I looked down at Jayden’s jacket that I held in my hands. Would he mind if I just waited until Monday to give it back to him?
“Hey, you!”
I whirled around and saw a boy coming toward me. I didn’t recognize him at all, but something on his face told me that he recognized me.
“Hey?” I had to restrain myself from moving away as the boy came closer and closer to me.
“You were with my boy yesterday, weren’t you?” he asked once he was closer.
My brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”
“My roommate? Jayden?” He pointed to the jacket that I held in my hands. “That is his jacket, isn’t it?”
I glanced down at the jacket, then back at him. “Yes, it is.”
“Are you looking for him?”
I nodded. “Yeah, do you know where I can find him?”
“Considering that I was occupying a guest last night,” he started with a large grin, “he’s probably at ‘his spot.’” He started down the hall. I hurried after.
“His spot?” I asked, trying to push away the image of him and the girl he was with going at it against the cave’s wall, out of my head.
The boy nodded. “Yeah, there’s this spot he tends to hang out at when our room is occupied.” His fat grin was still on his face.
“Okay, you can stop talking about what was going on inside your room,” I snapped. I just wanted to know where Jayden was.
“Sorry, sorry.” His grin finally died. “I’m Gunner by the way.”
“Em.”
Gunner turned his head to look at me with a sly smile on his face. “So, Em, have you met anyone yet?”
I glared at him.
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll back off.”
Yeah, you better.
I followed Gunner through Brier Hall, listening as he raved about the party last night. I mostly just ignored him, thinking about last night and the pain I had seen in Casey’s eyes. What had I said that made him react like that?
We made our way to the first floor, then turned toward the backdoor.
“Where are we going?” I asked Gunner as we stepped outside. The sky was gray and threatening rain. There was a cool, salty breeze that blew around us.
“To ‘his spot,’” Gunner replied vaguely. We started toward the far right of the building where there was a small cluster of trees.
“And where is this spot?” I asked. I hugged Jayden’s jacket close to me. I had an uneasy feeling churning in the pit of my stomach.
Gunner smiled again. He seemed to smile a lot. “You’ll see.”
We were both silent as we made our way through the trees that boarded Brier’s territory. I kept looking around, trying to take in my surroundings just in case Gunner had something else in mind.
But then we came to a small clearing, and I stopped dead in my tracks. In front of me was a small cemetery surrounded by a wrought iron fence that had some kind of plant crawling up the sides.
“What is this place?” I asked, my voice just above a whisper.
“This is the Brier’s family plot,” Gunner replied, walking toward the gate. He grabbed the door and swung it open. It creaked in protest. He stopped at the threshold of the cemetery and turned to look at me. “Are you coming?”
“Y–yeah.” I nodded and swallowed hard. I don’t know what it was about this place, but I got a really bad vibe from it. I clutched onto Jayden’s jacket even tighter so that my knuckles became bleached.
Moving past the iron fence, I looked at the plants that were tangling themselves around the bars. Being so up close to them, I saw that they were briars. With fall in the air, the flowers weren’t in bloom, giving the vine of thorns a cold, ominous feeling. I shivered from a sudden chill that spiraled down my spine and rushed past.
“There he is,” Gunner said. He pointed to a figure that was sitting in the back of the small cemetery. I could tell by the wild afro of loose brown curls that it was Jayden.
“Thanks,” I said.
“No problem.” Gunner winked and grinned widely at me. Then he strutted off.
Alone, I sucked in a deep breath and started to make my way past the old tombstones that were crooked and starting to corrode from brutal time.
The soft sound of an acoustic guitar filled my ears the closer I got to Jayden. When I stood almost directly behind him, I stopped to listen. He played really good. And his voice was amazing.
Every night I sit and wonder
where the time has gone.
My days, they are now numbered,
just like the rising dawn.
Life just keeps on passing by
right before my eyes.
For me, it’s hard to descry
it’s prepossessing guise.
Ohhhhhh
Whoa, whoa…
He hummed the rest of the tune, as if he were at a loss for lyrics. After a moment, he sighed, giving up.
“You’re really good,” I said suddenly, my voice breaking through the calming silence.
Jayden jumped at the suddenness of my voice and whipped his head to look at me. I could see the fear that had plastered itself on his face disappear when he saw that it was only me.
“Oh, hey, Em,” he greeted. He smiled lightly.
“I didn’t know you could play,” I said. I moved closer and sat down beside him.
Jayden shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s mostly just something I do during my free time.”
“Well, you’re really good,” I told him.
I could see a hint of color rise in Jayden’s tan cheeks as he turned his head away. “Thanks.”
I gasped, just remembering that I still had his jacket. "Here.” I held it out to him.
“Oh, thanks.” He placed his guitar down on the grass beside him and took it. “I forgot that you still had it.”
“I would have given it back to you yesterday, but before I could, you left.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ears. I had weaved my long waves into a fish braid and held it all down with a red beanie hat, but the shorter strands kept escaping. “So, who are you singing to?” I pointed to the gravestone that he sat in front of.
“Castiel Brier, the last owner of Brier Hall,” Jayden replied. He balled his jacket in his lap and leaned forward, brushing away the dirt that was caked into the inscription in the stone.
“What?” I was confused. I thought Casey was the last owner of Brier Hall.
“Yeah,” Jayden said. He moved away from the headstone and turned to me. “He’s the guy from the story.”
“But I thought his great grandson owned the place now?” I said.
Jayden frowned in confusion. “I don’t believe there were any more Briers after Castiel.”
“But he told me,” I pressed.
“Who told you?”
I opened my mouth, ready to respond when something hit me. The medication. I had taken it the night I had imagined the girl standing in the hallway. But what about yesterday when it happened?
Could it have been a lingering side effect? I wondered.
“Em?” Jayden’s eyes searched my face.
I blinked, focusing back on him.
“I have to go,” I blurted. I quickly scrambled to my feet.
“Wait, Em,” Jayden called. He started to rise from the ground.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Then before he could stop me, I ran back toward Brier Hall.
NINE
I STUMBLED INTO Mr. Atherton’s Past Eras class five minutes before eight o’clock on Monday morning and sat in my spot next to Lena. When I plopped into my seat, her eyes grew wide as she turned to face me.
“Em!” she exclaimed. “I am so, so, sooo sorry about Saturday night. I didn’t mean to get so out of control, and I certainly didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“It’s okay,” I mumbled. I was tired and exhausted from last night. After fleeing from Jayden, I had ran to Dr. Langley’s office to demand him to give me new medication, but he hadn’t been there. Probably b
ecause it was a Sunday. Then at night, I hadn’t wanted to take the medication in fear that I would see things again, and had woken up around three thirty because of the nightmare. I wasn’t able to fall back to sleep after that.
“No, it’s not okay,” Lena continued, looking upset. “I was a jerk. I shouldn’t have forced you to come to the party with me. If I would have just let you relax in your room, then you wouldn’t have gotten in trouble.” She inhaled a giant breath of air. “So, I plan on telling Ms. Durand that it was my fault. You don’t have to suffer in detention this Saturday.”
I turned to look at Lena, shocked. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Positive. I’ll explain everything to her. Even the part of me forcing you to sneak out.”
I smiled lightly at her. “Thanks, Lena.”
She smiled back. “Of course.”
“Alright class!” Mr. Atherton bellowed as he entered the classroom. He closed the door behind him as he made his way to his spot in the front of the room. He placed his bag in the corner behind his desk, then turned to face the class. “Who’s ready for a pop quiz?”
Groans erupted throughout the room. Our misery made Mr. Atherton’s blue eyes sparkle.
I sighed as I dug around in my messenger bag until I found a pencil.
“Here you go, Miss Knightley,” Mr. Atherton said when he stopped by our table. He handed me two sheets of paper. “Please pass one down to Miss Bourgeois.”
I took the two pieces of papers and handed one to Lena before I focused on mine. I looked down at question one and internally groaned: What were the years that the Victorian era took place?
I know this, I thought as I flicked my pencil up and down between my thumb and index finger. I nibbled on the corner of my lips as I thought. Suddenly, it hit me. I quickly wrote down my answer, then moved onto the next question.
I was surprised as I moved through the one-page quiz at how easy the questions were. Some of them I didn’t even remember learning, but somehow the answer came to me without hesitation. It wasn’t until the bonus question did I hesitate. I opened my mouth, suddenly unable to breathe. I could feel sweat prick the small of my back as I read the bonus question: Who was the last owner of Brier Hall?
I stared at the question until my vision blurred. I didn’t know how to answer this one.
Don’t worry about it. It’s a bonus question, a voice inside my head said.
“Miss Knightley, are you alright?”
I snapped my head up at the sound of Mr. Atherton’s voice. He was looking directly at me.
“Y–yes,” I stuttered. I swallowed a lump in my throat and quickly flipped my paper over. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He raised a thick silver eyebrow. “Do you need a glass of water? You look a little pale.”
“I said I’m fine.” I didn’t mean for my voice to rise. I quickly shrunk in my seat and glanced around me. There were a few of my classmates looking at me. I shrunk even lower and crossed my arms tightly over my chest.
Time passed. About ten minutes after I finished the quiz, Mr. Atherton called it time and collected everybody’s paper.
“So how do you think you did?” Lena whispered to me as soon as Mr. Atherton walked passed us. “Pretty tough, huh?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “It didn’t seem that hard.”
Lena’s face fell a little, but quickly perked up again. “But what about that bonus question?”
“I didn’t get it,” I admitted.
“Really?” For some reason, it sounded as though she was happy that I didn’t know it.
“Yeah?” I frowned lightly at her. Lena was great, don’t get me wrong, but she had her weird moments; this being one of them.
Lena opened her mouth, as if to say something else, but before she could, Mr. Atherton spoke up first: “Well, by just glancing at these quizzes, I can see that not many of you have been paying very much attention in my class.” He made a tsk-tsk sound with his tongue and shook his head with melancholy. “Looks like we’re just going to have to study harder.”
Groans erupted all around.
“Now, turn to page 204 in your textbooks,” Mr. Atherton commanded. He turned to the front of the room.
Sighing, I did as he said.
***
“Em!”
I turned around at the sound of my name and saw Jayden hurrying over to me.
“Jayden?” Shame and embarrassment spiraled through me. I had the sudden urge to run in the opposite direction, but somehow I kept my feet in place. I knew why he was coming over to me; he wanted to talk about what happened yesterday.
“Hey,” he stopped in front of me. “Going to lunch?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Can I join you?”
I nodded again, and we started to make our way toward the cafeteria.
“So…” he started slowly, “what happened yesterday?”
I sucked in a deep breath, then waited a moment before releasing it. “It was nothing,” I lied.
“Are you sure?” Even though I kept my gaze forward, I could feel his eyes on me.
“Yeah.” When we came to the cafeteria, I hurried into the long line that was pressed against the side of the room and waited. Jayden was right behind me.
“You know, Em, if you ever need to talk, I’m here.” He was still looking at me. “I know how this place can get to people.”
I smiled meekly at him. “Thanks.”
We were silent as we grabbed a tray and piled flavorless school food on it before we made our way to our table where Lena was already sitting.
“Hey, guys!” she greeted as Jayden and I sat across from her.
“Hey, Lena,” Jayden greeted back.
I smiled lightly at her.
“So, you guys excited about cleaning out the attic this Saturday?” Jayden asked flatly.
“Ecstatic,” Lena replied sarcastically.
I wanted to chime in, but I didn’t know what to say now that Lena said that she would cover for me.
For the rest of lunch Lena, Jayden, and I talked about everything except this upcoming Saturday. Thankfully, Jayden didn’t mention my mini panic attack that I had at the Briers’ family plot.
When the bell rang dismissing lunch, I quickly went to dump my tray. As I turned and made my way out of the cafeteria, a tall figure stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“I heard you got caught leaving the party,” Lexi said, looking down at me. Her two blond minions were beside her, but they were quietly talking and giggling to one another. “Bummer.”
My brows rose a little. How did she find out what had happened?
Lexi sighed, a sound that sounded like a soft summer’s breeze, and took a step back. “Well, I’ll see you around.” She left, her entourage following behind her.
I stood there in the center of the cafeteria in my ugly mashed potato-colored uniform with the gray and black plaid skirt, not knowing what to do. There was something strange about Lexi. I didn’t know what it was, but whatever it was, I felt that it had something to do with me.
TEN
ON WEDNESDAY, I stormed into Dr. Langley’s office and slammed the little orange pill bottle onto his scuffed wooden desk before plopping down in the seat across from him. “These pills don’t work.”
Dr. Langley’s brows furrowed. He reached forward and grabbed the container. “What do you mean, they don’t work?”
“I mean, they don’t work.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and looked into Dr. Langley’s dark eyes. “I take them and I can’t fall asleep. Also…I see things.”
Dr. Langley placed the bottle down and leaned forward. “What kind of things?”
I swallowed hard, digging up the images that I tried so hard to hide. I opened my mouth, my bottom lip tremb-ling in fright. “I…I saw a girl.”
“A girl?”
I nodded. “She was out in the hallway after curfew.”
“What did she look like?” Dr. Langley asked. I could s
ee the concern scrawled all over his face.
“She was in a white nightgown,” I started. My eyes glazed over as I recalled everything that had happened that night. “And her hair was wet and dark. She knew my name.” I blinked and refocused on where I was.
“Hmmm…” He glanced at the pill bottle then back at me. “They’re not supposed to cause hallucinations.”
“Well, they do,” I bit out. “And that wasn’t the only hallucination.”
“There were more?” Dr. Langley’s eyebrows shot up.
I nodded again. “Yeah, there was a boy.”
“A boy?”
I swallowed hard. “He was in the ballroom.”
“The ballroom?” He sounded surprised. “I thought students weren’t allowed to go into the ballroom.”
“We aren’t,” I said, suddenly going shy. I glanced down at my hands that I had resting in my lap. “I had accidently stumbled into the room when I ran away from the girl.”
“The girl in the hallway.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Tell me about this boy,” Dr. Langley said. He settled back in his high back chair and crossed his arms behind his head.
“His name is Casey,” I started.
"Wait.” He shot forward in his seat. “You named him?”
I shook my head. “No, he told me.”
Dr. Langley furrowed his brows and stared at me, scrutinizing me.
I leaned back in my chair, trying to put as much distance between me and the doc as I possibly could. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Has it ever crossed your mind that the boy, Casey, could be something else?”
A shadow of a smile rose to my lips. “You mean like a ghost?”
“No, no.” He shook his head. “There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“Then what?” I asked.
“Are you lonely here, Miss Knightley?” Dr. Langley asked solemnly.
“Excuse me?” My mouth dropped open. I was appalled at what he was insinuating. “Are you saying that I made him up?”
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