Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(41)
He was desperate to know what she’d experienced, but she’d denied him. One look at the stubborn tilt of her chin and the suppressed fury on her face had said it all. Alice wouldn’t be returning to the castle for any clandestine meetings with him for the time being. She was angry, yes, but he knew her well enough to recognize her confusion, as well. She was having trouble telling up from down in this new world in which she found herself.
For now, he had no choice but to accept defeat. But it would definitely be a temporary one.
*
THE night after the Alumni Dinner, Kuvi walked out of the bathroom and caught Alice peering between two closed blinds.
“Do you think he’s out there?” Kuvi asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
Alice started and the blinds snapped shut. “Jesus, you scared me.”
“You’ve been awfully jumpy. You didn’t sleep last night, did you?” Kuvi asked as she crossed over to her dresser.
“I don’t know how you can possibly know that since you were sleeping like a baby,” Alice said, rolling her eyes.
“This morning, your bed looked like you’d been holding a wrestling match in it,” Kuvi said loftily, shutting a drawer with a snap. “As if your grouchy mood today wasn’t enough to tell me that I wasn’t the one you wanted to be spending the night with. And you never answered my question. Do you think Dylan is out there in the woods?”
“No,” Alice replied quietly. “Not Dylan.”
Kuvi did a double take at her solemn answer. Somehow, Alice would know if Dylan was nearby. Maybe she knew that because part of her wished like hell Dylan was nearby. She hated to admit it, but she was disappointed that he hadn’t come to claim her last night in the cabin like he had several nights ago, when he’d made her face up to her promise.
She missed him. Bad. And Alice knew what that made her. A spineless hypocrite. She was still confused and angry about what he’d said to Thad. She wanted to apologize to Thad for her flash of temper at him, as well as console him about Dylan’s threat. Thad wasn’t giving her much of an opportunity, however. Since this morning, he’d been avoiding Alice. Thanks to Dylan, he’d probably decided his friendship with her was a black mark on his record.
There was something else bothering her. She longed to return to the castle for another reason. She kept reliving the memory of playing hide-and-seek with Lynn Durand. That memory continued to amaze her. Nourish her.
As she stood there in her cabin with Kuvi, she thought of the woman in the memory as Lynn Durand. But when she’d been experiencing it, Alice thought of her as mommy. The warm, sweet sense of absolute security that unfurled inside her at that memory continued to be a source of wonder. Alice had never known she’d been capable of such a feeling.
The fact of the matter was, she craved more of it. Another part of her dreaded recalling, though, fearful of needing those memories, afraid of the moment they evaporated like mist and she realized she was alone.
“Do you think it could be Sal Rigo out there?” Kuvi asked presently, walking toward Alice. Kuvi had been with her the time Alice caught Rigo secretly observing a group of them while they were at the Lakeside Tavern. Later, Alice had learned that Dylan had sent Rigo to watch over her—Alice—not the whole group of counselors. But if she explained that to Kuvi, she had to elaborate on a lot of other things, like why Dylan was so paranoid about her safety.
“It might be,” Alice said, flipping back her covers. “There’s someone out there, though. I can feel it.”
“Maybe it’s just your nerves,” Kuvi consoled, getting into her own bed. “Like I said, you’ve been crazy jumpy since last night.”
Alice heard the unasked question in her friend’s tone. She knew Kuvi was curious about what had happened after the Alumni Dinner. It was clear to both Kuvi and Dave that something had gone wrong last night. Alice and Thad had been unusually tense and uncommunicative as all of them walked back to camp. If Kuvi couldn’t guess from that, Alice’s presence in their cabin last night told her loud and clear that something was wrong between Alice and Dylan.
“It’s not just my nerves,” Alice said shortly, reaching for her bedside lamp switch. “And it’s not just a feeling. I saw a shadow out there last night and the glow of a cigarette. Whoever it is sits out there just past the tree line, smoking and watching. He’s out there again tonight. I saw his cigarette. I’m going to figure out who it is in the morning.”
Kuvi shut out her bedside light. “How?”
“I’ll find a way,” Alice replied doggedly.
“Let’s suppose what you say is true, wouldn’t confronting the person be dangerous?”
“They’re not dangerous,” Alice said scornfully under her breath. They’re just following orders.
“Alice, do you think Dylan Fall sent someone to spy on you?” Kuvi asked, as though she’d read Alice’s mind.
Alice hesitated. “Yes. Probably,” she finally replied.
Kuvi was silent for a moment. Alice sensed her puzzlement and amazement. “Why in the world would he do that? Is he some kind of stalker?”
“He’s not a stalker,” she defended bluntly. “It’s a long story.”
“I figured. I have a long attention span, you know.”
Alice held her breath. When it became clear that Alice wasn’t going to reveal anything else, Kuvi sighed resignedly. Guilt swept through Alice. She really had been grumpy with Kuvi lately, and Kuvi didn’t deserve it. Not by a long shot. Alice heard her turn over in bed.