The next day at school, we were all surprised to see Raymond back.
It had been a week since his suspension, and I've got to say, he did change physically. You could tell by the deep lines on his face and his poorly shaved eyebrows.
As he walked to the clinic holding a box of files, people stared and muttered to themselves, but he didn't seem to care a bit about the disturbance. He just walked quietly to the clinic.
When he reached, he pulled out a bunch of keys from his pocket, going through them until he found the key to the door. He inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. The door unlocked, then he opened it gently but quickly and stepped inside.
He needed to get away from the stares, the whispers.
Eska stood frozen, eyes locked on the door Raymond had just walked through. Her expression twisted into a brief sneer, equal parts disgust and disbelief.
"Gosh… He's back."
I slowly tore my gaze away from the closed door, heart thudding with an anxious rhythm I couldn't explain. I muttered more to myself than anyone else,
"I wonder how Clary will feel… when she comes back and sees him."
"Why is he back anyway?" Pink's voice cut in, sharp and skeptical. She popped open her locker with a bang, grabbed her stack of books, and slammed it shut. "Shouldn't he be, I don't know... in jail?"
Eska and I exchanged a long, loaded look. Neither of us could blame her, after all, he's the reason Clary hasn't stepped foot in this school since that night.
During recess, at the cafeteria, we sat at our usual corner table in the cafeteria, half-eaten trays in front of us, we were quiet, too quiet.
I sat across from Pink, who listlessly stirred her mashed potatoes with her fork. Eska sat beside me, chewing on fries, though her usual sass was toned down.
Ever since Clary stopped coming to school, Pink had become quieter. Her bold pink headphones rested on her shoulders, but the music wasn't playing. Just static silence between us all.
The silence shattered when Summer came running across the cafeteria like a bat out of hell, her shoes squeaking on the linoleum. She reached our table and slammed her palm down on it, gasping for breath.
We all jumped.
Summer's hair was slicked to her forehead with sweat, and her bluish eyes darted around wildly before locking onto us.
"Girl, what's going on?" Pink asked, adjusting her headphones back around her neck and raising a brow.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Eska said between mouthfuls of fries, amused.
"You're not gonna believe this." Summer bent over, hands on her knees, then whipped out her phone. "They found a body. This morning. At Caveroop Park."
"What?" I blinked.
She thrust the phone at us. On the screen was a blurry photo of what looked like... shredded fabric, blood-smeared grass and something horribly human lying in the middle.
We all gasped.
"Oh my god."
Pink grabbed the phone, zooming in, zooming out. Her fingers trembled slightly.
"It looks like she was… eaten."
"Eaten?" I echoed, pulling the phone from her and studying the image, my stomach doing flips. The fries I'd been eating moments ago suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.
"What kind of animal would do that? Please tell me we're not dealing with a rogue beast or something."
"It could be the alpha," Summer murmured, sliding into the seat beside me.
"I don't think so," Pink said, crossing her arms tightly. "It didn't howl last night and it was a full moon. That's not normal."
"That's no animal," Eska said confidently. She reached for the phone and zoomed in again. Her brows furrowed as she stared hard at the screen. "Look at the bite marks. Too neat. Too precise. There's only one creature that feeds like that."
We all turned to her in silence.
Pink leaned in. "And that would be…?"
Eska didn't blink. "A vampire. But not just any vampire… a blue blood."
Silence.
Then I let out a dry, nervous chuckle.
"A vampire? Come on, the article said it was a wild animal attack."
"And the bite marks say otherwise," Eska said sharply, snapping her gaze toward me. "That girl wasn't mauled. She was drained."
Summer gulped audibly. "But why would a blue blood vampire be here? In Caveroop?"
"I don't know," Eska muttered, her voice lower now. "But if I'm right… it means the town isn't safe. And neither are we."
I shivered. Goosebumps prickled my arms despite the cafeteria's warmth.
Please, let her be wrong.
After lunch, I wandered toward the library, my books pressed tight to my chest. The rumor of the body still spun through my head like a bad dream. But I tried to focus on the good: study time with Sam and Genora. Ever since they helped me pass my first math test, we'd become kind of a trio. Nerdy, reliable, and safe, exactly what I needed.
I was halfway down the hall when I spotted Jennie headed in the opposite direction. She walked briskly, shoulders stiff, a frown etched into her face. But when she saw me, her eyes softened.
"Jennifer! Long time no see," I greeted, trying to sound upbeat.
She slowed her pace. "Yeah, same. Haven't seen you since game night. How've you been?"
"Good. You?"
"Same, mostly." She tilted her head slightly. "Still got that… weird-looking thing going on?"
I blinked. "Weird-looking thing?"
Her lips quirked up in a half-smile, but I couldn't tell if it was teasing or pointed. I just forced a chuckle and shook my head.
"Nope. All clear."
"Good. Glad you're doing well," she said, then continued down the hallway without waiting for a response.
I frowned slightly, watching her go. Weird-looking thing? What was that supposed to mean?
Shaking it off, I turned the cold brass knob of the library door and stepped inside. The scent of old pages and pencil shavings greeted me, along with the quiet murmur of conversation.
Our usual study table was near the back. When I got there, I paused.
Jesse was sitting between Sam and Genora.
Sam was leaning over his notebook, explaining something, while Genora nodded thoughtfully. I was surprised to see him with them, so he studies?
I approached with a soft smile. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late."
Genora looked up with her usual warmth. "It's the third time this week."
I dropped my books on the table and slid into the seat beside her.
"I know, I know. I'll make it up to you, study snacks next time, promise."
"You're just in time," Sam said without looking up. "I'm going through quadratic equations with Jesse."
I glanced at Jesse, who met my gaze briefly before looking away. There was a flicker of something in his eyes I couldn't quite name.
I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and focused on my notes.
"Oh, I see."
Our study session finally came to an end. Genora stretched with a satisfied sigh while Sam closed his notebook and gave me a nod.
I got up slowly, my legs a little stiff from sitting so long, and began packing my books into my bag. The chatter in the library faded into a hum as people trickled out.
Then Jesse approached me, already packed and ready to leave.
"Hey, Terra."
I froze mid-motion, my fingers wrapped around the strap of my bag. I turned, half expecting I'd misheard. It was the first time Jesse called me by my name.
He was standing barely five centimeters away, his backpack slung casually over one shoulder, his blue eyes locked onto mine with a sincerity that made my pulse hitch.
Oh god. He really was talking to me.
"Yes?" I managed, my voice quieter than I intended.
He didn't break eye contact. It was like he was searching my face for something, and for a moment, the world narrowed down to just the two of us.
"Hi," he said again, almost as if testing the word on his tongue. "You free tonight?"
I blinked. Wait, what?
Was Jesse… asking me out?
I could feel heat creeping up my neck. My mind went haywire.
Why was he suddenly being this way? Had I fallen into a parallel universe? Did I hit my head during math and was now hallucinating?
He sounded a little shy, nervous, even. That wasn't like him. Jesse was always confident, cocky, unpredictable. Not… this.
"Yeah, why?" I asked cautiously, trying to play it cool even though my heartbeat was hammering in my ears.
He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes flicking down for a second. "Erm… I just thought we could… hang out."
Hang out!
Two words. Harmless. But they crashed into my chest like a truck.
What did he mean by that? Did he want to talk? Apologize? Did he… like me?
No, no, no, no, don't get way ahead of yourself Terra.
"Uhm…"
It was a trick question. Was he playing me, or had he finally fallen for me? Or did he want to call a truce? Or did he pity me for what happened in the woods during the search?
The thoughts kept coming. I was compelled to agree, but then I remembered that Pink had a huge crush on him. She wouldn't be happy if she found out I hung out with him and I didn't want to lose a friend, especially when she's popular.
"I just remembered," I blurted, "Pink and I were supposed to visit Clary tonight."
I forced a shrug, pretending like I wasn't overthinking every syllable.
"Sorry… we'll have to do it another time."
Before he could respond, I turned and walked away, fast. I didn't want to see the look on his face. Didn't want to second-guess myself.
But even as I left the library and disappeared into the hallway, one question echoed in my head like a song I couldn't turn off:
Why did Jesse suddenly want to hang out with me?
...
After lectures, Raymond made his way slowly back to the clinic. His body ached in the places he pretended didn't hurt, and the late afternoon sun cast long, drowsy shadows through the windows of the nearly empty hallway.
He opened the clinic door, expecting silence.
Instead, he jumped.
Seated calmly on the stool across from his desk, arms folded, eyes bright was Rejoice.
"Joy?" he gasped, pressing a hand to his chest. "You startled me."
A playful grin spread across her face. "Sorry, Mr. Ray. I didn't mean to give you a heart attack."
He exhaled and chuckled softly, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. "What brings you here? Are you hurt? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing like that." She shook her head quickly. "I just… I'm really glad you're back. I missed my favorite teacher."
Her words caught him off guard, and a genuine smile crept onto his face. There was something comforting about Rejoice, always had been.
"That's kind of you to say," he replied, his voice warm.
Rejoice nodded toward the chair behind the desk. "You should sit. You look like your knees are about to give out."
He chuckled again, walking over and sinking into the chair with a heavy sigh. "You're not wrong."
He leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him, rubbing a hand over his tired face.
"Well… as you can see." He gestured to the bruising and swelling on his jaw.
Rejoice let out a small laugh. "I'm guessing it was horrible?"
"Every bit as horrible as it looks," he muttered, then added with a dry smile, "But I'm back now. What could possibly go wrong?"
He didn't expect her expression to falter the way it did.
Rejoice suddenly looked hesitant, her playful energy draining as her shoulders tensed. She pressed her lips together for a beat too long.
Raymond narrowed his eyes.
"Joy…?" he said slowly. "Is there something I should know?"
She shifted on the stool, avoiding his eyes. "I wasn't sure if I should tell you yet. I didn't want to stress you out."
"That's never a good preamble," he said, sitting up straighter. "Out with it."
She took a breath. "There was a report this morning. From Caveroop hospital, Charles's body… it's missing."
Raymond shot to his feet like he'd been electrocuted.
"What?" His voice was sharp. Too loud. "You've got to be kidding me."
She shook her head, her expression grave now. "I wish I was."
He started pacing, his hand running down the side of his face in disbelief.
"Who was watching the morgue? How does a body just vanish?"
"No one knows," Rejoice said softly. "There was no sign of forced entry. No alarms. It's like he just got up and walked out."
Raymond froze, the implications crashing into him all at once.
"Then we've got a bigger problem than we thought."