Auracle. Part 10

Rei is helping Taylor find her spiral notebook for Spanish cla.s.s, when Callie comes striding up.

"Hey, I've been looking for you two."

"What's up?" Rei greets her.

"I just wanted to see how Anna's feeling," she says, and then she addresses Taylor, who is still poking around in my locker. "You okay?"

"No, I have a concussion," Taylor finds a sharp pencil on the floor of my locker and finally turns around.

Callie gasps. "Wow, Anna! Why are you covered in makeup? You look like a..."

"Hey, Callie," Rei jumps in, "Anna's having some trouble remembering things because of her concussion, and one of them is that she doesn't wear makeup."

"Really? A concussion? Oh, you poor thing! Well, that explains the outfit, then. Nice sternum, by the way."

Taylor makes a face like she's going to defend my lack of cleavage, but then Callie asks the worst possible question.

"So what's going on with Seth? I hear all these rumors about him and Taylor Gleason."

"Seth killed Taylor Gleason in cold blood," Taylor cranks up the volume of her voice. "I was there, and I saw him throw Taylor right off the ledge. He's a murderer."

Everyone in the hallway has now stopped to listen. Callie looks confused. "What do you mean, you were there?"

"I was there," Taylor repeats. "The police are looking for him, and when they find him, I am an eyewitness."

Callie looks at Rei for some kind of confirmation, but Rei just reaches into my locker, grabs my Spanish textbook, and thrusts it into Taylor's hands. "You have Spanish in room 137," he says coldly. "Meet me back here after."

"I'm not..." Taylor begins.

"Go!" Rei orders in a voice that seems to jump-start all the eavesdroppers on their way again. Taylor huffs and stomps off toward Spanish.

"So what's really going on?" Callie asks. "I heard that Taylor's dead, but I can't believe Seth had anything to do with it. And what's up with Anna? She's acting really weird!"

"She is," Rei agrees. "But don't worry about it," he slams my locker door. "As soon as Anna's memory comes back, everything will be fine."

"Well, the good news is Spanish is a Latin-based language, so this shouldn't be too difficult," Taylor greets Rei after cla.s.s.

"That's good. Because Spanish is one of your best subjects," Rei points out.

Of course it is. I love Spain. I spend enough time there when I'm out of my body that I'm practically fluent in Spanish.

As the day drags on, I notice Taylor's eyes are lingering on Rei for longer and longer periods of time when she thinks he's not looking. During the bus ride home, Taylor gradually scoots closer to Rei until their hips are touching. By the time they get to their bus stop, Rei is hanging halfway off the seat in an effort to leave some s.p.a.ce between them.

On the walk home, she turns to Rei. "So I really said you were like a brother to me?"

I swear I don't remember saying that!

"Yup," Rei answers without looking at her. He looks tired again. I think Taylor sucked even more energy out of him today than I did yesterday.

"You don't seem like a brother now," she says coyly.

Something between amus.e.m.e.nt and annoyance is simmering in his eyes. "No?"

"No, in fact, I think since we know each other so well, maybe we should, you know, go out sometime."

He still won't look at her. "What if I still think of you like a sister?"

"Trust me," Taylor tells him in a silky voice, "I'm nothing like your sister."

They've reached the top of Rei's driveway now, and as far as I know, Saya is expected home at three o'clock. I'm curious if Rei has given any thought to the bundle of sage that's hidden in his desk drawer. In my opinion, it would be tough to light that thing with Saya around. How would we explain that? I suppose we'll have to talk about it tonight.

"So, it's settled," Taylor turns the corner and starts walking down Rei's driveway. "I'm coming over."

CHAPTER 15.

Rei is a bada.s.s poker player. I know it goes against the moral, upstanding reputation he's so well known for, but the reason Rei consistently wins all of Seth's pennies is because he's a master at hiding emotions. After nearly seventeen years with him, though, I can read the subtle changes in Rei's poker face that Seth cannot. The reason Rei consistently wins all of my pennies is because I can't remember the difference between a flush, a straight, and a full house.

When I'm out of my body, though, I have the added advantage of seeing Rei's aura. Right now, he's sick of Taylor and wants nothing more than to go for a long, hard run, but on the other hand, he wants her out of my body.

"You're welcome to come over," he tells her in a vanilla cream puff voice, "but I have some stuff I have to do."

"Like what kind of stuff?"

"Well, I have to babysit Saya. And I have to start dinner, stuff like that."

"I can help you."

"Do you remember how to cook?" I materialize behind Taylor's back just long enough to give Rei a snide look, which he ignores. Taylor has no way of knowing I'm a really good slicer/dicer, my tuna salad rocks, and I make awesome zucchini-carrot m.u.f.fins. Just don't ask me to cook meat unless the fire department is nearby.

She must have picked up the double-edged sarcasm in his voice, because she asks, "Could I cook before?"

"Some things," Rei admits as he follows her down the driveway.

Something is wrong. Rei's meticulously clean porch has somehow become smudged by a path of muddy footprints that lead directly to the front door. I look for the obvious explanation, but I see no packages waiting by the door, and the footprints don't turn around and head back the other way. Rei's colors deepen and there's a subtle shift in his expression, a slight tension in his shoulders.

"Why don't you wait here just in case the bus comes to drop off Saya," he tells Taylor calmly, gesturing toward the swing. "I'll go get something for us to drink."

I follow him in through the door, and the footprints stop abruptly on the mat just inside the door. I do one fast loop around the downstairs to see if anyone is there, but Rei heads directly upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. I reach the landing at the same time he does, just in time to catch the bedroom door opening wide on its own accord and a deep voice calls Rei's name.

Rei's hand flashes out like a bolt of lightning, silencing the voice, and he body slams the intruder into his room and kicks the door shut behind him. It takes me a second to process exactly where the danger is.

It's downstairs sitting on the porch.

"Shhh!" Rei whispers. "There's someone here. You need to be quiet!"

Seth doesn't seem all that surprised by Rei's reaction. "Who's here? Anna?" he whispers back.

"Yeah, but I don't want her to know you're here."

Seth shrugs. "Rei, I need to talk to you!" he whispers urgently. "I think the cops might be looking for me!"

"The police are looking for you, you idiot!"

"s.h.i.t!" Seth moves to punch the wall, but Rei's hand intercepts his fist. "I knew it! You know for sure they're looking for me?"

"They were here yesterday asking me questions."

"Here? Asking you questions? Like what?"

"Like we don't have time to talk about it right now." Rei shepherds Seth over to the door of his weight room and opens it wide. "Wait in here until I get rid of her. And don't abuse my walls!"

Now Seth is surprised. "Get rid of her ... what, are you two mad at each other?"

Rei glances toward his bedroom door. "It's a long story. She can't know you're here."

"I didn't push Taylor. You know that, right?"

"I know you didn't, and we'll figure this out when I get back. Here," Rei pulls his iPod out of his jeans pocket and hands it to Seth without bothering to untangle the earbud cord. "I have Saya home today, too, so this may take a while, but I need you to stay in here and stay quiet."

Seth shrugs. "Okay, I get it. Hey, hope you don't mind, I borrowed some of your clothes."

I hear the bus growling up the street, and from the look on his face, so does Rei. "Fine, whatever, just stay in here until I come and get you, okay? We'll talk later." The bus is pulling up in front of his house.

Rei gives Seth one last look before he closes the door quietly behind him.

And of course I'm not allowed in the weight room, which will make it nearly impossible for me to spy on Seth.

In one fast fluid motion, Rei leans down the stairs while he slides his hands halfway down the railings, then he locks his elbows and swings himself to the floor below. He bolts out the door just as Saya jumps off the bus.

"I thought you were getting drinks," Taylor chides him.

"Sorry, I heard the bus. I'll get them in a minute."

Saya is like a single ray of sunshine on an otherwise dreary day. She runs down the driveway and doesn't slow down until she hops onto Taylor's lap, catching her by surprise.

"Oh! Well aren't you an energetic little thing! Look at those eyes!" The first thing anyone ever notices about Saya is the color of her eyes, which are blue like her daddy's. "Aren't they gorgeous!" Then Taylor makes her first mistake at the Ellis home. "Your eyes are the color of forget-me-nots."

No, they are definitely the color of morning glories, but I learned a long time ago not to engage Saya in a conversation about eye color.

Saya giggles and looks into Taylor's stolen eyes. "Your eyes are the color of overcooked asparagus." That's pretty mild. Over the past two years, my eyes have been every unappealing shade of green from algae to zucchini.

Taylor's jaw drops, and she looks owlishly at Rei to gauge his reaction. He's had a minute to calm himself down, and he's sitting with his back against the porch column, his legs stretched out along the top step. He drops his chin to hide a smile.

"Well, isn't she charming," Taylor says sarcastically.

"I wouldn't feel too bad if I were you," Rei a.s.sures her. "Saya, what color are my eyes?"

"Your eyes are the color of elephant p.o.o.p!" Saya giggles uncontrollably. The names of the animals will change, but as far as Saya is concerned, Rei's eyes are always the color of p.o.o.p. Yumi forbade Rei and me from playing this game with Saya a long time ago, so she's pretty thrilled she's getting away with it now.

"See, there you go. Isn't overcooked asparagus a whole lot better than elephant p.o.o.p?"

"Charming." Taylor repeats and brushes Saya firmly off her lap. Saya bounces from Taylor over to Rei, and climbs on him like a monkey, stepping on his legs and tugging at his arms.

"I'm hungry. And I wanna go to the falls," she pleads.

"Hey, that's a great..."

"No!" Taylor cuts him off.

"Please?" Saya gives Taylor the look no one can resist.

"I thought your brother had work to do," she says icily.

Rei lifts Saya off his lap, stands up, and heads inside. "Are you hungry, too?" he asks Taylor.

"Hungry for what, exactly?" Taylor asks in a smoky voice as she follows Rei.

Rei opens the fridge and scouts around. A devious little grin appears on his face. "How about an orange?" he asks.

"Sure, I love oranges. They smell like your body wash."

That comment wipes the smile right off Rei's face. "It's not body wash, it's soap," he informs her. "Here, catch." He tosses the orange over his shoulder, and I'm surprised she catches it.

"Thanks."

He pulls a bunch of carrots out of the refrigerator as Taylor struggles to peel the orange with my blunt nails.

"Need some help with that?" he finally offers.

"Thanks." She hands the orange to Rei. "So, how long have I been a nail-biter?"

"When we were four, your father broke a few of his vertebrae." Rei strips the orange down in seconds and hands it back to her. "That's when you started."

This revelation doesn't inspire any comment from Taylor besides, "Well, I'm cured now, so I guess this concussion wasn't such a bad thing after all." She winks and pops a section of orange into her mouth.

Rei mumbles something about carrots and pulls a paring knife out of the wooden block that sits on the counter. As soon as he cuts the green tops off the carrots, Saya swipes one. "Tickle, tickle!" she waves it under Taylor's chin.