“He says he isn’t a ghost at all, in a squeaky Dorothy voice. He’s hilarious.”
I folded my arms over my chest and tapped my toe. Loving Nick didn’t make this any easier. To be honest, it made it even harder.
Josh came closer. “Nice to meet you, Nick.”
Nick muttered a bad word. I shot him my best withering glace. It didn’t work.
“So, if Nick isn’t a ghost, what is he?” Josh asked. Another nice thing about Josh. He accepted what I said and believed me without question. Josh was so easy. Nick was not. Nick was the opposite of easy.
“That, my friend, is the question we’ve all been asking,” I said.
Nick turned to face us. If he’d possessed a corporeal form, he probably would have taken a slug at poor Josh. We weren’t going to accomplish anything like this.
“Josh, would you excuse us for a minute? Nick and I need to have a little talk. If the doorbell rings, and it’s a Goth girl dressed as the Queen of the Dead, please let her in.”
Josh looked a little confused but did as he’d been told. He was definitely a nice guy. I, however, had a not-so-nice guy to deal with, so I marched to the staircase, waving for Nick to follow me. When we got to my bedroom, I slammed the door behind me and turned to him, enraged.
“What’s your problem, Nick?”
He jutted out his chin, playing it cool. “What’s your problem?”
I grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer from my desk and shook it wildly before squirting a blob on my hands. The scent of Lively Lemongrass did nothing to soothe me.
“You disappeared without any explanation. I’ve spent the whole day worrying about you—”
Nick laughed, a sound without humor. “Oh, yes. You looked incredibly worried as you stood in the kitchen with your hands all Mr. Perfect.”
I sat down on my bed. Nick wasn’t angry. Nick was jealous. A surprising turn of events. Suddenly I felt a whole lot better. I patted the spot next to me, but he refused to budge. I glared at him, patting it more insistently, until he finally sat down.
“I need to explain something to you,” I said, but didn’t know where to start.
Nick stretched out on my bed. He lay on one side, his elbow bent, and his head supported by his hand, smiling at me. Not a Nice Nick smile. A Nasty Nick smile. “I learned all about the birds and bees in health class, sweetheart.”
He probably had more experience than just health class, but I couldn’t even go there now. “It’s about Josh…”
“Yes, he’s perfect for you, and I’m sure you’ll be happy together. The two of you deserve each other. You can douse yourself in hand sanitizer, he can toss around a football, you can go to country club dances together, and it’ll be a wonderful life.”
I growled and threw my hand sanitizer against the wall. I’d try to be reasonable. I’d tried to be gentle. Now I was mad.
“You don’t even know what you’re talking about. I don’t like Josh, and he doesn’t like me, either. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter, because I am totally, stupidly in love with you,” I said. “And you’re such a jerk.”
Nick’s mouth dropped open in shock, and I wished he had been solid matter for just one second so I could slap him. I didn’t even feel bad about wanting to cause him physical harm. He’d worked me into a frenzy.
The doorbell rang. I squared my shoulders, jumped to my feet, and swooshed out the door. “It’s Zoe. Let’s go.”
Zoe and Josh stood at the door, staring at each other. Nick followed me, his head bowed, deep in thought. A heavy, awkward silence filled the room. I decided to end it right there.
“Zoe, this is Josh, Josh this is Zoe. You’ve both already met Nick.” I waved to where he stood, but otherwise ignored him. “And you both know the ghost, Blobby. Would you like a glass of lemonade? Josh brought cookies. The pizza should be here in ten minutes.”
Zoe and Josh looked a little dazed by my lightning fast introduction, and Nick actually had the audacity to guffaw. “Did you read Martha Stewart’s guide to hosting a perfect séance party before they came, princess?”
I shot him a silencing look. “No,” I said, still so angry I trembled. He had no right to switch into his charming, teasing mode after being such a bonehead. I’d bared my heart to him, and he’d sat there, gaping at me. If he loved me back, he would have said so. He hadn’t said a word, and that, sadly, spoke volumes.
The pizza came and we sat around the dining room table eating. Truth be told, Josh and Zoe ate. I stared at my plate and Nick stared at me. Extremely uncomfortable, and, once again, very awkward.
“So how did Barbie meet Ken?” asked Zoe.
I blinked at her in surprise. Nick chuckled. “She’s asking how you met Josh.”
“Oh. Josh saved my life.”
Zoe’s eyes went to Josh. “He’s the one who pulled you out of the lake?”
“Guilty as charged,” said Josh, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I was at the right place at the right time, but I’m sure anyone else would have done the same.”
He gave her one of his blindingly white grins, and Zoe’s eyes got huge and round in her face. Josh didn’t seem at all intimidated by Zoe’s Gothness, but Zoe acted a little taken aback by his blond jock glory.
Nick caught it too. “Maybe it’s Goth Barbie, and not Ginger Barbie, who likes Ken. Interesting.” I bit my lip to keep from smiling, not ready to forgive him yet, but he made it difficult.
We told Josh about the ghosts as we finished eating. He took it all in stride. I shared what had happened earlier with Miss Lin and the tea leaves, and neither one of them looked at me like I was crazy.
“I told you he wasn’t dead,” said Zoe, pouring more lemonade.
“Because you’re like a super psychic?” asked Josh.
Zoe gave him a sharp glance, like she assumed he was being sarcastic. I almost laughed. Josh didn’t have a cruel or sarcastic bone in his body. He stared right back at her, his face friendly and full of honest admiration.
“I’m a medium,” she said softly.
“I’m an extra-large,” he said with a wink, and she giggled.
“No way. Zoe giggles?” asked Nick, leaning toward me.
“It seems so.” My shoulders shook with silent laughter as Zoe and Josh openly flirted.
“You know what they say—opposites attract.” Nick stared at me with the same hot look in his eyes again. I nearly had to fan my face.
I went into the kitchen to refill the lemonade and put the cookies on a plate. Nick followed me in.
“Lily…” He stood so close behind me, if I moved an inch, I would have slipped right through him. I didn’t want to slip through him. The idea of sliding through Nick’s body pained me.
“There is nothing to talk about, Nick.” I stood as still as a statue, my back to him, the pitcher of lemonade in my hands.
“Yes, there is.” Nick moved close enough to whisper in my ear. “Ti amerò fino al giorno dopo per sempre.”
I almost dropped the lemonade. “You speak Italian?”
Nick gave me a sheepish grin. “I guess so.”
“What does it mean?” I asked, my voice strange and tight.
“I’ll love you until the day after forever.”
I almost swooned right there on the Spanish terra cotta tiled floor of my mother’s kitchen. Josh and Zoe came in and offered to help with the lemonade, breaking the spell. They chatted, oblivious to what had just happened, but I’d been rendered speechless, and was more in love than ever. This was not good.
Surprisingly, after that, things felt more comfortable. Every once in a while, I’d catch Nick’s gaze and completely lose track of what was going on, but I couldn’t help it. He’d said he loved me. In Italian. Just thinking about it brought a weird, sappy smile to my lips, but Zoe brought me back to the present with one snap of her silver skull ring embellished fingers.
“Lily?” she asked, waving her fingers in front of my face.
“Sorry. I’m little distracted,” I said,
and Nick gave me a wolfish grin.
“If you were any more distracted, you’d be comatose. Get with the program, Ginge, and stop staring at Nick.”
Zoe may have started to like me. She called me Ginge, the shortened form of her original insult, Ginger Princess, but now it felt almost like an endearment. Who’d have thought Zoe the Goth girl would end up being my friend? Then again, who’d have thought I would have fallen crazy in love with someone like Nick?
Zoe pulled a big, old book out of her backpack, the cover so faded I couldn’t even read the title. She opened it and starting skimming.
“I found this at a garage sale, believe it or not. It’s all about passing from this world to the next. I remembered what Mr. Wan said about the portal needing to be closed the night of the full moon. Our best bet is Saturday, at midnight, the time when the veil between the two worlds is thinnest. It’s also the night of the full moon. But let’s try to get rid of this last little ghost one more time.”
Blobby, who’d been sailing happily around the room, came to a sudden stop. Zoe smiled. “Yes, we’re talking about you. You’ve been a naughty ghost and it’s time to go back where you came from.”
I grabbed the bottle of Ghost Be Gone. “What do I do?”
Zoe considered it. “No idea. Try to squirt it I guess.”
A few minutes later, we were all soaked, but the ghost still happily danced around the ceiling. Zoe wiped a drop of liquid off her nose. “Well, that was extremely ineffective.”
“Sorry I got you wet.” I looked down at the bottle. “Mrs. Chang said it wouldn’t work if the ghost was stubborn. You are an extremely stubborn spirit.” I wagged my finger at the blob, and it swooped down to nuzzle my cheek. Cute little ghost.
“We need to make a game plan for Saturday,” said Zoe.
Josh slid his chair closer to her and looked over her shoulder at the book. “What can I do to help?”
Zoe stiffened. I could tell his nearness affected her by the way she stuttered over her words. “Your presence is enough. You’ll amplify my power. Also, you might see or sense things I can’t. You should be aware of what’s around you and tell me everything.”
Josh leaned close to her. “Should I tell you everything I’m sensing right now?” His voice sounded a little husky.
I looked at Nick, raising my hands in befuddlement, and he grinned. “And Ken likes Goth Barbie too.”
Zoe seemed flustered. It would have been worse if she’d heard Nick’s comments. “No. Not right now. Don’t be ridiculous.” Zoe scowled at Josh, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Zoe was obviously all bark and no bite. I decided to step in and help, since I happened to be an excellent matchmaker.
“We’re going to The Zone Friday night to try to find out more about Nick. You should come too, Josh.” The words were barely out of my mouth when Zoe turned her scowl on me.
“Why does he need to come?”
“Because we need all the help we can get.” I gave Zoe a stern look. She knew it was the truth, but she didn’t know my reasons were equal parts romance and practicality. I liked Zoe, and I wanted to help her out.
“I’d love to come. It’ll be sort of like a double date.” Josh picked up a cookie and munched on it happily. Both Zoe and I stared at him in confusion. He took his time chewing and had a long sip of lemonade before he explained. “Me and Zoe, you and Nick. Ka-bang.” Josh gave me a pointed look to make sure I understood.
“Ka-bang,” I said in agreement, and Josh grinned.
Zoe slammed the book shut and gave him a death stare. “Not going to happen, pretty boy.”
Josh’s grin grew even wider, and he put a hand over his heart. “She thinks I’m pretty.”
Zoe looked like she wanted to toss the book at his head. Instead, she simply rolled her eyes. “Back to work. We’ll go to The Zone on Friday and try to figure out if anyone there knows your friend, Nick. And we’ll ask about Bambi.”
“I’ll go to see Mr. Wan on Saturday.” I looked down at my nails. I’d almost forgotten about Bambi. Melancholy Baby seemed babyish now. I wanted something darker. I might even go for red. I bet Bambi wore red. I had a sudden vision of a voluptuous dark-haired biker chick with flashing eyes and blood red lips. I decided I didn’t like Bambi at all.
“To get your nails done?” Zoe looked like she was getting a migraine.
“And to find out more about the Soul Reaper. Is there anything in your book?”
Zoe opened her book and leafed through it slowly. “I don’t remember seeing anything, but I have another book at home. I’ll look in it, too.”
“And we’ll get ready for Saturday night.” I bit my lip and looked at Nick. If we got the blob to leave on Saturday, would he go away too? It was a scary thought.
“Technically, it would be Sunday, since we’ll do it at midnight.” Zoe still leafed through her book. I froze, the blood draining from my face.
“Lily, what’s wrong?” Nick leaned close. Josh and Zoe looked at me too.
“Are you okay?” asked Josh. Even Zoe seemed worried
“It’s the timing,” I said, turning to Nick. “Sunday is the day Rosie died.”
Chapter 11
A crisis is an opportunity for riding the dangerous wind. ~ Chinese Proverb
Part of me was glad this would all be over by the time my parents got back from their respective trips. Part of me felt sick because usually my whole year centered on the day Rosie died. Recently, I’d been so focused on Nick, the Soul Reaper, and my little blob, I hadn’t thought about Rosie much at all.
After Zoe and Josh left, I went to Rosie’s bedroom. My parents hadn’t changed a thing since the day she died. Clarice dusted and vacuumed, but nothing else was touched. A shrine to dead dreams.
Sometimes, if I brought one of her blankets to my face, I could still smell her sweet baby scent. Nick found me later in Rosie’s closet, holding her blanket against my face, and crying my eyes out.
I shook my head at my own foolishness. “How can you miss something you barely even had? She was only ours for a few months, Nick, but we can’t seem to move on. Not my mom, not my dad, and not me.”
Nick outlined the shape of a small giraffe on Rosie’s blanket with his finger. “Maybe it isn’t about moving on or letting go. Maybe it’s about finding a way to hold on to your memories, but still live your lives.”
“None of us have been able to do it. My parents are in a weird sort of limbo. They won’t come into this room, they can’t even say her name, and they run away every year on the day she died,” I said, my voice turning oddly emotionless. I’d been down this road many times before. “If only I’d checked on her a few minutes sooner…”
Nick shook his head, running his finger down the side of my face. I couldn’t feel anything, but I closed my eyes anyway and tried to imagine I could. “It doesn’t work that way. It isn’t fair she died, but it isn’t fair for you to torture yourself, either.”
“I don’t,” I said, opening my eyes. Nick looked unconvinced. “Honestly. But I want to fix everything. To put things back in their proper places so it all makes sense again.”
“Like you’re doing with me and the ghosts?”
I gave him a wry smile. “I guess so.”
Nick let me have some privacy as I got ready for bed. I brushed my teeth and hair and laid the necklace from Mrs. Chang carefully on my dresser. When he came back, I’d dressed in my pajamas and had turned down the sheets. He leaned against the doorjamb, hands shoved deep in his pockets.
“Can I stay with you?” he asked. He looked nervous, like I might make him go away. The truth was, I couldn’t stand being apart either.
“Sure,” I said, patting the spot next to me on the bed.
A warm night for early spring, I left my window open. A breeze floated in, ruffling the lacey curtains on my window. Nick lay on his side facing me.
“Is Bambi your girlfriend?” I asked, sort of scared about what he might say.
“I don’t remember,” he said, his
voice soft and husky, “but I know one thing for certain.”
“What?”
“The way I feel about you is different. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Ever.”
His eyes, dark and full of emotion, shone with such yearning it almost hurt to look at them. All thoughts of the sexy vixen Bambi were pushed from my head. She didn’t matter. Only Nick mattered.
“Me too.” I turned on my side to face him, only inches apart. “But I’m afraid. What if solving this means losing you?”
He smiled at me, running a hand over my hair. It floated there, softer than the breeze from the window. “No matter what happens, I’ll find my way back to you. I promise, Lily.”
He came closer, his phantom lips pressed against mine. Even though I couldn’t feel his physical body, I could feel him, in every glance, in every word, in every action.
“Go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.” Nick wrapped me in nonexistent arms, and I fell asleep with my head next to his on my pillow.
Hours later, I awoke with a start. Something was wrong. I felt pushed down on my bed, frozen in place, and very cold. I looked around in panic and confusion, trying to figure out what had happened, and saw something dark and ominous slide across the ceiling of my room and hover above my body. Not Blobby. Not my sweet, little ghost. Something oppressive and evil. I knew it in an instant. My pulse accelerated, and my breathing came fast and shallow as I shook from head to toe. Fully awake now, I was terrified.
I blinked, trying to figure out what to do, hoping it would go away, when my body started to move, rising up and down on my bed. The movements weren’t huge, but the fact I no longer controlled my own body was the most horrific sensation I’ve ever experienced. I tried to scream but couldn’t. I tried to get out of bed but found it impossible. I turned into a puppet, the black thing above the bed my master.
Suddenly, Blobby shot across the room and pushed the dark thing out of the way. It jerked back for a moment, as if in surprise, and oozed out the open window. I took a deep, gasping breath and screamed right before running over to the window and slamming it shut.
Tiger Lily (Dark Blossoms Book 1) Page 9
