He laughed. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
My decision wasn’t as hard to make as it should have been. He waited, but I think he already knew what I’d pick.
“All right. But I have to call Grant and tell him.”
“I’ll wait over here,” he said.
He moved several yards away while I pulled out my cell phone. I punched Grant’s speed dial and waited.
“Hello?”
“Grant, I’m skipping school.”
There was a pause. “With Haven?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it for a good reason?”
I stared at the phone for a second. “What? That’s all the protesting you’re going to do?”
He laughed on the other end. “I’m the moody, detached one, remember? You want to skip, I won’t stop you. But don’t be stupid.”
“Are you sick? Has the invasion of the body snatchers started with you?”
“Haven’s been helping me with some issues of my own. I trust him.”
Hurt crushed my chest. Grant had gone to a complete stranger for help? “Oh.”
A sigh blew static into the earpiece. “Don’t get mopey, Sis. It’s not you. It’s a guy thing. Haven’s all right.”
“I’ll have my phone on.”
“Gotta go. Principal Westchester is headed this way. Later.”
He clicked off and I stood, staring at the phone. What just happened? I shook my head and slid the phone back in my pocket. Haven raised his eyebrows and fell into step alongside me as we headed for his car.
“I’m good,” I said.
He nodded, then smiled. “Great. Let’s get out of here.”
Haven’s car was a gorgeous white mustang, and he unlocked the car, then blushed. A pile of bags sat in the back seat.
“Sorry. I forgot about all this stuff. Give me a minute.”
“No biggie.” I leaned against the bumper and watched. The bags were full of books and women’s clothes.
“Donations?”
He paused for a moment, his expression going blank. “Something like that.”
I knew him long enough now to know it meant he was uncomfortable, lying, or both. Maybe this trip hadn’t been a great plan after all. The thought of returning and listening to the whispers and Bryan’s false sympathy kept me from walking back into the building. This was definitely the lesser of two evils.
“What did Grant say?” Haven nudged the bags of stuff over and reached for my book bag. I handed it over willingly.
I moved out of the way and climbed in the passenger side while he shut the trunk and slid behind the wheel. “He was very complimentary of you. Encouraged it.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
“Why?” He backed out, and headed out of the parking lot.
I sighed. “We’re close. I guess I assumed he’d yell at me. Or beg me to take him along.”
Haven chuckled. “I’m surprised he didn’t try.”
“So, where are we going?”
“Hanover Park, by way of the grocery store. We’ll grab stuff for a picnic—my treat.”
I raised a brow, but nodded. “Sounds good.” Butterflies took up shop in my stomach. The two of us alone on a picnic? Like a date? Confusion pounded at my temples. Why did life always have to be so complicated?
“Don’t think so hard, Claire. Just go with it.”
I crossed my arms. “Aren’t we going to get caught?”
“Hanover’s in the next county over.” Haven chuckled. “I won’t let you get caught on your first day skipping.”
“It’s that obvious?”
“Oh yeah. Don’t worry. I don’t skip often, and I swear I’m not trying to corrupt you.”
Too late, I thought. I stared out the window, trying to cover up the blush burning my cheeks.
***
We spread a flowered quilt from the back of Haven’s car on the ground. I grabbed the grocery bag with our picnic supplies and set it in the center. We slipped off our shoes and sat down.
“Haven?”
He rummaged through the bag. “I know. You’ve been more patient than I expected.”
“I need answers.”
Sighing, he put my sandwich and chips in front of me, and handed me a can of soda. “Shoot.”
I rolled the cold can between my palms. “Are you really psychic?”
“Are you?” He took a huge bite of his sandwich.
I popped the tab. “No answering a question with a question.”
He tilted his head in agreement and swallowed. “You’re going to have to answer eventually. I’ve noticed things about you, Claire.”
Fear rose in my throat. I forced it down and just waited. He sighed. “Fair enough. Yes, I am. Sometimes I see the future, more often the past. Occasionally I catch a passing thought. But only if someone is really broadcasting it loudly.” He sipped his drink. “Your turn.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Answer my question. I know you’ve seen Gregory Halifax, the construction worker who haunts the school.”
My eyes widened. “Yes.”
He paused. “Not going to elaborate?”
“Do you really think I came with you to give answers?” I immediately wished to retract the snippy words.
Haven laughed. “I knew you had a backbone.”
I crossed my arms. “Is this why you brought me out here? To insult me?”
“I’m not picking on you. But you’ve been going around school for the last two weeks walking on eggshells. We’ve been sitting together at lunch, and I don’t know you any better, really, than I did the first day.” Pink rose in his cheeks, but his eyes didn’t leave mine. “I’d like to change that.”
Words escaped me. I stared at him, thoughts racing.
“You look surprised.”
Heat began to rise in my face. “Well, yes. I mean, it didn’t seem like you were interested.”
“So your surprise isn’t an objection?”
“Why would it be?”
He raised an eyebrow. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not the most popular guy in school.”
“People are always afraid of what they don’t understand. They still talk to you, at least sometimes.” I looked away, tracing the lines of quilting on the blanket. “Believe me, I know what it’s like. When people found out about me at my last school, things didn’t go well.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “It’s done and over with.” With a sigh, I gazed at him. “I’m a little afraid something will happen again. Last time ended…badly.”
“Some people will always be distant, but they’ve had to deal with me for a long time. If your secret gets out, it will be okay.”
“Ah, but I don’t see the future.” I swallowed. “I speak to the dead. Sometimes I can read thoughts.” I choked back a giggle. “I’ve never said it out loud before. It’s kind of scary and weird.”
Haven winked. “No, not weird. Eccentric. It makes you sound wealthy and mysterious.”
I laughed in spite of myself. Lifting my can of soda, I gave a mock salute. “Sounds good to me. But you’re still not off the hook. I want to know about Melanie.”
Chapter Twelve
“Despite what he made it sound like, I didn’t kill her.” A frown stretched his mouth down. “I dreamt about her for weeks. Nothing concrete, only enough to know something would happen and it’d be bad. She wasn’t known for following the rules. I thought if I confronted her, I could scare her with what I’d seen. Maybe enough to warn her off and keep her from being hurt.”
“She didn’t believe you.”
A snort escaped him. “No one did. She laughed, and then she got pissed. I caused a huge scene because I was frustrated no one would listen. She got mad because everyone was talking about me and not her. She actually said that to me before she stormed off.”
I raised
a brow. “Special.”
“Yeah.” He waved a hand. “Anyway, something about that night set Bryan off. I don’t know, maybe he had a crush on her. Maybe it was something else. Since middle school, something has always been a bit off. He sealed the deal when he was the first one to tell the cops about my argument with her. We’ve been at each other ever since.”
I didn’t want to point out I’d noticed what was off about Bryan the other day. “That can’t be all there is to the feud between you and Bryan.”
“You want all the details, huh?”
I nodded and opened my chips. Haven downed another bit of sandwich. “Well, I’m not sure why our whole family is still fighting. But I know it has to do with a mutual ancestor. A Great-Great Aunt Maggie. She had some sort of psychic talents. Back then, people wanted to play with Ouija boards and spiritualism. But in a small town, having the real thing wasn’t quite the same.”
“What does that have to do with the two of you?”
“Well, Maggie had two brothers. Twins, as cliché as it is. One of them wanted to institutionalize her. No one’s sure why. Probably because he couldn’t handle the reality of what she could do.” He motioned to me. “You know how it goes.”
I nodded. He had no idea how well I knew.
“Anyway, the other brother wanted to move, take her somewhere and start over. He had similar abilities, but had kept it under wraps. Turns out it didn’t matter. She disappeared one night and committed herself to a local home.”
“What kind of home?”
He stared off into space. “No one seems certain. They say it was a home for the mentally challenged. The whispers say it was the kind of place you sent relatives to get rid of them. For whatever reason—money, inheritance, annoyance—didn’t matter. They’d keep it quiet for you. They didn’t have to be insane, just different or unwanted.”
I shook my head. “How awful. Why would she do that to herself? Things had to have been pretty horrible.”
“Sometimes I think she must have had a secret of her own. A big and important one. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense at all.” Haven shook his head. “She must have thought it so terrible neither brother would understand. But then there’s the possibility that the one who wanted to lock her away did it under everyone’s noses.”
“Where was this place? Close by?”
Haven’s gaze slid away from mine and he stuffed the last of his sandwich into his mouth. The hair on my arms stood on end.
“It’s my house, isn’t it?”
He nodded.
“Well, it does explain a few things.” I struggled to keep calm. “What does all this have to do with you and Bryan? You can’t be arguing about a Great-Great Aunt you’ve never actually met.”
Haven stretched across the blanket and propped his head up on one hand. “That’s where things get fuzzy. My side of the family always has some sort of psychic talent. Bryan’s side doesn’t and always hates us for it. Some of them are mad they don’t have the power, some are mad because they fear it. Then others say it’s all about Maggie. The story goes that when the two brothers found out about Maggie, they tried to get her out or at least visit, but a few days after they found her, she went missing. Each brother blamed the other, and neither believed the note left behind that said she’d run away to South America. The letter wasn’t in her handwriting, and the home didn’t have the best reputation. The brothers vowed their respective families would never have anything to do with each other again.”
“And no one has tried to patch things up? I find it hard to believe.”
Haven shrugged. “It’s weird, actually. Every time the sides try to make up, a disaster happens. A huge falling out, a catastrophe, anything to start the whole thing over again.”
I couldn’t imagine Bryan and Haven playing together as children. The image didn’t seem real. “So you were never friends?”
“Believe it or not,” he said, “when we were younger we used to sneak out and play together. Our mothers were never keen on it, but they didn’t look too hard. We started to get more distant when Bryan found out about my gift. First he was angry. Then he was jealous.”
“And then?”
“Melanie disappeared, and you know the rest.”
After a few minutes, I pulled out the two cookies I’d bought from my purse and handed him one. He accepted with a smile. “What was the name of this place?” I wondered if Mom knew the house’s history when she bought it.
“If I remember right, it was the Horace Gunderson Philanthropic Home for the Wayward Soul.”
I resisted the urge to giggle. It sounded like it was out of a B horror movie. “How…Victorian.”
“I know. It’s a mouthful, right?” He laughed.
“I think I’m going to have to do some research. The library would have records about the house. Articles and things, right?”
Haven nodded. “I could take you tomorrow, if you wanted.”
“Thanks. That’d be great.”
I couldn’t decide whether to be flattered or afraid of Haven’s intentions. He’d gone about things in a weird way, but I liked him, and he seemed genuine. Questions about him mingled with those about the house and the past. My head pounded like it might explode.
One thing, however, always came to the front. “Why would Bryan do this? Why come out to the house and warn me off? He says he knows how he’s acted, but he still did it anyway. And after going out of his way to be nice, now he’s decided he’s angry with me.”
Haven balled our trash up and chucked it into the bag. “I’d like to say he’s just a jerk.” His brow furrowed. “But it is weird even for him. I guess he really likes you.”
“I guess we’ll see how much he likes me. When he finds out where I’ve been all day, he’s going to flip.”
Haven shrugged. “You don’t have to tell anyone you were with me. It won’t offend me if you don’t.”
I wondered how often that happened to Haven.
“Come on, let’s talk about something else. It’s my turn to ask a few questions.”
I took a deep breath, ignoring the sinking feeling in my gut. “All right.”
He smiled. “What do you like to do for fun?”
Not what I expected. “Well, I like movies, books. You know, normal stuff.”
“Movies, huh?” He perked. “Maybe sometime I’ll have to take you to one.”
Another blush warmed my cheeks and I nodded “I might be convinced to go to the movies.”
“What kind do you like best?”
I sighed. “You’ll be disappointed to know that I’m not a chick-flick fan. Adventure movies, fantasy, sci-fi. Those are usually my top choices.”
His eyes widened and he clutched his chest. “Beautiful, psychic, and doesn’t like chick flicks? Marry me.”
I laughed, then leaned over and covered his hand with mine. A ripple of awareness moved through my fingers. I thought I saw the same in the slight jump of Haven’s fingers. “If I forget to tell you later, Haven, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being open. For not lying to me.”
His fingers curled around mine. “Any time.” His gaze caught mine until I blushed and looked away. He released me and got to his feet. “How about a walk around the park? It’s nearly noon.”
I took the hand he offered, ignoring the feeling of déjà-vu that happened whenever I touched him. At first, it had been so slight I hadn’t really noticed. The longer I talked to him, the more the contact set me off balance. It wasn’t anything he did—it was just a strange bond between us.
***
We headed back to the car, and butterflies fluttered to life at the thought of having to go home.
“Are you sure your mom isn’t going to freak about the two of us skipping together? Because mine will if the school called this morning and she paid attention to the phone.”
His face closed, a wave of hurt blanketing his expression for a s
econd. “No. I live with my grandmother.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Things are difficult with my family. Grandmother isn’t bad, she just doesn’t approve of me.”
“Approve of you?” I laid a hand on his arm. Beneath my fingers, his muscles tensed. “What do you mean? She doesn’t like your behavior?”
“She doesn’t like me much. It’s not personal, she didn’t intend on raising her grandchild is all. She’s pretty strict.”
“Why the hell did we skip, then? I don’t want to get myself in trouble, but I definitely don’t want you to get in trouble on my account.” I told him. Not liking your grandkid seemed pretty damn personal to me. I found myself annoyed on his behalf. Mom may be struggling with Grant and me, but we knew she loved us.
He laughed. “It’s good to know you care.” Unlocking the car, he grinned at me. “Don’t worry too much. She’s always gone during the day. She won’t notice until later I skipped, and by then I’ll already be in trouble for something else.”
“Haven—”
He put a finger over my lips. “I shouldn’t have told you. Don’t worry so much.”
I glared and slid into the passenger seat when he opened my door.
“I don’t get you, Haven.”
“Good.” His wink made my pulse leapt. “You won’t get bored too quickly.”
Sucking in a huge mouthful of air, I weighed my options. Haven appeared to be everything I could want in a boy. Cute, attentive, and with a protective instinct that didn’t come out as a jerk. Underneath, though, he hid a lot. Maybe he thought today would make me ignore that. Maybe he didn’t. I couldn’t know, and I didn’t want to rush into anything. Despite how comfortable I felt around him, I couldn’t shake the questions I had.
“What are you frowning about?” He pulled out into traffic.
“Today.”
He glanced my way, then focused on the road. “Today wasn’t about trying to make you fall madly in love with me. I’m not out to force you into anything. I only wanted to see if I could help. See if I had a shot. You’re the first girl I’ve ever wanted to date. You’re smart, funny, pretty, and you aren’t afraid to be different.”
A Whispered Darkness Page 8