“Anything for you, Maddy,” Ethan replied quietly.
“Let’s go,” Jacks said gruffly.
They made their way carefully down the sleepy street. Maddy looked back over her shoulder. The windows of the house were dark, but she could see Ethan’s silhouette standing there, still, as he watched them go. His idea was a good one. No one would ever think to look for them there. He was actually helping them, as much as it probably killed him inside. Ethan. Steadily there for her. She found herself wondering again what she thought about him. What would he think if she ever told him the truth about her parents? Would he be enraged? And become as cold to her as he was to Jacks? Or would he accept her for who she was, no matter what blood was flowing in her veins? She had a feeling he would support her, no matter what. She wondered if Jacks would do the same.
Jacks turned to her at that moment with a smile that made her heart melt.
“Okay, Maddy, so where are we going?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Crickets chirped steadily in the grass. Palm trees stood motionless, watching.
“Here?” Jacks asked, looking at the slumbering Angel City High.
“Yes, here.” Maddy laughed. “I can’t imagine anyone would think to look for you at a public school.” Their feet squished in the wet grass as Maddy led Jacks around the classrooms to the side of the school. They came to the unmarked maintenance door, and Maddy slid Ethan’s key in the lock. Holding her breath, she turned it. She heard the click as the dead bolt retreated.
The hallway was dark and quiet. Homecoming posters hung sleepily from the walls. The only light came from a vending machine down the corridor, a soft red and blue fluorescent glow. She looked around and got her bearings.
“It’s this way,” she said.
Maddy ran her hand along the banks of lockers as they walked. She had strolled down this hallway a thousand times before, but now it was different, and it wasn’t just the dark. Everything had changed. She came to her locker and paused. She thought about herself at that locker just days ago. That simple, comfortable life she’d known for so long. One day you return to your normal surroundings and everything just feels different, she thought. Except the surroundings aren’t different. You are.
“What is it?” Jacks asked.
“It’s nothing,” Maddy said. In truth, it was everything, because she had just realized nothing would ever be the same again. The lockers and the scuffed linoleum and Gwen gossiping about the Angels, it all seemed irretrievably gone now. Even if things did somehow go back to normal, there’d be no forgetting the truth of her parents’ identities or their horrible deaths. There was no escaping it. Whether she was ready for it or not, her childhood was, officially, over.
“It’s not much farther,” Maddy said, and started to walk again.
Then she froze.
She could hear a voice. It was coming from down the hall, from inside one of the rooms. Her eyes darted to Jacks. He was already listening intently.
“We should go,” Jacks said, his voice low.
“Wait,” Maddy said, and listened again. She recognized the voice. It was a girl, a girl she knew. The voice gave her a strange, sinking feeling she couldn’t place. Who could possibly be there with them? And at this time of night? She gave Jacks a look, then crept forward, staying close to the wall. Up ahead a faint light filtered out through the frosted window of the teachers’ lounge. With her heart galloping in her chest, she noiselessly turned the handle and cracked open the door.
The room was empty. There were a few half-drunk mugs of coffee still sitting on the table. And a glowing TV left on in the corner. Someone must have forgotten to turn it off. Maddy registered the face on the screen.
It was Vivian Holycross. She was radiant in a silver sheer Alexander McQueen dress as she sat on a couch across from the irrepressible Tara Reeves. It was an ANN exclusive interview. Even though a tear streamed down her cheek, it was a perfect tear. Hair and makeup had done a great job making her look sufficiently distraught.
“It’s a big misunderstanding,” Vivian said, taking a tissue she was offered from Tara and wiping her eye. The scrawl on the bottom of the screen stated “ANGELHUNT on for suspected serial murderer Jackson Godspeed. ”
“Would you like to say something to Jacks, if he happens to be watching?” Tara asked. Vivian sniffed.
“Come home, Jacks, and we’ll get this all worked out.”
Even crying, she looked amazing. Maddy watched the screen, and jealousy twisted through her. She had almost gotten used to the tempting idea of Jacks’s affection. Vivian’s perfect image was an icy reality check. How could she ever compete? She, an abomination. How could she have ever let herself think Jacks would truly have feelings for her when he had Vivian to come home to?
Jacks gazed at Maddy, seeming to guess what she was thinking.
“Come on,” he said, walking to the television and punching a button. It turned off with a slight buzz. “I’m sure Vivian made a great appearance fee to do that.”
Maddy looked at him uncertainly.
“Before I collapse right here in the hall, why don’t you show me where we’re going?” Jacks said, leading her out of the room.
The faded mural painted on the side of the gymnasium depicted a muscled, red-and-white cartoon Angel dribbling a basketball under its wing. The banner read This Is WINGS Territory!