You okay? Lark asked. Youre not mad at Nan?
She sounded a little...afraid. No! Of course not. I thought I saw something.
I didnt see anything.
Of course she hadnt. She could see a lot of things, but she still had the limited eyesight of a living person; they were notoriously shortsighted. Probably nothing.
You know, if you want to go to the coffee shop tonight, I dont mind if you go without me.
I looked at her, lips twisting. And miss seeing the reaction to you driving a grape jelly bean? I dont think so. Besides, you promised Roxi you would go.
Yeah, I know. She stared straight ahead as she climbed the rest of the stairs. It would be rude of me to bail on her.
I didnt add that it would also be stupid for her to stay home and try to send me away. I wasnt bound to Lark, I could come and go as I pleased, and tonight it would please me to be there with my sister to make certain no one tried to hurt her. If anyone gave her a hard timeeven if it was KevinId risk Nans wrath and make certain they regretted it for a very, very long time.
LARK
So. Many. Hipsters.
I walked into Nother Cup expecting to be punched in the face by a wave of pretention, and I wasnt disappointed; it almost dropped me on my butt.
I wasnt proud to admit that Id changed my clothes before leaving the house. I wore a black-and-white sleeveless dress with a Peter Pan collar and a pair of chunky black-and-white-striped Mary Janes. Id pinned my hairas white as my collarinto a messy updo and smeared on some black liner and red gloss. The Addams Family meets Mad Men.
Stop fidgeting, my sister commanded with a scowl as I straightened my dress. She was wearing something romantic and flowy, with her brilliant hair in curls. She looked gorgeousand no one could see it.
No one says fidget anymore, I muttered, turning my head so no one else could hear.
Wren pointed across the fairly crowded shop to a low table surrounded by plush leather sofas and paisley chairs. Theres Roxi. Do you see Kevin? Im going to see if I can spot him. She took off before I could answer, slipping in and out of people like they were wisps of smoke.
Only, she was the wisp. I needed to remember that. She was as real and solid to me as anyone here, but only to me.
I ordered a chai lattewhich took foreverand made my way through the throng toward the stage area. I was practically on top of the table when I saw who else was there.
I knew I should have stayed home.
Lark! Roxi jumped up and hugged me. You guys, this is Lark. Lark, this is Gage, Ben, Sarah and Mace.
Okay, so I didnt really know Gage, but I recognized him from school. Looking at Mace still made me want to puke. Sarah seemed friendly enough. The one who really got me, though, was Ben, the guy Id seen in the principals office earlier. Maybe I could ask him what his sister had meant about letting him wait a little longer. And where hed gotten that black eye.
And why when he looked at me I felt he knew me. Really knew me.
I gave them all a halfhearted wave. Hey. The only empty chair was the one near Roxi. Unfortunately, it was also next to Mace. He wore a white shirt over a black T-shirt with dark jeans and boots. Great, we were coordinated. I think he noticed, too. His mouth lifted a teeny bit on one side. It was a pretty lame-ass smile.
Sarahthe girl Id seen with Mace earlier at school, smiled across him at me. She should really have a bandage on that scratch. She must have been new to school. I didnt recognize her from before I went to Bell Hill, where theyd loaded me with pills and therapy. Thank God they hadnt tried an exorcism. Hi, she called over the noise of the crowd. I love your shoes.
She seemed sincere, and my biggest vanity was my fashion sense. I smiled. Thanks. I had gotten them at Goodwill and painted them with leather paint to freshen them up. It had been a real bitch taping off the stripes, but worth it.
Wren plopped herself down in my chair, phasing through my right leg so that we were literally joined at the hip. Kevins about to perform, she squealed.
I didnt reply, of course, but I put my hand on my leg and patted so shed feel it. I didnt want to encourage the crushit wasnt like anything could have come out of it when he couldnt even see her.
A short bald man stepped up onto the stage and up to the mike. Thank you all for coming to open-mike night here at Nother Cup. Our first performer is Kevin McCrae.
Thunderous applause met this announcement, along with several hoots and whistles. Mace was one of the loudest, which surprised me. I watched him as he shouted out his support, a grin on his face.
Mace turned that grin on Sarah, who whistled, then Maces gaze met mine. I watched, helpless, as the joy melted from his face. Superfabulous for my ego, that was.
Did he remember how Id looked that night? All decked out in a white cami and pj pants, my arms sliced open and blood in my hair? Did he remember that Id looked him in the eye and begged him to let me die? Of course he did. Hed begged me not to die on him. Finding someone in the middle of suicide wasnt something a person forgot. Hed told the police that he thought hed heard something. As my next-door neighbor hed decided to check in on me, knowing my parents werent home. He found me on the floor of my bathroom, my wrists cut. He called 911 and tried to stop the bleeding with towels.
But Kevin had been the reason hed found me. Kevin was a medium, and Wren had made contact. I didnt feel guilty because he knew about me. I felt guilty because he knew how badly Id upset Wren.
Mace opened his mouth to speakwhat the hell could he possibly have to say?but a chord from Kevins guitar stopped him, thank God. I jerked my attention toward the stage, because my sister was squealing like a freaking idiot.
Kevin McCrae was a freshman in college. He was tall and well built, with longish curly dark hair, incredible blue eyes and glasses. I thought he looked a little too much like thoughtful-sensitive man, but if Wren liked the look of him, who was I to judge? After all, I was trying really hard not to stare at Ben.
He did a couple of coversBeatles tunes and something by Nirvana. He played well and had a fabulous voice. I hated to admit it, but I enjoyed his setuntil his last song.
This is a song I wrote, he said in his low, slightly raspy voice. Its for Wrenleigh.
I swear to God my heart freaking stopped. I tried so hard not to glance at my sister, but it was hard when she was right therepart of me. I could feel her nervous energy fluttering inside me. There were very few people in the town, let alone this room, who would have known Wrens full name. You would have to go to her grave to see it.
Kevin McCrae had written a song about my sister? Just how well did they know each other? How well could they know each other? I forced myself to listen to the lyrics. Something about hearing ghosts for so long, but then one so beautiful he was in awe of her came to him.
Barf.
And then Kevin looked right at me as he sang, Did you think of how much it would hurt her when you cut to the bone? I felt her pain calling out to me like it was my own.
He might as well have gotten off the stage, walked up to me and smashed his guitar over my head. I couldnt believe it. I just sat there, shocked and frozen like an idiot, my face burning.
He might as well have gotten off the stage, walked up to me and smashed his guitar over my head. I couldnt believe it. I just sat there, shocked and frozen like an idiot, my face burning.
Screw that. I tried to stand up, but Wren held me to the chair. Shed known. Shed known about the damn song. Shed known he was going to sing it. Everyone at this table knew what he was singing about.
I never thought my sister would sit and watch me be humiliated, the past shoved in my face one more time.
Get out of me, I whispered.
Lark, she pleaded. Just listen to the song, please.
Wren was preternaturally strong, but I wasnt without my own talents. If she had a little extra power where the living was concerned, then I had a little more influence over the deador at least more experience. I gathered up all the hurt and anger inside me and pushed it at her. It must have surprised her, because she let go easily, lifting out of me to hover a few feet above the table. Show off. Id have been sprawled on the floor if she shoved that hard at me.
I jumped to my feet and ran, elbowing my way through the audience.
Watch it, cow, a girl dressed all in white snarled.
I could snarl, too. Get out of my way.
She smirked. Say please.
What was this, a CW show? This kind of drama just didnt happen in real life, did it? I took the plastic top off my cup and dumped what was left of my latte down the front of her. She gasped. Actually, it was more of a roar, but Id already shoved her aside and kept moving. I didnt stop when I stepped out into the warm September night but made a beeline straight for my borrowed purple Bug. Nan had been so excited at the prospect of me making friends. God, she was even more naive than I was.
I pressed the button to unlock the car and climbed in, tossing my purse onto the passenger seat. For a moment, I sat there, forehead against the steering wheel. How could I have been so stupid? Hadnt I learned anything? God, I was so deficient. I was going to have to switch schools because I was too young to drop out. I could probably have gotten into one a town or two over. Maybe. My past would have caught up with me sooner or later, it always did, but for a little while I could have hidden.
I started the car and lifted my head. Id just slipped the gear into Drive when someone stepped in front of the bumper. The headlights made them look ghoulish, but even ghoulish, Mace was gorgeous.
I put down the window and stuck my head out. Get out of the way.
Give us a minute, will you? he asked. We just want to talk to you.
Roxi appeared by the window. Please, Lark. I can explain. It was my idea.
Explain this. I flipped her the bird. Then, to Mace, Move, Ryan.
Roxis hand grabbed my shoulder. Her grip was tight, desperate. Please.
I ignored her as I revved the engine, trying to scare Mace. He knew I wasnt going to run him over, though. Jerk. The others stood there with him, clustered in the headlights with anxious expressions on their facesnot what Id expect of people wanting to mess with me. And my sister was finally there, just on the edge where I could barely see her. I wasnt in any danger from these people or she would have been full-on Amityville right now.
Unless she was in on it.
And that really was crazy. A genuine insane thought.
I turned off the car and stepped out, holding the door open between me and them like a shield. Whats going on?
Kevin had joined our group, too. He looked at me like I was something hed just scraped off the bottom of his shoe. I didnt even know the guy. What was his damage?
Roxi stepped forward, hands held out in front of her, imploringly. Lark, no one meant to hurt you tonight. Im sorry if you feel like youve been ambushed.
I raised a brow. You mean I havent been?
I told you to be straight with her, Ben growled. He was all frowny and serious, not quite so pretty, but even more hot. He turned to me. We asked you here to talk to you.
I glanced at Roxi. Not to be my friend, then. Shouldnt have said that. Made me sound whiny and pathetic.
She looked like Id slapped her. I meant what I said.
I wanted to believe that, I really did.
This is stupid, the darker guyGagesaid. I remembered him from elementary school. His last name was Moreno. You guys watch too much TV. She cant help us, because theres nothing going on.
Help them? With what?
I turned my attention back to Ben, but my gaze caught on Sarah instead. You should get that scratch looked at, I told her. It looks infected.
It was as though I was a hunter with a semiautomatic and they were a herd of deer. They all froze, staring at me.
Sarahs hand went to her face. Really?
Yeah. You should at least put a bandage on it. Some Neosporin.
Gage stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves. What about me? Do I have scratches, too?
Long, jagged furrows ran the inside length of each of his forearms. They rose up in thick, scarlet welts that oozed wetly under the streetlights.
I made a face. What the hell have you been into? I asked them, but I shouldnt have asked. Hell, I shouldnt have let them know I could even see them. I knew my mistake as soon as the light hit his arms in the right way, allowing me to see that tar-like tinge that clung to the wounds.
Oh, hell, I whispered. You pissed off a ghost.
No one else could see their scratches. Even they couldnt see them, but I bet they could feel them. Some ghosts were nasty that way.
Oh, Lark, Wren whispered. This is bad.
Did it get all of you? I asked.
Not me, Kevin said, but the rest nodded.
I glanced at each of them. I didnt want to get involved in this. But...shit. I couldnt just walk away. They had no idea what theyd gotten into.
Roxi shot a fierce look at Sarah. I told you Ben was right. I told you something happened that night.
Sarahs jaw was slack, her eyes wide. Her fingers were still pressed to the wound on her face. Its not possible, she whispered. Ghosts arent real.
Theres one here right now, Kevin informed her hotly. Huh. Mr. Sixth Sense all ready to snap to my sisters defense. I liked him at that moment. A little.
Gage shook his head. This is so fucked up.
I turned to Ben. How did you know?
He shrugged. I felt it.
You believe in this stuff? Mace demanded. He looked from Kevin to Ben like he felt betrayed by them. Thats just great.
And you dont? I asked. Come on, Mace. Youre smarter than that.
He glared at me. He blamed me, I think. Hed been living in perfect ignorance before being dragged into my world.
Gage stood there, rubbing at his forearms. He looked scared and confused. Ghosts are real?
For a second, there was silence. Then, I said, Yes. There went that promise Id made to keep myself out of trouble. To keep my head down and not attract attention.
We have to help them, Wren insisted.
I glanced at her. Cant help them if they dont want it, I replied.
Gage was watching me. Who are you talking to?
I sighed. My sister. Shes dead.
He paled a little. Oh, shit. The stories about you are true?