Betrayed

you like Erik?”
    "No! Yes. Oh, hell, I don't know. It's like Loren's in a whole other world. And it's not like he and I can really date, or whatever." But I wasn't so sure about the whatever. Could Loren and I see each other secretly? Did I want to?
    As if she could read my thoughts Stevie Rae said, "You could sneak around and see Loren.”
    "This is ridiculous. He probably doesn't even feel like that about me.” But even as I said the words I remembered the heat of his body and the desire in his dark eyes.
    "What if he does, Z?" Stevie Rae was studying me carefully. "You know, you're different than the rest of us. No one has ever been Marked like you before. No one has ever had an affinity for each of the five elements. Maybe the same rules don't apply to you.
    My gut clenched. Since I'd arrived at the House of Night I had been struggling to fit in. All I really wanted was to make this new place my home—to have friends I considered family. I didn't want to be different and I didn't want to play by different rules. I shook my head and said through clenched teeth, "I don't want it to be like this, Stevie Rae. I just want to be normal.”
    "I know," Stevie Rae said softly. "But you are different. Everyone knows that. Plus, don't you want Loren to like you?”
    I sighed. "I'm not sure what I want, except that I know I don't want anyone to find out about Loren and me.”
    "My lips are sealed." Stevie Rae, little Okie dork that she is, pantomimed zipping her lips closed and throwing the key away over her shoulder. "No one's gonna get a word from me," she mumbled through half-sealed lips.
    "Hell! That reminds me, Aphrodite saw Loren touching me."
    "That hag followed you out to the wall!" Stevie Rae squeaked.
    "No no no. No one saw us out there. Aphrodite walked into the media center when he was touching my face.”
    "Ah, crap.”
    "Ah, crap, is right. And there's more. Remember when I missed part of Spanish 'cause I wanted to talk to Neferet? I didn't talk to her. I got to her class and the door was cracked, so I could overhear what was going on inside. Aphrodite was in there.”
    "That bitch was telling on you!”
    "I'm not sure. I only heard a little of what they were saying.”
    "I'll bet you were totally freaked when Neferet pulled you out of the dining hall to eat with her.”
    "Totally," I agreed.
    "No wonder you looked so sick. Jeesh, it all makes sense now." Then her got bigger. "Did Aphrodite get you in trouble with Neferet?”
    "No. When Neferet talked to me tonight she said that Aphrodite's visions are false because Nyx has withdrawn her gift. So whatever Aphrodite told her, Neferet didn't believe.”
    "Good." Stevie Rae looked like she'd like to break Aphrodite in half.
    "No, not good. Neferet's reaction was too harsh. She made Aphrodite sob. Seriously, Stevie Rae, Aphrodite was destroyed by what Neferet said to her. Plus, Neferet didn't even sound like herself.”
    "Zoey, I cannot believe we're going over this again. You've got to quit feeling sorry for Aphrodite.”
    "Stevie Rae, you're not getting the point. This isn't about Aphrodite, it's about Neferet. She was cruel. Even if Aphrodite was ratting me out and exaggerating what she saw, Neferet's response was wrong. And I'm getting a bad feeling about it.”
    "You're getting a bad feeling about Neferet?”
    "Yes … no ... I don't know. It's not just Neferet. It's like it's a mixture of stuff—everything coming down at once. Chris .. . Loren … Aphrodite … Neferet … something's off, Stevie Rae.”
    She looked confused, and I realized she needed an Okie analogy to get it. "You know how it feels right before a tornado hits? I mean when the sky's still clear, but the wind's starting to cool off and change direction. You know something's coming, but you don't always know what. That's how things feel to me right now.”
    "Like a storm's comin'?”
    "Yep. A big one.”
    "So you want me to...?”
    "Help me be a storm watcher.”
    "I can do that.”
    "Thanks.”
    "But first can we be movie watchers? Damien just ordered Moulin Rouge from Netflix. He's bringing it over, and the Twins managed to get their hands on some honest-to-God real chips and non-fat-free dips' She glanced at her Elvis clock. "They're probably downstairs right now pissed because they've been waiting for us.”
    I loved the fact that I could unload what felt like earth-shattering stuff to Stevie Rae and one second she could be "ohmygood ness -ing" and the next talking about something as