Lunacy Read online

Page 2


  I thought it over. First day of school, probably not a good idea to skip out on classes and miss the overview. On the other hand, my arm was a pulsing mass of burning, aching torture. “Do you have anything I can take to dull the edge a little?” Miss Fawn nodded and handed me a small plastic cup full of water and two Advil pills. I downed them and the water without batting an eyelash. I waited a few minutes and convinced myself that they were kicking in already.

  “I think I can manage three more classes after lunch.” Jynxx helped me to my feet and I found myself fighting embarrassment at being so vulnerable around him. Worse than that, I had appeared weak in front of him, and that just wasn’t acceptable.

  Miss Fawn tossed me a juice box and a snack sized package of Oreo cookies. “Eat and drink that. Get your blood sugar back up. Go enjoy the rest of your lunch period.”

  “Thanks.”

  He walked me back to the cafeteria and we chatted about random things on the way. I sighed at the thought of bussing tables later that evening, with my arm like it was. “Never thought I’d hate being a waitress,” I groaned.

  “Oh? Where do you work?”

  “The Palace,” I answered simply, trying not to look ashamed.

  “Really?” Jynxx asked with a smirk, giving me an appraising look that lingered on my chest for a second. When he met my eyes again, I was as red as a tomato. “Tavern wench, huh? I can see it.”

  “Thaaaanks,” I drawled, rolling my eyes with a dismissive chuckle.

  The rest of the day was free from inflicting any more damage to myself, and Jynxx lingered in my thoughts even after the last time I saw him. He’d looked down at me with those dark eyes, and they were anything but cold when he gave me a rare smile. He patted me on the head and smirked a little at my disapproving face. “Take it easy on yourself, okay?”

  I had been, but now that school was done, I had to get in my car and go to work. Strutting around in a tavern wench outfit with a bum arm was going to be a bitch.

  Chapter 3

  I rolled in to the parking lot of The Palace, parking my car and sitting in it for a moment to collect myself. I was exhausted, but it was time to leave all that at the door. I touched up my makeup and headed inside to change. Emerging from the women's small locker room, I walked right into the broad, leather covered and half bare chest of my boss.

  Prince, a tall Nordic looking man with eyes as icy as the Adriatic, eyed the gauze and tape on my arm with disappointment.

  “And how didst thou come by such a grievous wound, my lady?”

  “My apologies, milord! ‘Twas a roguish minstrel what thought to get grabby. Thou shouldst have seen what ill befell him by my hand, good sir.” I added the last with a wink, the almost Irish accent coming to me easily. Did I mention we had to talk like the Dark Ages, too?

  Prince smirked and patted my head. “Nice cover story, ya klutz.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked, saying more loudly, “Perhaps when thou art of non-jailbait age, fair Kacea.”

  I rolled my eyes and headed behind the bar, grabbing a knife and some lemons. I prepped them for garnishes and waved a lemon wedge threateningly at Prince. “Get thee gone, knave! Lest I squirt the juices from yon foul fruits into thine eyes…”

  He nearly cackled at that and went back to his post by the door, looking every bit like a Viking invader with his long blond hair, riveted leather armor, and a very convincing broadsword with intricate carvings up and down the length of it. Prince wasn’t just the owner; he was the head of security, too.

  You wouldn’t think that such a cheese ball idea would do so well, but the place was packed five or six nights a week. During the summer, it was full every night. Even now, at five on a Tuesday evening, a lot of our regulars had already filed in for dinner.

  The Derringer triplets - John, Josh, and Joe - occupied their usual booth. John, the oldest by a whopping fifteen minutes, threw me a wave and a smile that melted most girls into their socks. I grinned and waved back, then set to making my first few drinks.

  ***

  The night seemed like it would remain uneventful until about eight o’clock rolled around and some of my biggest fears were realized. Jynxx, a regular customer whose name I was almost positive was Teigan, and three other guys I didn’t recognize came through the door en masse, all of them taking seats at the bar. I had the sudden urge to crawl under a rock and die. I knew that mentioning where I worked had been a bad idea…

  The five of them were grinning from ear to ear and I dropped my gaze to the floor briefly, taking a deep breath to collect myself. When I lifted my eyes again, I caught Prince’s concerned look and slapped a smile on my face.

  “Jynxx… I am so going to kick your ass for this…” I said quietly, the simpering smile still pasted to my lips.

  One of his friends, his eyes the same artificial crimson as his curly hair, laughed and slapped Jynxx on the back. “I like this one, Jynxxie. She’s got spunk.” His voice was light, but the look he settled on me was filled with heat and dark, dangerous things.

  It set me on edge and my mind worked quickly to seek out something else for my eyes to focus on. I noticed that the three other guys were all wearing glowing bracelets that warned the bartender that they were underage, as well. I wasn’t sure of their ages, but everyone -aside from the long haired guy with the honey colored eyes- wasn’t old enough to be partaking of alcohol. “So, what would you guys like to drink?” I asked, careful to avoid direct eye contact with the guy with the red hair.

  Teigan –his name was definitely Teigan- smiled at me, the calm he always seemed to exude making my stomach stop doing agitated cartwheels and bringing my heart rate down from near-coronary levels. “You know mine already, I believe.” His voice was smooth, cultured, and lightly accented. He was a regular customer who always made me smile, no matter how miserable my day had been before I’d gotten to work.

  “A Barking Spider. Got it.” I nodded to him, smiling in spite of myself and throwing the very alcoholic drink together without even needing to look at the bottles I poured into the glass. I set it down on the bar in front of him, looking to the others. “I can make almost any drink without booze, and we do just have sodas. Um…” I tapped my chin with a finger as I pondered for a second. “I can do milkshakes back here, or smoothies. Just about anything you could want, so long as there’s no alcohol in it. I’d like to keep my job and not go to jail.”

  Jynxx laughed as I rambled off the potential virgin-drink menu. “I’ll take a cherry limeade.”

  The guy with the red hair piped in, almost dissipating my temporary ease in a second, “I’ll take a Shirley Temple, since we have the same hairstyle and all.”

  I set to it almost robotically, having been working behind my parents’ bar for parties at home since I was thirteen or so. Jynxx and his red-haired friend were sipping their drinks eagerly when I finally got to their other two friends.

  “Since Jynxx seems to suck at introducing people, I’m Kacea. We go to school together. Who are you guys?” I made a point of including the red-haired guy in the sweep of my eyes, even though I was avoiding addressing him outright.

  “I’m Kenshin,” a tall, lanky blond with a deep tan said simply. His icy green eyes were stunning set against his dark skin, and it threw me for a second as our gazes met. “I’ll take a chocolate milkshake, please. Large.”

  I nodded, tilting my head curiously at the boy next to him. His gaze was fixed very steadily on his hands which were twisting almost nervously in his lap. “Conner,” he said, his eyes darting up to meet mine for the barest of seconds before they returned to his hands. “Um… an orange raspberry smoothie would be awesome.”

  “Sure thing, Conner.” I couldn’t resist a smile for the guy. Apparently this one was shy as hell.

  The red-haired kid leaned dramatically across the bar and took my hand in his, lifting it to his lips, his eyes never leaving mine. “My name is Gavin, milady. Remember it well, as you shall most likely be screaming it later.”
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br />   My cheeks burned immediately, but the darkness that flooded my eyes had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with anger. Conner visibly flinched as if the atmosphere itself had changed and he could feel it. Before I could even open my mouth to say anything, Jynxx smacked Gavin hard on the back of the head.

  “Alright, Gav. I think that’s more than enough.”

  Teigan nodded, finishing his drink and taking the glass of Sprite I handed him without question. He always followed his booze with a Sprite. “I agree. That was rather crass, don’t you think? You’re lucky she didn’t beat you with one of the empty bottles back there.”

  Funny, that’s exactly what I was thinking of doing…

  Rather than getting the hint and backing off, Gavin leaned in closer, the smell of cherries and grenadine on his breath almost overwhelming. “I like it when they play hard to get.”

  I lifted the nozzle filled with Sprite, pointing it menacingly at Gavin‘s face, my voice low. “If you don’t wanna wear this, I’d suggest taking two giant friggin’ steps back… milord.”

  He chuckled then, and that really pissed me off. I was a nanosecond away from squeezing the trigger when Prince came over, looking imperious and threatening. “Everything alright, milady Kacea?”

  I took a deep cleansing breath, the full force of the anger in my eyes still locked on Gavin. “Aye, milord. All is well.” His eyes told me that he didn’t believe me, but he’d let it go unless I asked for help outright. He went back to standing by the door, greeting customers that came in and bidding others farewell as they left.

  The milkshake and smoothie took a bit longer, but it gave me time to cool down as I kept my hands busy. I gave Conner a little wink as I handed him his orange raspberry and went to take care of a few other customers.

  I flitted about from conversation to conversation for a bit, having to head out to the floor and wait tables while one of the main waitresses, this total badass named Perfection, went on her break. As I came back from the kitchen with four plates balanced on a much larger serving plate, Jynxx came up to me, the other four guys trailing slightly behind.

  “We’re getting ready to head out. I just wanted to say bye before we left,” he said with a little smile.

  I beamed in return, not used to such displays of emotion from my classmate. “I go on my break in ten minutes if you wanna hang around for a bit. I can give you a lift home once I’m done if they drove.”

  Jynxx tossed his keys over his shoulder to Teigan without even looking. The slender young man caught them in his long fingers, directing a little smirk at me. They all waved goodbye and I couldn‘t help feeling slightly relieved that Gavin was gone. The others seemed nice enough, but there was something about that one… Something scary and not right at all.

  ***

  Finally, my break came. I grabbed my food and a drink, sinking gratefully into the cushions of a booth with Jynxx sitting across from me. He kept me company while I ate, talking more than I thought he was physically capable of. It was strange how quickly we were becoming comfortable with each other after never really talking before.

  I scarfed the last of my grilled cheese sandwich, chugged the half of my strawberry lemonade that was left, and covered my mouth with a fist to stifle a burp. We both laughed and Jynxx just shook his head.

  “You know, for a spoiled little rich girl, you’re alright, Kaysh.”

  I snorted. “Spoiled? Not hardly. My parents live at the bottom of a bottle at least two nights a week, I cook any meal that happens in our house, and I paid for my own car –for the most part. That thing’s like my baby and my boyfriend all at once.” I sucked on a piece of ice, mumbling around it, “When you’ve got an engine that purrs like that, who the hell needs boys?”

  I was an expert subject-changer. My parents inherited money when my Dad’s mother passed away. They used the money to get back on their feet, feet which had been so poor that they gave my newborn brother up for adoption not even two months before Gram died. I was too little to remember either of them, my brother or my grandmother, but I’ve never really forgiven my parents for it. The fact that our initial wealth came from the loss of two family members still turned my stomach.

  We came into more money than my parents knew what to do with. Naturally, expensive alcohol and even more expensive cars were responsible for a large chunk of it being spent, to say nothing of the million dollars they spent on our house in the wealthiest part of the suburbs. They both ended up using that wealth to get very credible and lucrative careers, so that wealth could be maintained once they’d obtained it.

  Jynxx’s laugh made me smile. So natural, so pure… Not rehearsed like my mother’s. “Your break’s probably almost up by now, Kacea.”

  I glanced at my watch with a sigh. “I’ll go ask Prince if I can duck out early, since they’re only open two more hours.” I motioned for him to stay put and picked my way through the dwindling crowd to the Viking lord.

  Prince bowed his head to me slightly as I approached. He gave me a knowing, almost fatherly smirk. “You can duck out early tonight, kiddo. Go rest that arm of yours. Just make sure you clock out. You can make up the time in the kitchen or doing dishes, okay?”

  “My thanks, milord!” I dropped a quick curtsy and went through the kitchen to the backroom, changing and clocking out before heading back up to collect Jynxx.

  He chuckled a little and I raised an eyebrow questioningly. “You look like someone just lifted the weight of the world off your shoulders, Kacea.”

  I shrugged, the weight of the duffle bag on my shoulder making me cringe a little. “I’m a jeans and tee shirts kind of girl. Fancy duds really aren’t my bag. Mom’s the shopaholic.” I smirked. “I could wear the same shirt for three days running as long as it didn’t smell bad. If mom’d let me out of the house that way, that is.”

  I led him to my car and we drove a while before I had a sudden, moronic epiphany. “Uh… Where do you live, Jynxx?”

  Jynxx laughed at me, and I couldn’t really blame him. “I’ll tell you how to get there.” He gave me directions as we drove.

  “Hey, what are you doing Friday?” he asked me, totally out of the blue.

  “Uh… Nothing that I know of. What’s going on?”

  “There’s a show at Club Luna on Friday. We, my band and I, are playing at it. You should come.”

  I thought it over for a second. Why the hell not? I nodded with a smile. “Sure!”

  We ended up at this cute forest green house with a huge bay window in the front. Several other cars were parked in the driveway. He hopped out onto the gravel covered ground and leaned back into the car. “Thanks for the ride!”

  “That’s what she said,” I replied promptly, causing both of us to laugh.

  “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Kaysh.”

  “Bye!”

  I watched him walk into the house, thoroughly enjoying the view. As I finally drove off, I felt like something was missing. Like I should have kissed him goodbye or something. It was the weirdest damned thing, because Jynxx definitely didn’t deserve that kind of familiarity yet. I shook my head, pushing the thought aside. I had a long ass day; I just wanted to go home and sleep.

  “Holy shit!” I slammed on the brakes as something dashed across the road in front of me. Something huge and gray. I pulled over and hammered on the switch for my hazard lights, resting my forehead on the steering wheel and practicing deep meditative breathing for a few moments.

  Maple Lane was a long, almost empty road with two houses on it aside from my own. I was almost home and very few cars came out this way, so I didn’t know why I bothered with the lights. But with the way today had been going, better to be safe than sorry.

  After taking a few moments to collect myself, I double-checked to make sure no one was coming either way before pulling back out onto the road. I was starting to wonder what I’d done to piss off Mother Nature. She sure as hell wasn’t happy with me today.

  The house was quiet
when I pulled in. Mom and Dad were out God-knows-where drinking, but they’d left the living room light on for me. I locked all the doors behind me on my way in; again, better safe than sorry.

  I turned on some obnoxiously loud and bouncy foreign rock as I busied myself with the dishes. Good music isn’t exclusive to English-speaking countries. The loud music made it so I wouldn’t have to hear all the creaking, settling noises the house made at night. I’d rather have someone sneak up on me and shank me than be paranoid and jumping at every little sound I heard.

  I’d been considering getting a pet, of late. Someone to keep me company, so I wouldn’t be totally by myself all the time. Maybe not a dog, but I’d be content with a cat or even a chinchilla. Mom and Dad weren’t much for pets, but they probably wouldn’t even notice with how huge our house was.

  I heard something over the music and I instantly hit the mute button on the stereo remote. I waited in silence, listening for the anomaly again. When it came, it was the long mournful howl of a wolf, shortly echoed by three answering cries. Their lupine song, both haunting and beautiful, sent a chill down my spine.

  Since when in the hell had there ever been wolves in Elm Valley, New York?

  Chapter 4

  As I expected, no one believed me the next day at school. They said I’d either heard some ballsy coyotes who were daring enough to come right up to our well-lit lawn, or that I was hallucinating from my massive blood loss.

  Dumb asses.

  I didn’t bother wasting my breath arguing. When the Big Bad Wolf came along to show them what big teeth he had, he could rip their faces off for all I cared.

  It was third period and I was in study hall, working on my homework from Shakespeare Lit and Calculus. I was beat and had been relatively quiet all morning, so Jynxx sat down next to me warily with a public display of friendliness that I honestly never would have expected. “What’s buggin’ ya, Kaysh?”