Rewritten

Chapter 10: Leverage

World War Three A cataclysmic event that led to the creation of the altereds.

Just like the last time I'd woken, the info dump failed to hit me when I woke up for school the next day. I knew it was definitely reason to go see my mother, but I really couldn't face her after having lost my diary. At least it was Nick rather than a hunter, but I wasn't too sure who was a worse option between a hunter or a boy who may possibly be involved in my sister's murder.

 If my mum found out I'd lost my diary, she'd probably have an actual heart attack. I was almost tempted to bury my face under a pillow and skip school for the day, but I had a diary to retrieve from an annoying scrambler. Nick was too much of a wild card for me to allow him to run amok for a day with it. Who knew what he'd do with that leverage over me?

    "You okay?" Connor asked as I got into the car. He'd clearly noticed how on edge I was, but didn't want to push me. Today there was a tension between us that hadn't been there before. It wasn't the same as it had been before when I was wary of his being a hunter. This felt more as if Connor was wary of upsetting me. I forced myself to meet his eyes, despite the panic and guilt I felt. The panic I understood, but the guilt felt strange. I wasn't keeping secrets without reason -he'd kill me if I told him the truth about myself. So why did it feel so wrong to be keeping so much from him?

    It was the boyfriend thing. It definitely had to be the boyfriend thing. I wasn't supposed to care about Connor's feelings -he was a hunter for goodness' sake.

    "I'm fine."

    "Which means you're certainly not fine," Connor murmured. He said it so quietly that I barely heard it, but didn't push the issue. "Okay." This time he spoke loud enough for me to hear clearly.

    The rest of the ride passed in silence. Unlike previous rides we'd had in the car, this silence was awkward, the tension in the air claustrophobic. When the car stopped and Connor opened the door, I was almost relieved to see Christie waiting at the doors with Jason. I was surprised to see the two together. They may have been boyfriend and girlfriend, and the school's "it" couple, but Jason always seemed to be busy in some way -whether it was the football team, hunting training or extra classes, he rarely spent time around Christie at school. Not that Christie couldn't be described in the same way; their schedules were pretty much the same except that Christie did Cheerleading instead of football. No wonder they were dating when both were such workaholics.

    "Hey." Jason greeted us as we walked up to them. With his dark hair and hazel eyes, he'd have looked like your average guy were it not for his sculpted cheekbones, obvious muscles and clothes that made his status as the richest boy in the school clear to anyone who met him. Standing together, he and Christie looked like the poster ad for perfect couples. He nodded at me in greeting before turning to Connor. "You missed the meeting this morning." It wasn't spoken as a question, but it was obvious Jason wanted answers immediately. I was shocked. Connor had missed a meeting?

    Connor stared at the ground, scuffing his feet on the pavement. His jaw clenched with tension as he spoke. "Something came up," he muttered. Some irrational part of me wanted to talk to him, wonder why he was so angry or upset, and calm him down. I shoved those thoughts away and instead watched in silence as he stormed past us and into the building, slamming the glass doors as he went.

    Christie frowned. "Trouble in paradise?" she asked me.

   I wasn't going to answer that. Since I knew it was my job as his girlfriend to check he was okay, I followed after him. I was walking past my locker when I felt something touch my arm. With a jump, I turned to see what it was.