I sat at the table, trying to ignore how the cat was staring at me as I flipped through a leather-bound diary I’d found on the magazine rack. I wondered how Neil expected to sell it when there was a giant hole right through the center and it was just pages and pages about some kid’s crappy life in an orphanage, and it definitely wasn’t doing a good job of keeping my mind off Vik.

Crap. Vik. Why had he skipped school? Could Bree be right? Was it because of what happened yesterday? Was he mad about me and Riley? I was sixteen years old. Didn’t I have the right to date somebody without constantly being judged and harassed for it? I’d told Vik for years that we were just friends. That’s it—friends. Who I dated was none of his business. There was no good reason for him to get all bent out of shape about it, like he was my father or something.

I glanced over the book to see Riley leaning against the counter, his lean, defined body lithe and casual at the same time. I didn’t see how anybody could protest me spending time with such a gorgeous creature. Any real, good friend would be happy for me.

Maybe Vik wasn’t as good a friend as I thought.

Or maybe he was in some sort of trouble after all. Vik was a total nerd; I’d never known him to miss a day of school.

As if he could sense my eyes on him, Riley glanced up and met my gaze. “What is wrong, young one?” he asked quietly, interrupting Neil.

I blushed and folded my arms. “Sorry,” I muttered. “I just—I’m worried about Vik.”

“Who now?” Neil tapped the end of his pipe.

“My friend,” I said, the word almost catching in my throat, though I wasn’t sure why.

“This the kid who thought it would be cute to let cultists steal his Necronomicon?”

“The same,” Riley answered for me, his expression clouding over with dark warning.

I sighed. “But you don’t understand. He’s been acting weird for days. I just—I wish that I knew he was okay. That he’s not angry at me. He’s been so edgy and defensive lately. Especially about his stupid tutor.”

Riley said something to Neil I couldn’t understand, and Neil’s eyes lit up.

“How close would you say you are to this kid?” Neil asked.

“I’ve known him all my life.”

“Awesome.” Neil stood and walked to the edge of the table, rubbing his hands together and grinning.

“Awesome?” I was confused.

“Yes. Been wanting to try this baby out.” He patted the projector affectionately and then shooed the cat off the table. “Want to check in on your friend?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This is Crystal,” he said, introducing me to the projector. “Crystal, Andi. Andi, Crystal.”