor replied, staring warily at Theo’s hand on his wrist. “I rescheduled this game myself. If you leave again , you’ll turn this family into a laughingstock. Is that what you want?”

“This isn’t about us,” Theo whispered.

“Victor,” Coach Cheech tried. “This really isn’t the time.”

Victor shushed him, his grip tightening even more. Once his grip was immovable, encompassing Theo’s whole head. Now it was thin, flimsy. Theo could yank his hand off as easy as flicking a stray hair away.

Victor leaned in. “Need I remind you who you are? You’re a Fairgood . We’re vicious . Are you going to go out there and show everybody, or are you going to check on your friend ?”

Theo shot another nervous glance around the room. Aaron stood stock-still in the hallway. Up in the bleachers, Felicity was still distracting the Fletchers. She combed her limp hair with her fingers, using the impromptu shield to toss Theo a wide-eyed look: what’s happening?

Victor sighed. “Whatever you’re actually dealing with, we’ll destroy it. Alright? But right now, you need to?—”

Theo yanked out of his grip, staggering back.

Victor stared at him. The hand that had been clenched in Theo’s hair spasmed against nothing. More shocked by the audacity than the ease of Theo pushing him off.

A horrible choking noise flooded down from the bleachers. Some of the not-so-subtle stares turned away from Theo to look.

“Oh shit,” Aaron yelled, voice scratchy with unshed tears. “My girlfriend’s choking! Someone do something!”

Victor twitched toward the yell.

Too little too late guys , Theo thought, and ran.