Kylie heard voices on the trail. When she looked up, Derek and a few of his friends walked past. Derek didn't even look her way. She suspected it was because he'd already seen them. Seen them and assumed the worst.
Guilt filled her, but she pushed the emotion back, hoping Derek hadn't been close enough to sense it. She hadn't been doing anything wrong. Breath held, she watched the group of guys walk out of eyeshot.
When she looked back, Lucas studied her. "Is he why? Are you two serious?"
"That's not even important. You and I are just friends, Lucas. Just friends."
She turned and opened her door. Right after she shut it in his face, she heard him say, "Not if I can change your mind, Kylie Galen."
The next morning, Della had an early morning ritual and would be a noshow for breakfast. Miranda announced she'd be skipping as well. Kylie got a feeling the witch was up to something. Probably trying to reverse the spell on Socks. Kylie had almost asked but she'd fought sleep most of the night for fear she'd lapse into a dream with Lucas, and she didn't have the stamina for a long conversation about possible curse reversals. Walking into the dining hall alone, Kylie felt everyone's stares and knew they were all twitching like crazy checking out her brain pattern.
After she grabbed her tray of a Danish and fruit, she hesitated in the back of the room, searching for a seat. Today everyone had chosen to sit with their own kind. Since Kylie didn't have a kind, or at least know what kind she belonged to, she marched over to an empty table.
For the life of her, she didn't know why it was so hard to sit alone. She should have more self-esteem than to let something so silly make her feel uncomfortable. But calling it silly didn't change how she felt. She stared at her Danish and tried not to look as pathetic as she felt.
Hearing familiar laughter, Kylie glanced up and saw the fairy table all in chuckles. Everyone there looked content in their cozy circle of friends.
Everyone but Derek. Hurt filled his eyes, but what was she supposed to do? She hadn't done this. He had. And she had a distinct feeling if she went to him, he'd walk away from her. That would hurt too much.
Picking up her pastry, she took a bite. It was her favorite kind with raspberry and cream cheese, but she barely tasted it. She swallowed another flavorless bite and felt as if everyone in the room stared at her. Her new shifting brain pattern hadn't stopped being the topic of conversation from what she'd heard.
Suddenly, a tray dropped down on the table beside her. Thinking it was Della back early from her morning event, Kylie sighed the words, "Thank you," and turned with a smile.
Not Della.
Lucas smiled. "Thanks for what?"
"Nothing," she said, and almost asked him to leave. But damn it, hadn't she told him they were friends? And as friends, there was no good reason why he couldn't sit at a table with her. Well, aside from a certain she-wolf who would want to kill her because of it.
His blue eyes twinkled with humor. "You've got jelly." He brushed his finger across her lip. Then he popped the digit into his mouth.
"That's what napkins are for," she said, reaching for one and giving her tingling lips a good swipe.
He chuckled.
Realizing Derek might be watching, Kylie cut her eyes to his table. He was gone. Which meant he'd seen them and taken off. Great. She let herself feel guilty for a second and then she got mad. She wouldn't be in this situation if he would have come over and sat with her. Nope.
Taking a deep breath, she reached for her milk and took a long sip. Then she looked at Lucas who was watching her.
"You are so damn beautiful," he said.
She rolled her eyes and put down her milk. "Just friends," she insisted. "Okay. But you're still beautiful." His grin widened. "Even with a milk mustache." He handed her a napkin and chuckled. Then he grew serious.
"Burnett told me about what happened with Della. Is she going to be okay?"
"I think so." She didn't go into any detail, or mention Chan. She didn't know how much Burnett had said, or how much even Della was supposed to be telling anyone about the Code-Red incidents.
"I heard about what happened in town and then with your mom," he
added. "It sounds like you've had a crappy time since I've been away."
"Yeah, pretty crappy."
He picked up his pastry and took a bite without getting anything on himself, of course. "I also heard..." His eyes brightened in humor.
"About what your skunk did to Fredericka. I'm sure she deserved it."
"She did." Was this his way of showing loyalty to Kylie over Fredericka?
Not that he had to choose between them. Kylie and Lucas were just friends. And if she could just stop remembering how good it had felt to kiss him, she really thought they could be friends, too. "Your last few weeks didn't sound too great, either. Is your sister going to be okay?"
He nodded. "I think so. I've got her staying with some friends. I'm going to talk to Holiday about her enrolling here for school. You are signing up, right?"
Kylie pinched off a piece of pastry. "I'm hoping so. My mom said she's thinking about it."
The thought of what Kylie would do if her mom really said no caused her stomach to knot. She belonged here, with the others. Her gaze shifted around the different tables hosting what looked like families of supernaturals.
Hopefully, soon she'd even discover what table she belonged to.
This isn't the same world you used to live in. Kylie heard Miranda's words from last night echo in her head. No, it wasn't the same world.
It was dark and sometimes very dangerous, but it was her world now.
Chapter Twenty-eight
"How do I make it stop?" Kylie, exhausted from lack of sleep, asked the question as she dropped into a chair across from Holiday's desk at the start of their two o'clock appointment. "I don't want to do this whole dream crap anymore."
Holiday sat back and pursed her lips. "This gift is too special to call crap. And you can't stop it, but you can control it with practice."
"Okay, how do I control this shit then?"
Holiday chuckled. "Haven't you sensed yourself moving in the dream world?"
"You mean, like flying?"
"Yeah, like flying."
"Sure, but sometimes I don't wake up until I'm already in the dream."
"Okay, here's what you do. Before you go to bed..." Holiday rattled off a series of techniques to train herself to wake up from a dream. It wasn't a guarantee Kylie could control it but Holiday thought it was a first step.
They had moved on to the subject of the ghost when Holiday's cell rang. She picked it up from the desk and glanced at the caller's number.