Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) (16 page)

I use the wall as support, while climbing over the edge of the tub and stepping into the hot water. It tingles my toes, but feels pleasant. I let myself sink down to the bottom, grab a bottle of foam and pour it in. It’s dead quiet here. The only noise is the blood being pumped through my veins. The rhythmic sound relaxes me, and I close my eyes. Then my head goes underwater.

The ceiling looks awkward from below the water. Ripples in the water make it seem like the nails in the wood above are moving. The dimmed light of the lamp creates strange shadows. The warmth around me dilutes my thoughts. Especially the ones about Simon.

When I come back up, everything smells like soap. Good. I w
ash my hair and enjoy the bubbles around me. For a good ten minutes I lie there, enjoying the silence.

Then sudden ti
cking against the windows scares me. I turn my head and look at the glass. Every other second, small pebbles are thrown against it.

I climb over the edge of the tub and pull out the plug. Then I take two towels
off the stack my mom placed in the corner and wrap one around my body and one around my hair. In the meantime the ticking continues.

I walk up to the window and stare outside. On the lawn is Joey Mason.

Checking if my towel is secured tightly, I open the window.

“Got a minute?” he yells.

“What in God’s name are you doing here?”

“Damian told me he was picking you up tomorro
w. I’ve got something for you.”

“Can’t you just ring the doorbell or something?” I ask, frowning.

“I tried, but nothing happened. It doesn’t work, I think.”

I sigh. “Fine. Hold on. I’ll come right down.” He sticks up his thumb and I close the window. I take off the towel, brush my hair and wrap myself in a
bathrobe. It’ll do.

When I open the door, Joey’s standing with his hands behind his back. “Well
, hello there.”

I frown.
“What’s up?”

Joey’s pupils
dilate, looking at me. “Hey, you didn’t have to undress for me, you know. I know I’m irresistible, but you’re going a bit too fast, Hun.”

“I was in the bathtub, you idiot!” I roll my eye
s. “Come on, why are you here?”

“Alright, alright. Damian told me to give you this.” From behind his back a shining, black helmet appears.

“What for?” I ask as Joey hands me the helmet.

“To
scrub your back with, alright? No, he’s planning to take you on his motorcycle. Duh, what else?” Joey shrugs. “That helmet belonged to me. I got it from my old man, so I could ride with him on his motorcycle, but that was a long time ago. I bought a car the moment I turned sixteen, and that helmet is useless now. There’s no way in hell I would ever jump on a motorcycle with another guy.” He laughs.

“Well, thanks,” I say, clasping my bathrobe tight.

“Anyway, I’m off,” Joey says, and he waves before walking down the path to his car.

“Bye!” I call and shut the door. I want to jump up and down like a screaming girl. The thought of having an excuse to keep Damian close to me as we ride on his motorcycle makes me feel fuzzy.

***

For the first time in many nights, I don’t dr
eam of a car accident, but of a kiss with Damian in a very small room.

When I wake up the next morning, all I
can think about is eating as many sweets as I can. To deal with my cravings, I take a banana out of the fruit bowl and see my mom standing near the stove. She’s making eggs and bacon. I sit down at the table and keep my eyes on her. I wonder if she’s going to say anything, but she remains quiet. Her movements are stiff, and the expression on her face makes me cringe.

With care she puts the pan on the table, not even wincing at the sight of me, and in awkward silence we eat our breakfast. The eggs are burnt
, and the bacon is so tough that I have to grind my teeth on it. I get some milk from the fridge, and I’m pouring it in a glass when my mom breaks the silence.

“Where were you last night? I was worried about you. You should’ve been here much earlier. You should’ve come home straight after work. You didn’t even touch the dinner plate I left in the fridge.” She seems
as calm as an eye in a storm, staring at the skin she’s peeling off an apple.

“I was at Simon’s, M
om. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen. I forgot my keys, so I had a bite over at his place. Why are you being so difficult? It was only eight o’clock.” I gulp down the milk.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she
snaps and takes a bite of the apple. “You do.”

“Why can’t I just be a regular
teenager, living in a normal house? Instead, I have to deal with this. You’re always acting weird. I’m worried about you too, because of your paranoia,” I growl.

“Raven.” My
mom turns her head at me, frowning. “That’s not your concern. I told you, I try to do my best, and you’re my number one priority, but you have to follow my rules.”

That’s it. I’m done with her and the fights we always have. Her a
ttitude and behavior enrage me.

I storm up the stairs, pack my bag and fetch the helmet.
Then I bolt downstairs and yell at my mom that I’m not coming back for the next few hours. Stomping out of the house, I heave sighs and slam the door behind me.

Who does she think she is? I’m not some helpless little girl who needs to be home at six ‘o clock. I can take care of myself, but she doesn’t even let me try. Instead, she decides to act all stubborn and tries to force me to bend to her will. Well
, I won’t let her.

With big steps I walk to the garage and get out my mountain
bike, while still holding the helmet in my hand. I’ve got to get away quick, before my mom sees me. I’ve had enough for today. All I want is someone to relate to, someone who’s like me, someone I can talk to, who listens to me and who understands me. But my mom will never be like that.

When I ride on, I pass Damian’s house, so I stop and think.
Should I ring the door?
He said he’d rather not have me do that, but what else am I supposed to do? I can’t go to anyone else, and I really need to talk to someone. Lillian and Emma hate me right now, and I’m too ashamed to even show my face at Simon’s. And don’t get me started on my mom.

So I gather the courage to walk up to his front door.

A dog’s barking, and the jingles of bottles falling on the floor are audible. Someone’s yelling. I think it’s his foster father. Right as I’m about to knock on the door, Damian opens it. He’s frowning, and he winces when he sees me; probably not happy I came here.

“I’m sorry.
I have nowhere else to go.” I fight the tears. He walks back into the house and when he comes back, he has his helmet in his left hand. With his right hand he pushes me forward and closes the door behind him.

“Are you okay
?” he asks with his hand on my shoulder.

“
I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, now that you’re here anyway, we might as well go.” He says while walking to his motorcycle.

“Yeah, sure. Seems like fun,” I answer, but my breath becomes ragged, because I’m anxious.

Before he put
s his helmet on, he signals me. “You can leave your mountain bike here, since you brought your helmet.”

I nod and walk toward him.

He throws his leg over the rumbling cycle and sits down. I get all warm inside walking up to him, knowing I’m about to get my hands on him. I position myself on the tiny seat behind him and swallow away the nerves. I’m not wearing any suit, just a helmet, but I know I’ll be safe with Damian.

“Hold on tight,” h
e says.

I gulp.
I can do this. Yeah, just do it. No problem. Touching a guy, isn’t that hard. I’ve already kissed him, right?

I wrap my hands around his firm
waist, his suit squeaking as I tighten my grip. The familiar scent of leather hypnotizes me. Then I hear the engine grumble as we ride off and leave his house behind us.

The wind rustles through my dark red hair
hanging out of the helmet as I hold onto him. The air is cool, but I can barely feel it because of the heat coming from the inside out. My chin rests on Damian’s shoulder as I enjoy the smell of his aftershave. He’s exhaling faster as I squeeze and hold on tight.
Does he feel the same thing as me right now? Excited and tensed up?
The tension between us is hot. I could stay here forever, with him, on his motorcycle, riding all across the world without looking back. This is amazing.

Hours pass.
We drive through the woods across unpaved and gravel roads. Right through unknown territory, so I have no idea where we are anymore. But, I don’t care. I want to stay with him, wherever that may be.

All that’s here are the trees that waver in th
e wind and the sun high above that they worship. The area is covered in old withered leaves from last year’s fall, and the ground here is gray. Right before us is a small pool of water, not big enough to swim in. It’s surrounded by poppies, buttercups and other weeds.

There, at the water, he stops and lets me get off before he does. Then he parks the motorcycle, chains it up to a tree and hangs his
helmet on the handle bar. I put my helmet on the ground. Damian sits down against a tree close to the waterline and invites me to do the same.

“Before I answer your questions, I want to know a couple of things about you,” he asks.

“Alright. Shoot.” I walk up to him.

“Why did you move here? Didn’t you like your previous home?”

“I did … But my mom didn’t. She’s kind of paranoid. She thinks we’re being followed everywhere. A tiny bit of awkwardness can set her off, and then she wants to move again.” I park myself at the same tree and look around at the beautiful surroundings. Damian’s so close right now, I can hear him breathe.

“Why do you want to know?” I ask.

“Oh, for no real reason. I just can’t imagine someone wanting to move to this place. It’s so … strange.” He turns his head away from me. Does he mean that the town is strange or was he talking about himself?

“Not since I’ve met you,” I say, but I’m too afraid to look him in the eye. It’s quiet for a while.

“Aren’t you afraid? That black ghost was only one of many who could hurt you, you know,” he asks.

“Maybe, but I know I can count on you,” I reply. “I just want to know the truth.
I’ll face my fears if I have to.”

“Good, because you need to get rid of your fea
r if you want to hang around me,” he says. “Not for me, but for all those ghosts, because they’ll hunt you down for it. They can feel your fear, and it lures them to you. It’s like a siren’s song, only without the voice. We don’t want that.”

I nod. It’ll be hard to put aside my emotions and fears for the monsters that have haunted me for so long.

“Although there’s something you should know. When something happens to me, you could get hurt too. I hunt ghosts, but they hunt me too,” Damian says.

“Why? I mean, you aren’t
evil?” I ask.

He sighs and gazes at the pond. “I’m not like those black g
hosts, no. But I am capable of doing bad things.”

“
But why do they hunt you then?”

He exhales and doesn’t answer. Instead, we’re both quiet for a while. I must’ve asked something that
he doesn’t like to talk about.

“Why do you have so many questions? It’d be so much better if you just didn’t know anyth
ing,” he says.

“You said it yourself
; it’s too late for that. I just have to know what you guys are doing, what it is that … why I …” I can’t finish my sentence, because I’m ashamed of the fact that I want to know why I feel so attracted to him.

“It’d be much better for you if
you just stayed away from me.”

“You know I won’t,” I say blunt
ly.

“I know.” He looks at me and a broad smile appears on his face. “I like your tenacity. You really don’t let anyone drive you away.”

I make an awkward smile, because of the compliment he gave me. My stomach feels jittery.

“I’m sorry I was so mad at you after Billy’s. When I saw your reaction after our kiss I just knew you recognized me as the ghost in your room. I wanted to do everything to make you forget. To keep you out of this, even t
hough it was already too late.”

I nod
, understanding.

He sighs. “You probably have a ton of questions, although I’m not sure I can answer all of them.”

“I don’t get how you are able to do this. I mean, you do something nobody has ever done before, right?” I lean in so close I can feel his arms against mine. It makes me warm inside.

“That’s right.”

“How do you become a ghost then? And what do you do?” My voice sounds soft.