What Lies in the Dark

by Jessica Sorensen

  “Sorry, hon, but I haven’t heard from her for almost a week,” she tells me apologetically. “I’ve been working back-to-back shifts. This is actually my first day off in over two weeks.”

  I feel bad for making her go to her office on her day off, but my friends are right. I need to get checked out to make sure the morphine—or whatever drug Lispy Larry injected into me—hasn’t affected me physically or mentally. It’s either go to Scarlett or wait until my mom shows up. Considering I sometimes don’t see my mom for days on end, Scarlett is my best option at the moment.

  “Okay, well, if you hear from her, will you tell her to call me?” I reach for the shifter.

  “Of course. See you in a couple hours. And don’t forget to bring the papers for the physical for me to sign.”

  “I won’t.” I hang up and drive forward.

  “So …?” Kennedy reaches to put on her seatbelt while giving me an expectant look.

  I pull out onto the street. “I’m supposed to meet her at her office at seven.”

  “Where are we headed now?” Ev asks as she fastens her seatbelt.

  “To my house to print up a form for the physical.” I slip on my sunglasses as sunlight peeks through the clouds.

  Embry snorts a laugh. “You know, I know this has been said before, but it’s cool as shit how easily you can come up with lies.”

  “Cool?” Ev gapes at her. “Try frightening.”

  “Nah.” Embry dismisses her with a wave. “Everyone has to have their talents. Mine’s kicking ass. Yours is computers. Mak’s is cleverness and thinking on her feet. And Kennedy’s is clothes.”

  “Clothes?” Kennedy glares at her. “Seriously? That’s what you’re giving me?”

  “If you want, I can call it”—she makes air quotes—“ ‘fashion.’ But honestly, it’s all pretty much the same to me.”

  “Yeah, clearly.” She purposefully eyes over Embry’s all-black outfit and leather choker.

  Embry simply shrugs. “Like I care if I’m not some fashionista.”

  “Whatever.” Kennedy faces forward and crosses her arms. “But my thing isn’t fashion. In fact, I’m the one who started this whole thing to begin with when I came up with a plan to get back at Dixon.”

  “She has a point,” I intervene before their argument gets too heated.

  Sure, I was looking into the mysterious deaths happening in Shadow Cove long before Kennedy suggested we get Dixon back for all the times he’s made my life miserable. But if I hadn’t followed Liam that day, I never would’ve found out about Lispy Larry, the escorting site, and the secret society and their connection to my brother’s death and possibly my dad’s. I wouldn’t have overheard that the town may have spies or be bugged. Honestly, more than likely, I’d still be sitting in my dad’s nook, staring at the wall of newspaper clippings, wondering how on earth that trail could lead to anything.

  “Speaking of Dixon,” Embry thankfully gets sidetracked. “How are we going to collect the money for his computer? Because, if one of us does it, he probably won’t hand over the cash.”

  “Do we even want to do that still?” Ev asks. “I find it a little strange Mak finds the computer just sitting in her back seat after she woke up at the lake. It kind of sounds like a setup.”

  “I’ve thought that, too.” I catch her gaze in the rearview mirror, noting a dark blue car riding my tail. My nerves ascend a notch, but I don’t freak out … yet. “But a setup for what? I can’t come up with an answer for that. At least, not a rational one.”

  “Is any of this really rational?” Kennedy questions. “I mean, look at everything going on. If someone else had told me any of this, I’d think they belonged in a nuthouse.”

  Which proves my point as to why I can’t tell them I sometimes hear Sawyer’s voice.

  “I don’t know if I agree with you.” Embry props her knees against the back of Kennedy’s seat. “I’ve always been a firm believer in the weird. Ghosts, aliens, conspiracy theories—all that shit is real, no matter what all you normal people say.”

  “Hey, I believe in ghosts, too,” Ev protests, hurt ringing in her tone. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that … that I’ve seen my mom once or twice.”

  Kennedy and I glance over our shoulders at her and simultaneously say, “Really?”

  Holy crap, I so didn’t expect that to come out of her mouth.

  “Yes.” She pushes her glasses up the brim of her nose and raises her chin. “Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. There’s been scientific proof that ghosts do exist, though most scientists refer to them as entities.”

  “No one’s looking at you like you’re crazy,” Kennedy vows. “I think we’re all just surprised because you’re Ev and you’re so …”

  “Super smart and by the book,” I help Kennedy out as I steer the car over the railroad tracks and toward my neighborhood. “And ghosts aren’t usually by-the-book sort of stuff.”

  “By the book or not, I know what I saw.” Ev inhales and exhales shakily. “It happened a couple months after my mom died. She appeared in my room and told me I needed to make sure I took care of my dad and brother.” She pauses. “It’s sort of why I took on the role as mom.” She grows quiet for a few beats. “Do you guys think I’m crazy?”

  “Not at all.” I hesitate, unsure how far I want to reassure her. Will she think I’m nuts?

  You can trust her, Mak. Listen to the necklace.

  Listen, as in, it can talk? Or, as in, that glowing, warm thing is how it communicates?

  Nothing. Of course.

  I grimace, but pay attention to the necklace. Currently, the glass vial is cool against my skin; has been since Trysten walked away from me.

  Is that what it was doing? Warning me that I couldn’t trust Trysten? It also glowed when my neighbor was sitting on his porch. Yet it didn’t glow around Dixon, who I know I can’t trust.

  What is this thing, Sawyer? Just tell me!

  Silence.

  After deliberating my options, I arrive at a decision. I can either go at this alone, like my dad did, and possibly end up disappearing without so much as a drop of evidence as to where I went. Or, I can clue in my friends, hope I can trust them, and tell them the entire truth about what’s going on with me.

  Taking a deep breath, I blurt out, “I sometimes hear Sawyer’s voice in my head.”

  I hold my breath, waiting for them to say something, but the car remains chillingly silent.

  Great.

  Psych ward, here I come.

  Chapter 5

  LOCATION: MAK’S CAR

  TIME: 4:07 PM

  DATE: TUESDAY, MARCH 23RD

  It takes my friends a whole minute before they assert their feelings about my declaration of ghost hearing abilities. One entire minute that somehow manages to feel like an eternity.

  “Maybe you and Ev have psychic powers or something,” Embry states with a crinkle at her brow. “Or, what’s that thing called when someone can communicate with the dead …?” She snaps her fingers. “I think it’s called necromancy.”

  “I thought that was the ability to communicate with dead bodies,” Kennedy says, slipping off her shoes and tossing them onto the floor.

  Embry stares incredulously at her. “Since when do you know anything about this sort of stuff?”

  She shrugs, fishing her phone out of her bag. “I told you I’m not just about fashion.” She taps the screen of her phone then clicks on a few buttons. “Hmmm … Online, it doesn’t necessarily mention that necromancy is communicating with dead bodies. It just mentions the dead. It also suggests that most necromancers communicate with the dead to find out about the future.” Her gaze glides to me. “Does Sawyer tell you anything about the future?”

  “He maybe has a couple of times, but like, two seconds before something happens.”

  I flick a glance in the mirror to check on the car again. It’s still there, but then it turns onto a side road a few seconds later. I let a breath ease from my lips. I need to keep my gua
rd up, but not be completely paranoid. That’s what started getting my dad into serious trouble.

  “He mostly just tells me vague, ominous warnings without explaining the details.” I scratch at my neck where the necklace is hidden underneath my shirt. I want to tell them about it, but since I’m still unsure if they believe I can hear Sawyer or if they’re just trying to be supportive, I’m conflicted if I should. “Don’t you guys think that makes me sound a bit insane?”

  “If it does, then I guess I’m insane, too,” Ev says, fiddling with the elastic at the end of her braid.

  “Neither of you are crazy.” Embry retrieves her phone from the pocket of her leather jacket. “There’s even an entire underground society dedicated to this stuff.”

  “Society?” I cock my brow as I park in front of my house. My mom’s car isn’t in the driveway, which makes my worry for her double. Dammit, I was hoping she’d be home. “Like the same sort of society Liam was talking about?”

  “Hell no.” Embry hands me her phone. “Check that out.”

  I glance at the website on the screen. “SC Shadow of the Undead Inc.”

  “SC stands for Shadow Cove,” Embry clarifies, propping her boot onto her knee. “It’s basically a place where people go and chat about their strange, otherworldly encounters. You do run into some crazies every once in a while, but there are some regulars who I think are pretty sound of mind. There’s even a place where they meet up every month. I don’t know the location, but I’ve never really had a reason to ask.”

  Kennedy turns around in her seat to look at Embry, her brows lifted. “Why were you ever on this site at all?”

  “I’ve always been pretty curious about ghosts and the undead.” Embry gives an indifferent shrug. “I stumbled across the site while I was searching out some information on ghostly sightings. I sometimes go on it before bed to read people’s stories.”

  “So, these are your bedtime stories?” Kennedy flicks Embry’s phone that’s in my hand.

  Embry rolls her eyes. “It’s not that weird.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Kennedy rotates around in her seat. “But you’re our little weirdo, so I guess it’s cool.”

  Embry rolls her eyes again. “Glad I have your approval.”

  “Glad you realize you need my approval,” Kennedy quips, flashing her a sassy smirk.

  “Guys,” I interrupt, angling the phone toward Embry. “What language is this on the header?”

  Embry lifts a shoulder. “I have no idea. Why?”

  “Because”—I gulp—“the other day, I found this book hidden in the floor of Sawyer’s closet and it was filled with words from a language I don’t recognize. But this”—I point at the symbols on the top of the screen—“this is the language.”

  “Wait, why did your brother even have a book hidden in the floor of his closet?” Kennedy questions.

  “I’m not sure. There was other stuff in there, too, like a key, a newspaper clipping for a help wanted ad, a necklace, the book, and …” I lower my voice to a mutter, “a bag of what I think was cocaine.” As their eyes widen, I hurriedly add, “Don’t worry; I flushed it down the toilet.”

  “Are you sure you got all of it?” Ev asks as she chews on her fingernail. “He didn’t hide anymore anywhere else in his room, did he?”

  “I don’t think so.” I hand Embry back her phone. “We can go search his room a bit better. I was planning on doing it anyway. Then I’ll show you guys this book, print out the physical form, and head over to Scarlett’s.” I slip the keys out of the ignition and peer around the neighborhood, tuning in with my necklace. The vial isn’t blasting heat against my skin, so I’m assuming—well, hoping—that means we’re safe. “We need to be discreet about all this. No one can know we’re looking into it. If we need to question someone, we’ll have to be super careful about our choice of words or do it anonymously through a call or email. We should probably keep the questioning to a minimum.”

  “We can do all that, but I want to stress that, no matter how safe we are”—Ev reaches for the door handle—“snooping around usually leads to getting caught.” She holds up her hands in front of her as Kennedy’s lips part. “I’m still in, so don’t even ask.” She starts to climb out of the car.

  “Wait,” I hiss as I spot the dark blue car with the tinted windows slowly driving up the street.

  Ev freezes, her gaze darting to me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Get back in the car.” As the necklace heats against my skin, I reach for my phone.

  Concern creases Ev’s forehead as she sits back down and closes the door.

  “What’s going on?” Kennedy asks as I swipe my finger across the screen.

  “This car coming up the road …” I watch the car from the side mirror. “Earlier it was riding my tail, and I was worried it was following us. But then it turned off the road, so I figured I was being paranoid. But now it’s here, right by my house.”

  Ev peers over her shoulder at the back window. “Maybe the owner lives around here.”

  The necklace increases in temperature, scalding my skin. “No. Whoever is in that car, they can’t be trusted.”

  Kennedy stares at me with her brows elevated. “What?”

  I shrug. “It’s true.”

  “Mak, you’re really freaking me out right now,” Ev utters as she clutches her phone. “Should we call the police?”

  “No,” Kennedy, Embry, and I snap at the same time.

  Ev winces, then hurt floods her eyes. “It was just a suggestion.”

  “Sorry, Ev. I think everyone is just a little on edge,” I tell her as I tap open my camera app on my phone.

  “It’s fine,” she says softly. “What do you plan on doing?”

  “I’m going to take a photo of the car and the license plate number,” I answer with my gaze fixed on the side mirror. “And then I’m going to find out who the owner is.”

  “Dude, remind me never to get on Mak’s bad side,” Embry jokes edgily. “Then again, being on my bad side’s not that great, either.”

  “Guess we’ll all have to remain besties forever.” I start to smile, but then frown when the car drives closer.

  We grow quiet as the car practically crawls beside mine. I pretend to be engulfed with my phone while sneaking a sidelong glance out the window. Doesn’t do any good since the car’s windows are too tinted.

  I wait until it passes before raising my phone and snapping several photos of the rear end. Once I’m satisfied I got what I needed, I put the phone in my pocket, only to realize how hot the necklace has gotten. Scorching hot.

  I peek down the front of my shirt and frown at the red marks covering the skin beneath my collarbone.

  “Um, Mak? Why are you checking out your tatas?” Kennedy asks, breaking the silence that took over the car.

  “Making sure they’re still there?” Embry snorts a laugh.

  Rolling my eyes, I release my collar. “No.”

  When they wait expectantly for an explanation, I sigh.

  “Let’s go inside, and I’ll try to explain.”

  Chapter 6

  LOCATION: MAK’S HOUSE

  TIME: 4:48 PM

  DATE: TUESDAY, MARCH 23RD

  After we raid the cupboards for some snacks, I grab the stuff I found in Sawyer’s room. Then we go into my bedroom and lock the door.

  “This is everything I found in Sawyer’s closet floor,” I tell them as I toss the newspaper clipping, book, and card onto the bed. I also retrieve the key from my pocket and add it to the pile. Then I reach for my neck. “This was also in there.” I remove the glass vial out from underneath the collar of my shirt.

  “A necklace?” Embry remarks as she begins sifting through the pile.

  Kennedy squints at the vial. “I hate to say this, Mak, but Sawyer had awful taste in jewelry.” She picks up the vial to examine it, forcing me to lean closer to her. “Do you think he was planning on giving this to Bria or something?”

  “I honestly h
ave no idea, but …” I dither, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip.

  “But …?” Kennedy encourages.

  I release my lip with a heavy sigh. “I have to tell you guys something. I need you to swear you won’t think I’m nuts.”

  “I thought we already established that,” Embry mutters as she skims over the newspaper clipping. “Why on earth would your brother hide a help wanted ad for a lawn care job?”

  “I have no idea, but I definitely want to look into it.” I tap the bottom of the newspaper clipping. “There’s a phone number listed. I was thinking about calling it.”

  “The ad’s, like, two years old,” Ev points out as she picks it up. “There’s no way the job is still available.”

  “I’m not going to call about the job,” I clarify. “I want to ask the owner of the phone number a couple questions. I’ll look up the number before I do that to see who it belongs to.”

  “Um, hello?” Kennedy lets go of the necklace. “You guys are getting sidetracked.” She turns to me with her arms crossed. “What were you going to say before Embry so rudely interrupted?”

  Embry flips her the middle finger, but Kennedy just smirks.

  I sink down onto the bed and hug my knees to my chest. “This necklace that I’m wearing … well, the only reason I have it on is because … is because Sawyer told me to.”

  “Before he died?” Kennedy asks, and I slowly shake my head. Her expression remains uncomfortably neutral. “So, after he died?”

  I nod warily. “I told you guys I hear his voice inside my head sometimes. Well, after I woke up at the lake, he told me I needed to put the necklace on; that it’d let me know who I can trust. Honestly, I thought I was going crazy, but with everything that happened, I put it on anyway.” I reach for my shirt collar. “I figured it was just a necklace until the vial started glowing and heating up. The first time it happened, I was outside, about to get in my car. The only person around was my neighbor, and he was staring at the necklace. It also heated up and glowed when I was around Trysten, and when that car just drove by.” I tug the collar down just enough to see the burns. “That time it got so hot it burned my skin.”