“Gemma?” Alex put his hand on her knee and leaned toward her. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking?”
There was no way she could look into his eyes. She couldn’t tell him what was really bothering her—that she was a murderer, and the best-case scenario was that she would be dead soon.
Gemma lowered her eyes. “There’s something I should tell you. ”
“You can tell me anything,” Alex said.
“I know, and I…” She swallowed hard, and she accidentally looked up at him. That’s what did it. As soon as she looked in his eyes, she lost all her nerve, and she blurted out, “I kissed someone else. ”
“What?” Alex’s face twisted in confusion, and his eyes flashed darkly, so Gemma hurried to explain. She didn’t know why she thought confessing that she’d kissed Sawyer would be the way to go. Clearly she’d panicked.
“It was an accident. No, I mean…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “It wasn’t an accident. I didn’t like him, though. I didn’t want to kiss him. It was … a siren compulsion thing. But almost as soon as I kissed him, I stopped. I didn’t want to hurt you. And I’ll never do it again. ”
“It was a siren thing?” Alex asked.
“Yeah,” Gemma said sheepishly. “That sounds like a cop-out. But for, like, five seconds, I wasn’t in control of my body. This weird … urge took over me, and I kissed this guy. But then I took back control of myself, and that was it. It meant nothing. I never would’ve done it if I wasn’t a siren. But I thought I should tell you. And I’ll understand if you hate me. ”
“Hate you?” Alex actually laughed at that. “Gemma, I could never hate you. ”
“Oh, I’m sure you could. ” She forced a smile at him and was surprised to find tears brimming in her eyes. “There are things I could do that would make anyone hate me. ”
“No, Gemma, listen to me. ” He moved to face her completely, so he had to kneel in front of her, and he took both her hands in his. “There’s nothing you can ever do that would make me stop caring about you. ”
“Alex, you don’t know…” She trailed off, because if she kept talking, she would cry, and she didn’t want to cry.
“I have known you for years,” Alex said. “You’ve always been kind, considerate, smart, determined, and stubborn. You have a good heart, and you’d never let anybody change you. That’s part of why I fell in love with you. ”
“What if I can’t stop it, though?” Gemma asked, wiping at her eyes. “What if the sirens are making me evil, and I can’t control it?”
“You can,” Alex insisted. “You’re too strong and too stubborn. You can fight this. We will beat them. Together. I promise you that, Gemma. ”
“You really think so?”
He nodded. “Yes, of course I do. ”
“And you’ve really fallen in love with me?” Gemma asked, and Alex smiled at that.
“You think I would’ve spent a week searching for you if I didn’t?” he asked.
She laughed a little. “No, I don’t suppose you would. ”
“I love you, Gemma,” he said softly.
“I love you, too. ”
She leaned forward, kissing him fully on the mouth, and wondered how much longer she’d be able to do that.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Logic
Harper hadn’t wanted to go to work, but as Gemma pointed out, it would probably be good if she still had a job when this was all over. Just because her sister was a siren didn’t mean that Harper’s car insurance payment wasn’t due or that she didn’t need to save up money for college.
She’d gotten scholarships for school, but it didn’t cover everything. Besides that, she didn’t have a job lined up yet for when she left. Not that she was even sure she was still leaving. If she didn’t go, she’d lose her scholarship, but it wasn’t like she could just abandon Gemma with all this supernatural danger going on.
Harper winced when she thought about leaving for school. She hoped everything with Gemma would be solved by then. But now Harper would have to leave behind Daniel, who was apparently her boyfriend now.
Even if the new title made her smile, it would only make it harder to leave him behind. Maybe she should’ve corrected him before he left after supper last night. They were obviously dating, but the “boyfriend” label might be too heavy of a commitment.
“Okay, what the hell is going on with you?” Marcy asked, snapping Harper out of her thoughts. “You look like you’re having a stroke over there. You wince, and then smile, then scowl. Are you schizophrenic?”
“No. ” Harper shot her a look. “I just have a lot on my mind. ”
“You didn’t need to come in today,” Marcy said. “I usually handle Saturdays by myself, and thanks to it being the Fourth of July tomorrow, the library isn’t its usual happening self. ”
Marcy gestured to the empty expanse of the library. Harper had been there for nearly two hours and had yet to see a single patron.
“Thanks, but I need the hours,” Harper said. “You can go if you want, though. ”
“I know. But then I’d have to be out there. ” Marcy shuddered as she pointed to the front window of the library.
The big glass pane that served as the storefront was partially blocked thanks to a massive poster explaining all the festivities going on over the weekend. But around that, Harper could see all the people walking by. Even Pearl’s across the street looked packed.
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“It’s not so bad. You could watch the parade,” Harper teased. “Or I think there’s an ice-cream social this afternoon. ”
“Gag me with a spoon,” Marcy muttered. “But that’s the kind of stuff you get a kick out of. You should be doing that. You and your sister should be eating ice cream socially. ”
“I don’t actually know what an ice-cream social is,” Harper said. “And Gemma is grounded, so that’s a no. ”
“You have other friends,” Marcy said. “Ask Alex or that Daniel fella. ”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Harper asked.
“You are cutting into my nap time, yes,” Marcy said. “But I’m just saying that if you want to go out and have a good time, you should. You’ve been stressing too much lately, and it’d be good for you to have some fun. ”
“Maybe. ” Harper chewed her lip, debating whether or not to tell Marcy about Daniel, before deciding just to go for it. “Daniel did ask me to go with him to the fireworks tomorrow night. ”
“Oooooo,” Marcy said. “Fireworks, eh? That sounds serious. ”
“Marcy. ” Harper groaned, but she was smiling and blushing.
“Oh, my god, look at you,” Marcy said. “It is serious. Are you and Mr. Tall Dark and Tattooed finally an item? Did you kiss each other with tongue?”
“Marcy!” Harper’s cheeks turned so red, she nearly matched Marcy’s sunburn. “It’s not … We haven’t kissed yet, but … You can’t ask me things like that. It’s weird when you say it. ”
“Should I toss my hair and chew bubble gum?” Marcy asked. “Would that make you feel more comfortable?”
“I don’t know. ” Harper waved her hands. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about it at all. ”
“Fine. ” Marcy leaned back in her chair. “So are you going with him tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. ” Harper shook her head. “I don’t think I should. With everything going on with Gemma, I don’t feel like I should leave her alone. ”
“Do you want me to go babysit her tomorrow so you can have a night on the town?” Marcy offered.
“No. My dad will be home, and Alex will be next door. ”
“So what’s the problem?” Marcy asked. “It sounds like she’s all set for babysitters. ”
“She is, but…” Harper trailed off and fiddled with a pencil on the desk. “I just don’t know how to stop the sirens, and they’re coming for her. ”
“Stab them through the heart and cut off their he
ads,” Marcy said. “I don’t know anything that can survive that. ”
Harper thought about it for a minute, then shook her head. “They turn into freaky giant bird-monsters. Who the hell knows what they’re capable of?”
“Well, stab them through the heart, and you’ll find out. ”
“That’s your advice?” Harper arched her eyebrow. “Stab them through the heart and see if it kills them?”
“No, my actual advice would be, stab them through the heart, run like hell, and hope it kills them,” Marcy corrected her.
“But what if it doesn’t kill them?”
“Then you have one really pissed-off freaky giant bird-monster after you,” Marcy said matter-of-factly.
“That’s not very comforting,” Harper replied.
“It wasn’t supposed to be. You want comforting, talk to your boyfriend or your dad or Gemma. You want the truth, talk to me. ”
“What if they’re unstoppable?” Harper asked.
“For thousands of years, the T. rex thought it was unstoppable. Then a giant rock came, and boom!” Marcy snapped her fingers. “He’s not the king of the world anymore. ”
“I don’t have a meteor, and if I did, that would kill more than just the sirens,” Harper said.
“My point is that nothing is unstoppable, and the T. rex wasn’t as great as he thought he was. I mean, what were those little arms for?” Marcy pulled her arms back into her sleeves, so her hands made short imitation T. rex arms, and she wiggled them back and forth. “What an idiot. ”
“The dinosaurs weren’t as smart as they thought they were. ” Harper leaned forward on the desk. “Maybe that’s it. ”
“If he fell over, how did he get back up?” Marcy continued to wiggle her hands. “Those little arms weren’t doing anything. ”
“Maybe we can’t kill them,” Harper said, ignoring Marcy’s dinosaur impersonation. “But maybe we can outsmart them. ”
“How?” Marcy asked, and finally pushed her arms all the way out of her sleeves.
“I don’t know. But they’re still partially human. ” She turned to face Marcy. “Maybe we can reason with them and work something out. ”
“Hey, anything’s possible. ” Marcy shrugged. “Except for a T. rex doing push-ups. That just isn’t happening. ”
“Oh, my gosh, Marcy, you have a one-track mind,” Harper said, and got up from the desk to find some actual work to do.
“I have a one-track mind?” Marcy scoffed. “We spend every day talking about sirens, but I want to spend an afternoon talking about the T. rex and his ridiculous appendages, and I have a one-track mind?”
“You’re right. ” Harper paused, unable to tell if Marcy was actually annoyed or just pretending. “I’m sorry. We can go back to talking about the T. rex. ”
“Good. Because yesterday I read 1001 Exciting Facts About Dinosaurs while you were gone,” Marcy said. “And today I plan on sharing all of them with you. ”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Fireworks
It still didn’t feel right. Gemma had reassured Harper a hundred times that she’d be fine, and Harper had talked to Alex, who told her he’d be right next door keeping watch on the house. Plus, Brian was in the living room, watching an Indiana Jones marathon on TV.
So it wasn’t like Harper was leaving Gemma unguarded. Still, when Daniel knocked on the door, Harper almost told him that she couldn’t go. But Gemma all but pushed her out of the house, insisting that Harper have a nice time on her date.
Most of the Fourth of July festivities were being held in the park in the center of town, but the fireworks were shot off over the bay. So as the day drew to a close, most of the activity moved over to the beach. The grassy area that ran along next to it was filled with concession stands that sold alcohol, food, and glow sticks and bracelets.
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Parking anywhere near the beach would be impossible, so Daniel and Harper had decided to walk from her house down toward Anthemusa Bay. The sun was setting when Daniel arrived to retrieve her, and the fireworks were set to go off at twilight.
“So,” Daniel said as they walked down the street.
Neither of them had said much since they’d left her house. In fact, Harper hadn’t really said anything to him, other than “Hello” and “Yes” when he asked if she was ready to go.
“Yep. ” Harper smiled up at him, then quickly looked away.
“You wore your hair down today. ”
“Yeah. ” She self-consciously ran her hand through her long dark hair. “I wanted to do something different. ”
“It looks nice,” Daniel assured her. “You look nice. ”
“Thank you. ” She smiled.
“How did you wanna do this?” he asked.
“What?” Harper lifted her head, instantly afraid she’d misunderstood something.
“Watching the fireworks,” Daniel said. “I thought maybe we could take my boat out and watch them from there. ”
“Like out in the water?” Harper asked.
“That’s generally where I take my boat,” Daniel said. “In fact, my boat spends most of the time in water. But I was thinking we’d take it a bit farther out in the bay. ”
“Won’t that be all crowded with other boats doing the same thing?” she asked.
“Probably,” he allowed. “But not quite as crowded as the beach. ”
They were still a couple blocks from the bay, and they could already hear the noise of the crowd. Every year, while the fireworks went off, a small orchestra played instrumental music. They’d apparently started, and the works of John Williams were echoing through the town. Even still, Harper could hear people laughing and talking over the music. The crowd was going to be intense.
“I don’t know. ” Harper stared down at her flip-flops as she and Daniel continued toward the bay. “I think I’d rather stay on land. ”
“Are you afraid to be alone on my boat with me?” Daniel asked. “Because I promise to be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor. ”
“No, that’s not it,” she said with a laugh, but that was part of it.
The larger part, however, was that she wanted to be closer to her sister if something happened. Being way out on the water, in a boat that had stalled out on her once before, didn’t sound ideal.
“Well, this is your date,” Daniel said. “So if you want to watch fireworks from the beach, then the beach it is. ”
“This is my date?” Harper asked. “Not ours? Just mine?”
“Yep. ” He grinned down at her. “I’m all yours for the night. ”
As they got nearer to the bay, the conversation got easier between the two of them. The awkward date jitters began to wear off, thanks in large part to Daniel. He had a way of making her feel at ease. Or at least he had a way of teasing her until she forgot to be uptight.
The beach was packed, but not unbearably so. They checked out the booths that were set up on the grass first. Most of them sold food or beer, and Daniel offered to buy both for Harper, but she declined. He did buy her a glow-in-the-dark bracelet, even though she insisted it was silly, though she secretly wanted one.
They stopped to watch a juggler. He wore a black-and-white harlequin getup, and he juggled color-changing light-up balls. In the fading light, this became more impressive, especially when he kept tossing more up into the air.
Harper clapped along with the crowd when the juggler threw the flashing lights even farther up into the sky, but she caught a glimpse of something else when she looked up. Three birds were circling above them.
In the dim light, it was hard to make them out precisely, but their wingspan appeared much larger than that of an ordinary bird. She couldn’t tell exactly how high they were in the sky, but as Harper squinted at them, she was certain they were too big to be regular birds.
“What’s the matter?” Daniel asked. He leaned down, almost speaking in her ear, so she’d hear him ove
r the crowd and the nearby band.
“Those birds. ” She pointed up at the sky, and glanced back at him. “Do they seem too big to you?”
“Are they ravens?” Daniel asked.
When Harper looked back, the sky had filled with a small flock of black birds. The three birds that she thought she’d seen before had either flown away or gotten lost in the flock. Either way, she couldn’t see them anymore.
“Never mind. ” She shook her head. “I’m probably just being paranoid. ”
“That does sound like you. ” He smiled at her, then took her hand in his. “Come on. Let’s go find a place to sit before there aren’t any more places. ”
As Daniel led her away, weaving through the crowd toward the beach, Harper tried to still the butterflies in her stomach. She’d held hands with guys before, and this wasn’t even the first time Daniel had taken her hand.
But something about this felt different. It was knowing that this meant something more. He linked his fingers through hers, and her heart nearly skipped a beat. She felt like a silly little girl again, but she couldn’t help it.
She was too busy thinking about how rough his skin felt against hers to pay attention to where she was going, and she nearly tripped over someone sitting on a blanket. To squeeze by the people, she had to walk among a few cypress trees, letting her free hand run along the bark of a tree as she walked by.
“Be careful,” Daniel said, apparently assuming that she was using the trees to steady herself. “That’s why I got you the glow bracelet. So you can see where you’re going. ”
“Glow bracelets don’t give off as much light as you’d think. They’re more decorative than functional. ”
“Ah, I understand now,” Daniel said, taking her wrist in his hand. “That makes so much sense. ”
She turned to smile up at him, leaning back against the tree behind her, and he let go of her wrist. She thought they’d start walking away, but he moved closer to her. One of his hands was on the tree trunk next to her, the other rested warmly on her waist.
A strange smile played on his lips, and he shook his head.
“What?” Harper asked.
“I just wish you weren’t so beautiful,” he replied simply.
She laughed. “That’s a strange thing to wish. ”
“Well, it’s true. ”
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“And why is that?” she asked. She could feel him leaning down to her, his body pressing against her.
“Because I didn’t want it to happen like this. Or at least not here, like this, with people swarming around us, against a tree,” Daniel said. “But you look so, so beautiful, and I just can’t resist. ”
“You didn’t want what to happen like this?” Harper asked softly, but she already knew.
His lips were nearly touching hers when he said, “The first time I kissed you. ”
Then he was kissing her, and everything else went silent. Harper put her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, and he kissed her deeply, pushing her against the tree behind her. Daniel had a bit of stubble, and it scraped against her skin as he kissed, but she loved the way it felt.
It ended far too quickly, with Daniel pulling away, while Harper leaned against the tree, struggling to catch her breath. It was probably for the best, since there were people everywhere, and she didn’t want to make out in front of everybody.