Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series (2 page)

I looked back at Nathan. “Roche Harbor,” I said.

“Roche Harbor?” He pulled his brows into a questioning frown. “Who’s throwing a party in Roche Harbor?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re Mr. popular.”

“Then how do you know about it? I never even heard of it.”

“Mellissa had a flyer. I really need to go. I’ll see you later, Nathan.” The bell chimed as I pulled the door open.

“Pria, wait.”

Oh, no.

“Mind if me and the guys tag along?” Yes I minded! But how could I say no? It wasn’t my party. Who was I to decide who did and didn’t go? Mellissa would kill me for bringing him along. “It’s in the cemetery,” I said. “We’ll meet you there.”

“Oh my god, why would you invite Nathan?” Mellissa demanded as I drove us to the cemetery.

“I did not invite him. He invited himself.”

“You told him where it was. That’s bad enough.”

“It’s a free country. He can go where he wants.”

“Who’s he bringing with him, anyway?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask.” It wasn’t a long drive to Roche Harbor, only about twenty minutes or so. I turned right at the intersection on Roche Harbor Road and onto Afterglow Drive. A few minutes later, I parked the car and we got out. The night air rustled through the trees in the wood and I pulled on a pair of gloves. Mellissa was wearing a tiny pair of denim shorts over black tights and black, Ugg boots. She grabbed her black, furry jacket from the back seat, zipping it all the way up and pulled on a black beanie. She would blend into the night if it wasn’t for her bright red hair, and lipstick.

“Oh god, here he is.” Mellissa’s scorned face looked in the direction of a pair of headlights sweeping up onto the dirt path, just behind my Fiat. Nathan’s dad’s Ford explorer pulled up next to my car, and he killed the headlights, swamping us back into darkness.

“That didn’t take him long. He obviously followed us straight here,” Mellissa said, looking less than pleased.

“I’m not happy about him being here either,” I said.

“Then why’d you invite him?”

“I never!”

Mellissa cracked a smile. Laughing, she said, “I’m just kidding. We’ll ditch him or something.” Nathan and three of his friends piled out of the car.

“Did you tell Drake where we were going?” I asked Mellissa.

“Nope, just said you were coming over to my house for girl’s night.” Perfect. I really didn’t need Caleb gate-crashing tonight. I looked around me at the bleakness of the cemetery. It was eerie after dark, and I felt uneasy being here, especially after what happened back at the house. I hadn’t seen anyone, but I was certain someone had been in my room. I’d felt the lingering presence like a life force. The sensation sent a long overdue shiver up my spine and I couldn’t help but glance around at my surroundings. Was someone watching me now? Well if they were, they certainly had enough opportunity to hide.

“There’s no party here.” My attention snapped back to what was going on now, when Nathan and his friends stopped next to me and Mellissa.

“Huh?” I said, looking between him and who he had brought along.

I recognized both of them. The one with the dull shade of spiked blonde hair was called Tye Sinclair, and just like Nathan, he was taking a gap year and offering his services to Mr. Loren, Nathans dad. Tye came with us to Paris, and the other burlier guy, who reminded me a little of a bear, was Jason Monroe. Jason was a senior, too and played on the school football team. I only knew that because he never took his letterman jacket off. I swear he must have glued that thing to his back.

I cut a sideways glance at Mellissa who was eyeing Jason with intent. She couldn’t keep the grin of her face, and he looked equally pleased to see her.

Before Drake came along, Jason was Mellissa’s newest crush. Even though I had never really spoken to him, I could see why she would like him. He was tall and very muscular, and not in a gross way either. Despite his overpowering and hulking frame, his soft brown eyes were kind and sexy both at the same time. He was
very
popular at school, but from the little attention I had paid him, I couldn’t remember ever seeing him with a girl. I watched her eyeing him up. What the hell? Drake
would not
be happy about that.

“The party,” Nathan said. “Where is it?”

“Oh right. Afterglow Vista.” I pointed through the wood. “Just through there.” I nudged Mellissa discreetly with my elbow. She smiled like she wasn’t doing anything wrong, and nudged me back twice as hard. I tippled to the side, but caught my footing.

“The old McMillan plot?” Nathan asked.

“That’s the one.” I gripped Mellissa’s hand, hard. “I can hear music, let’s just follow it.”

We trudged through the wood, me and Mellissa in front, and I couldn’t get one foot in front the other quick enough. I couldn’t rid myself of the nervousness that had settled in me. Anybody could be in the trees watching me, and I was too scared to look up in case I saw something out of place. I kept all my focus on the dirt path in front of me. A gateway up ahead with an arching iron sign, read Afterglow Vista, and I could see beyond it dancing lights from a gathering in the middle of the McMillan mausoleum.

The mausoleum was cryptic looking to say the least. It was a giant circular, pillared, stone structure, on a raised platform, housing a round limestone table and six limestone chairs. The chairs held the ashes of each member of the McMillan family. We had learned in school that the McMillan’s were a very wealthy family in the 1800’s, controlling a successful lime company, here in Roche Harbor, and this was what was left of them.

We climbed the stone steps up to the mausoleum, and the increasing noise from the party helped me to feel more at ease. There really was nothing out here. We were completely isolated. I didn’t recognize a single face, and everyone looked at us as if we had dropped in from another planet. I was beginning to regret ever coming here. This was all Caleb’s fault.

“Nathan, dude! What’s up?” A figure separated its self from the gathering and walked over to us. He was older than us that much was obvious, and he wore a blue and grey, Braves hoody. He was part of La Conner’s football team. I’d seen flyers with La Conner’s logo plastered all over school advertising the now cancelled football game. Nathan’s face lit up in recognition and he bumped fists with whoever this guy was. “Karl, the Game was cancelled so you thought you’d invade our turf instead?”

“That’s it man,” Karl said, casting a satisfied glance at his handiwork. “Thought we’d wake the dead before we go back home.”

I didn’t care for football in the slightest, but there was no way of not hearing that tonight’s game had been cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch from the other night’s monstrous rainfall.

Mellissa stuck out her hand, forcing it into Karl’s grip. “Hi, I’m Mellissa and this is Pria. We’re not with him.” She jerked her thumb sideways at Nathan. “He just followed us here. So, where’s the alcohol? This isn’t a party until my twenty-twenty vision has turned to double vision.”

Karl held onto her hand, obviously enjoying the view. He tipped his head in the direction of the table that sat at the center of this whole thing, right in the middle of the mausoleum. “Bar’s over there. Help yourself. I’ll see you later?” Yep, he definitely liked what he saw.

“Maybe you will,” Mellissa said in her flirty voice. I followed her over, pushing our way through the unknown crowd. La Conner was in Skagit County, about three or four hours away, and this must have been some of its high schoolers. No the wonder no one knew about the party. How did Mellissa end up with a flyer? No one else was here from our school. Mellissa grabbed a bottle of what looked like whisky off the table and two red plastic cups, pouring it in and mixing it with some lemonade. She passed me a cup and I took a sip. I scrunched up my face. “I can’t drink that. I’m driving.”

“Just leave the car,” she said.

“And get home how?”

“Nathan.”

“Oh, it’s okay for Nathan to take us home? You can’t stand him any other time.”

“He owes us.”

“Us?”

“Seriously? You’re gonna leave me to drink all on my own?” I had to laugh. Did she really think that was going to make me feel sorry for her?

“I’ll have this one, and then I’m drinking soda.”

“Fine. That’s up to you if you want to be a total kill joy.” Mellissa looked at the crowd that surrounded us. “There’s no place to sit here.”

“There’s a space on the steps over there.”

“Let’s go sit down,” Mellissa said, and we anchored our way through the party, sitting down in the empty spot on the cold steps, that led up to the mausoleum. A rap song was pumping from somewhere, but I couldn’t see any speakers. I took another sip of my drink. It was so strong, one would be more than enough.

“What was that back there, with Jason?” I asked Mellissa.

She shrugged. “I can’t help it if he’s cute.”

“Do you still like him?”

“I still think he’s cute, yeah. But that’s it.”

“He is cute,” I said. “I think he’s into you.”

Mellissa’s hand clamped down hard on my leg. “He’s coming over,” she said, barely moving her mouth. Jason was walking over from Mellissa’s direction and sat down on the step below us, directly in front of Mellissa, angling his body so he was facing her. I bit back a smile. I could see that she was pleased he’d come over. She absolutely did still like him.

“Hey girls, what’s going on?”

“Not much,” Mellissa said. “What’s going on with you?”

“Not much. It’s Mellissa right?” His smooth brown eyes held a deliberate smirk and I was beginning to feel like an intrusion before anything had even happened.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve seen you around school.”

“I’ve seen you too.”

Jason laughed and rubbed his hand over his short dark hair. “Oh you have? I wouldn’t mind seeing you outside of school sometime.”

Okay, I was leaving. This was too uncomfortable. “I’m going to dilute this drink,” I said to Mellissa. I smiled at Jason and stood up and left. I looked back and he got up, jumping into my place. I squeezed in through the unknown bodies and picked up the empty bottle of lemonade on the table. “Great,” I Murmured.

“You after this?” A hand, landed a full bottle of lemonade onto the table. A boy with long, black hair tied back into a low ponytail smiled down at me.

“I was, yeah,” I said.

“I’m Matoskah.”

“Pria.” The boy wasn’t local or I would have seen him somewhere before. He was too distinct looking and too exotic.

“I’m from La Conner,” he said. “Sucks about the game, huh?”

“I don’t like football.”

“Figures. A pretty girl like you.” I smiled in my discomfort. I opened the lemonade and poured some into my cup. “Thanks for the lemonade,” I said to him, and walked off, losing myself in the crowd.

I stood at the edge of the Rotunda. Mellissa was still sitting with Jason. I didn’t really want to go back over there, and I found a spot on the edge of the steps, circling the mausoleum. I was surrounded on either side by standing groups of kids, laughing and chattering away. I wrapped my hands around my cup and took a sip of my drink. The temperature had dropped dramatically and I watched steam waft up out of my mouth from my warm breath. I had never attempted to use my supposed gift since my birthday with Caleb, and I actually had no idea where to start. Caleb didn’t seem too keen on me using them. He kept insisting the power will come to me on its own, but I was becoming restless, and if I really could make things happen, like storms, and summoning animals, then I really wanted to make this night a little warmer. I was supposed to be here having a good time but I just felt miserable. What was wrong with me? Was I really going to let Caleb ruin everything in my life? Did I really want to be that girl? No, I didn’t. I hated that girl, and I was slowly becoming her. I guzzled my drink and just as I was about to get up and get another, Matoskah plonked himself down next to me.

“Got you this,” he said with an easy smile. His teeth were dazzling white, perfectly in line. “You look like you could use a friend over here.” Matoskah was good looking with his chiseled features and smooth copper skin, but I wasn’t attracted to him. I was thankful for his company, however. It would help keep my mind occupied from slipping back into that dark place.

“Whisky and lemonade right?”

“Right,” I said. He set the lemonade and whisky bottle down in-between us and poured a drink into my empty cup. “Wouldn’t want you to think I’d slipped anything into it,” he said jokingly. He handed me my cup back, now full, and I thanked him.

“So, do you wanna talk about it?” he offered. I turned to face him and he was watching me with what looked like part sympathy, part curiosity.

“Talk about what?” I said.

“Whatever’s stopping you from having a good time. Your face thinks you’ve sent it to a funeral, not a party.”

Might as well be a funeral. We were in the right place for it. “Maybe you’re right,” I said. “It’s just boy stuff. I’ll get over it.”

“Whoever he is, he’s an idiot.”

“I wish that were true. He’s many things, but idiot isn’t one of them.”