Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance)
Read Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) Online
Authors: S.P. van der Lee
Beyond
Copyright 2013 S.P. van der Lee
Sixteen-year-old Raven desperately wants to fit in, but after using a Ouija Board, her already overwhelming hallucinations take a turn for the worse. A ghostly figure named Sam begins to haunt Raven and seems eager to kill
her.
She’s saved by a reclusive biker named Damian who goes to the same school and appears to have an interest in her. Raven can’t help but feel drawn to him. Determined to uncover Damian’s connection to the ghost, Raven sets out to discover his secret and the reason Sam started haunting her. However, there’s more at stake than just her reputation. Raven’s choice between unveiling Damian’s true intentions, and living a normal life will put everyone she cares about at risk. To save them, she’ll have to go beyond.
Lives are ruined.
Hearts are shattered.
Death lurks at every corner.
This is book 1 of the Beyond Trilogy.
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License Notes
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Table Of Contents
1.
From t
he corner of my eye I spot a black smoking skull hanging in front of the window outside. The smoke wreaths around, trailing down in an ethereal waterfall, though it never reaches the ground. With soft steps I tread toward it and push my hands against the glass, forcing the window open. Are its glistening eyes staring back? I squint for a better view, but the skull zigzags in the air, then evaporates. It doesn’t surprise me anymore. After all, I’ve been having hallucinations for as long as I can remember. I tuck them away in the deepest corners of my memory.
I grab the bottle of pills
that’s standing on my desk and take two, swallowing them without water. My mom says they help make the hallucinations less intrusive and more manageable. I wonder what they would look like without those pills.
“Get out!”
I’m startled by the scream coming from the house across the street. The door flies open and a light shines on the veranda. A guy about my age wearing a black leather jacket and holding a black helmet in his hand storms out of the residence, shouting some vague words at someone inside. While he rushes down the steps a bald head sticks out from the front door.
“Brat!” the man yells
and drinks his beer.
The
guy hurries across the path and onto the street to a bright red motorcycle. The man at the front door casts one last dirty look at the guy and then slams the door behind him.
In my amazement I stare at the scen
e. The guy kicks a bag of trash, scattering garbage over the pavement. He hops on his motorcycle and then in a flash turns his face to me.
My
heart makes a nervous jump.
With a
yank I close the curtains.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I peek through a gap. The
guy holds still and looks my way before he drives off. I sigh as the motorcycle disappears from my sight.
I glance at the partially
wrapped gift on my desk. I feel kind of fuzzy, like I’m not really there. My mind is still with the guy. Even though it wasn’t anything extraordinary he seemed so vulnerable, the way that man yelled at him. I wonder if he wants to escape his environment. He reminds me of myself.
The sudden ring of the doorbell startles me.
Shit.
“Raven?” yells my
mom, Isabel, from the bottom of the stairs. “Simon’s here.”
“Could you ask him to wait just a bit? I’m not finished yet,” I answer, while I make sloppy work of taping the paper together.
“Okay!”
The wrapping
looks awful, but I don’t want to keep Simon waiting. I hope he doesn’t mind that I made such a mess over the present. After all, he did pay for it. I’m always so damn broke.
I put the gift in my bag and r
ush down the stairs. Simon’s already standing in the doorway.
He smiles from ear to ear when he sees me. “Hey, are you ready to go?”
Simon tucks away a strand of curled orange hair behind his ear.
“Yeah,” I say and return his smile.
“So, is he your date?” my mom asks.
“What? No, M
om, no. We’re just friends.” I blush. Simon smiles.
“Oh, Okay
. Well, you’ve been sixteen for some time now, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you got a boyfriend. But let me know if you do, so I can check up on him.”
“Mom!” M
y cheeks flush with heat.
She giggles. “A
nyway, enjoy yourselves at Lillian’s party!” my mom exclaims with a sly grin on her face.
“I don’t know about that,
Mom. I’ve never met anyone as eccentric as Lillian.” I roll my eyes.
“Well, she’s the first friend you made here in Piney Hollow
after we moved to Oregon, so be kind to her. You’ve got a few friends, and you don’t want to scare them off.” My mom winks.
I frown. “We’ve only
lived here for like two weeks, Mom. Give me a break. Besides, it’s not like I get to enjoy this place for too long anyway. You probably want to move within the next year or something.”
“Yeah, yeah, alright.
I get your point. Just have fun, you two!” She gives me a sticky kiss on the cheek.
“Shall we?” Simon asks as he points outside.
“See you tonight, Mom!”
“Wait,” my mom says.
Of course. Why did I ever think I could just get away? I sigh and turn around.
“Make sure you’re not seen by anyone,
okay? And—”
“Always dim the lights
. Be quick, and don’t take any busy roads. Yeah, Mom, I know. Bye.”
May
be if I close the door fast, she won’t be able to nag at me anymore.
“What was that
all about?” Simon asks. “Moving away again?”
“Tr
ust me, you don’t want to know. I’m glad she even let me go to the party,” I say, as we walk down the path to our bicycles.
“Well, if you ever want to talk about it
…” he says with a gulp and then a grin.
I glance at him and smile
back. “Thanks.”
Ever since I met him he’s been so sweet to me. I have to admit
: Simon Pierce is someone I’d like to get to know better. Even though I know my paranoid mom will probably not want to stay in Piney Hollow for more than a year. Every time, I get pulled out of my trusted environment and placed into a new one like it’s the most normal thing in the world. All I have is my mom, but she doesn’t understand me, and I don’t have anyone else, because I get torn away from all the people I ever become close to. I wish I could do something about it, but nothing I say gets through to her. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to listen to me.
Before we ride off
on our bikes, I glance one last time at the house across the street. It looks normal, like some regular family could live there, although it felt anything but normal when that guy looked at me. The vivid image of him and his red motorcycle is stuck in my mind.
***
The sky has already darkened quite a bit when we reach Lillian Watts’ house. There’s a girl with big blue eyes and blonde pigtails standing in the doorway. The pink highlights in her hair shine in the light of the outdoor lamp.
“Hi! You must be Raven,” she calls to me.
“That’s right.”
She holds out her hand. “Emma Harper. I go to class with Simon and Lillian. And with you too, soon. Isn’t that nice?”
Soon. That’s tomorrow. I cringe at the thought of going to a new school. I never make a good impression thanks to my hallucinations.
“Hi Simon!” She
flutters her eyelashes and her cheeks turn bright red. Her smile seems permanent. Simon told me she sent him two roses for Valentine’s Day this year.
We walk in
to the living room. Lillian is sitting on the couch and looks thrilled to see me. Her unusual black hair with violet ends looks even darker, because of the lack of light in the living room.
“You came!” Lillian approaches me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Great. Have a seat.” She points at the couch. “Want something to drink?”
“Oh—um, orange juice, if you have it.”
Simon s
its next to me on the couch, smirking. I spot Emma—who was helping Lillian with the drinks—coming toward us, and she sits down between us.
“Isn’t this party awesome?” She puts her hand on her mouth and coughs.
This whole scene is making me uncomfortable. In the meantime she keeps throwing flirtatious looks at Simon every couple of seconds and winking at him. I don’t want to be in the way.
The stereo is blasting through the room. Lillian puts my glass on the table and then jumps around the music player.
“Oh, my god!” she shrieks and turns the volume up. I’m almost vibrating off the couch. “Blue Sky Rippers has a new single!”
Emma jumps
off the couch and sprints over to Lillian. She squeals, hearing the music. Together they scream the notes and try to sing along with the lyrics, while playing air guitars and jumping around.
Simon pu
shes his fingers into his ears. “You girls are making me deaf.”
I laugh. “Yeah, my ears are blown too.”
He snorts. “Women.”
“Yeah, sometimes I think I’m not one either,” I say while chuckling.
He winks at me, which makes my cheeks grow hot, so I must be turning red.
***
Lillian orders a couple of pizzas for us, which we munch away without any trouble. After dinner we sit down on the couch near the coffee table again. Lillian raises the volume of the music and gives everybody another drink. I take her present out of my bag and wait until she sits down.
“We picked it out together,” I say, as I hand over her gift.
“Oh, I wonder what’s inside.” Lillian rips off the paper. The stone owl accompanied by sticks of incense makes her eyes glow. Simon and I picked it out together. She seemed like the type who likes incense, tarot cards and herbs.
She puts the stone owl on the table, puts in
an incense stick and lights it.
“It smells divine,” she says as she directs the smoky aroma toward her nose with her hands, close to the stick. “Thanks!”
Simon smiles at me, and I blush.
“Now it’s time for the fun part,” Lillian says. Her eyes shift slyly to the living room door. I wonder what she’s up to now. She goes upstairs and comes back quick. “Look what I found in the attic!” Lillian holds a round board in her hands. “This is called
a Ouija board,” she says with a dramatic voice, like the thing alone is already a show.
I recognize it from the television shows, but I’ve never seen one in real life.
It’s used to call upon spirits and to talk with them. The entire alphabet is on the board and all the numbers from zero to nine. In her other hand Lillian holds a wooden arrow which has a hole in it. She puts the board and the wooden arrow on the table and prepares. The lights are turned down; the curtains are closed, and a lot of candles are lit.
“I told you I wanted to make this an exciting night
. This is perfect.”
“Interesting …” Simon responds. Lillian glares at him. I get the feeling she doesn’t like
him very much and that the reason she invited him was to do Emma a favor.
I don’t want to spend my time with this weird Ouija board. What a strange way
to have a party. Even though I’m against it, I don’t speak up, not wanting to hurt Lillian’s feelings. I sigh and start twirling my dark red hair.