by Sarra Cannon
I unhooked the silver clasp of the necklace. Anxiety raced through my veins, making me jumpy. I didn’t like taking it off, even for a minute.
Mr. Shaw slipped on an old pair of tortoise shell glasses and held his hand out expectantly. For some reason, I suddenly didn’t want to give it to him. Like I needed to hold onto it for dear life.
I felt physically ill as I passed it over to him and it left my hands.
He held the medallion up to the dim light from a nearby floor lamp. He squinted at the design for a moment before shaking his head.
I took a deep breath to still the crazy anxiety racing through me. I wanted the necklace back, but it would be rude to snatch it up and run. After all, I’d come to him for help. And if I left, I’d never know what the heck it was or where it had come from.
He flipped on another small lamp next to the recliner, and turned the medallion around, studying it.
His mouth went slack, and he nearly dropped the necklace. “It can’t be,” he whispered.
“What?” I asked, my heart pounding. He recognized it.
He shook his head and stood up, taking the necklace with him. I followed him back to his small office behind the counter. He flipped the light on—this time one of those blaringly bright fluorescent overhead lights—and sat down at his desk.
I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.
Mr. Shaw pulled a magnifying glass from the top drawer of his desk and held it just above the backside of the medallion. He gasped and looked from the necklace to me.
“Where did you say you found this?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell him the answer to that question until he’d answered mine. “Do you know what it is?”
“I’ve only ever seen one in my lifetime, and that was a long time ago,” he said. He stared at the wall for a moment, as if he’d just gone on a mental trip. “A very long time ago, indeed.”
He seemed to come back to himself suddenly, shaking his head.
“I never thought I’d see one again,” he said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“This belongs to a Spiritwalker,” he said. “Very rare and extremely powerful.”
“Powerful?” I asked, my arms covered in goosebumps.
“Oh yes,” he said, turning his gaze on me. “Only the most deserving of warriors are given one of these medallions. You must tell me where you found this. Did someone give it to you?”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I had no idea how much I should tell this old man. “I don’t know, exactly,” I said. “Maybe.”
He leaned his elbows against the edge of his desk and held one hand up to his lips as he continued to study the necklace. “You see, it makes quite a difference whether you found this item or it was given to you,” he said. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at me. “Or if you stole it.”
My eyes widened. “I didn’t steal it,” I said.
I’d been called a lot of things since the accident, and now I could apparently add thief to the list. Unbelievable.
“If you were trying to come here to sell this, you came to the wrong place,” he said, standing. He practically threw the necklace at me.
I grabbed the medallion and followed him toward the front door. “I wasn’t trying to sell it,” I said. “I just wanted to know what it is. I need to know what it means.”
“If you don’t know, then you have no business with it in your possession,” he said sharply. “And if you stole it, then you have no place in my store. I don’t need that kind of energy in my presence.”
I stopped.
“I didn’t steal it,” I said again.
“Then why won’t you tell me where you got it?” He stopped just shy of the front door and turned to face me.
“Because I don’t know where I got it,” I said. I hadn’t wanted to explain this to him, but if he was going to accuse me of stealing it, I couldn’t risk him calling the cops and that getting back to my parents. “I had never seen it, or anything like it before in my life. But I’m sure you’re aware of what happened to me last year, right? The accident?”
“Of course,” he said, sadness darkening his features. “We don’t lose a young person in this town without it affecting us all in some way.”
“Well, apparently I was clutching this medallion in my hand when they found me in the river,” I said. “My doctor just gave it back to me a week ago before I came home. I had never seen it before in my life, but they said it was mine.”
Mr. Shaw made a strange face. “That’s very interesting.”
“Isn’t there anything else you can tell me about this medallion?” I asked. “You obviously recognize it from somewhere. Please, I need to understand what happened. What is a Spiritwalker?”
“I’m sorry, Marayah,” he said. He opened the door of the store and waited for me to leave. “I don’t have anything else to say to you. I wish you the best, but I want nothing to do with that kind of magic.”
“Magic?” I asked, but he practically kicked me out of the store and closed the door behind me. He flipped the sign on the door to closed, turned the lock, and walked away.
I couldn’t accept that. He obviously knew a lot more than he was saying. He couldn’t just leave me standing here like that without answers.
I banged on the glass door. “Please, Mr. Shaw,” I shouted. “I need your help.”
He turned and gave me one last lingering look before he shook his head and disappeared into the maze of antiques.
21
The Old Me
When I got home, I decided to actually start on some of my homework. If I didn’t want to get sent back to Longview, or back to junior year for that matter, I needed to get some work done.
I spread my books out on my bed and looked at all of my assignments. They’d been piling up the past few days, since I hadn’t been able to get my mind off Hailey and the strange symbols I’d found in her room.
The mountain of work was overwhelming, and it all felt a little pointless. What did physics class matter if I only had a few weeks left to live? Or less?
I only got through about a tenth of my homework when my phone buzzed with a new text message.
I have the thing you asked for.
Troy. He’d come through for me. I couldn’t believe it.
When I’d asked him to get Jordan’s records, I didn’t really think that he’d take that risk for me. Not with his place on the football team already in jeopardy. But he’d really done it.
It was the first good news I’d had all day. Just when I was running out of leads, Troy had just gotten potentially the biggest lead of all.
I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to get a look at them.
Thank you. Any chance you could bring them over? Or snap pics and send to me?
I sent the text and waited. It only took a second for him to respond.
No pics. I’ll swing by later?
My heart raced.
Thank you.
Now all I had to do was wait. Before the night was over, I would have some answers about Jordan’s past. If the rumors were true, he would have at least two other high schools on his record in the last couple of years.
“Marayah, may I come in?” Mom asked, not waiting for an answer before sticking her head inside my room. “How was your day?”
“It was fine,” I said.
“That’s good to hear,” she said. She came inside and sat down on the edge of the bed. That was never a good sign. She only did that when she had news she was afraid might upset me. It was like her way of getting down to my level or something.
“What is it?” I asked. “I have a lot of homework.”
Her smile faltered, and I immediately regretted my tone of voice.
“I just wanted to see you,” she said. “It’s so nice to be able to come upstairs and see you here where you belong.”
“Thanks, Mom. It’s good to be home.”
She paused, which meant she wa
s trying to figure out how best to break the news.
“I talked to Dr. Millner this afternoon,” she said. “She’s a little bit concerned about how you’re handling the transition and wants to see you as soon as possible. I made an appointment for next Friday afternoon.”
I tried to keep my face even, but inside, I was fuming.
“Mom, I really don’t think that’s necessary,” I said as calmly as I could.
“I’m sure it’s just going to be a short session. Just a little check-in to make sure everything is going okay,” she said. “Really, she just wants you to know that you’re safe and supported. That’s all everyone here wants.”
“I just think it’s a little early to be calling my doctor,” I said. “We knew there would be a period of adjustment, but you aren’t even giving me time to adjust.”
“It’s nothing to get all worked up about. You like Dr. Millner, right? I don’t understand what the problem is?” She stood and headed for the door, which meant she was done with the conversation, and I wasn’t supposed to argue anymore. Discussion over.
But those were the old rules. The old me.
“The problem is that everyone keeps telling me they want things to go back to normal,” I said. “But no one wants to face the fact that I may never be normal again.”
Mom’s eyes widened, her smile completely gone now.
“This is exactly why you need to go talk to Dr. Millner. You never used to take that kind of tone with me.”
“And that’s exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about,” I said. “Everyone is judging me based on who I used to be and what I used to do. You can’t really expect me to be the same person after everything I’ve been through, can you?”
Tears glistened in her eyes. She straightened the edges of her blouse and looked down at the floor for a moment.
“I know you have been through something very traumatic,” she said. “I know it’s been difficult for you. It’s been difficult for us, too, Marayah. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I am okay,” I said. That wasn’t exactly true, but a meeting with Dr. Millner was only going to make my problems worse.
“How about this?” Mom said. “You agree to go to this appointment next Friday and as long as Dr. Millner gives the okay, you can have full driving privileges reinstated. No more after school curfew.”
I had a feeling this was about as good a deal as I could hope for right now.
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”
She smiled and ran her hand down my hair, the way she used to do when I was a child. “I love you, Marayah,” she said.
“I love you, too,” I said.
“I’ll see you downstairs in half an hour?” she asked. “I was thinking maybe we could just order pizza. I really don’t feel like cooking.”
“Pineapple and pepperoni?” I asked.
“You got it,” she said. “Try to finish your homework early so we can have some family time after dinner.”
I closed the bedroom door behind her and collapsed onto my bed. I wanted to scream.
I’d only been home a week and Mom was already calling my doctor. This appointment was a full two weeks early, and there was no way I was going to be able to lie to Dr. Millner about everything that had been going on. She would see right through me.
Which meant I had a little over a week to figure this whole thing out. If I didn’t, I was going to have to convince Dr. Millner—a licensed psychologist who knew me inside and out—that everything was normal and fine. That I wasn’t secretly investigating my best friend’s murder and possible demonic possession.
Basically, I might as well start packing for another extended stay at Longview.
22
I’d Do Anything For You
After dinner, I was making a little progress on my calculus homework when the doorbell rang. I jumped up so fast, I knocked all my books onto the floor.
I ran down the stairs. “I’ll get it,” I shouted.
Mom poked her head out of the kitchen. “Who’s coming by at this time of night?”
She said it like it was midnight or something, but it was only just now seven-thirty. Maybe there was some new rule about me having visitors, too. I almost made a snide comment about it, but kept my tongue in check. I didn’t need to cause any more trouble around here.
“Troy said he was going to stop by for a minute,” I said. “It’s a homework thing.”
She raised her eyebrows and clutched the dishtowel in her hand a bit tighter. “Troy?” she asked.
“Yes, Mom,” I said. I threw the door open, hoping she didn’t plan on just standing there for our entire conversation.
Troy stood on my front porch, his backpack slung across his wide shoulders. My heart skipped a beat.
Dang, I forgot how much I used to look forward to seeing him here.
“Hey,” he said.
“Come on in,” I said.
“Troy, it’s so nice to see you again,” Mom said.
“You, too, Mrs. Freeman.” He stood in the entryway looking extremely out of place and awkward. Another reminder of how much things had changed in the past year.
A year ago, he would have come in and thrown his bag on the floor of the kitchen and stolen a few cookies from the cookie jar.
Now, awkwardness.
“Can I get you a Coke or a bottle of water or anything?” Mom asked.
“Oh, no thank you,” he said. “I can’t stay.”
That should have been her queue to leave us alone, but apparently she had no intention of giving us any privacy.
“We’ll be outside,” I said. I grabbed Troy’s arm and pulled him back through the front door.
“Take care, Mrs. Freeman,” he said as I shut the door behind us.
I let go of his arm and walked over toward his car where there was no glaring porch light. Harder for my mother to spy on us over here behind the trees.
“Sorry, she’s just driving me crazy these days,” I said.
He flinched, and I realized it was because I’d used the word crazy. I made a mental note to stop using that word in casual conversation.
“Anyway, did you bring it?” I asked.
He set his bag on the hood of his Mustang and unzipped it. “I still don’t understand what you want with this,” he said, pulling out a plain gray folder. “And obviously, if you get caught with this, you didn’t get it from me.”
“Obviously,” I said. I wanted to open it right there and tear through the information, but I had a feeling Troy was ready to get the hell out of Dodge. Maybe he was scared someone would see him here and report him to Lena.
Heaven forbid I caused a rift in that precious relationship.
“Thanks,” I said, tucking the envelope under my arm. “What did you do, anyway? To get in trouble this summer?”
He shook his head. “Does it really matter?”
I shrugged. “Just curious, I guess. You were always one to follow the rules before.”
Like me.
Maybe we’d both changed a lot in the past year.
“I was at a party with Lena and there were some college guys there,” he said. He shifted his weight awkwardly and avoided my eyes. “They started talking about you, and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
I stepped back. “Me?”
That wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting him to say. He’d punched some guy out and nearly gotten kicked off the football team for me?
“Look, I feel partially responsible for what happened that night,” he said, finally looking me straight in the eyes. “I could tell Hailey was in no shape to drive. I never should have let you run after her.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” I said.
“It wasn’t yours, either,” he said.
His words nearly stole the breath from my lungs. Tears pushed at the edges of my eyelids, but I refused to let them fall. We stood together in silence for a long time, neither of us really knowing what else to say. There really weren’t w
ords to express how I was feeling.
Loss. Ache. Regret. All of the above.
“Thanks again for getting these,” I said, holding up the folder.
“I’d do anything for you, Marayah,” he said. “You know that.”
Sure, anything except not break up with me while I’m in a coma.
“I know things are strange for us, and for the whole group after what happened, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still care about you.”
I had no idea what I was expected to say in response to that. Instead, I avoided looking at him. I didn’t want him to see any hint of hurt in my eyes.
But when I looked toward the cluster of trees just beyond the side of my yard, I saw something moving in the darkness. Chills broke out across my skin.
“What?” Troy asked, glancing behind him.
“I thought I saw something,” I said, but the woods were totally still now. “I’m sure it was nothing. Probably just a neighborhood dog.”
Only this wasn’t the first time I’d seen something slinking around in the darkness or felt strange eyes watching me. Who—or what—was out there?
The spot on my side ached all of a sudden, and I swallowed hard. I needed to get inside.
“Do you want me to go check it out?” he asked.
I forced my eyes away from the trees and tried to relax my shoulders. “No, I’m sure it’s nothing,” I said. “You probably have to get going, anyway.”
“Yeah, I guess I should,” he said. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
I met his eyes then, and my body responded to an old familiar longing. There was a part of me that still wanted to be with him, but just like everything else in my life, I knew things would never go back to the way they were.
“Yeah, you too,” I said.
He zipped up his bag, got into the car and drove away, leaving me standing alone in the driveway, caught somewhere between the past and present.
I walked back toward the house and ventured one last glance towards the wooded area beside my house. There was no one there that I could see, but I somehow knew I wasn’t alone.
