THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL (31 page)

Unless … did Savvy feel as alone as Joy did?

A spasm clutched at her chest. Joy grabbed the soft dishrag Marilyn had brought her and coughed into it. The clamps squeezing her upper body were like nothing she’d ever experienced before. The meaning of hacking up a lung became all too clear to her.

Ginny strode across the room to Joy.

Joy waved her hand and forced her body to stop retching. “I’ll be fine…. They said it would be like this for a while.”

Silas sank onto the floor beside her and rested his chin on her leg. Had he been worried? Or was this his doing?

Ginny shook her head. “I feel like I should have agreed with your mom.”

“No way. I didn’t want to spend the night there at all.” Joy shrugged then winced. Right. The bruises. “Besides, what could they have done?”

Ben appeared as a shadowy figure in the doorway.

“Everyone all right?”

Joy nodded and coughed into her rag.

“How about you, Savvy, you ok?”

She shrugged. “It’s not the first fire I’ve lived through.”

“Oh?” Was it rude to press for info? But Joy had to know something, anything, about Savvy.

Ben sank to the floor and crossed his legs, looking at Savvy. He was in.

“Yeah, my house burned down when I was ten.” Savvy shrugged and picked at the thread on her beanbag. “I tried to get my mom out, but … she was passed out and I couldn’t lift her.”

Joy gasped. “How awful.”

“Passed out from smoke?” Ben whispered.

“No. From vodka.”

Joy scrunched her eyes shut. So much pain out there in the real world. A world she’d never known existed until it was dumped on her full force a few months ago. Maybe if she’d had tastes all along it wouldn’t have been such a shock to her system.

Savvy took a shuddering breath. “Does anyone know what actually happened tonight?”

“Speculation is it was a candle, but Ginny believes she put them out. So”—Ben shrugged—“we don’t know yet. The insurance company will investigate, I’m sure.”

“I’ve been thinking …” The words flew from her lips before Joy could stop them.

Ginny stopped pacing.

Silas raised his head and eyed her. Warning.

Ben spun around to face Joy. “Yes? What is it?”

“Well, actually, I just …” Joy bit back her thoughts.

Ben’s eyes looked hopeful and bright, like he wanted to coax the words from her.

She glanced at Silas, then back to Ben. Never mind. “It’s just that it could have been anything, like, well, I don’t know, a curling iron or a hair dryer.” Would Ben notice?

His eyes narrowed. He stared at her for a few seconds.

“Well, did any of you three use any of those things yesterday?”

Joy shook her head.

Savvy scoffed. “Yeah, like I use a curling iron.”

They turned to Ginny.

“Yeah, not me either.”

Ben nodded. “Then I think it’s safe to rule those things out. Besides, the fire didn’t originate in the bathroom.” He leveled his gaze at Joy, eyes imploring her to open up. He knew. “Was there anything else?”

She shook her head. “No. Not that I can think of.”

“Good news.”

Thirty diners looked up from their breakfasts as Ben clapped for their attention.

Joy smirked at Paige. “Good news? Maybe last night was all a dream.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” Paige smiled.

Joy sipped on her hot tea, the honey soothing her singed throat as it went down.

“There will be no school today.”

The room erupted with cheers.

Ha. Not so fast girls. It was pretty clear what was coming. Even the new girl could see there was another part to this announcement.

“Bad news.”

The cheering stopped.

“Bad news is, you’re all on fire-cleanup duty.” Ben held up his hands to silence any coming protests. “Everyone in old clothes after breakfast. Then meet us right out at the old house to get this thing straightened out today.”

The dining room filled with a chorus of groans. Forks tinked as they were dropped on plates, and a couple of napkins flew into the air where girls tossed them.

“What had they expected? A day at the mall?” Savvy scowled.

“All hands on deck.”

A chorus of groans filled the dining room.

“Really.” It was way better than kitchen duty as far as Joy was concerned. If only it hadn’t been totally her fault. Reminded her of those army movies where one dummy’s mistake sentenced the whole troop—or whatever they called it—to a thousand push-ups. Well, probably not a thousand.

“… and then we’re bringing in some crews to clean up the mess.” Ben lowered his hands. “See you over there in about twenty minutes.”

No sense wasting any more time. Joy wobbled to her feet and dumped the contents of her tray into the trash. She was dying to get over there to find out what she could salvage from the damage in her room.

S
o we’ll be moving you girls over to the big house now.”

Ginny grinned at Joy and Savvy like she’d just given them a surprise.

Really? Did she
really
mean they weren’t going to make her and Savvy stay in the ashes? Joy fought off the eye roll.

Oh boy, the snark was in full force today. Well, anyone would be a bit testy if they had her injuries and had gone through all she’d been through. Wouldn’t they? Still, Ginny hadn’t hurt her.

“So where will we go?” Savvy lugged her suitcase into the hallway and hefted her backpack onto her shoulder. Most of her things would survive after a heavy laundering. What a relief. Ginny and Joy? Not so lucky.

“You’ll both move in with Paige and Tonya.”

Joy nodded. “Makes sense.” That’s where the most recent openings had appeared. Roommates would be good. Companionship.

What would Mel have said about Joy being Paige McNichols’s roomie?

“So, I want you two to go get settled. And Joy …” Ginny looked Joy up and down. “I want you to take a nap or rest in bed for a while. You need to let your body heal.”

Joy nodded. No strength to argue … or even speak.

Savvy led the way, dragging her things.

Everything Joy could salvage fit into her backpack. Half full, it still dragged her body down. She felt … um … depleted. That was it. Depleted of energy and health. Life. She had no life left in her. A nap would help.

Joy followed Savvy into Paige’s room. “Hello? Anyone in here?”

Tonya poked her head out of the bathroom. “Yeah, I’m in here, and Paige will be right back. Make yourselves comfy and grab an empty bed. The dresser at the foot of each bunk is shared, so fight for your drawer space.”

Savvy chuckled. “Want to arm wrestle for it?”

Joy held up her belongings. “Pretty sure we’ll be fine.”

Tonya stepped from the bathroom, rubbing her dripping hair with a towel. “I hope you guys don’t mind, but Paige and I already have the bottom bunks, so you guys are stuck with the tops. At least until we leave.”

Joy slung her bag onto the bed above Paige’s. “Works for me. I was terrified of sleeping on the bottom. Claustrophobic, you know.” She reached for the crisp white sheet folded on the bare mattress.

Ha. Not only was she Paige McNichols’s roommate, but now they were bunkmates. She’d have to get pictures. Someone would care to see them one day. Maybe.

Where was Silas? Joy searched the floor space. Ah. There he was, right at her heels. Would he be able to get into the top bunk? Or would he have to stay on the floor? She turned back to her bed to tuck the sheet around the mattress, and there he was, curled at the foot of the bed. Well, that answered that—he’d sleep at her feet like always.

Did Silas actually sleep? Heh. Joy looked into his eyes. What do you do all night, boy? Did they have some late-night spirit poker game on the roof?

Savvy cleared her throat.

Had she been watching? Savvy must think Joy was nuts.

Savvy opened her suitcase, and the room filled with the smell of smoke.

Tonya wrinkled her nose and waved her hand in front of her face. She ran to the bathroom and came out spraying an aerosol air freshener.

Joy froze. “What is that smell?”

Tonya looked at the label. “Pumpkin spice. Isn’t it yummy?”

Mm-hmm. Joy closed her eyes. Too tired to get into the story. She’d have to deal with the smell for now. And destroy the can later.

Savvy piled her clothes in a heap in the hallway then stepped back into the room. “Okay. So anything we need to know?”

“Well, while she’s out, I’ll warn you. Paige snores.” Tonya laughed.

Joy could see the exaggerated tabloid headlines. Y
OUNG
S
TARLET
S
NORES AND
D
ROOLS
. “Won’t bother me a bit. I’m a really sound sleeper—obviously. About slept through a building burning down on top of me.”

“Cool then. How about you, Savvy?” Tonya flashed a grin.

“I’ll be fine. How about shower time?” Savvy tipped her head toward the bathroom.

Joy opened her mouth to beg for a time slot for bedtime showers. Her hair took too long to dry to wait for morning. The door crashed open, and Paige sailed into the room.

“Hey! Guess we’re going to be roommates now.” She grinned at Joy.

Savvy cleared her throat. “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but I have to know something, especially since we’re going to be rooming together.” She turned to Joy and took a deep breath. “I have to know. What’s the deal with you? Why are you here, and what’s up with that ring around your neck?”

Joy felt the color drain from her face. “Why do you ask?”
Think of something. Quick
.

“I’m just saying … I feel like … well, I need to know if anything is going to be going on in here.”

“Anything like what? What are you talking about?” Paige’s grin had disappeared as she looked from Savvy to Joy and back again.

“Look, no, everything is cool. I’m totally cool. I’m here because, well …” She hadn’t really had to answer that question yet. What to say? “I’m here because I turned to some dark things looking for answers about light and life. I didn’t find what I was looking for.” Come on, Silas. Figure it out. She was just saying what she needed to say. Don’t take this out on the other girls.

Savvy nodded, her eyes clouded with skepticism. “That doesn’t sound very convincing. Are you into all that kooky stuff … like, are you going to be talking to spirits?” Savvy’s voice softened. “I ask because that’s how my parents are … my dad now, and Mom, well, before the fire.” She inhaled sharply. “And I really don’t want to live with that right now.”

Joy shook her head. “No, I promise, neither do I. That’s why I’m here. I’m healing and trying to move on.”

“Good.” Paige nodded and rubbed Joy’s shoulder.

Ow. Would people please quit touching her?

Paige dropped her arm “That’s all we need to know. We’ll support you however we—”

“Not quite. I just want to know about that ring.” Savvy pointed at Joy’s chest.

“So what? I have a ring on a chain around my neck. It was a gift. Why do you care?”

“Like I said, I’ve been around the occult my whole life. I know what a ring like that represents.”

“Well, it’s got nothing to do with the occult. I was given this ring by friends.” Joy shrugged. Enough already.

“I’m sure you were. But in what setting was it given to you? I know you’re not going to shoot straight with me, but I’ll tell you for sure—it was a spiritual thing. I can tell.”

Tonya came back with four cans of Dr Pepper. She stopped short as she took in the somber scene. “What’s going on?”

Paige held up a finger. “Just a sec.”

“Okay, yes. It was a spiritual thing. It was given to me in the middle of a ceremony, like a séance.”

Tonya grimaced. “Lovely.”

Paige gasped and shivered. “Freaky. But so what? We’ve all done things we regret. Haven’t we? I know I have. Why all the drama?”

Savvy shook her head. “That’s different. Mistakes, we just leave behind. This … having a foot in the world of the occult … you don’t just leave that behind. It’s not that easy.”

She could say that again. Joy crossed her arms. “What do you want from me? I’m doing my best.”

“You can’t come in here in this room with that ring.” Savvy planted her feet like she was ready for a fight. Did she think Joy was going to punch her?
Get over your bad self
.

But what was she saying? Did Savvy actually think she would be able to make Joy turn the ring in to Ben? Yeah, like that was going to happen. “Look, I’ve removed the power from this ring. And if I don’t give this ring any authority other than it being a gift from a friend that I care about, then that’s all it is. I use it to pray for her.” That was a good one. As long as Silas knew her intentions. Joy didn’t dare glance his way for fear Savvy would catch on. But she heard no growls and sensed no movement. He must approve of her facade. That was a huge relief.

Savvy eyed her. She crossed her arms on her chest.

Joy shrugged. “I feel like it connects me with her, not with anything spiritual. It’s something special to me. It’s a little sentimental, that’s all.” Not that it was up to Savvy.

Savvy nodded. “I guess I get the prayer connection. And the Bible talks about taking what the devil meant for evil and using it for good.”