The Haunted (4 page)

***

I woke up to find Ian standing by my bed.

He was as beautiful as I remembered. Tall, broad-shouldered, amazing bone structure, and a face that brought women to their knees, myself included.

“
You called me.” His lips curved into a wide smile, showing those deep dimples that I loved. “I told you I’d be here whenever you needed me.”

Relieved to see him, I reached out. He took my hand and lay down on the bed beside me. I melted into him. “I miss you so much.”

His fingers slid through mine, his thumb brushing along the side of my index finger. “I’m right here, Riley. I’m always here.”

I snuggled closer, closed my eyes and inhaled the woodsy, sandalwood scent of him. “I had the worst day today. Laria is back.”

“
She can only hurt you if you allow her to.”

“
I don’t know what to do, Ian. She’s so much stronger than I am.”

“
Shhh, do not worry.” He kissed the top of my head. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I opened my eyes. I had forgotten how long his eyelashes were, or that heavy-lidded look that came into those beautiful blue eyes of his whenever he looked at me.

“
You are smarter than she is, Riley.”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

He ran his fingers slowly up my spine, and I smiled. His touch felt like heaven.

With his other hand, he lifted my chin with gentle fingers and I stared into his brilliant blue eyes. He leaned in for a kiss. My eyes closed again. His lips were petal soft against mine. God, how I missed that kiss. How I missed this…just being with him, taking the comfort only he could give me.

“
You cannot beat her,” he said against my lips, but it wasn’t his voice.

A bony hand curled around the back of my neck. My heart dropped to my toes, and I slowly opened my eyes to find Laria staring back at me.

Chapter
5

I woke in the morning feeling exhausted. Last night’s dream had been more than a little unsettling. For that short time I had felt Ian with me, and it had been amazing…until I found myself staring into Laria’s dark eyes.

Thank God when I did wake from that nightmare there had been no Laria in sight. I’d turned on the light in the bathroom, went back to bed and counted backward from a hundred.

Now, as I entered the school, I could only hope she would keep her distance.

“
I need to talk to Milo before the bell rings,” Megan said. “I’ll meet up with you at lunch, okay?”

“
Sounds good.” I walked to my locker, opened it up, and took out my textbooks. Something fell and clattered on the floor by my feet.

Glancing down, I saw a razor blade.

Every muscle in my body tensed. Oh my God.

Someone had to have slid the blade through one of the locker’s three vents. At first I wondered if it was Laria since she’d already taunted me with my matchbox full of razor blades. But something told me it had been someone living, specifically Dana who had questioned the scratches on my arm last night. Obviously she’d seen the old scars and put two and two together.

I glanced over my shoulder, and was relieved to see that no one was paying any attention. Picking up the blade, I closed my locker and that’s when I saw Dana a few feet away, talking with friends…but all of them were looking at me.

“
How’s that
scratch
feeling today?” Dana said, loud enough for anyone within a thirty-yard radius to hear.

I opened my mouth, ready to respond when I heard
She’s not worth it
.

It sounded like my mom’s voice. Thank God. I needed her support more than ever right now. I took a deep breath and kept walking. I heard snickers come from Dana’s direction. I scratched the back of my head using my middle finger.

Hearing gasps, I smiled.

I immediately went straight to the bathroom where I wrapped the razor blade in a paper towel and tossed it in the trash.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten Dana was in my first period class until I walked into the room. She wore a smug smile. My nails bit into my palms.

As the minutes ticked away, I tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, but I couldn’t focus. I kept feeling a strange ripple, like someone was watching me. Someone not living.

I hoped for a visual of some kind, but nothing…

I did know that the spirit’s energy didn’t feel familiar to me.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get anything else, so I assumed that maybe it was a spirit just passing through.

I did think back on something Anne Marie had told me once about being able to tap into people’s thoughts. I tried it with the boy in front of me. As the teacher droned on, I focused my attention on the paper and clutched the pen in my hand.

I saw of all things, a puppy. A black mutt with white spots and round, ice blue eyes. Next I saw a Frisbee, and the boy in front of me throwing it at the dog, trying to teach it to fetch.

Toby.

I hadn’t realized I said the name until the boy turned around. He was cute, with curly blonde hair and caramel-colored eyes. “What did you say?”

I swallowed hard. “Nothing.”

“
No, you said Toby. That’s my dog’s name.”

I felt a myriad of emotions, mostly elation that I’d nailed it.

“
Mr. Johnson, is there something you or Miss Williams would like to share with the rest of the class?” Mr. Monahan asked, staring at us from over the rim of his black-framed glasses.

The boy in front of me turned to face the front. “No, sir.”

Snickers and laughter sounded throughout the room.

“
Miss Williams?”

I shook my head. “No.”

By the time class ended, I had tried head-tapping a few other students, including Dana. I got random information, like she was the baby of the family, pampered and never told “no” a day in her life. I received mostly fragmented thoughts, but I felt a sense of empowerment knowing that I could pick up certain information.

The bell rang and I stood. The boy in front of me turned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

“
No worries,” I said, tossing my notebook and pen into my backpack.

“
My name is Aaron, by the way.”

“
Hey,” I said. “I’m Riley.”

“
Ah, the American I’ve been hearing so much about.”

My brows lifted.

“
Nothing bad, I assure you,” he said, laughing under his breath.

I was relieved to hear that. “That’s good.”

“
What class do you have next?”

“
Science.”

“
That would be in the three hundred block. I’m headed that way, too. I’ll walk with you…if that’s okay.”

I gathered up my things, actually glad to have someone walk with me. “Sure.”

He followed me out the door, and fell into step beside me.

“
Again, I’m sorry about getting you in trouble. I thought you said Toby, my puppy’s name.”

“
What kind of puppy is Toby?” I asked.

“
He’s a mix. Lab and Collie.”

“
Have you taught him to play fetch?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“
Not yet.”

My heart sank. Why had I seen the Frisbee?

“
But I have high hopes that he’ll pick up on it fast. I was playing Frisbee with friends the other day, and he kept chasing after it.”

I could have hugged him. That small validation felt incredible and I grinned up at him. He looked a little surprised by my reaction, but he grinned back at me.

I glanced up the steps and saw Kade coming toward us. Seeing me, he smiled. “Hey you,” he said, his gaze shifting to Aaron before settling back on me again.

“
Hi Kade.”

The crowd moved us along, not giving either one of us a chance to stand and chat. “See you at lunch?” he said.

“
Sure,” I replied.

Aaron didn’t miss a beat. He kept talking, and all I had to do was nod. I got that he was an only child to older parents who expected a lot out of him.

When we got to my next class, he opened the door for me.

I could hear a few snickers.

The warning bell sounded. “Thanks,” I said.

“
See you around,” he said.

Cait was sitting in the back row. “What’s with you and violin boy?”

I frowned. “Violin boy?”

“
Aaron is a prodigy. He wrote his first song when he was like seven years old.”

I was impressed. I’d never met a prodigy before.

“
Well, what gives?” she asked, brows lifted high.

“
Nothing. He walked me to class, that’s all.”

“
How sweet,” she muttered under her breath.

The bell rang and I took my seat in the second row. The teacher’s accent was so thick I had a tough time understanding her. She had a habit of walking up and down the rows, her way of making sure we were all paying attention.

“
Open your textbooks to page 309,” the teacher said from behind me.

I flipped open my book to page 309 and my heart skipped a beat.

The razor blade.

How was that even possible? I’d just thrown it away.

Footsteps sounded beside me. I slammed the book shut and reached for my backpack.

“
Forget something, Miss Williams?”

“
Pencil,” I said, feeling my cheeks turn hot as everyone stared.

I didn’t want to think what would happen if she saw the razor blade.

Thankfully, she continued to walk past me, and asked a boy in the first row to start reading the text.

I kept my left hand over the razor blade while I wrote notes with the other. When the class flipped the pages, I did the same and finally relaxed.

Twenty minutes into class, I felt the familiar sensation of once again being watched. Staring at the paper on my desk, I focused. The good news was, the spirit didn’t have a heavy or dark feel to it.

Feeling brave, I mentally asked the spirit to come closer.

I decided the presence felt male. I got an image of kids playing ball outside in the schoolyard, but oddly the picture was in black and white, and the clothes went back generations. Interesting. I wrote down what I was seeing and tried to push the spirit for more.

From the corner of my eye I saw something, or someone, move. They moved so fast though, that by the time I turned to look, there was nothing there.

Chapter
6

I met my friends at lunch.

My back was to the doors leading into the cafeteria, but I knew when Kade walked in because Megan glanced past my shoulder, then looked at me and grinned.

I didn’t glance back, even though I wanted to.

“
Is this seat taken?” Kade asked, motioning to the spot beside me.

My heart gave a little skip. “No, go ahead.”

He slid in beside me, and sat so close our thighs touched. I noticed he always had a slightly disheveled look about his hair—like he was constantly running his fingers through the dark strands. “Did you have fun last night?” he asked, twisting the top off his juice and taking a drink.

“
I did. What about you?”

“
I had a great time…except for one thing.”

I reached for my spoon, almost dreading his answer. “What thing?”

One side of his mouth lifted. “I didn’t get your mobile number.”

I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. It was tough to play it cool when I was so elated. Kade MacKinnon was asking for my cell number. “I’ll give you my number…if I can get yours?” I was surprised I’d said that, but glad I had when his eyes lit up.

While we were exchanging phone numbers, Johan joined us, followed by Tom. The minute he sat down Cassandra bailed, saying she had to go to the library to get a research paper done.

Tom watched her leave, and although he’d been a dick to me since I’d met him, I actually felt sorry for him. He had it bad for her, and Cassandra obviously didn’t feel the same.

“
Are you coming to the game on Friday?” Kade asked, his voice sounding hopeful.

“
I plan on it.” It had been a while since I’d seen Shane play, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Plus, any excuse to see Kade was a good enough reason to go.

He lifted his hand and brushed at my lips with his index finger. “You have a crumb there.”

His touch was electric, sending a current through my entire body.

He dropped his hand to his side. We fell into silence for a few minutes, and I wished we’d have some time alone.

“
So Kade, are you going to Milo’s party this weekend?” Megan asked, spearing a peach with a plastic fork.