“Worried about what, sugar?”
“I just don’t want anything coming between us. I mean, I just want things to be perfect, now that I’m all yours.” I started to play with the string of his hoody and bit my lower lip.
Dante’s eyes went wide.
“Did you just—I mean, it sounded like you said—what?”
“Oh,” I said. “I’m yours now. Wasn’t that made clear?”
He blinked again.
“Huh?”
“You know,” I said with a shrug. “Last night when you ran into Payne. Isn’t that what the two of you were arranging? Who gets me? Who I should fall in love with? Isn’t it all settled now? I can just love you for all I’m worth, and I don’t have to worry my pretty little head about anything.”
His mouth was hanging open. I slapped him upside his head.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I yelled. “Talking to Payne about me like I’m a commodity to be traded, as if the two of you get to decide who I love or what I do? Do you have any idea how insulting that was?”
“Well,” Dante said as he rubbed the back of his head. “That’s not how I meant it. And I don’t think that’s how he did either. Why I’m defending him, I don’t know. Where I come from, when you give your word on something, you keep it.”
I sat back in me seat and folded my arms.
“Payne didn’t rat you out,” I snarled. “Considering the look in his eyes when he promised you he wouldn’t, I’d say that he’s expecting me to yell at him for your little deal over me, which I so would if I were talking to him right now!”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Dante said. “If Payne didn’t tell you then how do you . . . ?” He paused a moment and stared out into space. Slowly, comprehension finally registered. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” I said as I got out of his truck. “See you later, sugar.”
I didn’t look back as I stomped into the school. I passed by Scarlett who looked me up and down.
“Well,” she said. “You don’t look as disheveled as I thought you would.”
She gave me a wink.
“The only one who looks disheveled,” I said, “is that idiot brother of yours.”
I couldn’t help notice how confused and frustrated Scarlett looked. Clearly, she was rooting for me to get together with her brother.
I ignored Dante whenever I saw him. I also ignored anyone who asked why I was ignoring him. By the time my second class of the day was half over, I was too busy paying attention to someone else.
I hadn’t seen Priscilla since the party at Scarlett’s. She hadn’t been in school. I don’t know if she’d been sick or just skipping class. Something seemed off with her. She should be giving me that obnoxious smirk of hers, or preening for the boys in the hallways after class, but she seemed to be avoiding eye contact at all costs. She wasn’t doing anything to draw attention.
On a hunch, I followed her as she broke from her friends and headed into an empty room. I looked inside and saw her sitting by the window. She looked near tears.
I walked in and saw the fear on her face when she saw me.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said, and started to get up.
“What happened?” I asked. I tried to keep my voice soft and calm.
“What do you mean?” Priscilla shot back. “You saw it with your own eyes. You haven’t been seen with Payne since that night. I assume that you haven’t told everyone just to save yourself embarrassment, but I’m not going to stand here to try and convince you—y’know what? Never mind. You have no interest in hearing anything I have to say.”
“Actually,” I said as I took the seat next to her. “Yes, I do. Something weird happened that night, and I want to ask you about it.”
Priscilla just stared at me for a long moment. I could tell she was trying to judge if I was setting her up.
“I can barely remember that night,” she finally said. “Look, I admit it. I was flirting with him. Okay? As far as I’m concerned someone as hot as Payne McKnight should not be bumming it with a girl like you. It would have been one thing to have him wise up and decide to be with me, except that’s not what happened.”
I remained calm and let her digs roll off my back.
“What did happen?” I asked. “You still haven’t explained.”
“I told you,” She said. “I don’t know.”
She glared at me again and then sank into a chair near me. It looked like the fight was going out of her.
“I remember watching that dorky kid Ian kick Archer’s butt at Asteroid,” Priscilla explained, her voice missing its usual heat. “I remember Scarlett coming over and asking me if I was having a good time. I said sure, even though I wasn’t, and Scarlett just smiled, and hugged me, and then . . . I don’t know. Next thing I know, everything was foggy. My head was spinning. I thought it was a dream. I kept hearing this voice tell me to go wait for Payne in that room. I did. It wasn’t until Payne pushed me away that I realized it was real.”
She buried her head in her hands for a moment.
“I was barely aware of what I was doing,” she said, not looking at me. “I don’t know what I would have done if Payne hadn’t snapped out of it and stopped me when he did.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Priscilla seemed taken aback. I think she was waiting for the ‘but’, for me to tell her that this was somehow her fault. When that didn’t happen, she continued.
“I think someone must have slipped us something,” Priscilla said. “I don’t know who. I watched my drink. Or at least I thought I did, but not carefully enough, I guess. It’s my own fault—”
“No,” I said. “It’s not. You didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that. So don’t let yourself think that.”
Priscilla looked at me appraisingly.
“You sound like you said this before,” she said.
I shrugged. She was right. I’ve had more than a few ghosts who couldn’t move on until they stopped blaming themselves for something somebody else had done to them.
“I’ve talked to people who have had bad things happen to them,” I said. “It’s not uncommon to blame yourself, but it’s wrong. Whoever did this to you is to blame. Can I ask you a question?”
Priscilla considered a moment and then nodded.
“Do you think Payne was responsible?” I asked.
“No,” she said right away. “They did it to him, too. He was just as confused as I was. I’ve talked to him once since that night. He was pissed off about it, but he was— he never blamed me. He was patient and kind.”
I smiled.
“Payne is very kind,” I said.
“You didn’t believe he would do that,” she said. It was a statement.
“No,” I said. “I’m glad I don’t have to tell you. I don’t know what happened to you, but if I find out, I’ll let you know. You should talk to somebody, like maybe one of the school counselors? Mrs. Carter might be good.”
Priscilla just shrugged. “Maybe I will.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” I asked.
I think she considered it a moment, but then shook her head. Priscilla watched me for a moment before she got up.
“I’ll talk to someone today,” she said. “I appreciate that you believed me. Can I ask you a question?”
I nodded.
“If you don’t believe that Payne was in control, why aren’t the two of you together anymore?”
I stood up as well.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
“Uh huh,” Priscilla said. “You two over or just on a break?”
I offered her a dry smile.
“Are you asking if he’s fair game?”
“Maybe.”
I sighed as I thought about everything Ian had told me, and the vision I’d seen last night. I was probably still free of the curse of being trapped by Payne’s love.
I wasn’t so sure that Payne was.<
br />
“Let me just tell you that nothing is fair when it comes to Payne,” I said. “So, don’t take this the wrong way, but I wouldn’t waste your time.”
Priscilla nodded and headed out without a word. I stayed behind to mull things over, because I saw a pattern forming in my mind.
Payne and Priscilla weren’t acting of their own free will when I found them. Neither was Varick when he had yelled at me. Was Blasé in control when he killed himself? Was Aunt Breanne, during her suicide attempt?
Who was the common denominator?
The bell rang for a class change. I went to get up from my seat, but I got a flash.
The snake was slithering through the school. I saw Priscilla pass it by; she looked directly at the snake, but she didn’t scream. Seeing her was enough to tell me that this was happening right now. Pricilla was wearing the same outfit I’d just seen her in. She looked uncomfortable, but that might just be because of the conversation we just had. The snake passed by Ian, who was talking to Hunter. Then it moved away, towards Archer.
It stared at Archer for a moment. He was standing by his locker, not moving, and looked pale and depressed. He was staring at a picture taped to the inside door, but I couldn’t tell what was in the photo. As the snake approached, he tucked the picture away and gave the snake a small nod of acknowledgement.
The snake struck. Archer didn’t seem to react much. He certainly didn’t cry out in pain like I would expect someone bitten by a giant snake to do, but he winced. He looked even more hopelessly despaired as he slammed his locker shut and walked away. I watched him leave the school with a look of sad determination on his face.
The vision ended. I quickly gathered up my bag and ran.
In the crowd, Dante was walking toward me down the hallway. He spotted me and came over.
“Look,” he said. “I’m sorry. I was out of line, but—”
“Shut up,” I ordered. “Just listen. I get what was happening. I don’t like it, and I’m not going to be mad forever. Right now, I need a favor.”
Dante looked almost dizzy from my new attitude.
“Uh, okay,” he said. “Name it.”
“I need to ditch school for the day. Are you okay with that?”
“You’re in luck,” Dante replied. “Monday is one of the only five days that I ever ditch.”
His humor was lost on me as we headed for the door.
“You want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked as we got into his truck.
“No,” I said as he started the engine. “Just drive.”
As he drove, I tried to just open myself up. Where should we go? Where would Archer go? Then I saw Blasé on the corner of Main Street. He looked at me, his normal anger replaced with fear, and pointed down Hawthorne.
“Make a right down Hawthorne,” I said. “Don’t speed, but don’t dawdle.”
“I’d never dream of it,” Dante said. “So does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“No.”
“Am I closer to being forgiven?”
“No.”
“So I’m just being used?”
“You got a problem with that?”
“No, ma’am,” he said. I would have grinned if I weren’t so worried. “You want to give me a hint where we’re going?”
I spotted Blasé by the exit to the highway.
“Yeah,” I said. “Take the exit. Here, hurry.”
“All right,” Dante said as he detoured onto the exit. “I feel a little lost here.”
“Me too,” I answered.
Dante tried to drive in silence, but it was killing him.
“Look,” he said. “I know I was out of line last night, but you gotta know my heart was in the right place. Bristol, I really care about you. I want to make you happy. I get that you don’t have a quiet kind of life, but I’d like to be a part of it. I really would. My eyes are open. What I’m trying to say is that I’m all in.”
I watched for Blasé, or some other sign that we were going in the right direction. I started to worry that I had missed something. I didn’t recognize where we were headed.
“What I mean is,” Dante went on, “I think I’m falling in love with you. Man, that’s not easy to say. I’ve never said I loved anyone since my mom died.” He looked at me, waiting. “Bristol? Are you listening to me?”
“Yes,” I said. “I am, but right now I’m concentrating. Slow down.” I said, as I saw Blasé on the side of the road. “There’s a road there. Take that. Where does that lead?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Dante sounded hurt. “You’ve lived here longer that I have.”
“Not by much,” I said. “What is this? Looks like an old drive-in movie theater.”
“Yeah,” Dante said. “I guess.”
“Look around,” I said. “Do you see anyone?”
Dante slowed down, gazed around, and then pointed to the big screen.
“Over there,” Dante started to head that way. “There’s a car. I think someone is in front of it.”
I put my hand on Dante’s arm.
“Go slow,” I said. “Don’t spook him.”
Dante drove along the side road slowly until we reached the front. Archer was leaning on the front hood of his car, looking at the big, empty screen.
“You want to clue me in right about now?” Dante asked as he came to a stop.
Archer broke his gaze away from the big screen for a moment to look at me.
“No,” I said. “Stay here.”
I got out and started to walk towards Archer.
“Not likely,” I heard Dante say, as he got out as well. We both approached Archer slowly, who had started to ignore us and look at the big screen again.
“Hey, Archer,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
Archer’s face was pale. He was still handsome beyond belief, but he looked frailer somehow.
“I could ask you the same question,” Archer said.
I moved a little closer.
“Actually,” I said. “I came looking for you. You seem upset. Is everything okay?”
I signaled Dante to stay back. He ignored me. Archer seemed to laugh a little, but there was no humor in it.
“Okay?” Archer said. “Sure. I’m standing here, right as rain. What could be wrong? I mean, Blasé is dead. I didn’t realize how upset he was, and I didn’t do a damn thing to stop it. Aunt Breanne is off someplace after nearly killing herself. But me? I’m fine.”
I took another step closer.
“How’s Skyler?” he asked. “That’s Eric’s little sister, isn’t it? Didn’t I see her with your cousin Simon?”
“Yeah,” I said as I came around in front of Archer. “They’re sort of dating. She’s holding up.”
Archer closed his eyes.
“Her brother’s dead, and that’s on me too. It’s my fault. I used to push Eric around. He was just an easy target. I never thought he’d hurt himself.” Archer looked me in the eye. “I know that’s pretty pathetic, but it’s true.”
“I know that,” I said as I moved just a touch closer.
Archer laughed again.
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t undo what I did. I can’t do anything for Eric now that he’s dead. What was my punishment? Huh? A few people yelled at me: Grandpa, Payne, and even Aunt Breanne. But guess what? In the end, I’m still here. I’m still alive, and Eric is still dead.”
“Archer,” I said. “Eric’s suicide was a tragedy, but he chose to end his life. That was his choice. I know you’re sorry for how you treated him, but you’ve got to forgive yourself. I know that Eric would want you to do that. Why don’t we go somewhere and talk?”
“No,” Archer said, and he started to cry. He used his hands to wipe his face, and that’s when I saw he was holding a gun.
“Archer,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “Please. Give me the gun. There’s no reason for anyone to get hurt.”
Archer looked at the
gun in his hand as if for a moment he’d forgotten that it was there. “There’s not?” He laughed again. “You sure?”
I felt Dante try to pull me back, but I wouldn’t budge. Archer noticed.
“Hey, now,” Archer said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you, Bristol. I like you. I mean, not the way my cousin and this guy like you. I just think you’re pretty cool for a Blackburn. You’ve never treated me like an enemy.”
“Because you’re not,” I told him. “We’re not enemies. Our families don’t have to hate one another.”
“Maybe,” Archer shrugged. “But I should be hated. You should hate me after what I did.”
He started to put the gun to his head.
“Bristol!”
I heard Eric’s voice, and saw his ghost appear near Archer.
“You’ve got to stop him,” he urged. “Don’t let him do this. It was the stupidest thing I ever did; all I did was hurt the people I loved. Don’t let him make the same mistake.”
I took a step forward.
“Archer,” I said. “Do you remember when Payne and I found Jared?”
This took Archer off guard. He lowered the gun a little bit. He wasn’t looking at me, but he was still listening.
“Yeah. Jared was such a cool kid. I miss him. I wish you two could have met. You would have liked him.”
“Archer,” I said. “I did meet Jared.”
Archer furrowed his brow in confusion.
“No,” he said. “You and Payne found him—his remains. But he’d been dead.”
“Yes,” I said. “Jared died before I ever came up here, but I still met him. After he died.”
“Bristol,” Dante said. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Shush,” I said to Dante. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Archer?”
Archer thought about it for a moment.
“You mean, like his ghost?”
“Yes,” I said. “I can see and talk to ghosts. Always have.”
Archer looked stunned. It wasn’t that this was beyond the believability here in Spirit. It was the fact that I was sharing it with him: a McKnight.
“Do you believe me?” I asked.
Archer looked like he was considering my words very carefully. He was crying and making no attempt to hide it.
Vision of Serpents Page 18
