The Deepest Cut (7 page)

but I cannot see the dead like you can. I wish I could.”

She wished she could see ghosts? Seriously? I never thought anyone would
want
to see the dead and actually look upon it as a gift. I hadn’t expected such a non-judgment-al reaction. “What is a precognitive dream?”

“It’s when you dream about an event before it happens. Many people have such a gift, but they pass it off as coincidence.” She leaned forward. “But enough of me. I want to know—do you mean to help the MacKinnon lad?”

“Yes, Ian needs me, but I don’t know how to help him. I went to the library and checked out books on witches, spells and ghosts, and aside from a few random spells, there was nothing about lifting a specific curse someone else has made.”

She tapped her fingers on the chair’s armrest. “I will have to speak to Anne Marie.

She may be able to help you in this matter.”

I was excited at the prospect of meeting Anne Marie. “I wonder if she’s seen Laria or Ian before?”

“She has never mentioned either of them, but that is certainly something you can ask her when you meet. I’ll call her to see when a good time to visit would be.”

“Thank you, Miss Akin.”

“You’re welcome, love. We’ll find some answers for you both.” In the meantime, you eat those cookies. You’re much too thin. We need to plump you up a bit. Put some meat on those bones.” She stood, smoothed her hands over her apron, and then stopped.

“Tell me this…is the MacKinnon boy as handsome as history makes him out to be?”

I couldn’t help but grin. Handsome didn’t even begin to describe Ian. If he were alive today, he’d be the hottest guy in town…or maybe all of Scotland, but I didn’t tell Miss Akin that. Instead, I nodded.

She gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “Lucky girl.”

I stared out the car window, frustrated
and angry that my mom had trapped me inside her Mercedes instead of finding a neut-ral zone in our house to talk.

And all because I’d been out after curfew and didn’t call. Big, freakin’ deal. I’d made it home, hadn’t I?

Things between us had been really bad
lately. It’s not that she had done anything in
particular. She just irritated me with her
constant bitching. “Pick up your room. Put
your clothes away. Empty the dishwasher.”

Why did she care if my room was picked up
or my bed was made anyway? It’s not like
anyone else had to see it, and I kept the door
closed twenty-four/seven.

My mom cleared her throat. “Do you want to start…or should I?”

I sighed heavily, my breath fogging up the car window. I resisted the urge to draw a

smiley face on the glass, knowing it would only piss her off more than she already was.

Feeling her eyes burning into the back of my skull, I turned and looked at her. “What do you want me to say?”

“
Maybe start with why you didn’t call.”

I shrugged. “Time just got away from me.”

Her nostrils flared. “Riley, you didn’t get home until two in the morning, and when you did, you stumbled in smelling like alcohol and told me to leave you alone. You’re a child and I’m your mother, and rules are in place for a reason.”

I rolled my eyes.

“
Don’t roll your eyes at me, young lady.”

“
I was out with my friends and I forgot
about the time.”

“
You’re only fifteen, Riley. Much too
young to be going to parties and drinking,
and doing lord knows what else. What has
happened to you? Where is my daughter

from a year ago? Scratch that, where is my
daughter from six months ago?”

She was furious. I could tell by the way the nerve in her jaw jumped, and the way her fingers tightened around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.

“
All my friends are allowed to go to
parties.”

“
I find that hard to believe.”

“
So now you’re calling me a liar?”

She pressed her lips together until they disappeared into a thin line. Her chest rose and fell heavily. “I’m saying I find it hard to believe that any responsible parent would allow their fifteen year-old daughter to party into the wee hours of the morning. I don’t even know who drove you home last night, Riley. It certainly wasn’t a parent.”

“
It was Mitch, Sarah’s brother.”

She relaxed a little. “Well, I just hope he wasn’t drinking.”

Actually, he hadn’t been drinking since he had baseball practice in the morning, but I didn’t tell her that because she wouldn’t believe me anyway.

She never believed me.

“
What kind of an example are you setting for your brother? He looks up to you,
Riley. When he sees you acting out, then he
starts acting out too.”

Shane was the perfect child. He was every parents’ dream—a good student and a star athlete. “Shane would never disappoint you.”

Having heard the sarcasm in my voice, she shook her head. “You aren’t a disappointment to me, Riley, but your father and I are concerned. Your grades are slipping and ever since you started hanging out with Ashley—”

“
It’s not Ashley’s fault.”

“
Well, then why the sudden change?”

I had always been the “good” kid. I got good grades, I did everything my parents

told me to do…and I’d felt invisible. I was going through the motions, but when I met Ashley, all that changed. She was different—a year older and exciting, and for whatever reason she liked me. She dressed differently, talked differently, and had hippy parents that let her do whatever she wanted.

I liked hanging out with her, and I liked the attention I was getting, especially from guys.

It felt good to be recognized—to not just be another face in the crowd.

“
See, you don’t even know the answer to
that question.”

“
Can we just go home?” I asked.

“
No, not until we get to the bottom of
this. We’ve resolved nothing.”

“
What do you want me to say?”

“
I don’t know, Riley.” Her voice became
higher by the second. “All I know is that I
feel like I’ve been living with a stranger
these past months. I can’t get through to
you. You won’t even talk to me most days.”

I hated how sad she sounded.

“
I miss my daughter,” she said so softly,
I barely heard her. But I heard her. Loud
and clear

She breathed deeply, and I could tell she was struggling to remain calm. “I have no choice but to ground you for a month.”

“
What?” I’d never been grounded a day
in my life. Ever—but the thought of being
grounded for a month seemed like an eternity. I could envision Ashley and the others
going on with their lives, partying, while I
sat in my room night after endless night doing absolutely nothing.

I crossed my arms, furious

“
This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

“
Bullshit.”

She gasped and looked at me with shock.

I’d never cussed in front of her before.

That’s when I saw the van pull out in front of us. We were going too fast. I froze, a cry of warning stuck in my throat. My mom

saw my reaction though…but it was too late.

The front of the car clipped the van’s back bumper and sent our car swerving toward a huge oak tree.

I came awake with a start, my heart racing, sweat pouring off my forehead as I stared at the red neon numbers that read 3:33 on my clock radio. I ran my hands down my face.

I hadn’t had that dream for weeks, and had hoped I never would. It was like ripping off a scab that had already healed—a horrible reminder of the worst day of my life.

If only I could go back and change what had happened. Why had I been such a pain in the ass? Had I just come home by curfew that night, then my mom would be here now and my life would be so different. Shane and my dad’s life would be different. But I had taken her away from us. It was my fault she was dead, and I would never forget that.

“Riley, are you alright?” Ian asked in a gentle voice. He sat in the chair next to the window.

I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and nodded. “Yeah, I just had a bad dream.”

“About your mother?”

My stomach clenched. “How did you know?”

“You called out to her in your sleep.”

“You were watching me sleep?”

He motioned to the bed. “May I sit beside you for a little while?”

“Yeah, sure. I could use the company.”

He sat on the edge of my bed. “Your mother’s death is not your fault, Riley.”

“But it was my fault,” I said, blinking back tears. It was a reality I lived with day in and day out. Why else could I suddenly see dead people? Maybe like Ian, I had been cursed.

He reached out, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Yer mum died as she was supposed to. Fate decided that. Not you.”

I’d spent months listening to counselors and teachers tell me the same thing, but no one could convince me differently. I knew the truth, and my mom knew the truth.

Tears ran down my face, and he wiped them away with his thumb. “It’s alright,” he whispered, pulling me into his arms.

Didn’t he know it would never be alright?

There was nothing I could ever do or say to bring my mom back. My arms slid around his neck and I rested my cheek against his wide chest. His hand moved up and down my back in a soothing gesture. He smelled like a mixture of the outdoors and a rich, spicy scent I knew I would never forget. I couldn’t remember the last time I had hugged anyone like this, with such desperation, and oddly enough, I didn’t want to let

go. I took the comfort he offered and savored the feel of his strong arms embracing me.

Anne Marie wasn’t at all what I expected.

Being Miss Akin’s friend, I had known she would be on the older side, but she looked ancient, her skin like wrinkled leather. Her whitish-purple hair resembled a beehive, and she was taller and on the slim side. Polyester elastic waistband pants rode high on her waist, and her white button-up shirt had been ironed to perfection. As she stared at me, she carefully removed her navy wind-breaker and set it over the back of a chair.

“Would you mind if we closed the drapes?” Anne Marie asked, setting a single white candle on the card table. I had read about using candles when summoning spirits––how ghosts were drawn to the soft light.

Miss Akin nodded. “Not at all, dear.” She hopped up from her chair beside the fireplace and closed the drapes.

“Should I lock the front door?” I asked, knowing we’d all be in deep-shit if my dad walked through the door to find us having a séance.

“I already did, my darling,” Miss Akin said, sitting back down.

I was glad Shane was with Milo, and I hoped he stayed away. I’d be horrified if he walked in right now.

Anne Marie lit the candle and sat down.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Let’s hold hands and close our eyes,”

she prompted.

I did as she asked, taking both Miss Akin’s and Anne Marie’s hands within my own.

I felt ridiculous.

“We ask that if there are any spirits who wish to contact us, do so now,” Anne Marie said in an authoritative voice. “Use our energy and let us know you are here by making a noise—be it a tap or a knock of some type.”

Anne Marie breathed deeply at least a half dozen times, and I opened an eye to make sure she was okay. She seemed to be, so I closed my eye again.

“I sense a spirit with us,” she said, sounding pleased.

That didn’t take long. I bit the inside of my lower lip to keep from cracking a smile.

Honestly, I didn’t feel any spirit with us. I was skeptical. But it’s not like she was getting paid for this, and what would she have to gain?

“My chest hurts something fierce,” Anne Marie said, her voice weaker than before.

“And my head aches a bit.” She breathed deeply again. “Ah, she says her name begins with an R.”

My pulse skittered. My mom’s name was Rochelle, and she’d had head and chest trauma.

“Was it a car wreck?” Anne Marie said to no one in particular.

Now she was going too far. I abruptly pulled my hands away. “Did you see my dream from the other night? Are you reading me instead of reading a spirit?”

Anne Marie looked at me like I had punched her. “I don’t know anything about your dream, dear,” Anne Marie said matter-of-factly. “I know nothing about you…aside from the fact you are a fellow sensitive.

Please trust me.”

Miss Akin nodded and took hold of my other hand, squeezing it. “It’s okay, Riley.

We are here to help you, not harm you. Perhaps she can give you some of the answers you are looking for.”

She was right. Anne Marie could give me answers. Plus, I had waited to hear from my mother for over a year now and this could be my only opportunity.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“She’s handing me a red rose, which means she loves you.”

My throat tightened and I began to tremble. I wanted to tell her I loved her too, but I couldn’t push the words past my lips.

“Her energy is fading fast. She just wants you to know she’s okay, Riley.”

Is she mad at me? Does she blame me?

Does she hate me?
A hundred questions raced through my mind, but I couldn’t say the words. Not in front of Miss Akin and Anne Marie. I didn’t want them to know I had caused my mother’s death, even if I had lived with that guilt every day since the accident.

“Are there any other spirits who would like to contact us?” Anne Marie said.

Mom, I want to talk to you. Don’t leave so soon.

I was desperate to keep her here. The hair on my arms stood on end as the temperature abruptly dropped. I wanted it to be Ian, but the energy felt different than his. Darker.

I didn’t bother keeping my eyes closed. In fact, I couldn’t. I was too nervous.