by Joy Elbel
“Why didn’t you call me? You’re just lucky I showed up when I did.”
“How did you know we were in trouble anyway? Was it that twin connection thing you guys have?”
“No. I tried calling like a thousand times and when neither of you picked up, I came over. The storm knocked out the power at our house and I thought it might be out at Rosewood, too. I was worried about you so I snuck out.”
“Thanks.” Now that we were safely on our way to the Mason’s, I wasn’t sure what to say to him. Was he still mad at me? If Rachel wasn’t there, would he have come to Rosewood to save me or wouldn’t he?
“Pull over!” Rachel thrust her head out the door and emptied her stomach into the gravel again. I held her ponytail as she heaved and retched violently.
“So did I hear you right? That was your boyfriend?” He just stared out the windshield as the rain beat down even harder until I could hardly see the road.
“I thought it was. Now I’m not so sure.” I must sound like a complete crackpot.
“He’s dead?” This time he looked me square in the eye.
I nodded my head. “He’s dead. He died a year ago.”
“I really don’t know what’s going on here. You have a lot of explaining to do.”
Rachel closed the door, sat back in her seat, and motioned for him to drive. We weren’t far from their house but the rain was pouring down so forcefully now that we were barely even moving.
“I know I have no right to ask you this but could you please not tell your parents what you saw tonight? I don’t want Dad and Shelly to know.”
He reached for my hand. “I won’t. But you have to promise to tell me the truth—the whole truth—for real this time.”
I started to cry. “I promise. I won’t hide anything from you ever again. If you’d just given me a chance, I was going to tell you everything that night.”
“I said horrible things to you at the lake that night—things I never should have said. I’ll understand if you never want to speak to me again. But if you could find a way to forgive me….”
“I already have! It’s mostly my fault anyway.” At least one good thing came out of this whole wretched night. I felt…whole again.
We finally reached the house but before we got out of the car, he hugged me tight and whispered “I’m sorry” into my ear.
“I’m sorry, too.” I wasn’t just lucky enough to find the man of my dreams once—I found him for the second time. Maybe my luck wasn’t so bad after all.
As he released me, I saw a single tear stream down his cheek. And a stream of vomit fly out the car door. Poor Rachel! She said she would get us back together or die trying. Maybe she needed to choose her words more carefully in the future.
By the time we got in the house, we were all completely drenched. Zach cautioned us to be quiet for fear of waking up their parents. Too late. Diane Mason was sitting at the kitchen table with a flashlight and a cup of coffee.
“Zach! What were you thinking sneaking out like that?! Scratch that, I don’t care what your reason was—you’re grounded!” The sweet little mom who made the fluffiest scrambled eggs ever was gone and a shrieking banshee was left in her place.
“Sorry, mom! But when I couldn’t get in touch with Rachel and Ruby, I got worried. And then the power went out so I went to check on them. And it’s a good thing I did, too.”
“Why’s that? Is something wrong?” Shrieking banshee softened and morphed into concerned parent instantly.
I couldn’t let Zach lie to his mother on my account so I spoke up. “We watched a horror movie and then when the lights went out, we kind of started to panic. And then Rachel got sick. If Zach hadn’t come to our rescue.…” I started to choke up so I stopped there. I couldn’t let Diane know that it was anything more than two teenage girls scaring themselves silly on a stormy night.
Her anger was gone entirely now. “You’re sick? What’s wrong, honey?” She went to the couch were Rachel had dropped herself down the minute she got in the door.
“It must be the stomach flu. I swear I’ve thrown up everything I’ve eaten in the last week.”
“We need to get you into bed.” She turned to us. “That means you, too. It’s nearly four o’clock. Zach, why don’t you take the couch and let Ruby have your bed? I’m not going back to sleep while the power’s still out—we’ll never wake up if I do. Your dad and I both work early this morning. Can I trust you two here alone together?”
Zach’s face turned red at the suggestion that we might do something naughty while they were gone. “We won’t do anything, Mom. We promise.”
She eyed us suspiciously. I imagine that neither of us looked particularly in the mood, so she relaxed. “Okay. You guys need to get into some dry clothes before you all get sick. Ruby, you can borrow something of Rachel’s. Your parents will be home around noon. I’ll call them in the morning to let them know you’re here. And you’re off the hook, Zach—this time.”
“Thanks, Mom. I swear I’ll never do it again!”
She smiled and nodded her head. I helped Rachel off of the couch and into the bathroom so she could clean up. She told me where to find some dry pajamas and I retrieved some for both of us. When I went to the bathroom to change, I was surprised that her clothes fit me so well. She always looked so much thinner than me that I thought everything would be bursting at the seams. The top was a little tight across the chest but I that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.
Once I had Rachel tucked into bed with a garbage can placed strategically nearby, I walked to Zach’s room. He’d just finished changing as I approached. Even after no sleep and a royal soaking, he still looked amazing.
“Sorry, no rose this time,” he said as he held the door to his bedroom open for me.
“That’s okay. You’ve already done enough for me tonight. I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough.” My lip quivered and I knew I was about to cry. Why did it seem like that was all I ever did?
“You can thank me by telling me everything. Just get some sleep for now. Mwah!” He kissed me on the cheek and suddenly the chill I still had from my rain-soaked clothes was gone.
“Mwah!” I replied, happy to hear that word after going so long without it. As exhausted as I was, I stood in the hallway and watched until he was in the living room and out of sight. Relieved that the nightmare of our breakup was behind me now, I climbed into his bed and fell asleep instantly.
I heard the soft click of the latch on the door as it opened. If I hadn’t been safe in his bed, I would have panicked. According to the clock, I’d been asleep for almost four hours. I watched through tired eyes as Zach snuck quietly into the room.
“Zach,” I whispered, “Is everything okay?”
“Sorry, Ruby. I just came in for a blanket. I didn’t think I’d need one so I didn’t grab one earlier. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s okay. But you better hurry before your mom finds you in here.”
“They left for work already.” He hesitated and I got the feeling that finding a blanket wasn’t his only reason for being in the room with me.
“Oh.…” I knew what I wanted but I didn’t know how to ask for it. “How’s the couch treating you?”
“Badly. I just can’t get comfortable. I’m a little too tall for it.” I had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going, too.
“Well…we could switch places if you want.” But it definitely wasn’t what I wanted.
“I couldn’t ask you to switch. You’re already settled and comfortable. I want you to stay in my bed.” There was a hint of possessiveness in his voice when he said the words ‘my bed’, but not in a good way. I swallowed hard and then finally spit it out.
“You could stay in here with me.” I patted the bed with my hand so there could be no mistake about what I meant.
He took my hand in his. “Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do. But I have to admit, the only thing I can think about right now is cu
rling up next to you.”
I pulled back the cover and slid next to the wall. He slipped in beside me and settled the covers on top of us. I laid my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around me. I breathed in deeply to take in the scent of him that I loved so much. We were only apart for a week but it felt like a lifetime. I was never this close to anyone before. It was a moment I imagined a million times in my head only it always felt so distant. But this time that dream wasn’t far away, it was right there beside me. I closed my eyes and fell into the fantasy.
He was still right there when I awoke, like we never once moved while we slept. In sleep, he was even more gorgeous than I could have imagined. His chest rose and fell in an even rhythm and the same smile that was on his face when he got into bed with me remained. I would tell him everything he wanted to know—there wouldn’t be any more secrets between us. I would do anything I had to do to have a lifetime of moments like that with him.
His eyelids fluttered as the veil of sleep lifted. “Morning, Ruby,” he said as he nuzzled his nose into my neck, “You smell so good.”
What girl wouldn’t want to wake up to that every day? Certainly not this one. I lounged lazily across his chest. “Good morning, Zach.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well in my entire life. What time is it anyway?”
I stretched my neck up to see the clock. Noon. “OMG, it’s noon! Dad and Shelly will probably be here to pick me up soon. We have to get up! We have to get dressed!” I started to get out of bed but he pulled me back down on top of him.
“Relax, Ruby. The front door’s locked—it’s not like they’re actually going to catch us in bed together or anything. And besides, it was totally innocent. We didn’t do anything wrong—we just fell asleep together, that’s all.” He smiled and kissed me lightly on the lips. He traced the bruises on my neck with his fingertips.
“I’m sorry for how I reacted when I saw this. I was so full of anger that someone could do this to you. And angry at you for letting them. I still don’t know exactly how it happened but I know how it didn’t happen and that changes everything. I wish there was something I could do to erase it all from your memory.”
A stroke of boldness hit me. “Well…I’ve heard that you can kiss something and make it better….”
He didn’t need any more of an invitation than that. He placed his lips where his fingertips had been, brushing my skin with the gentlest touches. I closed my eyes. So this is what heaven feels like. Our minds were in another place but the sound of a turning door knob outside brought us both back to reality.
“Oh shit! Someone’s home! Quick let me up!” He rolled out from under me and onto the floor. He grabbed a pair of jeans from his dresser and tried to quickly throw them on over his sleep shorts. He was in such a hurry that he tripped over a pant leg and fell head first into the dresser.
“We didn’t do anything wrong, remember?” I couldn’t resist the urge to mock him now that the shoe was on the other foot.
“I know that and you know that. But convincing Mom and Dad of that is a whole other story.” He recovered from the fall and yanked his pants up on the way to the door.
“Oh, it’s just you.” I heard him say from the hallway. He returned to the bedroom. “It’s just Rachel. She went outside for some fresh air.”
But the moment was ruined anyway so I got out of bed. “Don’t get up—I was just coming back to bed,” he said disappointedly. Like a child on Christmas morning unwrapping gift after gift and only finding socks and underwear.
“I have to get dressed—Dad and Shelly will probably be here soon anyway, remember?”
“I know,” he said dejectedly. “Here—I found these. The power must have come back on before Mom went to work. She threw them in the dryer for you before she left.” He tossed me my clothes from the night before, dry and neatly folded. He lingered in the doorway and grinned.
“I have to get changed,” I reminded him.
“I know.” He folded his arms and gave me a cocky smile.
“So go find something to do while I get undressed.” By the smile on his face, I knew exactly what he wanted to do.
“Go!” I threw the pillow at him as he laughed and closed the door.
When I got to the kitchen, I found Zach devouring a bowl of cereal and Rachel slumped over the table groaning that she never wanted to eat again. I checked my messages and found one from Shelly. They were running late and would be home in about an hour.
“Do you feel any better, Rachel?” Her face was still extremely pale but she looked infinitely better than she had when I helped her to bed that morning.
“A little…but watching him eat makes me queasy all over again.”
“Do you feel well enough for us to go get your car? I want things to look as normal as possible when Dad and Shelly get back.” I really didn’t want to push her but the clock was ticking.
“Yeah, but let’s go right now before I change my mind. I left my keys at Rosewood. I hope your ‘roommate’ didn’t throw them into the vortex to hell. And I’m not going inside that house to get them either. No freaking way.”
“I don’t blame you—I wouldn’t be going in there if I didn’t have to either. Don’t you have a spare set?” I could almost see the light bulb turn on as she realized I was right and fished a key ring out of one of the drawers.
Zach finished his cereal and put the dish in the sink. “Yeah, about that—I don’t feel good about you going back in there. It’s not safe. I’m staying with you until your parents get back. And no arguments either.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t want to be alone there either. But I’m afraid to have you come in with me. The activity there seems to escalate the closer I get to you. And after what happened this morning….”
Rachel sprung to life. “Shut the front door! What did you guys do this morning? I noticed you weren’t on the couch when I went outside but I thought you were in the bathroom or something. I need details!” Obviously gossip was the cure for her stomach ailment.
“We fell asleep. That’s all.” Zach lowered his eyes and it was obvious that he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“You got into bed with Ruby after Mom and Dad left? You dirty dog! They would kill you if they found out. Just when I thought you were adopted, you go and do something scandalous like that. It’s about time little brother!”
“I liked you better when you were sick.” Zach blushed so badly he looked like he’d spent too much time in the sun.
I thought it was cute that he got embarrassed by things like that. Most guys his age would have been high fiving and exaggerating their conquests. He definitely wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before.
“Do you mind if I take a quick shower before we go? I promise I won’t take long?” Zach flashed those amazing eyes my direction and even though I wanted to get this all over with, I couldn’t say no.
As he sprinted back the hallway, Rachel called after him, “Better make it a cold one!”
She definitely sounded better so I asked her the obvious question. “What did it feel like, you know, when it went straight through you?”
She got a faraway look in her eyes. “Cold, ice cold. And sad, like someone ripped away everything I’ve ever loved.”
I shuddered at the thought. She was describing how I felt when Lee died—like I’d never know love again.
“I’ve been thinking. Do you remember what you said before we started last night? About taking all of the punishment it had to dish out?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too.”
“I think it heard you. I think it gave you what you asked for.”
“I think you’re right. I don’t know what that was Ruby, but it wasn’t Lee. I could just feel it. It was something darker, something with an ax to grind.”
Neither of us spoke as we tried to digest what happened. It was Rachel who broke the silence, saying the words I didn’t want to hear.
“We can’t handle
this alone. We need some outside help.”
I nodded my head wearily. “I know.”
Zach entered the kitchen fresh from the shower. He smelled so good that I wanted to change my mind about leaving so soon.
“C’mon let’s go!” He opened the door and waited for us to follow.
Rachel only stayed long enough to retrieve her car but Zach promised to take the rest of her stuff home for her. I looked up at the house and it looked as benign as the day we moved in. On the outside, there wasn’t the slightest indication that it was a house of horrors. Zach held my hand as we entered and I squeezed hard hoping to absorb some of his inner strength.
The door to the attic was open wide so the destruction was staring us in the face. Books were scattered the full length of the room. The half melted candles lay strewn about the floor. I picked up the pieces of the spirit board and threw them into the garbage can.
Zach shook his head. “After we get this cleaned up, we’ll go somewhere and talk. I want to know everything that happened last night. I want to know everything period.”
I was about to respond when I heard a heart wrenching howl coming from behind the bathroom door. Mimi and Coco! I forgot all about locking them in there. I was frightened and confused from last night—they probably were, too. Zach opened the door and Coco shot out between his legs and ran into the bedroom. I couldn’t see inside but Zach kneeled down to get a closer look at something. I took a step toward him and could see what it was. Mimi lay motionless on the tile floor. My legs gave out beneath me and I crumpled into a heap on the carpet.
22. Trust, Truth, and Killer Tattoos
Before I knew it, Zach was at my side cradling me in his arms as I sobbed uncontrollably. My head was spinning out of control. After Lee died, I wouldn’t share my feelings with anyone until that tiny kitten came into my life. She was everything to me. I could tell her my secrets knowing that she wouldn’t love me any less for them. I thought of how I brushed her aside last night and left her and Coco alone. Zach held me as my world fell apart yet again.
