We follow the narrow corridor, painted black and pitch-dark save for the red rope lights that mark either side of the floor. I hold my breath and brace myself as I sweep through the next heavy curtain, expecting another Halloween prop to jump out at me. Nothing jumps out this time, though, as we step into a small room that glows neon purple from black light. Creepy dolls line shelves on either side of us, trailing us with radiant eyes and maniacal laughter carrying over a crackling speaker.
“Where is this licking man, exactly?”
Emmett laughs. “It’s not for a while but after last year with Cassie, I’ll bet they got rid of him. By the way, I hear you guys have a dog now?”
“Yeah, as long as I feed and walk him twice a day.” That was the deal my mom and I struck this afternoon, after Uncle Merv spent the day rambling to Murphy about Aunt Connie and his forty years working in agriculture and the folly of youth today. When Mom made a comment about taking the dog back, Uncle Merv insisted that, if he’s just going to sleep in a cage until he dies, he might as well sleep in our living room until he dies.
So now we have a dog.
“Cassie told me all about it. That was a pretty cool thing you did.”
I smile to myself as we move past the doll room and into the next blackened corridor. We round a corner, and a guy with a Michael Myers mask steps out to loom over us, forcing me back to bump into Emmett again. I giggle as we edge around him and move on, past another heavy curtain and into a room of mirrors. “This is neat.” I wander deeper in, slowly spinning to take in all the tall panels, the countless reflections of Emmett and me, standing side by side.
Could we ever pass for a couple?
He’s the most beautiful guy I’ve ever laid eyes on, even more so now because I know he has a heart. He’s not a hot jerk; he’s not full of himself. He’s … Emmett.
And he’s watching me as I stare at his reflection.
“You figure it out yet?” he asks softly, smiling like he can read my mind.
“Uh …” That we should be together? Yes, I’ve known that from the start.
“The way out.”
“Oh.” My face flushes. “Yeah, it’s easy. This way.” I reach out, only to have my knuckles smack the glass.
Emmett’s reflection grins at me.
Determined to find the path, I search around us. “This way. No …” I note fingerprint smudges ahead. Another fooled occupant. So I turn the other way and pass through. We continue like this, me fumbling for direction, until another draped threshold appears before us.
I’m more curious than nervous as I push through the curtain this time.
That is until we step into utter darkness. I can’t see my hand in front of me. “Is this the room?” I whisper, my body shrinking into itself.
“Why are you whispering?” Emmett whispers back, his voice filled with amusement.
“Because—”
The space ignites with a flash of light, just long enough to show us a square room of maybe fifteen-by-fifteen feet and someone dressed as Pennywise standing in the far corner before falling into complete darkness again.
“Well, he’s new,” Emmett murmurs as eeriness settles over me.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean they didn’t have him last—”
Another flash and Pennywise is there again, only this time he’s standing a few feet closer.
“Oh man, thank God Cassie didn’t want to come in here.” Emmett chuckles. “She would’ve lost her mind.”
My heart races with anticipation. That light is going to flash again soon and Pennywise will be that much closer. “Where are we supposed to—”
My words cut off with the flash. He’s only maybe four feet away now.
“I don’t like clowns.” I back up and into Emmett before sidestepping to edge behind him and use his body as a shield, my hands shamelessly gripping his vest. He laughs.
One … two … three … I count in my head, pressing my forehead against him, inhaling the faint smell of his body wash and cologne as I wait, the muffled screams and carnival rides from outside so far away.
The light should have flashed by now.
Where is Pennywise?
Why hasn’t the light flashed?
Finally, I lift my head. “Okay, is this going to be over soon—”
Something wet slips across my cheek.
I shriek and dart around the other way, to press myself into Emmett’s chest.
His arms are around me in a flash, pulling me in close. “Did he get you?”
“Are you sure that was a sponge?” I grimace, wiping furiously at my cheek with my hand.
His chest shakes with laughter. “They’re not allowed to lick people’s faces. Trust me, it’s a sponge. That’s what they use at these things. Someone hides in the corner. I looked it up after last year’s disaster.”
Oh God, they did that to Cassie? “It felt like a tongue.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Is this over? I’m ready for it to be over.”
“Yeah. They’ll turn on the lights in a sec.”
I haven’t pulled away and Emmett hasn’t released me yet, and now that I’m over the shock of the face-licking, I’m acutely aware of how close we are.
I peer into the darkness, imagining where his mouth might be. A good six inches away, at least. Still … so close. Would he hold a female friend so protectively? “How did they know where I was anyway?” I ask softly.
“There’s a second person hiding in the corner behind us, wearing night vision goggles.” Emmett’s voice has dropped to a low, gravelly timbre, and I can feel his breath skating against my skin.
As if he’s peering down into the darkness at me.
He still hasn’t let go.
“That’s so creepy.”
“Right? Imagine having that on your résumé?”
“Carnival face-licker, 2002 to present.”
Our laughter mingles, the sound a sudden blend of nervousness.
“Are you sure they’re going to turn the light on?”
“Yeah.” His hard swallow fills the eerie quiet.
And I feel his heart hammering in his chest, pressed against mine. I sense his body leaning toward me, his head tipping forward.
His lips brushing ever so faintly past mine, almost as if by accident …
The strobe light flashes nonstop then, filling the room with—
I shriek as I look into Pennywise’s face directly over Emmett’s shoulder.
“Shit!” Emmett senses him and jumps a touch. Laughing, he grabs my hand and we both run for the black curtain now visible. In seconds, we’re outside and rounding the far end of the haunted house, laughing in between our ragged breaths.
“You knew he was going to be there, didn’t you!” I jab at Emmett’s chest.
“I didn’t. I swear.” Emmett holds both hands up in the air, but then he doubles over with laughter.
“I hate you right now.”
With a devastating grin, he seizes my hand and pulls me into him. “No, you don’t.”
It takes me a moment to gather my courage and tip my head up to meet his eyes. “I do, though. A little bit.”
His gaze flitters to my mouth, making my heart race all over again for him. He shakes his head. “Not even a little bit.”
“No,” I finally whisper, swallowing against my rash of nerves, aching for him to kiss me. To really kiss me.
“Did he lick you?” Cassie yells from behind me, loud enough for plenty of nearby carnivalgoers to hear, misinterpret, and laugh.
Emmett chuckles as his eyes shift to his sister. But then his smile drops off and his hands release mine.
When I turn around, I see why.
Holly is standing a few feet away from Cassie and Zach, a candy apple in her grip.
A mixture of pain and fury in her blue eyes as she regards us.
And a wave of guilt overwhelms me, though I remind myself that they’re no longer together, that she c
aused their breakup. And nothing has happened between Emmett and me.
Not really.
Not yet.
Still, it would be a kick to the stomach to come to the Fall Fair and see your ex standing so close to another girl.
As if remembering herself, Holly lifts her chin and strolls forward. “Hey.”
Emmett’s attention wanders around the crowd before finally settling on her with a reluctant sigh. “Hey.”
“Can we talk? Please?” She’s practically mewling, she’s made herself sound so docile.
He shakes his head but then mutters, “I guess. They’re shutting down now, though.”
“I drove.”
Of course you did.
He chews the inside of his mouth, seemingly in thought, before nodding at Zach, who nods back—an unspoken understanding passing between them.
He turns to me. “Cassie should probably get home, anyway. You mind going with her and Zach?”
“Of course not.” I force a smile as my gut clenches. “Thanks for letting me tag along. It was fun.” I hesitate. “Except for the clown and the face-licking thing. That was not cool. I will get you back for that.”
A devilish spark flashes in his brown eyes. “Can’t wait to see you try.”
“Okay.” I take a deep breath and stroll past Holly, unable to avoid meeting her eyes. Her contrite act disappears just long enough to offer me a scathing look.
Yeah, I don’t feel so guilty about that near-kiss anymore.
I want to scream at Emmett, to beg him not to fall for whatever lies and tricks Satan has planned to win him back.
But instead, I follow Cassie and Zach out of the fairgrounds.
Mourning the loss of an otherwise perfect night.
14
Dear Julia,
I think Emmett was going to kiss me tonight. Scratch that, I KNOW Emmett was going to kiss me tonight. Damn that Pennywise. Couldn’t he have waited another five seconds?
And now Emmett is somewhere with HER. Sitting in her car, listening to her convince him that they need to get back together. She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.
Oh, God.
What if Emmett forgives her? Do I have the right to be upset?
I toss my journal to the floor, not bothering to sign off, my stomach in knots. It’s after eleven and I have yet to see Holly’s car roll into the Hartford driveway. They’ve been “talking” for an hour.
What does that mean?
My chest tightens with dread as I pick up a novel from my pile of library books and curl up in my window seat with a blanket.
Knowing I’ll only stare at the pages.
* * *
My mom has been using a distinctive knock lately—one firm rap, followed by two shorter, softer sounds in quick succession.
When I hear it against my bedroom door on Saturday morning, I pull my covers over my head and groan.
The door creaks open. “Nice try. It’s almost nine.”
“It’s the weekend!”
“Murphy doesn’t care.”
“Can’t you take him? Please?”
“Two walks a day. That was the deal for keeping him and you happily committed.” The curtain rings slide over the metal rod. “Come on, up you go. Unless you want to take him back to the shelter.”
“I’ll be down in five minutes,” I say from beneath my dark duvet, sensing the kink I earned in my neck after drifting off in the window cubby last night, my forehead pressed against the cold windowpane. I woke up at three to a quiet street and no evidence that Emmett had returned. Not that there’d be a flag mounted or anything, but I was hoping for a text, at least. After dragging myself to bed, I tossed and turned for hours, and now I just want to sleep all day.
“I’m glad to see that you’re taking Dr. Covey’s advice.”
My diary.
I bolt upright so fast, my head spins. My mom is holding the teal-blue book, the one where I’ve divulged all my inner thoughts, including exactly how hard I’m crushing on our neighbor. “Mom!”
“What!” She jumps, startled.
I reach for it, waggling my fingers with impatience.
She sighs with exasperation as she tosses it onto my bed. “If I were going to read your diary, do you think I’d do it in front of you?”
My mouth drops open. Has she found my hiding spot?
“Relax. You haven’t given me any reason to invade your privacy. Besides, I haven’t learned how to pick a lock.” Her eyes rove over my sweatshirt. “I’d say get dressed but I see you’re still wearing yesterday’s clothes. Good! You can take Murphy out now, before Uncle Merv feels compelled to.”
“He could use the exercise,” I say under my breath, digging out my discarded socks from the tangle of sheets.
* * *
“… works with teenagers.” Uncle Merv’s gruff voice carries up the stairwell, along with the delicious waft of something.
“You told Iris!” my mother hisses.
I freeze, my ears perking to listen, knowing instantly that this has to do with me.
“No! Of course not. She was prattling on about her granddaughter and mentioned that she had some emotional issues—”
“Aria worked with a therapist at home. I don’t want to keep pushing her to talk about it when she clearly wants to move on. And now that we’re far away from those people and all the reminders, and I’m here and present in her life, I really believe she’s going to be fine.”
“That wasn’t your fault, Debra. If anything, I blame that lousy father of hers.”
“Oh, come on, Merv. Of course it was my fault.” The kitchen chair legs drag along the linoleum floor. “I’m to blame for at least part of it. Between the divorce and my career, I was never around. I assumed too much; I didn’t know what was really going on with her until it was too late. That wasn’t my Aria. But she’s back, and trust me, she never wants to go through something like that again.”
“All I’m saying is these teenagers get good at hiding things. I know Connie and I didn’t have any of our own, but I’ve seen and heard a lot in my years.”
“I know, believe me. But I’m watching her carefully and we’re talking now and—”
The floorboard creaks under my foot, cutting off whatever my mother was going to say. Not that it’s a mystery to me.
Murphy is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, his tail wagging off-tempo, as if he’s hoping for a walk but isn’t sure he’s going to get one. When I grab the leash off the hook, he heads for the door. I could probably get away with not leashing him, if he’d stop going straight for Merv’s struggling rosebush.
“No, Murphy!” I hiss, steering him toward the line of hedges so he can relieve himself. He has a slight spring in his hobbled step that wasn’t there on Thursday, I note. A more confident tail wag to replace the tentative one, multiple swipes of his wet nose against my hand that feel like signs of affection.
I smile despite my bad mood, knowing I did the right thing for Murphy, even if meant risking the wrath of Uncle Merv.
We’re halfway to the main street when Murphy lifts his nose to sniff the air. He stops to peer over his shoulder and a stripe of hair rises along his back.
“What’s up, buddy?” I follow his line of sight to see the tall form jogging toward us in a long-sleeved shirt and track pants.
My stomach flutters the way it always does in that first moment of spotting Emmett.
I scratch behind Murphy’s ear in a soothing way. “It’s okay, he’s our friend.”
Emmett comes to a stop five feet away. “Hey,” he offers, a touch breathless. His hair is untamed, as if he just rolled out of bed. “Your mom said you were out walking him.” He leans down to let Murphy sniff his hand before giving the top of his head a pat.
Emmett went to my house looking for me. Why?
“So, obviously, Zach got you and Cassie home all right?”
It takes me another beat to push aside my question. “After he stopped to buy a bag of weed from his
dealer, yeah.”
Emmett’s eyes widen.
“I’m kidding.”
His shoulders sink with his chuckle. “I was gonna say …”
“Thanks again, for taking me to the fair. It was fun. Hey! Murph!”
The dog has found a scent trail and is tugging me down the sidewalk with surprising strength.
Emmett falls into step beside me. “I’m sorry about how the night ended.”
I take a deep breath, stuck halfway between wanting to ask what happened and never wanting to hear his answer. But I need to know. “How’d it go?”
He pushes a hand through his wild hair, sending it into further disarray. “Exactly the way I expected it to go.”
Which means … We turn right at the end of the street. And I wait for him to elaborate, holding my breath.
“It was a long night.” He shakes his head, his eyes wandering over the quiet houses. “Three hours of sitting in Holly’s car in the Tim Hortons parking lot while she cried and said sorry over and over again and tried to—” He presses his lips together to cut his words off, and dips his head, a sheepish look filling his face.
I can only imagine how that sentence might end, and it likely involved roving hands and eager lips.
A flash of memory—of being pressed against that broad chest, our hearts pounding against each other, his mint-laced breath skating across my mouth—hits me then and my cheeks burn, even as my stomach roils.
I give Murphy’s leash a light tug and he continues on, moseying along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace, only to pause another five feet away to sniff at a shrub.
“She gave me some lame excuse about being caught up in the moment and having a crappy day.” He chuckles but the ring of humor is absent. “She actually tried to give me the Leafs tickets for our anniversary. She thinks there’s still a chance we’d get back together. But how can I ever trust what’s going on inside her head? I mean, you heard her. You heard what she said about Cassie and Jen … and you. That didn’t sound like being caught up in the moment.”
Be the Girl: a Novel Page 14
