The Nightworld - Jack Blaine [42]
“I ratted Jim out.”
“What?”
“I told the teacher that he was threatening kids for their homework assignments. He did it to lots of them, not just Charlie. I think Charlie was the first kid to stand up to him.”
I nod. “Charlie wasn’t about to hand over his homework. I remember he said he had to work hard for those answers and damned if Jim was getting them. Thing is, if I had asked him for them, I know he would have passed them right over. It wasn’t really about the homework.”
“It was about the bullying.” Lara frowns. “That’s why I ratted. Jim just went along doing whatever he wanted, and then Charlie told him no. And when Jim threatened Charlie in the hall, I remember what you said.”
“You do?”
She nods. “You said, ‘We’ll be there, asshole.’ She laughs. “You sounded so scared! But somehow I knew you were going to show up and stand next to Charlie. And you did.”
My cheeks are hot and I sort of want to crawl under the covers. But at the same time, I feel . . . proud. The look on Lara’s face when she calls me one of the good guys is worth everything.
Chapter 23
“Listen, I’m sorry. About last night, I mean.” Zeke is standing at the door to my bedroom. “This fucking dark—it’s getting to me. I want to go outside and see the blue sky, you know?”
I sit up. I don’t want to say anything. I don’t feel especially forgiving of Zeke, but I don’t think I want to piss him off either.
“Are we cool?” Zeke isn’t letting it pass.
“I guess.” I don’t feel too cool with him. I don’t feel like I trust the guy at all, really.
“I just overreacted.” Zeke watches me from the doorway.
“To what?” I watch him back, interested in seeing what his answer might be. No such luck, though. He just shrugs and tells me breakfast is ready. Then he leaves.
I get out of the bed and rub my eyes. I’m hoping Zeke is okay—he just freaked me out a little last night. I keep telling myself he’s fine as I walk down the hall from the bedroom. I can hear Kath’s voice from the kitchen. When I reach the room, all three of them—Kath, Zeke, and Lara—are laughing.
“What’s the joke?” I smile at Lara. She looks beautiful even with mussed-up hair and sleepy eyes. I wish I could kiss her.
“We were just comparing notes about what our parents made us eat for breakfast.” Lara rolls her eyes. “Mine were hardly ever home, so I ate what I wanted.”
It’s strange how we’ve adjusted to talking about people from before the darkness in the past tense.
“My dad always made us eat eggs and bacon and hash browns, every single morning.” Zeke chuckles. “I guess he didn’t know about cholesterol.”
Kath grins too. Parents are easy targets. “Mine were hot on grains, so we had to eat steel-cut oats. Every freaking morning my mom cooked them on the stove for forty minutes. My brother hated them.” Kath’s voice trails off. She looks pensive.
“I bet he’s okay, Kath.” Zeke puts his arm around Kath’s shoulders. “He’s probably in some safe place with your parents.”
Kath doesn’t look so sure.
I try to change the subject. “So what’s for breakfast?”
Lara gives me a grateful look. “Pancakes!” She grins. “It looks like the electricity is back on for a little while, so we took full advantage.” She opens the oven door and shows me a foil-covered heap. “We just have to set the table.”
“I can help with that.” I notice that we’re still walking around in the dark, even though the lights could be on right now if the electricity is working. “We’re keeping the lights off?”
Zeke snorts. “First thing they look for—lights.”
“He means the crazies.” Lara hands me some silverware. “They watch to see if lights come on in the high-rises when the power blips on. If they do, the crazies come up after whatever they think they can get.”
We set the table that’s in the kitchen.