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

When we got to Rosewood, I parked my red Neon
right beside Zach’s. The minute I saw it on the lot, I knew it
was the right car for me. Dad and Shelly would have sprung
for something a little newer and definitely more expensive,
but I wanted this one because it was a perfect match to the
one Zach drove. I figured we were a perfect match so our cars
should be, too.

He got out of his car and climbed into the passenger
seat of mine. “So we have two hours until the party
starts…what do you want to do?” Zach asked with a sparkle in
his eyes.

I just smiled and replied, “What do
you
think?”

It was nice of him to ask, but he knew full well what I
wanted to do. Every spare moment we had was spent at The
Hideout tangled up in each other’s arms. Why would today be
any different?
There were very few moments left of our
summer together and I wanted to make the most of them.
I
spent the entire morning worrying about my driver’s test and
the rest of the night we would be at Boone’s end of summer
party. It was going to suck because now that Zach would be in
school on Mondays, Andy asked him and George to pick up
donations
on
the
first
Sunday
of
every
month
which
happened to be tomorrow.
That killed any chance of us
getting together during the day and then we would have to be
in bed early. I wasn’t even sure if I would get to spend any
time with him at all tomorrow, so this was potentially the last
few hours we would have alone together for at least a few
days. We weren’t even separated yet and I already missed
him.

I parked at the bottom of the hill and we held hands as
we walked to the top. The weather was perfect. It was in the
eighties
but without the
level of humidity
that would
normally
make
it
unbearable.
But
even
though
the
temperature still said summer, the sky told a different story.
The clouds were large and fluffy but had taken on a darker
tone, one that said the warmth was about to give way to the
crispness of fall.

Every year I dreaded the arrival of that season and
this year was no exception.
Fall brought another year of
school with its own new brand of torture. It was the time of
year when everything you loved about the summer started to
die and blow away in the wind. It was the time of year when
everything changed.
It made me sad to think about it so I
gave Zach’s hand a little squeeze to get my mind off of it. At
least I knew there was one thing I could count on this year—
his love. That, I knew, would never change.

We sat down on the top of the hill and looked out over
the town of Charlotte’s Grove. I could just make out the
school on the hill to the right. All I had to do was get through
this year without too much drama and I would be home free.
Next year at this time, Zach and I would be heading off to
college and settling into our own apartment together. College
would be so much different from high school.
I suddenly
wished I could turn the hands of time forward a year.

“What’s wrong, Ruby? You seem distant,” Zach said,
putting his arms around me and pulling me close.

I had to shake off the sudden funk that now enveloped
me. I didn’t want to ruin the mood. “Nothing. Just thinking
about how next year at this time we’ll be in college and living
together and how different our lives will be.”

A flash of panic struck his eyes. “You’re not having
second thoughts
about
that are you?
About
us
living
together? I don’t want to rush you but you know all I want is
for us to be together. Always.”

“No—just the opposite, actually. I wish it could be this
year. I don’t want another year of high school. I’m ready to
be an adult now.” I rested my head on his shoulder and
wrapped my arm around his waist.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me for a
minute there. I don’t want another year of high school either.
I can’t wait until next year. No curfews, no rules, no more
nights without you. But this year will be better than every
other year—I promise. And with all of the homework they’ll
be piling on us, the days will fly by so fast we’ll hardly even
notice them.” He paused and added quietly, “I’m ready to
grow up, too.”

He didn’t have to spell it out for me to know exactly
what he meant when he said that. When we couldn’t express
our love physically over the summer, we talked about it a lot.
We talked about how when the haunting was over we could
be together without restrictions and without fear. But now
that it was possible, we hadn’t once brought up the subject of
sex. It was so much easier to just kiss like crazy and not talk
about it. So that’s exactly what we did.

We kissed until we hit a fever pitch and then we
kissed some more. His hands were all over me but he was
always careful not to go certain places. Part of me was happy
that he was a gentleman and respected those boundaries, but
part of me wished he would just lose control.
That was
exactly what I wanted to do but I didn’t want to make the first
move.
So instead we kissed until we were delirious and
wound up at the party two hours late.

3. Falling Under

Zach talked about nothing
but the
yearly end
of
summer party
at the
Sterling
house on the
drive there.
Apparently, it was a custom that started ten years ago with
Drake, and Boone chose to continue his brother’s legendary
party tradition long after he graduated. Their parents were
both lawyers and had a prosperous partnership in an office
downtown.
They were the kind of parents who gave their
children everything you could imagine except for supervision.
And tonight would be no exception.

The house was in a section of town that I was only in
once
since
I
moved
here.
The
Cedar
Lane
housing
development
was
the ritziest part of town, just past the
country club where the fundraiser was held. It was a gated
community where most of the wealthy families lived. As we
drove along the winding road toward the Sterling’s, it seemed
that each house was bigger than the one before it.
At the top
of the hill sat the largest one of all—a two story
brick
Georgian-style that was almost the size of Rosewood. Almost.
I was pretty sure I knew who lived in that one.

“Let me guess,” I said sarcastically, pointing to the
house at the top, “the Wolfe estate?”

 

Zach snickered. “How did you know?”

“Rachel said Misty’s house was the biggest one in
town—next to mine, of course. Who else would want to live
in a monstrosity like that?” I said bitterly, full well knowing
that the house was gorgeous and the only thing I didn’t like
about it was what lurked within its walls.

Zach shook his head. “You’re making way too much of
the whole Misty situation. If you just ignore her, she’ll go
away. It worked for me.”

“Did it really? You guys hooked up one time almost a
year ago and she still doesn’t seem to want to go away.” I
knew he wanted nothing to do with her, but part of me
wondered if he didn’t enjoy having her pant around after him
like a dog in heat.

“Whoa, we didn’t ‘hook up,’” he snapped back
heatedly. “To me, that phrase is just another way of saying I
slept with her which I didn’t. And yes, she did leave me alone
at least until you came into the picture.”

“Did she really? It seems kind of strange that she
would all of a sudden become obsessed with having you just
because you have a girlfriend now.” I didn’t want to fight with
him about Misty, but I just didn’t think he was looking at the
whole picture. Maybe he didn’t want to admit it, but I had a
feeling she’d been dogging him ever since they “hooked up”.

“Seriously, Ruby. That’s just how she is.
She wants
what she can’t have. Yeah, she followed me around for a
while after that night but then she lost interest.
The only
reason she wants me now is because I’m even more
unattainable.” He reached over and slid his hand up my leg.
“She knows I’m hopelessly in love with you and when you get
jealous, well, it just adds fuel to her fire.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he
was probably right.
The last time she saw us together I
clearly wanted to rip every strand of expensively dyed hair
right out of her head. And I’m the type of girl who can’t hide
her emotions—anger
especially
gets written plainly across my
face. But I had an advantage this time that I didn’t have
before—this time I would be able to kiss him right in front of
her if the mood struck. And let’s be honest, the mood struck
every second I was with him. Why did he have to be so damn
hot
?

“Are you calm now?” he asked as we turned into the
drive of what had to be the Sterling house.
Dozens of cars
were parked on the lawn and the sound of music and laughter
rang around from the deck out back.

“I’m calm,” I replied. But the
word “determined”
better fit my mood.
I was determined to put Misty in her
place and I was going to do it tonight. Zach and I were in love
and she was about to get the full scope of what that meant.
When we kissed, we were explosive—she was about to get hit
with some of our shrapnel.

“Good. Let’s go—we’re already late and we’re going to
hear about it from my sister.” He draped his arm around my
waist and I linked my arm around his. Raise the curtain—the
show’s about to begin.

My confidence soared through the roof as we rounded
the landscaping all the way to the back of the house. I was
Zach Mason’s girlfriend and I was about to prove it to the
world. Until I saw the gigantic in-ground pool and the bikini
clad girls lounging around it. Great, just great. I’d been
frightened to death of water since Lee drowned when Destiny
Bridge collapsed into the Susquehanna last summer and it
didn’t help that I almost drowned in the fountain only a week
ago. Why didn’t Zach tell me there was a pool? He had to
realize
that
being
around
that
much
water
would
be
traumatic for me? Something smashed down from my head to
the pit of my stomach.
What was that? Oh yeah, right, that
was
my
confidence swimming
around down
there in
a
churning sea of acid.

I had to regain my composure quickly because all eyes
were suddenly on us. Smile and play the part, I kept telling
myself. Smile and play the part.

“There you are, Romeo! I was hoping you could keep
your hands off of Ruby long enough to make the party,” Boone
called down from the top of the diving board. “I haven’t seen
you much since you two hooked up.” With a flourish, he dove
into the water splashing a group of giddy girls as he hit the
surface.

Hooked up. I glanced around hoping that Misty was
nearby and heard that phrase. Funny, only a few months ago I
was worried about what the kids in school would think if Zach
told anyone about seeing me in my underwear that day at the
shelter.
Now I was wishing for everyone to think we were
having sex. And to be completely honest, wishing we actually
were.

Zach’s face turned red at the suggestion and Boone
noticed
the
instant
he
resurfaced.
“Hey, don’t get
embarrassed, dude! She’s hot and if I were you, I’d be all over
that, too.”

Now it was
my
turn
to blush.
But before the
embarrassment set in, Zach went off.

“That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about and don’t
forget it,” he barked. Gone were the days when Zach would
brush off a comment like that from Boone and just keep going.
He was clearly angry and not doing anything to try to hide it.

Boone crawled out of the water. “Hey, sorry man. I
was just joking around. I didn’t think you’d take me seriously.
Truce?” He held out his hand and Zach begrudgingly took it.

“Truce,” he said with a serious tone that suggested all
was not completely forgiven. “Where’s Rachel?”

“She’s in the house grabbing some more snacks—
she’ll be right back.” Boone looked truly sorry for what he
said, so when he apologized to me, I accepted it with a smile.
Zach, however, was still not smiling. What was
wrong
with
him tonight?

I was about to pull him aside and ask him that very
question when Rachel popped her head out of the back door.
“Zach, Ruby—is that you? It’s about time you lovebirds
showed up. Ruby, can you help me carry something?”

Gladly. I didn’t see much of Rachel in the past week
because I was too busy being glued to her brother’s lips and I
missed hanging out with her. Especially after the little scene
between Zach and Boone by the pool. It probably wasn’t a
good time, but I wanted to talk to her about it. But as always,
she started to chatter the second I got in the house and I
couldn’t get a single word in.

“Ruby! You’re a little over dressed, don’t you think?
You can change into your swimsuit in the bathroom over
there, the first door past the laundry room.” She pointed
down a small hallway and motioned toward the far end. “I’ll
wait here for you and then we can make our grand entrance
together.”

Rachel looked like she just stepped off the cover of
Sports Illustrated. And I’m talking the swimsuit edition, of
course. She was wearing a metallic blue bikini with matching
flip flops. Her ultra-blond hair was pulled up into a twist and
held in place with a pair of blue chopsticks.
I looked down at
my outfit and felt incredibly crappy.