Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions (Wicked Lovely 5.50)

“She’s upset.”

“Why? Her dad turned her over to her mother when Tori called him for help. I say good riddance. Now she has a real father.”

That was his way of looking at it. The best I could do was try to get him to see things from her point of view, even if he didn’t agree with it. Now wasn’t the time for that, though.

“I screwed up,” I said. “I let it slip that I’d known for a while.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have told her that.”

I gave him a look. “I mean I should have told her sooner. She considers me a friend.”

“Does she? Huh. Never thought friendship started with one girl locking the other—bound and gagged—in a crawl space.”

“That was in Lyle House. Tori—”

“—has changed? Right. Like when she left you behind to fight a gang of girls with knives, while she escaped.”

“We’ve come a long way since then.”

“Sure. Now she only throws you around in self-defense practice. She really enjoys that quality time with you too. Won’t practice on anyone else.”

I glowered up at him. “Yes, she’s never going to be my BFF. But what do you want me to do? Hang out with only you and Simon? Ignore her?”

“Um, yeah, because that’s exactly what she’d do to you.”

“Which doesn’t mean I should do it back. She’s been trying to fit in. You know she has. And if she doesn’t have at least one person she can talk to, she’s liable to just take off. Get captured or killed. She might not be your favorite person, but you don’t want that.”

He hesitated a second too long.

“That’s cold, Derek. Even for you, that’s cold.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Just go back to the house, okay? You obviously aren’t interested in helping Tori. Or helping me.”

“I—”

“Just go.”

When he didn’t, I did.

Evading Derek in a crowded place isn’t hard. I can slip through gaps. He can’t, and no one moves for him . . . until he starts scowling, then they move fast, but by then, I’m long gone. Even his werewolf nose isn’t very helpful in crowds. He can follow my trail, but it takes a while to tease it out.

Derek and I don’t fight a lot. Okay, we do, but it’s usually spirited disagreement, not real anger. The subject of Tori is the exception. He’s frustrated by how quickly I’ve gotten over her past mistreatment. I’m frustrated by his inability to get over it. Even Simon sees she’s trying and treats her like a part of the group.

Who’s right? I don’t know. I just know that Tori has lost more than any of us. First, her mother. Now her father. And although she tries to hide it, a big chunk of her self-confidence is gone, too. She went from being the popular girl to the one nobody wants around.

As I concentrated on dodging Derek, I found Tori. Typical. Stop looking for something, and there it is. She was walking straight toward me, so there was no mistake. Then she saw me, and swung the other way, moving as fast as she could without breaking into a run.

I did run. I’m not as worried as I once was about what people think. Blame Derek. Or thank him, I guess. Being less self-conscious is a good thing. As Aunt Lauren pointed out the other day, I hardly ever stammer anymore.

When Tori ducked into a back hall, I knew I finally had her. It was a dead end leading to the restrooms.

She hesitated near a service door. A group of girls came out of the bathroom and took up the whole hall. When they’d passed, Tori was gone. I reached the door, and quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then I opened it and peered inside.

The room was empty.

I was about to back out when I heard Tori curse. I followed her voice to a big metal grate on the wall. No way. How would she even get up—?