Angelfire
Page 14

We drove to the dealership a few miles from school and inspected nearly every single car there. I was set on a sedan, so we decided to test drive a couple of different cars, with the busty saleswoman tagging gleeful y along. I fel in love with a little white Audi with a black interior. It was sportier than the others and definitely felt perfect to me.
After my mom had organized the purchase and we were ready to head home, I hopped into the driver's seat of my birthday present. The interior was wrapped in smooth, cool leather and I let myself sink into it.
Mom dipped her head to smile at me through the driver'sside window.
"I'm going to name him Marshmal ow," I announced. My mom raised an eyebrow. "Marshmal ow?"
"Yes, and he loves it." I tenderly ran my fingers along the leather-covered steering wheel.
"So what do you say to driving home in your new car?"
"Yes!" I almost shouted.
"Be sure to tel your dad thank you when you get home."
I nodded, smiling widely. I was almost ecstatic enough to forget my frightening daydream from earlier. Almost. I fol owed my mom home. The Audi glided along the hil y roads like a dream. Up and down, left and right, the vehicle handled effortlessly and I felt in complete control, otherworldly. I didn't know what had come over me, whether it was the thril of having my first car or my party coming up, but I felt energized. Different. I felt good. None of the soreness I had woken up with that morning remained.
As I pul ed into the driveway behind my mom's car, I happened to glance at my neighbor's mailbox, which lay in a pile of splinters. My neighbor, Mr. Ashton, was picking up the wooden fragments and chunks of brick scattered across his lawn. A very clear memory from the night before crept into my head, and the blood drained from my face. A cold rush flooded through me as I stepped out of my car, dizzying me so much that I had to lean against the door for support. I noticed a jagged crater in the street not too far off.
"That happened last night," my mom said with a frown on her face. "It appears a sinkhole may have caused a driver to hit the curb and then Mr. Ashton's mailbox. The neighborhood association is having someone come by to fil the hole in tomorrow. It's strange, since these things don't usual y happen until spring."
I leaned back against my car for support, my breaths long but dizzyingly shal ow.
"Maybe that's what you heard last night?" Mom offered.
"The loud noise you mentioned."
I watched Mr. Ashton dump the remains of his mailbox into a wheelbarrow and haul it into his backyard. "Maybe."
I ran up to my bedroom and dumped the contents of my wastebasket onto the carpet. Wil had to be wrong. My missing hoodie couldn't be in there. But right in front of me, in the midst of crumpled notebook paper, wadded tissues, and a candy wrapper, was my hoodie. I lifted it, gingerly plucking the hood up with two fingers. The cotton was shredded, stiff from something wet and thick that had dried al over it, and splattered across the sleeves and chest was dark dried droplets. The whole thing had a sour dog-drool smel laced with the faint tang of old blood.
Scrambling into the bathroom, I threw up into the toilet. Kate cal ed me that evening at seven to meet her at Starbucks. Any reason was good enough to get me out of the house and driving. As I left, I took a whiff of the roses on my dresser and tried not to think about the shredded discovery in my wastebasket. I let my mom know where I was going and she gave her permission without much resistance. When I arrived, Kate was standing by her car in the parking lot with Landon and Chris. She let out a high-pitched squeal when she saw my new car.
"Ah!" she shrieked. "It is so cute! I approve."
"Thank you!" I said, beaming. "I named him Marshmal ow. Isn't it perfect?"
"Oh my God, yes," Kate said, peeking in the driver's-side window. "Ruby wants him to be her boyfriend." She was referring to the name of her red BMW.
"You rich girls and your stupid names for your cars," Chris said, sighing as he checked it out. "A4, nice. I'l race you with my 370Z."
I laughed. "No way. I'm not going to kil myself, thanks, and why would you even bother? I'm pretty sure you'd destroy me in that thing anyway."
"Fine," he said, and turned to Kate. "Let me take on the E90."
She eyed him, grinning. "Keep dreaming."
"You ladies are wasting your cars," Landon said, examining my tires.
"It's real y going to suck when we're freshmen at Michigan State and have to leave our cars at home," Kate said, pouting.
"Did you send your application in?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. Haven't you?"
I grimaced. My grades hadn't exactly been awesome, but I was stil treading water. "Not yet."
"Wel , do it quick," she said. "Spots fil up fast."
I made a mental note to start my application next week. Neither of us wanted to go anywhere else. Wel , of course I had wanted to go to Harvard when I was six, but my goals had gotten more realistic since then.
After the boys inspected the Audi from gril e to tailpipe, we went into Starbucks to order. Kate bought me a cappuccino for my birthday, and I sipped on it while we talked and laughed. I was happy not to have to worry about the strange events of the past couple of days. At the moment, al I had to worry about was not spil ing my coffee on myself and not letting Landon get too close. He seemed to shift himself closer and closer to me as I watched him out the corner of my eye. I wasn't claustrophobic by any means--but I soon would be if he got any closer.