Playing with Fire (8 page)

“Be like that sailboat out there.” Lily's mom pointed to the white sail of a large boat gliding across the lake. “Read the wind.”

“What wind?”

“The wind. Her emotions,” she explained. “Sailors steer by the way the wind blows. Some days they go full-force ahead. Other days they zigzag slowly. To reach a port, though, you must sail, not drift.”

Lily texted at that moment. She'd gone back to our room after her facial ended.

“Thank you,” I told Mrs. Randazzo. I meant it more than I could even tell her right then. “I'm ready to sail!” I bolted out of the spa before I could change my mind and raced to our room.

“Lily!” I called, slipping my card key in and pushing open the door.

“Oh. My. God.” Lily opened her mouth, closed it,
then burst out laughing. “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Do what?”

Lily led me to the mirror.

My eyes bulged as I viewed my hair for the first time. “I look like a toddler pageant queen crossed with a crazy wedding cake!” My blond hair, which usually hung long and straight, had been curled into a mess of tight corkscrews and then piled superhigh on my head.

“It's hysterical!” Lily cried. “America's Funniest Hairstyles.”

“More like America's Worst Hairstyles!” I laughed. “A new reality show, starring me!”

“I so need to snap this.”

“Use my phone.” I struck silly poses as Lily took pictures with my cell.

“These are the best.” Lily scrolled through the photos. “I've got to send them to Avery. Miranda, too.”

“Go for it.” I dug through my shellacked updo, trying to pull out the pins. “This requires octopus arms. Can you get the ones in the back?”

Lily peered intently at my phone. Her brows knit together. “Sara? What's all this?”

“All what?”

“You and Mason. You're texting about me. He keeps saying, ‘Did you tell Lily?' and ‘Does Lily know yet?'” She held the screen to my face. “Know
what
?” she demanded.

Deep breath.

“I've been trying to tell you for a long time. It's really hard to say.”

“I'm listening.”

With my hair still piled ridiculously on my head, I finally spilled the whole story. I told her about my powers, how I came to Stellamar so Lady Azura could help me understand them, and how I could see the dead.

“You mean, like, really see them? Face, body, expressions? The whole thing?” Lily asked.

“The whole thing. Hear them too.”

“For real? Is this a joke? Are you filming me or something?”

It wasn't easy, but I convinced Lily that I wasn't pranking her. She had lots of questions. What it felt like (I got that tingling in my leg and sometimes felt sick), if it scared me (all the time), when I first saw one
(when I was on the playground in preschool, but back then, everyone thought I had an imaginary friend), and why I didn't tell anyone (I didn't want to be one of those kids on the cover of the trashy magazines in the supermarket checkout lines).

“So?” I held my breath.

“So I think that's the most amazing, awesome thing ever!”

“For real?” I asked. “I've been so scared to tell you.”

“Well, that was silly. I would never tell your secret. That's what best friends do, right? Just you and me on this one.” She reached over and hugged me. “No more secrets ever, okay?”

And then I understood that weightless feeling that Mason talked about. I felt as if I'd been lifted high into the sky by a hundred helium balloons. My secret was no longer a rock in the pit of my stomach.

I hugged Lily back. “Just you and me,” I agreed.

“Wait a second.” Lily pulled away from me. “That's not right. Mason knew. Why did Mason know?”

“Well . . . uh . . . ,” I fumbled.

“You barely know him. You told this huge secret to a boy you barely know before you told
me
?”

“It's not like that.”

“You said telling me was this big thing. That no one else knew—”

“They don't,” I protested.

“Mason does. You've seen him what, like, three times? I thought I was your best friend.”

“You are!” I'd promised Mason never to reveal his powers to move objects with his mind. But if I didn't, how could I explain telling him before Lily? “It's complicated. I can't tell you why I told him. But it wasn't really a choice. And that's all I can say about it. I'm so sorry.”

“Another secret?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“How many more do you have?”

“None. Really.”

Lily shook her head. “How can I be sure? You're the only one who knows I sleep with a light on. When I had a crush on the lifeguard at the beach, I told only you. When my parents had that big fight last spring, I told only you. But you kept big secrets from me. You're still keeping secrets.”

“There aren't any more secrets. I promise!”

Lily studied me. “If I let the Mason thing go, that's it? Just you and me?”

“Maybe a ghost or two,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Lily smiled, despite trying not to.

“So no one else knows? Not even Jayden?”

Jayden had been my sort-of boyfriend last year at school, before his family moved away. I had wanted to tell him a million times but never had. I'd never really even come close to telling him. “Not even Jayden. I promise.” Lily nodded, and I could tell we were going to be all right. I started telling her about my lessons with Lady Azura.

“Is your hair as silly as mine?” Lily's mom pushed open the door that connected our rooms. She eyed the two of us talking side by side on my bed. “Everything good here?”

I nodded eagerly.

Mrs. Randazzo's face lit up. She had the same contagious smile as Lily. “Excellent! Lily, I'm so glad Sara finally told you. It's mind-boggling, isn't it?”

“Wait.
You
know?” Lily stood between me and her mom. “About Sara?”

“Yes, sweetie, we've talked about it.” Mrs. Randazzo sounded happy, almost relieved. She didn't notice the cloud descending over Lily's face. “I'll let you girls finish talking.” She started to back out of the room and then caught my eye. “Everything is definitely good, right?”

“Right,” I said, trying to force a smile.

“Yeah, we're good,” Lily added in a voice that sounded so cheerful I almost believed her. “We just have to finish talking about some stuff.” But the moment her mom left the room and shut the door, Lily turned to face me, and I knew she'd been acting for her mom's benefit. We most definitely were not good.

“You just told me that no one else knew.” Lily's voice came out in a strangled whisper. She was hurt. I had hurt her.

“Why didn't you tell me you told
my mother
before me?” Lily demanded, her voice rising. “One more secret?”

“No, it wasn't a secret. I didn't think of it, that's all.”

It sounded ridiculous, of course, but somehow, in the moment, I had totally forgotten about Mrs. Randazzo. I wished I had the power to somehow
freeze time and go back and do it all over again. But that's one power I don't have.

“You forgot you told my mother before me, your supposed best friend? You promised, Sara.” Her voice was heavy with hurt. “How many other people know? Really—just tell me the truth. Is everyone laughing at me? The dumb best friend? The only one who doesn't know you can see the dead?”

“No one else knows.” This wasn't going the way I wanted. “You have to believe me.”

“Believe what? That you can see ghosts? Or that you trust everyone but me to be cool with that info?”

“I trust you. I should've told you first.” Tears pooled in my eyes. I'd been so afraid that Lily would laugh at me or not believe me or dump me as a friend. It had been all about how I would feel. I never thought I'd be the one to upset her.

“I'm so sorry,” I said.

Lily crossed her arms. “Fine.”

And I could tell from the look she gave me that we weren't fine. Not yet.

But I didn't know what else to say.

Lily acted cold toward me for the rest of the day and into the night. After dinner, she didn't want to go to the teen dance party, so we rented a movie in our room. She watched it in silence.

I thought today would be better. I was wrong.

Breakfast was frosty. Lily spoke to me enough that her mom and Aunt Angela wouldn't be suspicious. But I knew she was still upset. And she knew I knew.

Give her time
, I told myself.
Lily never stays angry for long
. Not that I knew this firsthand. Lily had never been angry with me. Until now.

She sat next to Kayla at the pool. I perched on a lounge chair in the “teen area” and watched as she had Kayla rub sunscreen on her back. That was my job. We always played a guessing game, painting letters or numbers on each other's backs.

Kayla described New York City stores I'd never heard of, and she promised to take Lily shopping when she came to visit. She, not we. Kayla didn't seem to care about why Lily was being cold to me. She was happy to have the spotlight of Lily's full attention.

Give her time
, I told myself again.

“I'm taking a walk,” I announced. “Want to come?”

“No, thanks. We're going to chill here.” Kayla settled back on her chair. Lily flipped down her sunglasses and leaned back too, letting Kayla decide for her.

Okay, then. I knew when I wasn't wanted.

I wandered the grounds of Helliman House. Groomed paths wove through groves of pine trees. Little signs described different ferns, birds, and flowers along the way. I tried to read them, but my mind was still with Lily.

The path led me around the side of the hotel. Spotting a door propped open by a large painted stone, I entered. A short hall with several offices opened into the main lobby. I stopped suddenly when I heard a familiar childlike voice.

“I need more information,” Laura pleaded from the
other side of the door marked
PRIVATE
.

“What more can I give?” a man replied.

“I can't help until I know who I am dealing with and why he or she is here,” Laura explained.

“That's your job.” The man sounded gruff.

“I know.” Laura let out an exasperated sigh. “I cleansed the area, but I still feel a presence. Do you know if we're dealing with many ghosts or just one?”

“No idea. Listen, Laura, can you do this or do I need to get someone else?” He didn't hide his annoyance. “A huge wedding party arrives tomorrow. We're fully booked. I need those rooms. I can't lose this business. You have twenty-four hours to get those ghosts gone, and not a minute more. And I'm not paying you a cent until you do.”

The door swung open, and I stepped away. Laura walked out. For a moment, I thought about slipping unnoticed into the bustle of the lobby. Then I saw her rub her temples. “Are you okay?” I asked.

She was surprised to see me. “Not so much,” she admitted. She told me everything I'd overheard. “It's not about the money. It's about my reputation as a spiritual healer. I want to do the job I was hired to do,
but I need to understand the spirit better so I can find the right herb to banish it.”

“Understand how?” I asked as we strolled through the lobby.

“Who it is. Why it's still here.” Laura stopped before one of the walls of old photos. “Spirits stay behind for a reason.”

Should I tell her? I wondered. I could describe the red-haired girl. I could tell her about the glow. About the flames. But if I did, I'd have to reveal my powers. Tell another person. I felt, somehow, the right thing to do would be to run the idea by Lily before blurting it out to Laura.

I examined the photos with Laura. The lake with a small boat with an old-fashioned outboard motor. The original house with a boxy, black car in the circular drive. Suitcases were strapped to the back of the car. No trunks in those days, I figured.

Then I sucked in my breath.

The girl with the red hair. Except it wasn't red now. In the photo, there were only shades of black, white, and gray. But I didn't need to see the crimson hair to know it was her.

She posed in a dark dress in a stiff family portrait. The photo had been taken in front of the stone fireplace that now graced the lobby. She stood with her mother and father and a younger, dark-haired girl, who looked about thirteen. I thought she might be the girl I'd seen in my vision. The girl on the bed with her older sister.

“Who are they?” I asked.

Laura didn't know. She motioned over Sofia, who'd been straightening flower arrangements on the side tables.

“That's the Helliman family,” Sofia reported. “The original owners of the house. Andrew Helliman and his wife, May. The older daughter was named Belinda, and the younger one was Margaret.”

“What happened to them?” I asked.

“They all died in a fire that destroyed part of the house.”

“That's so horrible.” Laura shuddered. “Those poor souls.” The fire I'd seen and felt now made sense.

Laura brushed her fingertips along the portrait. “Those poor souls,” she repeated. Then she turned to me. “I think we found the ghosts who are haunting
the hotel. It's a whole family!” She hurried toward the open elevator. “I need to prepare for a cleansing,” she called over her shoulder before the door shut, whisking her away.

Laura's close
, I thought with relief. I wanted her to figure it out. It wasn't the whole family in room 22. It was just Belinda. I stared at the portrait. She gazed dreamily into the distance.

Why?
I thought.
Why are you still here, Belinda?

Only an inch separates giving someone their space and shutting them out, I decided
. Enough time had passed. I headed back to the pool.