Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 33

I don't get a single text from Luke at all the next morning and every minute of my classes grinds by like gravel under my feet as I slog through the hours that tick by ever so slowly. Exhaustion threatens to drag my eyelids closed, as I barely slept and even when I did, I didn't feel safe and quickly woke up several times during the night.

"Kara? Are you okay?" Tessa asks as she sits across from me at dinner.

I glance over at her and reach up to itch at the enchanted healing patch that Doctor Garret had given me, which is stuck on my upper arm under my sleeve before I readjust the thin scarf that I had wrapped around my throat to cover the bruises.

"Yeah," I murmur as there's a sudden crackling sound that fills the hall, like someone is turning on a microphone.

Astrid pauses from taking a bite of her pizza as Tessa looks up toward the ceiling of the dining hall. I follow her gaze to see that there are speakers hanging down as a voice floats over the intercom system.

"Attention students, please report to the gymnasium, all additional classes and labs after dinner are canceled," a voice, one that I recognize as being Ms. Laroche's says over the intercom, "again, please report to the gymnasium."

Tessa exchanges a quick look with us as her eyebrows arch questioningly, "I wonder what this is all about."

"It may be a ceremony for Finn," Astrid suggests quietly.

The bruising around my throat throbs with a fresh wave of pain as I swallow. It probably means that they're burying him today.

"Kara, you need to tell us about what happened last night," Astrid suddenly says, but doesn't say, sends more like because it isn't said aloud.

I roll her words over in my head, cautious to keep my thoughts to myself as I try to decide on what exactly I want to say.

"Start with what happened after you walked off with Luke," Tessa recommends as she looks to me.

I shudder at the memory of the anger in his eyes and voice, "He tried to kiss me when we were by the barn-."

Indigo suddenly sets her tray down on the table with a clack and sits with more force than needed as her chair squawks. She wants me to know that she wants to talk and not doing so isn't an option.

"You know, telepathy is useless when you're looking right at the person you're talking to," she muses as she casts a withering glance at Tessa.

Tessa looks away quickly, her eyes darting from Astrid to me before she looks down at her tray.

"Have you told her anything?" Tessa pries.

"No."

"Spill," Indigo mutters, "I know that something happened last night."

I sigh and look to Astrid, who simply nods.

"Luke tried to kiss Kara," she informs Indigo as she lets her in on the silent conversation.

"And then what happened?" Indigo asks as her hand clenches around her fork.

"I didn't want to-," I argue.

"Because he's your best friend," Indigo observes.

"Exactly, I tried to explain that to him but-."

"Let me guess, he got angry?" she cuts in, her voice almost sounding bored.

"Yes."

"Maybe he called you names?" she inquires.

"He said that I'm no better than Ava."

"Oh that's low, even for him," Tessa's shocked voice interrupts.

"It's what he said," I assure her.

"And then what happened?" Indigo urges me.

"He left, we were over by the horse barns and I walked around-," I swallow a few times as goose bumps prickle across my arms.

What? Then what?

I was nearly murdered?

How do I voice something like that?

"Around where?" Indigo prods, like she can sense my fear.

"Around the barn," I say and Tessa winces as she already knows what's coming.

"It's okay, Kara," Tessa soothes.

"What's okay?" Indigo's sharp voice intervenes as she looks from Tessa to me.

"I was grabbed from behind, a young man maybe, he tried to strangle me and he said that I would have been better off saying that I was Finn's murderer, that it would have made everyone's lives a lot easier," I finally admit and there's a long enough moment of silence that I have to look over at Indigo to make sure that she's heard me.

The blood has drained from her face and her lips are pressed tight enough together that they're colorless.

"I'll talk to mom-," Indigo begins to say, but Astrid interrupts her.

"I have someone looking into the video tapes from the fair," she tells her and Indigo nods.

"In the meantime, I've got a book that you can borrow that has defensive spells in it, just don't practice them inside," she says at last, though I can hear the fear in her voice.

"Okay," I say and she gives me a tight smile.

"I'll be back," she gets to her feet then and slides her phone out of her pocket as she walks for the doors on the far side of the cafeteria and exits through them.

"Kara...I'm so sorry, I didn't think that Luke was like that," Tessa says in a low voice.

"It's fine," I tell her, relieved to not have to use the acrobatics of telepathy.

"No, it's not, it's horrible for him to have said things like that to you, has he text messaged you anything since?"

"No, he hasn't messaged me at all after last night," I admit and Astrid frowns.

"Guys can be like that, do yourself a favor and stay away from him," she warns me and I nod.

We finish eating in silence, even after Indigo returns from being outside. I can see her warily eye Astrid and in that moment, I want to shake her for still not trusting her.

The bell rings and we exchange a solemn look as we stand and start in the direction of the doors that will lead to the gymnasium, but not before I spot Luke from across the cafeteria. I'm chilled to the bone at the cold look that he gives me, like he's looking right through me as he frowns.

And then he looks away and disappears among the crowd without a second glance.