A shiny object under the table catches my eye. I walk quietly through the other tables, gripping the strap of my messenger bag. Crouching down, I pick up the old, rusted half-heart.It’slike one of those best friend charms you can buy, where one person gets one half, and someone else gets the other. It’s not connected to a chain or anything, though there is a hole for one. When I hold it up in the light, I’m able to read the engraving on it.I’m everywhere you go –Kenna.
Kenna.Where have I heard that name before?
I stuff the charm into the pocket of my coat and stand back up. Searching the room for Elias, I still don't see him, so I drop my bag on the table and get to work without him.
Elias and I come here often to study together. There is something about the library that feels more like home than any other place here at The Academy. Riley has cheer practice four days a week, while Crew has practice those same nights, so Elias and I enjoy each other’s company. It’s been hell having to keep it from Crew, but I know he’d flip if he knew I was still hanging out with him.
Crew has always been paranoid, thinking everyone is out to get me—even when it was him who was out for me for a while—but lately, he’s been extra protective. Even after I moved into the house. I swear something happened, but he keeps telling me just to trust him. For a while, I thought maybe he and the guys caught my stalker and murdered him. Crazy, right? But it was the only explanation why this guy suddenly stopped taunting me. I also wouldn’t put it past any of them if they thought The Society was being threatened. But then I realized, if that were the case, Crew would let his guard down versus raising it higher.
Minutes pass of me reading up on common idioms and literary allusions, when I realize it’s been more than a few minutes. It’s been thirty since I’ve arrived.Where the heck is Elias?
I slide my chair back and slowly get up. Turning and looking, as if I’m expecting him to suddenly arrive. A strange feeling washes over me. It’s a feeling I’ve had countless times since arriving at BCA. The sense that someone is watching you. Almost as if you can feel their eyes burning into your skin. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a shadow, but as soon as my eyes find it, it quickly disappears. Stepping around the chair, I walk slowly toward where it was. Everyone continues on with their quiet work, while I weave through the tables gracefully, heading for the double-faced stacks.
It appears again, this time at the back of the library. Only, it’s no shadow—it’s the black robe. His back is facing me and the hood is pulled over his head. My heart rate excels, but I don’t stop walking. “Stop!” I whisper-yell. “Don’t go.”
I’m so close. Just a few more steps and I can reach out and grab him and find out who it is once and for all. But before I’m close enough, a paper drops from his hand and he takes off running. “Wait!” I go to run after him, but I’m stopped when someone grabs me from behind.
My instincts have me pounding my fists into the chest of the perpetrator, but when I realize it’s Crew, I quickly stop.
“He was here.” I bend down and swipe up the piece of paper, handing it to Crew. “It was him. I know it was.”
Crew takes the paper from my hand and slowly opens it, while watching me like I’ve lost my damn mind. “Who was here?”
“My stalker. The person who’s been watching me and leaving these notes.” The words fly out of my mouth without me even taking a breath. “He didn’t disappear. He’s still very much here.” I tap the paper in his hand. “Read it.”
Crew pinches his eyebrows together and hands it back to me. “It’s just a school schedule, Scar.”
“What?” I snatch it from his hand, and, sure enough, it’s a schedule. “No. It was him. He was wearing the robe.” I turn the corner of the shelf and look down the row, but it’s empty.
Crew is at my side immediately. “Baby, it’s freezing outside. Everyone is wearing winter coats, and I’m sure your mind is just playing tricks on you.”
I shake my head, looking at him with desperation in my eyes, practically begging him to believe me. “It had to be him.”
I fold the schedule up into a tiny square, gripping it in my palm.
“Come on.” He puts an arm around my waist, leading me past the rows of books. “Let’s go home and we can talk about this later.”
“How’d you even know I was here?”
"Practice ended early. Saw Jagger sitting on the steps out front. He said he was waiting to walk you home, but I told him I'd give you a ride. When I noticed you weren’t at your table but your stuff was, I started looking for you.”
Jagger’s been waiting for me this entire time?As much as I scream “space,” my heart swells at the thought.
“Was Elias out there?”
He looks at me, brows raised. “No. Why?”
“No reason.”
What in the world happened to Elias?
I follow Crew’s lead to the table, where my books are still out. My eyes continuously glance over my shoulder to see if the person has reappeared. When I unfold the paper in my hands, I catch the name of the student whose schedule I’m holding:Melody Higgins.
That’s odd. Melody’s at cheer practice.
ChapterTwo
SCAR