Whispers of the Damned: See Series Book 1 Page 14

  Chapter Eleven

  I don’t know that I dreamed. It was more like a working dream, where the day never ended and you kept doing the same thing over and over as you slept.

  I reached for the stone.

  Draven didn’t give me the ring I didn’t realize I hadn’t taken off. Not really. He threw it at me as he stormed out of my apartment. “Hide that from your boyfriend, too,” he’d cursed.

  He was so sure I was cheating. No music, no pictures of us, it all sent up red flags. Me telling him he had to go, refusing to let him even grab a glimpse that would prove his fears wrong all but destroyed him.

  I grabbed the ring and clutched it. It was a promise. Draven never wanted to leave this world. Running from the darkness dented his pride. This ring with a crystal from a dimension soaked in purity, a place that believed in fate, and the power of a determined soul, was his way of saying he wasn’t going to drag his feet anymore. If I thought this was right, then so did he.

  I didn’t know anymore.

  I stretched and pulled myself awake. I stared at the ring for a while, then dug in my pocket pulling out more of the stones. I couldn’t fathom how far they’d traveled before they reached me. It was a thought that chased me through my wake up/ shower routine. They were impossible. I had the impossible before me. Courage in a crystal...I’d heard of stranger things.

  I had a towel wrapped around me and had almost finished drying my hair when Kara charged into the bathroom. Wrath saturated her expression.

  “What kind of game are you playing, Charlie!” she whispered harshly.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked totally offended.

  “Bianca is downstairs,” she said shortly.

  A vacant, sick feeling slammed into me. I leaned against the counter, trying to find balance—a clear thought.

  “Charlie,” Kara said, moving in front of me, trying to snap me out of my scared stare. “Did you know she was coming here?”

  “I didn’t know she’d show up at the front door. Is Mom here?” I asked trying to remember when she was supposed to be back.

  “No. She flies in at three tomorrow.”

  “I told her you were asleep, that I wasn’t going to wake you, but she started crying and said that you and her had a horrible fight and you won’t answer the phone.”

  I heard Madison in my head telling me to ride out the illusion I was blind. Easier said than done. Even if I was on my own turf, I was sure it wasn’t what I said or did that would fool Bianca; she’d looked much deeper to make sure the damage she left was holding.

  “Where’s your phone?” Kara asked, blocking the door so I couldn’t leave.

  “In my bag. They’re off.”

  “Obviously, ignoring her wasn’t a good idea. What happened to ‘I have to have my phone so I can hear music’?”

  I pointed to the ceiling, calling out the sound I could hear, but she couldn’t. “I don’t need it for music anymore,” I whispered harshly.

  Kara’s eyes softened as she tilted her head. I knew I’d somehow managed to convince her that I was innocent. “Tell her you’re in trouble. Short and sweet, Charlie.” She gripped my arm. “Are you strong enough to stand up to Bianca? Do you need my help? For me to play the role of mean sister?”

  “That’ll just make it worse,” I said, finally getting her to move out of my way so I could get dressed.

  “I’ll let her come up,” she said to me as I started to pull my clothes on. I went after my phones next. Any heads up I could get on what was coming my way would help.

  “Now you decide to look at your phone,” Bianca whispered, obviously trying to keep her voice from carrying.

  I didn’t answer her. I walked to the bedside table and plugged my phone into the charger. I set Britain’s into the dock of my alarm clock so I could get it to play music and cover our conversation. I knew I’d have to be clever when I argued with her, and I couldn’t do that if I knew Kara was listening and judging my every word. I turned the volume all the way up. The sound was just loud enough to reach the entire room. I ignored the blue box that said I had twenty-one unread messages and looked back at her and shook my head.

  “You really don’t have boundaries, do you?” I asked as I started to make my bed.

  “Me?” she said in the most surprised tone she could manage. “You’ve been here for forty-eight hours, and I don’t even know who you are anymore. What are they doing to you?” she asked, sitting on the part of the bed that I’d already straightened the covers out on.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled, refusing to look her in the eye. I started to pick up the clothes across my room and make a pile of things I needed to wash.

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve never seen you clean your room before. That alone should be a red flag.”

  I cringed as I threw my clothes into a pile. “Listen, you got me in a lot of trouble by knocking on that door. She thought I’d planned it. Why would you do that?”

  Bianca stood and started to follow me as I cleaned up. “Charlie, you let them kidnap you.”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Can’t blame you,” she said with a sly wink. “I’d let rock star boy steal me away too.”

  I gripped the shirt I was holding and walked the two steps between us. My eyes raced across her face. She must have realized that she pushed the wrong button because her confidence seemed to fade before me all at once.

  “You stay away from Draven—from me—this friendship is over.”

  Her expression was almost fearful. I felt my confidence build.

  “If I had known talking you into that party would land us here—fighting like this, I would’ve found a different way.”

  “A different way to do what?” I snapped.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this place? Why didn’t you tell me that this was your real home that you had a past here?” she asked, refusing to answer my question.

  “Because it’s none of your business,” I countered.

  “You’re my best friend—it’s my business.”

  “I met you three months ago. I barely know you much less understand you. Do you really think I trust you enough to tell you about my past?”

  “I guess mommy has gotten to you. Put that latch back on that little glass box I found you in.”

  “My mom stays out of this.” I said through my teeth. “You freaking drugged me.”

  “Seriously, Charlie. That’s absurd. You act like I killed you. You enjoyed every second you were with Britain.”

  “Get out of my face,” I said, stepping back. “You did kill me. I lost memories because of that night and I’ll tell you what. You better hope you’re as innocent as you claim when I find them because if you aren’t—you—will—pay.”

  Tears started to come down her face as she walked to the side of my bed and sat down.

  This was an act.

  I never really gave into them in the past, but I at least acted like I believed her front. It was insulting my pride to even attempt to play my part right now.

  When I didn’t offer to console her the tears stopped, and she just stared at me.

  “Britain is furious with me…this is my fault. I need to make it better. Please let me make it better. If you don’t, he’s never gonna talk to me again. Then I’ll have no one. Do I really deserve that?”

  I took in a deep breath and walked to the edge of my bed and sat down next to her. “Why is he mad? Because your drugs weren’t strong enough? That by the grace of God, my mother came home just in time?”

  She pulled her knees to her chest and moved her head from side to side as she stared forward. “Because you can’t be forced to hook up with someone like him. Free will, it’s a bitch with guys like him.”

  “Do you hear yourself right now?”

  She stared at me for a second, and then hopefully decided I was the chick I always let her think I was. The words free will didn’t stick out to me.

  With any spirit, you have to give it permis
sion to hurt you, do anything with you. True enough, permission doesn’t always have to come from words. Mostly it’s about the state of your vibe. Were you closed off? Or willing to do anything to stop the fear you had? It doesn’t even have to be about pain or fear. The long and short of it is that we either leave doors open or we close them.

  “I don’t have a problem with him.” I almost told her he wasn’t mine to hate or love, but I nipped my words. They had too much personal truth in them.

  “Have dinner with us.”

  “Did you not hear me when I told you that Kara was furious that you were here?”

  “Did you not hear me when I said I’m fighting with Britain,” a flash or fear I didn’t think was fake hit her eyes. “You could at least smooth it over with us before you ditch.”

  “My mom is flying in.”

  “When?”

  “I don’t know, suppose to be today. Might have gotten pushed. When she goes back to the city, maybe.”

  “No, no way I’m staying in his artic zone that long.”

  “He’s here? At his new house?”

  “He texted you he was.”

  “If I get a chance I’ll swing by.” I had to give her a maybe or she’d never leave.

  I heard Kara’s voice echo through the house. My heart started to race. I was sure Draven was here.

  A second later, Madison climbed the last steps that led to my room. She was in sweats and a tank top covered by a hoodie. In her hands, she had an energy drink and a stack of movies.

  “Bianca? ” Madison said like she nearly forgot the name all together.

  Bianca looked her up and down like she was some kind of plague. I could feel the tension build in the room, but Madison couldn’t care less.

  “The girls are gonna love you. A real socialite from New York. You can help us put new looks together. It’s movie makeover night! Totally gonna be a blast. Everyone else should be here in a little bit. They stopped by the store to stock up on junk food because there’s no way a pizza guy is gonna get over that creek if it starts to rain again,” Madison said, setting the movies down on my dresser.

  “Who’s coming over here?” I asked, oblivious to what she was talking about. Knowing makeovers were not her style at all.

  “I told you, everyone. I texted you and said if you had a problem to let me know and you didn’t answer. So there you go. We’re all coming,” she said, crawling on the bed between Bianca and me. She started to run her fingers through Bianca’s hair. “One of the girls is a master at hair coloring—do you want some highlights? Maybe a new shade altogether?”

  Bianca pulled away and stood up. “No, thank you,” she said shortly. “I guess it’s time for me to go.”

  “Wait, no. You’re staying. I told you, it’s girls’ night. Charlie would be heartbroken if she didn’t have someone to sulk with,” Madison said, wrapping her arm around me.

  Bianca looked at me and shook her head. “Sulking huh?”

  “Hangover from hell,” I snapped back.

  “Tomorrow,” Bianca said. “It would be nice if you could at least text before then. Otherwise,” she glanced around the room. “If he kicks me out, I may have no choice but to observe your makeover night.”

  Madison leaned back on her arms and watched Bianca leave; completely satisfied with the fact that she annoyed her to that point.

  I glanced at her, and she raised her fingers to her lips, telling me not to say anything. She reached to turn down the music. “This is gonna be a blast, Charlie. I think you need highlights in your hair, too,” she said louder than she needed to as she walked to the short wall to look over. A second later, I heard the front door open, then shut. Madison broke out into an absurd victory dance.

  It was hard not to laugh.

  “Perfect timing,” I said. “But you’re gonna have to cancel whatever plans you have.”

  She lay back on my bed and stretched out. “Like I would’ve volunteered for a sleepover girl thing. I know you have plans.”

  “You know?”

  “Yeah, he called me.” She said with a shrewd grin. “How was last night?”

  “Did he tell you about it?”

  “No, but I’ve heard the two of you hit repeat on the same fight enough times to know the highlights.”

  “Right.”

  “Did I make it over in time? Kara was near panic when she called me.”

  “Kara called you?”

  “Do you seriously think I’d leave the house looking like this if it wasn’t an emergency?” she asked, pulling her sweats out to show me how ridiculously big they were.

  “Brilliant, thanks. I was holding my own,” I said as I thought over my argument with Bianca.

  I shifted my eyes to her. “How did you sketch her? Did you meet her before?”

  Madison shifted uncomfortably.

  “What?”

  “I was there when you were told about her.”

  “Who told me?”

  She eyed me unsure where I was with my journey back to the real me. “You sorta interviewed someone you were helping out.”

  “Someone?”

  She stared waiting for me to grip the obvious—I had interrogated Casper.

  “We both saw her when the haunt showed us. I recorded it.” She pursed her lips. “Not long after you looked up when you felt the door between you and the damned. Silence scared the hell out of you. Bianca strolled down the hall with your guidance councelor. Britain showed a few days later, her friend from her old school.”

  Her words made the story mine. I recalled it all.

  “You couldn’t see them either, Charlie. They made you question every gift you thought you had. You let them make you think you poked the wrong monster.”

  “I did, though.”

  She shrugged. “Could’ve been the right one. If you—we—were nothing to worry about, why’d they see a need to mess with you? Why didn’t the shark swim on by?”

  “Was I forced to let them over the night of the party? Or was I using the party to get them on my turf?”

  “Little of both, I guess.” She glanced to one of the stacks of randomness in my room. “You found a few warding tricks in your books. More than anything you thought you could look them in the eye and tell them to step on and they’d have too. You were going to close yourself off.” She slanted her head. “They blew your doors right off.”

  Yeah, they did. I struggled with my thoughts a bit; her rubbing ink from her wrist drew my attention away from the dark corners of my mind.

  “What was there? Why did you wipe it away?” I asked, trying to decode the smudged ink.

  “I was thinking about getting a tattoo. I wanted to see what it would look like.”

  “Of what?”

  She continued to wipe the ink away. “I was thinking about an ankh.”

  “That sounds pretty cool. That’s the cross with a loop at the top, right?”

  “Eternal life.”

  “You should get it. Draw it the way you want it. We can find an artist to mimic it.”

  “It was—it was just a stupid idea. I think I want something more original.”

  I furrowed my brow. My best friend alarm was going off. Something was messing with her, bad enough that I was pretty sure the energy drink in her hand was necessary. The shadows under her eyes said she wasn’t sleeping. By choice or not was the question I could not come at directly.

  “You’re original. One of a kind. Get it.”

  I nudged her with my shoulder. “Tell me.”

  She closed her eyes. “I keep having bad dreams.”

  “About?”

  “A guy.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know,” she said glancing at me. “I’ve never met him. I’ve dreamt of him before. I’ve dreamt of him my whole life. I think where he is—it’s bad.”

  I reached for her hands. “You can’t do the things you can do, and not realize dreams must mean something. Maybe you should leave my problem
s alone right now and figure this out.”

  She glanced away. “You saw Austin last night. Did you remember him telling us about Chara—the string—that path he showed us?”

  I nodded. Mostly...

  “We’re leaving. One day we will. What scares me...I think I might find him when we do.”

  “Then that would be a fairytale, not something to fear. He shared dreams with you Madison. That’s deep.”

  She wiped away a tear that she was too brave to let fall. “Sometimes…sometimes in my dreams, he looks right at me. Other times, he’s looking at someone else…she looks like me, but I’m not her, and this…rage soars through me because. I don’t want him to look at her like that.” She glanced to her side at me. “How crazy is that? To be jealous of someone that may not be real—to feel like I have some kind of claim on him.”

  “It’s not crazy. You’ve said it yourself—Scorpios are jealous creatures.”

  She sneered. “When we get through this…this thing that has happened to you. I’ll worry about it.”

  “When we go, leave this door open. Don’t leave your dreams out in the cold.”

  She ran her hands across her face. “Sure.”

  Meaning no.

  We sat in silence for a minute, both lost in twisted thoughts. Madison took a deep breath and stood up. “I gotta go. Mom is all about soaking up time with me.”

  Before my eyes I had a quick vision, it was Madison and her mom sitting in meditation. I didn’t know if that really happened of if I was just drawing off what kind of person I knew her mom to be. If she saw Madison struggling, she would push her to dig deep, find the seed of her troubles.

  I bit my bottom lip as I watched her leave. Something told me that her dreams and what I was going through now, was just the beginning. Our fate was here and there was no way to avoid it anymore.