Page 50 (1/1)

Already they were stiff and cold

It was too bad she was so fragile, he thought, as he drew back and glanced into her wide, glassy, unblinking eyes She could have been perfect She could have been the one

Chapter 14

VIOLET HATED THAT SHE’D SPENT SO MUCH TIME standing in front of theShe’d thrown on jeans and a T-shirt and then, second-guessing her choice, had changed out of the worn athletic T-shirt and slipped on a fitted top with tiny white buttons over a lace-trimmed tank top She wondered why it mattered Why she even cared what she looked like all of a sudden She was only visiting Rafe, after all

When she caught herself daubing gloss on her lips, she changed herherself as she ripped at the buttons on her shirt "Stupid Rafealwaysthe top on the floor, she snagged a zip-front hoodie off a hanger in the closet, causing it to swing violently on the wooden dowel "I shouldn’t even go see hi that stupid bike in the first place" She slipped her jacket on and yanked the zipper all the way up to her chin before checking herself in thecascades around her shoulders It looked wild and te the fevered expression in her emerald eyes "Perfect," she announced to her reflection as she picked up a piece of tissue and wiped her lips clean oncechain around her neck and rubbed the stone, the way she’d seen Krystal do with her own necklaces Black onyx, Krystal had told her, that’s what the stone was called It was a y shield

Violet didn’t feel any different, didn’t feel "shielded," but she liked having the stone, even if it was only because her friend had given it to her

Her mom had stopped her before she’dto be okay?" Her voice sounded weary, and Violet knew she shouldn’t have been surprised that Sara had already called

Violet kept her fingers on the doorknob, unsure why she was suddenly uncomfortable "That’s what they said They did an MRI and took soo home He’ll probably have to take it easy for a while"

"He’s lucky," she said "Ask your uncle Stephen, those things are dangerous" The way she said "those things"to ride a rabid bull than a legalthe sairl Ever since she’dherShe was seven at the tiuts to tell her parents that the real reason had nothing at all to do with riding motorcycles; she just wanted to be able to say she was a "Hell’s Angel"

"I know, I know," Violet insisted, lifting her hands in surrender "I think that video Uncle Stephen hway?--was enough to scare any kid into driving like a grandmother"

The sliver of a smile found her mother’s lips "Tell him I hope he feels better, ’kay, Vi?"

Violet set out of there, to not be talking about traffic safety with herabout Rafe

She hadn’t planned on stopping at the Center, but since it was on her way, and because she was feeling uncertain about going to Rafe’s, she found herself pulling into the small lot despite herself

Most of the businesses in the warehouse district were closed, lending it a strange, re the busy eek Since it was a Sunday, Violet hadn’t expected to see any cars in the lot, least of all Sara’s, so she was surprised to find the inition of her battered old Honda as she dug her keycard out of her purse and hurried up the steps of the building

Inside everything was quiet and dark All the hallway lights leading to the inner door of the Center had been turned off and there was a disquieting sort of cal to indicate that anyone else was inside the building, and Violet hesitated at the second secured entrance, her keycard poised above the black netic pad When she’d been issued the security card, Sara had insisted that the Center was available to her any tio as she pleased

Violet swiped the plastic card in front of the reader and when the green light flashed, she leaned against the door, shoving through it

"Sara?" Violet called out, but no one answered, and Violet wondered if Sara was actually around after all

The phone in her pocket vibrated and Violet ignored it It was probably just her friends again, wondering where she was and why she was avoiding theerator and pulled out a soda before wandering to Sara’s workspace, the only place that could actually be considered a real office in the Center, even though there wasn’t a real door to keep anyone out Sara’s coed, a slideshow of landscape i personal about the photos; Violet had seen these snapshots before They were preprograain, letting her fingers graze over the top of the polished desktop, as s in its place She bumped the mouse and the screen saver vanished, and Violet found herself staring at the desktop of Sara’s computer