Dark Seraphine (The Seraphine Trilogy) (15 page)

“
Is there something wrong with Prince? Do you even know who he is?
”
I
asked
,
as
my anger fad
ed
. Talking about music or surfing calmed my nerves every time.

“
Of course I know about Prince. I
’
m a skateboarder
,
remember?
The old stuff is
like a mantra for us,
”
Gia said.

“
They used to belong to my father. It
’
s kind of hard to believe he ever did anything fun
,
though.
My m
om
told me
how they played the songs
,
old tunes from the 80
’
s
.”

Walking over to my desk
,
she
stopped beside
the record player
and ran her fingers across Ticky
’
s legs.

“
That
’
s my good luck starfish
,”
I explained. She gave me the strangest look when she glanced back at me.
“
I ran across him
a long time ago. I guess it was more like he found me.
”

“
Does he have a name?
”

No way will I tell her that.
“
Nah.
I really dig the color of his body. It’s not like
a normal starfish
’
s
shade
,
you know. He
’
s all bright and red. Weird.
”

“
He
’
s sad because you won
’
t tell me his name
,”
she said quietly as she lined her fingers up with Ticky
’
s legs. The strange way his legs bunched together fit
perfectly
against her hand.
Before I could say anything she
strolled
back
over
to the record rack
.

“
Music always
makes me feel better. It gives me peace
,”
Gia said as she held up a record of a bluesy tune called
House of the Rising Sun
,
my favorite.
“
What
’
s this one about?
”

I
stood and
moved closer to her
,
careful to keep dude number one
’
s voice from sticking any new ideas in my head again.
“
That
’
s a sad one. It
’
s about somebody who doesn
’
t want to go back home. It
’
s like a prison
,
or something.
”

“
This one sounds perfect
,”
she said and placed the record
on
the
player
. 

I frowned and shook my head.
“
I won
’
t be held responsible for what happens if you play that song.
”
The tune blared through the room. The singer
, Sinead O’Connor,
was an unknown person among my circle of friends
. B
ut her voice was still seductive enough to send me reeling.

“
Is that a threat
,
Rider
?
”
She gave me this look: part wild
,
somewhat innocent
,
crazy sexy.

“
Maybe.
”
I did move closer to her this time. Her mood changed. Somehow I believe dude number
one
’
s suggestion might actually have a chance to work this time.
“
Dance with me?
”

“
I don’t know. I heard you’re practically engaged to
Erica
,”
she
teased
.

“
Is that right? Well, somebody told me that
you
’
re into giraffes. Wait
,
I
’
m sorry. That was rude. I meant to say Raze
,”
I teased.
“
Besides
,
Erica is just using me to get back at Thorne.
”

“
Since
we
’
ve figured out that we
’
re both the jealous types
,
are you going to try and kiss me again?
”
There was no distance left between us. And she didn
’
t reassure me about Raze the same way I did with my Erica revelation. But it didn
’
t matter. Lacing her hands in mine
,
she placed her head against my chest.

Oh snap!
I knew her touch would affect me in a strong way; but damn. I never expected to feel
a lightning bolt
.
Okay so I was being a tad dramatic.
Warmth from her body pressed against mine
,
causing a shiver to run through us both.
She lifted her face and gent
ly moved my head down to her lips
.
“
I
’
ve waited for this, s
o long. I can
’
t even begin to tell you how hard that has been
,”
she whispered
into my ear
. Tingles shot up and down my neck
,
my face
,
my chest
,
even to unmentionable places.

What did she mean by that? I wanted to know. But I wasn
’
t about to break this spell
,
either.

“
You never answered my question about Raze
,”
I muttered against her ear
,
my face buried in that hypnotically sweet floral scent
in
her hair.

“
It
’
s not what you think
,
Caleb.
”
Her lips grazed the tip of my ear
,
and her arms tightened around my waist. I pulled her up against me
,
my heart thrashing in my chest. I lifted my head and moved my lips
over
to her forehead. Another
shiver
followed by a deep sigh escaped her lips.
“
If we do this then there
’
s no turning back
,” s
he
said
. Her words
sounded like
a
warning
to me
.

How could a kiss be
so
bad?

Hasn
’
t she ever kissed anyone before?

“
No
. You’ll be my first kiss
,”
she whispered
,
her forehead leaning against mine
. That explaine
d
why she pulled away from me earlier today.
The creepy mind reading thing she managed to do when my body heated up this way didn
’
t even bother me as much this time. I was in the
zone
,
hers
and mine.

“
You make me feel like I
’
m losing my mind
,
Gia Jones.
”
I lowered my head down to her neck
,
using my lips to trace the delicate curve
,
easing my way up to the goal
,
a spot she claimed was forbidden to touch in that way for some reason.
“
I warned you about that song.
”

“
Likewise
,
Caleb Wood.
”
In response
,
she arched her body deeper against mine
,
giving me full access to her neck. Gently
,
I nibbled
the
skin
,
careful not to leave any marks. The last thing I needed was for her to be paranoid about me leaving bad boy evidence all over her.
“
I
won’t
put you in danger this way
. I’m sorry
.
”
She gave me a pained look before she eased back out of my arms
,
this girl who made me believe in something unreal again.
“
I can
’
t let you kiss me.
”
 

There were tears in her eyes
,
as I
’
m sure there were in mine. Pulling away from her ripped something out of me. It took everything to rein my hormones back under control. She drifted into my life one day
,
and the whole world changed for me. Now I couldn
’
t even do something as simple as showing her just how much she meant to me.

“
What could be so bad about a kiss?
”
I asked.

“
Everything
,”
she whispered, fading into that veil thing she told me about.
“
Goodbye
,
Caleb.
”

“
Wait!
”
I called out
,
too late.

I was all alone.

Chapter
Nine

“
Take care of Ticky for me. You have to do it since I saved you
,”
a young girl
’
s shaky voice said. She had pulled me up out of the water and we both plopped down on a rock
,
panting and staring at each other. Now she wanted me to take care of
this r
ed starfish she placed in my hands.

When I was a little boy, I almost drowned in the ocean near Hatteras Island. Ever since then, I kept having this dream about a
young
girl who pulled me out of the water that day. Freaking nuts! Right? I was never able to figure out which part of the memory-dream was real. I just knew that something or someone pulled me out of the ocean that day.

“
Ticky? That
’
s a stupid name
,”
I blurted. In the dream
that was really part of a memory
,
I was a little boy again
,
young and foolish.
Even back then,
I was already mastering the art of how to make girls cry.
I can’t remember how
I
’
d gotten away from my parents and attempted to swim on my own. If it weren
’
t for the little girl sitting on the rock across from me
,
I would
’
ve drowned. Even though her face inside my dream
was blurry
,
I could tell I hurt her feelings.

She lowered her head and was silent for the longest time.
”
Next time
,
I
’
ll let you drown
,”
she
snapped
.

“
Then I won
’
t be able to save your Ticky
,”
I
managed to say
through
my coughing
.

In the distance
,
my parents called me. Their voices were
filled with panic
.
My mom was closest to me. I could tell by the strength in her tone. My chest got all tingly because deep down I was scared. Even at seven-years-old I didn
’
t want the
Walke
r
girl to know it.

“
They’re about to find you.
I
’
m leaving now
,”
she said.

“
Wait. You need to explain to my mom
,”
I suggested
,
still holding on to Ticky even though he was all slimy and red and strange in my hand.

“
If you ever need me again
,
just rub Ticky
o
ne
time on each leg. You have to call my name when you
’
re done
,”
she explained.

“
What
’
s your name
?
”
I asked. The spiritual me
,
the
part that realizes you’re dreaming as you float inside these things
,
tuned in like a hawk. She leaned over
,
whispered in my ear
,
and then kissed me straight on the mouth. It was a little kid
’
s peck
,
but still a memorable one all the same.

Why couldn
’
t I hear what she said?
She was a mystery to me that day
,
and her image still haunted me in my dreams. This was the first time I
dreamed
about her
in three years
.

At once
,
Paige
’
s face appeared over us like a storm
cloud
.
The
girl screamed
,
shattering our
clumsy kiss
. Reaching out with hands shaped like claws
,
Paige grasped
my rescuer
by her shoulders and lifted both their bodies into the air. Creepy white things fell over me
,
tickling my skin.
W
ait
!
The little dots that looked an awful lot like maggots weren
’
t tickling me. Instead
,
pinches erupte
d around my body. Spiders—c
olorless ones with claws that nipped and attached to my skin.

I
woke
myself up
, thrashing
against something that wrapped itself around me
.
Startled
and feeling just a tad crazy
,
I found myself tangled in my Donkey Kong sheets
.

Jumping out of my bed
,
I
swiped
a
t the jeans and tee shirt I was still wearing. Nothing. The spiders or
whatever those
creepy things were had disappeared. Chest heaving
,
I worked to control my
gasps
.
Beside the
record player
, the star fish named
Ticky
lay.

I thought about Gia. Let me rephrase that statement. I remembered the kiss
she
and I
almost
shared.
My stalker Walker
was
like a mystery
,
or
a puzzle, the
complicated
kind that
had the odd-shaped edges.

I was always the sucker
for
those. Mom and I sometimes sat for hours putting 1000 pieces together. One thing I learned from that experience was patience. Oh yeah, and strategy. My brain was conditioned for
tackling
challenges.

I had the feeling that solving the Gia puzzle was going to take everything I
had
in me.

* * *

I drifted downstairs
,
walking in a daze. Mom prepared a breakfast for kings: sausage
,
eggs
,
hash browns
,
the works. She was humming and had
already put on
her yoga clothes. I felt bad about the way I treated her last night.

“
Where
’
s Dad?
”
I cut right to the core. Someday I
’
ll master the art of thinking before speaking. She frowned and did that little nervous thing she always did
,
chewing on the cuticle of her index finger.
“
Never mind. Don
’
t answer. I
can guess
.
”

“
This is going to be a great day
,
Caleb. No more being negative like last night
,”
she said and brought a plate filled with hash browns
,
cheese eggs
,
sausage
,
and toast over to my place at the table. The smell of the food made my stomach happily flip a cartwheel
, a happy one
. I was starving.

Mom sat down across the table from me
,
her hands folded in front of her
,
pretending
to read the newspaper
,
something she never
did
.

I inhaled my food in record time. She waited patiently before she said
,
“
Your father will be out of the country for the next couple of weeks. He told me to tell you that he loves you.
”

The rest of my appetite vanished.
“
You don
’
t have to lie for him. I know he didn
’
t say a thing about me.
”
I stood and cleared my spot.

“
Caleb
,
honey. Please
,”
she began.

“
I’m kind of in a hurry.
See you after school
,
Mom
,”
I said and walked out the
back
door.

* * *

Erica called and said she needed a ride to school. I debated on how long I should let this
pretending-to-be-into-her
thing go on before I told her the truth.
I already had to deal wi
th my mom
’
s mood
swing.
I couldn
’
t handle two upset females in one day.
Under much consideration, I decided to let
things ride for the moment. Okay
,
maybe I
’
m a c
oward
,
but keeping the peace and my sanity was on top of the
survival
chain at the moment.

In
first
period
,
Gia strolled into the room with
one of her
new bodyguard
s
named
Marisa
(
a
Taylor Swift
look-alike) and
her usual sidekick
, the girl
everybody called
Lelo
(
a
Rhianna
clone)
at her
sides. Right away
,
my heart sped up. I waited. Sure enough
,
Raze bowed through the doorway behind them. How they managed to get themselves placed into the same classes for almost every single period amazed me
,
even though it probably shouldn
’
t have. I rolled my head and shuffled in my seat a tad: things I tended to do when I wanted to act like a girl didn
’
t faze me.

Who are you kidding
,
my man?
I couldn
’
t keep my eyes focused on
that board
anymore than Gia could. I kept thinking about how different she seemed last night. The skateboard girl attitude was gone
,
and a softer side came through for me. It was something I needed…desperately. A missing thing I wanted to feel again.

That was until Thorne strolled through the doorway and took a seat beside her. Erica
’
s ex-boyfriend scooted over until he was close enough to place an arm over Gia
’
s shoulders. Here I was stressing out over the giraffe
when my attention should’ve been focused on Rocky
. Either the teacher had better come in or Gia
needed to
do something quick.

My blood boiled inside me and a rush of adrenaline surged up to my brain. He had his arm around
my girl
. The one I had just spent the night with while we talked about a dead starfish and
slow-danced to an old song
.

“
Today we
’
re going to talk about how the pyramids can help us to understand the elements of trigonometry
,”
our new trig teacher,
Mr. Pendleton
,
announced.
“
Who
can
offer
an explanation
on how that might
work
?”
He glanced over the classroom, his gaze focusing on Erica.

Thorne raised his hand.
“
I think the pyramids were created because all
of
the hot babes belonged to the pharaohs. So
,
they needed a place to hide and get it on right.
”
Laughter erupted around us. Only Thorne could get away with saying something like that.

Payback time
, my man
.
“
I know the answer
,
Mr. Pendleton
,”
I blurted. Gia
’
s head turned in my direction. I didn
’
t dare return her glance.
“
It
’
s a theory
,
sir. See,
what happens is you
take
one brick
, walk up to the top of the pyramid,
and
then
drop it on
top
the head of
idiots who give retarded
answers in math class.
”