He turned back to Mr. Collins, putting on his best classpresident voice. “We understand, sir, thanks for your concern.”
Mr. Collins looked satisfied and went back to writing subjunctive verbs on the blackboard. I couldn’t resist poking my tongue out at his back.
Hallie and Savannah, who were also in my French class, caught up with me at the lockers. They looped their arms affably through mine.
“What have you got now?” Hallie asked.
“Math,” I replied suspiciously. “Why?”
“Perfect,” Savannah said. “Walk with us.”
“Is something wrong?”
“We just want to talk to you. Y’know, have a girl-to-girl chat.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, wracking my brain to think what I might have done to warrant this strange intervention. “About?”
“It’s about you and Xavier,” Hallie blurted out. “Look, you’re not gonna like hearing this, but we’re your friends and we’re worried about you.”
“Why are you worried?”
“It’s just not healthy for you guys to spend so much time together,” Hallie said expertly.
“Yeah,” Savannah chimed in. “It’s like you’re joined at the hip or something. I never see you apart. Wherever Xavier is, you’re right behind him. Wherever you are, he’s there … all the frigging time.”
“Is that that a bad thing?” I asked. “He’s my boyfriend; I want to spend time with him.”
“Of course you do, but it’s too much. You need to get some distance.” Hallie emphasized the word distance as if it were a medical term.
“Why?” I looked at them dubiously, wondering if Molly had put them up to this or if it truly was their personal opinion. I’d been friends with these girls all through summer, but it still felt a little early for them to be dispensing relationship advice. On the other hand, I’d only been a teenage girl for less than a year. In some way, I felt I was at the mercy of their experience. It was true that Xavier and I were close, any fool could see that. The question was, were we unnaturally close? It didn’t feel unhealthy given everything we’d been through together. Of course, these girls could never know about our struggles.
“It’s a researched fact,” Savannah broke through my train of thought. “Look, I can show you.” She reached into her bag and yanked out a well-thumbed copy of Seventeen magazine. “We found a quiz for you to take.”
She opened the glossy cover and flipped to a dog-eared page. The image showed a young couple sitting in chairs facing opposite directions but bound together by chains around their waists and ankles. The expression on their faces was one of confusion and dismay. The quiz was called, “Are you in a co-dependent relationship?”
“We’re not that bad,” I protested. “It’s about how we feel, not how much time we spend together. Besides, I don’t think a magazine quiz can measure feelings.”
“Seventeen gives pretty reliable advice—,” began Savannah hotly.
“Okay, don’t take the quiz,” Hallie cut in. “Just answer a few questions, okay?”
“Shoot,” I said.
“What’s your favorite football team?”
“Dallas Cowboys,” I said without hesitation.
“And why’s that?” Hallie asked.
“Because it’s Xavier’s favorite team.”
“I see,” Hallie said knowingly. “And when was the last time you did something without Xavier?” I didn’t like the way she sounded like the prosecutor in a court case.
“I do plenty of stuff without Xavier,” I said dismissively.
“Really? So where is he right now?”
“He has a first-aid training session in the gym,” I said brightly. “They’re going over CPR, but he already learned it in ninth grade during a water-safety program.”
“Right,” Savannah said. “And what’s he doing at lunch?”
“He has a water-polo meeting,” I replied. “They have a new junior that Xav wants to train to play defense.”
“And dinner?”
“He’s coming over to make barbecue ribs.”
“Since when do you like ribs?” The girls raised their eyebrows.
“Xavier likes them.”
“I rest my case.” Hallie put her face in her hands.
“Okay, I guess we do spend a lot of time together,” I said grumpily. “But what’s wrong with that?”
“It’s not normal is what’s wrong with it,” Savannah declared, enunciating every word. “Your girlfriends are just as important. “It’s like we don’t even matter to you anymore. All the girls feel the same, even Molly.”
I stopped short. Finally the fog lifted and the purpose of this discussion became clear to me. The girls were feeling neglected. It was true that I always seemed to be declining their invitations to go out in favor of spending time with Xavier. I’d always thought I just preferred spending downtime with my family, but maybe I had been insensitive without realizing it. I valued their friendship and on the spot vowed to be more attentive.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Thanks for being honest with me. I promise I’ll do better.”
“Great.” Hallie beamed. “Well, you can start by joining in the girls-only event we’ve got planned for the Halloween party.”
“Of course,” I agreed, eager to make amends. “I’d love to. What is it?” I had the sense even before I’d finished the question that I was on the brink of falling into a trap.
“We’re going to commune with the dead, remember?” Savannah said. “No boys allowed.”
“A séance,” Hallie said brightly. “How awesome is that?”
“Awesome,” I reiterated flatly. I could think of plenty of words to describe what they had in mind, but awesome just wasn’t one of them.
3
Unholy Night
FRIDAY came around faster than I expected. I wasn’t especially looking forward to the Halloween party. I’d much rather have spent a night at home with Xavier, but I didn’t think it fair to impose my reclusiveness on him.
Gabriel shook his head in surprise when he saw my costume, which consisted of a white satin sheath dress, gladiator sandals borrowed from Molly, and a pair of short, fluffy synthetic wings I’d rented from the local costume shop. I was a parody of myself, and Gabriel, as I’d guessed, was unimpressed. It must have seemed like some kind of sacrilege to him.
“It’s a little obvious, don’t you think?” he asked wryly.
“Not at all,” I replied. “If anyone suspected us of being superhuman, this should throw them off the scent.”
“Bethany, you are a messenger of the Lord, not a detective in a B-grade spy movie,” Gabriel said. “Try to remember that.”
“Would you like me to change?” I sighed.
“No, he wouldn’t,” Ivy said, patting my hand. “The costume is lovely. After all, it’s just a high school party.” She gave Gabriel a pointed look designed to bring the discussion to a close. Gabriel shrugged. Even though he spent his days disguised as a music teacher at Bryce Hamilton, it seemed the machinations of the teenage world were beyond him.
When Xavier arrived he was dressed as a cowboy in faded jeans, tan boots, and a checkered shirt. He even wore a leather cowboy hat.
“Trick or treat?” he said with a grin.
“No offense, but you don’t look anything like Batman.”
“Ain’t no need to be nasty now, ma’am,” Xavier said, adopting a heavy Texan accent. “Are you ready to go? Our ride’s awaitin’.”
I laughed. “You’re going to keep this up all night, aren’t you?
“Probably,” Xavier said. “I’m driving you wild with desire, aren’t I?” My brother coughed to remind us of his presence. He was always uncomfortable with outward displays of affection.