“Sure. Okay. Bye.” I hit the end button and took a deep breath before I turned back to face my friends.
“Rat bastard,” Marissa said. “I knew it.”
“He says he’s got some work to do in the lab,” I offered lamely.
Sophie shook her head, her hazel eyes full of disbelief. “What kind of work? It’s Sunday.”
I just shrugged. I had no idea what kind of work he did in the lab. Kate had said it was some sort of medical research, but he’d never elaborated.
Actually, now that I thought about it, there was an awful lot about Aidan that I still didn’t know.
The next week passed mostly in a blur. I hadn’t been lying when I’d said I had a lot of catching up to do. Winterhaven’s academic expectations were high, even by prep school standards. Which was good, I guess — after all, the school’s graduates had a ridiculously high rate of academic and professional success. PhDs, CEOs, industry leaders, and successful politicians. they all came from Winterhaven. The amount of notable grads listed in the admissions brochure was mind-bogglingly impressive.
Of course, now I realized why — because once students graduated and were free from the constraints of the COPA, they could use their gifts to their advantage. It was amazing, really, that no one had ever been exposed for what they were. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some sort of safeguard in place for that, something I didn’t yet understand. Regardless, a Winterhaven education was definitely a plus, and I spent pretty much all my free time trying to catch up.
I didn’t hear from Aidan — no more tutoring sessions— although I did see him twice a day in the classes we shared. It was mostly awkward, me going out of my way to avoid him, and him studying me intently from across the room, then disappearing as soon as the bells rang. I didn’t know what to think. I mean, we’d only had one date, so it’s not like I had a claim on him. On the other hand, it had been a good date — or so I had thought.
He’d said all that stuff about me being a part of his past and his future, and I had taken that as a pretty good sign. Like us coming together was fate or something.
What had changed? I had all kinds of theories, of course, most of them involving another girl. As I was pondering the possibilities for the millionth time that day, Cece popped her head into the room. “Hey, are you coming with us to the café?” she asked brightly.
“No, I thought I’d go to the gym. My shoulder’s been hurting, and stretching really seems to help.” Liar. I shut down my computer, my homework done.
“C’mon, Violet. All you’ve done is mope around all week. Is he really worth it?”
Yeah, he was. And that was the problem. That, and I was totally pathetic. But I couldn’t say that. Instead I said, “I really do need to stretch.”
“Okay, whatever.” Clearly, she wasn’t buying it. “You sure you won’t come with us?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I picked up my bag and hiked it up on my shoulder. “But I’ll walk with you, okay?”
We made our way through the lounge in silence. Finally I spoke. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a boarding school with a movie theater. Or a café.
How come we can’t just go into the village to hang out, at least on weekends?”
“I think they decided it’s better if we don’t mix too much with the townies. They worry we’d get careless or something. So they made sure we have everything we need right here at Winterhaven. I like it this way — it’s more like a college campus or something.”
“I guess,” I said with a shrug. We passed the school store, which I now knew carried a wide assortment of clothes, shoes, and accessories in addition to school supplies and sweats with the school crest. There was a drugstore, too — rumor had it that they even carried condoms — but the bookstore was my favorite. It was as well-stocked as any major chain. Cece was right; there really wasn’t any need to leave campus.
We parted ways at the atrium’s exit, and I continued on toward the gym. The sun was just beginning to set, the sky a deep purple with wide orange swaths. It was so pretty that I considered sitting down on a nearby bench to watch the sun melt into the horizon. Why not? The gym could wait.
So I sat.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I whirled around to look over my right shoulder, and there was Aidan, leaning against a tree. I just swallowed, unable to speak. My heart was pounding, as it always did when he snuck up on me.
“This is my favorite time of day. The Scots call it ‘the gloaming.’ I like that.”
“Sounds a lot better than ‘dusk,’ I guess,” I finally said, turning my attention back toward the sky. I could just make out the first twinkling star, directly above my head. I stood up and reached for my bag. “I should go.”
“Please don’t.” He was beside me now, reaching for my hand. “I want to apologize for ditching you like I did last weekend.”
I shrugged, pulling my hand from his grasp. “Really, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I had some important work to do, and it couldn’t wait.”
I finally gathered the courage to look up at him, and my breath caught. His eyes were more darkly shadowed than before, as if he was in desperate need of sleep. He looked terrible, actually.
“You look exhausted,” I said, my initial annoyance replaced with worry.
“I haven’t had much time for sleep,” he answered.
“What are you working on that’s more important than sleep?”
He just shook his head. “I can’t explain it.”
I decided to press the issue. “You can’t, or you won’t?”
Surprisingly enough, that made him smile. “A little of both, actually.”
I nodded, not quite sure what else to say.
“This is. it’s hard for me, Violet.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s complicated, and I’m not sure what to do. I just didn’t want you to think that I was blowing you off.”
That was exactly what I thought he was doing. “I should be more focused on school, anyway,” I said.
His eyes met mine, searching for something. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmured.
“Why would you hurt me?”
“Because that’s what I do,” he said, his voice suddenly sharp. “But not this time, not if I can help it.”
What was he talking about?
“You’ve had the vision again, haven’t you?” he asked, his voice softer now.
Yeah, I had. Twice in the past week.
“Well?” he prodded.
“Well, nothing. I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Besides, you said I shouldn’t worry. Stupid visions,” I muttered. They were nothing but a curse.
“Your visions are a part of you, Violet. They’re a gift.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to see awful things happen over and over again to people you—” I cut myself off, realizing what I was about to say. People I care about. Including Aidan? That was crazy, totally insane. We’d gone out once. He hadn’t even kissed me.