Secrets Abound (Supernaturally Bound Book 1) (15 page)

Part of my brain told me to run, but the other part said I hadn’t done anything wrong. We both stopped and spun towards him.

“May I?” He asked gesturing at our bags.

We shrugged, knowing he wouldn’t find anything and handed them over. He shuffled through them. He searched through Cassie’s first and didn’t find anything, so he handed it back to her. After a few seconds of rummaging through mine, he paused and pulled out what appeared to be a pair of earrings.

“I didn’t put those in there.” I said, puzzled for a second, but then it dawned on me.

Vicky must have slipped them into my bag when she bumped into me. I glanced back into the store and saw Vicky and her minions chuckling at us from the sunglasses stand. I couldn’t even describe how much I despised that girl. Let’s just say, if she was on fire and I had water, I’d drink it.

“Yeah nice try, you’re coming with me.” He grabbed my arm. He led me to the security office where he scribbled a few lines on a form.

“What’s your name?” He asked me once we were in his office. Cassie was sitting in a chair next to me with her eyes wide.

“Barbra.” I told him.

“Last name?” He asked irritably.

“Streisand.” I said.

“Barbra Streisand…” He started to write it down until realization crossed his face. “Very funny. What’s your real name?”

“I told you.”

“What’s your parent’s phone number?” He asked, moving on.

“402-SUCK-IT.” I glared at him. “Don’t forget to dial a one first.” No way was I going to let him call Judy.

“Where are you ladies from?” He asked Cassie, hoping to get a real answer.

“Waverly.” She told him.

“Ah, Waverly, huh? Then, I’ll just call the sheriff’s department, and they can sort all this out.” He said. “You can go on home, now. Your friend is probably going to be spending the night in jail.” He told Cassie as he picked up the phone.

Things were just getting
better
and
better.
I detested everyone at the sheriff’s department, and the feeling was mutual. This was going to be a long night.

“You’re in huge trouble, young lady.” The security guard asserted once Cassie was gone. “Those earrings you were trying to steal cost five hundred dollars.”

“I didn’t try to steal them.” I maintained.

“So, I guess they just fell into your bag?” He said sarcastically.

“Something like that.” I muttered.

“Well, that sounds like a suitable argument for your lawyer.” He said.

I guess I was going to have to call Jim. Jim Hughes was originally my “court appointed attorney”, but he’d defended me so many times that I’d simply started calling him directly when I got arrested.

I had been waiting in that tiny room with the arrogant rent-a-cop for an hour and a half before Deputy Long finally showed up. Deputy Long was twenty-four with dark hair and medium build. The security guard handed him a file and they stepped out of the room. They were having a conversation in hushed whispers, so I couldn’t make out any of it.

“Hi, Bridget, long time no see.” The deputy said when he reentered the room.

“Not long enough.” I muttered as he put handcuffs on me.

“What if this time,
you
recite your Miranda rights, and we can see how much you remember?” He paused for a moment. “No? Okay then.” He gave me the full speech on my rights as he led me to his car parked out front. He moved me into the backseat and shut the door behind me.

Once we got to the sheriff’s department, I called Mr. Hughes and he said he’d be there in thirty minutes. Deputy Long placed me in a jail cell to wait for my lawyer. They only had two cells and, unfortunately, I was familiar with both of them.

I sat down on the hard bench and waited. I was grateful it only took him twenty minutes to get there. I stood up and moseyed over to the bars when I heard his voice.

“Jimmy, did you miss me?” I asked him as he stepped up to the cell, briefcase in hand.

“Only every second of every day.” He said with a smile. “It hurts that you only call when you need something.”

“So, what’s the damage?” I asked him.

“Well, right now it looks like you’re going to be charged with shoplifting, but considering the earrings cost five hundred dollars, it’ll be up to the DA whether or not he wants to pursue charges of petty theft.” He explained.

“So, what does that mean for my current predicament?” I gestured to the cell.

“I’m working on having you released until your court date. Do you have anyone to pick you up? Judy, maybe?” He asked.

“No, I don’t want her to know. I can get a friend to come get me.” I told him.

“They won’t release you to a minor.” He reminded me. So, that ruled out Aiden or Cassie.

“That’s fine. I know someone.” I told him, and he nodded. He handed me his phone, and I dialed Chad’s number. It surprised me that I still had it memorized.

“Hello?” He answered.

“What are you doing right now?” I asked.

“I hope you remembered to get your card stamped.” Chad gave me a once over through the bars.

“This is one place I’m
not
looking for a free stay at.” I frowned. Deputy Long unlocked the door and let me out of the cell.

“See you next time.” The deputy said as he handed me my bag that had been confiscated.

“What happened?” Chad asked me once we were on our way home.

“I have a new arch enemy.” I said dramatically.

“Well, it
is
a day that ends in Y.” He smirked. I shot him a look.

“Are you saying I’m unlikable?” I raised my eyebrows.

“No, I’m not saying that.” He paused. “It’s just that, you’re the kind of person you either love or you hate. There’s not room for in between.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. But I also realized I just didn’t give a shit. I didn’t care if people liked me or not. Truth be told, I didn’t like most people.

By the time we drove up in front of my house, the sun had already, set and Judy’s car was parked out front. Chad walked me to the door. We stood on the porch for a second, illuminated by the light.

“Thanks for picking me up. Judy would have made my life a living hell if I had called her.” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, but you should probably try to stay out of jail from now on. I won’t be in town for long and next time it probably
will
be Judy picking you up.” He glanced down at me.

“I know, but it’s not like I meant to be arrested.” I said. He reached down and gave me a hug goodbye.

“I’ll see you later, jailbird.” He told me and sauntered back to his truck.

As he drove off, I could hear Judy’s loud voice in the living room, so I decided I’d go in through my window. As I began rounding the corner of the house, Aiden stepped out of the shadows, startling me.

“What the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of me.” I snapped.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He apologized.

“Why were you lurking in the shadows? It’s creepy.” I knew I sounded snippy, but it had been a long day.

“I wasn’t
lurking
. I just heard the truck drive up and saw you get out. I thought you were hanging out with Cassie today.” He said, obviously wanting to ask me who the unknown man was.

“I
was
with Cassie, all the way up until I got arrested.” I said as I began moving toward my window.

“You were
arrested?
For
what?
” He followed behind me.

“Well, apparently I wanted a pair of earrings so badly that I stuffed them in my bag and tried to leave with them.” I clenched my fists in anger.

“You didn’t do that.” He stated behind me. I halted, twisting to face him.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“Because I know you, and you’re not a thief.” He said with confidence. It made me feel warm to hear him say that. To have someone who thinks the best of you instead of assuming the worst. “Alcoholic, maybe. Thief, no.”

“Shut up.” I said with a small smile. “It was Vicky. We ran into her at the mall, and she must’ve slipped them into my bag when I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” He asked.

“They wouldn’t have released me to a minor, and I only got one call. I called Chad. I know you wanted to know who that was.” I said, and he gave me a guilty smile. “He’s an old friend. He’s in town for a few weeks.”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to stay for a while?” He asked.

“No, I’m fine. I just need to get cleaned up and in bed.” I told him. We were at another moment of unknowing, but I was too tired to play the game. Without hesitation, I gave him a light kiss on the lips. He wrapped his arms around me and held on for a second before letting go.

“Goodnight.” He gave me one last kiss.

I stuck my hand under the slightly opened window and forced it up. I crawled into the empty room. Grabbing my robe, I dashed to the bathroom and turned on the water. Nothing sounded better to me at that moment than a hot shower.

Once the bathroom was properly steamy, I stripped and stepped into the tub. I could feel the dirt and grime from jail wash away down the drain. I closed my eyes and let the hot water run across my face.

Once I was clean, I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around me. The mirror was fogged up from all the steam, so I grabbed a rag and wiped it off. At first, I only wiped where I could see my face and my neck. I stared at myself, and, for a moment, it felt as if I were looking at someone else. I stuck out my tongue and wiggled it back and forth to check that it was me. My reflection copied my actions.

I shrugged and continued wiping the rest of the mirror. A dark figure appeared over my shoulder and I dropped the rag. I whirled around, but there was nothing there.
It must have been my mind playing tricks on me
, I told myself. I couldn’t seem to convince myself fully because my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Was that the ring demon? No, that had been a dream.
I just need some sleep,
I thought.

I lay in bed for an hour, but still couldn’t calm down enough to fall asleep. I had managed to chalk up all the ring incidents to lack of sleep and too much drama. It had to have been a nightmare. But then what about this? Could I honestly claim that I was hallucinating? That had to be the only explanation. I didn’t believe in ghosts and that was that.

I guess I managed to convince myself because I fell asleep. I slept peacefully enough for a few hours, but I woke up around midnight. I wasn’t sure what specifically woke me up, but I had an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach. All the hairs on my neck stood up, and I could feel goosebumps rising on my arms. My heart pounded in my ears but that was the only sound.

My eyes searched the room but all seemed calm. Clarissa was asleep in her bed, our bedroom door was closed, and moonlight was beaming in through the window. I rubbed my hands against my arms to rid myself of the goosebumps. I began drifting back to sleep after a few minutes, but I saw a flicker of light through my eyelids and they flew back open.

At first the room was black, but after a few seconds I saw a lighted figure flicker in and out in the middle of the bedroom. My whole body felt frozen in place. I couldn’t even bring myself to scream. Heck, I couldn’t even breathe. It faded in and out for a few more seconds, but then I found myself staring at a glowing, transparent figure. Terror gripped me. My heart pounded in my chest as if dying to escape.

The light gradually formed into a shape. This one was different than the ring demon. It was a girl, no a woman, with blonde hair. She was wearing what appeared to be a white night gown. At first she had her head hung over with her hair falling across her face, but then she slowly lifted it to where she was facing me. Her eyes were a pair of glowing, white orbs. My eyes fell to her cheek or rather, her lack of one. She had a gaping hole on one side of her face.

I gulped back a scream for fear of attracting more attention from her. She closed her eyes and moved toward me. She wasn’t so much walking as she was floating. Once she was at the edge of my bed, she reached out one of her hands toward me. Her hand gripped my ankle. The touch was incredibly familiar as my mind traced back to the night of the bonfire.
The hand that tripped me.

I couldn’t hold it back anymore; I let out a scream. The girl’s eyes grew and she began to shriek. Mine sounded fearful but hers sounded like death itself. It was so gut wrenching, I thought I might throw up right there. Clarissa made a noise, and the girl disappeared with a twirl. Clarissa switched on her lamp and gave me a grouchy look.

“Did you see that?” I asked her in a shaky voice.

“See what?” She asked sleepily.

“Nothing, go back to sleep.” I said.

She didn’t need to be told twice. She switched off the lamp and fell back asleep. There was no way I’d be able to go back to sleep, so I tugged on pants and boots and crawled out the window. I was just going to take a walk by myself but then decided I’d see if Aiden was still awake. I was sure he would be. He always seemed to be awake. It was like that guy never slept.

I circled Aiden’s house to his bedroom window. I peeked inside at his empty room. His bed was made, and his door was open. I tapped on his window hoping he was close by and could hear it. Sure enough, he appeared in the doorway and sauntered over to the window.

“Is everything okay?” He asked me after he opened the window.

“Yeah.” I lied. His expression told me he didn’t believe me but wouldn’t argue. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Sure.” He climbed out the window. It was wonderful to have someone I could always count on.

“Did you have a bad dream, again, or something?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. We strolled side by side down the empty street, watching the air exit our mouths as we breathed out into the cold night.

“Or something.” I said and he gave me a curious look. “I’m not sure what it was, actually. It probably
was
just another bad dream.” Or at least I
hoped
.

“Do you want to sleep at my house for tonight?” He asked.

I glanced away from him in thought. I had slept at his house a million times before and never thought twice about it, but we had been only friends back then. There had been no underlying expectation, not to say that there was now, but it felt peculiar. However, I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep in my own room.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” I finally answered.

He slid an arm around my waist and tugged me close to him as we walked. It felt perfect.
I could stay in his arms forever,
I thought but instantly wanted to smack myself for having such a corny thought. I stared up at him. The light from the street lamps lit up his handsome features, and my eyes couldn’t seem to get enough of him. He caught my eyes and smiled, causing my heart to skip a beat. His eyes were such a bright blue that they almost seemed luminescent.

When we got close to his house again, he stopped and turned to me. He drew me against him and wrapped his arms around me tightly. I pressed my face into his chest, and I could feel myself relax into him. He kissed the top of head and nuzzled into my hair.

“You smell different.” He said questioningly.

“I
smell
different?” I asked glancing up at him.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t see why. I haven’t changed shampoos or anything.” I said like this wasn’t the oddest conversation I’d had in a long time.

“Hmm…”

“Is it a bad change?” I asked, worried that I randomly started to stink or something.

“No, not at all. It’s just…unexpected.” He answered.

We began walking again and when he wasn’t watching, I grabbed a strand of hair and sniffed it. It smelled like apples. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but then again, he was always saying bizarre things like that. You’d think I’d get used to it, but I didn’t. I should probably just accept the fact that I would never fully understand Aiden, like he would never fully understand me, but there was just something about mysterious guys that made girls want to figure them out.

I sighed in frustration, and Aiden gave me a puzzled look. He opened his window and gave me a boost to go through it. He crawled in after me but with much more grace than I had.

“I can sleep on the floor.” I suggested.

“No, you can have my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He said.

“But then your brother will see you in there.” I frowned.

“He doesn’t care.”

“Then, why’d we crawl through the window if your brother doesn’t care?” I asked, making him pause in thought for a second.

“I didn’t want to wake him up.” Aiden said.

“O-
kay
.” I gave Aiden a look that said I thought he was being odd. I took off my boots and began unbuttoning my pants. “
Or
you could sleep in here with me.” I said, surprising Aiden and myself. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me, but suddenly I felt very sensual, very seductive.

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” He asked, his eyes following my hands as I moved my pants down my legs, tossing them aside.

“Good? I don’t know if
good
is the right word for it.” I tugged my shirt over my head and tossed it on the floor. I was now in only my bra and panties (which were a matching pair of red lace). Aiden stood completely still like if he dared to even breathe, he would rush to me and give in.

I wasn’t sure why I was acting like this. All I knew was that I wanted him,
badly
. He was sexy beyond belief. His eyes were like staring right into the ocean, so tranquil and radiant. The way his lips curved into his smile, they were so luscious, so kissable.

I moved closer to him, but he remained frozen. I wasn’t sure why he was resisting, but I knew what I wanted. I grabbed the back of his neck and moved his mouth to mine. I traced his lips with my tongue, and he caved. He lifted me up into his arms, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. I removed his shirt with ease as he carried me to the bed and set me down. His body pressed down onto mine, and I could feel how much he wanted me.