Nick sat up on my bed, looking around with sleepy-eyed confusion. “What happened?
I needed a moment before I could speak. “I may have met the Soul Reaper.”
I grabbed Mrs. Chang’s necklace and put it back on, one accessory which would not be leaving my neck again any time soon. I gazed at the fuzzy ghost on the ceiling. “Thank you, Blobby.”
Blobby swooped down and gave me a peck on the cheek, before flying around the room in a happy ghost victory lap. Nick rubbed his eyes.
“Could you please explain what’s going on?”
By the time I told Nick the whole story, with extra time needed to convince him I hadn’t been dreaming, the sun had already risen in the sky. I couldn’t fall back asleep. I still reeled from my encounter with the Soul Reaper.
After pushing Nick out of the room, I showered and put on a simple pale blue cotton mini dress with capped short sleeves and a gathered waist. I slipped into a pair of tan low-heeled pumps and pulled my hair back with a woven brown leather headband. I had to use some concealer to mask my dark circles, but in the end, I looked fine. Externally at least. I found a pair of tiny gold earrings to match the Chinese necklace and headed downstairs to find Nick.
“Good morning.” His grin made me all warm inside. “You look nice.”
I smiled at him. “Thanks,” I said, suddenly shy. I’d bared too much of myself last night, and now stood on shaky emotional ground.
Nick did exactly the right thing. As he followed me into the kitchen, he started to tease me. “Do you even own a pair of jeans?”
I grabbed a box of cereal. Clarice hadn’t arrived yet, so no bacon for me this morning. “Of course, I own jeans.” I rolled my eyes at him.
I poured my cereal and milk into a bowl and hopped onto the counter to sit. One of my guilty pleasures. I could never sit on the counter if Clarice or my mom were around. I swung my legs and dug into my chocolate cereal, another guilty pleasure.
Nick put his hands on either side of me on the counter and leaned forward. I tried to ignore him. Hard to do.
“Do you own anything black?”
“Yes.” I wanted to go back to the chocolatey goodness of my cereal, but he refused to let it drop, and I sighed. “One dress. For funerals.”
Nick laughed. “I knew it.” His eyes raked my body as he looked at me slowly from head to toe. “It doesn’t matter. This suits you, princess.”
I scowled at him. “So glad to have your approval.”
His grin nearly stopped my heart. “Anytime.”
Clarice arrived as I left for school, eying me suspiciously. I gave her my sunniest smile. “I have to go to a study meeting. Bye.”
She didn’t buy it, but she could hardly fault me for my academic endeavors. I took my cell phone out of my purse though, knowing Mother would be calling shortly.
Ten seconds later, my phone rang. I looked at Nick and rolled my eyes as I opened the phone. “Good morning, Mother.”
Lying has never been my strong suit. Lying to my mother was next to impossible. Sticking close to the truth would be my safest bet.
“You’re out the door early this morning.” A moment of total silence followed her words. It was my job to fill it.
“I woke early and couldn’t fall back asleep. I decided to head to school and study before class with some of my friends.”
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping too.” Mom’s voice sounded tiny and alone. I decided a rapid change of subject was in order.
“Guess what? I have a date for prom.” I gave Nick an apologetic look and mouthed the word “sorry” to him. He looked away, and I could tell the subject hurt him, but it helped my mom. She babbled on and on about dresses, and I made happy sounding noises until I could finally get her off the phone. I hung up and looked at Nick.
“Don’t be mad. I did it to distract her.”
“I’m not mad,” he said, but he kept his eyes on the passing scenery.
“I’m not going to go to prom with Josh. I’ve already decided,” I said.
Nick turned to me, his eyes sad. “I want you to go. You should have a pretty dress and do normal stuff. I only wish I could do those things with you.”
I pulled into my parking spot in the school lot. I’d been assigned number thirteen. I should have known this was going to be a bad year. The lot was nearly empty, although a few students trickled in. I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to Nick.
“There is no ‘normal’ anymore. Not for me, at least. I’ll go to prom if I can go with you, and that is my final word. I’ll tell Josh tomorrow.”
Nick gave me a sidelong glance. “When we go to The Zone? Is this going to be like our first date?”
“Maybe.” I grinned at him and got out of the car. The morning sun was warm and sweet on my face. “And unless we get you back into solid form, going to the prom with the invisible boy is going to be interesting too. Can you imagine what people will say when we slow dance?”
Nick glanced over my shoulder. “Uh, maybe the same thing they’d say if you were seen talking to yourself in the parking lot. Head’s up, Lil.”
“Oh, no.” I’d forgotten I was in public. I turned around and my worst fears were realized. Ms. Petties stood directly behind, me, hands on her hips.
“Child, you need to come into my office. Now.”
Minutes later, I sat in the chair in front of Mrs. Petties desk, and she stared at me over the top of her glasses. She called Jess and Maura into the office too. Not a casual meeting. This was an all-out intervention.
Nick stood next to me, leaning against her desk, there for moral support. Blobby floated around the room, occasionally stopping to bounce on someone’s head. I didn’t know why Blobby hung around. Perhaps for entertainment.
“I’m fine.” I looked directly at Mrs. Petties when I said it, and at Maura and at Jess. “I truly am.”
“Girl, I saw you in the parking lot, laughing and giggling and talking to yourself about slow dancing. Does that sound fine to you?” Ms. Petties grabbed a pen and started taking notes.
“You have been acting strangely lately, Lily.” Jess looked uncomfortable, but Ms. Petties and Maura nodded encouragingly. “You hardly spend time with us at all, and you never text or call.”
“I’ve been busy.” I shook my head in disbelief.
“You’ve been weird.” Maura, ready to rumble, didn’t need any encouragement. “And you’ve been hanging out with Goth Girl. Why?”
“Zoe? She’s my friend.”
“Since when?” Maura looked like she could go on all day. I wasn’t in the mood.
“Look, are you all forgetting I sort of died only a few weeks ago? Also, has it occurred to you, Sunday is nine years to the day since my sister died?”
Maura, Jess, and even Mrs. Petties had the decency to look chagrined. I noticed Mrs. Petties’ cell phone on her desk and had a burst of lying inspiration. I dug into my purse for my Bluetooth. My parents had insisted I get one after the accident, but half the time I forgot to use it. I pulled it out triumphantly. “And maybe I wasn’t talking to myself.”
Ms. Petties leaned back in her chair. “You were on the phone?” Her dark eyes bored into me, but I refused to waver.
“With my mother. You can call her and check if you don’t believe me.” I shoved the Bluetooth back into my bag. “We talked about prom. So, if you will all excuse me, I have other things to do.”
I stomped out into the hallway, followed by Maura and Jess. “Stop.” Jess pulled on my arm. “Please tell us what is going on. For real this time.” Her blue eyes filled with tears, and Maura looked upset too.
I sighed. They hadn’t fallen for it. Not a surprise. They knew I’d never wear my Bluetooth with a headband. It clashed and made my whole outfit look tacky. “We have twenty minutes before homeroom. If you can be quiet and not judge, I’ll tell you the truth.”
Ten minutes later, Maura and Jess stared at me in stunned silence. We sat on a bench in a corner of the school courtyard.
“So, you’re psychic or something?” Jess gave Maura a worried glance.
Maura whispered “Craaaaazy,” under her breath.
I swatted her lightly. “Not crazy.” I turned to Jess. “And not psychic. This all happened because of those five minutes when I died.”
“But you’re seeing ghosts?” Maura didn’t say “crazy” again, but I knew she thought it.
Blobby floated above my head, spinning like a top. “Well, one ghost now.”
“And you are in a relationship with Nick, who no one else can see but you?” Jess watched my face patiently, waiting for me to come to my senses.
“No one else can see him because isn’t dead.”
Nick winked. “Thank you.”
I smiled at him. “You’re welcome.”
“Are you ill? Maura put her hand on my forehead. “Oh, God. Maybe you’re delirious. Jess, call 911.”
“Stop it. I’m fine.”
Jess held her phone; ready to call emergency services as she studied my face. Something she saw there made her slip her phone back in her purse. “You do know how this sounds, don’t you?” she asked.
I sighed. “You know me. Have I ever done anything even remotely like this before?”
Maura and Jess both shook their heads, and Jess raised a finger in the air. “But you never died before.”
“And why is Goth Girl helping you? You should have come to us.” Maura folded her arms across her chest. I recognized her pose. She did it every time she got jealous. She found it hard enough to share me with Jess—and now she had to share me with Nick, Zoe, Josh, and a little, blobby ghost. She didn’t like it one bit.
I glanced at my watch. We were running out of time. “What if I could prove it to you?”
I told them to write a word down on a piece of paper while I turned my back to them. I asked Nick to tell me the word. After about twenty words, they started to suspect maybe I wasn’t crazy.
“How did you do that?” Maura asked for the twentieth time. They needed a little more proof. I made them go into the school, whisper one word each, and come back. Nick dutifully followed them into the school, coming back with a grin on his face.
“You have some interesting friends, princess.” When Nick told me the words, I looked at Maura and Jess in shock.
“You guys—I can’t believe what you said.” They’d both chosen very crude words to describe the male anatomy. When I repeated the words to them, mortified, Nick laughed his head off and Maura’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“It is true,” she said, enveloping me in a hug. Jess joined in. It was a huge relief to be able to share things with them again, and we sat side by side, talking quietly, until the bell rang, and we had to go to first period.
At lunch, I sat with Zoe. She didn’t look thrilled to see me, but I had to talk to her. I made Nick wait outside. I got too distracted with him right next to me.
“I saw the Soul Reaper last night.”
Zoe’s eyes grew huge in her face. “What did it look like?”
I frowned, thinking about it. “It looked a little like the other blobs, but different.” I explained to her what had happened the night before. I remembered the terror I felt and shuddered. “Pure…evil. Have you ever experienced something like that?”
Zoe shook her head slowly. “Never. It must have been awful, Lily.”
I fingered my necklace. “I’m not taking this off again. Mrs. Chang said it would protect me.”
“Where was Nick when this was happening?”
I looked at Zoe in surprise. “Right next to me. Or at least he was when the Soul Reaper left. I can’t remember.” Zoe stared at me, and I shook my head, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “No. Nick has nothing to do with this.”
She shrugged. “If you say so, Ginge.”
“Mr. Wan’s assistant read my tea leaves. She said Nick isn’t dead, but he isn’t alive either, which wasn’t helpful. She also said I’m going to end up with someone named Mr. Lucky.” I shook my head. “We’re getting nowhere.”
Maura and Jess joined us, and Zoe looked at them, her expression both surprised and horrified. Blobby plopped down on the table next to her.
“Please don’t tell me you all want to be my friends now.”
I grinned, knowing Zoe well enough to find this whole situation vastly amusing. “Be happy, Zoe. They want to help.”
“Yes,” said Maura. “And we’re going to The Zone with you guys Friday night so we can figure out what happened to Nick.”
Zoe stared at her in shock. “And how will you do that?”
Maura stuck out her ample chest a bit for emphasis, and Jess fluffed her blonde hair and fluttered her eyelashes. “Because boys like to talk to us,” said Maura.
“I’m sure they do.” Zoe groaned again. “So, this is ‘Barbie and Friends Go to a Bar?’ Okay. I can deal with this idea. But you’ll have to blend in, and you’ll have to do things my way.”
“What do you mean?” Jess still fluttered her eyelashes, a habit at this point, and it was getting annoying.
Zoe looked at the blinking Jess with her blonde surfer chick good looks, and at Maura with her beautiful dark curls and skin, and finally at me. I tugged on my red hair self-consciously and she grinned. “You’ll see.”
Chapter 12
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. ~ Lao Tzu, 6th Century BC
“I cannot wear a black leather bustier. And I refuse to put on those trousers.”
I couldn’t believe Zoe asked me to do this. As we stood in my bedroom, Zoe showed me the clothes she’d brought for me to wear to The Zone. I was not pleased, but she remained adamant.
“Trousers?” Zoe started to laugh. “What are you, eighty years old? These are very tight, very skinny, very sexy black leather pants. And that is not simply a black leather bustier; it’s an awesome black leather bustier. You’ll look great in it.”
I gave her a skeptical look. I doubted I would look great, but Zoe did. She wore a little black dress with a long black jacket—not a bustier or any leather in sight. The dress crisscrossed her body with dark, sheer fabric, showing peeks of her pale skin and highlighting her legs. She had amazing legs. I’d never seen them before since she always wore long skirts.
“Well, you look cute.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Cute wasn’t what I was going for, but thanks, cupcake.”
“I bet Josh will like your dress.” I pretended to be busy looking at the bustier. Zoe wasn’t fooled.
“What plot are you hatching?”
I gave her my most innocent, wide-eyed look. “Well, I sort of noticed you two kind of hit it off the other night.”
Zoe’s jaw dropped. “Me and the Ken doll? Not going to happen. He’s like a golden retriever, but with muscles.”
I giggled. “My friends and I call him ‘Lifesaver Candy.’ He saved my life and he’s total eye candy, right? But why not Josh? He’s a nice guy.”
“Which is exactly ‘why not.’ I don’t date nice guys.” Zoe started messing with the makeup supplies she’d brought with her. She seemed flustered. “And aren’t you two going to prom together?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t told Josh yet, but I can’t go with him.”
Zoe paused. “Because of Nick?”
I sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. “Josh and I are only friends, of course, but I can’t go out with anyone else. Nick is…”
“The one you want. I understand, but be careful, Ginge.” Zoe sat down next to me and surprised me by putting an arm around my shoulders. “I know how you much you care about him, but I’m not convinced Nick’s telling us everything he knows. Also, there is the little problem of him not exactly being in solid form.”
I knew Zoe worried for me. When she’d hinted around about Nick possibly being responsible for the scary episode I’d had the night before, it made me examine what I knew about him. Not a lot, but I did know, with my whole heart, Nick would never hurt me.
“I believe him, Zoe, even if I don’t have any proof. And I know Nick is the one for me, although Josh is the type of guy I always assumed I’d date, and my parents already love him.”
Zoe snorted. “Mine would love him too. They’re dentists. Have you seen Josh’s teeth? Perfection.”
I looked at her in surprise. “Your parents are dentists?”
Zoe sighed. “I know. Life is cruel. I should have been born to gypsies, or artists, or rock stars. Instead, my parents get Dentists’ Weekly and talk about plaque during dinner.”
I started to laugh but realized how hard “normal” must be for someone with Zoe’s gifts. I’d only been seeing ghosts for a few weeks, and I’d changed already. A lifetime of this could make anyone…odd.
“I’m sure people have judged you without knowing you as a person, and you probably didn’t appreciate it. Don’t do the same thing to Josh, Zoe. Give him a chance. He’s special. I bet it isn’t every day you meet a clairvoyant as hot as him.”
Zoe chuckled. “True. Lifesaver Candy, huh?” She shook her head. “I’ll think about it, okay? Now get dressed, please.”
I’ve never worn a bustier or leather pants before, but I had to admit the combination empowered me. I looked at my reflection in the mirror as Zoe stood behind me, admiring her handiwork.
“I look like Sandy from Grease, but at the end of the movie.”
“Yeah. When she finally became cool.” Zoe grinned at me.
“I liked her better in poodle skirts.” I tried to pull the bustier up a little higher and failed. “Nick is not going to believe this.”
Zoe turned me around to face her. “Nick is going to love this. Now sit down and let me do your hair.”
I sat at my vanity. Maura, Jess and Josh were due to arrive soon, but Zoe had come early to help me get ready. She didn’t trust me to pull together the right look. Nick sat in my dad’s den watching ESPN.
Zoe brushed my hair, and I studied her face in the mirror. “Thanks, Zoe. I could never have done this without you.”
She had bobby pins in her mouth. “What? Your hair?” she asked, her voice muffled. She took out the bobby pins and frowned at me, not understanding.
Tiger Lily (Dark Blossoms Book 1) Page 10