Rainer opened his fist and let him fall back down on the bed. He stood up and moved to the bookshelf. He rubbed his forehead, his eyes closed.
“Besides the attack at Mt. Rushmore and the puppets at Valley View, has anything else happened?” he asked after dropping his hand.
Dillan sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “What’s going on here, Rainer? The attacks are clearly escalating. This isn’t good. I need to know…hell, Selena needs to know.”
They watched each other for the longest time. No one moved. They barely even breathed. Dillan knew Rainer couldn’t hide things for much longer. The truth rose to the surface no matter how deep it was buried.
“Then bring her here,” his uncle finally said.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Selena
Nuts, Bolts, and Catapults
The next day, Dillan picked me up for school. He texted that he was worried about my safety and he would be hanging close until he found the threat against me.
The roar of the GT’s engine had Gramps jerking away from the breakfast table.
“Is that what I think it is?” He turned toward the front of the house. If he’d magically transformed into a dog that second, his ears would have been perked up and his tail would be wagging uncontrollably.
I stifled a giggle into my orange juice. “Go see for yourself.”
Gramps bolted like a kid on Christmas morning, ready to tear up wrapping paper to get to the toys inside.
“What’s that all about?” Grams raised an eyebrow at Gramps’s disappearing act.
“Dillan’s taking me to school in a GT500.” I shrugged and finished my juice. Grabbing my bag off the floor, my stomach quivering at the idea of seeing him again, I hurried after Gramps.
“Oh, Lord.” Grams followed me to the front porch.
I burst out laughing the moment I got outside. Gramps had his hands all over the car, a goofy smile on his face. Love at first sight. Dillan looked on with an expression that seemed to be a cross between pride and concern.
“You better not leave me for that car, David.” Grams called from the porch steps as I walked to Dillan’s side.
“Hey, baby, where have you been all my life?” I heard Gramps say, awe in his words. His reaction to the car was worse than what I could have imagined.
“Should I be worried?” Dillan asked me when he took my bag, then he did something I didn’t expect: he gave me a peck on the cheek.
I blushed. “I think so,” I answered after clearing my throat, memories of our epic make out session resurfaced. I suddenly had a craving for Pop Rocks. What a change a kiss made. “Gramps, we’ll be late for school.”
He didn’t seem to hear, circling the car like a tiger scenting a female in heat.
“David, I swear, if you don’t leave that car alone this instant, I’m filing for divorce,” Grams yelled from the porch.
From the longing on Gramps’s face, I had a sinking feeling he actually considered it. He slowly backed away from the car. Dillan opened the door for me and I hopped in, telling him to hurry before Gramps changed his mind about letting us go.
At the school parking lot half an hour later, I spotted Kyle locking his Prius as I slid out of Dillan’s car. I had held off on texting him last night. What we had to talk about couldn’t be done over the phone.
“Kyle,” I called out to him.
He walked away without even looking my way.
I frowned. Okay, if he wanted to act all childish about this whole thing, then two could play that game. To think, I’d just made up my mind about telling him everything. But, even after convincing myself I didn’t care, it still hurt. No matter how angry Kyle and I ever got with each other, we never avoided each other. First time for everything, I guess.
“Maybe he didn’t hear you,” Dillan said when he reached my side.
“From ten feet away?” I let him take my hand. I didn’t mind the shocks anymore. They didn’t hurt at all. Holding hands. Huh. Another unexpected action from him, and from the looks of everyone in the parking lot, I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Did holding hands just tell the world we were going out? I mentally shook my head and focused on my best friend’s retreating back. I sighed and said, “I doubt that.”
When Dillan and I entered American History, Kyle had already taken his usual seat, and was busily reading from the textbook.
“Did you hear me when I called your name in the parking lot?” I asked as I sat down beside him, deciding to give him another chance. I owed our friendship that much.
His eyebrows rose. “I didn’t, honest.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming at him. He did hear me because he never said “honest” at the end of any sentence.
“I have a busy week ahead of me. I won’t be able to join you for lunch,” he continued.
“You never have a busy week,” I countered. “Not really anyway.”
“Well, this time I do. I’m helping out with the yearbook committee. I have an article to submit for the paper. Ashley Emerson asked me to tutor her.”
In my head, his steady stream of excuses became blah, blah, blah. No use. I leaned back on my seat as Mr. Sloan entered the classroom.
At lunch, Dillan and I expected to meet Penny at our usual table when I spotted her sitting with Tina and Constance. When did that happen? Penny didn’t always stay long in the cafeteria, but when she did, she always hung out with Kyle and me. No exceptions. Now she laughed with Tina and Constance. I whipped out my phone and quickly tapped a message.
Me: What’s up?
I waited. Penny fished out her phone, glanced at the message, then returned her phone into her pocket. What the hell was the about? I stifled the urge to walk over there. I was too pissed. Making a scene wouldn’t help things between us.
“You okay?” Dillan asked.
“I don’t know yet,” I grumbled.
This happened every day for the rest of the week. Kyle had things to do, Penny hung out with other people. Dillan stayed with me the whole time, but I missed my friends. Although, I couldn’t ignore the steely gazes Bowen shot our way at the cafeteria.
By Friday, I was officially lonely. The only balm to my gloom was when Gramps managed to convince Dillan to bring the GT around for a tune up and an oil change. Mr. Sloan didn’t have enough equipment for him to maintain the GT at their townhouse. To be honest, when Gramps offered the use of the garage, I suspected he only wanted to have the car over.
They had the GT on four jack stands when Gramps got called away on an emergency at one of the ranches. “Tractors,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed his spare tool kit. He gave the GT one last loving glance and left without even a good-bye to the both of us. Smitten. Totally smitten. Poor Grams.
Meanwhile, I didn’t think Dillan could get any hotter. Seeing him in a white tank was just all kinds of illegal. I literally stopped and stared when he stripped off his jacket and sweater to work on his equally handsome car. Just an oil change, but dang!
I sat on a paint can while he slid under the Mustang. I couldn’t believe I made out with that just a few days ago. The way I saw it, I was both blessed and cursed. I heaved a long sigh. From where I sat beside the tool box, I had the best view of his jeans and scuffed boots.
“Pass me the socket wrench, will you,” he said from under the car and reached out his right hand.
I handed him the wrench. “Dillan?”
A series of clicks followed him taking the wrench. “Mmm?”
“Are there other Illumenari like you?”
“Knew this was coming,” he grunted.
So he was expecting it, which might mean actual answers. Or more lies.