Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) (15 page)

“Of course,
Sweetie,” she says, and she’s already turned around again to read her book.

“This is Raven,” he says
, and he gestures at me to move forward. I tread ahead with soft steps, because I’m afraid I might leave dirt in this spotless house.

“Hello.” We shake hands.

“Edith, pleasure to meet you. You’ve got the most beautiful name, Raven.”

“
Thank you, Ma’am.”

Then Simon signals me. “C
’mon, I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

I shuffle back to Simon, but before he can start his tour, the chef’s already calling out to us, saying we’re expected in the dining hall.

“In this house everyone’s expected to be right on time,” Simon explains. “My father’s strict. He wants everything to be orderly, even when he’s not here.”

“Where’s your dad then?” I ask.

“On a business trip. He’s gone every two weeks. I almost never see him.”

“Oh …” I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know what it’s like having a
dad, but I can imagine it’s not very nice either if you never see him when you actually have one.

Before we sit down, he shows me a picture of his dad, on
a cabinet in the hallway. The man has a tight jaw line, light gray hair, and his lips seem shriveled up and permanently point downwards, like he’s been nibbling on a lemon for days. The hairs on my arm and the back of my neck stand up when I see his face. I wonder if his personality is just as nasty as he looks on the outside. I’m lucky I won’t get to meet him tonight.

Dinner is grandiose and delicious. We get a light vegetable
bouillon, asparagus wrapped in ham, followed by smoked lamb and roasted potatoes and a salad, and as a dessert we get vanilla ice cream covered with red fruit.

When we’re done, the table is cleaned for us and Simon and I go to his bedroom.

“Did you like it? The food I mean?” he asks.

“Yes! It was delicious! I’ve nev
er had anything that good.”

He laughs. “Good. The chefs do their best
, and they’re always happy when there’s someone in the house who appreciates their culinary arts.

“Why?” I ask.

“Well … My parents are kind of picky.” He laughs, but looks away, his cheeks flushed.

Simon takes me to his room. To the side is a couch, a couple of chairs, a coffee table and there’s a television that hangs on the wall. In the middle is a king size bed
.

From under the coffee table, Simon fetches a crate of DVD’s and picks one out.

“You can come in, you know,” he says with a smirk. I’m still gaping at his immense bedroom.

With tiny steps I walk toward the couch, sit down and put my bag on the floor. Simon puts the DVD in the
player and turns on the television. “Want something to drink? I forgot to ask.”

I shake my
head, because I’m still full from dinner. Then he sits next to me and starts the movie.

I don’t understand. If he
lives this luxurious life, why does he work? He doesn’t need the money. It grows on trees for him. I think he could get anything from his mom and dad.

“Why do you work at Cheng
’s? I mean, it’s not like you need the money,” I ask. It’s out before I realize it.

“I want to earn my own money. I want to be proud at what I make, not depend on my parents.” He sighs.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. It was rude of me,” I say.

“It’s okay
,” he says with a smile, which makes me blush. When I remain quiet, he turns his head toward the television again.

Even though I like the movie, in my mind I’m busy with something different. All those questions about Damian and Joey that remain unanswered. Why they work together, why they catch ghosts, how they do it and what the consequences are. And then there’s the most pressing question of all: can I become a ghost myself? And what would it be like? I can’t imagine myself being dead, let alone blue and translucent, but maybe it’s possible. T
he thought alone runs a shiver along my spine.

At that very moment, Simon puts his arm around me.

I stiffen and look at him. My cheeks flush, and I’m getting hot inside, but I don’t know why. This isn’t the same feeling I had with Damian, but it does feel nice. Maybe I should say I don’t want this, but I can’t; my voice falters. Damian is exhilarating, unpredictable and interesting, but Simon is sweet and gentle. I have so many doubts right now. What should I say? Aren’t I with Damian? I don’t even know what Damian feels for me; he’s not been very clear about it. Yeah, he kissed me a couple of times, but he also slammed me against a wall twice, and he’s been hostile toward me.

Sometimes it’s like he’s crazy in love with me
. Other times it seems like he wants me gone. And Simon’s been shy around me ever since I met him. I should have known.

Then I feel his reddish curls tickle against my face a
s he gives me a kiss on the cheek. I move my head away and look at him. I take his arm off my shoulder. I jump up from the couch and search for my bag.

“I have to go,” I say.

“Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry.” Red marks appear all over his face.

“I can’t do this. I’m not sure,” I mumble and pickup my bag.

“I thought you … might feel the same for me, because you said you liked me for who I am. And we’ve had such a great time together, so I thought … I’m sorry, really,” he says again.

“No, I’m sorry.”
I try to walk out the door, but he grabs my arm.

“Please, stop. Don’t go. I didn’t mean to upset you. Could we … could we still be friends?” he asks.

I try to form a smile. “I’ll have to think about it.” Then I bolt out of his room and leave this beautiful house. I should never have come here.

It’s cold and dark outside. Trees and lampposts draw shadows that almost look like monsters on the road ahead. I try to focus on biking, but it’s almost impossible. The ghosts are everywhere, surrounding me like hungry wolves, ready to jump their prey.

What’s so interesting about me? Why do they always come after me? And why now?

I try not to look at them, to ignore them. As long as I don’t see them, I can pretend they’re not there. I don’t want to land on the street again, terrified, after an attack by the ghosts. Not again.

But
the creeping fear is useful for something tonight. It distracts my thoughts from Simon Pierce, who just kissed me on the cheek.

Why didn’t I realize sooner that he likes me?

Guilt is tearing me up. I left him there all alone, feeling rejected, and I feel miserable about it.

How can I ever choose between two guys?
I can’t make them both happy, and one of them will always be burdened with my choice. But I know I’ve already chosen. I always want to be near him. Being with him makes me safe, not wanting to run away from the fear and thoughts of what might happen. I chose Damian.

Then I realize I forgot the fact that I don’t have a key to my house and my mom’s not home yet. It’s only half past eight
, so she’s probably not finished babysitting yet. I have no idea where she is, so I guess I’ll have to force my way into our home.

After I park
my bike on the lawn, I slump to the front door. My mom’s car isn’t there. I sigh. Rummaging through my bag, I find a paperclip that was stuck on some papers. I’ve seen on television that you can use a paperclip to force a lock, so I might as well try it. While concentrating on fiddling the paperclip into the lock, a rumbling engine comes closer behind me and stops.

“Need some help?” Damian calls out.

I can’t bear to look at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, you didn’t respond to my text messa
ges, so I thought I’d drop by.”

“Oh, right. My
cell phone’s dead, sorry,” I say while gnawing on my fingernails.

“Want me to lend you a hand?” The gravel crunches under his feet as he walks to me.

“It’s fine,” I snap.

Why am I so mean to him?

He didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m still frustrated, though I shouldn’t vent it on him.

Then I feel his warm hand on my back. A heat wave goes through my body, warming me up on the inside. I turn around to see his remarkable hazelnut eyes.

“Let me do it.” He takes a credit card from his wallet and pokes it in between the door and the frame, where the doorknob is. In the meantime I put the paperclip back in my bag. As he’s fumbling around with the card, I watch his movements. The sleek, dark suit fits him like it was tailor made. It’s quite a turn on and makes it hard to breathe at a normal rate. After not even ten seconds, a soft click opens the door.

“How did you do that?” I ask, amazed.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you break in often or something?” I raise one eyebrow.

“No …” Damian sighs. “There are some things you’re better off not knowing. Just be grateful.” So he’s keeping secrets too. It reminds me of what I’ve done.

“Thanks,” I say and turn my face away to hide my shame.
I’d rather not have him know what happened between me and Simon, and I’m certainly not going to tell him. Why should I? Simon gave me that kiss, not the other way around. I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.

“Are you okay
? You seem a bit absent-minded,” he asks.

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just tired,” I lie.

We just stand there, staring into nothingness, until he turns around and walks away. Both of us are afraid to speak up, I guess. When I turn around to walk inside, he’s behind me again and pulls my arm to make me turn around. I fall into his arms, and his lips are right on top of mine. They’re warm and moist, and my body is on fire. I feel the aching need to have him touch me. When he lets go, I crave more.

“You don’t know how much I like kissing you,” he says. “I just wanted to make that clear.”

I blush and a playful smile appears on his face.

“From the moment I saw you in your room, I just wanted to kiss you. I don’t know why. It’s like I knew you before I even met you. Like there was already a connection between us that I didn’t know about until I saw you. Like it’s meant to be, or something,” he explains.

I chuckle. It sounds ridiculous and implausible, but thinking about it reminds me that I feel the exact same way.

“I know it sounds weird
. I don’t understand it either, but it’s true. When I saw you in your room, something just clicked in my brain. I was so distracted by your presence that I completely forgot about that black ghost,” he says.

“Yeah, I co
uld see that,” I say, giggling.

A self-confident smile appears on his face
, and he pulls up his eyebrow. “Tomorrow, at noon.” Then he hobbles back toward his motorcycle.

“I’ll be ready!”
I holler.

He puts his helmet back on, turns his head and hits the gas. After spinning a circle, he
drives off. The sight gives me goose bumps and leaves me breathless, but I feel so alive.

I heave a sigh.
Why did I fall in love so fast, when I barely know Damian?

I don’t understand where this attraction is coming from, but I can’t resist anymore
. I don’t want to. I want to feel these butterflies, even if it’s strange. It’s like we’ve known each other for such a long time, because we understand one another and we’re on the same level. We’re even dealing with the same problems. He’s unhappy at home. So am I. He tries to be someone he’s not. So do I. Being with him feels like the safest place in the world, even on his motorcycle. Under normal circumstances, I would never be this head over heels for a guy, but Damian is different. Different in a good way.

***

In the living room, my mom’s waiting for me with the light on.
Shit, caught in the act.

“Mom, I can
—”

“No, Raven. You were told
to come home right after work and now I hear you snooping around with some boy at the front door? What in the world were you doing? No, never mind. I don’t even want to know. I’m not going to go through this again right now. We’ll talk tomorrow. Go upstairs.”

She rubs her fingers
over her eyes. She won’t let me explain, not even granting me one look. The tears well up, but I fight them. Then I bolt up the stairs.

In the bathroom I open both handles and let the water pour into the tub until it’s reached a comfortable temperature.
I sigh to breathe away the strain of the fight with my mom, then I take off my clothes. They reek of Simon’s house; the stench fills my nose.

I throw them into a corner. I don’t want to think about his home. The memory of his kiss comes right back into my mind. When I take my hair and smell it, it’s got the exact same odor. I’m surprised Damian didn’t notice. I just hope a substantial amount of shampoo can drive away the stink.