Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) (6 page)

Help? How could
this
be of any help to me? “If this is
your idea of help, I don’t need it. I’m fine—everything’s just
fine.” I flung that last comment over my shoulder as I ran out
the door.

Rita followed me out onto the sidewalk but I gave her
a nasty look rivaling any her dead grandmother could have
given her and she retreated. I sat there in my car until I was
calm enough to drive. As I was about to pull out, my phone
buzzed. Zach.

“Done—can I c u in 30?”

I wanted to see him, but I needed time to cool off and a
half hour wasn’t going to cut it. “Make it an hour—meet u at
The Hideout.”

“K—luv u.” Staring at the words almost made me cry.
What if Rita was right? What if it happened again? What if I
put him in danger one time too many and I lost him? I threw
my phone on the passenger seat without replying. I needed to
think things through and I had one hour to do it.

7. Who Does He Think He Is?

Test the theory. That was what I needed to do. If Rita
was right, then something was bound to happen and I would
have my answer. If I saw a ghost, I would
know
she was right
and I would have to decide what to do about Zach. If I didn’t,
she was wrong and I could meet Zach with open arms. And I
knew the perfect spot to test it out.

A small overgrown cemetery lay just on the edge of
town on the other side of Baker Regional Medical Center.
“Heaven’s Gate Cemetery” read the sign. I took one look
around and decided if this was what heaven looked like, I
wasn’t sure I wanted to go there. The grass reached halfway
to my knees as I walked, tripping over broken headstones as I
went. A large white obelisk-shaped monument rose forlornly
above the grass in the center of the graveyard.
One newly
filled grave stood out from the rest of the landscape.

Who would bury someone they loved here?
I could
understand how older graves got overrun with weeds and
such when the people who took care of your resting place
died themselves. But why would anyone choose to inter their
loved one in a place that looked like this? I couldn’t
comprehend the reason, but it was exactly what I was looking
for. A freshly dug grave held a freshly dead corpse—someone
who may not realize they were dead yet. If I was looking to
find a ghost, it was the best place to start.

Looking all around to make sure I was alone, I stepped
up to the dirt mound. I wanted to call out the deceased’s
name, but there wasn’t a headstone yet. So I just talked to the
grave like I would have spoken to a stranger sitting beside me
on the bus. Supernatural small talk.

“So, what do you think of the weather?” Nothing.

 

“How do you like it here?” Nothing.

 

“How did you die?”

And a voice from behind me asked, “Are you talking to
me?” A cool breeze brushed past me as I turned to confront
whoever—or whatever—was behind me.

All I found was a boy about my age with long blond
hair and
a confused look on his
face.
I recognized him
immediately. He was the boy I saw at Silver Lake the night
Zach broke up with me.

“Are you talking to me?” he repeated looking at me
strangely.

 

“Uh…no,” I responded.

 

The strange look melted into a smile. “Oh. Who
are
you talking to then?”

Awkward—infinitely awkward. First he hears me get
dumped and then he hears me talking to a lump of earth.
If
any of this got back to Misty, I’d be branded a freak from the
first day of school. I had to do some damage control—fast.

“I’m writing a short story about a girl who can talk to
dead people. I was just trying out some dialogue.” Writing
before school even started—what was I thinking?
Oh well,
better a geek than a freak, I suppose. Plus, he didn’t look like
the type who would ask questions so I figured he would take
it at face value and move on.

“Do you think it’s possible? Talking to dead people, I
mean.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for my
answer.

Crap!
Who
would
have
thought
he
would
be
interested in something like that? “No, I don’t,” I lied, “Do
you?”

“Nah, me neither.” And he said nothing more—he
simply stood there looking at me oddly.

He was starting to creep me out, so I decided it was
time to leave. “See you in school,” I said as I stepped away
from him. Stupid, I know—but what else was I supposed to
say to him?

He shook his head. “I’m not in school anymore. I’ll see
you around, though. The name’s Clay, by the way.”

“See you around, Clay.” Hurriedly, I got into the car. If
Zach found out, he would be adding another name to the list
of guys he wanted to push into a swimming pool. Clay waved
as I drove off but I didn’t wave back. No need to add fuel to
Zach’s fire or make this weirdo think I might be interested in
him.

The clock in the car showed I only had fifteen minutes
before I was to meet Zach, just enough time to make the drive.
No ghostly activity in the graveyard was a relief.
Rita was
wrong—I just proved that.
What happened to her was
unfortunate, but
it
wasn’t
going
to
happen
to me.
I
remembered that I didn’t return Zach’s text saying he loved
me. I felt bad about it, but I would make it up to him tonight.
Boy was I going to make it up to him.

Arriving at The Hideout a few minutes early, I saw
that Zach was already there waiting for me. He was leaning
against his car with a worried look on his face.

“Is everything okay?” he called before I even had a
chance to turn off the engine.

“Everything’s just fine.” I sincerely felt that it was.
Rita was wrong—I proved that in the cemetery. I didn’t see a
single thing and
would never see another ghost.
It was
over—definitely over. I wouldn’t have to break up with Zach
to keep him safe.

As I approached him, he met me half way. I grabbed
him and buried my head in his chest. He held me for a while
and then whispered in my ear.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” He knew me well enough to
sense that something wasn’t right so he stroked my hair
comfortingly. “Talk to me.”

I could have told him about my conversation with
Rita. I
should
have told him about my conversation with Rita.
But I didn’t. There was nothing to worry about so there was
no reason to bring
it
up—he would only
obsess
over
something that would never happen again. So I chose to keep
it to myself.

“I’m just sad because summer is over. I’m nervous
about school tomorrow. I don’t want things to change.” Ever.
I wanted to stay there with him in our own little world
forever, just the two of us.

“I know. Walk with me. This is our last night before
school—I want it to be special.”

Special.
Was he thinking the same thing I was? He
pulled the blanket out of the back seat of his car and my hopes
soared. I took his hand and we walked to the top of the hill.

My curfew on school nights was ten o’clock but that
was more than enough time for us to do what I wanted to do.
My stomach did flip flops as he spread the blanket on the
ground and invited me to sit with him.

“So did you go talk to Rita?” he asked.

I loved talking to him but I didn’t want to talk tonight.
Especially about
that
.
I wanted to lose myself in him.
I
wanted him
to lose himself in
me.
But I answered him
anyway.

“Yeah,” I replied casually. Scooting closer to him, I
rested my hand on his leg. Maybe he would get the hint that I
wanted to do more than just talk.

Clueless, he took my hand in his. “So what did she
want anyway?”

Panic. I didn’t consider the fact that he would ask me
point blank about our conversation. “Um, she just wanted
some details about what happened last week.”

“Oh. That was it? She made it sound urgent—like it
was a matter of life and death or something.” He stared out
over the town as he talked which was just what I needed to
get through what I had to do next. I simply couldn’t look into
those gorgeous eyes and lie—not again.

“That was it. I think she documents every case she
works on.” I swore months ago that I would never lie to him
again.
How did I end up back in this place, this world of
deception? I convinced myself that it was for his own good
and changed the subject. “So what do you want to do
tonight?” I said trying to use my best sexy voice. Then I
remembered that I didn’t have one. I sounded about as sexy
as Kermit the Frog.

“Honestly…I just want to be alone with you.” Zach, on
the other hand, definitely had a sexy voice and he was using it
to its fullest potential.
“I want to be alone with you, too.” And those were the
last words we spoke for hours.

The sun set without us ever noticing.
Time moved
differently when we were together—like our chemistry threw
off even the laws of physics. When we kissed, I was light as
air and the only thing that kept me from drifting away was his
embrace. But I wanted more. I wanted to float right out of my
body
and
into his.
My
head was
swimming,
my
heart
pounding. And when he slid his hand up the back of my shirt,
I thought I was going to explode. The heat of his hand on the
small of my back was enough to ignite an inferno.

I decided to follow his lead. I wanted him to know I
was right there with him—both mentally and physically.
My
right hand moved delicately down his back until I found the
bottom of his shirt. Without hesitation, I made my way under
the fabric. He was on fire and the increased pace of his kisses
proved it. I’d never known a more perfect moment. I was
ready and there was no way that he couldn’t be, too. But after
only moments of this intensity, he pulled away.

“Ruby,” he said through panting breaths, “It’s late. I
have to get home and so do you.”

Ten o’clock so soon? It couldn’t be! And how did he
even have an opportunity to check his watch? Forget about
opportunity, where did he find the willpower? If it was up to
me, I would have stayed there with him until the first rays of
morning light.

“Can’t we stay just a little while longer?” I leaned back
on the blanket, grabbed a fistful of his tee shirt and tried to
pull him down with me.

For a second, a smoldering look consumed his eyes. It
was a look that said he wanted me just as much as I wanted
him. He followed me until he was almost on top of me and
then stopped so abruptly that I was startled.

“No, Ruby. We need to go. Now,” he said with an
urgent tone, the passionate look in his eyes completely gone.

He stood up, took my hand, and helped me up. I was
dazed. Wasn’t the situation supposed to be reversed? Wasn’t
I
the one who should be pulling the brakes?

On the way back down the hill, he started making
small talk. “So are you driving to school tomorrow or do you
want me to pick you up?”

Really? Really!? After that smokin’ hot make out
session, that was all he had to say?
I was so frustrated I was
practically livid.

He was so infuriating! I wanted to give him a piece of
my mind only minutes after I wanted to give him a piece of
something else. Telling him I would drive myself would have
made me happy in the moment, but come morning, I knew I
would want him by my side. So I choked down the bitterness
and asked him to pick me up for school instead.

He rattled on until we got to our cars, but honestly, I
barely heard a word he said. He gave me a quick kiss, told me
he loved me and he was gone.
When I got in the car, my
mouth dropped when I saw the time.
It was only eight
o’clock.

8. Bad Dreams and Rotten Eggs

I did my best to act like nothing was wrong when I got
home but it was killing me inside.
Why did he take off so
early tonight? How many more signals did I have to send him
before he would understand what I wanted?
I found a text
from Dad and Shelly that I didn’t know they sent. My phone
was in my pocket but I never felt the vibration.
Honestly, I
was too busy feeling other things instead.
They assumed I
wasn’t going to be home any time soon so they went out for
dinner. Great. Now I was all alone to deal with my sudden
hunger and mounting misery.

I still had to decide what to wear tomorrow, so I went
upstairs for what I knew would be an hour long fashion show.
One that would be just as frustrating as my night with Zach.
Coco rubbed against my legs as I violated my closet, ripping
nearly everything out and throwing it onto my bed. Starting
with the things I definitely knew I wouldn’t wear, I rehung
them one by one. Long sleeves—too hot. Tanks—too cold.
Jeans
or shorts—no.
The
pile grew
increasingly
smaller
making
my
choice even
harder.
What would
look good
standing beside a Norse god? And then I saw it. The perfect
outfit to wear when you were dating the hottest guy alive. I
tried it on just to be sure and then, satisfied that I was right, I
put it in the bathroom for morning.

I looked at the clock. 8:45. Sigh. It didn’t take me as
long as I thought—or hoped—it would. Plopping down on my
bed, I stared at the ceiling and thought about Zach. Things felt
so perfect between us not so long ago.
What happened? We
used to talk about how we couldn’t wait until we could be
together.
Maybe I should just call him and talk to him.
I
picked up my phone just as it started to ring. It was Zach.