PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  Why did I feel so uncomfortable around Paddy?

  Why does Paul make me smile, tingle all over, and feel uncomfortable at the same time?

  Why do I want him to kiss me?

  Oh God, did I actually write that? She hurriedly scratched it off the list.

  Why am I just as excited about going to the gym to meet Reggie as I am about kissing Paul again?

  There was a soft knock on her bedroom door.

  "Toni, are you awake, sweetie?" Belle asked.

  "Paul's on the phone," Antoinette added. "Will you come down and talk with him?"

  Chapter Fifteen

  Paul stood, phone hanging from his ear as he paced the floor of his bedroom, listening to Toni's mother.

  Bartholomew wavered by the wall leading into Paddy's room, the threat evident. "No more delays, Paul. You must see her tonight. And this time..."

  Paul put up a finger. "That's fine, Mrs. Farrell. I can hold on."

  "I received some strange vibrations from the grandmother at the viewing, and it's a shame you were unable to speak with her. The old woman has the answers I seek. So tonight-"

  "I get it." Paul turned to Bartholomew.

  "No, you do not. I want you to ask if you can go over to the house."

  "I got it, dammit. I'll ask, but Paddy says Toni's upset. Maybe she won't see me."

  "Make her see you." Bartholomew pointedly stared at the wall over Paul's shoulder.

  Paul and Bartholomew locked a glare between them and neither spoke.

  Paul pulled away first. "Toni, hi, it's been a long two days, and I've been thinking about you since the viewing... since Paddy and I talked. I know how upset you must be. I just want to see you for a few minutes. Can I come over?"

  "Put the phone on speaker," Bartholomew ordered.

  Paul hit the button, a snarl on his face, and sent Toni's voice around the room. " . . . and well, I really want to be alone tonight. I'm fine; I just have some thinking to do."

  Bartholomew leered at Paul.

  "I don't want to be a pest, but I think you could use someone to talk to. I wish you'd lean on me. That's all. I'm here for you." Paul's jaw tightened as he stared into Bartholomew's vaporous eyes.

  "I appreciate that, and, well, I'm just confused right now."

  "I know. I know. Maybe you need a distraction. That'd be me." Paul let go of a nervous laugh.

  Toni's sigh floated around the room. "Let me ask my mother if it would be okay. Can you hang on?"

  "Sure," Paul said, his teeth grinding as he watched a smile form on Bartholomew's face.

  "Well done," Bartholomew said.

  They waited in silent dissimilarities.

  "Paul?" Toni's tone hinted a bit of reluctance. "Mom said she thought it would be a good idea. And Gran agrees. But I warn you, I'm not going to be good company."

  Paul smiled in spite of himself. "Maybe I can work on that."

  The bedroom filled with the noise of Toni huffing a grin. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a bit then?"

  "See, I bet I already have you smiling," Paul said. "I'll be over in about thirty minutes; that okay?"

  "Sure."

  Paul hung up, curled back lips, and spat, "You happy now?"

  "Very much so." Bartholomew flew at Paul hard enough to send him back a step as the spirit entered his body.

  You might want to dress appropriately. Impressions are important. Bartholomew's scratchy voice rolled around Paul's mind, and he could feel Bartholomew's excitement while he washed up, brushed his teeth, and threw on a t-shirt and a pair of clean jeans.

  As he put his cell phone in his pocket and grabbed his keys, he felt a mental tug. Paul became dizzy and staggered, his head felt like it was a suction cup being pulled from a window pane. He staggered back, grabbed his head, and heard Bartholomew scream, "Don't disregard my abilities, Paul, or your sister will die. Do you hear me?" The last words echoed, and faded to a whisper.

  "What the fuck?" Paul said, a hollow ringing in his head. "Are you there? What the hell just happened?" But there was no answer.

  Paul ran to Paddy's room and rapped on the door. "Funhouse" by Pink was playing at a 'blow your eardrums out' level. He knocked louder. "Paddy, open the damn door," he yelled, "and turn down the friggin' music!"

  He was just about to bang harder when the music turned down and his sister yelled, "Whaddaya want? I'm relaxing here!"

  "How the hell can you relax with all that racket?" he teased, relieved she was her usual bitchy self.

  The door jerked open. "What's so damn important?"

  Paul smiled. "I just wanted to tell you I was headed over to Toni's house for about an hour. Mom and Dad aren't back from the store, so can you tell them where I am?"

  "No problem, bro. Hey, give her my best will ya? And tell her I'll be looking for her tomorrow at the gym. Four PM." With that Paddy shut the door in his face.

  "Thanks and call me if you need me," Paul told the door, then heard her say, "Like that's gonna happen," before the music cranked back up.

  With a smile he couldn't get rid of, Paul jogged down the stairs wondering what Bartholomew was up to.

  ***

  Five blocks away, in the guest bedroom of the Farrell house, Bartholomew fell from the ceiling and landed in the center of a circle of salt. His eyes jutted about, taking in the lit candles, the symbols drawn in chalk on the floor, the book open on the bed, and incense sticks sending trails of smoke around the room.

  He stood and brushed his hands across the loincloth wrapped around his otherwise naked body, then tested the circle. A grimace formed on his face when he was unable to penetrate it.

  "You're older than I expected," Antoinette said. Rufus hiked his back, leaned against her legs, and hissed.

  A narcissistic nature turned the corners of Bartholomew's lips up before he spoke. "And you are just the person I wanted to talk to."

  At the sound of his voice the cat pawed the air, growled, and spat.

  Bartholomew eyed Rufus with disdain.

  "I'm well aware of that, so let's talk, shall we?"

  Rufus hunkered down by Antoinette's feet, body swaying and ready to pounce.

  Bartholomew pulled his gaze off the cat and turned to Antoinette. "I assume you know my intentions, and I would be humbled to know yours as well."

  "That I do, and we share a common interest. Your seer abilities would offer Toni as many benefits as her gift would offer you; that is, when and, more importantly, if, she receives the family gift."

  Bartholomew's eyes sparkled with muted silver flecks. "And what exactly is the gift, may I be so bold to ask?"

  "Necromancy." Antoinette laughed at the seer's obvious pleasure. "But Toni will only receive her legacy if I orchestrate this properly, so I'm going to keep you here for a while. I intend to influence the young man myself, because, you see, he has something I need as well."

  One of Bartholomew's eyebrows reached high on his forehead. "Do tell."

  Rufus jumped on the bed and curled up on one of the pillows, eyes on Bartholomew.

  "I see nothing wrong with letting you in on the full picture since it benefits you as well," Antoinette paused, her eyes wandered to Rufus, and back to the circle.

  "Toni must engage in a sexual encounter after her eighteenth birthday, not before, and when that happens she will come to her full potential. Until then, she is useless to you and me as well. I will see to it that your young friend makes that happen."

  "I would be delighted to assist you in this endeavor," Bartholomew said, eyes twinkling.

  "I'm sure you would, and I will take that under consideration, but for now you'll remain here until I have further use for you."

  "And where will you be keeping me?"

  ***

  Outside the door, Sara, Ruth and Martin stood listening to the conversation in the guest room.

  "She's gonna put him in Rufus," Sara said in an excited, hushed voice. "Do you think I should try getting inside of Paul to give him the scoop?"

&nbs
p; "Definitely not!" Martin pushed a heated whisper.

  Ruth furrowed her brow at Martin. "Sara, did y'notice the spell book yer Gran 'ad in the suitcase the other day?"

  "Like I really care," Sara said, rolling her eyes, ear imbedded in the bedroom door. "I want to try to talk to Paul."

  Martin wiggled nervously beside Ruth.

  "Well dear, I 'ave somethin' else in mind," Ruth said.

  "What?" Sara asked.

  Ruth whispered, "I'm thinkin' we should borrow yer Gran's spell book and see if y'are capable o'executin' a summons, dear. See, that's a skill o'necromancers. They summon the dead, and well..."

  "I am sooo not going to do that!" Sara mouthed. "What the hell? Like we so totally, do not need another dead person hanging around us."

  "She wants to bring back one of the men we killed," Martin said, "to see if they know anything that will bring Bartholomew down. I personally think it's a bad idea."

  "So not going to happen," Sara said, and leaned into the door with her finger in front of her mouth.

  Ruth leered at Martin.

  In the bedroom, Antoinette smiled, glanced at the bed, and began to chant, her fingers wiggling from Rufus to Bartholomew. Rufus hissed and Bartholomew evaporated. The cat jumped, his eyes glaring at Antoinette.

  "I'm sorry about this, but I can't have you foil my plans; our goal is to make you understand your place." She got up from the rocking chair she was sitting in and fluffed the flowered pillows, then turned to the cat. "Come along, kitty. It's time for your dinner and we have a houseguest arriving in a few minutes. We must make a good impression."

  Out in the hall, Sara warned, "They're coming out!" She high-tailed it through the wall into the hall bathroom, Ruth and Martin right behind her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  This is awkward. Toni smiled at Paul sitting beside her on the sofa in the living room. But it was your idea to ask Gran to join us.

  Rufus jumped off the coffee table in front of the sofa and curled up in Paul's lap, purring.

  "And you're a senior at Ferris University in the fall?" Gran asked, sitting in a leather recliner across from them as she smoothed her navy blue polyester pants. "I'm sure your parents have big plans for your future."

  Toni didn't see Sara, Ruth and Martin hovering nearby, their vaporous heads moving from Gran to Paul as they talked.

  Paul squirmed. "Yes, but as soon as I get my business degree, I plan on working for my father in the marketing division of our family business."

  Is he staying here in town? Ohmigod! Toni's green eyes jumped from her grandmother to Paul. "So you won't be leaving the state after college?"

  "Nope, staying right here in Reed City." Paul's nostrils flared as he took in a patient breath and he smiled weakly.

  Sara hooded her eyes and growled at the cat for the umpteenth time. Rufus pitched his chin in the air.

  Paul gave the cat's neck a good scratch and Rufus closed one eye, the other on Sara. "Toni tells me you enjoy reading about ghosts?"

  Great topic, Paul. Gran can go on for hours about ghosts. Toni sat back and, for the first time since Paul arrived, felt less stressed.

  "I do. I believe that spirits roam the earth before passing on," Antoinette answered, giving the ghosts a big smile.

  "That's interesting, have you ever seen a ghost?" Paul wanted to know.

  Sara whipped around in front of Paul, her blond hair puffing out like a cloud around her face. "She just wants you to pop my sister, numb-nuts." Her hand went through the pole lamp by the couch and pointed a finger at her grandmother. "Nothing more, nothing less. You're gonna be yesterday's news the minute you do."

  "As a matter of fact, I have seen many ghosts and they can be quite annoying." Antoinette looked amused. "Have you?"

  "Yeah," Sara said, "go ahead and answer that one, Mister-I-Am-So-Possessed!"

  Ruth clucked her tongue and Martin squirmed, shooting Antoinette an apologetic face.

  Paul blushed. "Um . . . " He turned to Toni.

  She smiled at him, twirling a long ringlet of red hair around her finger. And of course neither she nor Paul was aware of the spirits constant vigil.

  "Answer the question, smartass," Sara said, shaking her head, lips a muddled mess of discombobulated smoke. "Let's see if you can wiggle your way out of lying through your straight, white teeth."

  Antoinette sat back with delight written all over her face.

  "I don't know," Martin said, his eyes slurping up Paul. "He looks like he doesn't want to lie and he really seems to be attracted to your sister—shame."

  Paul cleared his throat. "Well, I . . . once I . . . that is . . . "

  "'E looks quite uncomfortable, 'e does. Bless'isoverwrought'eart, 'e's backed 'imself into a corner, 'e 'as. Let's see if 'e fesses up." Ruth gave Sara a conspiratorial glance.

  Sara rolled her eyes, threw up her arms, spun, and cut Martin in half. Martin let out a shrill giggle and his upper half finally settled back down on his lower half.

  "What's your family business, Paul?" Gran asked, glaring at Martin who was now floating in front of the television set next to Ruth. Antoinette took one of the glasses of iced tea Belle was passing around.

  Paul paused, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he curiously watched Antoinette glare at the television.

  Sara bolted over to the couch and sat on Paul's lap, directly on top of Rufus. The cat looked like he was captive in her uterus. He licked his paw as Paul ran a hand over the cat's back.

  "Rufus isn't acting normal. Is Bartholomew inside him?" Sara asked, acting coy, her hands embedded in her lower stomach as she tried to grip the cat's throat. The cat didn't seem to notice.

  Paul's brows touched for a second when he followed Antoinette's eyes to his zipper. He blushed, crossed his legs, pushing Rufus higher inside of Sara. He ran his hand through his black hair and turned to Toni. "My family owns a nationwide chain of bookstores. Between the Covers."

  "You never told me that," Toni said with a big smile. "You know I love to read."

  Paul grinned. "I was hoping to take you to the local branch when we got to know each other better."

  "Chalk one up for Paul." Martin licked his index finger and slashed the air with it. "So, how's your side doin', Sara?"

  Sara zipped off Paul's lap and hovered in front of Toni. "Don't let this jerk fool ya, Toni," she said, finger floating inside Paul's nose. "I'm dead, remember? His fault!"

  "Well, not so, dear. Bartholomew did the deed, he did. Poor boy got used like I did, 'e did. Shame—blesstheir'earts, they seem made fer each other, they do," Ruth baited Sara.

  "Like hell!" Sara said, shooting Ruth nasty eyes.

  "I've been there and it's totally awesome," Toni was saying. "And you own it?"

  "This conversation is really starting to piss me off!" Sara yelled in her grandmother's direction.

  "Well, not me, my dad, but he wants to groom me for taking over the business." Paul beamed.

  Belle walked in from the kitchen with a plate of cookies. "The neighbors have been bringing over so much food. Somebody's got to eat some of it." Belle set the plate on the coffee table in front of Paul. "I'm going to get dinner started. Will you be joining us, Paul?"

  "No ma'am, my parents are expecting me for dinner," Paul said, picking up a cookie. "But I will have one of these. Thank you." He took a big bite.

  "Well don't spoil your appetite, then." Belle smiled over her shoulder on the way out of the room.

  Toni shifted in her seat. Dinner? I bet. He probably wants an out. Gran's been pumping him for thirty minutes. But it's better than being alone with him... I think. She watched her mother walk toward the kitchen.

  "Don't worry, Mrs. Farrell, my stomach is a bottomless pit," Paul chuckled, taking another big bite. He swallowed and turned to Toni with anticipation. "Would you like to go sit on the porch for a few minutes before I have to head out?"

  "So not a great idea," Sara said, looking at Ruth. "Besides, we need to talk about all the cell ph
one texting crap Jessica has started. Christ, what a nightmare. I want revenge, and I need to clear my good name."

  "Yeah, and how's that worked for ya so far, Sara?" Martin asked.

  "Bite me!" Sara said.

  Martin fanged-up his grin.

  Rufus climbed up Paul's shirt, licked his chin and then curled his cat mouth up in a smile as though he'd heard the whole conversation.

  "Before you go outside I'd like to address some concerns, Paul, namely the age difference between you and my granddaughter." Antoinette paused. "And my granddaughter's lack of experience."

  Paul gently pushed the cat aside and stared at Antoinette. "I'm not all that exper-"

  "Gran, we just met!" Toni shrieked. God, she is not headed in THAT direction? Please stop Gran! Not the sex talk. Oh please . . . just don't go there.

  "I don't mean to be blunt, but I'm well aware of teen urges; however, Toni is underage, and I just wanted to remind you of that."

  Just kill me—dig a hole—lay me by my sister—toss some dirt over my face—I'm so freakin' embarrassed. "Gran, I'm very capable of making those kinds of decisions for myself. I'm not Sara."

  "Dammit all to hell!" Sara shrieked. "I. Am. Not. A. Slut!"

  "Oh honey, that's yesterday's news," Martin said, fanning his arm out and through Ruth.

  Ruth wavered, her long tattered skirt billowing. "Blessyersexualpeccadillos, you've no room t'talk, Martin."

  Paul patted Toni's knee. Everyone's eyes jerked in the direction of his hand. "She's just concerned about you, and I totally understand. I mean, I'm almost four years older than you." He turned toward Antoinette. "Look, we've just met. I don't make a habit of—I mean, I'm not going to—well, anyway, it's not like I'm all that..." He turned to Toni. "You'll be eighteen soon enough, so let's just take this one step at a time."

  All three ghosts sucked in a whopping big breath.

  Toni brows fought for the bridge of her nose. What the hell? Like I have no choice in this—ohmigod—we are not having this conversation.

  "As long as we have an understanding," Gran said, dragging herself out of the recliner. "I'll go help Belle with dinner. Why don't you two go sit on the swing in the backyard by the rose bushes. It's lovely out there at dusk." She flipped on the porch light. "And take Rufus with you. He seems to be quite fond of you, Paul." Antoinette smiled at the cat's low, menacing growl as she walked toward the kitchen.