Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) (17 page)

So I dished out the lies in spades.
I told him I was
thinking about what happened over the summer and freaked
out when some of the water got in my mouth. I hated lying to
Zach.
He was the one person in this world that I wanted to
share everything with—good
and
bad. But if I told him about
Garnet, he would worry about me needlessly. I was too busy
thinking about our date to waste time researching Garnet’s
death but as soon as I had a chance, I would figure everything
out and stop her in her tracks. At this point, telling him the
truth would do more harm than good.

Zach pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “I’m
sorry I couldn’t be there for you when you needed me. If I
hadn’t left you alone at Rosewood that day, none of this would
have happened.
I wish I could go back in time and do it all
over again. I never should have left you that day.”

Guilty. That’s exactly how I felt. Even though I did
need him, it wasn’t for the reason he suspected and now he
thought that my incident in the fountain was his fault, too.
A
single tear fell from my eye. That tear was for all of the lies I’d
ever told him—and for all those still to come.

“It’s not your fault—none of it is. But I love you for
wanting to take it all away.” He was too good for me and I
knew it. And
that
was the truth.

He gave me the most beautiful smile and brushed the
tear away. “I promise to make up for it all tomorrow night.
I’ll make it a night to remember.”

I could feel my face turn warm from just his words.
How was I going to react when he actually made good on his
promise? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t
wait
to find out.

We parted with a kiss and I headed for the track. After
assuring Coach Hunter one more time that I really was okay, I
ran for the next hour like the devil was chasing me.
And,
honestly, at some points it felt like he actually was. It felt like
someone was following me, but when I turned back to see, I
was
always
alone.
Great.
So many
crazy
things
have
happened to me that now I’m paranoid, too.

When I got home, Shelly was cooking supper. My how
things around here have changed!
She was actually in the
kitchen dishing out a heaping pot of spaghetti and meatballs.
It was one of my favorite meals, but I just wasn’t hungry.
When I told her that, she looked disappointed so I agreed to
have just a small plate.

“Can I talk to you about something, Ruby?” she said
with a grim look on her face.

I thought I knew what was coming.
Coach Hunter
must have called and talked to her about my episode in the
shower. I drew in a deep breath and prepared to tell the lie
one more time.

She didn’t wait for me to answer her. “I’ve noticed
you haven’t been eating a lot lately. You’re not on a diet or
anything, are you? Because if you are, I want to tell you that
it’s not necessary. You’re beautiful just the way you are—and
I know Zach would agree with me.”

Wow. I was speechless. I wasn’t on a diet—why
would she think I was? “No, I’m not. I’ve just had a bit of an
unsettled stomach lately—that’s all.”

She looked at me like she didn’t believe me. “Okay.
But you
have
lost weight and you’re looking a bit pale. Is
there anything else wrong?”

A whole crap load of things were wrong but I didn’t
want to talk about any of them. “No, school is pretty
stressful,” I said instead.

“Just remember, if you want to talk about anything,
I’m willing to listen.”

Nodding my head, I crammed the spaghetti into my
mouth as fast as I could. Zach was coming over to do some
last minute studying for the math test and I wanted to try on
the outfit I bought for our date before he got here. Tomorrow
was a big night—I couldn’t just wait until the last minute to
make sure everything was perfect.

And it was a good thing I did, too.
When I tried them
on at the store, they fit perfectly. But now, they hung on me
like they were a full size too big.
That was impossible—I
bought them only two weeks ago.
I went through my closet,
pulled out random items, and tried them on. Everything was
too big. Why didn’t I notice it sooner? I even dug into the
hamper and pulled out the clothes I wore yesterday.
They
were too big, too.
How much weight did I lose?
When I
stepped onto the scale that I usually avoided, I found myself a
full ten pounds lighter than the last time I checked. Whatever
kind of flu bug it was that I picked up, it sure was powerful.

I crammed my new outfit back into the bag with the
intention
of
exchanging
for a smaller
size
after school
tomorrow. There was an hour to waste until Zach arrived, so
I grabbed a book and started reading. I didn’t get through
more than ten pages when a sharp pain in my stomach sent
me running to the bathroom. It was terrible. I didn’t feel
better until every single strand of spaghetti flew back up my
throat and into the toilet.

Once I was
done, I felt
great—like it never even
happened.
After tons of tooth brushing and about half a
bottle of mouthwash, I felt kissable again and reading was the
last thing on my mind. I sprawled out on my bed and let my
mind wander.
I hated Misty but she was right about one
thing—Zach
was
special. I’d never met another boy like him.
He was sweet, gorgeous and in about twenty-six hours, he
would be mine forever. After tomorrow, no one would ever
come between us again. No one alive, anyway.

I got so caught up in my thoughts of Zach that I didn’t
even hear him pull up outside. When I heard a knock on my
door, I assumed it was Dad or Shelly.

“Come on in.”

The next thing I knew, Zach walked into my bedroom
and sat down on my bed.
I knew nothing was going to
happen, but I was instantly nervous.
Tomorrow night we
would be in the same position—for real.

“Hey there, sexy!” he said as he rested one hand by my
side and leaned over me for an amazing kiss. He kissed me
the same way a thousand times before, but this time was
different. It was different because I was thinking about what
we would be doing after that same kind of kiss tomorrow
night. My bliss was interrupted when he reminded me of the
reason he was there in the first place. Math test. For the first
time in my life, I hated math.

Zach had superhuman powers of restraint which was
more than I could say for myself.
After about an hour of
studying with him in close proximity, I was ready to pretend it
was Friday.
But I knew how serious he was about getting
an A on this test, so I behaved myself. And, unfortunately, so
did he. When it was time for him to leave, I walked him down
to his car.
Instead of getting in, he leaned against the door
and I joined him.

“Tomorrow night at this time, the test will be over and
we’ll be on our date,” he said as he took my hand. He sounded
nervous but I took that as a good sign. If he was anxious just
thinking
about it, that meant he
was
taking
this
just as
seriously as I was. Not that I thought he wouldn’t, of course,
but I needed reassurance at a time like this. It was a big step
for me and I was happy to know that he felt the same way.

“We will be.” I rested my head against his shoulder.
“I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”

“Me, too.
I just hope it’s everything you’ve been
imagining and more,” he said and kissed me on the top of my
head.

How could it not be? I’d always heard that your first
time wasn’t great but I just knew that for me it would be
different. Zach was simply perfect in all other aspects—why
would this be any different? I loved him with my whole heart
and I knew he felt the same way about me. It was the right
thing to do and the right time to do it. And I wasn’t just doing
it to get Misty to back off either—that would only be an added
bonus.

We shared a goodnight kiss and it was the sweetest,
most tender kiss ever. I stayed on the porch and watched him
drive off until he was out of sight.
The chill of the autumn air
cut through my tee shirt but I didn’t care. I would always
have his love to keep me warm.

When I woke up Friday morning, he was all I could
think about.
Fourteen hours until our big moment.
School
was going to drag terribly—that I already knew. I didn’t even
care what Garnet and Misty had to throw at me today. At the
end
of
the
day, Zach would finally
be mine
forever and
nothing either of them did could change that. Was there ever
a time in my entire life when I was in this good of a mood?
Definitely not.

Once we met in the school parking lot, we picked up
where we left off the night before.
Zach was always sweet
and romantic but now it was magnified by about a thousand
times.
Even as the roar of bus engines and screaming kids
surrounded us, we were alone in our love. The way he looked
at me was different—like he was looking at my very soul, like
he was falling in love with me all over again. We were almost
late for home room because we couldn’t tear our eyes away
from each other. My feelings were so intense that I almost
cried. Tonight, I was sure that I would. And for once, they
would be tears of joy.

Our attempt to
study together in
homeroom
was
feeble at best. How could I think about classes or tests with
Zach in such close proximity? During one of the few moments
when I wasn’t mesmerized by the very sight of him, I caught
Misty looking our direction. Normally, she would have been
glaring at me with death ray vision, but instead there was a
big, fat, smug smile on her lips. She thought she was going to
win the battle for Zach’s affection, but I had a juicy secret she
knew nothing about.
So I returned her smile with an even
bigger one.
I
was the girl Zach would love forever—not her.

The day slipped by slowly but without incident. I even
decided to call a cease fire with Chloe when she wished me
luck tonight. I must have been wrong about her. No girl who
wanted to sink her claws into my boyfriend would offer good
wishes to me knowing what was going to happen on our date.

My nervous stomach started to kick in around lunch
time so I ate very little. The last thing I needed was to get sick
during an intimate moment. How horrendous would it be to
get thrown up on during sex? For Zach’s sake, I didn’t want
him to find out.

I hadn’t seen Garnet all day but when I stopped at my
locker before math class, I could feel someone watching me.
Public paranoia wasn’t an option so I resisted the urge to look
over my shoulder. Until a set of arms wrapped tightly around
my rib cage and lifted me off the ground. Oh God!
I resisted
the urge to scream. After my freak out in the shower, I had to
stay under the radar and appear as normal as I possibly could.
But I waited for the shrieks of onlookers—to their eyes would
I be floating in mid-air? Oh no, my secret was about to reveal
itself in a very hideously public display.

When there was
no reaction from
the crowded
hallway, I relaxed. It was only then that I realized it wasn’t
Garnet behind me, but Zach. How sad was it that I assumed it
was a ghost but never even considered that it might be my
boyfriend? I am
seriously
messed up.

“ZACH! Put me down!” I tried to sound authoritative
but soon discovered I would make the worst dominatrix in
recorded history.
All I could manage was a flirty giggle that
sounded more like Rachel’s than my own. I suppose it would
have seemed more sincere if I’d actually meant it. Honestly
though, I never wanted him to put me down. Ever.

“Not until you tell me you love me,” he said laughing,
too.

 

“Well…,” I teased.

 

“Tell me you love me.” This time he whispered it
seductively into my ear and my resistance liquefied instantly.

 

Tilting
my
head back until I could see
his
face, I
pressed my cheek to his. “I’ll love you forever.”

He gently lowered me back to the floor and swiveled
me around to face him. “That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll love
you forever, too.”

How much trouble would we get into if we skipped
math class and started our date now? If it weren’t for the test,
I would have been willing to find out. All I had to do was get
through this last class and that was it.
There were so many
things I needed to do to prep for our date that those last few
hours would fly by.
I decided to skip running after school
today so that I could go shopping instead. Since the clothes I
bought just two weeks ago were too big now, I would be
starting over from
scratch.
Just the task of finding
new
clothes alone could take me hours.

We held hands as we walked down the hall to class.
There were a few moments when I felt like people were
staring at us—or me specifically—kind of like the first day of
school.
Enough time had passed for me to no longer be a
novelty, so I assumed that word of my incident in phys ed had
started to leak out. So what. So all they would think was that
I was afraid of water after nearly drowning. Big deal. Holding
my head high, I walked in to take the test and didn’t give them
a second thought. There were more important things on my
mind today than
what a bunch of
people I barely
knew
thought of me.