Slumber (9 page)

“Bye, Tam!” Shelley called from where she sat on the floor.

But he never looked back.

Ruby drove out of the megamart parking lot in a daze, trying to process their conversation. What did Tam mean that there was nothing he could do? And what the hell was he thinking to suggest that Ruby dump her family?

Something about Tam wasn't right. No one with any feelings would suggest that Ruby just dump her mom and little sister. Didn't he have family that he cared about? Maybe he was a sociopath. Everyone at Cottingley seemed messed up in one way or another.

Ruby chewed the inside of her lip while she negotiated the traffic. She needed to get a grip, but seeing Tam again had upset her equilibrium. The worst part about the encounter was that it was all for nothing—she was no closer to answers about how to get rid of the necklace. It thrummed against the skin of her throat, a constant reminder that one false move and it would choke the life out of her.

Shelley didn't seem to notice her preoccupation on the drive home. Ruby had allowed her to buy the baby animals comic as a thank you for behaving so well at the store. Shelley chattered on about the cute baby koalas while Ruby listened with half an ear, pulling into the Sea Oats Mobile Home Park.

“…and did you know baby koalas are called joeys and live in their mama's pouch?”

“That's super-interesting, Shells.” Maybe later tonight she could call Tam again and try to reason with him. There had to be a way to get some answers out of him without going back to the Cottingley nuthouse—

“Who's that in our front yard?”

“Huh?”

A red and white U-Haul was parked on the curb in front of their trailer. The front door was propped open, and two large men were carrying their sofa down the front steps, while a third tossed their dinette chairs into the back of the truck.

“No…Oh no, no, no, no!” Ruby threw the minivan into park and leaped out. “What the hell is going on?” she yelled. “What are you doing with our stuff?”

“Eviction procedure, ma'am,” came the gruff answer. “We've got an order to clear out the premises at 427 Sea Oats Lane.”

“But that's impossible! We've been given no notice.”

The guy, a muscled hulk with a thick neck, just shrugged and handed her an official-looking document while the other two went back inside. “Not my problem, lady. I've got a writ from the courts and a schedule to keep.”

Bewildered, Ruby scanned the document. The red ‘NOTICE TO QUIT THE PREMISES' letters blurred in her vision.

“It'll be easier for all of us if you don't cause a scene,” he said. “But we can handle it if you do.”

The other two men had come out of their trailer carrying the dinette table between them. They regarded her with the stony expressions of guys who had been through their share of ugly eviction scenarios.

“Ruby?” Shelley had gotten out of the minivan. Her face screwed up, and her eyes filled with tears. “Why are they taking our things away?”

“I…”

What was she supposed to say?

Shelley started to cry.

The big guy cleared his throat. “Look, I'll let you and the kid grab some of your stuff, okay? Just be quick about it.”

Helplessly, she blinked back her own tears. “Thanks. C'mon, Shelley.”

They hurried inside the semi-bare trailer, where the light fixtures had been pulled out from the walls and only a couple of sticks of their ramshackle furniture were left. Quickly they threw what they could into Mom's beat-up suitcases—some clothes, a framed photo of Dad and Mom on their wedding day, Mom's tiny box of costume jewelry, and a couple of Shelley's favorite toys, including the fairy tale book. They loaded the pitifully small amount in the back of the minivan while the repo men took a smoke break, then got in.

“Where are we going to live now, Ruby?” Shelley's voice caught on a sob.

From her rearview mirror, Ruby gazed at the dilapidated trailer they once called home. A couple of the neighbors had come out to watch the proceedings while the repo men ground out their cigarettes and got back to work.

“I don't know,” she answered truthfully.

Traffic thickened with early commuters as she drove east on the freeway almost without thought. Certainly without a plan. What was she going to do now? She couldn't call her mother in the hospital to tell her this devastating news, not while Mom was so sick. Besides, what could she do about the situation except worry and compromise her fragile health even further?

Next to her, Shelley shuddered with suppressed tears. The milk they'd picked up at the megamart sat forgotten on the floorboard, reminding Ruby they'd had nothing to eat since breakfast.

Could they sleep in the car tonight? They did that once before when they finally escaped Scott's psycho jealousy, and it was the scariest night of their lives. Ruby and Mom took turns to watch for cops and carjackers while Shelley dozed fitfully in a huddle between them. No way was she putting her sister through that again.

“Where are we going?” Shelley asked when Ruby took the next exit.

“I'm taking you to the Garcias',” Ruby answered.

Shelley brightened. “Rosario's house? Like a sleepover?”

More like a last-ditch effort to stave off complete homelessness.
“Something like that,” she said.

The humiliation of turning up unannounced on the Garcias' doorstep burned deeply, but embarrassment was a small price to pay to see Shelley safe. To Ruby's utter relief, Rosario's parents totally sympathized when Ruby explained the situation. “That's awful!” Mrs. Garcia exclaimed. “What is this world coming to when nice people are put out on the streets? Of course Shelley can stay with us,
pobrecita
.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Garcia. I…” Ruby swallowed hard. “I didn't know where to go.”

“You'll stay too? Shelley can sleep with Rosario, but our couch is very comfortable. I sleep there when Hector snores.”

Ruby forced a laugh at the feeble joke. “Thanks, but I'll be all right. I have a place I can crash.”

“You sure?” Mrs. Garcia regarded her dubiously.

No
, she wanted to say. “I'm sure,” she answered with more confidence that she felt.

“Ruby, I don't want you to go,” Shelley said, her bottom lip wobbling.

Ruby brushed the hair back from Shelley's forehead and realized her little sister was almost as high as her shoulder now. When did Shelley get to be so tall? “I'm going to stay with Tam, squirt.”

And force him to tell me for once and for all what the hell is going on.

“Tam? Oh, that's alright then.” The worry on Shelley's face cleared instantly, making Ruby feel nauseous.

“Who's this Tam?” Mrs. Garcia asked sharply.

“A…friend.”

“He's really nice,” Shelley put in. “He likes Ruby a lot. I can tell.”

Ruby dredged up a smile. “I'll be alright, honest.”

Mrs. Garcia still regarded Ruby doubtfully. To avoid more questions she couldn't answer, Ruby drew Shelley a little away from Mrs. Garcia and crouched down. “I'll be back as soon as I can, then we'll go see Mom. Be strong for me, okay? I know this is hard.”

“I will.” But then Shelley threw her arms around Ruby and clung.

After a moment, Ruby gently pulled away and resolutely headed to the minivan, tears prickling, hoping against hope she was doing the right thing, praying that everything would turn out okay in the end—

Behind her, she heard Shelley yell: “Ruby! I left my book in the car! My fairy tale book!”

Ruby waved to let Shelley know she'd heard her. On the floor in front of the passenger seat,
Fairy Tales from Around the World
lay open to the story of the Ruby Red necklace.

She ripped the page out and stuffed it in her jeans pocket just as Shelley reached her. Ruby pasted on a smile and handed her sister the book. “Good thing you remembered, right? I bet Mrs. Garcia will read a story to you tonight if you ask.”

Shelley hugged the book against her chest. “No. I only want you to read to me.”

“I'll do that again real soon. I swear.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.” Ruby made an X over her chest. Then with another last look at Shelley, she got in the car.

“Don't worry, Shelley. I'll keep my promise,” she whispered as she drove away. In the rearview she could see her little sister standing in the driveway, watching her go.

Ruby stood before Cottingley Heights' front door, wondering if she'd finally lost the last of her marbles. As usual, the air around the house felt thick and suffocating with an earthy scent that was not quite pleasant: lavender mixed with freshly-churned soil, or maybe cedar and rotting earthworms.

She pressed the doorbell. Strange to be entering Cottingley without her own key and her cleaning supplies. Stranger still when the door opened to reveal a girl with moon-glow blonde hair clouded around an exquisite dark-skinned face. Ruby recognized her as the girl in the library, the one who totally ignored her the last time she worked there cleaning up the ridiculous crap left by the residents.

Well, she wasn't at Cottingley as the cleaning lady now.

Ruby waited for the girl to speak first. An awkwardly long pause passed before she gave up being polite. “Is Tam home?”

The girl gazed at her with a blend of pity and weariness. Then she shrugged and moved back to allow Ruby to enter.

A chill furred the back of Ruby's neck as soon as she stepped over the threshold. In contrast, the metal of the necklace seemed to heat against her skin, leaving the unpleasant sensation of cold and warm battling on her flesh. Dark shrouded the entryway and the now-familiar smells of debauchery hung in the air, but save a few bits of rubbish in the corners, the foyer was mostly trash-free. Though maybe the grimy tiles could use a dry mop…

Always the professional
, Ruby teased herself. “Would you tell Tam that Ruby Benson is here to see him?” she asked.

The girl stared silently at her.

Creepy
. “Please?”

No response.

“Can you even speak?” Ruby asked gently.

The girl cocked her head and studied her. Ruby got the impression she was being evaluated—and obviously not making much of a positive impression—but at that moment Tam bounded down the stairs, a bolt of sunshine into shadow, charisma oozing out of him. Ruby found herself blinking at him yet again because no matter how many times they met, his looks always came as something of a shock.

“Ruby! You came!” Pleasure lit his face. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to come back to Cottingley.”

“I changed my mind. My…situation is different now.”

The mute girl huffed out a breath. Laughter? Disgust? Ruby's attention swung sharply back at her, but before she could ask, Tam said: “Don't mind Aryenis. She can talk, she just doesn't want to.”

Doesn't
want
to talk? “Okaaay…”

“We put up with her because she really knows what she's doing out in the garden. Those weeds crawling up the side of the house didn't get there by themselves, you know.”

Aryenis shot him a death-glare.

As usual, there was some strange Cottingley byplay going on that Ruby didn't have the patience to puzzle over today. “Can we talk? In, um, private?” she added, because Aryenis seemed to have no intention of going anywhere.

“Sure. We'll go to my room.” He beckoned her to follow him up the stairs. “It really is great to see you,” he said over his shoulder as he started up.

“Thanks.” Leaving the silent Aryenis behind, Ruby squashed a feeling of unease as she began following Tam up the staircase, half expecting to see semi-naked teens cavorting on the landing, frat-house style. But all was quiet when they reached the second floor, thick Persian carpets muffling their footsteps he led her to a room at the end of the corridor.

Like everywhere else at Cottingley, Tam's room was a study in messy opulence. An antique cabinet housed a tiny Bose stereo. A slim chrome laptop, USB sticks, quills, inkwells, and rolls of parchment paper fought for space on the surface of an Italianate mahogany desk. Random items of sports equipment littered the faded oriental carpet: a lacrosse stick, a volleyball, and an ancient tennis racket. A titanium touring bike leaned against the wall. But the centerpiece of the room was a massive four-poster bed that looked like it had come straight out of Versailles, with carved bedposts and a wine-colored silk coverlet.

Tam sprawled on the foot of the bed and patted the space next to him. “Have a seat.”

Ruby pointedly sat on a futuristic chair sculpted in the shape of an S. She didn't trust Tam enough to sit thigh-to-thigh, having a confidential chat on his bed.

Or trust yourself
, a secret voice whispered.

She dug the page she'd tore out of Shelley's book from her pocket and held it out to him. “Ever read this fairy tale before?”

Tam barely glanced at the story of Ruby Red. “Nope.”

“That's funny, because it seems super-familiar: girl puts on enchanted necklace that she can't get off, and every time she tries, the necklace gets shorter. Bad things start happening to the girl. Magical things. It's exactly what's happening to me.”

“Magic doesn't exist in the real world, does it?”

“Come off it, Tam!” Ruby yanked the neckline of her shirt down to expose the necklace chafing her throat. “Something whack is going on. I don't know if you're meant to be Prince Charming or the evil wizard or what your role in this fucked-up fairy tale is, but you said that if I came to Cottingley you'd tell me the truth. Well, I'm here now. I want the truth.”

“But do you think you can handle it?”

“I don't have a choice, do I?”

Tam's face shuttered as he considered her. After a long moment where Ruby thought he was going to change his mind, he said: “Fine. You're right, something supernatural is at work in your life.”