Keeper(34)

“It happened, all right,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. The pain in my body was proof. “I have no idea what to do.” I looked over at Ty. “You think we’re crazy, don’t you?”

“Not at all.” His voice was soft but certain.

“So you’re telling me that some girl you barely know just told you she’s seeing ghosts and getting attacked by evil trees, and you’re not even the slightest bit skeptical?”

Ty shrugged. “Not everything in the world makes sense.”

That certainly wasn’t the answer I’d expected. I stared at him for a moment, not sure what to think. “Well . . . thanks for what you did—helping me back there.”

“You saved my life, remember?” He gave me a half smile. “I figured I owed you one. Besides, it’s not every day I get to hold a pretty girl in my arms—even if she is screaming in my face.”

A flush warmed my cheeks. “Sorry about that.”

Ty waved his hand. “No apologizing. Aside from a few claw marks, I came out relatively unscathed.

“Claw marks?”

Ty smiled sheepishly and pulled up the hem of his shirt. His lower abdomen was covered in angry, red lines.

“Holy crapkittens, Styles.” Maggie’s head bobbed between the seats. “You put my cat to shame, and that’s saying something. Frodo Fluffkins is as ornery as they come.”

“Oh my God.” I covered my face with my hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“No apologies, remember?” Ty pulled his t-shirt back down in place. “It’s nothing. I’ve had worse. And trust me, some of the guys at the gym have way longer nails than you.”

He’s trying to make me laugh. I cracked a tiny smile.

“So, what do we do now?” Maggie asked. “I mean, that was some freaky shit back there.”

“We need to come up with some kind of plan,” I said, even though every inch of my body was throbbing and achy. I wanted to go home and go to bed more than anything, but now more than ever we needed answers.

Plucking a leaf out of my hair, I pulled down the visor to open the compact mirror. I probably looked as awful as I felt. I was right. My eye makeup was running down my face in black streaks. Smudges of dirt mixed with the ruined makeup, and my skin was pale and splotchy. “Yikes,” I muttered, leaning forward to wipe away some of the grime.

Then I gasped.

It’s just your imagination, Lainey. Just your mind playing tricks on you. My mind began rationalizing away my fear, but as I stared at my reflection, I knew something was wrong.

“Ty?” I said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “Can you turn the light on, please?”

As soft yellow light filled the car, I sucked in a ragged breath. My fears were confirmed.

I turned slowly to Ty, my whole body trembling again.

“Lainey, what is it?” Ty asked, his face a stone mask.

“Styles?” Maggie was leaning forward, her hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“My eyes,” I answered, my voice no stronger than a whisper. “It’s my eyes,” I tried again, my voice a little stronger this time.

Ty was clearly confused. “I don’t . . .”

“What color are they?” I interrupted, shouting this time.

I looked in the mirror again, refusing to believe it, but the proof was right in front of me. “Ty, what color are they?” I snapped my head back to face him again.

He stared at me, his hands held up in front of him. But slowly, he leaned forward, his own eyes narrowing in the dim car light.

He exhaled slowly. “They’re green.”

Green.

I dropped my head to my chest and tried to keep from hyperventilating. Behind me, Maggie was making little noises of shock as though she were trying to speak but couldn’t.

“Lainey?” Ty gripped my arm in concern. He didn’t understand.

I raised my head. “Are you sure?” I whispered, staring at the foreign irises in the mirror. I turned back to Ty. “What color are they?”

But the look on Ty’s face was clear. There was no mistake.

My once golden-hazel eyes were now a vibrant shade of green.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN


“More coffee?” The waitress’s tired voice broke the silence.

Ty shook his head, but Maggie and I both wordlessly handed her our mugs.

“I can’t go home,” I’d said when we left the cemetery. “Not like this. Gareth will freak, and I just can’t deal with anything else right now.”

After sending Gareth a text to let him know I was crashing at Maggie’s, we’d ended up at the Waffle House—one of the only places in Lothbrook that stayed open twenty-four hours. Two rounds of coffee later, we still had no plan.

I tasted blood as I chewed on my bottom lip. My fingers, anxious for something to do, were busy playing with a piece of string I’d pulled off the fabric of my shirt. Over and over, I wound it tightly around one finger before unraveling it again.

I could have died tonight. That single thought kept running through my brain, along with images of snakelike vines. I shivered and tried—unsuccessfully—to think of something else.

I sat back in the hard plastic booth and leaned my head against the windowpane. Outside, cars flew down the road. I couldn’t stop the fleeting wish that I was inside one of them, heading somewhere my troubles couldn’t find me. My reflection stared back at me, but the lighting of the restaurant made it impossible to see any distinguishing colors. I wasn’t fooled, though. It was strange how alien my own face had already become.