On Sunday afternoon, Jackson still hadn’t returned after fading away on me. I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t worried about him.
I also kept thinking about the way Forester had treated me and I wanted to know if Laynee was okay after her interview.
So when I saw her in the hallway as she was about to duck into her bedroom, I approached her. “Hey, Laynee. How are you?”
She seemed surprised that I’d spoken to her and I noticed how dark her eyes were up close.
“Good.”
“I just wanted to check how you were after the police interview. That detective was a bit of a dick.”
“Yeah, he was a douchebag, but it’s fine. I’ve dealt with worse.”
Now it was my turn to be surprised. I wondered what kind of life she’d had that a six-foot-tall police detective didn’t faze her four-foot-something frame. I imagined her as an orphan fighting her way through the foster system.
I wasn’t sure what to say next. She was a tough kid. I liked that about her. It reminded me of me.
She made a move to go. “I’ve got stuff to do in my room. See ya ’round.”
“Okay. See ya.”
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It was Tuesday. Halloween. Finally.
I’d just had a hot shower and made sure my hair was styled so that it was a bit more wavy than normal. The dress and a black bra were laid out on my bed and I stood there in my undies. I’d picked out a lacy, low-cut bra to go with my dress. It would go nicely with the bodice section. I wanted it to be perfect for tonight.
There were butterflies swimming through my insides. Blake had been texting me about it throughout the week and he was due to pick me up in less than an hour.
I stepped forward to reach for my bra when Jackson appeared out of nowhere on the other side of the bed. I gasped and covered myself and he closed his eyes and turned his back, apologizing profusely and walking straight through the glass door onto the verandah.
I could hear him still apologizing through the glass as I quickly got dressed, my face burning and my heart pounding. I knew he couldn’t help it, but that didn’t make me feel any better. I sat on my bed and tried to calm down.
I hadn’t seen him since he’d faded away on Saturday night and was relieved that he was back, but why couldn’t he have reappeared like five minutes later?
After a few minutes, he called out to me. “Is it safe to come in now?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes.”
He walked back through and I watched him fade through the curtain while trying not to think about the fact that he’d seen my bare chest.
“I’m so sorry, Maddie. I had no control. I closed my eyes as soon as I realized you weren’t dressed. Please forgive me.”
“You’re forgiven. I know you didn’t mean it. But now I’ll be scared to get undressed.”
He shifted his weight to the other leg. “Sorry.”
“We need to try to fix this. Somehow. I don’t think it’s normal. Where have you been all this time?”
“I don’t know. How long was I gone?”
“Three days. It’s Tuesday.”
“What? That’s insane. How can it be that long? All I know is I felt so drained, like I had no energy left. Like someone was draining all of my magic.”
That got my attention. I knew how that felt. “But how could someone drain your magic if you’re…” I didn’t want to say dead. “That makes no sense.”
“I have no idea, but that’s what it felt like. I know I’ve felt like that before, but I can’t remember when or why.” He ran a hand over his hair. “I’m sick of having no memories.”
I frowned. “Can you remember anything that happened while you were gone? Three days is a long time.”
“I usually don’t, but this time it felt like I was kinda floating for maybe half an hour or so.” He sat heavily on the chair. “Three days. Jeez. What’s wrong with me?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. If it was a magic-related question, I could probably ask Ruby or Tracy. But I doubt they’d know anything about this. I wish there was someone I could ask about ghostly stuff.”
“Jade, maybe?”
“Maybe. I’m guessing she’s been able to see spirits a lot longer than me. She might have seen this before.”
“Yeah.”
“Next time she comes into the shop, I’ll see if I can ask her. Or maybe you could talk to her if there’s other people around and I can’t do it.”
“Yeah.”
I looked at his face closely. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Not really, but I feel a hell of a lot better than I did the other night.”
We were quiet for a while and my mind raced, flipping from one thing to another, then I gave a huff.
“What?”
“I was just thinking of that horrible woman at the shop talking about us being devil worshippers and summoning demons.”
“She must really believe that stuff.”
I thought for a while. “Some people believe stuff wholeheartedly, don’t they? Even if the rest of the world doesn’t agree.”
“People can be stubborn and can let their fears overrule reality and reason.”
“I feel sorry for her.”
“There’s nothing you can do for her. She would never listen to anything you had to say, especially seeing how you’re a ‘devil worshipper.’ Just ask her to leave again if she comes back. And don’t hesitate to call the cops if she won’t leave.”
“Yeah. I know. I won’t.”
I hoped that didn’t happen, but knew the situation could easily go downhill if she came back.
He smiled. “Oh, nice costume, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
My heart felt all fluttery and my smile faded a little. Why did I feel like this? It was just Jackson. The guy I needed to be thinking about was Blake. I wanted everything to be perfect for tonight.
I looked at the time on my phone. “I have to finish getting ready for the party.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”
I pointed to myself. “Why else would I be wearing this dress?”
He laughed.
I hurried to put my boots on, then Jackson and I talked about nothing and everything while I put on some makeup that made my face look pale, added smoky eye makeup and black lipstick, then drew a spiderweb across my face with black eyeliner.
I turned to him and he smiled again. “That looks spectacular. You’ll be the prettiest girl there.”
I tried to ignore the flutters this time, but it was hard.
My phone beeped. Alina was leaving home. When we’d discussed the car arrangements, she’d decided to go in her own car so she wouldn’t be a third wheel. If Blake arrived on time to pick me up, we would get there just before she did.
Those butterflies were back full force, but Jackson put his hands on my upper arms and told me I’ve got this. It was soothing and I made a conscious effort to calm myself.
“Thanks.”
The doorbell chimed and I rushed to the top of the stairs. Blake stopped talking to Anna-Marie mid-sentence as he looked up and our eyes met. My heartbeat raced and my face flushed as he took in my costume.
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrRgUbo0Ll
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Author's Note: Are you as excited as Maddie for this Halloween party? Do you think it will be a fun night? What would your costume be? Let me know in the comments.
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