Ignite (Midnight Fire #1)

Chapter Thirteen

When Kira awoke on Monday morning, a knot of dread tightened her stomach—she did not want to go to school. She hadn’t seen Tristan since he had dropped her off at home on Saturday, and she had ignored Luke’s calls all weekend, completely unsure of what to tell him.

When she finally got out of bed, it took her ten minutes to brush her teeth and wash her face—staring at her hollow eyes in the mirror the entire time. The thought of Tristan made a blush rise, but that warmth was quickly pushed away, replaced by self-loathing when Luke leaked into her mind. Eventually, her mother pushed Kira into the car and actually drove her to school.

Leaving her on her own in the parking lot, her mother scolded Kira to hurry up as she was obviously late. Kira listened and ran to the safety of her class, one she shared with neither of the boys. She kept her eyes glued to the scratched hallway floor when sprinting from room to room, not daring to even chance making eye contact with either boy, and she jumped at the sound of her name a few times, only to realize she had been dreaming it.

But then, the lunch bell rang.

It was time.

Unless she decided to eat in the bathroom stall, Kira would have to face Luke and Tristan. She meandered through the halls, waiting for them to thin and for the cafeteria to crowd, hoping her entrance would go unnoticed. Finally, she couldn’t stall anymore, and Kira walked through the double doors into the chaos of lunch hour. Her eyes immediately honed in on the table outside where one lone figure sat—Tristan.

He was sprawled across the tabletop, basking in the sun with his hands crossed under his head and his foot tapping to the tune playing only in his mind. Almost immediately, he turned his face to meet Kira’s eyes. Her heart stopped, and he crinkled the corner of his mouth in a subtle greeting. Instantly, Kira flashed back to the hours they spent lying in each other’s arms on Saturday, when all conversation had ended and all there had been were feelings. She had never been kissed so passionately, yet held so gently and treated like a lady. He had respected her and let her set the pace, which yes, had ended at kissing.

Kira’s pulse started racing at the memories, switching from dread to excitement in a matter of moments. Her brain ran on overdrive, confused by the complete momentum shift that could only be caused by the delightful torment of falling in love.

She mindlessly bit her lip, hiding the grin that threatened to spread across her face and looked away first, right into the eyes of Luke. He was dodging students, weaving his way through the lunch crowd, and staring her down with a look of relief and anger. Without hesitation, he pulled her into a bear hug.

"What the hell happened to you? I thought you’d died. Why didn’t you call me back?" He set her back down, but kept his hands on her shoulders, ensuring Kira couldn’t run away.

"Nothing." Kira avoided his question when she saw the others making their way over. "We need to talk. Not here," she whispered and then shirked his hold to greet Emma, who squealed loudly and hugged Kira in a viselike grip.

"We were so worried. Oh my god. You don’t just run out of a school dance like that."

"I’m fine, I’m fine," she said when Miles and Dave leaned in to hug her as well. Jeez, she thought, they really must have been worried. "My phone died, and I completely didn’t realize it. I’m so sorry." Kira shrugged, feeling terrible.

"So what happened?" Emma asked when everyone had sat back down at the usual table. "One minute you’re dancing with Carter Evans…" Emma wiggled her eyes. "And the next you’ve disappeared."

Crap, Kira thought. She had forgotten to prepare a cover story for the rest of the gang. Eventually she would have to tell Luke the truth, but what would appease them in the meantime? Go with something gossip worthy, she thought. Emma would do all the work. "You’ll never believe it, but Carter slipped alcohol into my drink. I got totally drunk, and he started freaking out, so he just drove me home. It was insane. I mean, he always seemed like such a nice guy."