Breathing Lies: (The Breathing Undead Series, Book 1)

by Jessica Sorensen

  “Actually it wouldn’t since Foster and I have never had sex,” I tell Evalynn as I glance around for Star. My tone is strangely composed, but inside, irritation waves through me, like violent water. Like water rushing into the cab of a truck.

  Water splashes around me violently, rising higher and higher.

  “Foster!” I call out as water flows in from the open windows. I can hardly see anything but darkness and water… So much darkness. “Foster, where are you!”

  “Yeah, but everyone knows you want to have sex with him,” Beth sneers in my face, yanking me from the memory. “You’re so pathetic.”

  Perhaps I used to be, but not anymore.

  I will never be that girl again. The one who follows Foster around like a lovesick puppy.

  “You think I’m the pathetic one?” I question with a cock of my brow.

  “I don’t stalk Foster, if that’s what you’re implying,” she scoffs. “He wants me to follow him around. He even told me so.”

  “Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t.” I shrug, backing away from her to end the conversation so I can go find Star and get a ride home. “But honestly, I don’t really care.”

  “You should!” she calls out as I walk away. “He loves me, you know! He does! And I’ll do anything for him!”

  Jesus, was I that obsessed with him? I want to say no, but looking back I’m not so certain.

  Oh my hell, how could I be that pathetic? How could I let myself get so caught up in someone that I couldn’t see the truth?

  “You can now, though,” Beth says, materializing beside me. “And, if you do the right thing with it, you can change what you’ve done in the past.”

  “But what’s even the right thing?” I mutter from under my breath.

  When she doesn’t answer, I glance at her and find that she’s staring in the direction of the forest.

  “You can save us,” she breathes out, fog puffing from her blue lips.

  “Save who…” I trail off as I track her gaze.

  Standing in the shadows of the trees is a tall figure—an inhumanly tall figure. Just like the figure I saw leaning against a street post a few nights ago

  “What is that?” I whisper. Then a shudder ripples through my body. “Is that what grabbed me in the trees?”

  “That’s what’ll keep you from the truth, if you’re not careful,” Beth whispers. “Because while some of us are good and only want to be saved, there are some that don’t want that—who don’t want us to be saved. And they’ll do anything to keep things that way—to keep the truth buried.”

  “What truth?” I start to ask, but she vanishes like the thinning fog.

  I glance back at the trees and find the abnormally tall figure gone. But I shiver as Beth’s warning echoes through my mind.

  She never said what the figure was, but I have a feeling it isn’t human, which means I’m seeing more than just ghosts. That article I found said people who died and came back to life could sometimes communicate with the dead. I’d assumed it meant ghost. But what if there’s more to death than just spirits.

  I shiver, inching away from the trees and turn to go find Star, wanting to get the hell away from this damn lake.

  A handful of minutes later, I find her just a ways up the shore, talking to a group of people.

  “Fuck, I’m so glad I found you,” Star says, rushing toward me. “Kingsley would’ve kicked my ass if I lost you.”

  “I’m sure he wouldn’t have,” I say, but when I really think about it—what he’s done for me—I have to wonder if maybe he would. “Where did you go anyway? I swear, it was like one minute you were there in the trees with me and then suddenly you were gone.”

  She shrugs, wrapping her arms around herself. “I have no idea. One minute you were beside me and then you weren’t. I called out to you, but you didn’t answer.”

  My brows dip. “I didn’t hear you call out for me.”

  “Well, I did. Not very loudly, though. I was worried the cops might hear me or something.” Her gaze strays to the trees, and I notice her shudder. “ It scared the shit out of me when I realized you were gone. This place has always given me the creeps.” She blinks a couple of times, and then focuses on me. “But anyway, I got a text from Kingsley a couple of minutes ago. I guess him and Porter are getting hauled into the station, so you’re supposed to ride home with me. I’m actually riding home with a couple of friends of mine, but their cool with dropping you off. The driver’s sober too—Kingsley triple checked with me about that.”

  I nod, grateful Kingsley found me a ride home, but something doesn’t add up.

  “How did Kingsley text you if he’s arrested?” I wonder as we hike up the shore toward the dirt road where a few cars are parked.

  Headlights shine in the darkness, casting light across the rippling water, and making memories ripple inside me.

  Kingsley was in the truck with me the night of the accident, but where was Foster? Did he swim out and leave me in the truck? Or did he somehow get out of the truck before it crashed?

  “Hmmm… I’m not sure about that,” Star says, but I detect a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

  “She’s lying,” Beth whispers in my ear. “But don’t worry, you can trust her… for now.”

  She leaves it at that, leaving me to wonder what she meant by: for now?

  That in the future I won’t be able to trust Star?

  Twenty-Three

  Harlynn

  I remain fairly quiet during the drive home, stuck in my own head. It doesn’t really matter how quiet I’m being, though. The only person I know in the car is Star and she’s busy talking to the driver, a guy with short brown hair and a scar on his cheek. And the two guys riding in the backseat with me reek of vodka and are passed out.

  A couple of minutes before we arrive at my house, I receive a text. I expect it to be either my mom or Foster, but it’s from Kingsley. I haven’t received a message from him in years. The only reason I have his number is because I have all the Avertonson’s numbers.

  Kingsley: Hey, just wanted to make sure you got home okay.

  Me: I’m almost home, but yeah, I’m okay. I’m worried about you, though. Star says you were arrested?

  Kingsley: It’s not that big of a deal. They’re just holding me for a few hours to ask me some questions about the party. Porter’s here too, along with a couple of other people that were at the party.

  Me: What questions are they asking you?

  Kingsley: About if we knew of any drugs getting passed around… I guess some girl went to the emergency room a little before we showed up at the party. From what I’ve been told, she was doped up on something that she swears she didn’t take on her own—it’s why the cops showed up.

  Me: Jesus, that happens a lot here, doesn’t it?

  Kingsley: Yeah, it’s becoming a big problem… It’s why I was so persistent on you not drinking or smoking anything.

  Well, that explains one mystery, but there’s still a ton of unanswered questions.

  Me: How are you texting me if you’re in jail? I thought you only get one phone call or something like that?

  Kingsley: Technically I’m not arrested. I’m just here getting questioned. And I know the officer who’s questioning us so he’s giving me a free pass to text whoever I need to.

  The fact that he knows the officer makes me wonder how many times he’s been arrested. I know of one time in particular, but like I’ve said before, I don’t know much about Kingsley despite having known him almost my entire life.

  Still, I’m not afraid of him, that he’s been arrested, that he knows officers.

  Safe.

  Safe.

  Safe.

  Kingsley: Hey, I have to go. Text me when you’re in your room so I know you made it home safely.

  Me: Okay.

  I move to put my phone away as the car slows to a stop. When I glance up, I see we’re parked across the street from my house. Thankfully, the lights are still off, which means
my mom doesn’t know I snuck out.

  “Thanks for the ride,” I say as I push the door open to get out.

  Star rotates around in her seat. “Anytime, crazy girl.” She gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “We’ll have to hang out sometime again. Preferably without cops around.”

  I smile, but something feels off. “That sounds fun. I’ve actually tried to text you a few times over the last couple of months, but I think you got a new number.”

  “Nah, I lost my phone and didn’t have enough money to replace it,” she explains. “But I usually borrow one when I need to get a hold of someone. And I can get your number from Kingsley or Porter when I need it.”

  I feel like she’s blowing me off. I want to know why, but Beth’s words haunt my mind.

  You can trust her, for now.

  “Okay.” I wave and climb out of the car. Then I shut the door and sneak across the grass to my bedroom window. Once I’m inside my room, I take out my phone and text Kingsley.

  Me: I made it home safely.

  Kingsley: Good. Stay inside for the rest of the night, okay? It’s not safe to be outside by yourself this late.

  Me: Well, I was going to take a little witching hour walk, but I guess I can postpone it until another night.

  Kingsley: Porter’s right. You’re a smartass. It’s okay, though. I like it.

  My heart flutters in my chest as I start to text him back—

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  I nearly drop my phone as someone taps on my window. My anxiety doubles when I see Foster peering through the glass. The moonlight casts across him, making his face a shadow and his expression unreadable. But I’m not even sure I could ever really read his him. I just thought I could.

  He taps on the window again. “Har, open up.” He sounds angry and it’s annoying.

  Annoying enough that I don’t want to open up the window. But I need to do this—need to get this confrontation over with.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I step forward and slide open the window.

  He’s dressed in jeans and a nice jacket, his hair styled, making me question if he was out tonight.

  “Where the hell were you tonight?” he hisses, his nostrils flaring. “Because according to Liam, you were at some party with my brother, but I told him there’s no way you’d be that stupid.”

  Anger bites underneath my skin. “Why would it make me stupid if I was with Kingsley?”

  He gapes at me. “Because anyone who hangs out with him is stupid. And you used to agree with me.”

  “Yeah, well, I used to agree with you on everything. It doesn’t mean it was right of me to do it.”

  “What the hell is going on with you? Ever since the accident, you’ve been acting weird. And I know you’ve been avoiding me. Don’t even try to deny it.”

  “I wasn’t going to,” I say, rubbing my hands up and down my arms as a chill spreads across my flesh.

  His gaze drops to my hands, and his eyes narrow as they slide back up to my face. “Is that my brother’s jacket you’re wearing?”

  I nod. “He gave it to me to wear because I was cold.”

  He looks at me with disgust. “How can you do this to me? I thought you loved me. I thought we were together. And now you’re telling me you hung out with my brother tonight, doing god knows what. And you’re wearing his jacket.”

  Something snaps inside me, breaks like a shell cracking apart.

  “I’m also wearing something else.” I loathe that my fingers tremble as I reach into the collar of the jacket and pull out the necklace. “Does it look familiar? It should since it’s been in your room for who the hell knows how long.”

  A shadow briefly flickers across his face, but it dissipates quickly.

  “I haven’t seen that since the day you lost it in the woods, so if it was in my room, someone put it there.” He gives a short pause. “And since there’s only one other person that knows you lost it in those woods…” He gives me a pressing look.

  My fingers curl into fists, my nails piercing my palms. “Kingsley didn’t put it there, if that’s what you’re getting at. Just like you didn’t—”

  “Don’t,” Beth whisper so harshly in my ear I nearly jolt out of my skin. “Don’t tell him you know he didn’t save you.”

  I want to ask her why, but I can’t—not without looking insane.

  “You need to leave,” I tell Foster, my tone cracking and revealing my nerves. “I need to get some sleep.”

  Panic flashes in his eyes. “Har, baby, I’m sorry for whatever I did. Please forgive me.” He reaches through the window and takes ahold of my hands. “I’m taking off tomorrow for school, but I don’t want to say goodbye like this. I want us to be on the same page.”

  I try to wiggle my hands from his, but he refuses to let go. “What page?”

  “I…” He swallows audibly, appearing nervous, but it could just be a façade. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I mean, I know you already sort of are, but I want to make it official. And I want us to see each other exclusively.”

  I shake my head. “No.”

  His eyes fleetingly fill with shocked anger, but again, he swiftly erases the look. “Har—”

  My bedroom door swings open and my mom rushes in, flipping on the lights. She takes one look at me and Foster, then at the clothes I’m wearing that clearly aren’t my pajamas.

  “Where the hell have you been?” she demands with her arms crossed.

  “I’m sorry. It’s my fault,” Foster says before I can answer, plastering on that stupid smile he thinks is so charming. “I wanted to spend time with Har before I leave tomorrow, but she said she couldn’t go out anywhere, so I came over here for a bit and we laid under the stars for a while—in the yard of course. We didn’t want to wake everyone up in the house so we used the window to get in and out. Clearly, we’re not as stealthy as we thought.” He winks at me.

  I want to poke his winking eye with my finger.

  My mom relaxes. “All right, but it’s really late, so it’s probably time for you to go home, Foster.”

  “I was getting ready to do just that.” He grins at me then at her. “I was just telling my girlfriend goodbye.”

  “Girlfriend?” Confusion takes over my mom’s face, but then her eyes light up. “You guys are finally dating?”

  She starts gushing and telling us how wonderful it is. And I’m left wanting to wring Foster’s neck.

  As I glare at him, all he does is smile at me.

  In the shadows of the night, I swear it looks sinister.

  Twenty-Four

  Harlynn

  A few minutes later, Foster and my mom leave my room, and I’m left to stew in my frustration. Why did he tell my mom we were dating? Does he think he controls everything? I can’t believe he blamed the necklace thing on Kingsley.

  “Are you really that surprised?” Beth appears beside me on my bed, her cut up legs stretched out in front of her, her back resting against the headboard. I’ve gotten so used to her appearing now that I barely jump. “I think if you really think about it, you’ll be able to see he always sort of just did stuff without you agreeing to it. Or with your consent.” An underlying meaning edges into her tone.

  “What do you mean by that?” I roll over to my side and push up on my arms, sweeping my hair out of my face. “It feels like you’re referring to a specific moment, but I’m not sure which one.”

  Her sunken in eyes glide from her bare feet to me. “Haven’t you wondered why you can’t remember much about the night of the accident?”

  “The doctors said it was from the trauma of what happened.” Not that I was ever one hundred percent certain that was the entire reason since my mind was foggy before the accident.

  “But do you really believe that?”

  “I don’t know… I mean, I’ve wondered if maybe I was drugged. But I don’t know when it would’ve happened to me other than while I was at the party I was at earlier. But how long does it take for those kinds of
drugs to kick in?” When she makes no effort to answer, I sigh and sit up. “You know, this would all be a lot easier if you’d just tell me what happened, instead of making me guess everything.”

  “I already told you I can’t tell you everything.” She stares at the wall across from my bed, a portrait of misery. “That I’ve been silenced.”

  “But what does that even mean? Silenced by what?”

  “What do you think, Harlynn? If you’re sitting here, talking to my ghost, what do you think has silenced me?”

  An aching agony spreads through my body, and for once I’m grateful that I don’t feel emotions as potently as I used to.

  “You’re dead, aren’t you?” Deep down, I think I’ve always known she was, though. “If you are, tell me where your body is… I have to let someone know so they can find you. And how did you die? What happened?”

  She doesn’t answer, simply looking at me. “I have to go now. Find out the truth. It’s all up to you.”

  Panic clutches at my throat. “The truth about what happened the night of the accident? Why is that so important to you?”

  She shakes her head from side to side, her crimson-stained hair falling into her eyes. “Not about what happened to just you. You need to find out what happened to the rest of them.”

  I watch as blood drips from the strands of her hair and splatters across my lavender comforter. “The rest of who?”

  She leans forward, placing her skeleton-like hands on the bed between us, right on the splattered drops of blood. “The other dead girls. So many girls have gone missing in this town—bodies that are lost—and it’s up to you to find them and free their spirits.”

  I struggle to process what she’s saying, my pulse and mind skyrocketing a million miles a minute. I think of how Paige’s body was found right after I dreamt about her, and how Beth’s body is still out there.

  “There’s more dead girls than just you out there?” I ask.

  She slowly nods. “So many more. And they’re going to start speaking to you more often, begging for you to find them—to find out the truth of who hurt us so no one else can get hurt again.”