One Hundred Candles [2] (13 page)

“I was looking for you,” he said to me. He looked happy and excited, a rare combination for him. “It’s done.”

“You finished the memorial? That’s great!”

“You busy right now? I want you to see it.” He smiled at Noah. “You, too, if you want.”

“Yeah, if you can give me a ride home afterwards.”

Jared nodded. “Sure. Might be a tight squeeze, though.”

We walked out to the parking lot. “I didn’t know you had a car,” I said.

“I’ve been borrowing my dad’s truck for a while,” Jared explained. “I needed it to haul supplies.”

We came to a red pickup. “You needed a truck? How big is the memorial?”

He smiled. “Big.”

I sat between Jared and Noah. It was warm inside the truck’s cab, and I was acutely aware of Noah’s scent, which was a combination of the cinnamon gum he liked to chew and some kind of musky aftershave.

As Jared drove I began growing excited that I would finally see what he had been working on for so long. We pulled into the driveway of a green ranch house a few miles from my own neighborhood. Jared stopped in front of the garage and turned off the ignition. “It’s set up in the garage,” he said. We got out of the truck and stood in front of the closed door. Jared held the remote opener in his hand.

“Ready?” he asked.

Noah and I nodded. Jared hit the button, and the garage door began to open with a rusty squeal. When it was all the way up, we were facing the memorial. I sucked in my breath.

“Wow,” Noah breathed.

We entered the garage slowly. I tried to take in everything I was seeing, but it was so massive, so detailed, I knew I could stand there for hours and not read everything that covered it.

“What do you guys think?” Jared asked. There was a note of worry in his voice.

I felt a tear sting the corner of my eye. “Oh, Jared.” I walked around the memorial, knowing there was even more to see. Finally, I looked at him.

“Well?” he asked. “Do you think Avery will like it?”

I knew what he wanted my answer to be, but only one thing came to my mind and out of my mouth. “I think it will break her heart.”

seventeen

“It was amazing,” I told Annalise.

“Sounds amazing.”

We were lying on our beach towels, soaking up the bright Charleston sunshine. I closed my eyes and listened to the overzealous gulls and gently lapping waves. It was the most relaxed I’d felt in months.

“It’s going to be great when everyone comes back next week and sees Jared’s memorial on the front lawn,” I continued. “I hope the school appreciates it. I was blown away, and I didn’t even know Adam.”

I wasn’t describing the memorial well enough to do it justice. Jared had taken mammoth sheets of Plexiglas to create three walls, each about seven feet high. The center wall featured a poster of Adam wearing his football uniform. Surrounding the poster were notes and cards people had left in front of Adam’s locker after he died and other mementos Jared had secretly collected. The Plexiglas held them suspended, and we could walk around to read the backs of notes. There was a museum-like quality to it, a sense that the walls held priceless artifacts. And in a way, they did.

“Well, make sure to send me pictures,” Annalise said as she flipped onto her back. “I want to see it.”

We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach. Since we had arrived five days earlier, my sister and I had been spending all our afternoons together. We walked through the historic downtown, marveling at the grand homes, window shopping and sampling fudge. Meanwhile, our parents were spending much-needed time together. It had been awkward initially. Our first dinner together was strained, with Mom and Dad acting like strangers who weren’t sure what to say to one another. The second day was better, with a little more conversation. I stayed at Annalise’s apartment while our parents shared a hotel room. We met them for breakfast and dinner each day, but for the most part, we wanted them to be alone.

Harris called me on the third day of our trip. I was alone in Annalise’s tiny apartment while she was out with Mills, so it was the perfect opportunity to ask him to be nicer to Noah.

“The thing is, his mom is dating my, um, uncle,” I said, knowing it would be too difficult to explain my exact relationship with Shane.

“Okay. But he’s around you a lot. Every time I see you, he’s standing a few feet away. It’s like he’s obsessed.”

“Trust me, he’s not.” I touched the tiny pearl that Harris had given me. I was wearing it alongside my amethyst. Even though I didn’t believe the amethyst could do anything to protect me, I had gotten used to the weight of it, and it made Mom happy. Sometimes the pearl clinked against the large purple rock, but most of the time it rested behind it, hidden.

“I’ll be nicer, I promise,” he said. There was a pause. “I really miss you. Have you had a chance to talk to your parents about Gwyn’s house?”

“I told them about it last night.” It wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have with them, but I knew Harris was counting on me, so I had brought it up over dessert. They were in a particularly good mood as they tasted each other’s slices of cake, and I noticed they were sitting closer to one another at the table.

“There’s this girl at school,” I began. “And she’s having some problems with her house. She thinks it’s haunted.”

Mom licked chocolate icing from her fork. “Why does she think that?”

“After her family began renovations, furniture moved. She feels something there.”

“Feelings are often misleading,” Dad said. “Might be an electrical problem.”

Mom poked her fork into Dad’s cake, and he pretended to swat at her hand. “Charlotte, if your friend is having trouble, we’d be happy to help.”

Gwyn wasn’t my friend, exactly. She was a girl I knew, a girl who was connected to Harris. I wasn’t doing this for her. I was doing this for my future prom date.

“Thanks,” I said to my parents. “It would mean a lot to me.”

That was the truth. It meant more to Harris, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. I told my parents I would give them the details after we returned home.

“So make sure I have her full name and address,” I told Harris when he called. “And if my parents gave her a case file, they’ll need that number.”

“Thank you so much, Charlotte.” Harris sounded happy and relieved. “You’re the best. I’m going to call Gwyn right now.”

I was pleased with myself for keeping a promise to Harris, but I hadn’t yet fulfilled my promise to Noah. My parents still didn’t know anything about Zelden’s phone calls. Although his warnings chilled me to the bone, I felt safe in Charleston, away from my house and surrounded by my family. Marcus couldn’t find me here, I was sure of it. And I wanted to wait as long as possible before breaking the news and making everyone worried.

“It’s going really well, don’t you think?” I asked Annalise. We were sharing a picnic lunch at the base of the same ancient tree where we’d seen the lights months earlier. I had hoped to feel something when we sat down, but I didn’t. It was just a tree.

“Yeah.” Annalise unscrewed the top from a bottle of green tea. “I think they’ve turned a corner, I really do.”

“It happened so fast,” I continued, picking at the wrapper of a granola bar I’d brought with me. “Everything was fine and then suddenly it wasn’t.”

“Do you really believe it happened like that?”

“You don’t?”

She set down her tea in the grass. “Charlotte, I think they’ve been very careful for years not to reveal their problems to us. Whatever happened here last fall only brought out something that was already there.”

“Like the dormant energy Dad is always talking about?”

Annalise smiled. “That’s a good way of looking at it.”

“So now that the dormant energy has been stirred up, they can deal with it,” I said, more to myself than my sister. She heard me, though, and nodded.

“Now we can all deal with it.”

The next few days of our trip felt like a real family vacation. Every day seemed to bring my parents closer together. They held hands during a late-night walk near the beach. They laughed as we sampled confections at one of the tiny sweet shops downtown. I even witnessed Dad whispering something in Mom’s ear that made her giggle and turn away, blushing.

Annalise and I shared our own knowing looks, confident that the issues between our parents had been resolved. “If I’d known that all they needed was a vacation, I would have suggested this a lot earlier,” Annalise said. It was our last night in Charleston, and we were getting ready to meet our parents for dinner. I was tense because I planned on telling them about Zelden’s calls, but I tried not to think about it too much.

“I can’t do anything with my hair!” Annalise announced.

“It looks great.” I didn’t need to look—her hair always looked glossy and full.

“I need ten more minutes.” Annalise disappeared into the bathroom while I stayed in the living room and cleaned out my purse. It was full of wrinkled receipts and gum wrappers. I dumped everything out and sorted the garbage from the things I might actually need later. I was debating whether or not to keep a half-empty and slightly melted tube of passion-fruit lip gloss when my phone buzzed.

“Charlotte? It’s Dr. Zelden.”

I felt panic at the sound of his voice and braced myself for the impossible news that Marcus had somehow made his way to Charleston. I touched my amethyst.

“Is everything okay?” I managed to ask.

“Yes, dear. Everything is fine.” He coughed. “I am calling to let you know that the situation with Marcus has been, um, resolved.”

The way he stressed the last word made me immediately think that something bad had happened. “Is he dead?” I blurted out.

Another cough. “No, Marcus is not dead.”

“Good.” As much as Marcus had terrified me, I knew he was innocent. There was something inside him, separate from him. But it wasn’t him. I wondered how Dr. Zelden had managed to get rid of the Watcher.

“I must go now,” Zelden said. “But I wonder if you would do me a favor?”

“Favor?” I had no idea what I could do for Zelden. I didn’t even know where he was, although his voice did not sound as distant and filled with static as it had in previous calls.

“I need you to pass along a message to your mother.”

“Sure, Dr. Zelden.” I couldn’t imagine what he would have to say to my mother. They hadn’t spoken to one another since Christmas.

“It’s very important. Please tell her that I am terribly sorry, but the amethyst has broken.”

“Okay.”

“You will tell her, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

He coughed again. It was a dry, hacking sound. “Thank you, dear. And Charlotte?”

“Yes?”

“It was nice to have met you.”

“You, too, Dr. Zelden.”

But he had already hung up.

eighteen

The Monday after break was clear and green and warm, a sublime mixture of spring slipping into early summer. I was up extra early, and as I came downstairs after my shower, everything felt right in my world. Mom and Dad were in the kitchen sipping their coffee and reading an open newspaper on the table.

“Good morning!” Dad said. He was downright cheerful, and I found myself smiling, despite the fact that it was barely seven in the morning.

“Noah’s coming home with you after school,” Mom informed me. “Trisha’s going to be working here all day.”

My good mood faded slightly. “But Harris is giving me a ride home today.”

I did not want to create another awkward encounter between Harris and Noah. I wondered if I could get Avery to give us a ride home instead. I heard two honks of a car horn outside and went to the window.

“Avery’s here,” I announced. I glanced at the clock. “She’s a half hour early.” I gathered up my things, swiped a banana off the counter and waved good-bye to my parents.

“Someone’s eager to get to school today,” I joked as I slid into the passenger seat of Avery’s green Mini Cooper.

“Well, yeah, have you forgotten?” She looked into the rearview mirror as she guided her car down my driveway.

“Jared’s memorial!” It had slipped my mind. Jared had planned to have it up and ready on the school’s front lawn when the student body returned from break.

“I can’t believe you’ve seen it and I haven’t,” Avery continued.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked gently. Jared had chosen this day to reveal his work because it marked the one-year anniversary of Adam’s death.

Avery came to a stop sign. “I’ve been dreading this day,” she said. “But it’s here and I have to deal with it. This is the day he died, but I’ve decided not to let it overshadow all the days he lived.”

I touched her arm. “You’re strong, you know that?”

Avery drove on. “Yeah, well, we’ll see how strong I am after I get a look at the memorial.”

There were no other cars in the senior parking lot, but I spotted Jared’s red truck on the street, parked near the school’s front entrance. Avery and I walked across the parking lot and toward the front lawn. I saw Jared, hands shoved in his pockets as he stood back and gazed up at his work, which was partially blocked by a tree. Avery slowed her pace as we got closer, as if afraid to finally face Jared’s tribute and what it represented. But a few more steps, and we were there, standing in front of the three clear walls and the memorabilia they held.

We stood there, silent. Avery’s face was hard to read. She leaned in closer, taking in each wall with its notes and pictures. Her fingers rested on the middle wall, where Adam’s football jersey was preserved in Plexiglas, directly beneath the full-color poster of Adam himself.

“How did you do this?” she asked.

Jared moved next to Avery so they were standing side by side. I hung back, watching. “Some of it I collected after he died.” He pointed to a group of cards and dried flowers. “They were left at his grave. I got the jersey from his parents.”

“You talked to them? After they moved, I didn’t know how to get in touch.”

“I found them. At first, they didn’t want to see me. But after a while…”

I understood then what Jared had meant when he’d said he wasn’t working alone on his project. I couldn’t imagine the courage it took to contact two grieving people who blamed you for their son’s death. But Jared had done it.

After a while, cars started pulling into the parking lot and the lawn swelled with curious students. They were quiet as they took in the walls, respectful. They walked around it, reading the cards and pointing to pictures. Jared, Avery and I left the crowd and went inside the school, which was nearly empty. Everyone else was outside, admiring the memorial.

“So you like it?” Jared asked Avery nervously.

“I love it.” Avery pulled Jared into a hug. The first bell rang, but I doubt either of them heard it. Then people began filling the hallway, and they both stepped back, their eyes shiny. They didn’t say anything else. They didn’t have to.

Harris was waiting for me after first-period English. “I missed you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

“Missed you, too.” I touched my necklace, the round pearl so light that I barely felt it at my neck. After Zelden’s call I had placed the amethyst in my purse, right next to Beth’s business card for Potion.

Harris reached into his pocket and retrieved a folded piece of paper. “Here’s Gwyn’s info.” I glanced at it. A case number was typed at the top, with Gwyn’s address, 530 Woodlyn, beneath it. We began walking toward my next class. “Thanks so much for convincing your parents to check out her house.”

I hadn’t really convinced them of anything. They didn’t know yet that I was asking them to look into a house they had already seen and declared fine. I put the paper in my purse. “I’ll give this to them when I get home. Are you still planning on giving me a ride?”

“I have a better idea,” he said. He stopped in front of my classroom. “How about we go out after school? I was thinking pizza at Giuseppe’s.”

“Actually, I need a favor. Noah’s coming over to my house after school.”

Harris frowned. “Why is Noah going to your house?”

“His mom works for my mom. They’ll be there, too.” I don’t know why I felt I needed to point out that there would be parents present, but it seemed necessary.

“Okay,” Harris said after a pause. “How about this? Instead of going out after school, I pick you up for dinner around five? We can catch up, spend some time together. Think Avery can give you a ride home?”

“I can find a ride.” If I couldn’t, Noah and I could always take the bus. I didn’t like to see Harris so obviously upset by the idea of Noah spending time at my house, and it bothered me that Harris didn’t even want to be in the same car with Noah, but I knew it was for the best. Tension had been averted, at least for now.

The memorial was big news throughout the day, even eclipsing conversations about spring break parties and the search for supernatural activity in the school. Nothing had happened over break, though. Not one locker opened or chair moved or strange security footage shot. I was relieved, but it also made me wonder about the timing. Everything had stopped at the same time Zelden had told me that the Watcher was gone. Had the incidents at school really been paranormal? Or was there still a culprit to be caught?

I saw Bliss before fourth period, dressed head to toe in daisy-yellow, a freshman boy in tow as she marched outside to film the memorial. I was glad to see her back at school. People had been asking me if I would take over the school news, a question I always answered with an emphatic no. I was more than happy to hand over all anchoring duties to Bliss.

Avery was in a good mood at lunch. She was a little quieter than usual, but she told me that Bliss had interviewed her for a piece about the walls. “I told her I thought it was a wonderful reminder that Adam lived a great life,” she said. “And I invited people to add to it, if they wanted. I’m going to bring in some pictures from home.”

I was able to watch the interview in AV class. Noah wasn’t there yet, so I loaded the disc and began reviewing the footage and planning how we could edit it to fit two minutes. I heard the tapping of heels on linoleum and looked up to see Bliss enter the room. I got up so I could talk to her.

“I’m really glad you’re back,” I said.

“Are you?” Bliss glared at me. “I hear that you did a fabulous job taking over for me. I’ve been hearing it all day. Well done.”

It was a bitter compliment, and I wasn’t sure how to respond. I was angry, but I knew she was still grieving over the death of her grandfather and I didn’t want to say anything sharp.

“Well, I’m glad it’s over and I’m happy you’re back in front of the camera,” I said. “Avery told me you did a great interview. I’m going to begin editing it now.”

Bliss softened a little. “Jared did an amazing job. I just want the story to capture that.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised.

Noah arrived. It was the first time I’d seen him since spring break. While we worked on editing, he asked me if I’d told my parents about Zelden’s warning.

“Didn’t have to,” I said gleefully. “Zelden called again and said everything was fine.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He’d also asked me to pass along a message to Mom, but I had decided to wait on passing it on so we could enjoy dinner together as a family.

“How was your break?” I asked Noah.

He sighed and said that it basically had involved a lot of uncomfortable evenings with his mom and Shane. “He’s trying too hard,” Noah complained. “He kept bringing over DVDs he thought I’d like. He wanted us to bond.”

“Is that really so bad?”

“I don’t want to bond with him. I don’t need a dad.”

“I don’t think he’s trying to be your dad,” I said carefully. “He just wants you guys to get along, you know?”

“We can get along from a distance.” Noah’s voice was final, so I dropped the subject.

“You’re coming home with me today,” I informed him. “Avery’s giving us a ride.”

“Yeah, my mom told me this morning.” He turned his attention back to the computer. “This is a great story. I’m impressed.”

“With the memorial or Bliss’s interview?”

“Both.” He glanced at the wall clock. “Let’s get this done.”

We finished the story minutes before the bell rang. I was pleased with our work. We’d added music to the background, and overlaid student interviews with wide shots of the three walls. I described it to Avery as she drove us to my house. When she dropped off Noah and me, she said she was heading back to the school.

“I want to add more pictures and maybe some flowers,” she said. “We have permission to keep it up all week, and I’m hoping it grows.”

After Avery left, I turned to Noah. “We may have more editing in our future because of this.”

We went inside. “So far, this is the best thing we’ve worked on,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind a few more features like this one.”

My mom and Trisha were in the living room. Trisha was reading aloud email messages while Mom sorted through papers. “When was the last one dated?” Mom asked.

Trisha clicked on a message. “Last week, just before you left for vacation.”

“And it came from New Zealand?”

I overheard this last part as I was setting down my purse. “Cool! Are we taking a trip to New Zealand?”

Mom looked up. “I didn’t hear you come in.” She smiled. “Hi, Noah. And no, Charlotte, we are not going to New Zealand. I’m corresponding with someone there, that’s all.”

I pretended to pout. “But we could spend our next vacation in New Zealand!”

Mom chuckled. “We were gone for six days and I’m now trying to catch up on over four hundred emails,” she said. “Next time, our vacation will be one weekend only.”

Trisha talked with Noah as I grabbed a snack from the kitchen. When I returned, Mom was holding a large white box while Trisha grinned.

“This came for you today,” Mom said. Obviously, she already knew what was in the wide, flat box. I was suspicious as she and Trisha ushered me into the dining room. Noah headed off to the kitchen. I sat on the sofa and opened the box, then peeled back crinkly layers of white tissue paper until I revealed the orange dress I had admired in Potion.

“Wow.” It was even more gorgeous than I remembered. The embroidered bodice sparkled with tiny clear stones and the smooth fabric of the layered skirt felt luxurious in my hands. I looked at Mom. “How did you know?”

She beamed. “Beth thought you might like it for prom. She sent it over while we were gone.”

“Try it on,” Trisha urged.

Prom was still a month away, but holding the dress in my hands made it feel closer. I had a date and now a dress. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to wait four weeks for the big event.

I went upstairs and slipped into the gown. It fit almost perfectly. The skirt was a little too long, but other than that, it felt like I was being hugged in all the right places. As I descended the stairs, I felt regal.

“You look fantastic!” Trisha exclaimed.

Mom was smiling, too. “It’s beautiful.”

Trisha grabbed her camera and ordered Mom to stand next to me for a picture. “My hair isn’t right!” I protested, but Trisha wouldn’t hear it. Mom put her arm around my waist, we both said cheese, and Trisha snapped a few shots. It felt silly, but I kind of loved the attention. They fussed over the skirt, which they agreed needed hemming. While they were examining the hemline, Noah walked in munching on an apple. He stopped chewing when he saw me.

“Whoa.”

“It’s my prom dress,” I said. “I was just trying it on.”

“Isn’t she lovely, Noah?” Trisha prodded.

He simply nodded and returned to the kitchen. The phone rang and Mom answered it while Trisha advised me on how I should wear my hair. “You could let it grow out a little, and then put it up,” she suggested.

“Do you think there’s time for it to grow long enough?” My hair barely hung past my earlobes.

“We could get extensions, maybe.”

Mom rushed into the room, the phone pressed against her ear. “Uh-huh. Have you called Beth already?” She put one hand over the receiver. “It’s Lisa. Looks like we’re out of time.”

Trisha raced to the living room, where she grabbed a black duffel bag. “I’m ready,” she announced.

Noah emerged from the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

“Just a little paranormal emergency, sweetie,” Trisha said. “We’ll be back later.” She kissed his forehead. “Do your homework.”

Mom hung up and snatched her purse and keys from the foyer table. “Have you called Shane?”

Trisha punched numbers on her phone. “Doing it now.” She pressed the phone against her ear. “Hi, hon. You ready? It’s go time.” She walked toward the door as she spoke. “Do you have the address? It’s 530 Woodlyn.”

I watched as Mom and Trisha hurried toward the foyer. “What do I tell Dad?”

Mom stopped. “I’ll call him later.”

I had no idea where they were going, but I remembered the name Lisa from when Mom and I had gone to Potion. Lisa was the woman buying up everything in the shop. She must have been dealing with something scary—and active enough to draw Mom in.