Auracle. Part 17

Rei just stands there with a surprised grin glued on his face. "You know, I keep thinking she can't sink any lower, but yet, she does. Are you going to follow her?"

Of course I'm going to follow her! I wave and leave through the window.

Taylor makes it all the way to Main Street pedaling so slowly, I'm antic.i.p.ating the bike will tip over any second now. I expect her to take a left onto Main Street toward McGregor & Sons Funeral Home, but no, she takes a right, and it takes me a minute to realize where she's heading....

She's going home.

She walks my bike up her driveway and parks it around the back of her house. Of course n.o.body is home right now; they are all at the church for their dearly departed's funeral service.

She finds a key under the doormat. "Bingo," she gloats. What is she up to? She lets herself into her house, and I follow her to the alarm system, where she uses the tips of those acrylic nails to key in the code to disarm it. She takes off her shoes and makes her way upstairs.

As far as I can see, her mother hasn't touched her room. There's an empty frappuccino bottle sitting on the nightstand and a silky tank top and sleep shorts lying at the foot of the bed. Taylor looks around for a moment, and her eyes are gla.s.sy. There is a long second where I feel something-empathy maybe? How difficult must this be for her? This is not just material stuff; this is her world, and it's gone. As much as I hate her for all the grief and aggravation she's put us through this week, I see everything she's lost, and I feel sad for her.

She sniffs hard, unzips the backpack, and begins to fill it with items from her dresser top and drawers. Makeup, perfume, jewelry, photos, her iPod and charger, a box of condoms ... wait a minute, a box of what?

I stick my head into the backpack for a second look, and sure enough, there is a twelve-pack of glow-in-the-dark, lubricated-for-her-pleasure condoms. The package had been torn open at some point in time, and it appears that a few are missing. It's hard to read the package in the dimness of the backpack, especially since Taylor continues to shove things on top of me, but there's a date clearly labeled on the box and it tells me these condoms expired over a year ago.

I retreat to the corner of the room and take inventory. So far she's had my ears and nose pierced, my arm tattooed with a hideous drawing, and she appears to be planning the demise of my virginity. I wonder who the lucky guy is.

As soon as she's done pilfering her room, she heads into the bathroom and takes her toothbrush (eww!), a box of super-absorbent tampons (good luck with those!) and some very expensive-looking hair conditioner. The backpack is nearly full.

Downstairs, she opens a cabinet door to reveal several rows of liquor bottles. She helps herself to a half-empty bottle of vodka, takes a long swallow and sighs. "d.a.m.n, I missed you," she tells the bottle. She adds that to my backpack, along with another bottle of vodka, this one unopened.

She is careful to reset the alarm and lock up after herself. I watch her long enough to know she is heading to the church. I hurry back to Rei's house.

I arrive to find Rei at his computer, wearing his beige chinos and white polo shirt. He is surfing the internet for exorcism again, but as soon as he sees me point to the keyboard, he pushes back in his chair.

She went to her house to get stuff.

He raises one eyebrow as he reads this. "What kind of stuff?"

2 bottles of vodka, I type.

"That's not good."

And condoms Rei just looks at the screen blankly for a minute, and then he squeezes his eyes shut and rubs that spot on his forehead again. When he opens his eyes, he leans over and squints at the screen for a few seconds more. "Yep, that's what I thought you said." He sees my anxious expression. "Anna, don't worry," he consoles me. "I'll make sure she doesn't get the chance to use them. Where is she now?"

At church "At church with a backpack full of vodka and condoms," he smirks. "I'm sorry, that's just..." he shakes his head. "Never mind."

I frown at him. The arraignment starts in about ten minutes. I'm going to check on Seth and I'll meet you at the cemetery after.

"Okay, see you then."

The sight of Seth, all trussed up in handcuffs and ankle shackles, would break Rei's heart. It looks like Seth has borrowed his father's clothes, black dress pants that are too short and a matching suit jacket that's too tight in the shoulders. The lawyer next to him wears a suit that fits him perfectly and probably cost more than Seth's dad earns in a month.

The arraignment is very boring. The judge is a dumpling of a man, with wire-rimmed gla.s.ses sliding perpetually down his nose. I wonder if he pushes them up with his middle finger to send a message to the court. Seth shows no surprise when they read the charge of first-degree murder, and the judge shows no surprise when Seth responds with, "Not guilty, your honor."

The judge tilts his head back a bit so he can read without taking off his gla.s.ses. "In light of the vicious nature of this crime, the district attorney has requested the date of the trial be expedited."

There is much whispering and scribbling among the attorneys when this Friday is announced as the date of the trial. The consensus among the defense is this does not give them much time to prepare, but n.o.body argues with the judge. Seth gets up stiffly from the wooden chair when directed by the bailiff and shuffles out of the courtroom.

It is just too depressing to follow him to his cell. Instead, I float around, trying to make sense of their strange terms. I understand there is no bail for Seth because he ran once already. I understand they think he killed Taylor in cold blood, so they want to try him as an adult, even though he's still seventeen. But now the lawyers are rattling off terms like "percipient witnesses" and "deposition" and "burden of proof" and "Annaliese Rogan." Apparently, I am the only eyewitness, and Taylor will be required to appear at a deposition with the attorneys this Wednesday morning at nine o'clock. I make a mental note not to miss that.

I find Rei leaning against an ancient oak tree on the edge of the cemetery, watching the crowd gathered around the white coffin. When I rest my hand on Rei's shoulder, he must feel the vibration because he immediately reaches for my hand, managing only to pat his own shoulder instead. "Hi," he greets me. I trace the letters H-I on his back. His mouth doesn't smile, but his eyes do, so I know he felt it.

Taylor stands with her parents beside the coffin. The funeral home has provided lawn chairs for her grandparents, but everyone else stands, clutching a long-stem red rose. So many nice things are said about Taylor during the service, it makes me wonder where this pastor guy is getting his information. Once he concludes the service, he invites everyone to lay their rose on the coffin, which is already buried under a heap of lilies, carnations, chrysanthemums, daisies, and several excited wasps. Taylor watches everyone as they approach the coffin, and she smiles at anyone who is crying.

Of course, she's invited back to the Gleason's house for the mercy meal, and so are all of her girlfriends. I jostle the phone in Rei's pocket to get his attention and he pulls it out, flips it open and holds it steady.

I'll stay with her.

"Okay. I'm heading to school. Let me know if you need me." He pockets the phone and walks off toward the school.

Taylor arrives at the Gleason's house and makes herself at home. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason have hired a caterer to set up a hot and cold buffet, and everything looks amazing, especially that steaming tray of lasagna, which I sniff longingly. Taylor offers to help pour soda at the bar, and I see her help herself to a few splashes of vodka in her Diet c.o.ke. Before Taylor took up residence in my body, I had never had anything with alcohol to drink, not even a sip of wine. Okay, I drank some vanilla extract once because it smelled really good, but I didn't know it had alcohol in it and it tasted so bad, I threw up, so I don't think it counts. I wonder how much vodka will get me embarra.s.singly drunk. Or worse.

Taylor takes her drink and sits on the plushy sofa next to Jason Trent, the same jock/jerk who nearly caused me to drop my lunch tray last week. He's a few inches taller than Rei, but bulky, with platinum blond hair, a ruddy complexion, and arctic blue eyes that stand out against his blond eyebrows and lashes. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I consider Rei's shoulders and arms to be well sculpted. Jason Trent just looks like he's been abusing steroids. I watched Jason hit on Taylor when she was pouring drinks, and now they are engaged in some sort of verbal foreplay. By the time dessert is set on the table, Jason's beefy hand is on her thigh. My thigh! I want to slap his hand right off his arm!

Taylor's cell phone rings at about three o'clock, and she pats Jason's hand twice before she has to take hold of it and manually lift it off her thigh to stand. She smiles at him in a way that looks ridiculous on my face as she sashays to the door to take the call outside. When I get close enough, I can hear it's Rei, calling to see if Taylor wants a ride to school with him in the morning. She looks amused by the call, but no, she's all set. Thanks, anyway. Maybe another time.

I'm in Rei's room less than a second later, and he still has the phone in his hand. He doesn't look all that surprised Taylor turned down his offer.

She's flirting with Jason Trent.

"Jason Trent?" Rei wrinkles his nose. "You're kidding!"

I wish I was. I desperately want to type Please don't let me lose my virginity to Jason Trent, but somehow that seems like too pathetic a plea to share with Rei right now.

He drums his fingers on top of his desk, thinking. "One of us has to stay with her, Anna, and she doesn't seem to want me anywhere near her or her friends."

Why? They think you're cute.

He shudders. "Okay, now you're scaring me."

Jason Trent is scaring me. He's touching my leg. Will you go beat him up for me?

I was hoping to get a smile out of that request, but now Rei just looks ticked off again. "Anna, if it looks like she's getting you into a bad situation, how can you let me know where they are?"

Jason has a white Jeep.

"Yeah, I know."

I'll know where she is. If you leave the computer, just keep your phone close by.

"Anna, you need to let me know before things get out of control. I'll need time to get to wherever she is, and I don't have the car. Maybe I should just go over now and make sure he leaves you alone."

As much as I wish Rei would go defend my honor and kick the stuffing out of Jason, it would not be a good thing. He's spent enough time in jail this week.

Not yet. I'll let you know if they leave together.

CHAPTER 26.

Jason has to be at work by five, which is a big plus for my virginity. Taylor and her friends pile into Cori's car to go someplace, but they can't decide which place. Taylor produces the half empty bottle of vodka from her backpack, which earns her a rowdy cheer from the girls. They drive around aimlessly for a while, drinking and arguing the merits of The House of Ting versus the food court at the mall.

Hey! How ironic would it be if they got pulled over and they ALL got arrested for underage drinking! I bet that would cheer up Rei considerably.

No such luck. Taylor and her friends end up at the mall where they clickety-clack around in their high heels, complain about their lack of spending money, and gossip. Until now, the gossip has been benign, mostly stuff like who said what about who, but there is the distinct sound of something splattering against the proverbial fan when they b.u.mp into Kyle Rupert, whose mom works at the only doughnut shop in Byers.

"Hey, how's Rei doing?" Kyle asks Taylor. "He must be p.i.s.sed!"

"He's fine. Why would he be p.i.s.sed?" Taylor asks suspiciously. Kyle is sort of a dork, and I'm surprised Taylor's group is tolerating him long enough to have a conversation with him.

Kyle looks baffled. "Oh, come on. You of all people should know; you're, like, his best friend." He leans in and whispers loud enough for the entire group to hear. "Because he got arrested? In New York? With Seth?"

Taylor and her girlfriends exchange a voracious look.

"I was with Taylor's family most of the day, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him. What exactly did you hear?" Taylor asks.

Kyle puffs up. "My mom heard from one of the cops that they arrested Seth in New York yesterday. His arraignment was this morning, and they're pushing the trial up to this Friday. And I heard that Rei was arrested with him in New York, but they didn't press any charges." Kyle looks a little confused. "You know, I really thought you'd know that, Anna. Hasn't the district attorney talked to you yet? Isn't Rei, like, really p.i.s.sed that you're testifying against Seth?"

Taylor's face is pinched. "We haven't discussed it," she says tightly. "What else happened in New York?"

Kyle shrugs. "That's pretty much what I know. I was kind of hoping you'd know more," he admits.

"No," Taylor glowers, "but I will know more soon."

She pushes the speed dial number on her cell phone so fast, I don't have time to warn Rei. I surge into view just as he checks the caller ID and picks it up. He looks right at me, but he's talking to the caller-two birds with one stone. "Hey, Anna."

The force of her voice drives the phone away from his ear. I get a look that clearly says, Thanks for the warning!

"Calm down!" he says into the receiver. "If you'd stop yelling at me, I'll be happy to explain." He squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose. "That's better. I was planning to tell you as soon as I saw you alone. Getting arrested isn't something I'm bragging about. n.o.body knows except my family and now you." He rolls his eyes. "Okay, and now Kyle, Cori, Mandy, Olivia, and Vienna. So much for damage control."

I don't know how Rei can stand that shrill voice so close to his eardrum.

"Yes, Seth's arraignment was today. Why didn't I tell you? Because it's an arraignment; it has nothing to do with you. They just read him the charges and he tells the judge he's not guilty ... Yes, I know you think he's guilty," he drums his fingers on the desk with a little more urgency. "Well, if they wanted you there, I'm sure they would have sent you a subpoena or something ... I don't know-I'm not a lawyer ... No, you can't come over right now-I'm in the middle of a project for school ... Tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow."

He hangs up the phone and leans back in his desk chair, groaning. "And what really sucks is I know I should spend more time with her, but the girl just makes my brain hurt."

I know what he means. I had planned to learn more about her so I could figure out her weak spots, but we've been too busy with Seth's situation. But now there's nothing more we can do for Seth until Friday, so I have no excuse.

It's time to know my enemy.

Rei smiles like a proud father. "So you do listen to me sometimes."

I listen to you a lot. I just don't always follow your suggestions.

Rei almost laughs. "No ... really?"

I have a suggestion of my own for him, but I don't want him to take it the wrong way. I just think he needs to spend more time with her, too, and there's only one way for him to do that.

Maybe it's time you bit the bullet and went on a date with her.

Rei hoots at this idea. "Me? On a date with Taylor Gleason? What, are you nuts?"

I look down my nose at him before I turn back to the keyboard. I'm allergic to nuts, remember?

"I was afraid it might come to this," Rei sighs. "Oh, well. Sun Tzu did say war is based on deception."

I never actually read The Art of War, so I'll take his word for it. I am sorry he feels so put out by the idea of dating Taylor, only because it's hard to feel that he's not rejecting part of me as well. I mean, it's still my physical body, even though it's infested with Taylor. On the other hand, I can't say I blame him. After what she's rumored to have done to the guy in New York and what she's actually done to Seth, who in their right mind would want to date her? I may as well just hand Rei a rope and a chair rather than suggest he go on a date with Taylor.

Never mind. I'm sorry I suggested it.

"But you're right. It's the only way I can keep an eye on her," he rationalizes. "Okay, you go hang out with her and learn what you can. I'm going to finish this project. And tomorrow, I'll play nice and ask her out."

Military strategy at its finest. I give him a thumbs-up and go off in search of the enemy.

Taylor has three messages waiting for her when she finally gets home from the mall. The first is from the district attorney. He wants to talk to her. The second is from Seth's attorney. He wants to talk to her. The third is from Jason Trent. I don't even want to guess what he wants.

The next morning, I tag along while Taylor rides to school with Cori. Taylor was the third-smartest girl in our junior cla.s.s, but now that she's in my body, I can't figure out if she's hampered by my less-than-brilliant brain or if she just can't be bothered to extend any effort on my behalf. Watching Taylor's academic inertia is boring. I can't take notes and I won't remember what Ms. Bannister is talking about anyway, so I hang around the back of the cla.s.s and look for ways to amuse myself. Just out of my reach, I see a pencil hanging halfway off a desk, and it makes me wonder if I'm confined to the shape of a body I no longer own. I stretch my invisible arm, farther and farther, until I reach the pencil and it drops to the ground.

Cool!

Sheets of paper, pens, anything I find light enough to maneuver, sail effortlessly off desks around the room while I hang out in the back corner orchestrating these shenanigans. Finally, Ms. Bannister walks over to the window and closes it.

I want to show Rei what I've learned. As soon as cla.s.s is over, I find him at his locker and watch him swap out notebooks and textbooks. He organizes everything just so in his backpack, then he heads for the cafeteria. Once he's settled at our table with his lunch and chemistry notes, I jiggle the phone in his pocket, and he nonchalantly takes it out and sets it on the table.

Ohai Ohai, he texts back. I thought you were bonding with her.

I'm taking a break.

Summoning just enough energy to text but not so much that I materialize in front of everyone else in the cafeteria is tricky. I also realize it's no fun to show him my new trick unless he can actually see me and judge the distance between me and my target.