by West, Tara
“Really?” I couldn’t contain my excitement. “That’s great.” I apprehensively inched closer to him, knowing I should’ve kept my distance.
His gaze slowly lifted to mine and his lips turned up in a sly smile. “My dad and I have issues, but he’s the only parent I’ve got left.”
I burst out laughing, remembering I’d used those same words on him at our last study session.
Bryon pushed off the locker and closed the distance between us, until we were only a breath apart. He smelled like cinnamon cookies. Even though I was no longer dieting, I had to remind myself Bryon was not on the menu.
He bit his bottom lip, batting pale lashes. “You’re a good friend, Krysta. Thanks.”
Why did my foolish heart react to him this way? I just wanted to reach up and give him a big smack on the lips.
He was just too cute and I was just too stupid.
I swallowed down the urge to act on my impulses and fling myself into his arms. “I hope it works out for you.” I tried to keep my tone even.
“Me, too.” His voice was soft, mesmerizing. And then he turned those sad puppy dog eyes on me.
I almost melted into the floor.
“I’ve got some good news.”
“What?” The staccato of my heart was suddenly so loud it rattled my eardrums. Were they stopping the mall? Had the protest worked?
Bryon broke into a huge grin. “Dad is moving the parking lot.”
“Really!” I shrieked. “That’s great!” I was so excited I jumped into his arms and gave him a big squeeze.
He squeezed back, so tight he made my ribs ache.
I had to pull out of his embrace. His gaze darted to the side before he looked at me again.
I could tell he was on the verge of saying something important.
Clearing his throat, he spoke in a whisper. “Do you think maybe we could…”
“I asked Mrs. Jackson for a new partner,” I
blurted.
His jaw dropped and he backed away. “What?”
“I don’t want to cause problems between you and your dad.”
Bryon grimaced as his shoulders fell. “He has to buy ten more acres on the other side of the mall for the parking lot. Either that or risk losing the election.” He laughed through a thin smile. “He’s not liking you right now.”
“Sorry.” Leaning toward him, I grabbed his hand and squeezed.
Big mistake.
His skin felt so warm, sending tingles up my arm and down my spine.
He stepped closer until we were standing toe to toe. “I still like you.”
“I like you, too.” The traitorous words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them.
Gawd, I was such an idiot!
I pressed my lips together, determined not to say any more. I was bad news for Bryon. We both had so many issues to deal with right now. Besides, I knew his dad would never like me. And then there was that little habit I had of speaking to dead people.
How would Bryon and I ever work out?
With my grip still entwined in his, Bryon cupped my chin with his other hand.
His eyes clouded a smoky gray, his jaw was set, his features determined. “I’ve been wanting to do something for a long time.” His soft voice carried a raspy edge.
I didn’t need Sophie’s mind-reading powers to know he was about to kiss me.
I shouldn’t let him kiss me. This will never work out.
But my mind and body were beating to two different drums. Closing my eyes, I leaned closer to his warmth, lips parted.
His mouth barely brushed over mine, soft and slightly moistened. Inhaling his warm scent, I reached for his shirt collar, but his hand fell away from my face and he pulled back. It was over as soon as it began. The faint scent of cinnamon lingered on my lips.
What kind of a kiss was that!
Blinking hard, I searched his clouded features, trying to understand the meaning behind his peck.
A slight smile broke through his haze. “I know we can’t get serious now, but I won’t let my dad ruin our friendship.”
My throat tightened at the sincerity in his big puppy dog eyes. At the feel of his warm palm still pressed against mine. I knew he was right. We couldn’t get serious now, but in time things could change. Did I really want to throw away my chance with Bryon?
I searched his eyes, not knowing what to say.
Slowly releasing my fingers, he took a step back. “Would you give me some time to work things out with my dad in therapy?” A pleading smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah.” I breathed a huge sigh of relief, knowing I wouldn’t have to break things off with Bryon forever. Knowing I could still have him as a friend. “I’ve got some issues I need to work on, too.”
“We can still talk at school and on the phone. Sorry I didn’t answer your texts.” He held out his palms in an apologetic gesture. “My phone was dead.”
“That’s okay. Call me whenever you need to talk.” Stepping forward, I leaned up and planted a kiss on his smooth cheek.
Turning on my heel, I somehow managed to walk away from Bryon without glancing back, which was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Although, because of my supernatural ‘gift’, something told me my life would be full of difficult choices.
****
“How you been, Emmy Jane?”
I didn’t even jump this time. The cool breeze I’d felt on the back of my neck warned me they were coming.
Looking up at the rotting ceiling above my small kitchen table, I was met by the smiling faces of Ed and Gertrude.
I couldn’t help but smile back. “It’s about time.” I tried to imitate using my best Ed voice.
They hadn’t contacted me in over a week, and despite the fact that Mr. Thomas had agreed to relocate the parking lot to the other side of the mall, I was still worried about them.
Ed looked at me with a quizzical grin. “What you eatin’?”
“A cheeseburger and a side salad.” I pointed to the half-eaten, juicy burger on my plate. Dad made it before he went to work. Until recently, I honestly didn’t know he could cook.
Ed licked his lips. “I wish I could taste.”
Clasping her hands in front of her chest, Gertrude’s eyes twinkled with more than just the usual ghoulish glow. “You look better, Emmy. Not so much like a skeleton.”
I cringed at that comment. You know you’re too skinny when a dead person says you look like a skeleton. But that was all behind me now. In the past week, I’d already gained two pounds. “I’ve decided to try eating again.” I nodded in their direction. “You look good, too.”
They did look good—for dead people. Their glow was back, shiny and stronger than ever. They weren’t as translucent. In fact, they almost looked like real people.
Gertrude smiled warmly. “We came to thank you for what you’ve done. They even put our tombstones back.”
“The oak tree’s still missin’.” Ed punched his fist into the air, his weird eye going in all directions.
I had to repress a laugh. Not just at them, but at myself. Who else could talk to a crazy-eyed spirit and not crap her pants?
Gertrude patted his shoulder. “They can’t put back an oak, Ed.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged, his lips turning in a pout. “I know.”
“My friends and I can always plant a new tree.” I said before I took another bite of my burger.
Ed looked down at me with a grin that stretched ear to ear. For a moment, that eye even managed to stay still. “That would be real nice of you, Emmy Jane.”
Gertrude splayed her hands, pointing toward the ground. “We’re goin’ back ta rest now, sweetheart.”
I swallowed hard, thinking how much I’d miss them, no matter how annoying their interruptions had been.
“You’re a good girl.” Ed winked his good eye. “One day, you’ll make some young man a very lucky fellow.”
“Thanks,” I sighed. “I hope so.”
They floated through my kitchen wall and I was left alone. Which was not a good thing, because Ed’s comment left me missing Bryon.
****
Facebook rant/Nine p.m.
I can’t believe it’s only been a few weeks since Bryon and I were studying together at Mocha Madness.
It feels like years have passed.
Although we don’t see each other after school anymore, I’m glad he and his dad are going to work on things. He needs to settle his issues with his dad before he can have a relationship with me.
Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I remember the excited expression on his face when he saw that brownie at Mocha Madness. He was so cute and sweet. Then, other times, he was angry and confused. At times, his extreme emotions worried me.
Although, keeping feelings locked away isn’t good, either.
I tried to control everything about myself. My emotions, my appearance, even my diet. Not until I saw Bryon stuffing his face with cookies did I begin to understand I was suffering from emotional eating problems, too.
Only I held everything in.
Maybe I just didn’t know how to deal with my grief, so I kept it all inside. Maybe I thought if I looked and acted perfect, my dad would pay more attention to me.
After that cheerleader called me a ‘stick chick,’ I had to do a double-take in the mirror. I was kind of thin and my under-eye circles were getting darker. I’d always thought that was because the dead liked to wake me up at all hours of the night. But I’d been getting less and less visits lately and my eyes were looking worse.
I wasn’t sick and faint like AJ got, but I did get some extreme headaches. Funny, but after a week of eating low carb wraps and hamburgers with my side-salads, I haven’t had any more headaches.
I guess I don’t have to be a size one. A three or a five would be nice, too. Sophie is a seven and she looks great.
The funny thing is, at this point in my life, appearance doesn’t mean as much anymore. What would mean more than anything in the world would be a visit from my mom—Adela.
I wonder if I’ll ever get that chance or has she gone into some dark void like Sunny? Or maybe she’s gone on to heaven. Maybe she’s an angel. I still don’t know enough about the afterworld to understand what happens to spirits when they pass on. I only hope my mom is happy and that I’ll get a chance to speak with her at least once in my lifetime.
That’s my new priority in life—and reconnecting with my dad. I don’t have time for a Bryon at the moment. No matter how many times a day I think of his cute smile.
****
After the lights had been turned out, and she could hear her child’s slow, labored breathing, Adela quietly floated into the room. Bending over, she planted a kiss on her daughter’s forehead, just as she’d done every night for the past fourteen years.
“Goodnight, my angel,” she whispered as she gazed lovingly at her child’s sleeping form.
And just as she’d done every night since her passing, Adela reached out a hesitant hand, only to pull away. She had so much she wanted to say, but she didn’t dare risk waking her child.
Her daughter would ask questions—dangerous questions. And Adela couldn’t risk leading Krysta down the same dark path that had led to her own death.
An Excerpt from Visions of the Witch
Book Four in the Whispers series
Prologue
I ran.
Above me, stars glinted in the black sky like a thousand eyes. There was no moon to light my path through the field, no pale glow to give me the strength and courage to continue, but continue I did.
My very life depended on it.
The stalks were taller than I was, and the ground soft enough to mask the sound of my leather shoes on the ground. I shoved through the corn, not caring whether I tore off leaves or cobs in my haste to find shelter. My long skirts twisted around my legs, hindering my forward movement enough to frighten me. If I fell...
The running footsteps behind me might catch up.
I veered to the right, wondering if the field would ever end. I had done nothing but run for weeks, and I was so weary of the chase. How long would I have to hide for fear of condemnation? How far must I travel before finding peace?
I gasped for breath, the air burning my lungs. I could not run much longer. For the first time, I realized I may have reached the end of my days.
I burst through the edge of the field. The sudden openness gave me pause, and I nearly fell before stumbling to a halt. I whirled around and waited to see if I could hear my pursuer crashing through the maize. The distant howl of coyotes was lonely in the night, accompanied only by the sound of my heavy breathing and the beat of my heart resonating in my ears.
Not a sound from the cornfield.
I backed away, my eyes trained on the benign stalks as they waved in a slight breeze. I was afraid to turn my back for fear he was watching me from inside, waiting for me to be at my most vulnerable.
Taking a deep breath, I sent a quick prayer to the spirits of my ancestors, and then turned away, poised to run for the nearest homestead and beg sanctuary.
I did not even manage a single step before strong hands encircled my throat.
Chapter One
Sophie
Where were they?
As I paced my driveway, I tried to ignore the nervous tension in my gut. But the loud grumbling coming from my midsection was hard to ignore. It felt as if someone was playing jump-rope with my intestines. Thankfully, I’d ignored my mom’s advice and hadn’t touched my breakfast. I ordinarily ate a huge bowl of cereal each morning.
But this wasn’t a typical morning.
This was my first day of high school.
Even though, technically, I’d been a high schooler last year, stuck in that awful junior high. Now I was starting my new school as a sophomore. And thanks to stories from Mike, my best friend’s brother, I was just about ready to crap my pants in fear.
Apparently, the upper classmen already had several names picked out for the sophomore class—squashmores, maggots, babies, newbies, virgins….
That last nickname was what got me, mostly because it would forever be true. I’d done a lot of thinking over the summer, and I’d come to realize I’d probably never have another boyfriend. Even though I’d been with Frankie for a short while my freshman year, we hadn’t done much more than kiss, and even that had been awkward.
Why?
Because my powers were strengthening.
Big time.
And it was hard to get serious with a guy when I could read his mind.
Like when right before he was about to kiss me, he was secretly grossed out by my new mini volcano, AKA ginormous pimple, that had sprouted on my chin overnight. Naturally, no amount of pimple cream or expensive cosmetics was able to conceal the zit’s evil plan to destroy my social life.
So how could I get serious with a guy when he was thinking Ewwww just as he’s about to kiss me?
I couldn’t. Because if it wasn’t a zit, then it was the extra fat on my thighs, or the way I sometimes slouched, or my smaller-than-average breasts. Or maybe one day I would catch him checking out another girl and pop into his mind while he was thinking nasty things about her.
No, I couldn’t have another boyfriend. And even though I was getting better at controlling my powers and staying out of other people’s minds, I really couldn’t help it.
But oh well. That had been my mantra all summer.
Oh well.
I guess if I couldn’t change my fate, I’d better learn to accept it. That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway.
I shrugged before trying to shake some of the nervous energy out of my hands. Did I really want to go through with this? Did I really want to know what two thousand teenagers were thinking about me today?
I’d have a hard enough time trying to figure out how to open my new locker and learn my class schedule.
I gasped, startled by the screeching sound of tires burning rubber across pavement
. I turned to see Mike’s truck barreling my way.
I jumped onto the porch steps moments before the truck would have mowed me down. As I stared slack-jawed at the rattling, heaving pile of metal, my best friend AJ rolled down the passenger window.
She tossed her blonde ponytail over her shoulder before narrowing her blue eyes in her classic ‘I’m having a bad day’ look. “Hurry up, Sophie! We’re late!”
I had no idea how I was able to propel my legs forward, but I somehow managed to throw my book bag in the backseat and get most of my body inside before Mike threw the truck into gear and tore out of the driveway.
I guess surviving my first day wasn’t going to be an issue, since it looked like Mike would kill me before I even made it to school.
***
AJ
“Why aren’t you eating?”
I arched a brow at my BFF as she slouched over her salad and absently picked out pieces of shredded cabbage. Lunch was almost over and she hadn’t taken a bite.
Sophie turned her big green eyes to me and cringed while placing a hand on her midsection. I could barely hear her over the steady drone of students in the cafeteria when she said, “Because my stomach hurts.”
“Why does your stomach hurt?”
She shrugged and flashed a half-hearted grin. “I’m nervous.”
I could never understand Sophie. She had the world at her fingertips. I mean, with the power to know what everyone around her was thinking, she could rule the school. Instead, she seemed to be withdrawing from the world, even me. I’d thought she was improving last year, but now she was getting worse. After her boyfriend moved away, she started changing.
And it wasn’t like she was lacking potential new boyfriends. Lots of guys wanted to go out with her. She was funny, smart, tall and slim with high cheekbones and large green eyes framed by the thickest lashes ever. Actually, her lashes were so thick, I secretly envied them. Although, if I didn’t pick at mine all the time, I’d probably have thick lashes, too. But my obsessive habits were another story.
What worried me now was Sophie. She used to love going with my family to the lake, but I had a hard time getting her to go anywhere with me over the summer.
