Part 21 (1/2)

”Cameron,” I say with caution, looking at the wall. ”You didn't happen to see a black car with really tinted windows up at the lake, did you?”

His fingers discover my collarbone and he traces gentle circles over my skin. ”No, why? Did something happen with this car?”

A soundless sensation numbs my mind and I feel myself falling to him. But I shake my head and sigh through it. ”I should get going. ”

His fingers travel down the front of my body as I turn to leave and he hitches the bottom of my s.h.i.+rt. ”You can stay here, if you want. You can sleep in my bed.” He raises his hand innocently. ”I promise not to touch you, unless you ask.”

”Is that the same thing you told Mackenzie?”

”Mackenzie and I are just friends. But I like that you care.”

I dither back and forth between him and the door.

”Come on, Ember,” he coaxes in that voice that's hard to resist. ”Please stay.”

I force my willpower to my legs and back away for the door. ”I'm sorry, Cameron, but I think you're a little too much for me.”

”That's what all the girls say,” he jokes, but there is a vast sea of pain in his eyes. He sighs. ”Hold on. I'll walk you to the door.”

Chapter 18.

When I was thirteen, my mom locked me in the attic for an entire day because she believed I killed several of her house plants. It really wasn't that big of a deal, only she didn't let me have anything to drink or eat and there were no bathroom breaks permitted. I walked out of the situation without being too traumatized.

The only thing that bothered me was her belief that I killed the plants on purpose. At the time, it seemed ridiculous; the idea a person could dry out houseplants in less than five minutes. But now I wonder if perhaps I did do it. And if my mom has always known there was something different about me.

I wake up on the couch, with my legs flopped over the back and my head hanging upside down. It's late in the afternoon, the sky tinted a pale pink. Children are laughing outside and someone is throttling a motorcycle.

I lie motionless, with a splitting headache, trying to fall back asleep, not ready to face the day, or find out what Ian's been doing in his studio all night. I heard someone sneak in late last night, but I didn't care enough to go see who. There were m.u.f.fled voices on the stairway and then footsteps headed into the attic.

Without changing position, I reach for the remote on the coffee table. The front door swings open and someone comes whisking into the house. Their high heels click against the floor. ”What the h.e.l.l happened?” Raven asks. ”Why was there an ambulance here yesterday?”

She looks strange upside down, dressed up as an angel with white-feather wings and a silvery-satin dress. Her hair is curled and wound with white ribbon to form a halo on the top of her head.

I sit up and rub my eyes. ”Because my mom flipped out and tried to slit her wrists.” The words tumble out.

”Ember...” She doesn't have a clue how to react to my honesty. ”What can I do to help?”

I drag my b.u.t.t off the sofa and her glitter-framed eyes widen at the blood all over my s.h.i.+rt. ”You can let me go to sleep for a really, really long time. That's all I want to do is sleep.”

She gasps. ”Why is there dried blood all over you?”

”Because my mom stabbed me with a pair of scissors,” I confess.

She pries open the gap in my s.h.i.+rt where the scissors had violently entered. ”Em, that's not funny.”

”I'm not trying to be funny,” I tell her. ”She stabbed me with the scissors and then I almost killed her by sucking the life out of her to heal myself.”

”You're in shock.” She pulls her hands away. ”Or did you hit your head?”

”Nothing's wrong with me.” I push past her. ”I'm going to go up to bed to get some rest. Maybe I'll sleep for an eternity.”

She seizes the back of my s.h.i.+rt. ”No, you're not. You're going to go to this party and have some fun. Depression runs in your family. And I will not let you sink into that dark hole.”

I spin on my heels. ”My mom is locked up on suicide watch and I found out that my death omen curse stretches farther than I originally thought. I sucked my mom's life away to help myself survive. I'm not going to a stupid Halloween party.”

”You are not going up to your room to write sad poetry about death and pain,” she insists. ”Your mom's pulled a similar stunt before, when she locked you up in the attic for an entire day after she thought you purposefully killed all the plants.”

”No, that was different-she actually killed me this time,” I say. But was it her or the Grim Reaper? It seemed like she could hear him and see him.

”I don't care what she did,” Raven says with a bossy att.i.tude. ”You're going.”

”Have you lost your mind?” I annunciate each word. ”My. Mom. Tried. To. Kill. Me.”

”Are you sure?” She twists the silver chain of her necklace. ”Maybe you should think about it really hard.”

”I...” I stare at her, watching her eye twitch. ”What aren't you telling me?”

”Nothing.” She rubs the corner of her eye like she has something stuck in it. ”I just think you should go out and have some fun for once.”

”I think you should go,” Ian intrudes from the bottom of the staircase. He's dressed in jeans and a white T-s.h.i.+rt with red paint smeared on it, along with his face and arms. ”In fact, I'll drop you off on my way to my own party.”

”You've both lost your minds.” I head for the stairs, but he blocks my path. ”Move out of my way, Ian. Please.”

He shakes his head. ”I'm not going to leave you are here by yourself after what just happened. Mom will be fine-you'll be fine. In fact, I got a call from the hospital this morning and they said she's doing really well. Her wounds are healing really quickly and the meds have stabilized her mood. We should be able to see her tomorrow.”

I thrum my fingers on the sides of my legs. ”I'm still not going.”

”Yes, you are,” Raven insists.

I shake my head. ”I always go with you to every party you've ever asked me to, but not this time.”

Ian gently shoves me toward the stairway. ”Quit being a baby, go get a d.a.m.n costume on, and go have some fun for one flippin' night in your life.”

”Asher will be there,” Raven entices with a waggle of her eyebrows. ”He texted me and said to make sure you were still coming, because you wouldn't answer your phone.”

Asher. The Anamotti. The X on my mom's head. It all rushes back to me.

”Okay, I think I-”

Suddenly the Grim Reaper materializes behind Ian. His head is tipped down as he rises up to the ceiling. He elevates his hand to his face and the sleeve slips down his arm, revealing his human hand.

”He's human,” I whisper, unable to move.

He puts his finger to his lips. ”Shhh... There's no need to be afraid. The answers are in me,” he purrs mellifluously and the sound of his voice is enthralling. ”Come with me, Ember. I'm begging you. Never look the other way.”