The Haunted (9 page)

I tried to fight back, to get my head up out of the water that was starting to pool in the basin, but the attacker was stronger than me.

My face was freezing and I couldn’t breathe. On the verge of passing out, I panicked and used all my strength to fight back. I pushed back with all my might.

Suddenly, the light went on.

“
What the hell are you doing?” I heard someone ask, their voice sounding like it was coming from a long way away.

I had my hands on either side of the sink basin, my bangs completely wet, and I had makeup running down my face.

“
Riley?”

It was Dana. For the first time in my life I was happy to see her. Happy that someone had walked in before I’d been killed. And I had no doubt Laria, or whoever it had been, had tried to kill me.

The situation looked insane. My hair was wet. The basin was clear…and there wasn’t even a stopper in the drain. How was that possible?

“
You had a nosebleed, I hear,” she said, taking a tentative step closer.

“
Allergies.” Even my voice was shaky. “I couldn’t get it to stop.”

Her expression alone said she thought I was psychotic, but I didn’t care. At least the nosebleed was one way to explain why my hair and face were wet.

I felt chills rush up my back at the same time someone growled in my ear and I jumped. I glanced over my shoulder. No one was there—just Dana standing by the door, watching me like I’d lost my mind.

“
Um, it looks like you took a bath,” she said, lips quirked.

I know I looked like hell. Her expression just confirmed it. Hitting the dryer button, I lowered my head and made an attempt to at least get my bangs dry and keep from shaking. Laria, or whoever had just tried to drown me, wasn’t messing around this time. I had to have help. I needed answers. I needed someone who understood what I was going through.

When I finished drying my bangs, I wiped the makeup from under my eyes with a tissue.

Dana finally stepped closer, in front of the mirror and applied lip gloss, all the while watching me. I wanted to ask her if she had any mascara I could borrow, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask her. It’s not like I wore a lot of makeup anyway. Plus, with the way my hands were trembling, I’d probably just make more of a mess.

“
So…you like Kade?”

There it was—the million dollar question.

“
He’s nice,” I said, doing my best to fix my hair. At least I didn’t look like a drowned rat any longer.

She dropped her gloss into her purse. “Yep, he’s really nice. A word to the wise though—he doesn’t get attached for long.”

And yet that fact didn’t seem to stop her from going for him.

“
See you later,” I said, walking toward the door.

“
Hey, if you ever want to hang out sometime, give me a call.”

Was she serious?

“
You want my mobile number?” she asked, pulling her cell out of her pocket. I wasn’t about to give her my phone number.

I was saved from having to respond when Cait walked in. “I was wondering if you fell in.”

I was so relieved to see her, I almost hugged her. “I was just heading back.”

“
Are you okay?” she asked, tilting her head to the side, confirming I looked as horrible as I felt.

“
I’m fine,” I said, a complete lie since I was shaken up.

“
Hey Cait,” Dana said, perking up immediately.

“
Dana,” Cait replied, with a stiff nod. She slid her hand around my elbow and pulled me out of the bathroom. As we walked toward the bleachers, she watched me closely. “You’re like Maddy, aren’t you, Riley?”

My stomach tightened. “What do you mean?”

“
You can see the dead.”

Had Madison said something to her? I wondered.

“
I’ve lived with Maddy long enough to know that she’s not talking to an imaginary friend. There’s someone actually there. I saw the same look in your eyes last night while we were eating, and after, when you were looking at pictures. Who was there with us?”

I was reluctant to say too much. After all, she lived in the castle and I didn’t want to be the reason she couldn’t sleep at night.

“
That’s why you wouldn’t sit in the chair, was it? Because someone else was already sitting there.”

Very good.

I was so used to being quiet about my abilities, and honestly, I was terrified of Cait saying something to Kade. Then again, I wasn’t going to lie to my friend, especially when she knew the truth.

“
The ghost Maddy talks to is Hanway,” I said before I could stop myself.

“
Hanway,” she said, her eyes going wide. “Wait, that’s the ghost who tore his nails off trying to get out of the dungeon, right?” She sounded almost excited.

I nodded. “Yes, but for the record, his nails looked fine to me.”

“
Who else have you seen?”

I wasn’t ready to tell her about Laria. Plus, I wasn’t going to tell her I’d been in the castle before the other night. I wasn’t so sure she’d be okay with that. If the tables were turned, I’m not so sure I would be okay with it either.

“
There’s an eleven-year-old boy at our school.”

I saw some of the fear leave her face. “A boy…like how old?”

“
Eleven. So bloody young,” she said absently. “What’s it like—to be able to talk to someone who’s dead?”

No one had asked me that question before. “I guess it’s kind of like talking to you right now.”

Her brows formed a straight line. “Oh, come on.”

“
I’m serious. The dead are just like us…they’re just invisible to the majority.”

“
I wish I could see them.”

“
No you don’t,” I said matter-of-factly. She went quiet when Dana walked past us, chin lifted high.

We returned to the stands, but I couldn’t focus at all on the game. I was too shaky, and I kept expecting Laria to appear, to reach around my neck again and choke me. I clapped every time our team scored, and was disappointed Shane didn’t get a chance to play.

“
You ready?” Megan asked, when there was five minutes left on the clock.

I nodded, ready to leave, yet dreading what waited for me this time when I got home.

C
hapter 12

Aberdeen was packed on Saturday afternoon. Having grown up in Portland, I missed the sights and sounds of the city. The
pulse
, as my mom would call it. She was right—I felt more alive, and it felt nice to get away from Braemar, and away from Laria, who was becoming more aggressive and pissing me off more by the day.

I was glad Megan and Cassandra had asked me to come along. I needed the break, and plus, it would be nice to wear a new dress to Milo’s party.

I’d come to appreciate Cassandra, even though she sometimes could use an edit button. But there was a part of me that liked her blatant honesty, especially since I could never be that way.

The crosswalk light turned, illuminating the pedestrian sign, and we crossed the street. A car at the crosswalk honked at the driver in front of him.

Tempers ran high, especially in the city where everyone was in a hurry to get where they were going. It didn’t matter if you were halfway around the world. People were people.

“
Here we are,” Cassandra said, stopping at the double doors of a store called
Lady Haute
. The woman at the counter gave me the once over, and I swear to God she actually sniffed. When her gaze shifted to Cassandra she completely changed. Smiling from ear to ear, she rushed over. “How are you, my dear?”

“
So fake,” Megan said under her breath.

If the woman heard her, she didn’t seem to care. She was too busy fawning all over Cassandra. Even though I had grown up in an upper middle class family, my mom rarely shopped at high end stores.

To be honest though, the extra attention was kind of nice.

I browsed the racks and found a handful of dresses to try on.

The dressing room had an unforgiving three-way mirror, which made critiquing each dress easy. The majority were too tight and I knew I’d feel self-conscious wearing any of them.

Cassandra didn’t pull any punches when it came to giving her opinion either, especially with Megan who had a tough time finding the right dress because of her big boobs.

I found a flouncy white sundress with spaghetti straps on the clearance rack. There was an innocence about it I liked, and the gathering over the bust didn’t hurt either.

“
What are you—twelve?” Cassandra asked, looking downright disgusted with my choice.

I stared back at my reflection in the mirror. “Is it that bad?”

“
I think it’s adorable,” Megan said, frowning at Cassandra. “Not all of us want to look like sluts.”

“
Hey, be nice now,” Cassandra said, tugging at the hem of a body-hugging black lace dress with a nude underlining that made her look like she was naked beneath. “I’m out to snag a man, and you can’t do that with a dress a tween would wear.”

Maybe she was right—maybe I would get more attention if I dressed sexy, but I would be uncomfortable and it would show.

No, I needed to stay true to who I was. With my mind made up, I took the dress up to the cashier.

Cassandra glanced at the shopkeeper. “Put it on my bill.”

“
Cassandra, that’s no—”

“
I’m paying,” she said, cutting me off. Her expression alone said to not argue.

I sat in one of the chairs in the dressing room while Cassandra and Megan continued to try on dresses. I wished Cait would have come with us. I would have liked to have talked to her more about ghosts and Madison’s abilities. I hoped she didn’t mention the psychic stuff to Kade. It was hard enough for me to understand, let alone having to explain to someone else.

I wondered if he did find out, if that would change how he felt about me. I didn’t even want to think about having to bring up the cutting. Even if it was in my recent past, it was still my past, and I hated the thought of him judging me.

By the time we finished shopping for shoes and accessories, it was nearly three o’clock, and we were all excited about Milo’s party. Megan seemed a little nervous. I wondered if she was worried what people were saying about Milo’s band. I could only hope that Milo proved everyone wrong.

We drove in silence, listening to music, and every once in a while we talked about someone at school. I couldn’t help myself. “So…what can you tell me about Dana?”

“
Total bitch.” Cassandra pulled the visor down and put on lipstick. “She started dating when she was like thirteen. She’s been around, that one.”

And she wanted Kade.

“
Oh, and she’s a total bottle redhead and lies about it.” Cassandra made it sound like coloring your hair was a crime.

Megan glanced at me. “See, I told you.”

“
Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about Dana when it comes to Kade.” Cassandra ran a finger over her teeth, scrubbing off lipstick. “I would worry about her spreading shit about you though. She’s made life miserable for more than one person, myself included. When she wants something, she goes for it…and she’s bloody ruthless.”

I thought of the razor blade in my locker, the looks she gave me at the glen with the scratches, and then last night with the nosebleed.

It started misting and Megan turned on the wiper blades, leaving a blurry white film on the windshield. “Shit, I just made it worse.” It took a good dozen swipes for the windshield to finally clear.

“
People will believe what they choose to believe,” I said, and Cassandra nodded in agreement.

A song came on the radio and Cassandra started singing. Megan joined in and soon I was singing along. I liked how comfortable I had become with them, and I dreaded the day they found out about my cutting.

Megan stopped singing abruptly and leaned closer to the steering wheel. “What the hell is that?”

On the right side of the road there was a woman, sitting in a meadow with her back to us, arms wrapped around her legs, rocking back and forth.

My heart slammed against my breastbone. Even from a distance I knew who it was. Long dark hair fell to the ground, and I recognized Laria’s green gown.

“
Fucking creepy,” Cassandra said under her breath.

Megan slowed the car to a crawl. “What do you think she’s doing?”

“
Don’t stop, Megan,” I said, slamming the door lock down. “Please.”

I could tell by Megan’s expression that I had surprised her by my reaction. She frowned at me. “Look at her. She obviously needs help. She’s sitting in the middle of a bloody field, for God’s sake.”

“
What if it’s a setup? I mean for all we know she could have buddies waiting in the wings ready to carjack us and do who knows what else to us.”

Megan glanced at Cassandra.

Cassandra’s eyes were enormous. “I’m with Ri on this one. No fucking way are we stopping.”

“
Maybe we should at least ask her if she needs anything.” Megan pulled the car to the side of the road.