Chapter 3: The Truth Behind Unlikely Roommates (Part 5)
“You need to explain yourself. Now.”
“Nope. We’re in the middle of a crowded airport. Not gonna happen,” Alec said, weaving between the crowds of people to follow after Sam and Eric.
“I really hate you sometimes.”
“That really hurts, you know?”
I rolled my eyes. “I hardly know you. How can you say you need me?”
“I know you, Valora.” He glanced back at me with a smirk, eyes flashing red for a moment. “Out of everyone here, I know you better than anyone.”
I felt a little creeped out but quickly brushed it off. “Oh, please! You could hardly know me better than anyone here. I barely met all of you like a week and a half ago when you first showed up at my school.”
I smothered a yawn. The frequent change in time zones was finally starting to catch up with me, and I suddenly felt as if I hadn’t slept in weeks. Considering I went through a whole not-sleeping stint for about five days, I guess it made sense. Alec must have noticed because he paused and snatched up my bag before returning to his pace.
“Your favorite color is blue,” he called back. “You’re allergic to dogs, the sight of blood makes you squeamish, and you loved traveling.”
I made a face. “My duffel bag is blue, so that’s just a lucky guess. You probably just realized all of those other things after watching me for the past few days. Not a big surprise there.”
“Your mother used to tell you stories at night about a little princess who went on incredible adventures. When you were ten, she sat down and wrote out the stories while you wrote pictures. The two of you self-published a book. Only one copy ever sold.” He glanced back at me. “How would I know that?”
“Because you’re some kind of weird fucking stalker,” I muttered, now seriously creeped out.
Alec shook his head. “Valora, out of everyone here, I’m the only one closest to your age. I was seven when your mother published that book.”
I scratched my head, frowning. “If you’re younger than me, why were you a senior?”
“I look old for my age? I skipped some grades? I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention when Sam filled out all our paperwork.”
We walked out of the airport to join the others milling about waiting for taxis or rides. The dreary gray sky promised stereotypical English weather, and I shivered, wishing I had pulled my coat out of my duffel bag. We all grouped up together while Sam went to hail a cab. Alec set our bags down, crouching and unzipping mine.
“What are you doing?”
He stood, my coat in his hands. “You’re cold.” He held it out to me and helped me into it.
I eyed him warily. “Do you have mind reading powers too, or something?”
Alec shook his head, grinning at me as he leaned forward until we were nearly nose to nose. “I told you, Valora. I know you,” he whispered. “Because I need you.”
To be continued…
The Hallowing of the Pentagram 