Don't Look Behind You (Don't Look Series Book 1) by Emily Kazmierski (summer reads .txt) 📗

I’m deep in concentration when a hand lands on the tabletop next to the paper I’m reading. Noah and I have been working in silence for over an hour, and the movement makes me startle, gasping in surprise.

“What was that for?” I ask, managing to glare up at the guy standing beside my chair.

Esau is looking at me with an inscrutable expression. “That’s what I was about to ask you. What were you thinking on Friday? I’m gone for one practice and you change everything about the production.”

My gaze flits to Noah, who is watching us carefully. Something in my look must convey the idea that I want privacy for this conversation, because Noah clears his throat and adjusts his glasses. “I’ll be right back,” he mumbles as he goes.

“You were gone for two practices, okay? And I changed one thing. One! I thought if you saw how it would look with the neon lighting, you’d like it. Besides, I put it all back when we were finished.”

Esau sighs, pulling over a chair from another table, turning it backward, and sitting in it. His arms cross casually across its back and his dark eyes pierce my own.

This is the part where he chews me out for messing with his precious production. I kind of understand why he’s so up-tight about every aspect of our play, from the actors’ delivery to the costumes to the lighting. Esau is the director, so we’re supposed to be working toward his vision. He was planning for this far before I came along, and probably didn’t anticipate butting heads with the new girl at school. There’s no way he saw me coming; I never saw any of this coming either. My throat dries and I swallow, forcing it open.

I steel myself for a whispered scolding just as Noah reclaims his seat across the table. He must have asked someone at the information desk for access to the library’s

newspaper archive, because he’s got a stack of them in his hands.

Esau glances at Noah, then leans closer to me. “Your lighting. It wasn’t… terrible.”

A surprised laugh escapes from my mouth.

“Don’t get carried away,” he says, but there’s a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Let’s get together later. We can talk it over. See if we can come to some kind of—”

“Compromise?”

“Yeah.” He swallows. It’s clearly killing him to admit that someone else’s idea isn’t the worst thing he’s ever heard. But I can’t help it. Half a smile tips my mouth up. I’ve worked my butt off in drama club, and it’s nice to finally get a little credit for it.

“I’m not sure if I can. My aunt…”

“She’s pretty strict. Yeah, I’ve heard,” he adds when my eyes widen.

“I’ll ask her, but I can’t promise anything.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Esau unfolds himself from the chair and replaces it under the next table. “See you around, Noah.”

“Yeah,” Noah says with a casual chin lift.

Esau walks right past Mr. Baugh, who is talking to the librarian at the information desk. When he turns, he sees us and gives a small wave which Noah and I return. Small towns, I think.

As Noah and I dig back into the case file, I can’t help but notice the ease between the two of us is gone. There is no easy banter about anime characters or the superior milkshake flavor. And worst of all was the look on his face when I told Esau I’d ask about meeting up with him later. Noah didn’t look sad, exactly. He looked disappointed.

Maybe he hasn’t forgotten about asking me out, after all.

Maybe it meant more to him than I realized.

I steal a glance at him across the table. His black wavy hair has fallen forward over his brow as he reads. Absently, a finger itches the side of his nose behind his glasses. He’s not as broad as Esau, but there’s a quiet confidence about him that I have to admit I like. I almost wish I could… No, it’s for the better this way. Who knows how long I’ll be living with Aunt Karen anyway. It might be for the next eighteen months until I finish high school and go off to college. Or it might be another week.

Noah’s arms are propped on the tabletop as if he’s trying to shield the crime scene photos he’s studying. I shudder, picturing that single name alone on a sheet of crisp white paper. Not for the first time, I wonder what will become of her.

Chapter 18

Hours Later

It took me forever to finish my work tonight, so it wasn’t a lie when I told my guardian that I had a headache and was going to bed early. A glass of water and a Tylenol fixed that. Now I lay still in bed, breathing in and out evenly so if Aunt Karen decides to check on me, she’ll think I’m asleep. She turned the hall light off and retired to her room two hours ago. So that’s looking unlikely. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard her moving around downstairs in the early hours of the morning a few times, but it’s almost midnight now, not 4 AM. Slowly, the noises from next door went quiet, signalling that the house is asleep.

Bright blue light from the full moon shines in through the gauzy curtains over the large window, turning the striped rug shades of blue and purple. Outside, an owl hoots from its perch in one of the eucalyptus trees that stretch out in a grove behind the house.

Under my pillow, my phone vibrates.

I slide it out and read the message.

I’ve been waiting for this text for the past hour since Esau messaged me that he was bored and I should meet him tonight to talk about the play’s lighting. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he enjoyed arguing with me. But if I can convince him of my vision for the play, it’ll be