I shook my head to clear my thoughts and stepped back toward the stairs to put some distance between us. “Who the hell are you?”
“Just a neighbor.”
“What are you doing in my house?” I demanded.
“Your house?” He raised an eyebrow and took a few steps towards me.
“Yes, my house.” I quickly stepped around him, so that I wasn’t trapped between him and the stairs.
Confidence radiated off his body as he approached me. It made me want to get closer to him. My skin heated up as I focused in on his dark eyes. I hadn’t had that sort of reaction to a guy in a long time. His face was innocent and promised he was harmless, but I wasn’t so easily convinced.
“I used to live here. Well, my parents and I did.” He brushed his hair from his face.
“How’d you get in here?”
He reached into his pocket, retrieved a key, and dangled it between us. “I still have a key.”
“Oh.” Of course, Briar, don’t be crazy.
“I just came in through the door down here.” He pointed to the doorway to the basement. “I forgot some things.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked around. There was shit everywhere, as if someone just up and left without taking their belongings. “Did you find what you needed?”
With a sweet smile, he bit his lip and reached out to run his thumb across mine. “I think I found something better actually.”
For a moment I was lost in his eyes and yearned to feel his lips on mine. They looked so warm and inviting. My body begged me to close the distance and see just what they felt like, but I forced myself to stay put. “Get your shit and get out of my house.”
“Mmm, so you’re beautiful and spunky, huh?”
He stepped forward, but I stepped back and pressed my body against the cold, stone wall.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” His eyes roamed over my body, undressing me, and making me blush. I ignored the amused grin on his face.
“What if I don’t want to know you?” I tried to make myself sound sure, but I wasn’t. Parts of me wanted to get to know him very well.
The smile on his face dropped, and his whole demeanor seemed to change as he considered my words. His brown eyes bore into mine as if he wanted to say something important or sarcastic, I couldn’t be sure which. The corner of his lip turned back up into a smile as he stepped back from me and started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing really. You’re just adorable. What’s your name?”
“You first.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Briar Summers.”
“Well, Briar Summers, you should probably be more careful walking around by yourself in the dark.”
“I live here; it’s not like I’m out in public roaming around.”
He shrugged and walked over toward the door. With one hand on the knob, he turned to look at me with a sly smile. “You never know what could be lurking in the darkness.”
“Nothing. I don’t believe in that shit.”
“Interesting.” He opened the door and looked over my shoulders at something. His eyebrows furrowed.
I turned my head to look in that direction, wondering what was so damn interesting. Nothing was there; he was just trying to freak me out.
“I don’t see anything,” I said as I turned back to the door.
He was gone.
I looked outside, eyeing either side of the backyard and seeing no one. Must have scared him off, I thought with a smile.
I shut the door behind me and went back upstairs. Grabbing my messenger bag with all its little buttons on it, I made my way to my bedroom, hoping homework would rid me of the sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Chapter Four
Today would be the last day that any of them would have to worry about me. I was no longer safe in the world. My eyes were rimmed with red from the night I’d stayed up crying. I didn’t cry often, but after learning about my parents’ plans, I had no other choice. This was my last option.
Everyone would remember me. I’d straightened my messy hair and pulled on a dress shirt and pants. So very different from the gothic variety I usually sported. It would surprise them today, but everything would make so much sense tomorrow.
When I walked into the school, I could feel their eyes on me. They judged me, whispered about me, and I wanted to hurt them all for it. Soon, though, very soon, I would be rid of the snarky comments. I was done with it all.
I shoved my bag under my seat and leaned over onto my elbows as I took a few deep breaths. I had to make it through the day and be my usual self. If I acted like something was wrong, they would know. I didn’t like feeling out of sorts, and I refused to show them. Within minutes I was empty inside.
So empty.
And it felt so incredibly good.
“Noooo!” I screamed, jerking out of my deep sleep and knocking the books off my desk and onto the floor.
My heart pounded in my chest; adrenaline rushed through my veins as I tried to comprehend where I was. I was in my bedroom sitting at my desk in my new home.
It was just a dream.
I ran my hands down my face to wipe away the sweat. I hadn’t had such an intense nightmare in almost a year. They’d all been flashbacks to my own awful experiences. This one was different.
Just the thought of that eventful day in my past triggered the sound of gun shots in my head—the sound of them echoing off the classroom walls. I thought therapy had gotten rid of them, but they echoed in the back of my mind, waiting to come out.
Those thoughts always led to a runaway train that created a new trail of marks across my thighs from the razor I kept hidden, so I pushed them from my mind and tried to focus on something else. Just like my counselor had taught me.
My hands shook as I reached down to pick my papers off the floor. I must have dozed off while I studied. I sighed and laid my head in my hands. The dream was harder to shake than I thought it would be.
Music would be my only help, so I pushed the play button on my phone and waited for In This Moment to start singing, but it didn’t work. I pushed it again; sometimes the touch screen could be picky. Still, it didn’t play.
“Stupid thing.” I slammed it back against the desk and started to shuffle through my papers.
My door creaked open and my dad’s head popped in. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I heard you scream.”
“I had a nightmare.”
“Oh.” He scrunched his face together in worry. “If you’re having nightmares again, maybe you should go back to seeing a therapist.”
“No, Dad, I’m fine. It’s not about that stuff…” Well, it could have been, but I wasn’t sure. It was a weird dream, one I’d never had before.
He raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. There’s spaghetti in the fridge if you want to get some.”
I nodded. “That sounds awesome.”
“Okay,” he said awkwardly, still unsure of how to talk to me. Mom was always the main parent of the two, and he wasn’t sure how to handle both that new responsibility and my adulthood. After a few weird moments, he left the room.
As I stood up to follow him down for food, my phone clicked and began to play music. It was something dark and scary, taking me back to a drearier time in my life when there was nothing left to live for. I turned around and looked at the device in shock. That definitely wasn’t the song that I was trying to get it to play. In fact, I thought I had deleted that particular song off my phone. Grabbing it from the table, I made a move to turn it off, but it stopped playing on its own. I pushed the button to turn it back on, but it flashed the dead battery sign at me.
“Weird…” I whispered and sat it down on the table. Technology and I didn’t always get along but that hadn’t happened before. My phone had always worked like it was supposed to. It had never turned itself on without me pushing b
uttons or downloaded a song without me doing it. Maybe there was some weird kink in the storage system.
I was still a little weirded out though, so I left to get my dinner before it decided to turn itself back on.
Chapter Five
Over the next few weeks, Ryder continued to meet me after class to take me home. He was fun to spend time with, even though I kept boundaries up in our relationship. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Seeing the look on my dad’s face every afternoon was also fun.
Halloween was getting closer, and my excuses for not attending or having a party were running thin.
“Are you sure we can’t have this party at your house? It’d be so cool to have it there. You could take us on a tour and—”
“Or I could not. It’s my house, Ryder, not a museum.”
“Oh, okay then. Well, could you show me around then?”
“I, uh, yeah sure. If my dad’s not home. He’s a little particular about…boys.” Before all the trouble with my ex, he was fine with me spending time with them. Now, he always had something negative to say.
“Hey, I get it.” He walked toward the other part of the parking lot. “So, how do you like St. Augustine?”
“It’s okay, I guess,” I mumbled. “It’s really hot.”
“I love it. There’s not much of a winter.”
“I don’t like too much summer. I prefer the snow.”
He grew quiet.
“I’ll miss the snow this year,” I whispered.
“I haven’t seen much snow in my lifetime, but I know I don’t like it. You like Halloween though, right?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Um, yeah. It’s my favorite holiday.”
“Awesome.” He opened the passenger side door for me and motioned for me to get in.
I let myself enjoy the feeling of the leather seats underneath me and pulled on my seatbelt as he got in and did the same.
“So, do you have any siblings?”
I nodded. “One. A younger brother, Dillon; he’s four. You?”
“Yep, one older sister. She says that some of her sorority sisters are afraid of you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you live in the scariest house in town and you wear black all the time and you don’t ever smile at them. They think it’s weird. They are used to smiling, friendly faces.”
“That’s just my style. They’ll just have to deal with it. How do you know all this anyway? Are you a closet prep?” My voice was accusatory as I crossed my arms and looked over at him. Silently I prayed for a no. I didn’t need that shit in my life again.
He laughed. “No, but my sister is a full on prep, and she’s talked about you.”
“I see.”
We pulled up to my house a few minutes later. I frowned when I saw my father’s car in the driveway. “Looks like I have to save the tour for another day.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Well, thanks for the ride.”
He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Anytime, Briar. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I picked up my bag and exited the truck. As I slipped inside the house, I saw my dad sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. I tried to sneak past him, but the clearing of his throat signaled that I’d failed miserably.
“Sounded like a truck out there. Again.”
“Well, that’s probably ‘cause I rode home with my friend.”
“That boy again?”
I cursed under my breath. “Maybe.”
“Briar, we’ve talked about this. You need to be careful. You can’t just be getting into cars with boys.”
“Well, if you’d let me drive the car every now and then maybe I wouldn’t ride home with boys.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously frustrated with me. The car was something he was particular about, and he wasn’t giving in. “You’re definitely not going to be driving it now.”
“Aw, come on.”
“No, absolutely not.”
I crossed my arms and scoffed. “You suck.”
“It’s not like you’ve made any friends to hang out with.”
“Have so.”
“Who? Other than that boy.”
“Celeste and Meredith.” Kinda.
He eyed me suspiciously. “Then why aren’t you dying to have a Halloween party like you usually are?”
“Because parties are lame, Dad. I’m eighteen now.” And because you won’t let me have a fun one. “And I’m not just going to have two people here. That’s stupid.”
“Well, if you promise to behave, you can have them over next weekend. It will be the first one in October, and you can watch scary movies.”
I scrunched up my face. I didn’t want to have people over, but I did wanna celebrate Halloween. “Um, ok…”
“That way I can meet them and know they are appropriate. I don’t want you hanging around with negative kids again.”
“Oh my God, Dad, I’m not a kid.”
“Keep up that smart mouth of yours, and I will change my mind. I’m going to be going to a small get together that night, and Dillon is staying with Sandy next door. After I meet the girls and set some ground rules, you will have the house all to yourself.”
“You’re what?” I asked and burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, I, um, are you going on a date?”
I could tell by the blush in his cheeks that he was. The two of us were just alike in that aspect; neither of us was able to hide a blush. “Well, Briar, I’ve made some new friends here, and they invited me to go with them.”
“But you don’t even drink.”
“It’s not about the drinking.”
“You don’t dance.”
“Or the dancing.”
I scowled. “Then what is it about?”
“Just trying to find a way to deal with this pain, Briar. I’m sure you understand.”
I did; it hurt every time I pictured her face in my head. I understood his pain, but he was the one to initiate the divorce in the first place. Part of me was still bitter about that.
“Go see a counselor.” I waved my hand to show my unhappiness with his decision.
“I didn’t expect you to be okay with this, and I’m sure it’s a shock. I’m going and that’s the end of that.”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
I dropped the subject though because I didn’t want to say something too harsh and push my luck. At the end of the day, it was his house and his rules. Until I felt comfortable moving out and leaving Dillon there, I had to abide by them and not get kicked out.
Chapter Six
Saturday arrived quickly, but my father woke me up at seven o’clock, much to my irritation. It was way too early for a Saturday, but then again he had saved me from another horrible dream. It was almost a continuation of the one before. I was planning something terrible, but I wasn't able to decipher if it was murder or suicide.
In my life, I’d dealt with both of those situations. I was a survivor. I just couldn’t figure out why my nightmares had returned.
My father, however, insisted that I get up and help him peel the wallpaper off the walls so we could paint them something brighter and not so outdated. Make it look a little more “homey” as he said. I agreed that it would look better after a new paint job, but I hated getting up early.
I’d insisted that he let me go back to sleep before I killed someone.
Somehow he’d won the fight.
I pulled my hair into a ponytail and threw on an old Cure t-shirt and jeans. I followed him into the hallway, noticing the pile of objects that were lying on the floor to help us remove the paper.
“I hope you told Dillon not to come in here. That’s a serious pile of tools you have there.”
“He’s busy playing in his room.”
“It’s still dangerous.”
That exasperated look crossed over his face. “Do we have to do this today?”
“Yes, it’s a teenage requirement that I make your li
fe hell,” I said blankly. He was too much fun to tease.
He smiled, shaking his head and pushing the stepladder over to me. “Here, get started. I am going to get us some water.”
He walked into the other room, and I started working. With my tool in hand, I climbed to the top of the stepladder and started to peel back the wallpaper. It was a stingy material and stuck stubbornly to the wall. I thought I might mess up the surface if I wasn’t careful. My patience quickly grew thin. Why in the hell hadn’t anyone taken off the horrible wallpaper already? I was sure it dated back to the 1800s. It probably hadn’t been changed since the place was built. Gross.
I heard the pile of tools rustle.
“Dad, I don’t know how much help I’m going to be at this. It’s pissing me off,” I said with irritation as I yanked at it again.
Silence.
“Dad?” I turned my head expecting to see him. What I saw, however, was a large knife floating in the air about five feet from me.
My mouth fell open in horror as I put my own tools down to my side. I watched it for a second in awe, confused at how it could float there. I had never seen anything like it. Everything weird that had happened in the house had an explanation. Until now.
“Who’s there?” I whispered, my voice shaky and cracking as I asked.
As if to answer, the knife started to twirl in the air. Then it pulled back and shot toward me.
“Shit!” I exclaimed.
I jerked backwards and tipped the ladder over. My tools flew across the hall as I hit the floor with a thud. I whimpered and pulled myself along the ground to get away from the pile of tools in case it sent something else my way. The knife changed direction and came at me again. I screamed and covered myself with my hands. A burning pain hit me as the knife sliced my arm and embedded itself into the wall behind me.
In desperation I scrambled to the other side of the hallway and threw my back against it. My eyes stayed glued to the knife. My blood dripped down in large drops across the wallpaper where it resided. I threw my hand over my arm where it had nicked me. As I looked down, I realized it wasn’t bad enough to leave such a huge amount of blood on the wall.
Ghostly (Darkly Devoted Book 1) Page 3
