Chasing Shadows Read online

  This was good, he needed just a little more time and caffeine to prepare himself for what lay ahead. He was not, as a general rule a fan of being stuck in overcrowded places, especially in a location that he wasn't yet familiar with. He still needed time to find some places where he could escape to, should either the students or teachers become too overwhelming for him.

  Wandering the halls he came to a stop in front of one of the trophy cabinets that stood outside the faculty room. Someone had added a memorial section honoring his grandfather, and Nate was reading the names of some of the players who had been on the football team with his Gramps when he heard the clicking of a camera.

  Spinning round he saw a tall girl with what looked like a long lens camera pointed in his direction. Cursing under his breath he stalked towards the wannabe paparazzi, grabbing her camera before she could stop him.

  "Here's a tip for you little girl, if you don't want to be caught taking pictures, work on your hiding skills." Nate made no attempt to curb his anger at being stalked so early in the day.

  It was just like his stepfather to employ these kind of tactics, probably hoping the fact that his chosen spy was a girl would make Nate act differently. Just further proof that Charles had no clue of who Nate was now, and what he was prepared to do to get through his days at school.

  "But I wasn't. I don't even know who you are." The girl's reply was all fake outrage. Nate hated people who lied rather than admit that they were wrong.

  "You've been warned, if I catch you again, you'll regret it. Now delete the pictures and you can go." Nate issued the order, not caring if he was being rude, whoever this girl was she needed to learn quickly not to mess with him.

  "I can't delete them, it's not that kind of camera." When the girl reached out her hand, Nate took a step away from her.

  "Well it looks like you won't be getting this back then," he growled.

  He had warned Charles and Principal Carter not to mess with him, not to get in his face. They hadn't listened. Involving a student in their schemes was taking things too far. Damn it, he need to talk to Jack, and in person too.

  Turning sharply Nate headed for the nearest exit, ignoring the angry words being thrown at him. So much for a quiet first day back at school.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Grace could only watch in stunned silence as a perfect stranger walked away with her camera. She was still in shock at how he had spoken to her, at the fury on his face and the harsh tone of his voice. She really hoped that he would calm down enough not to harm her property.

  Luckily she had only been taking some test shots with her new lens so should Mr Dark and Brooding decide to open the compartment where the film was stored, she wouldn't lose anything too important.

  Given that she knew every face in the school, and unless the school had employed a particularly paranoid substitute teacher, it seemed as if she had just met the elusive Nate Henderson.

  Based on Dylan's description the previous day, Nate had to have gained at least six more inches in height. Grace was tall, standing six feet one in her bare feet, and Nate was easily three or four inches taller than her. It was also obvious that he worked out, the fitted black Henley tee he wore, had shown some of the muscles that lay beneath.

  Remembering his anger, Grace couldn't help but be reminded of how his dark green eyes had seemed to get darker the longer their interaction went on. Nate Henderson definitely cut a striking and imposing figure, yet in spite of his attitude and his ire, Grace had never felt as if she had been in any real danger.

  Grace wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, she knew how rumors could spread around the school before reaching the parents and then the wider community of Silver Glade. In spite of all that Dylan and Tess had told her yesterday, and what she had seen posted already on the school blog, Grace knew better than to believe any of the gossip.

  She thought it was very unlikely that she would find herself talking to Nate again, even if according to the class schedule that had been posted, they would be sharing three classes that semester. Now, following their altercation, she was unsure how to handle the situation.

  She would need to find some way to speak with him, if only to get her camera back. She also hoped that if she could, by some miracle, arrange a time to talk privately with him, it might just be possible to convince him that she was not, as he suspected a stalker with a camera.

  The last thing Grace wanted to do was add to the stress he had to be under, returning not only to Silver Glade itself, but also to a high school that not even twenty four hours after it was announced that he was returning, had multiple articles on the official school blog about him.

  A blog that was full of speculation about where he had been the past few years, the reasons why he had left in the first place, not to mention all the comments that had been posted by both students and adults, who really should know better. So Grace could understand the reason for Nate's overreaction, but she just wished that he might have paused, if only for a moment to let her explain.

  Given how their first meeting had gone, Grace knew that trying to approach Nate after their first shared class, was not advisable. Not only would there not be enough time to explain everything, the potential audience included both Dylan and Maddie who were also in the class, and there was no way that she would let them watch.

  Her best option was to seek him out after the last class of the day, AP English, another class she shared with not only Nate, but also Dylan and Maddie. However one thing Grace knew was that the cousins had a standing appointment at the salon in town every Friday, and so would be not hanging around the school. Hopefully the rest of the students would also be in a hurry to get out of school so that she might find a way to talk to him.

  "Earth to Grace." Dylan clicked his fingers in front of her face, alerting her to the fact that some time had passed while she had been replaying her meeting with Nate. The school corridors were now more crowded and noisy with students excited for the weekend. Given her run in with Maddie the previous day, not being fully aware of her surroundings was not the best way to protect herself from whatever revenge the other girl had planned for her.

  "You look as if you've seen a ghost," Dylan's voice had changed, he was like a bloodhound, always sensing gossip or scandal. "You're pale at the best of times but today you're giving Casper a run for his money. You might want to reconsider your no cosmetics rule."

  Grace rolled her eyes at this comment, Dylan had not given up hopes of giving her a makeover. There were more important things to worry about as far as Grace was concern.

  "Just trying to prepare for whatever mind games your darling cousin has for me today." It was a safe answer, one that Dylan was happy to accept, but he did so with a strange gleam in his eyes that made Grace feel even more on edge.

  "Mads is sure to be on the rampage today, so best be on your guard." Again the fact that his cousin's behavior was so well known, and considered to be normal annoyed Grace. She was so tired of the way the community gave Maddie free reign to act out, to make people's lives miserable, never once trying to correct her.

  "If it's any consolation I think she'll calm down once she has seen Nate." He paused briefly as if assessing her reaction to his words. "Mads is still trying to decide if she should confront him publicly or ignore him. She and her parental unit had that big pow wow this morning with Principal Carter."

  Dylan had no guilt in sharing gossip about his cousin, or speaking so disrespectfully about his uncle, but Grace, as a general rule, never commented on it, knowing that Dylan would share her words, not caring about the consequences.

  Luckily the first warning bell rang before she could form any kind of reply, instead she said a quiet 'goodbye', before moving towards her first class of the day. She had study hall first period, and was hoping to spend the time revising some calculus, but before she could take her seat, the teacher, Ms Fields, called her name.

  "Grace, Principal Carter wishes to speak
with you."

  There was no hint from the teacher about why she was being asked to see the Principal. It was a rare occurrence that any member of the faculty asked to see her during class time. Maybe this was somehow Maddie's doing. It would not be the first time that the girl had reported a student to the staff.

  Dylan had said that Maddie had been to see the Principal that morning, Grace had just assumed it was about Nate being back at school. If that was the case, and Maddie was unhappy with what was said, who knew how she might have reacted.

  She felt her steps falter, she really didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath of a Queen Bee tantrum, and there was no other reason she could think of for this summons to see Principal Carter. She could only hope that the man would listen to her before passing judgment; however she knew that, if Maddie wanted her punished, then that is what would happen. Reaching the office, Grace did her best to make sure she had a neutral look on her face, one that would not show how agitated she was feeling.

  "Ms Andrews, good morning, thank you for joining me." Principal Carter's greeting was surprisingly friendly. "Please take a seat, I'm just waiting for another student to arrive."

  "Is something wrong?" Grace hated how timid her question sounded. Before the Principal could answer, there was a knock on the door, and the school secretary appeared, passing a note to Principal Carter. Whatever the note said clearly annoyed the man.

  "My apologies Grace, there is an urgent matter I must attend to. Please return to your class, and I will speak to you later." Not waiting for an answer he abruptly left the room, leaving Grace to wonder why he had wanted to see her in the first place.

  "There's no need for you to look so worried," the kindly older administrator said. "A new student is due to start here today, and his parents requested that you might be asked to act as a mentor for him. Help him out his first few days."

  Looking around to see who might be listening, she beckoned Grace forwards, then whispered conspiratorially; "He's been home schooled for years, so there a little concern that he might have some trouble making the adjustment."

  A phone rang and Grace was dismissed with the wave of a hand. She was somewhat surprised that she had been chosen for such a task. As far as she knew she had never met either of Nate's parents, but maybe that was their reasoning. She didn't have a shared history with their son, so in theory was the ideal choice. It certainly wasn't what she had been expecting to hear, still if it meant a slight reprieve from Maddie's revenge then Grace couldn't really complain.

  Feeling the beginnings of a tension headache, she decided to grab some painkillers from her locker before going back to class. Hopefully by the time her math class began, the medication would have kicked in, the last thing she needed was to fall even further behind. Even with a tutor, it was going to take work to improve her test results and Grace really wanted to maintain her GPA.

  Hopefully the tutor Jack had spoken to her about would work out. It really was too early in the school year to be so stressed about her grades. Both Jack and Mimi had told her repeatedly that stress of any kind would not help her struggles with the subject, and Grace knew that they were correct.

  On her return to the classroom, she was a little taken aback by the severe look she received from Ms Fields. Normally the teacher was quite friendly, rarely giving demerits to students. Grace couldn't figure out what was wrong, she probably should have returned sooner, but she had a hall pass so hadn't broken any rule. Even as she took her seat, she felt under scrutiny from the teacher and it was putting her on edge, adding further to her wish for the day to be over already.

  As she had missed most of her study period there was no real point in taking out her calculus book. Instead Grace took out the novel she was reading for her English class, but by the time the bell rang, she couldn't remember a word that she had read, and Ms Fields was still making her feel uncomfortable.

  The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur for Grace. There seemed to be a constant buzzing in the school, as students and teachers alike spoke in hushed voices, gossip whirling throughout the school. All of the faculty seemed to be distracted in class, not really paying attention to the students in the room, rather waiting for the one student who had not showed.

  She had felt more guilty as the day wore on. Surely Nate Henderson had not skipped his first day back because he thought she was spying on him. If only he had given her a chance to speak, to explain who she was, then they could have easily resolved the misunderstanding.

  All day she had listened as those around her spoke about Nate, had heard all the horrible things they said about him, including adults who should have known better than to share gossip they had heard. They had to know that the students could hear what was being said, and in some cases were even recording the comments. When she said as much to Tess after the last class of the day, the other girl looked shocked.

  "It's his own fault, then again he always thought he was better than the rest of us." Much to her surprise Dylan seemed to be waiting for her, and Grace couldn't help but wonder how much of her friend's statement were his own thoughts, and how much was Maddie's vitriol.

  "You weren't here then," Tess spoke quietly, "You didn't hear all the things he said. Or see how he treated people. When Maddie told people what he had done to her, to his own mother." Tess trailed off, glancing around to hear who might be listening.

  "If he was so bad, then why is he back?" Grace asked. It had been something that had troubled her ever since his return had been announced. "I mean if he truly is this monster that people have been talking about all day, then why would any sane adult allow him to return. Help me to understand, please?" Tess looked as if she would rather be anywhere else just then, and she kept glancing around nervously.

  "Just give me an example of something you remember him doing. If he's going to be roaming these halls freely, it would be nice to know what warning signs to watch out for." Grace thought it was a reasonable question, except Tess paled, and Dylan sighed loudly.

  "What you need to understand is that Nate's stepfather took him out of school before he could hurt any of us. There were multiple incidents at home, his mother had bruises and refused to say how she got them. Plus we were just kids, so it's not like we took detailed notes on how the little rich boy went cray cray." Dylan's voice seemed very defensive, as if he wanted the subject dropped.

  "So just to clarify, neither of you have ever seen Nate lash out? And if I asked anyone here the same question, they would say the same, except for your cousin?"

  "Who died and made you a crime investigator," Dylan snapped.

  "Look I know you don't like Maddie, and she hasn't been as friendly as she could have been, but Nate's own stepfather didn't speak out to say that Maddie had lied." Although Tess had lowered her voice, somehow it seemed as if the conversation had been overheard, and by the worst possible person.

  "I've always thought that you were stupid New Girl, but calling me a liar has to be the dumbest thing you have done yet." Tess and Dylan seemed to move in a blink of an eye, leaving Grace face to face with Maddie. Before she even had a chance to challenge anything the other girl had said, she found herself pushed back into the lockers behind her.

  "You really thought that you could disrespect me is that right New Girl? After what you did yesterday? You clearly need to be taught a lesson." Grace was still reeling from the force at which Maddie had pushed her, unable to say anything that might appease the other girl.

  The bully seemed to blur in front of her, and Grace felt as if she might actually fall. Not wanting to show any weakness in front of her tormentor, she stood as tall as possible. Not that Maddie was in any way intimidated.

  "Watch your back New Girl. Step out of line again and you'll be sorry." There was no escaping the threat that had been issued, the venom in Maddie's words, or the malice on her face, when she pushed Grace again.

  As her head made contact with a locker door that had opened, she heard th
e rattle of the metal as it echoed through the almost empty corridor. School was over for the week, and once it became clear that Maddie was done teaching her lesson, the students who had been watching had disappeared. Including Dylan and Tess.

  There was a distinct lack of teachers present in the halls as well, even though Grace could have sworn she had seen at least two adults in the doorway of one of the classrooms. For all the leniency granted to Maddie, surely they would have stepped in to stop an unprovoked fight on school property. Not least because the bully was known for taking pride in how vicious her cat fights were, her opponents always being left with injuries that had to be cleaned up by the school nurse.

  Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to assess the damage inflicted during the one sided fight. Her version wasn't as blurry as it had been initially, and although there was a constant ringing in her ears, it shouldn't stop her from driving home.

  It took Grace slightly longer than she would have liked to gather up her school books, and other belongings from where they had fallen. By the time she reached her car, she was debating calling Jack, not sure if she could make the journey home.

  She still wasn't certain if it was safe for her to drive, even if it was less than fifteen minutes from the school to her house.

  She heard her phone ringing but didn't have the energy to search her bag for it. Deciding that if she drove slowly, she should be able to get home by herself, and that way she wouldn't have to tell Jack about the incident with Maddie.

  Grace hated herself for covering up what had happened, but the reality was, there was little Jack could do. So long as the school continued to turn a blind eye to the actions of it's Queen Bee, not just how she had treated Grace, but other unfortunate students, there was nothing to be achieved by making an official complaint.

  It took Grace twice as long as usual to make the drive, and by the time she had pulled into her parking space, she felt completely drained. She was having trouble moving, her frustration and sudden exhaustion made her exit from the car slower than Grace would have liked, but she was soon behind the locked door of her home.