True Colors (The Masks #1)(36)

*****

It didn’t take long to figure out that Liam ran Pali High. I had spotted it by the end of the day. I didn’t ask any questions, I just watched. Lunch was a real eye-opener. He had sway in every social grouping. I knew he was powerful before, but I had always believed it to be in a positive, cool kind of way. Now I knew better. I just wished I knew what he was up to.

I had subtly asked around at school, but seemed to get stonewalled no matter who I asked. Libby was obviously avoiding me and Indie was still nice, but even more closed off than before. Being able to read them all helped. I knew what I was up against whenever I approached them and I knew when to back away before going too far. It didn’t take much; both Libby and Indie were jittery messes.

It was driving me nearly insane trying to figure this out. I tapped my pen against my open textbook. It was Thursday night and I knew for a fact that Stella and most of our group were heading out to the movies. I had been invited, but had said no, which so wasn’t helping the Stella situation. I couldn’t figure out how my friends managed to fit in so much socializing when I felt like I was working overtime to keep up with the amount of schoolwork constantly being dumped on us. It certainly wasn’t making me very enthusiastic about college.

My phone buzzed and then started playing “Kiss You” by One Direction. Stella had made it my ringtone when I started dating Chase and since my phone hardly ever rang, I hadn’t gotten around to changing it.

I checked the screen and grinned, unlocking it with fumbling fingers.

“Hey, Hercules.”

“Hey, girl next door.” I could hear the smile in his voice and felt my insides go mushy. “Watchya doin’?”

I groaned. “Trying to study, but finding it hard to concentrate.”

“Too busy thinking about me, huh?”

I giggled. “Yeah, yeah, that’s it.”

He chuckled at my sarcastic reply and then cleared his throat. “You okay? You sound a bit flat.”

Did I?

“How can you tell that over the phone?”

“I don’t know. You just...there’s no smile in your voice.”

“I’m talking to you. Of course there’s smile in my voice.”

“Caity. What’s up?”

I sighed. “I’ve seen something at school that I can’t figure out.”

“Something or someone?”

“It’s just a guy that I’ve been friends with for a while and he’s really nice and his girlfriend is like awesome, but...” I licked my bottom lip.

“But?”

“She’s totally scared of him. In fact a lot of people at school are and I want to know why.”

“Have you asked around?”

“Yes and no one wants to talk to me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe you should drop it?”

“What?” My question came out snappier than I meant it to.

“Caity, you’ve just told me that everyone at school’s afraid of him. They must be for a reason. He sounds dangerous to me.”

“But he’s not, I mean, he’s Liam.”

“Well, what do you know about the guy?”

“He’s...” I frowned. What did I know about Liam? I sighed. “Not much. He started at Pali High two years ago and fitted in really easily. Everyone likes him.”

“You just said everyone was scared of him.”

“No, just his girlfriend and a bunch of students that don’t even hang out with him.” I shook my head. “He’s up to something, but I have no idea what. I’m friends with his girl, so I figure that’s my in. But she’s a closed book.”

“You can’t read her?” Eric seemed surprised.

“No, I can read her. I know she’s scared, but she won’t tell me anything.”

“Caity, I don’t like this. You need to be careful. If everyone’s this afraid of him and he finds out you’re trying to meddle...”

“I’ll be okay. I’m not worried for me or anything. I just wish I could figure this out.”

Eric paused. Even though we were on the phone and I couldn’t see him, I could sense his reluctance. “Before you start throwing yourself into this, why don’t you take some time to try and figure out who this Liam guy is? Find out anything you can about his past. See if he’s hiding any secrets you should know about. That’s what I’d do.”

I loved that idea. It was a forward step and hopefully a step that wouldn’t have me meeting a brick wall head on. “You give the best advice, you know that?”

His laughter was dry. “Just promise me you’ll be careful and don’t do anything until you’ve found out more about this guy.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Caitlyn.”

I smiled at the reprimand in his tone. “I promise. I won’t get myself in trouble. I really want to help these girls, Eric. They’re my friends.”

“I know. And I really like that you’re embracing your whole super power thing, but I’m allowed to worry about you. It's my right as your...next door neighbor."

I thought for a second he was going to say boyfriend, but that's ridiculous. We'd been on one official date; admittedly it lasted an entire day, but still. And yes, we had been texting every day, so the whole Eric Shore becoming my boyfriend thing felt totally natural, but I didn't think either of us actually had the courage to admit it aloud yet.