Chapter 4: Troubling Behavior

The following day, I stood in the doorway to Mr. Patterson’s class. I attempted to act bored but casual as I scanned the hallway for any sign of Chloe. Jax and I had skipped morning classes so we could hunt—him because he was a glutton on a good day, and me because I needed to remain in control around Chloe. I had to keep my bloodlust at bay no matter what.

Then, I finally saw her. She stood near a wall of lockers with her new friends. They were chatting and giggling about something. A sleepover. Chloe looked only mildly interested. When her gaze landed on me, her heartrate spiked. Despite being several dozen feet away, I could hear the steady pounding of her heart. The sound was like a beacon, calling to me.

After a second, she glanced away, spoke to Ellie, then wandered off in the opposite direction. I wanted nothing more than to follow her, but that would be creepy. And regardless of what my brother said, I wasn’t a creep. I wasn’t a stalker, either.

I turned to go into the classroom when I saw Marc Johnson round the corner in the exact direction Chloe had gone. Something about that guy didn’t sit right with me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. My instincts forced me to follow a few steps behind, but when I turned the corner, he was gone.

I glanced behind me. No sign of Marc. What the hell? And then I heard a faint whimper followed by the slight crash of something hitting a metal locker. I picked up my pace. Only one thought dominated my mind: Chloe was in trouble. I nearly sprinted down the hall, and then I found her.

She was sitting on the floor, knees tucked to her chest, hands clamped over her ears. She rocked forward, and my eyes bulged. The salty smell of her tears ignited rage deep inside of me. I was going to kill whoever had harmed her.

“Chloe?”

She lifted her head and squinted. “Trent?”

“Are you okay? You’re trembling.” I kneeled beside her and rested my hand on her shoulder. What a stupid question. Of course she wasn’t okay. But I didn’t smell any blood or notice any visible wounds, so whatever was wrong with her wasn’t physical.

“I’m… I can’t… Did you see it?” She frowned.

“See what?” I fought to keep my voice soothing, but I couldn’t hide the worry from my tone.

She hesitated as if afraid to tell me what happened. Why? Was she worried about my reaction? Now, more than ever, I needed to know what was going on with her.

“Chloe, what did you see?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head and stood. Then she swayed on her feet.

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and hauled her against my chest. Every nerve in my body ignited with sudden, white-hot need, and I clenched my jaw to keep my fangs from protruding. Knowing she was my soulmate made he want her, but to now hold her like this? To know how perfect she felt? I was a goner.

“Whoa,” she whispered and inhaled deeply. “You smell good.”

I laughed.

She placed her hands on my biceps, and fresh need whipped through me. I needed to let go of her. Right now. Before I did something I’d regret. But I couldn’t make my body obey my brain, and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to anyway. Who knew if I’d ever get another opportunity to feel her in my arms like this, and she wasn’t exactly struggling to get away.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yes.” She licked her lips.

My eyes narrowed as my gaze dropped to her mouth for a fraction of a second before snapping back to her face. I absolutely refused to let my thoughts wander to the idea of kissing her. “Please tell me what happened. Why are you so frightened?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t know. I think I had a panic attack.”

My eyes shifted from blue to something darker, my vision dulling for a second before sharpening even more. My face hardened. Why was she lying to me? Didn’t she realize I was trying to help her? That I was genuinely concerned? Well, if she didn’t want my help, so be it. I released her.

“We’re late for class,” I said.

“I got lost trying to find the room.”

I had to have misheard her. “You got lost?” I raised a brow in disbelief. “It’s right there.” I pointed to a door a few feet away.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Seriously, what was going on with her right now? I opened the door and motioned for her to enter.

“You’re late.” Mr. Patterson gave both of us a disapproving look.

Ugh. This guy was a jerk. Who cared if we were late? Not like he or this class were going anywhere, and in the grand scheme of things, being tardy for a high school class wasn’t the worst thing in the world. In fact, it didn’t even make the list of terrible things.

“I’m sorry. I got lost,” Chloe said immediately.

I stood silently beside her. She hadn’t gotten lost, at least not in the sense of not knowing where to go. Something else had caused her to get lost and become disorientated, and I’d bet anything the reason was Marc Johnson. Now I just needed to figure out why.

“I know you’re both new here and still learning your way around, but there is plenty of time between classes for you to ask for directions if you need them.” Mr. Patterson crossed his arms. “You can both join me for detention today.”

Was this guy for real? Did he honestly think I was going to show up here and sit in this room for a solid hour simply because he said so?

“No,” Chloe said softly, clearing her throat. “I mean, it’s my fault Trent’s late. I was lost, and he helped me find my way. Please, don’t blame him.”

All eyes in the classroom shifted to Chloe, and I was no exception. I had to consciously force my jaw to stay shut as opposed to dropping with shock. Why on earth had she taken the blame like that? First, the reason she gave Mr. Patterson was a flat-out lie, and we both knew it—I was as late as she was. And second, I was a virtual stranger to her. She didn’t owe me any kindness, yet that’s exactly what she’d extended me.

Mr. Patterson’s gaze was heavy with anger. “Very well. I will see you in detention today then, Miss Madison.”

“Yes sir.” She nodded and made her way toward her seat in the back of the room.

I followed, my movements instinctual because my mind was still racing. I caught Jax glaring at Chloe, and I shot him a deadly look. He scowled right back at me. Other than harassing me about Chloe, he hadn’t voiced any real concerns about her. In fact, he’d said her aura was pure white. Which would explain why she’d taken both the blame and the punishment for me—she was a good person. Kind and compassionate, even to someone she barely knew.

I claimed the seat next to her, just like I had yesterday, and I faced the front of the room. I should say something to her. Thank you would be the appropriate response, but that sounded lame.

“So, to reiterate for our late comers, it’s time to start preparing for your year-end projects. This will be worth fifty percent of your grades, so take them seriously, folks.” Mr. Patterson made his way around the room and handed out a packet of papers. He stopped between mine and Chloe’s desks. “Since everyone else has already been paired up with partners, looks like you two will be working together on this.”

I stared down at the packet, fighting to hide my grin. Being paired with her on this project meant I’d get to spend more time with her.

He continued to hand out the packets as he moved between the desks. “For this project, you will be choosing a piece of Keene Valley history and writing a ten-page report on it. I expect all of your sources to be cited and at least one graphic to show something unique about your topic.” Mr. Patterson returned to the front of the room. “All topics need to be presented to me for approval before the end of class today.” He faced the class, his gaze sweeping the room as if he expected to catch us doing something wrong. “Okay, start brainstorming.”

Chloe’s deep breath snagged my attention, and she slowly turned in her chair. “I don’t know much about Keene Valley—”

“Why’d you do that?” I interrupted. Yeah, that was smooth. I should’ve stuck with thank you.

“Do what?”

“Lie for me.” Outside, the clouds shifted, and the sun shone brightly through the window. I’d forgotten to adjust my desk to avoid this. My vision blurred. I pulled my sunglasses from the collar of my shirt and slipped them on. “I didn’t need you to do that. I can handle this guy.”

“Are the lights too much for you, Mr. Halstead?” Mr. Patterson’s stern voice cut through the room. “Sunglasses off while you’re in my class.”

The muscle in my jaw ticked—this guy was going to be a pain in my ass—but I removed the glasses as instructed so as not to cause a scene.

Chloe stared at me. “Are you talking about the thing with the teacher?”

I nodded, my lips set in a firm line. Thankfully, the clouds shifted again, and the sun’s rays disappeared. I really needed to find a better seat or remember to adjust this one.

“I didn’t lie. It was the truth.”

“No, it wasn’t. I was already late when I found you in the hallway. I didn’t need you to cover for me. So, why’d you do it?”

I had no idea why I was pushing the issue. I should be grateful I didn’t have to show up for detention, but something deep inside my mind nagged at me. Did she have some sort of ulterior motive for getting me off the hook? That had to be what was going on because no one willingly accepted punishment like this.

“Because kindness is its own reward,” she mumbled, looking down at her desk and fidgeting with her pen. “That’s something my mom always used to say.”

“You’re really going to take detention for me?” My voice held so much wonder, and I wanted to kick myself. She was going to think I was a freak.

“Yes. Can we please pick a topic now?” she asked and flipped open her textbook.

I studied her, wishing I could see what Jax saw. All I wanted was a small peek at how white her aura was. Jax mentioned it had blinded him, and I didn’t doubt that. I had never met anyone as selfless as Chloe, and that fact that she was gifting me with some of that, with her kindness was simultaneously wonderful and worrisome. What if I hurt her? Not intentionally, of course, but vampires weren’t exactly known for their self-control.

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, her gaze still trained on the open book in front of her. If she was looking for information about Keene Valley, she wasn’t going to find it in that book, and if she did manage to find something, it probably wouldn’t be accurate.

“Fine. We’ll write about Benjamin Payne,” I said.

She scrunched up her nose in the most adorable way, and I wanted nothing more than to laugh as I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “Who?”

“He was the first person to put down roots in Keene. You could say he was the man who started it all.”

“Oh.” She jotted down the name in her notebook. “How do you know that?”

Shit. I really needed to be more careful about what I said when I was with her. “I like history.”

“Okay… But, if you’re new around here…?”

I should’ve known she wouldn’t accept my answer at face value; she wasn’t that type of girl. She was too smart, too intuitive. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to slip about something I couldn’t easily cover up.

“I like to read.” My tone was clipped. She continued to look at me, waiting, assessing. I sighed. “I like to read about the history of the places I live, okay?”

After a few too many tense seconds, she nodded. “Okay, we’ll write about this Ben guy.”

Thank God. Maybe now we could move on to something else. I raised my hand, and Mr. Patterson came right over. “We’ve decided to write about Benjamin Payne and his contributions to creating Keene,” I said.

Mr. Patterson smiled. “Approved.” Then he walked up to the white board and wrote down our chosen topic. “This topic is off limits,” he announced to the class.

Chloe closed her book at the same time the bell rang. Mr. Patterson reminded the rest of the class to pitch their ideas before they left, but I was out the door before he finished speaking.

Jax was hot on my heels, and he caught up to me at the end of the hall. He grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re showing up to class late, and then you walk in with her. What were you two doing?”

“Nothing, Dad,” I sneered, then rolled my eyes. “I found her in the hallway, all right? She was terrified and shaking, and I have no idea why.”

“Let me guess. You won’t rest until you find out why?” He shook his head. “You’re the perpetual knight in shining armor, aren’t you?”

“What the hell is your problem?”

Several students walking by slowed to watch our exchange, and I glowered at them. They quickly picked up their pace. When they were a sufficient distance away, I turned back to Jax.

“I told you. She’s pure white. And that spells trouble for us.” He crossed his arms.

“She’s not Hannah.”

Jax growled low in his throat. “Do whatever the hell you want, but so help me God, Trent, if you expose us…” He dragged his hand through his hair and shifted on his feet. “She’s going to break your heart, if you don’t destroy her first.” He pivoted on his heel and stormed off.

I let out a heavy breath and hung my head. Was Jax right? No, Chloe wouldn’t break my heart. At least, not intentionally. And I wouldn’t destroy her—I couldn’t. She was my soulmate. Then again, neither Jax nor I had intended to harm Hannah, either, and that’s exactly what we’d done.

Fear and dread landed like anvils in my chest. I didn’t have much time to dwell on that, though, because the sound of Abby’s voice drew my attention. She stood a few feet away talking with some girl I didn’t recognize, and she mentioned Chloe. I focused on them and their conversation.

“Yeah, Patterson gave her detention today. He’s such a jerk.” Abby laughed. “Anyway, she told me not to wait around for her because she’s gonna walk home. Wanna go to a movie after school?”

The other girl shook her head. “Can’t. I have to…”

I tuned them out. I now had information I didn’t know I needed, but I was going to take full advantage of it. No way was Chloe walking home today, not if I had my way. I rushed to my last class of the day and suffered through it in silence, then I walked casually toward Mr. Patterson’s room.

No surprise that Chloe was already there when I arrived. She struck me as a rule follower. I walked into the room like I had every right to be there.

Mr. Patterson straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you lost, Mr. Halstead?”

“No, sir.” I slid gracefully into the seat next to Chloe. “I was late to class, too, so it’s only fair I suffer through detention as well.”

Chloe wasn’t the only one who could do something nice. And if the way she was currently staring at me was any indication, she was shocked by my presence. I kind of liked knowing I could rattle her the same way she always rattled me.

“All right then.” Mr. Patterson sighed, a hint of approval in his expression. “You’re both free to work on whatever you’d like, but I strongly recommend you use this time wisely.” He went back around behind his desk and sat. Then he pointed at us. “No talking.”

While being close to Chloe was never a bad thing, sitting here for the next hour with nothing to do was pure torture. I really hadn’t thought this all the way through. I lowered my head and focused on the desk. When we got out of here, I was going to offer to give Chloe a ride home. Hopefully, she’d accept so I could have some uninterrupted time to talk to her. I needed to figure out a way to tell her about me. How did one broach that topic, though?

“Hey, I really like you, and oh, by the way, I’m a vampire.”

“Guess what, Chloe? You’re my soulmate, and I’m a vampire! Wanna let me claim you, so I don’t have to suffer alone for the rest of eternity?”

I had no idea how to tell her the truth, but I knew I had to, despite Jax’s threats. He’d get over it eventually. He’d have to, especially if things worked out with Chloe and she did let me claim her as my soulmate.

“All right, you two are free to go,” Mr. Patterson announced. “Let’s not make this a regular occurrence, okay?”

I rushed out of the room to wait for Chloe.