Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) (7 page)

“Hey, sweetie. We need to talk.”

We need to talk. There should be some universal law
that prohibits anyone from having to hear those words twice
in one day. My stomach started to churn. He couldn’t
possibly be breaking up with me—again—could he?
And the
night before school started? That would be the ultimate slap
in the face.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “What do you want to talk
about?”

 

“I want to talk about what happened earlier. I want to
say I’m sorry.”

 

Sorry? Sorry for what exactly? Sorry for setting my
heart
and
my body on fire? Or sorry for not extinguishing it?

 

“Um…for what?”

“For not being able to stay with you longer. And for
being a little off lately.” He sounded sad and I hated to hear
him like that. Someone so beautiful should never be sad.

“Oh…so what’s going on?” I was about to get an
answer—finally.

 

“I love you, Ruby. You know that, right?”

Oh God. Was this the “I love you but…” speech I
always feared would come?
He finally realized that he was
too good for me. I was next to tears—I couldn’t lose him now.

“Yes,” I squeaked the word out of my throat, “I love
you, too.”

 

“Good. Because I don’t want you to ever doubt that. I
love you more than you’ll ever know.”

He was being mysterious and it scared me.
What
should I say to him? Should I ask him for details?
Why was
our relationship so damned confusing?

Awkward pause.
He was
waiting
for me to
say
something, but what?

 

I must have hesitated just a little too long because he
spoke again. “So I had fun tonight, did you?”

 

Fun? It was a strange word to describe the passion,
the fire we shared. But I went with it. “Yeah, did you?”

 

“Yeah. I always have fun when I’m with you—now
that the ghosts are gone, that is,” he said laughing.

I knew that he didn’t know what Rita really said to me
today. I knew that he didn’t mean for the comment to cut
through me like a white hot knife. But that’s exactly what it
did.

What was I supposed to say to that? God, why didn’t
boys come with a handbook? Step one: When he says
x
you
reply with
y
. Really, was it too much to ask for?

“Now that the ghosts are gone,” I repeated, thinking it
was easier than trying to come up with something of my own.

Silence.
This was the worst conversation we’d ever
had. I felt like there was something he wanted to say to me
but for whatever reason, he wasn’t doing it. And I suppose,
neither was I.

Time to forget about unspoken words.
There were
other important things to deal with. “I’m really nervous about
tomorrow.”

“Don’t be—you’ll be just fine. I’ll be with you every
step of the way.” Zach sounded more like himself and I liked
that. When he was normal, I felt normal.
And a good healthy
dose of normal was exactly what I needed.

“Always?”

 

“Always. I’m your one true love, remember? You
couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

“How ‘bout I never try then?” Just the thought of
spending the rest of my life without him made me want to
reach for the anti-depressants.

“It’s a deal. I should probably let you get some sleep
now, though. Love you, sweetie. Sweet dreams and mwah.”

 

“Love you, too—mwah. See you in the morning.”

Sweet was hardly the word to describe my dreams. I
was walking through the halls of Charlotte’s Grove High
School and I was alone. Books in hand, I was making my way
to the cafeteria. I was meeting someone there, but they were
late.
I kept checking my watch as I walked.
Then from
behind, I heard a clicking noise. Someone was following me. I
turned just in time to see a dark shadow duck into an open
classroom. The lights at the far end of the hallway flickered
and died. And then the next light and the next. Something
was closing in on me—fast. Tossing my books to the floor, I
ran for it.
Just as I was about to step into the cafeteria,
something caught me from behind and jerked me to the floor.

With a jerk, I fell out of bed, smashing my head on the
nightstand on the
way.
No! No! No! This couldn’t be
happening again!
rocked back and

Curling up into a tight ball on the floor, I
forth
crying
until my
alarm
went off
signaling the start of a new kind of nightmare.

The water pouring from the shower was as cold as I
could tolerate. Barely any sleep coupled with massive anxiety
didn’t make for a very pretty picture. I had to wake myself up
any way I could. As I stood shivering under the icy flow, all I
could think about was the dream. Was I just so nervous about
school that I created that horror in my mind? Or was there a
darker meaning behind it?
The only time I was prone to
nightmares was while I was being haunted.
Could Rita be
right? I wanted to sink down onto the floor of the shower and
cry again but I couldn’t. There wasn’t enough time for that.
So instead,
I dragged myself out of the shower and got
dressed. I couldn’t let Zach know there was anything wrong
other than being petrified about my first day of school.

Once I was ready, I went downstairs for something to
eat. On my way to the kitchen, I smelled something strange.
Something I’d never smelled in that house before—breakfast.
Shelly and my dad were already at the kitchen table when I
got there, plates full of scrambled eggs and bacon.

“I made your favorites for breakfast, Ruby. I wanted
to be sure you had something solid in your stomach for your
big day.” Shelly was positively beaming. She didn’t cook—
ever—so this would have been a welcome surprise on any
other day but just the smell of grease was making me want to
hurl. I knew I would really hurt her feelings if I didn’t eat, so I
took the plate she offered anyway and said thank you.

“So are you driving yourself to school today or is Zach
picking you up?” Dad asked between bites.

 

“I’m riding with Zach.” I took a bite of eggs and
instantly felt like I was going to be sick.

 

“Good. He’ll get you all settled and today will go just
fine. No worries.”

No worries? I
wish
. I had a list of worries a mile long.
Classes, Misty, fear of getting lost, Misty, Zach’s weird
behavior, Misty, dread at the thought that Rita may still be
right…oh, and did I mention Misty? I mean, the last time I saw
her, the bitch
did
push me into the swimming pool.

I stayed quiet throughout breakfast, eating the least
amount of food possible to not hurt Shelly’s feelings. I was
both happy and terrified when I heard the sound of Zach’s car
outside. I mumbled my goodbyes and made my way to the
front door.

Zach was waiting for me on the porch when I opened
the door. “You look beautiful, sweetie. As always.”

I didn’t exactly feel like being charmed, but I simply
couldn’t resist him. It just wasn’t possible. But he certainly
seemed to have no problem resisting me.
Ugh!!
Just one
more week of summer would have been awesome. Maybe I
could have summoned enough courage to talk to him about
why he always pulled back when things got intense. Maybe
we could have sorted things out and lifted the virginity curse
before school started and there weren’t as many other things
to worry about. But it was too late for that now.

Constructing a semi-believable smile onto my face, I
walked with him to his car. “Do I really look okay?” I tossed
my bag onto the floor and climbed in beside him.

“You look good enough to kiss.” He planted his lips on
mine and for that moment I almost forgot where we were
going. Almost. Until my stomach churned and gurgled like I’d
just eaten a whole plate full of salmonella.
Those eggs tasted
fine, but maybe Shelly did something funky to them. I mean,
she wasn’t exactly known for her fine cuisine. Case in point—
the lopsided turkey loaf incident. Oh, just thinking about how
horrible that thing smelled made me even sicker.

Placing my hand in the center of his chest, I pushed
him back roughly. “I have to vomit!” I barely got my head out
of the car door when the flood gates opened. I threw up until
there was nothing left to come out. Zach held my hair and
rubbed my back while I sat there heaving.
Could this day be
any worse? I couldn’t even make it out of my own driveway
without falling apart.

He gently massaged my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

He sounded worried about me.
Hell,
I
was worried
about me. I nodded my head and swung my legs back inside
the car. I couldn’t be late on the first day—I wanted to make
the least amount of waves possible.

“Are you sure? You don’t look okay. Maybe you
should just stay home today, go back to bed.”

“No, I have to go,” I insisted. The last thing I needed
was for Misty to think I was too intimidated to face her—even
if it was at least partially true.

“If you’re sure….” He started the engine and looked to
me one last time before putting the car in drive.

“I’m sure.” I leaned back in the seat and closed my
eyes. I felt like a warrior marching into battle with a plastic
knife for a sword.

“We’re here.” Feeling the warmth of his hand on mine,
I reluctantly opened my eyes. Charlotte’s Grove High School.
The building looked so small when we were here for open
house but it loomed before me now like a maximum security
prison. And everyone knows what happens to fresh meat in a
place like that. Rations were about to be served with me as
the main course.

If Zach hadn’t opened the door for me, I probably
would have sat there until the last bell rang. But I got out,
took his hand, and let him lead me into the school.
Our first
stop was the administrative offices so I could pick up my
schedule. My dad picked out my classes when he was here in
the spring, so I didn’t even know what I was taking. Two
guesses—math and science to an excess. My dad wanted me
to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor.
I wanted
nothing to do with it. Writing was my passion but he didn’t
think it was a good decision—funny for someone who was
married to a millionaire author. I didn’t care if writing was a
long, hard process with only a small chance for a big payoff—
it was what I loved.

I hid behind his massive frame as he walked straight
into the office.
It was a good thing I already threw up,
because if I hadn’t, I would have probably done it right there.
He walked up to the front desk and waited for the secretary to
finish her phone call.
She was clearly arguing with someone
on the other end, but I could see a smile form when she saw
who was standing in front of her. I had to hand it to him—he
definitely had the power to captivate any audience.

“Hello, Zach. What can I help you with?” The
secretary was at least well into her forties but I could see her
eyes roaming over his muscles as she spoke. It was time to
rename the town again, I guess. Welcome to Cougar’s Grove.

“This is Ruby Matthews—it’s her first day here.” He
took me by the waist and nudged me forward. “She needs to
get her schedule.”

I could almost feel her sizing me up, top to bottom,
and deciding whether or not I was worthy of being with him.
Giving me a courteous smile, she reached into a filing cabinet
and produced a sheet of paper. But instead of handing it to
me, she slid it into Zach’s hand. “Here you go, Zach. Hope you
have a good year.”

Really? Didn’t I even deserve a polite “Hello, Ruby?
Welcome to Charlotte’s Grove?” Zach thanked her and we
walked out of the office. About halfway to the door, I glanced
quickly over my shoulder and caught her checking out his
backside. Again, it was a good thing I’d already thrown up.

The hallway filled up while we were in the office.
I
wasn’t normally claustrophobic, but panic welled up inside
me as he led me to our homeroom. The noise was deafening
as
everyone seemed to
be competing
to be heard over
everyone else.

Zach pulled his schedule out of his pocket and held it
out. “Do we have any classes together?” He was right beside
me but he still had to practically scream it at me.

“I don’t know—I haven’t had a chance to look at mine
yet.” No chance? It was more like avoiding it like it was a bad
case of acne. I was afraid to see the damage my father had
done to me.

“This is us,” he said pointing to Room 124. The door
was closed and as Zach opened it, the hinges creaked like
something out of a horror movie. All we needed now was a
creepy janitor and a machete. But once inside, I changed my
mind.

At the desk sat a man around my father’s age intently
reading a newspaper. He had wavy brown hair and just a hint
of a goatee. He was dressed professionally but through the
fabric of his shirt a tattoo was visible on his left bicep. Simply
put, he
was
old but he
was
hot.
I racked my
brain
to
remember seeing even one ugly person in this school. It was
kind of like being in the Village of the Damned.
Or more
precisely, Village of the Damn, Why Was Everyone
So
Good
Looking
in
this
Town?
I was
anxious
as
hell but I still
chuckled to myself at the thought. It was the little things that
were going to carry me through this day.

Zach looked around until he found our seats.
Each
desk had a name on it, going in alphabetical order around the
room. Mine was the last seat in the back next to the window.
Zach’s empty desk sat directly beside mine. The man at the
front of the room watched as Zach slid his desk across the
aisle until it was flush with mine. Then he simply nodded and
returned to his reading.