Ariel frowned. “Maybe it’s a story.”
“Nothing I’ve ever read,” Stella said.
“You’ve read thousands of books,” Ariel said. “What if it’s one you’ve forgotten? They have to mean something, like clues.”
“Clues to what?” Stella asked.
“I’ve never seen words like that before,” Jack interrupted, startling the women.
Stella gaped at him. “What do you mean?”
Jack shoved his hand into his pocket as though making sure nothing else was in there. Then he pointed to the notebook. “The purple words.”
“You canseethem?” Ariel blurted.
“Can’t you?” he asked. “Stella’s always had words around her.”
Stella gasped.What does he mean byalways?She leaned her hip heavily against the edge of the desk. Unsteady and shaken by Jack’s awareness, she pressed her hand to her forehead. Was she going to faint?
“No,” Ariel said.
Jack touched Stella’s arm again. “Why do those words hurt you?”
Stella met his gaze. “I don’t know. But how... how can you see my words?”
Jack looked momentarily confused. “I just thought it was part ofyou. I’ve seen them for years.”
“Years?” Ariel asked, her voice pitching higher than normal. “I thought you were visiting Arnie. Have you met Stella before?”
“No,” Stella and Jack said together.
“Not formally,” Jack added.
“Not in person,” Stella said.
A cell phone alarm went off in Ariel’s bag. She plucked it outand silenced the alarm. “I gotta get to work, but are you going to be okay? I feel weird leaving you here alone.”
“She’s not alone,” Jack said.
Ariel glanced at him and bit her bottom lip. “That’s not helping. No offense, but something eerie is happening, and I don’t know you from Adam. You’re giving off a vibe I can’t describe, but it’s making my tummy feel funny, and, you”—she pointed at Stella—“I don’t know what you’re—”
Stella lifted a hand to stop Ariel’s flow of words. “I’ll be okay. I’ll text you later. Vicki and Dan are coming in, remember? They’ll be here soon. Wait, why is Jack’s vibe making your stomach feel off?”
Jack looked above and around him. “Vibe?”
“You’re hiding something,” Ariel said plainly to Stella. “That’s what I’m feeling aboutyou. Want to elaborate?” She pointed at Jack. “Figured it out. Your vibe means you’re a love interest—”
“Say what?” Stella asked, feeling her heart rate escalate to a rapid pace. “I’m not hiding, well, not exactly— Listen, I’ll text you later. I promise. Right now, there’s a lot going on here, and I need to get my head straight.”
“You text me 911 if you need me for anything,” Ariel said as she dug through her shoulder bag. She placed a milky-white stick of selenite on the counter. “This absorbs bad energy, just in case.”
Jack smiled. “Am I the bad energy?”
“Or Stella,” Ariel said with a one-shoulder shrug. “It’s not biased.”
Stella sensed her best friend’s increasing worry, so she said, “Ariel, I promise I’ll text. Get to work.”
“Carry that with you,” Ariel said, picking up the selenite and handing it to Stella. “It works.” She looked pointedly at Jack and then rushed out of the library.
