Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (32 page)

“Okay. Yeah, that place,”
I said and placed my arm across Erica
’
s shoulders
, wondering why she chose to be the queen of a land ruled by a giant talking lion
. In return
,
she snuggled up against my side.

“
Alrighty
,
then
,”
Mom said waving her hand in a dismissive way at us
,
“
I
’
m a yoga instructor. Being hip is low on the priority list. Smile
,
kids.
”
The flash blinded me.

“
Could you tell me where you hid my cuffs
,
Allison?
”
my dad
,
no scratch that
,
Darren asked as he strolled down the steps and into the living room. He was messing with the sleeve on his shirt so he didn
’
t see Erica and me standing there.
“
I could
’
ve sworn I left them beside our sink.
”

“
Geez
,
Dad
,
I had no idea you were back
…again
,”
I blurted. He stopped beside my mom and glanced at me
,
a guarded look quickly replacing the relaxed one I just saw. Our gazes met. That whirlwind of emotions started up in my chest again. My muscles tensed
,
and I felt Erica glance at me when they did.

“
What
’
s this? Another party
,”
he asked.
“Will
you be able to bring your girlfriend back in one piece
this time
?
”

“
Darren
,
please
,”
Mom begged.

“
It
’
s
alright
. He
’
ll be gone by the time I get back. So he won
’
t have any idea of what I did
,”
I blurted.

“
Enough
,
Caleb. Both of you. We have a guest
,”
Mom said.

I clamped my jaws shut and held my breath. It took all I had in me to keep the promise I made to my mom. Erica massaged my arm as she glanced at all of us. The tension in the living room was thick enough to smother somebody.

A vibration sounded through the silence.
Erica reached into her purse and pulled out a cell phone.
“
Wow
,
look at this
,
Caleb
,”
she
began
,
“
Shani and Kyle just sent me a text. They said to meet them at the party.
”

Mom lowered her head and sighed, looking ashamed that we acted this way in front of Erica
. It was because of her that I
chilled out
.

“
I
’
ll see you
two
out
,”
Mom said and ushered both Erica and me toward the door.
“
Try to enjoy yourself tonight
,
hon.
”

“
We will
,
Mrs. Wood.
”
Erica laced her arm through mine and pulled me toward my car.

* * *

Something didn
’
t feel right.

I eased my Challenger into a parking spot outside of the Hut
,
a building with an extra large party area in the back that was surrounded by palm
trees
. The music was so loud that it pumped inside my chest.

“
What
’
s wrong
,
Caleb
,”
Erica asked.

“
Nothing
,”
I lied
,
shrugging. She didn
’
t look convinced.

“
It
’
s about what happened with your parents
,
isn
’
t it?
”
she asked.

“
If only you knew.
”
I glanced at her.

“
Then tell me. I
’
m not just some air-head who owns a great set of pompoms
,”
she teased.

“
We
’
ll talk later
,”
I said. She agreed
,
even though I could tell she didn
’
t want to. We got out of the car. This nagging feeling in my chest just wouldn
’
t ease up.

The night air around the outside of the Hut turned cold
,
real fast. It was a deep
,
raw chill that seeped into your bones and messed with your head. The forecast called for a clear night and warm temperatures
,
uncharacteristic for a typical Halloween
here in New Bern
. It wasn
’
t happening that way
,
though.

Inside the
building
,
people partied
,
danced
,
drank: y
ou name it.
Black fabric was draped across the walls of the building. The Hut was normally a huge Internet café hangout. Tonight the computer stations were covered up. Instead, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, that Scream guy, and a bunch of other costumed kids huddled around the punch bowls on the tables lined up along the left side of the dance floor. Principal Armstrong and a few other teachers stood among the partygoers. The adults wore black uniforms that made them look like some kind of weird soldiers.

Giggling couples lined up for snapshots to be taken. The pictures
will
be entered in the best costume contest that always happened at the end of the night. Erica and I strolled through the doorway. A flash blinded me
,
making me think of my
m
om
for a moment.
“
For the contest
,”
a girl
dressed as a witch said.
“
Super c
ool costume
,
dude.
”

“
Thanks. But I don
’
t do contests
,”
I
replied
.

“
Come on
,
Caleb. I
’
d love for us to be Mr. and Mrs. Sea King
,
tonight
,”
Erica said
,
lacing her arm through mine.

I scoffed.
“
You
’
re kidding
,
right?
”
Every year there was a theme-based award given to the
two people
with the most votes for best costume. It was usually something corny like Mr. and Mrs. Sea King
where you got an equally corny prize such as a goldfish for winning. That
was
the main reason
why I never bothered to humiliate myself by attending these things.

“
My sexy Sasuke will make a most excellent Sea King
,”
Erica gushed.
Glancing behind me, her smile faded.
“
Look
,
there
’
s Shani and Kyle. Oh my God
,
she
actually wore
that stupid cheese head costume
.
Smile big. Here they come
.
”

Shani rushed over and hugged me.
“
Hello
,
Sasuke with the pretty gray-brown eyes. Hi
,
Erica. Nice butterfly costume.
”

Erica
’
s smile faded.
“
It
’
s a fairy
,
thank you
,
cheese face
. Sorry
,
I meant to say
Packer
girl.
”

“
Hey
,
it worked for Katy Perry
,”
Shani snapped. Erica rolled her eyes and shook her head a tad.

Kyle wore a Green Bay Packers jersey and a pair of yellow pants. We slapped our hands together. Damn
,
it was good to be hanging out with my friend
s
again. It
didn
’
t matter that he looked about as ridiculous as Thorne and his date dressed up as Elvis and Priscilla Presley.

“
What
’
s up
,
my man?
”
Kyle and I slapped our hands together.

“
Nothing but a fat bucket of
sea water
for tonight
’
s winners
,”
Kyle said.

“
What are you talking about?
”
I asked.

He turned around and pointed at the grassy area just outside the glass doors at the back of the Hut. I couldn
’
t see anything through the crowd.
“
It
’
s waiting. The award of doom. The winners will stand
on
a
stage
,
right? Get this now. I heard it
’
s rigged with a
barrel
of saltwater.
”

“
Right. Remind me why somebody would
want to
do something stupid like that
,”
I said.

“
It
’
s this year
’
s prank to go along with
the
Mr. and Mrs. Sea King
award
. Hello? Are you with us tonight?
”
Shani teased.

“
Ooh
,
I get it
,”
Erica began
,
“
Seawater to dump on the
S
e
a King and Q
ueen. Aw man
,
that
’
s going to be hilarious.
”

“
I know
,
right
,”
Kyle agreed and studied me for a moment. I made a mental note to pile drive anybody who attempted to pour water on me tonight.
“
Everybody
’
s making sure to vote for Thorne.
”
That part made sense. He had a lot of enemies.
The music changed to a tune that almost brought me to my knees. The House of the Rising Sun flowed from inside the speakers all around us. I inhaled sharply, unable to breathe.

“
Oh
my God
,
she
’
s so pretty
,”
Erica said to no one in particular as she stared at the entrance behind us. I felt her presence before I even turned my head.

“
Gia
,”
I muttered and spun around.

A vision wasn
’
t the word for the way she looked in her unicorn costume. The long white dress was short in the front and tapered down into a long trail of fabric behind her. The long sleeves created a lacy cover for her arms
,
even though her legs were bare. I swear the horn attached to her forehead glowed. It looked so real. Her dark hair was up in one of those bun things girls loved so much. A few strands hung down
,
framing the sides of her face.

I held
on to that last
gulp of air
. I couldn
’
t ex
hale even if I wanted to. Each breath
,
every part of my soul
,
belonged to this girl.