The Departed (2 page)

“This
ghost
did that?” Megan asked, her voice skeptical.

I nodded. “Yeah, she did.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Cass asked.

“Because you wouldn’t understand,” Cait replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Would you tell anyone, especially people you’ve just met?”

“Probably not,” Cass muttered.

I was so relieved that at least Cait understood. I didn’t feel quite so alone.

Megan had become pretty quiet, though.

I was desperate to tell them everything—that Laria had possessed Shane and Megan, and that she was possibly behind the death of Anne Marie, my housekeeper’s best friend, who had summoned Laria when she had first started haunting me. But now that Laria had left her not-so-subtle threat to kill all of us, I needed to weigh my options to avoid their freaking out on me.

“How do we know you didn’t carve ‘DIE’ into the headboard?” Megan asked, her voice calm, her stare cold.

“That’s such a fucked up thing to say,” Cass said, frowning at Megan. “You always give me shit about saying the wrong thing, but seriously—that was low.”

Megan stared blankly at her. “What? I mean…she cuts.”

Cait gasped. “Jesus, Meg.”

Megan would never say something so mean. I knew that. There was just no way. Heat raced to my cheeks because all three girls were staring at me, waiting for my response. It was all out on the table now. I had nothing else to hide.

“You’re right, Megan, I do cut…but I’m trying to quit.” I cleared my throat. Despite the fact Megan was acting sketchy, these were my friends, my best friends, and I needed to be completely honest with them. “I started cutting over a year ago after my mom died. I didn’t know how to deal with my pain, and for whatever reason—even if it doesn’t make sense to you—it was one way for me to release my pain. I hate that I’ve done it. I hate that it eats at me.”

Not one of them looked surprised by my admission, making me wonder who else, aside from Dana and her crew, had made it a point to harass me about cutting.

“You don’t owe us an explanation,” Cait said, as she reached for my hand and squeezed it. “None of us can relate to what you’ve been through in your life. I can’t imagine losing my mum. Just know that we’re your friends and we’ll help you whenever you need us.”

The sides of Megan’s mouth lifted the slightest bit, and though she had brown eyes, they were darker than I recalled. I wasn’t about to call Laria out in front of Cass and Cait. I didn’t want them freaking out even more than they already were.

“I’m glad you were honest with us. That says a lot,” Cass said. The words filled me with relief.

“Me, too,” Cait said, glancing at Megan.

Megan picked a piece of lint off the rug, staring at me in that messed-up way. I felt like at any second she would leap across the room and jump me.

“Thanks, guys.” I cleared my throat, needing to lay it all on the line. “I want to also warn you about something—that spirits can masquerade inside people who are living.”

Cass set down on my bed. “Masquerade in the living? Like how?”

“Like possession?” Cait asked.

“Yes, like possession,” I said. “The person may not even know they are being taken over. There could be times where they just don’t feel like themselves, like being pissed off or PMSing for no reason. There could even be episodes where they black out and don’t remember anything…and we’re talking for a period of time.”

Cass’s eyes narrowed. “Like how long a period of time?”

“I don’t know for sure,” I replied, choosing my words carefully. “But it takes energy for a spirit to manifest and gain enough power to manipulate the living.”

Cait gave a shudder. “Creepy.”

“How do you know so much about possession?” Cass lifted her feet off the floor, as though she was terrified someone would reach out from under the bed and grab her.

“Cait already knows this.” I turned to Cass and Megan. “I’m being haunted by Laria, but I see more spirits than just her. In fact, I’ve been able to see the dead since the accident that killed my mom.”

Cass glanced at me. “So…what’s it like?”

I shrugged. “It’s kind of like seeing you guys…sometimes ghosts are transparent, and sometimes they are as solid as any human being. Some ghosts are nice and just want to be noticed, while there are others—dark spirits—who can make life miserable.”

“Like Laria?” Cait said.

I nodded. “Like Laria.”

Three quick knocks sounded at my door and we all jumped.

I prayed my dad hadn’t been standing outside the door. I put a finger to my lips, walked to the door and, with a steadying breath, opened it.

Shane held a plate of cookies. “Compliments of Miss A,” he said, and the entire mood of the room shifted. Megan still sat sullen, but Cass was up off the bed and walked toward Shane, playing with a strand of hair while swishing her hips.

His gaze slowly slid over her, taking in the silk pajamas and lifting an appreciative brow.

Cait stiffened, apparently jealous of the attention Shane was giving Cass. I knew Cait really liked Shane. Everyone knew it, but to her credit, she wasn’t too obvious.

Shane’s gaze shifted to Cait a second later. The corners of his mouth curved as he checked out the skull pajama pants and tight camisole, and then their gazes met.

Yep, there were some smoldering stares going on between the two.

I looked at Megan, and if I’d wondered whether Laria was in the room before, I had no question of it now. She didn’t seem at all bothered by the interaction between Cait and Shane, and normally the jealousy would have been written all over her face.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the plate from him.

Cait shifted on her feet. “You want to hang out with us?”

Shane brushed a hand through his already disheveled blond hair. He glanced at me and I shrugged. Honestly, I didn’t care. In fact, given the dark conversation we’d been having, I was only too happy to have him stay.

“Actually, I’m going to get cleaned up first, but maybe I’ll hang with you later.”

“We’re going to watch a movie. Maybe you can watch it with us?” Cass said, her mood becoming more upbeat by the second.

All it took was Shane flashing a smile to ease everyone’s fears. “How can I say no to a room full of beautiful women? Count me in.”

I laughed under my breath, while Cass and Cait beamed.

“What’s wrong, Meg?” Shane asked, and she glanced up, brows lifted high.

Megan shook her head. “Nothing.”

His gaze abruptly shifted to the Ouija board. He looked at me and frowned.

“A stupid game,” Cass said, kicking the board under the bed.

“Get rid of it,” Shane said, his good mood gone.

“I will,” I promised, as I reached for it.

An arm abruptly grabbed me and yanked me under the bed.

My friends’ screams filled the room.

Strong hands, which had to belong to Shane, gripped my ankles and pulled, but the person who had my arms yanked right back with even more force. My shoulders felt like they were being ripped from the sockets.

I was scared to open my eyes, because if Laria was possessing Megan, then who exactly was holding on to me?

More hands joined my brother’s, and as I felt my friends and Shane gain the upper hand, I found the courage to peek at my assailant.

It was Laria and her eyes were full of rage. “Pain and death,” she said, in that unearthly tone I heard in my nightmares. Her nails dug into the skin at my arms, clawing harder as Shane and the girls tugged hard, freeing me from Laria’s grasp.

Before I could blink, Shane’s hands were on my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

My heart was pounding so loud I barely heard him. I nodded.

Cass’s mouth was wide open. Cait looked ready to throw up, and Megan still sat in the same spot. She hadn’t bothered to help at all.

“Who are you?” I asked Megan, and everyone looked at her, confusion on their faces.

“What do you mean?” Megan asked, as she slowly came to her feet. “I’m your friend.”

“Riley?—” Shane started.

I shook my head. “There’s a spirit inside Megan, and I’m guessing it wasn’t Laria since she was the one who pulled me underneath the bed.”

“Oh, hell no,” Cass said, taking a step toward the door. “You’re trying to tell me she’s possessed?”

I nodded. Cait stayed rooted to the spot.

Shane stepped between me and Megan. “Who are you?”

A slow, menacing smile crossed Megan’s lips. “I am your worst nightmare.” The voice wasn’t Megan’s. It was deep and masculine…like Randall’s voice, the creepy guy who had introduced Laria to the dark arts.

Cass screamed and Cait took Shane’s hand.

“You have no power here,” I said with a force that surprised me. “This is my home and you are not welcome here. Leave now.”

“Leave now!” Cait said with me, and soon everyone in the room was repeating the words over and over again.

The spirit in Megan began to laugh, a deep-throated horrific chuckle that sent shivers along my spine. I was proud of Cait, Cass, and Shane. They kept repeating the words along with me, and soon Megan was backing up against the wall.

Her gaze abruptly shifted to the right, where beside the window I saw a bright figure. I couldn’t make out who it was, but I felt the energy move through me like a wave. A positive wave that grew stronger by the second.

I received an image of Anne Marie in my vision, along with one of my mom. She was still with me. What a relief it was to see and feel her, and know she had my back.

“What’s going on?” Megan looked at us, her brow furrowed as her gaze shifted over each of us. “You’re freaking me out. Say something.”

She was acting like Megan, and I noticed her eyes didn’t look so dark.

Cass went to her bag, took three gulps off the fifth. “Oh my God, I’m never going to sleep again.”

“It’s okay,” I said as I gave Megan a hug, relieved to have my friend back.

She hugged me, and then looked at my arms. “What happened?”

There were long scratch marks down the length of both arms, and a couple of them were bleeding.

“That Laria bitch yanked her under the bed, and when she came out, she had those scratches,” Cass said, glancing at Shane. “Do you have a joint? I need to get blazed.”

“You think getting high is a good idea, and who the hell is Laria?” Megan asked.

Yep, our Megan was back.

“Um, it’s definitely a good idea,” Cait replied. “I’m right there with you.”

“Crack the window,” I said, then thought better of it. I didn’t know what Laria would do, especially after the threat that each of us would die. An open window was just giving her an invitation.

That, or I could imagine her hanging upside down in my window, like she had done to me weeks before. My friends would lose their minds.

Shane crossed the room, cracked the window slightly, and removed the wallet from his back pocket. He pulled out a joint and lit it. He inhaled deeply, held the hit in for a good fifteen seconds, before he exhaled the smoke out into the pitch-black night.

Cass approached him, and took the joint right out of his fingers. He sat down in the chair and glanced at me. We were in deep shit and he knew it. I was grateful he was here, helping calm down my friends, but then what? How were we going to move forward? What could we do to get rid of Laria, Randall, and the others?

Cait must have E.S.P., because she said, “Couldn’t we do like an exorcism or something?”

Anne Marie would have been helpful when it came to exorcising negative spirits. Now I was clueless as to who to ask, and I didn’t feel comfortable walking into a church and asking the clergy for help. The last thing I needed was a priest talking to my dad right now.

I was on shaky ground with Dad as it was. Talk of ghosts, even with Shane backing me up, would have me thrown into a mental ward.

“Shane, will you do us a favor and look under the bed?” Cait asked after they’d finished smoking. Even Megan had given in and taken one hit.

None of them looked any more relaxed. In fact, I think the weed might have had a less than calming effect on Cass, who was chewing her fingernails off.

“Sure,” Shane said, going down on his knees. He reached underneath the bed, and pulled out the Ouija board. “First things first, though. We’re getting rid of this.”

Chapter 3

My friends finished off the entire plate of cookies, then rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator looking for munchies. The best way to counteract the nightmare of Laria yanking me beneath the bed and possessing Megan was a solid dose of comic relief, compliments of Scottish cable. We sat huddled on the couch together, with Shane sprawled in the chair beside us.

Dad came in about eleven thirty. Everyone had put eye drops in their bloodshot eyes, but they remained quiet while Dad asked a few questions. Thankfully, he gave up and headed to his room.

At three in the morning, I was having a tough time keeping my eyes open. Plus, I’d had all the comedy I could handle and excused myself, saying I needed to sleep. Megan followed me, and Cass and Cait said they’d be right behind us.

I brushed my teeth, and fell into bed beside an already snoring Megan. I kept the bathroom light on and left the door open…just in case. I lay awake for thirty minutes, staring at the ceiling, exhausted mind racing. I heard Cass tell Shane and Cait goodnight. I closed my eyes as she snuggled beside me. Sandwiched between my friends, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I could barely make out the fire from where I stood in the forest, hidden behind a thick outcropping of trees. The place was unfamiliar to me: dense, cold, and dark.

Roughly thirty feet away a group of at least twenty people, all wearing long black robes, stood before a raging fire. In the center I could see an altar, a velvet drape slung over the rock slab, and a goblet in the center.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I hadn’t been followed. I was scared to death at what I was witnessing firsthand.

A low chanting began with the males in the group, and soon the women joined in. I was in way over my head. I felt it, and yet I knew if I moved I risked the chance of someone discovering me. I crouched down lower, crawled slowly behind a fallen tree, and settled in amongst the ferns on the forest floor.