Oblivion

“I like to spice things up,” I replied.

Ash twisted toward me. Under the table, one of her long legs brushed against mine. She smiled when I arched a brow at her. “It’s got to be super boring over there. You missed us.”

I didn’t respond.

“Actually, I think they’re talking about the party you’re having on Friday.” Andrew shoved a fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “Thanks for the invite, ass.”

My lips curled up on one side. “You’re welcome.”

“It’s not his party. It’s Dee’s.” Ash moved again, and this time I felt her foot brush against my calf. “But we’re invited. I’m not going to miss the first-ever party at your house, not with your parents not in town.”

Since others were at the table, I saw right through most of what she was saying. I shifted my leg, moving it away from her. “Yeah. It’s going to be awesome.”

Her eyes narrowed.

Andrew leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Do you think a party is a good idea?”

“Nope.” I bit into the gravy-covered steak. Tasted like flour and sawdust, sort of like Kat’s pancakes.

“And you’re okay with it?”

I sighed, forcing myself to eat the crap. “Not really.”

Andrew started to say something, but high-pitched laughter from the table caught his attention. He glanced over my shoulder and I looked behind me. It was a girl—a cheerleader, I think. Kimmy? Kami? Tammy? No clue.

“She’s such a slut,” the girl said, wrinkling her nose. “She went after Simon.”

I had a really bad feeling about this conversation.

The guy sitting next to her, one of the football players, gri

My vision damn near turned red as the girl responded angrily. Hands fisting, I started to turn around and pick up one of them, if not both of them, and throw them into the wall.

Ash put her hand on my arm and spoke with her voice low. “Don’t. You need to not do whatever it is you’re pla

“I’m not pla

Ash jumped in, distracting me before I could say anything. “Leave it alone,” she warned. “It’s just people being dumb.”

More like people just being seconds away from being blasted into next week. Forcing myself to turn back around, I promised that I would so deal with that shit later.

Her bright blue eyes fastened on her brother. “Anyway,” she said, tipping her chin. “Have you heard from Uncle Lane or Uncle Vaughn recently?”

My brows lifted and I almost choked on my spit. Uncle Lane and Uncle Vaughn? Shit. That was actually almost fu

“Neither have we.” Andrew had finished off his potatoes and was eyeing mine. They may have been instant and tasted like paste, but I’d shank him if he reached for them. “Kind of strange, isn’t it?”

Yeah, that was strange. Our DOD babysitters hadn’t gone longer than two weeks without checking in, and it had been… Shit, how long had it been since I’d last seen one of them? A while. Their absence, now that I thought about it, didn’t sit very well, especially after the light show that had gone down on Halloween.

“All right, I’m out.” Ash stood, leaving her plate on the table. “See you losers later.”

I had no idea where she was going, but my mind was whirling around the officers’ absence. Normally the DOD would be all up in our business after something like that, and all I’d seen was the black tinted-out Expedition at the hospital when…when Kat had been there.

I glanced over at Kat’s table, and all thoughts of the DOD dropped to the wayside. My hand tightened around the plastic fork.

Some guy was sitting next to Kat. No—wait. I’d seen him before. He was the guy I’d almost run over in the hallway Friday. Kat knew him? The guy smiled at something she said. Kat tipped her head back. Strands of long dark hair fell back over her shoulders as she laughed.

The plastic fork snapped in my hand, startling me.

“Whoa.” Andrew eyed me. “You’re not going to slam my face into the table again, are you?”

“Do you know who that is?” I asked instead.

“Who?”

I jerked my chin over at the table. “That guy.”

Frowning, Andrew looked over his shoulder. “The guy sitting next to Katy?”

“Yeah.” I let the shattered pieces of the fork fall to the table.

Andrew turned around, facing me. “I have no idea, man. He must be new.”

The guy laughed this time and then he leaned in against Kat, bumping her shoulder with his like he was her new best friend.

What. In. The. Hell.

Something in my chest fisted. This bitter, acidic sensation shot through my veins as I watched Kat and this guy. I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t put a name to it, but I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

I shouldn’t even be paying attention to this. The whole thing with the absentee DOD was far more important. Should be top freaking priority, but I couldn’t stop staring at their table. Every time this asshole laughed or Kat smiled, I wanted to walk over there and toss the dude through one of the glass windows. Probably would get into some trouble over that, but I was seriously debating it. There was a damn near primal urge to claim what was—

Kat looked over at my table, and even though there was a sea of bodies between us, our gazes co

Standing up quickly, she picked up her plate and started to reach for her bag. The guy beat her to it. Picking it up off the floor, he draped the strap over her shoulder. Blood roared in my ears.

“Yo. Dude.” Andrew leaned across the table and clamped his hand on my shoulder. My head swung sharply in his direction. His voice was low. “Your eyes.”

I blinked, forcing the whitish tint from my vision as I pulled back from Andrew. Rising to my feet, I looked over at the table. Kat was gone. So was the guy. And that sour feeling was burning a hole right through my gut.

I waited for Dee outside her last class. She stepped out, swinging her bag over her shoulder. Spotting me, she raised her dark brows. “Whatcha doing here?”

Pushing off the wall, I fell in step beside her. “Maybe I just wanted to walk my sister to her locker.”

Dee snorted. “Yeah. Okay. And I’m not going to my locker. Don’t need to.”

“Perfect.” Having already dropped my stuff off at mine, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “What are you doing now?”

“Not sure. Might go see Adam. Might go home.” Stepping sideways to avoid knocking into a smaller boy, I carefully edged past the crowd. It was a mass exodus. “You’re not hanging out with Kat?”

“Uh.” She focused straight ahead, her eyes wide. “No.”

I wet my lips as we hit the double doors. I opened them with my elbow, letting Dee pass through. “And why is that? You two not BFFs anymore?”

Her lips pursed. “I think she’s busy today.”

A boulder formed in my stomach. “Kat busy? Doing what?”

“You say that like she doesn’t have a life,” she said, sliding me a pinched look as we left the sidewalk and cut across the grass toward the parking lot.

I started to defend myself and then realized that I kind of did sound like that. “Sorry,” I muttered. “I just meant that she’s usually with you.”

“Well, you do know she has other friends, like Carissa and Lesa.”

Relief pecked through me as a gust of cold wind smacked into us. “Is she with them?”

“No.” Dee sighed as she stopped at her Jetta. Opening the car door, she threw her bag in and faced me. “I’m not even sure why I’m telling you this, because I have a feeling you’re not going to be happy, but she went with someone to Smoke Hole diner.”