Slumber (8 page)

“I'm seventeen. And no. There's no one to call.”

The doctor's tired face grew a little wearier. “Let me ask the nurse to contact social services. There are resources —”

“No, we don't need any help, thanks.” Ruby turned away and slowly made her way back to her little sister, mind spinning. What was she going to tell Shelley? And what were they going to do now? They were barely making it as it was. Would she have to drop out of school completely so she could work? What about college? What about her future?

Would Mom ever get better?

Shelley roused from her doze when Ruby touched her. “Is Mom going to be okay?”

“She's gonna be fine,” Ruby said automatically. “We're all gonna be fine.”

Lying came so easily to her now.

But she could tell she must still be a bad liar because it was clear that Shelley didn't believe her at all.

Ruby and Shelley dozed fitfully in the hospital waiting room until dawn when the buses started running again and she was able to get Shelley home. During the bus ride, Shelley never woke up, not even when Ruby carried her sister's dead weight inside their trailer. She deposited Shelley's limp figure onto Mom's bed, crawled in beside her sleeping sister, and cuddled around her. But despite her exhaustion, Ruby had trouble getting to sleep. The events of last night seemed so unreal—the party, Tam, her mother's collapse. Almost like it happened to another person.

She finally fell asleep after an hour, the ruby pendant pressing against her throat, only to be awakened by her cell phone ringing at precisely 8 a.m. Groggily she stared at the number, which was unfamiliar to her. Then she realized it could be the hospital calling. Or her mother! In a flash her sleepiness vanished.

“Hello, Mom?”

“Am I speaking with Ruby Benson?”

So it wasn't Mom. “Yes,” she replied cautiously.

“This is the Suffolk County office of Child Protective Services.”

Child Protective Services?

“We understand there are minors living alone without the supervision of an adult at 427 Sea Oats Lane. Is this correct?”

Ruby scrambled off the bed as quietly as she could so she didn't wake Shelley. “My mother is temporarily in the hospital,” she said. “But we're fine. I can take care of my sister.”

The woman on the other end of the phone said gently, “But who is taking care of you?”

“I can take care of me.” Ruby winced at the unexpected quaver in her voice. “I'm seventeen.”

“You're still a minor. The law says that we can't leave minors to fend for themselves. Are there any relatives you can stay with until your mother comes home?”

She fiddled nervously with the necklace. “No.”

“It'll be best if we find somewhere you and your sister can be cared for until your Mom's better. We have several foster care homes in your area —”

“Foster care?” Was she still asleep and in the middle of a nightmare? She pinched the skin on her arm and it hurt, so no.

The social worker went on. “We'll arrange for a case worker to arrive at your home as soon as possible. Please be ready to leave immediately so we can place you under protective custody.”

This can't be happening.
“Will Shelley and I be able to stay together?”

“We will make every effort to find a home that will take both of you. We can't make any guarantees, but we will try. Please know that this is for your own health and well-being.”

Why do adults always say that?
“I don't understand how separating me and my sister while our mother is sick helps our well-being.”

“I'm sorry, I know it seems harsh. But we have laws —”

Ruby listened with half an ear to the social worker explaining the legal mumbo jumbo that meant she couldn't stay in her own home, fighting the feeling that her life was spinning totally out of control. Last night she'd accepted that she'd have to drop out of school to care for Shelley and earn some money while Mom was sick. College and a drama program was a pipe-dream anyway. But to have the authorities come in and put them both in foster care…

When the lady finally hung up, Ruby found Shelley staring solemnly at her from the doorway of their bedroom.

“Are they going to take me away?” Shelley asked.

Ruby cast her eyes around their shabby living room with the broken-down furniture, the crappy plastic paneling, and the pitiful fake flowers on the windowsill, trying to see their home through the critical eyes of a social worker. They had no chance. At all.

But she couldn't tell Shelley that. “It's Sunday. How about I make some pancakes for breakfast?”

“Pancakes sound good. But I don't want to be taken away from you.”

“I won't let that happen,” Ruby told her with more assurance than she felt. “I'll think of something.”

Just like it had last night, doubt flickered across Shelley's face. Ruby realized that her sister was growing up far too fast.

“So, how many pancakes do you want?” Ruby said with forced cheeriness. “I think I could eat about five.”

Shelley perked up. “I can eat TEN!”

They went to their cramped kitchen where Ruby got out the flour, milk, and eggs. She let Shelley help her mix up the batter and make a few misshapen pancakes and concentrated on trying to keep it together for her sister's sake. Afterward, they piled onto Shelley's bed and sang a couple of rounds of “Scarborough Fair.” Ruby wondered how many times they'd be able to do that in the future.

What if Mom never comes home? How long can I keep social services away? I don't turn eighteen for months…

“Read me a story?” Shelley asked after they fell silent.

“Sure, why not.” Ruby put her phone on the nightstand in case the hospital called. Shelley pulled out the faithful old copy of
Fairy Tales from Around the World
from where she always kept it under her pillow. Ruby read the fable “Snow White and Rose Red.” The story about two sisters and their encounters with magic was one of Shelley's faves. When the story ended, she heard a soft snore. Shelley had conked out, nestled up next to Ruby.

Guess I wasn't the only one who didn't sleep much last night.

Absently, Ruby flicked through the book's pages. The illustrations had always dazzled her, old-fashioned but beautiful, with creepy forests and ladies in ballgowns. How old was this book? She checked the copyright: 1901. Whoa, she had no idea it was over a hundred years old. Too bad it was so beat up it couldn't be worth anything.

Her gaze landed on a drawing of ‘Beauty and the Beast.
'
Beauty, a pretty, belle époque girl with cupid's-bow lips and curling blonde hair, was pleading with the Beast not to kill her father. A red rose lay on the cobbles between all three of the figures, and roses twined up the side of the Beast's castle…

The caption for the picture was written in curling script:
Sir, forgive my father! He did not know he must not pick your roses!

Something nagged at her.
He must not pick your roses
. Didn't Violet say something random about picking roses the first time they'd met?

Ruby shook her head. She'd had enough of roses. She was glad she'd thrown Tam's back in his face. She could almost smell the thick air of Cottingley, with its scent of rotting blooms.

Ruby turned the page at random, trying to put the whole place out of her mind.

But she couldn't. First she saw an illustration of a black stag leaping out of the woods to scare Snow White, just like the stag jumping in front of her minivan that day… Then a mysteriously locked room in the story of Bluebeard, which contained the bodies of his six wives. The room had a blue door…

Like the one at Cottingley.

The rose. The stag. The door.

She felt the hair on her arms lift.

“This is nuts,” she muttered softly so she didn't wake Shelley. Was the stress making her crack up?

She flipped to the back of the book, to the tales she didn't often read because Shelley's favorites were at the front. The spine fell open on a story titled ‘The Ruby Red.'

Dread seeped into her.

The illustration showed a turn-of-the-century beauty similar to one of those old-timey Coca-Cola girls, her alabaster throat circled by a ruby necklace, the stones like drops of blood against her white skin. Distress contorted the girl's face as she clutched her neck. Ruby scanned the story: an impoverished but beautiful girl puts on an enchanted necklace which she can't remove. The magical spell forces her to dance at a never-ending ball, for when she does stop, the necklace shrinks. The ending of the story was…unpleasant.

The necklace fastened around Ruby's own neck began to throb.

No. No freaking way.

Ruby eased away from Shelley's slack body and went into the bathroom. She brought the necklace out from under her t-shirt. In the reflection of the mirror, the gold links and ruby pendant glittered, mocking her. In a sudden fit of desperation, she yanked at it. “Come off, damn it!”

The chain jerked shorter. Visibly shorter, right in front of her eyes.

“Oh my God,” Ruby breathed.

In horror she stared at her reflection. The pendant now nestled in the hollow at her throat, and the gold links were so snug against her windpipe, she could barely get a finger in between her neck and the chain.

Impossible,
her brain told her.

Unmistakable,
her eyes said.

Each time she tried to remove the necklace, the chain shortened.
Don't do that,
Tam had said.
You'll make it worse.
If she made one more attempt…

It would strangle her.

Her knees gave way and she sank down on the edge of the bathtub. This couldn't be happening. Magic didn't exist. Fairy tales were just stories. Maybe she was going insane or …or she was freaking out because of Mom…or…

The pendant gave a little shake against her throat. As if it felt her fear and thrived on it.

Ruby covered her face with her hands and tried not to scream.

After a long minute, she brought her hands down and breathed deeply to calm herself. She couldn't deny it any longer. Something unnatural was going on, and she knew who was behind it: Violet and Tam. Now it made sense why Tam didn't seem to care that she'd stolen the necklace. And that he didn't question her when she told him she couldn't get it off.

What were they doing to her? Was it some sort of sick, twisted game? But why? And why
her
? And who
were
they?

She had to do something, otherwise she was doomed. And that meant confronting Tam, finding out what the hell was happening, and figuring out a way to free herself before it was too late.

After last night, she never wanted to see Tam again. But now she had no choice.

“Ruby, are you in there?” Shelley was tapping on the bathroom door.

Ruby drew in a shuddery breath. She needed to keep it together for her sister's sake. “I'll be out in a sec, Shells,” she called and winced at how thin her own voice sounded. Like she was terrified.

Well, she was.

She cleared her throat. The chain was so short now it gleamed over the collar of her t-shirt. But there was nothing she could do about it. She forced on a calm expression and opened the bathroom door.

Shelley's hair was mussed from her nap. “You were in there a long while,” she said accusingly.

“Are you timing me now?” Hurt surprise flared in her sister's eyes, and Ruby bit her lip. She'd never spoken that sharply to Shelley before. Her nerves were seriously on edge.

“Hey, how about we play a game?” she said quickly.

The hurt faded from Shelley's face and she perked up. “Can we play Candyland?”

“Sure.” A couple of games of Candyland, then maybe she could get Shelley coloring so she could find time to call Tam.

Luckily Shelley didn't notice the necklace, or else she didn't bother remarking on it. But for the rest of the day, her sister never left her side, tagging along wherever she went like she was afraid Ruby would disappear too. She put Shelley's clinginess down as a reaction to Mom being in the hospital. But it meant that that Ruby couldn't find a minute to herself to make the call to Tam.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. With Shelley glued to her heels, she managed to get a little housework done, fix something for the two of them to eat, and play endless games of Candyland and Go Fish. The whole time, though, the necklace rubbed her neck and worry dogged her mind. After getting Shelley bathed and into bed, the only thing she could do was crash on the couch, exhausted, staring into space and wondering what the hell was happening to her life.

Ruby woke to her sister patting her face. Morning light streamed in between the blinds. Groggily, she pushed herself upright and tried not to wince as the pendant pressed against her windpipe. “What time is it?”

“It's eight o'clock.”

Eight o'clock?
How was it so late? Shelley had already missed the school bus.

“Did the hospital call?” Shelley asked. She handed Ruby the cell phone, and Ruby scrolled to the menu. No incoming calls. She shook her head.

Shelley's lower lip trembled. “Are we ever going to see Mom again?”

“Of course,” Ruby replied with a lot more confidence than she felt. “I tell you what. Why don't you stay home from school, and we'll call her later together?”
Since you already missed the bus, and I have no way of getting you there
, she added silently.

Shelley instantly brightened. “That sounds really great!”

Ruby ruffled her little sister's head. “I thought you'd like that.”

While Shelley ate a bowl of cereal and the last of the milk, Ruby debated about calling Tam so early in the morning. Would he get pissed off? Would he even be awake? She needed him to be in a good mood. This conversation would require delicate handling and possible ass-kissing—though Ruby was more in the mood for kicking.

Instead, she punched the shortcut to Happy Housecleaners on her cell phone. It helped to do something practical. Once this…thing with the necklace was settled, if they had any hope of surviving the next few weeks with Mom in the hospital, they needed money. Ruby intended to take any shit job on their books that wasn't Cottingley Heights…

“
We're sorry. The number you have reached is not in service. Please check the number again to see if you have dialed in error
.”

Ruby frowned. She checked the shortcut on the phone. The number was correct.

She dialed three times. Three times, she got the same Not In Service message. Almost as if Happy Housecleaners had vanished into thin air.

Or as if something—or someone—had
made
Happy Housecleaners disappear.

Can they do that?

Ruby's hands shook so hard she had to put the phone down. What else were these people capable of?

Fighting an overwhelming sense of despair, she looked over at Shelley reading the back of the cereal box as she scooped more cornflakes into her mouth. They were quickly running out of options.

She picked up her phone and slowly tapped Tam's number.

“Ruby.” Tam's voice was cold on the other end of the line. “I thought you'd call…eventually.”

She took a deep breath. This was going to be tricky. “Hi, Tam. Hey, sorry about running out on you the other night. Family emergency.” It came out really awkward, but Tam didn't seem bothered.

“Yeah, I remember.”

He sounded normal. A little annoyed, maybe, but not like a guy mixed up in…
magic
.

“That doesn't excuse me leaving the party like that. It was very rude, and I'm sorry.” She rolled her eyes at herself. Her apology sounded so fake.

Tam didn't buy it. “Come on, Ruby. You're not sorry.” He hesitated a moment, and his voice softened. “But you don't have to be. You were trying to do the right thing.”

Trying?
Ruby bit her tongue. Why did he always act like he knew best? She forced a smile though. “Can I see you again? Just for a few minutes? I'd like to apologize in person.”

A short silence. Then, “Sure, Ruby, why not? Where do you want to meet? Your house?”

“How about the megamart?” she answered quickly. No way did she want Tam under her roof again. Who knew what he'd do when she confronted him. Neutral territory would be best. “I need to try to rescue the minivan from the parking lot and pick up a few groceries. How about we meet at noon? Would that be okay?”

“I can make that work. I might even have a surprise for you.”

A surprise? Ruby didn't need any more of Tam's surprises in her life. “Gee. Can't…wait,” she forced through stiff lips. “See you in a couple of hours.”

She beeped off with a feeling of trepidation.

“Were you talking to Tam just now?” Shelley asked.

The hopeful expression on her sister's face hurt a little. “Yeah.”

“I like Tam. He's funny.”

A real barrel of laughs.
“C'mon, let's get you dressed. We've got a long walk ahead of us.”

Luckily the main road was only a mile away from their home and led straight to the megamart. Because of the insane traffic, Ruby made Shelley hold her hand the whole way, but Shelley was happy in her freedom from school, burbling about this bird, that rock, buying milk at the store, seeing Tam.

In the megamart's parking lot, the family minivan sat exactly where she'd left it. It looked particularly crappy next to the sleek black Mercedes parked beside it.

“Tam!” Shelley shrieked. She yanked her hand free from Ruby's and ran over to the slim guy leaning against the side of the car with his ankles crossed. As usual, Tam's appearance was flawless, but he looked…normal. Not like he'd stepped out of
Fairy Tales from Around the World
. Where was his sweeping black cloak or his gleaming golden crown? His jeans were slung low on his hips, a snug shirt tight across his flat abs. He removed his aviator sunglasses when Ruby approached, and she felt an unwanted buzz of attraction when Tam's dark eyes met hers.

Tam slapped Shelley a quick high-five, but he responded to Ruby's greeting with a more cautious nod.

“Thanks for meeting us,” Ruby said, equally cautious. “I know it's a hassle and you've got better things to do—”

“It's not a problem, Ruby.”

“Mom's sick,” Shelley said.

“So I hear,” Tam responded. “I'm really sorry about that.”

To Ruby's surprise, he kind of sounded like he was.
What sort of game are we both playing?

“We're hoping she comes home from the hospital soon,” Ruby said.

“I hope she does too,” he answered. “What's the story with your car? Are you going to see if it works?”

“I'll give it a go, but I think it's basically dead.”

Tam laid a hand on the minivan's dusty hood. “Why don't you give it a try?”

“Yeah, Ruby. Try.” Shelley sat on the minivan's back bumper and picked a pebble out of her sneaker. “It would be great if we didn't have to walk everywhere.”

Ruby shrugged and dug her keys out of the pocket of her jeans.

The minivan fired up right away.

“Yay!” Shelley leaped off the bumper with a shout of joy. “We can drive again!”

Ruby listened to the engine purr with nary a glitch or stutter. “It's quite the miracle.” Funny how their car broke down just as Tam wanted an excuse to come to her house—and now how it seemed to repair itself when Tam said he had a—

“Surprise.” He gave her a small, secretive smile.

The hair on the back of Ruby's neck rose.

Tam insisted on coming with them inside the store while Ruby bought a few basics with their dwindling cash reserves. Inside, every female over the age of fifteen with a pulse and functioning eyes stared at Tam as he cruised down the aisles with them, helpfully pushing the shopping cart for Ruby like it was the most fun thing in the world. Next to the fallen angel quality of Tam's appearance, their shabby clothes and cheap shoes made Ruby and Shelley look like the trailer trash they were, invisible to the rest of the world, easily ignored. Ruby steered them to the magazine section, where she told Shelley she could read the comic books.

While Shelley zeroed in on a baby animals comic, Ruby drew Tam out of earshot. “We need to talk,” she told him.

“Ooh. Sounds serious.” Tam plucked a men's health magazine off the rack and riffled through the pages.

His feigned nonchalance didn't fool Ruby one bit. “It
is
serious.” She kept her voice low so Shelley couldn't hear. “What the hell is going on?”

“Going on? I thought we were shopping.”

“Stop it, Tam. You know damn well what I mean. The necklace—Violet's necklace—it's getting smaller. It feels like” —she swallowed against the weight of the pendant pressing against her throat— “like it's going to strangle me.”

“That's sort of crazy, isn't it? Maybe it's your imagination.”

“It's not my imagination!” she hissed furiously. “Something weird is happening, and it has to do with you. Or Violet. Or someone else at Cottingley, I don't know. All I
do
know is that since I met you, my life has spun out of control. The car breaks down. Then it fixes itself spontaneously. My mother suddenly has a tumor. She seems to get better. Then suddenly she's rushed to the hospital. Now they're threatening to separate me from Shelley and put us in foster care—it's just too coincidental to be bad luck at this point.”

“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”

Seriously?

“Don't change the subject, Tam! For God's sake, stop with the games and tell me the truth. Why are you trying to ruin my life?”

Tam carefully put the magazine back. Then he said: “Look, it's not me who's doing this to you. I tried to help you. But you ran out on me. There's nothing I can do for you now.”

His serious, almost sad expression made her shiver. “I don't understand. Who is doing what to me? And what do you mean there's nothing you can do?”

“I can't explain here in public. When you're ready for real answers, come to Cottingley.”

“Cottingley? No offense, but that's the last place I want to go.”

“Why not? You seem pretty down on your trailer, right? I could tell you didn't want me to come in.”

Ruby flushed. “All you and your buds do at Cottingley is party. You don't go to school, or work, or even eat food as far as I can tell. It's just sex, drugs, and messing around all day long. It's disgusting. And it's not real life.”

“And your so-called real life is so awesome? Cut it out, Ruby. I know you
want
the good life. The kind of life we have at Cottingley. I can see right through you.”

Tam's accusation struck her silent.
Because it was the truth
, her heart whispered. She did want the good life: a decent home, money in the bank, security for her family, an education. The possibility of realizing her dream of becoming an actor. Maybe even a little fame and glamour once in a while. Most of all, she wanted to stop being ashamed.

And if it came with the odd wild night of partying, and the chance to experience another kiss like Tam's…there was no harm in that, right?

“Come to Cottingley,” Tam said. “I'll tell you everything you want to know—if you think you can handle it.”

Ruby studied his face, slate-black eyes giving nothing away. Did she have a choice? “Okay, Shelley and I will meet you there—”

“No. Not Shelley. Only you.”

Was he serious? “But I can't leave her alone. She's just a kid.”

“And what, you want to bring her to Cottingley? So she can join in the fun?” He gave Shelley a cursory glance as she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the magazine rack, devouring
Bumper Animal Baby
. “You said they were taking her away. It'll probably be better for her if they do. She shouldn't get involved in any of this.”

His callousness shocked her. “But she's my sister!”

“Exactly.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? I'm not leaving my family!”

“You can't bring them to Cottingley. It's not safe. And I need you there, Ruby.” There was a sudden pleading in his voice. “You're the best thing that's happened to me since…”

“Since Selena?”

He nodded. “Since Selena.”

“And what happened to her?”

Tam shook his head. “I'm going back to Cottingley, Ruby. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Ruby watched helplessly as he began walking away…taking all the answers with him.