“Anyway, I’m going to finish my double major and see what happens. Maybe I can land a job close to home for a newspaper or something that I do not own and he’ll be less upset about the entire thing.” I sighed. “Or I can win the lottery and not depend on him anymore, but that’s looking unlikely.”
“How often do you play the lotto?”
“Never.” I laughed, breaking a tiny piece of bread and throwing it at him as he laughed. Our food came quickly and we both dug in. It was tapas style, so everything we got was shareable and in the center of the tiny table.
“How’s your brother doing?” he asked after a long moment of silence.
“He’s . . . the same.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s hard on you.”
“It is.” I lifted my napkin to dab the side of my mouth. “Honestly? I’m trying not to think about it because when I do, I feel like I’m going to break down.”
“Well, I’m here.” He slid a hand to my side of the table and set it on mine. “As a friend.”
“Hands to yourself, Paper Boy.”
I jumped. Max’s hand disappeared quickly, but he frowned at Logan. “I thought she told you to let us eat in peace.”
Logan slid closer to me, so close that not even the small shield between us stood a chance. My heart jumped to my throat. I wasn’t sure if he meant to start a fight or not, but I knew that even though he’d been quietly eating his food, he was obviously still drunk. I put my hand on his, pressing down hard. It was futile, my hand was tiny over his, but his gaze snapped to mine nonetheless.
“Please stop,” I whispered, a plea. I didn’t make it a habit to beg people to do things, but Max didn’t deserve Logan’s wrath, not when he was so nice and he’d gone out of his way to bring me here. I pinched Logan’s hand. I kept my voice low, “Logan. Seriously. Please.”
“Yeah.” He shook his head, taking his hand from under mine. “I have to go.”
Without preamble, the three girls he was with stood, readjusting their clothing and tossing their hair before they started walking. Logan moved his table slightly, squeezed out between the two tables and followed. He didn’t say another word, didn’t look at us again, and didn’t bother to look back. I watched as he put his arms around two of the girls and strolled out. I wasn’t sure what was worse—having him sitting beside me, being rude to Max or watching him leave with those girls while my heart felt like it was cracking a little. It was stupid, of course. So, so stupid. I obviously had a crush on him, but I shouldn’t care what he did or who he did it with.
“Well, that was eventful,” Max said, breaking into my thoughts.
“Yeah.” I blinked at him. “I’m sorry. He’s obviously a mean drunk.”
“I don’t think it’s that.” He chuckled. “He obviously likes you.”
“He was on some sort of orgy date. He left with them and I’m pretty sure they’re not going to go home and talk about the food.” I glanced over at their table. “I don’t even think the girls had food.”
“Orgy date or not, Fitz likes you.” Max shrugged. “And all I can say is, be careful.”
“Because he’s a player?”
“Eh, I mean, yeah, that too.”
“Uh oh, are you going to bring up a Reddit form you read?”
He laughed. “I should’ve never told you I go on there.”
“Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’ve ended up there once or twice.” I shrugged, still smiling.
“I can’t even tell you the things discussed about him on Reddit because it wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Women have wild imaginations.”
“Actually, I think a lot of them are men.” His eyes crinkled as I laughed. “Either way, I’m staying mum about that. If he finds out that I’m the reason you’re not giving him a chance, he’s going to beat me up and not answer any of my questions for the paper,” he said. “You know what is on Reddit though? New Lana Ly stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” I sat forward in my chair.
“More conspiracies. There’s a rumor one of the secret societies is using girls as sacrificial lambs.”
“That’s far-fetched.” I scoffed. “I’m sure the cops would’ve caught them by now.”
“True.” He shot me a look. “Like I said, conspiracy.”
“Who did the cops question, anyway?” I asked. “They’d said they had a suspect.”
“If you ask me, the suspect thing was all bullshit. They arrested some guy from around here, Deacon somebody, and let him go after twenty-four hours.” He shook his head. “They should’ve been questioning other people.”
“Like who?” I finished my sangria.
Max stayed silent for a long moment before finally meeting my gaze. “Definitely Fitz. Logan Fitzgerald.”
Chapter 13
There was another envelope in front of my door when I got home. I picked it up quickly, looking from side to side, as if someone was going to run out here and snatch it, or worse, snatch me. I walked inside quickly, locking the door behind me and tearing the side of the envelope. This time, the card had a post-it on it that read: TOMORROW. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST. The instructions were the same otherwise. A drawing of an octopus tentacle on the front with the words: YOU’VE BEEN SUMMONED. On the other side: 900 Stewart Avenue. 12 am. It was ten o’clock now. Tomorrow. It wasn’t that I was inclined to go to random places by myself at that time of night, but I wanted answers. Why’d they keep sending this to me, and why did my brother have one that looked like a credit card, with a series of numbers in the back and his name etched in the front? I looked at the one in my hand again and decided I’d go. The only thing I had planned tomorrow was the orientation I’d missed when I was back home visiting Lincoln.
The wind picked up as I walked, and I wrapped my coat tighter around myself. It was way too early to be walking to campus. Too dark, too early, and too cold, especially without the cup of coffee that I had to forfeit because I didn’t want to be late. Now, I had a killer headache, my chest was tight, even after four pumps of the inhaler, and I was grouchy. I pushed the button at the crosswalk and shifted from foot to foot, waiting for little walker to appear on the other side, alerting me that I could cross. Loud cawing got my attention. I glanced at the park across the street, my eyes on the perfectly dark shapes of the sycamore trees. The cawing got louder. I kept staring, wondering where the birds were. I couldn’t see them from here. A church bell rang in the far-off distance, and suddenly the birds flapped their wings. A murder of crows lifted from the tree branches, leaving them bereft of shapes, and began to fly in my direction all at once. There seemed to be hundreds of them, thousands. I held my breath, held my coat tighter, as if it would somehow shield me from their attack. I crouched, on instinct, holding both arms over my head and shutting my eyes tightly. When the cawing quieted, not much, but a little, I peeked over my arm. Some of them were still flying around, but most seemed to be perched on the electric wire that hung from one street light to the next. The crosswalk gave me right of way. I stood quickly and jogged to the other side, heart pounding in my ears.