by Joy Elbel
Track practice was getting harder as well. Our first meet was scheduled for the following week in Graysburg and I was nervous that I would drop the baton again when it really counted. If we lost that race because of me, it would just be one more weapon in Misty’s ever-growing arsenal against me. I simply couldn’t afford to mess things up when it really counted.
And of course, there was my hasty resignation at Something Wick-ed to consider. I knew that I couldn’t avoid Rita forever, but I was afraid to face her. If I told her the whole story behind why I quit my job, she would have to understand, wouldn’t she? But then again, if there wasn’t a Misty in her past, maybe she wouldn’t. She had such a firm grip on her paranormal abilities—seeing ghosts was normal for her. Right now I was probably nothing more than her vote for Worst Employee of the Year.
Clay. What was I going to do about Clay? I decided that it was in my best interest to stop investigating his death but that didn’t really solve the greater problem. He was attached to me and honestly, I was sort of attached to him, too. I knew that he said that he wanted to spend the night at Silver Lake but I was pretty certain that he had been lingering somewhere nearby since a few minutes after I got home but just wasn’t revealing his presence to me. What if it got to the point where he physically couldn’t separate himself from me? There was only one other way that I could think of to try to separate us from each other—track down his ex-girlfriend. If she was still in love with him, maybe he would forget all about me. Well, not completely forget about me—I still wanted to stay in touch with him if at all possible.
Somewhere in the middle of analyzing all of my problems, I fell asleep. Of course, I had the usual nightmare— but then again, when didn’t I? For once, though, it wasn’t the dream that really disturbed me. No, this time waking up was the scariest part of it all.
The dream was actually pretty tame in comparison to what I was used to. Rachel, Zach, and I were at Silver Lake having a picnic. We were sitting at one of the wooden gazebos just off the water eating burgers and chips and laughing about all of the fun times we’d shared since we’d met. There wasn’t anything scary about the dream at first—not even the fact that I was so close to the lake. Once the food was all gone and conversation started to dwindle, I began to gather up all of our garbage, stuffing it neatly into a plastic bag so that I would only have to make one trip restroom facilities. As to the trash barrel back near the
I was returning from my clean up mission, I got a brilliant idea. “Hey, guys! What do you say we rent a boat and take it out on the lake for a bit before we head out? I’ve never been on a boat but it sounds like a lot of fun!”
Zach turned to Rachel and they both got strange, sad looks on their faces. For a moment, they seemed to be communicating telepathically—I got the distinct impression that they were sharing an entire conversation that I wasn’t allowed to be a part of. Zach seemed to be the one doing most of the “talking” as Rachel “listened” intently. At the end, she nodded her head and they both turned to me.
“Good idea, Ruby,” they both said in unison but with none of the enthusiasm that I was anticipating. How weird was that? I brushed it aside as one of their twin connection oddities and sprinted past them to the boat rental pavilion. The man working there bore a very strong resemblance to Clay—so much so that I was convinced that he had to be his father. I was about to question him as to whether or not he knew Clay or his mother when the man spoke.
“I’ve been waiting for you! There’s a very special boat that I’ve been saving just for your arrival!” Though his words should have felt ominous to me, they didn’t. Instead, I got excited. A boat saved just for me? How epic! “Where is it? I can’t wait to see it!”
I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked out over the line of small rowboats, trying to pick out which one was mine. As my eyes passed over each one, I grew more disappointed as I noticed that they all looked alike. Gray. Every single one of them was an identical shade of gray. No colors, no designs— just a flat, matte colorless fleet bobbing up and down on the surface of the water. There was no way to hide my disappointment—I could literally feel the smile drain from my face.
“There’s no need to frown, young lady!” the man said with a laugh. “Your boat is over there.” He pointed off toward the side and my eyes followed his motion. There in the dark, murky pool sat a boat unlike any of the others. This one was special—this one was saved just for me. It was shiny and the sunlight practically burst into flames when it touched this boat’s metallic surface. The boat was red—ruby red.
“Oh, it’s absolutely perfect! Zach, Rachel—come check this thing out!” As they joined me at the water’s edge, I should have noticed the eerie silence that passed between them. I should have, but I didn’t. Far too many details in life go undetected at the right moment. But everything becomes crystal clear in retrospect.
“Give us your hands, Ruby,” Zach instructed, “Rachel and I will help you get in.” Eager to set sail on our voyage, I clasped onto both of them as I stepped into the small craft. I settled myself at the far end leaving room for both of them to climb aboard.
“No!” Rachel cried, “You have to sit in the center! You don’t want it to tip over, do you? If that happens, you’ll drown.” “Sorry, I didn’t know,” I said as I moved into the center and sat back down. I’d never been on a boat before but I instantly noticed that something was missing. “Hey,” I shouted to the man at the pavilion, “We need the oars for this thing. I don’t want to get lost at sea!” I said semi-jokingly. While there wasn’t really a way to get lost on a body of water the size of Silver Lake, getting stranded in the middle of it wasn’t exactly on my agenda either.
The man either didn’t hear me or didn’t understand what I had said because instead of responding to me, he smiled and waved. Suddenly, with a violent jerk, the boat began to rock. Frantically, I grabbed onto both sides of the boat to keep myself from pitching overboard.
“Zach! Rachel! Help me!”
“Goodbye, Ruby,” they chimed in unison as they gave the rowboat a shove and set me adrift on the lake.
“How am I going to get back?” I pleaded in desperation. “How am I ever going to get back?”
“You won’t,” Zach replied softly, “but we’ll see you on the other side.” Why did they do this to me? How long would it take for me to get to the opposite shore? And would they really be there to greet me when I arrived? I sat there motionless in the boat, afraid that even the slightest movement might cause it to tip and send me into the depths. I watched as they walked quietly away, their forms growing smaller and smaller as I drifted further away from the shore. As they disappeared into the distance, another recognizable form appeared at the water’s edge.
“It’s just a dream, Ruby!” Clay called out to me. Though his words were barely audible, I could see that he was shouting with all of his might. Just a dream? Suddenly, the lake began to swirl as though someone had pulled the plug from the drain. My boat whipped around in circles as it followed the water downward.
I woke up dizzy and paralyzed. Totally and utterly paralyzed. It was similar to the way that I felt when I woke up from the dream where Zach never existed—only worse. I could still feel the movement beneath me as though my bed, too, was twirling down with the water. My hands were clutching at the sides of the mattress but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t release my grip. Something like this had only ever happened once before in my life—while Scarlet was haunting the mansion. But Scarlet crossed over months ago and there hadn’t been any more unexplained incidents here since. Some other strange force was at work here. But what—or who?
I lay there unable to move for what felt like ten minutes but was probably actually more like ten seconds. Slowly, I regained control of my body and was able to relax my grip. As soon as I was fully mobile again, I reached over to my nightstand and flicked on the light. There wasn’t anyone in the room with me—dead or alive—and I didn’t sense that anything else had been, eith
er. I was alone. Completely alone. Or was I?
“Clay?” I whispered softly. I knew that I couldn’t keep leaning on him in tough situations. I knew this had to stop but I didn’t know what else to do. I was almost an adult now—far too old to climb into bed with Dad and Shelly. But there was something about his appearance in my dream that raised a difficult question in my brain. Could my suspicions be true?
Just as I expected, Clay didn’t appear directly before me—he walked straight through the wall separating my bedroom from my living room. He hadn’t spent the night at Silver Lake like he said he was going to—he’d spent the night here only in secret. It was just as I’d feared. The bond between us was growing stronger by the day. Perhaps stronger than I ever thought possible. I was afraid to ask the question so I didn’t.
All I said to him was this—“I had another weird nightmare.”
All he said in response was this—“I know. I was there.” There were a lot of things on my agenda but I immediately moved one of them to the top of the list. I had to find a way to mend fences with Rita. She was the only person I knew who could help me with my newest set of problems. As soon as track practice was over, I drove over to Something Wick-ed prepared to swallow a whole plateful of my own pride of idiocy. Since I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel after talking to her, I even cancelled my date with Zach for the night. He understood completely because he thought I was going to the candle shop to beg for my job back. Although that wasn’t the reason for the urgency, I didn’t tell him otherwise. If he knew that Clay was now somehow invading my dreams, I was afraid that he would totally freak out. I know I was totally freaking out.
I tried hard to stay positive. I flung the door open and made my triumphant entrance. The shop was empty except for Rita who was standing behind the counter with her back to the door. I could feel a wave of anxiety welling up inside of me. What if she refused to help me? Who else on earth could I possibly turn to for help? This was one bridge I never should have set fire to. While I was replaceable as her weekend help, she was irreplaceable to me. When I quit my job, I messed up big time. I needed to extinguish the blaze I set before it engulfed the entire bridge.
“Rita?” I said as I nervously fidgeted with one of the displays, straightening the sign like I still worked there. She turned around slowly but wouldn’t look me in the eyes. “Ruby,” she replied with no show of emotion—good or bad. She simply pronounced my name as though I were a stranger whose name she happened to somehow know.
Awkward silence. I was expecting a reaction of some sort—either anger or excitement, I suppose. Something black or white not this questionable shade of gray. Oh, how I was growing to despise the gray areas in life!
“I’m sorry about quitting my job on such short notice.” I didn’t see a “help wanted” sign in the front window so I assumed that my job was no longer up for grabs. “I hope my replacement is more reliable than I was.”
More awkward silence. Apparently, she wasn’t even going to let me try to repair the damage. Truthfully, I couldn’t say that I blamed her. My hasty notice probably ruined either the ghost hunt of her dreams or a fun trip with Andy. Either way, I would be mad at me, too.
Not knowing what else to say or do, I began to inch my way toward the door. I hadn’t ventured very far into the shop so at least I didn’t have far to go to make my not so triumphant exit. I lingered for a second with my hand on the door, hoping that she would stop me.
“Guess I’ll see you around then,” I mumbled as I opened the door with tears already forming in my eyes. Why did I always do such stupid things? Why did I let my emotions take full control when I was in a bad situation? If only I’d waited until I was less traumatized by being outted, I wouldn’t have quit my job in the first place. And why couldn’t I have at least responded to the multiple messages she’d left me in the meantime? I had to be the queen of stupidity.
“Not so fast, young lady! This isn’t about work. You don’t even know why I’m so mad at you, do you?” Umm…I thought I did but obviously I was wrong. “I guess not,” I said quietly while still facing the door. Now it was my turn to be afraid to look her in the eyes. She was about to reveal a level to my stupidity that I didn’t even know existed. If I could have hidden under one of the display tables for the upcoming conversation, I totally would have.
“I know what happened at school. I know why you quit your job. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t come to me for advice? I’m probably the only person you know who completely understands who you are and the weird range of emotions you’re going through. I never really thought of myself as your boss. I thought of myself as your mentor—your friend. I would have given anything to have had someone like me in my life when I was your age. I’m mad because you don’t seem to appreciate me.”
“Oh, Rita!” I said, no longer fighting back the tears. “I do appreciate you—more than you will ever know! I’m sorry about how I acted! I was just so, so…devastated by what happened! Please forgive me!”
Rita rounded the counter with her arms outstretched. “Get over here and give me a hug!” So after a few blubbery girl moments, Rita fully accepted my apology and I had my job back. Since I’d already made plans for this weekend when I thought that I was permanently unemployed, Rita said that it was okay for me to start next weekend instead. With all of the job details out of the way, I presented her with my latest problem and begged for her help.
“You didn’t just dream about him, he was actually in your dream?” Rita exclaimed with a look of sheer incredulity. Her reaction did nothing to soothe me. “Yes. He knew what I dreamed about and it was like he was more conscious of what was going on than I was. How common is something like this?”
“I’ll be perfectly honest with you, Ruby—I’ve never even heard of something like this happening. Which is why I really wish that you would reconsider going to that paranormal convention with me. I may not be able to give you any answers on the subject, but someone else there might provide some insight. Even if you just sit and listen—I won’t try to force you to talk about your experience with Alison. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell your story for you.”
“Well,” I replied hesitantly, “As long as I don’t have to give any speeches and you promise not to reveal the fact that you’re talking about me, I guess I’m okay with it.”
“I promise! Now, will you go with me?” “I suppose,” I said then watched as Rita performed an impromptu “happy dance” in celebration. Why did stuff like this get her so excited? I did everything I could to stay away from it yet she reveled in it, practically thrived on it. I had come to accept my strange fate but I would never get excited about it. Never. Flashbacks to the many times Lucas used to say to me, “never say never” made me want to hurl. I don’t know which was worse—thinking about embracing my weirdness or thinking about Lucas. Both thoughts were infinitely repulsive to me.
So I returned home with my emotions torn in opposite directions. I was happy to have my job back, that’s for sure. I was super happy to have Rita back on my friends list, so to speak. On the flip side, I was still rattled by the fact that Clay had entered my dream and that Rita wasn’t able to explain how it happened. I used to love horror movies so much but now it felt like I was truly living in one.
I thought back to the first time I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street. I was only eight years old at the time and way too young for that kind of carnage. But like most horror movies, it seemed so enticing that I snuck out of bed in the middle of the night to watch it on Cinemax. My dad never knew that I watched it. He also never knew that I wet the bed that night. I cleaned up the mess myself and barely slept for an entire week after that. I was too afraid that someone would kill me in my dreams. And let’s face it—I didn’t want to wake up in a puddle every morning.
Was my connection to Clay the only reason that he was able to interact with my subconscious mind? What if it wasn’t? What if the next ghost I encountered wasn’t as friendly as he was and actual
ly did kill me in my sleep? While I had checked one of my many worries off of my list today, I ended up adding a new, more frightening one to it. While I wasn’t scared that he would hurt me in my dreams, what if something entirely different were to happen between us? Accidentally, of course. My dreams were far beyond my control. I did have that one dream about Lucas that I would rather forget but at least that wasn’t actually Lucas that I was with. If I had a dream like that about Clay, it really would be him. Asleep or not, I would still consider that cheating on Zach. I decided that sleep wasn’t on my to-do list for the night. Instead, I armed myself with caffeine and an iron will and watched TV with Clay until morning. I didn’t tell him why I didn’t want to go to sleep but I was pretty sure that I didn’t have to.
16. The Grass isn’t Always Greener
No sleep and a recent lack of fun in my life left me giddy by morning at the prospect of going car shopping with Zach later. So cars weren’t really my thing but I looked at it this way—shopping of any sort was. And of course I enjoyed spending time with Zach, too, even though he hadn’t really been himself since the wreck. Fighting with his dad drained him of his usual sunshine and turned him into more of a dim moonbeam. Lately, he reminded me more of…me. Hopefully, once he had a new set of wheels he would be a little less gloomy. Gloomy was supposed to be my specialty, not his.
I tried to force myself to work on various school assignments while Zach was at the shelter. Normally, I had excellent concentration skills but not this time. I spent twenty minutes trying to memorize my most recent French vocabulary list but barely retained a single thing. Switching subjects felt like the smart thing to do so I pulled out my Calculus book. Doing math problems usually helped me regain focus. Usually. Unfortunately, I fared no better. I needed sleep and I needed it bad.
Logically, I knew that I couldn’t go without sleep for very long. But since I’d never been a slave to logic before, why start being one now? For two agonizing hours, I poured in the caffeine and slogged my way through my worst study session ever. Finally, I gave up and slammed my book shut. In spite of the fact that I was merely weeks away from my eighteenth birthday, it was time to ask Shelly to babysit me for a while.