Part 2 (1/2)
”I guess I was wrong.” I shut the journal. ”Wait for me in the car?”
She nods, but s.h.i.+mmies toward Ian. ”So I have a beef to pick with you.”
I leave them to their flirting, go upstairs to my room, and stare at the poem. It's beautiful, but who wrote it? The guy from the cemetery? I tear the page out and tack it up beside my bed. I read over the words again before heading out the door.
Will I ever see the mysterious stranger again? And what will happen if I do?
Chapter 3.
Raven and I have been best friends since we were in diapers. Our parents were friends in high school and they moved next door to each other after they married. Our moms were pregnant together-twice-and our dads worked at the local auto shop. It was the picture perfect scene, until two years after Raven and I were born. Then the perfection withered like a famished rose.
My parents started fighting a lot. At first it wasn't bad, but then it started happening every night. My mom said my dad didn't want to spend time with us-that he was too caught up in his job and hanging out at the bar. And she was right-my dad was drunk all the time. Finally, he moved out and Ian and I barely saw him.
Raven's dad bailed on her family a few years later. Just up and left. Poof. Not too long after, our moms developed drug habits. And our brothers live in their own world. Actually, Raven's brother Todd isn't too bad, just a little unconventional. But I don't know what I'd do if I lost Raven. She's my stability.
Remy's party is more lively than usual. A mob of teenagers are jam-packed in the tiny living room, swaying to ”(Don't Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult. Beer bottles and cigarette b.u.t.ts litter the hardwood floor and the air reeks of sweat and beer. Death is everywhere.
I hang out in the emptiest corner of the house, near the stairway. By accident, I ran into three people and their death omens still tint my skin like small bruises. Sipping my punch and watching people dance, my thoughts keep drifting to the guy from the graveyard. What is he doing right now? In my head, he's sitting in his Victorian home, scribbling beautiful words in his notebook. His house is secluded from the world by a dark forest, constantly haunted by fog. I'm sure this isn't accurate, but that's the beauty of an imagination.
”Ember!” Raven shouts over the music. She dances through the crowd, her bubblegum pink wig popping out in the sea of bodies. Sweat trickles down her skin. ”What are you doing? You promised to have fun.” She points an accusing finger at me and blinks her blurry eyes. ”In fact you swore on it.”
I take the plastic cup from her hand. ”I know and I'm trying, I promise.” I swish the drink around and the stench of Jack is intoxicating. ”No more drinks, okay?”
She pouts out her bottom lip. ”Come on, Em. You promised.”
I fake an excited dance move. ”I'm having a blast, I swear. Now go. Dance. Have some fun for the both of us.”
Annoyance burns in her eyes. ”Are you just being a pain because you're here, or is your little death thing putting you in a bad mood?”
My gaze swiftly sweeps the room and I hiss, ”Lower your voice. Someone might hear you.”
She waves her hands animatedly. She's completely wasted and her split personality is coming out. ”Oh, big news over here! Little Emmy can see death! Does anyone care?!”
I pour her drink into the garbage can. ”No more drinks for you.”
She snarls, about to spit foul words. But a lanky guy, sporting dark jeans and a black T-s.h.i.+rt, interrupts us. ”Death is everywhere, my friends. And it will all eventually catch up to us, so what's the point of running from it. Instead, we should live life to the fullest.” His green eyes are outlined with black eyeliner and crossbones tattoo his wrists. He drapes his arm around Raven's shoulder and drunkenly staggers forward, inadvertently b.u.mping his knee into mine.
A heavy ma.s.s takes over my body. Black water. Trees. Rain pouring down from the dark sky. Gla.s.s everywhere. Blood... they can't breathe... they can't breathe! Feathers fall to the ground. I gasp, nearly choking on how much it resembles my father's crime scene where his car was found.
”Does that scare you?” His eyes scrutinize me, noting the gothic tone of my clothes. ”By the looks of you, I wouldn't think it would. But hey, maybe you're just a poser.”
”You know, you shouldn't judge people by their looks.” I let my hair screen my face and I close my eyes. I don't want to look at him. His life is approaching the end, the last rose petal about to wilt from the fading stem. I tuck my hair behind my ear and sigh. ”You got a 'DD'?”
”What the h.e.l.l's a 'DD'?” he slurs, stumbling, and spills his drink on the floor.
I rub the sides of my temples. Idiot. ”Do everyone, including yourself, a favor and don't drive home tonight. Okay?”
The guy lets out a sardonic laugh. ”What is that, like an omen or something?” He holds up his hands. ”Ooo, scary...” He pauses and the recollection clicks. ”Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you that girl who killed her dad?”
I swallow hard. ”No, I think you're thinking of someone else.”
His glazed over eyes squint at my face. ”No, I'm pretty sure it was you. Didn't you like, call the police and confess, then like run...” He blunders over his feet and grabs my arm for support. Again, I'm blasted with the burden of his impending death. ”Wait... what was I saying again?”
I slip my arm free and scoot back from the drunken idiot. ”You were saying that you need to quit drinking.”
”Are you feeling okay, Em?” Raven asks, her voice laced with concern. ”You look a little pale.”
”I always look pale,” I say. ”And I have a headache.” Our code for I'm having a death episode.
”Oh, I get it.” She coils a strand of her hair around her finger and flutters her eyelashes as she conjures up a plan. ”Oh! Okay, I got it.”
Goth boy looks back and forth between us. ”Got what? Wait a minute? Are you two fighting over little old me?” He grins and I roll my eyes. ”Don't worry, ladies, there's plenty of Laden love to go around.”
Raven's hand falls from Laden's chest and she pulls a face, no longer interested in him. But she puts on her game face. ”Hey, why don't you and I go dance.” She laces her fingers with his, and leans in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek and I wince. ”I'm sorry for acting crazy.” She sways her hips as she leads Laden toward the dance floor. Before she vanishes into the crowd, she peeks over her shoulder and mouths: I'll get his keys.
I lean against the wall, let my head fall back, and shut my eyes. ”Breathe, Ember, breathe. You can't stop death-it's endless.”
”G.o.d, it's like mating season in here,” a deep male voice whispers.
The softness of his breath tickles my ear. I shudder and stumble forward, tripping over my feet, and stepping on the toe of his shoes. Actually, boots; black ones with little silver skulls on the buckles. I like his boots. My eyes slowly travel upward; dark jeans, a plaid s.h.i.+rt over a black T-s.h.i.+rt, and a skull necklace hooks around his neck. There's a sequence of leather bands on his wrists and a metal loop threads his eyebrow. His inky black hair dangles in his eyes and hangs s.h.a.ggily down over his ears.
His slate grey eyes tantalize my skin as he takes me in. ”Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.”
The sound of his voice causes soft vibrations over my skin. ”Sorry about your shoes.” I retreat backward, putting s.p.a.ce between us. The last thing I want is to find out when this gorgeous guy dies. ”Crowded rooms just make me a little uneasy.”
He laughs softly and tosses his cup into the trash. ”I know what you mean. All this,” he motions at the people grinding against one another, ”is an excuse for the opposite s.e.x to rub up on one another.”
”That's a pretty good observation.” I almost smile.
He presses his lips together and leans over my shoulder. I stiffen, worried he'll touch me and this magical moment will end. But he's careful, leaving a sliver of s.p.a.ce between his lips and my ear. ”Take those two for instance. I think they've got their own mating ritual going on. Although, I think it might be a one-sided mating ritual.”
I turn and follow his gaze. Raven is dancing with Laden. She has one hand on his hip and the other on his back pocket. Laden moves all over the place like he's trying to break dance and disco at the same time. Raven captures my gaze and rolls her eyes.
”I think you're right.” I turn and meet the beautiful stranger's eyes. ”It looks like she's bored.”
He leans away. ”Is she a friend of yours?”
”Her name's Raven.” I wonder if he likes her. Most guys do, which has never bothered me. Raven's bold and flirty-everything I'm not.
”Like the poem?” He c.o.c.ks his pierced eyebrow.
”You know Edgar Allan Poe?” I ask, not expecting much because The Raven is one of Edgar Allan Poe's more legendary poems.
”A little bit.” He stares at me like he's trying to unravel a maze. ”And what's your name?”
”Ember.” I inch forward, holding my breath as a girl wobbles by, waving her finger, chewing out the air.