Lauren (Keegan's Chronicles Spin Off)

  “I don’t think there is proper etiquette for telling someone you think their boyfriend is going to use them to kill people.” Keegan rolled her eyes.

  “This is true. But there are ways to go about it gently, and telling her that the man she loves is a ‘mass murderer’ is not the right way.”

  “I guess I’ll know that next time,” Keegan said sarcastically.

  “Look, we can’t fight about this. It isn’t helping.” Anna sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. “We need to find a way to make her believe us.”

  “Let’s give her a few moments to calm down and then try again. I’m going to get some cereal, you want some?” Keegan stood up and walked over to the cabinets.

  “Nah, I lost my appetite.”

  “Suit yourself,” Keegan warned, pulling a box of Fruit Loops from the cabinet over the fridge, “but you might need your energy later. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know.”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve been spending too much time with your husband.”

  Keegan laughed. “You know I’ve always liked to eat.”

  “True.”

  After she poured a bowl and topped it off with milk, Keegan took her bowl to the living room.

  Anna was sprawled on the couch, an arm thrown across her eyes.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Keegan told her, crunching into her first bite of cereal as she peered out the window. Anna didn’t answer, which was fine by Keegan—she didn’t really know what else to say.

  She looked down at the traffic moving slowly down the street, at the people hurrying down the sidewalks as if they hadn’t a care in the world beyond getting to their destination.

  They don’t have to save their friends from danger, Keegan thought. She leaned her head against the glass, still munching on her breakfast, and tried to think of something she could say or do to convince Lauren.

  Anna rapped sharply on Lauren’s door. “Come on. Let us in.”

  “Go away.” Something thudded against the door.

  “Stop throwing things. You don’t mean that,” Keegan called. “I overheard Tristen talking to some girl last night.”

  They could hear some shuffling, then the door swung open. Lauren’s eyes were red-rimmed, and her nose was bright pink. “What are you talking about? What girl?”

  “Can we come in? I think you should be sitting for this,” Anna said softly.

  Lauren stood back so they could enter. The room was dim with the curtains drawn; they could barely see the pile of crumpled white tissues in the center of the huge four-poster bed. Keegan sat on the edge of Lauren’s mattress, brushing away a stray tissue. Anna sat beside her, but Lauren stayed standing with her arms across her chest.

  “What girl?” she repeated.

  “I don’t know her name,” Keegan started. “She was tall, thin, and beautiful, but that’s not the point. I saw them leaving, so I followed them.”

  “Why?” Lauren asked shortly.

  “I wanted to see what he was up to. I thought maybe he was cheating on you or something.”

  Lauren cringed. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  Anna and Keegan exchanged a look, and Keegan went on. “He’s not, but you know how nosey I am. The two obviously don’t like each other very much. I guess she’s sleeping with his dad—gross.”

  “So what did you hear?” Lauren demanded.

  “They said they were going to use your power for something next week. Tristen wasn’t very nice to the girl.”

  Lauren’s body visibly relaxed. “Is that it? How do you get mass murder from that? Tristen always asks me to use my power for stupid stuff.”

  Keegan shook her head. “You didn’t hear the way he was talking. He also said that you weren’t ready, and he had to try to find a way to convince you, because you were a self-righteous light fairy.”

  Lauren inhaled sharply. “You must have heard wrong. He would never say that about me. Maybe he was joking.”

  “He wasn’t joking. He was pissed. I thought he was going to hit the girl.”

  Lauren shook her head hard. “No. It has to be a mistake. Tristen would never use me.”

  “That’s not all,” Anna said softly.

  Lauren’s eyes darted to Anna’s face. “I don’t want to hear it,” she said stubbornly.

  Anna stood up and walked towards her. “You have to listen. You don’t have to believe us, but you at least have to know what I saw. After that, it’s up to you to decide.”

  Lauren wiped away a tear and squared her shoulders to brace herself for whatever Anna was going to tell her. “Tell me.”

  “I scried last night. I saw a plane crashing, trains colliding, and people screaming.”

  “Why do you think this has anything to do with Tristen? Or me for that matter? Tragedies happen all the time.”

  “Could you bring a plane to the ground if you wanted? Or cause trains to crash?”

  Lauren fell silent for a moment, and the color drained from her already pale skin. “I’m not a weapon,” she choked out.

  “But could you be?” Keegan asked, sitting up straighter on the bed.

  “I-I don’t know. Technically, yes, I guess I could do those things. But why in the world would I? My power can’t be used by anyone but me, and I sure as hell won’t be hurting innocent people.”

  “Scrying just shows possible outcomes,” Anna assured her. “Hopefully, now that you are aware of what is possible, we have prevented anything evil from happening.”

  Lauren held up her hands. “I know you guys think I’m stupid, but I’m going to give Tristen the benefit of the doubt. This was probably a big misunderstanding. I’ll talk to him about it tonight.”

  “No!” Keegan and Anna yelled at the same time.

  “You can’t tell him,” Keegan said, her blue eyes worried. “You don’t want to believe us, that’s fine. But don’t let on that you know anything. It could really put you in danger if we’re right.”

  Lauren pursed her lips. “I need to think. I’m going for a run.”

  Anna and Keegan left the room so Lauren could get changed. The soft click of her door shutting behind them sounded thunderous in the silence that followed their conversation.

  Anna groaned. “I knew she wasn’t going to believe us,” she hissed as they moved away from Lauren’s door and headed for the living room.

  “I think she does, she just doesn’t want to admit it yet,” Keegan said. She picked up her coffee mug from the coffee table and made a face; it was cold. “I’m sure there have been signs that Tristen isn’t what he appears to be.”

  “I don’t know.” Anna fell onto the couch. “It’s hard to believe someone you love could be evil.”

  Moments later, Lauren passed through the living room without a word, slamming the front door behind her.

  Her head spun as she took the stairs at a quick jog. There was no way that Tristen would ask her to abuse her powers, especially to hurt people! He wasn’t evil. He’d never been evil.

  But a little voice in the back of her mind reminded her of all the ‘tests’ he had done on her gifts. And the way he jokingly pushed her to cheat on her exams.

  Lauren broke into a hard sprint as soon as she passed through the front doors of her apartment building. She thought of all the times Tristen had flown off the handle for no reason. As much as she hated to admit it, there were times his temper had truly scared her.

  She loved him so much that her heart felt like it was breaking at even the mere possibility that her friends could be right. There had to be a plausible explanation. Maybe Anna saw an impending terrorist attack, and it had nothing to do with Tristen, and Keegan didn’t understand what she heard at the party.

  A trickle of sweat ran down the side of Lauren’s face, bringing her back to reality. She came to a sudden stop and glanced around. She hadn’t even been paying attention to what she was doing. She was lucky she didn’t get struck by a car! She had crossed at least three streets to make it th
is far.

  She wanted to pull her hair and scream. What was going on? Why was this happening to her?

  Chapter 17

  “Calvron, we have a huge problem.” Anna’s voice shook a little, even as her old friend’s voice gave her a sense of comfort. She quickly filled him in on what they had learned, first relating the story of Keegan overhearing the conversation and then Anna’s visions.

  He cursed under his breath. “I knew that guy was trouble. He’s been sucking the life out of Lauren since the day they met. It’s like she’s a shadow of who she used to be. She was too stubborn to listen to me.”

  “That bad?” Anna gulped. “I guess I didn’t really notice. I’ve just been so happy to see her.”

  “She’s a mess. You haven’t been around to see it,” Calvron said. “The other guys have noticed too.”

  “What are we going to do?” Anna stared out the window, the phone clutched tightly in her hand. Lauren had been gone for a while.

  “I’m not sure. I’m going to look into some things and get back to you.” He paused. “Don’t let Lauren be alone with him.”

  Anna hung up the phone and turned to Keegan. “He says we shouldn’t let Lauren spend any time alone with Tristen. Somehow I doubt that’s going to be as easy as it sounds. Maybe we can convince her to go away for a few days with us?”

  Keegan tapped a finger to her lip as she stared at the wall, thinking. “You know, that is a good idea. Why don’t we convince her to go to Lake Tahoe? I’ve never been and always wanted to check it out. It’s a legitimate request.”

  “Genius!” Anna clapped. “Hopefully, she comes back from her run soon. You don’t think she’ll contact him, do you?”

  Keegan looked stricken. She jumped to her feet and looked around. “I didn’t think of that. Did she take her phone?”

  As Keegan raced around the living room, Anna looked on the kitchen counter, and then ran to Lauren’s bedroom. She looked on the dresser and bedside table, but Lauren’s phone wasn’t on either. Great. She got on her hands and knees and looked under the bed, and noticed Lauren’s purse resting on the floor on the other side. She knew she shouldn’t, but Anna peeked inside anyway. Nothing.

  “Find it?” Anna called as she left Lauren’s bedroom.

  “No!” Keegan sounded dejected. “I think it’s really gone.”

  Anna made her way to the bathroom, even though it seemed like a long shot. Lauren’s phone sat on the counter next to her curling iron.

  “It’s in the bathroom,” Anna yelled, relief in her voice.

  Keegan appeared in the open doorway, a hand pressed to her chest. “We’re not very good babysitters.”

  Anna took a deep breath, her heart rate slowing. “You know what you need to do.”

  Keegan backed away. “Uh-uh. No.”

  “Keegan,” Anna said firmly, following her best friend down the hall. “Call your brother.”

  Back in the living room, Keegan sat in an armchair and propped her feet up on the coffee table. “You know he can’t tell us anything. Seer code and all that.”

  “He might be tempted to break the rules with so many lives at stake,” Anna argued, taking a seat on the couch.

  Keegan’s phone vibrated in her pocket, the buzz audible in the silent apartment. She reached in her jeans and extracted it, and then shook her head, a small smile flitting across her face. “Speak of the devil.”

  Keegan passed the phone to Anna to read the message. There’s nothing I can do. Lauren is the only one that can change the outcome.

  “Your brother can be creepy. Do you think he can hear our conversations?” Anna laughed nervously and looked around.

  “I don’t think so, but I guess he can tell we’re thinking of him.”

  You’re not much help, Keegan typed back.

  Miss you, too.

  Keegan smiled and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “I really do miss my brother,” she told Anna. “Not that I’d admit that to him.”

  Lauren burst through the door, her face flushed and her tank top drenched in sweat. She spared a single look for her friends, and snapped, “Don’t talk to me.” Then she strode down the hallway to her bedroom, her ponytail swishing, and slammed the door.

  “At least her phone’s in the bathroom.” Anna waggled her eyebrows, trying to make light of the situation.

  They heard the click of Lauren’s door opening and she came out, passing them once more as she stepped into the bathroom. She didn’t even look at them as she walked back by, her phone in hand, and slammed her bedroom door again.

  “You spoke too soon,” Keegan remarked drily.

  Anna wrinkled her nose, ignoring her. “Is it just me or has there been a lot of door slamming today?”

  Keegan suddenly gasped, lurching to her feet. “We can’t let her call him, Anna.”

  They hurried down the hall and threw themselves at Lauren’s door, both of them banging with both hands.

  “Lauren! We need to talk to you!” Keegan called over the sound of their knocking.

  “I don’t want to talk!” she yelled back irritably.

  “Just for a minute, then you can kick us out,” Anna compromised, grabbing Keegan’s hands to cease her knocking. “We have an idea, and I think you’ll like it.”

  They were met with silence. Keegan raised an eyebrow at Anna and mouthed, “An idea?”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “Tahoe, Keegan,” she whispered.

  After a couple of moments, Lauren mumbled, “Come in.”

  Or at least they thought she said that. They exchanged confused glances, but then shrugged. It was good enough for them.

  Lauren lay sprawled on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Her arms were spread out to her sides, and the phone dangled loosely from her fingertips.

  Keegan sat down on the bed next to her. “What if we go to Lake Tahoe for the rest of vacation?”

  Lauren didn’t acknowledge her. She hadn’t even changed out of her running clothes.

  Keegan tried again. “If you’re not around, Tristen can’t use your gift. Plus, it will be fun! We’ll just hang out and go hiking.”

  “Yeah, Lauren,” Anna said gently. “What do you say?”

  Lauren could hear how concerned her friends were, and she wished it didn’t annoy her so much. They were just trying to help, but she really didn’t buy the fact that Tristen would hurt innocent people—let alone by using her. He loved her.

  “I don’t want to leave.” She knew she sounded like a toddler. She really didn’t care. If what they were saying was true, she didn’t know how she would be able to handle it. She wanted to be in complete denial about it all.

  “Why not? If we’re wrong, then it’s no big deal. If we’re right, you could save countless lives,” Anna remarked.

  Lauren leaned up on one elbow to argue, and then plopped back down on the bed, her eyes on the ceiling. They had a point. And when she told Tristen she was going out of town, she should be able to gauge his reaction—if he got oddly upset about it, it could mean something. Something she didn’t want to believe. He always seemed to be upset lately, though, so maybe that wasn’t a good indicator.

  “I think we should leave right now,” Keegan said eagerly. “Just throw some things in a bag, and we can jump in your car and hit the road.”

  “I’m not leaving without seeing Tristen,” Lauren said hotly, then felt bad when Keegan cringed.

  “Why?” Anna asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “He would know something was up if I did that,” Lauren answered. They weren’t going to get her to budge on the issue.

  Anna and Keegan exchanged a worried glance.

  “Don’t worry,” Lauren said with a harried sigh. “I won’t mention your crazy accusation of him causing mass destruction. I need to see his reaction about me leaving for Lake Tahoe so that I can prove you guys wrong. This is all beyond ridiculous.”

  Anna leaned her head against the bedpost. “Calvron said you shouldn’t be alone with him.” r />
  “Calvron is getting on my last nerve. Why did you even talk to him about this? This is just what he needs—more ammunition to hate Tristen.” Lauren flopped over and buried her head in the bed covers. She wished everyone would just leave her alone. It was her life.

  “Can you tell him on the phone? Or have him come here so at least we’ll be with you?” Keegan pleaded.

  Lauren mulled it over for a few moments. “I guess I’ll call him, but you guys need to get out. And don’t listen at the door either.”

  Keegan’s weight disappeared from the bed, and Lauren turned to watch as they made for the door.

  “You’re doing the right thing.” Anna gave a sad half-smile before she walked out. “Honestly, I hope we’re wrong, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  Chapter 18

  Lauren picked up her phone and stared at his name for what seemed like forever before she finally hit the call button. The phone rang three times and, finally, Tristen’s deep voice came over the line. “Hello.”

  Lauren’s heart dropped to her toes. She had no idea how to approach the subject. His attitude lately had just been so…

  “Lauren, are you there?”

  She cleared her throat. “Yeah, sorry. I dropped the phone.” That excuse sounded better than, I’m sorry, I was terrified of your reaction.

  Lauren braced herself, weighing her words. Please let this all be a huge mistake.

  “How was your day?” She groaned inwardly. Could she sound any lamer?

  “The usual. How about you? I can’t wait to see you.”

  “I miss you, too.” Lauren bit her lip. She just had to say it. There was no way to tiptoe around it. “The girls want to take the rest of the week and spend it at Lake Tahoe,” she said in a rush. She hoped her voice didn’t give away her nervousness.

  Tristen line was quiet for a moment. “I see.”

  Lauren took a deep breath before she continued. “I know you’re busy at work, so I didn’t think you would mind too much. Keegan’s never been. She really wants to go.”

  There was another beat, and then, “Okay.”

  “You don’t mind?”