Krysta's Curse (3 page)

Grabbing a grocery bag from under the sink,
I quickly scooped in the contents from the medicine cabinet.

Totally absorbed in getting my bathroom
clean before Bryon came over, I had momentarily forgotten the
annoying dead people behind me.

Then Ed loudly cleared his throat, although
what he was clearing I didn’t know. After all, he didn’t have real
lungs anymore.

“S’pose we don’t leave.” Ed clung to each
word slowly, as if he enjoyed the flavor of each syllable.

He couldn’t be serious! Turning to the
ghosts, I felt my jaw twitch in annoyance at their silly grins.
“Excuse me?”

“Seein’ how we got booted from our
graveyard, I think we’ll make ourselves at home right here.” Ed
made a point of looking around the entire bathroom and resting his
good eye on an orderly shelf of lotions. Was he threatening my
moisturizers?

Stepping in front of the lotions, I barred
Ed’s path before he destroyed any more of my stuff. I could feel my
heart racing wildly. Bryon would be here any minute and I hadn’t
even retouched my makeup.

“No, you have to go. Do you want my study
partner to think I’m a freak?” I tried to fan them away, like they
were clouds of smoke, but they just continued to stare like
idiots.

At the familiar sound of a distant chime, my
blood froze. “The doorbell!”

Crossing her arms across her chest, Gertrude
tapped her foot. “Then promise you’ll help us.”

“I can’t.” Turning toward the mirror, I made
a hasty attempt to smooth my unruly hair.

“Suit yerself.” Ed shrugged.

The deep, muffled sound of a familiar voice
assailed my ears.

“Oh-mi-god!” I shrieked. “I hear Bryon. Dad
must have let him in.”

“Krysta, your friend is here.” My dad spoke
through the door. “You can study in your room if you leave the door
open.”

“NO!” I yelled at the door. Facing the
ghosts, I turned my lips in to a pout and batted my eyes. “Please
leave. What if I find you an old house to haunt?”

“We want our graveyard back,” Ed answered
evenly.

“Who are you talking to?”

I jumped, dropping the contents from the
medicine cabinet on the floor.

Bryon was on the other side of the door.

“Nobody.” I tried to sound casual, but I
could feel the shakiness in my voice. “Go wait in the living room.
I’ll be right out.” I kneeled, and once again, scooped makeup into
the bag.

“Your dad and your sister are watching a
movie in the living room,” Bryon said.

I rolled my eyes. Dad’s newest girlfriend
looked like she’d just graduated high school. “She’s not my
sister.”

“Oh. You okay?”

Even through the door, I could feel Bryon’s
sincerity. Any other guy wouldn’t have asked if I was okay, but
Bryon was different. That’s why I’d been thrilled when Mrs. Jackson
made him my study partner. I couldn’t tell him why I was still
stuck in the bathroom, though; I needed an excuse.

“Yeah, I’m just putting on my ghosts,” I
blurted. “Your what?”

The old people laughed hysterically.

How childish. Weren’t they like 200 by now?
When were they going to grow up?

Don’t be an idiot, Krysta. Calm down, breathe.

“My clothes. I just took a shower and I’m
putting on my clothes.”

Nice save.

“Okay, I’ll clear off your desk and get
started.” Listening to the sound of Bryon’s retreating footsteps, I
breathed a sigh of relief, slumping my back against the door. When
Ed and Gertrude floated through me and into my bedroom, my pulse
jumped. Not cool. They were going to mess with him.

“Get back here!” I threw open the door,
running smack into Bryon’s chest.

Stunned, I looked up into the palest blue
eyes I’d ever seen. A girl could get lost in the heat of his gaze.
Until I remembered
them
.

Bryon quirked a brow. “I didn’t go
anywhere.” “Oh.” Totally embarrassed, I stepped back and felt the
flames race up my chest and across my cheeks. He must have thought
I was yelling at him.

Hearing Ed’s chuckle, I stole a quick glance
at the ceiling and spotted them hovering above Bryon’s head. I bit
my bottom lip.

Please don’t do anything I’ll regret.

Resting his chin in his hand, Bryon
smothered a laugh while looking at my midsection. “You forgot to
zip.”

“Ho!” My feet made a hasty about-face, while
I struggled with the zipper which was caught in my underwear.
Grimacing, I recalled my response just a few seconds ago.
What does ‘ho’
mean, anyway? Get it together, Krysta.

Turning around, I brushed my hand through my
hair, a lame attempt at looking cool, but Bryon wasn’t looking at
me. His head jerked from side to side before he turned in circles,
reminding me of AJ’s dog, Patches, whenever he chased his tail.

Mortified, I watched as Ed and Gertrude spun
circles around Bryon so fast their translucent forms had turned to
glowing flashes of light.

After what felt like an eternity, a stabbing
pain in my chest reminded me that I had stopped breathing. I tried
to inhale, but air was only coming in gasps.

A few more rotations and Bryon stopped,
looking at me with a glazed-over expression. “Do you feel
that?”

“What?” I stammered.

The ghosts were, once again, hovering above
my lab partner, holding their stomachs with shouts of laughter.

Clenching my fists, I shot the pair a heated
glare, warning them to leave Bryon alone. Although, really, how
could I have stopped them?

“I don’t know.” Bryon scratched his head.
“It felt like a breeze, a really cold breeze.”

“I think it’s the air conditioner.” I
shrugged, chewing on my lower lip.

“Maybe you should turn it down.”

“I can’t. It’s broken and we’re waiting for
the apartment manager to fix it.” The perfect excuse to get Bryon
out of my apartment and away from the ghosts.

“That sucks.” Raising his eyebrows, Bryon
scanned the room.

For the first time, I worried what Bryon
thought about my home. Did he think me uncool because I lived in a
run-down apartment? My dad had a crappy job as a graveyard shift
security guard. I had heard rumors Bryon’s dad was rich. I followed
Bryon’s gaze as they rested on a stack of crates holding my old
laptop computer.

Smiling softly, his gaze found mine.

Was that pity I saw in his eyes? Even
without Sophie here, I could figure out what he was thinking.
Poor kid can’t
afford real furniture or keep her pants zipped.

Suddenly, I felt very small, like I was
shrinking into the carpet. If only I could. I knew getting Bryon
interested in me could be challenging. Making him feel sorry for me
was not the way I wanted to do it.

Bryon pulled on his jacket. “Didn’t you say
there was a coffee house down the street?”

Thinking he was desperate to escape my
ghetto home, I nodded toward the door. “Yeah, maybe we should go
study there.”

“Sure.” He rubbed his arms. “It’s too cold
here. I don’t know how you sleep like this.”

“If you only knew.” I sighed and followed
him to the door, leering at the annoying spirits from the corner of
my eye.

Before turning out the lights, I caught Ed’s
toothless grin and Gertrude’s lopsided smile. Would they tag along?
Maybe going there wasn’t such a hot idea. Oh, the tricks they could
play with hot coffee.

As we entered
Mocha Madness, I scanned the area for the ghosts.

All clear—so far.

Would they really come here and ruin my
entire evening with Bryon?

Sighing, I rubbed my temples in frustration,
a habit I usually saw AJ doing whenever she was pissed. Maybe it
would relieve my ever-growing headache. Dropping my book bag on one
of the four empty tables, I headed to the counter where Sunny was
cleaning coffee pots while swearing.

I don’t know who thought to name her Sunny.
She was a Goth who never smiled. Her arms were covered in skull
tattoos, which I was pretty sure were fake because they seemed to
move to new locations each time I saw her.

Looking at Bryon, I could see he already had
his eyes on the pastries. He was kneeling in front of the glass
case, licking his lips and looking too cute.

Mocha Madness had the best desserts ever,
but I rarely ordered any sweets. I had to watch my weight if I
wanted to pursue a career in modeling. Besides, their desserts were
expensive.

Leaning over Bryon, my gaze followed the
direction of his transfixed stare. He was looking at the triple
chocolate chunk, peanut butter brownies topped with marshmallow
crème. Sounded kind of like too much of a good thing, but they were
awesome. They sure had Bryon under a spell. I couldn’t help but
feel a little jealous. What chance did a short, frizzy-haired girl
stand against triple chocolate heaven?

Bryon put his hand on the glass. “Come to
Papa,” he whispered.

“Do you want one of those brownies?” I
asked, unable to refrain from smiling.

Jerking his head up, he flashed me an impish
grin. “Heck, yeah!”

I couldn’t refrain from laughing out loud.
“Anything to drink?”

“Yes.” He nodded before turning his gaze
back to the chocolate bliss. “A tall double-mocha latte.”

“I’ll have the usual.” Rising, I called to
Sunny’s back. “Got that, Sunny?”

“Sure,” she mumbled without turning
around.

I knew she’d heard me, but I still wanted to
get a response from her. She liked to play this fantasy game that
she was the only person in the room.

Usually, I didn’t mind.

Mocha Madness was a small espresso bar.
Tucked away in the back of the run-down shopping center down the
street from my apartment, it didn’t get much business. I liked it
that way. I could escape here after school whenever my dad brought
home a new ‘friend’. Dad and his barely legal girl toy were usually
nice to me at first, but I caught on real fast that Dad wanted me
out of the picture.

I’d ask for ten bucks to go eat and then I’d
disappear to Mocha Madness, drink a diet soda and read my
magazines. The system worked to my advantage because I usually
pocketed about nine dollars each time. I already had this totally
adorable handbag on layaway. With just ten more visits to Mocha
Madness, the purse was mine.

Sitting at our little table in the corner, I
opened my chemistry book and turned to page seven. We had a test
this Friday and chemistry really wasn’t my thing. Luckily, it was
just the Periodic Table of the Elements. Seemed easy enough, but
how would I be able to keep all those letters in my head without
getting totally mixed up? So far, the only one I could remember was
oxygen.

When Bryon sat next to me, I nearly jumped
from my seat. He sat next to me every day in class, so why was he
having this effect on me now? Something about his nearness in this
deserted café had my nerves on edge.

Not to mention the ever gnawing threat of
Gertrude and Ed floating in and scaring him away for good.

I tried to push it from my mind, but the
possibility of my impending embarrassment was always looming.

Inhaling a deep breath, I slowly exhaled, a
technique I’d learned in my Yoga-to-Go videos. “I thought we’d just
study the elements tonight and worry about the project later.”

“Sounds good.” He smiled, barely casting me
a glance before opening his book.

Barely a look, huh?
I bet if I was a brownie, he’d
notice me.

Ah, well, what was I expecting? I never
thought a guy like Bryon would like a girl like me. So why was I
feeling totally disappointed?

My head jerked at the rattle of dishes
against the table. Sunny had deposited my diet soda and his coffee
and brownie with a sneer before turning her back to us and walking
behind the counter.

“What’s her problem?” Bryon rolled his eyes
in Sunny’s direction.

I shrugged. “She doesn’t like people much.”
Bryon’s face dropped as he eyed my diet soda. “That’s all you’re
getting?” Then his eyes softened. “I’ll pay if you want something
else.”

I heard the pity in his voice as he flashed
me a half-hearted smile.

I didn’t need Sophie’s mind reading powers
to know what he was thinking.
Krysta, the poor kid with a crappy apartment,
can’t even afford a brownie.

“I don’t need you to pay for me,” I spat
with maybe a little too much edge in my voice. “I have money.”

“Okay.” He held out both hands. “Sorry.” I
sighed. “It’s just that I’m on a diet.”

“Why?” His eyes bulged, then trailed up my
torso and across my arms. “You don’t need to be.”

Was he checking me out? For some reason, I
got the feeling he didn’t like what he saw. Aw, crap!

I blew out a frustrated breath. “That’s what
everyone says, but the minute I let my guard down, I know I’ll gain
like fifty pounds.”

“So you’re always going to drink diet and
skip chocolate?” His gaze scanned me again with raised brows.
“Don’t you worry you might be a little
too skinny
?”

Too skinny? Was he dogging my weight?

A wave of heat rippled through my chest and
up my neck before the burn spread to my cheeks. “Are we here to
study or to talk about what I eat?” I spat.

I didn’t know if I was more embarrassed or
pissed off by his comment, but it cut—hard.

“Maybe both.” He shrugged.

Rolling my eyes, I flipped open my science
binder. “Well, let’s not.” I said tersely. “We have a test this
Friday and our project is due in three weeks.” Tapping my pencil on
my binder, I glared at him while awaiting his response.

So far, my efforts to make Bryon like me
weren’t going very well.

His gaze dropped to the table and this time
his
cheeks
turned red.

Good, I thought, before a surge of guilt
washed through me. Maybe I over-reacted to his ‘skinny’
comment.