The Departed (7 page)

I shifted in my seat, and tried to settle my nerves. This was going to be a very long day, especially if Peter, or Laria, was going to constantly try to get my attention.

Ignoring the strange looks directed at me by my classmates, I stared straight ahead and didn’t let on that I could see Peter.

Peter waved his hand in front of my face. I didn’t blink. I guess there was a part of me that didn’t want to look him in the eye and suddenly see Laria there. Why hadn’t I caught on before? I needed to be careful with who I trusted, especially anyone in the spirit world…kind of like the blonde woman from the witchcraft sacrifice who was showing up lately.

“What’s wrong with you?” Peter asked.

I reached down, grabbed my backpack, and unloaded my textbook and notebook paper.

“Did I do something to make you mad at me?” There was no ignoring the desperation in his voice. Laria was good; I’d give her that. Extremely convincing.

“I don’t understand,” he said, almost to himself. He reached out, put his hand over mine and squeezed. It took everything within me not to look at him. Why didn’t I have that dark feeling whenever Laria was around? Wouldn’t I feel something that made me think it was her? Even when she’d masqueraded as my mom, I’d felt something was off. All I felt now was sadness…and that’s exactly what Laria wanted. For me to be as miserable as she was.

Mr. Monahan opened the classroom door and walked into the hall to place the roll sheet into the box for the office aide to collect. Through the small window in the door, I saw him talking to the attendance secretary.

Peter sighed heavily and walked to the far side of the room, sitting on the table where I’d first seen him. His gaze drilled into me, like he was almost daring me to look at him.

“Do you want to come over sometime?” Aaron asked me, and I looked up, surprised. It had been so quiet in the room, that others had heard us.

“Go, Aaron,” a guy in the back row said.

Dana, or one of her friends must have heard too, because she was cracking up. She leaned over and whispered in her friend’s ear. They both laughed and glanced back at me.

Aaron obviously didn’t know that Kade and I were back together. Actually, no one aside from friends and family knew, but soon they would. I didn’t want to shut Aaron down in front of everyone because I hoped we could be friends.

Aaron shifted in his chair. “I thought you might want to see my puppy.”

“Yeah, puppy as in cock,” I heard Dana say under her breath.

“You are such a bitch.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Everyone turned to stare at me, their gazes shifting back and forth between me and Dana, like they were expecting me to leap out of my chair and attack her.

Though I was tempted, I stayed in my seat. Dana was completely twisted around in her chair, staring at me, her eyes mere slits. “What did you say?”

“I called you a bitch,” I replied, not backing down.

Dana lifted a penciled-in brow. “You’re just pissed because you couldn’t keep your boyfriend satisfied and he had to come to me.”

More than one person in the room gasped.

In my peripheral vision, Peter stood up. Now was
not
the time for Laria to taunt me.

“Dana, you spread your legs for anyone,” Aaron said, and at the most inopportune time—when Mr. Monahan was walking back into the room.

His brows lifted to his receding hairline. “Did you say something, Mr. Johnson?”

Aaron sank back in his chair.

I felt horrible. The last thing I wanted was to get Aaron in trouble. He was a sweet guy, and he’d probably never been in trouble a day in his life.

“Mr. Johnson, may I have a word with you out in the hall?” Mr. Monahan said.

Shit. I chewed on my thumb nail, mad at myself for responding to Dana to begin with. She had managed to get under my skin.

Aaron sighed heavily and grabbed his backpack.

“Leave it,” Mr. Monahan barked.

The backpack slid to the floor. Aaron swallowed hard, glanced at me, and followed Mr. Monahan out the door.

Dana looked over her shoulder. “Looks like you got your new boyfriend in trouble,” she said, just above a whisper.

“Why don’t you shut up,” the quiet boy who sat to my right, said, surprising everyone, especially me. He never said too much to me.

“Fuck off, fatty,” Dana quipped. She opened her mouth to say something else when Peter ran his fingers down the length of the chalkboard. Surprisingly, everyone heard it. On the chalkboard, there were nail marks.

“What the hell?” a girl said behind me. “Where did those lines come from?”

Dana made a reference that I was telekinetic like the girl from the movie Carrie, and that I had made the noise and marks while remaining seated.

Mr. Monahan walked back into the room with Aaron on his heels. Two bright blotches of color stained Aaron’s cheeks. He glanced at me, and ever so slowly the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Aaron’s sterling reputation must have kept him from visiting the principal’s office.

Mr. Monahan cleared his throat in exaggerated fashion. “I want to make myself abundantly clear to every last one of you. I do not want to hear one more negative exchange of words in this classroom. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Monahan,” everyone said…except for me.

Mr. Monahan skewered me with his gaze. He had the art of intimidation down.

I nodded and he looked down at his desk. “All right, now that we’ve wasted ten minutes, please open your textbooks to page forty-two.”

I opened my book and watched Peter from the corner of my eye. He sat on the desk, legs kicking back and forth, just like a kid would do. Why would Laria draw attention away from the argument I’d been having with Dana? Wouldn’t she have enjoyed it and even egged it on?

That question would continue to eat at me for the rest of the morning.

Chapter 7

Throughout the day Peter tried to get my attention, even putting his face right up to mine during Science. I didn’t miss a beat and pretended to look right through him.

Laria played the part of an innocent eleven-year-old boy well. “Peter” genuinely seemed wounded by my lack of attention, and he was nearly screaming at me to notice him.

Misgivings ate away at me. What if I were wrong? What if Peter really was an eleven-year-old boy who had desperately been seeking someone to talk to? What if Laria wanted me to believe that she was Peter?

I was so confused, and conflicted. Although it was tough, I ignored him. By the time lunch came around, I was ready for a distraction.

“Were you late this morning?” Kade asked, as he slid onto the bench beside me.

I hadn’t seen him when I came into the cafeteria. As usual, he looked gorgeous and my heart swelled.

“Yeah, I was late.”

“I thought so. I looked for you. I called once and even texted.”

I slid my phone out of my pocket and flipped to my messages. “I didn’t get a call or a text from you.”

He removed his phone from his pocket. “I swear I called and texted you.”

“Sure you did,” I said teasingly.

He didn’t return the smile. “Seriously, I texted you. I was worried, especially with everything that’s going on.”

I was touched by his concern, and more than a little bothered that the phone messages weren’t registering on either one of our phones.

He frowned. “I called from my car, and then texted before the bell rang.”

“I got a late start. My dad left for Edinburgh this morning…”

The missing phone and text messages were suddenly forgotten. His eyes lit up, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

The blood in my veins turned warm. I knew that look. I grinned and shook my head.

“I almost called you late last night, but it was too late,” he said, becoming serious again. “I had been online researching hauntings, and I came across a video clip of a family who had been dealing with the spirit possession of their son. The boy was being scratched; he was acting out of character—depressed, angry, and saying things that didn’t make sense. His mum said he was even using a different vocabulary, words he wasn’t even familiar with. He essentially became someone else.”

“What did they do?” I asked.

Across the table, Cait and Cass had stopped eating and were listening intently.

“The family brought in a ghost hunting team and they discovered the spirit haunting the boy was a man who had lived on the property before, and he was buried in a nearby cemetery. They then called in a specialist to do a binding ceremony. This lady, along with the boy’s parents, went to the man’s grave, drove a nail into the ground, and told the spirit it was anchored to that place and was no longer allowed to bother the family again. She then said a blessing over the grave.”

“Did it work?” Cass asked.

Kade nodded. “Yeah. The family says the boy was fine after that.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I said. “I was hoping we could make a trek up to the grave on Saturday. Shane said he’d ask his friends along, too.”

“Of course I’ll come with you. I wouldn’t let you go without me,” Kade said, squeezing my hand.

Cait and Cassie looked past my shoulder and frowned.

I turned to see what had caught their attention. Megan walked toward our table, and I was stunned by her appearance. Her auburn hair was pulled up in a sloppy ponytail, she had little to no makeup on, and deep, dark half circles bracketed her brown eyes.

“Are you all right, Meg?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

“I’ll let you girls talk, all right?” Kade said. “Can I see you tonight?”

I glanced at Megan. Although I wanted to spend time with Kade, I could tell my friend was hurting, and since it was my fault she was suffering, I needed to be there for her. “We’ll see, okay? Give me a call after practice.”

“Will do.” He leaned forward, gave me a kiss, and went to sit with his friends.

Cait came around the table and sat in the place Kade had vacated. “Wow, you look like shit, Meg.”

“That bitch is haunting my dreams,” Megan said, glancing at the group to our right, who was looking our way.

“Do you mind?” Cass said.

The group of girls abruptly looked away.

Mean-mugging them, Cass shifted so her back was to them and Megan was hidden from view.

“She’s going to kill me, I swear,” Megan said, scratching her forehead. “I can’t have this. I mean, what if she starts haunting my little brother? He’s so young…and this could mess him up for life.”

I completely understood her concern, especially after the story Kade had just told us about the boy.

I’d never forgive myself if that happened to Megan’s little brother.

“I have no peace. I’m constantly on edge, and it’s like she knows that I know that she’s there.” Tears welled in Megan’s eyes, but she blinked them back before they spilled over. “I’m so tired.”

Cait glanced at me, eyes wide.

I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. “I’m so sorry, Megan. I wish—”

“You can’t help it, Ri,” Cait said, squeezing my shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You’re as much of a victim as anyone, if not more so.”

“I give you credit,” Megan said, looking at me dead in the eyes. “I couldn’t deal with it as long as you have. I feel like I’m coming undone, and the dreams are wicked.” She lowered her voice. “That bitch is relentless, I tell you. I try to wake up from the nightmare, but it’s like she’s keeping me in that state right before you wake. It’s almost like I’m watching myself dream, if that makes sense, and I’m watching her and feeling her holding me down. When I do actually wake up, I find I can’t move at all. I want to scream, but I can’t even breathe.”

What she was saying nearly mirrored what Shane had told me about his dreams when we’d first moved to Braemar. I knew the horror of having Laria show up in nightmares, and when you woke up it was tough to shake it. I could see the physical and emotional strain it was putting on Megan, which gave me even more incentive to end the haunting once and for all.

At least now I could look into binding spirits.

Milo came up from behind Megan and embraced her. “How are you feelin’, love?”

“What are you doing here?” Megan asked, looking really happy to see him. “How did you get out of study hall?”

He shrugged. “If my girl needs me, a little thing like class won’t stop me from seeing her.”

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she sighed. “I feel like shit. I just want to go home and sleep.”

For once Milo was completely serious. He brushed his thumb along her jaw and kissed her softly. “How about I come over and we’ll take a nice long nap. Get rid of these circles beneath your eyes.”

Megan pouted. “Sounds incredible, but unfortunately I have to work today.”

“Blow it off,” Milo said, his voice stern. “You need to take care of yourself or you’re going to be sick if you keep this up. If it’s about the money you’ll lose by not working, then I’ll pay you to stay with me.”

“Isn’t that like prostitution?” Cass teased, a hint of a smile on her lips. At least she was trying to find the humor in a horrible situation.

Milo shook his head.

Megan chewed her lower lip. “Maybe I’ll see if Kelsey can cover for me. I know she’s looking for more hours. Will you help me find her? I think she has this lunch.”

“Definitely.” Milo looked relieved as he helped her up.

As they walked off, Cass stood. “I’ll be right back.”

We watched as she walked toward Johan’s table.

Cait pushed her uneaten salad away from her. “How about we take a walk in the woods this afternoon?”

My gut clenched. “Shane and Kade would kill us if we went without them.” They both had football practice every day after school, which meant the first opportunity for them to go with us would be the weekend.

“I’m not trying to be a bitch, Ri, but does Megan
look
like she can wait until this weekend?”

She had a point.

I shook my head. “No.” As terrified as I was to go to Laria’s grave without an entourage, I was even more terrified at what could possibly happen to my friends if I waited. Dreams of being held down and being tormented would only escalate. If Laria started scratching and choking my friends, it was only a matter of time before she succeeded in following through on her threat to kill us all.