by Polen, Teri
“I’d think that was a possibility if there were any ducts in this room or if my bedroom door was open.”
Finn stepped from behind me and crept slowly around the room, squinting into the dark, dusty corners and inspecting areas behind the boxes. “Maybe you should have someone come and check it out.”
“Yeah, I guess I should mention it to Mom. Let’s go back downstairs. We’re not going to figure out anything tonight, and it’s late.” Finn didn’t object and for that, I was relieved. I scanned the area once more before turning off the light, but still seeing nothing out of the ordinary, we went back downstairs. I didn’t mention it to him because he’d never let me live it down, but the whole time we were in the attic, I’d had a creepy feeling someone was watching us, following our every movement. But that was impossible, of course.
Chapter 2
When the music alarm went off on my phone the next morning, my brain was a little fuzzy at first, but then I remembered what day it was. Today was Friday, which meant a pep rally for the soccer game tomorrow, and no calculus class today – could life get any better?
I rubbed my eyes and stretched, then swung my feet over the side of the bed and froze. The attic door was standing wide open again. I was positive I’d shut it last night after Finn and I came downstairs because the frigid air was turning my room into an igloo. And because the sensation of feeling like someone had been watching us was lingering and freaking me out a little. The air wafting down from the attic this morning was warm and humid like it should be in the middle of September.
Maybe whatever had happened last night was a fluke. Maybe the latch was loose and the door couldn’t close completely. Whatever the case, I got up and shut the door firmly, tugging the knob to see if it would slip open, but the latch seemed solid. I shrugged and decided to check out the attic again after I got home from school. Maybe the feelings from last night wouldn’t seem so realistic during daylight hours.
After showering, I went downstairs to feed Eby and grab some breakfast. Despite his actions toward Finn last night, Eby was a people lover and usually approved or disapproved all newcomers in our house. In hindsight, I should have taken his opinion of Erin into account long ago. The first time Erin came over, Eby jumped on the couch to greet her, sniffed her arm, scrunched up his black nose and hissed, then took a swing at her and fled the room. Erin’s reaction to Eby was to move as far away from him as possible, saying he’d get black fur on her new jeggings, whatever those were. Since then, every time she’d come over Eby hissed at her and then disappeared, only returning after Erin was gone. I’d thought about making it a cardinal rule to never trust anyone who didn’t like my cat, or have Eby approve any new girlfriends. Assuming I’d actually get up the nerve to ask someone out – after I figured out how to dump Erin.
I walked into semi-controlled chaos. The kitchen was a hub of activity – Eby yowling for his breakfast, Mom packing lunches, eating yogurt, and signing field trip forms, and Maddie, my seven-year-old sister, attempting to put books in her backpack, papers trailing on the floor behind her.
“I’ve got two houses to show this evening, so you two are on your own tonight,” Mom said, juggling the container of yogurt while she tossed a bag of carrots in Maddie’s lunch bag. “Alright, lunches are made, taco meat is cooked and in the fridge, so I’ll see you two tonight when I get home. Maddie, make sure to turn in your forms. Cain, are you sure you don’t mind fixing dinner and helping Maddie with homework – again?”
“Mom, I got this. Don’t worry,” I said, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl.
“I know it’s not your responsibility to take care of her, Cain. You should be with your friends, or even on a date, not taking care of your sister.”
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, believe me, I’d much rather be helping Maddie with second grade math and reading Harry Potter to her at bedtime than go out with Erin.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thanks, sweetie. I know my hours have been kind of crazy lately, but I really appreciate you being here for Maddie. I know she’s in good hands,” she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
“Maddie’s no problem – a little weird, but fun in a warped kind of way.” I watched as she alternated spooning cereal in her mouth then feeding Eby a spoonful of milk – with the same spoon.
“Were you planning to go out with Erin tonight?”
“That would be a no, I’m free from her clutches.”
“Remember what I said about letting her know how you feel. It will only get worse if you drag it out.”
“Working on it, Mom,” I said, as I filled Eby’s food bowl.
After watching ESPN and catching up on some scores, I went back upstairs to finish getting ready, Eby at my heels. While pulling back my hair with a leather tie, I noticed Eby nosing through the protein bar wrappers, chip bags, and empty glasses that littered my floor. He started batting around what looked like a red Skittle and knocked it under the attic door. Flopping over to his side, he stuck his paws under the door, trying to retrieve the red candy, but suddenly stiffened and pounced backwards, landing in a crouched position.
“What’s your problem? Something grab your paw on the other side?” Eby’s black fur was standing on end, his tail bushed out to twice its normal size, and I heard a low growl coming from his throat.
“Dorky cat. There’s nothing there. I’ll prove it to you,” I said, opening the door. Eby sank back into the corner, his ears flat against his head as he hissed at the empty doorway. He then shot across the bed and out of my room, an almost identical reaction to last night. I again thought about the creepy feeling I’d had in the attic. Then I remembered my new rule of trusting Eby’s reactions to people and wondered if this was another time I should trust his instincts.
Especially as unnaturally cold air wafted into the room through the open attic doorway, surrounding my body like an icy cocoon. I slammed the door, grabbed the chair from my desk, and jammed the back of it under the door knob. Surely that would keep the door closed. I hoped.
Chapter 3
While I was happy to miss calculus because of the pep rally, I was relieved it didn’t interfere with English lit. This was the best part of my day. Not because of my love of all that was literature - I didn’t know the difference between William Shakespeare and Stephen King. This was the best part of my day because of who else was in the class. And there she was, coming through the door.
Lindsey Sullivan. She and her brother, Caleb, who was also on the soccer team, had transferred to our school last year, but I’d only gotten to know her over the last month. The gods had been smiling down upon me when the alphabetical seating chart placed her beside me and since then we’d been talking some before and after class.
“Hey, Cain,” she said, tucking her long blond hair behind one ear as she tossed her backpack onto the floor and took her seat. Wow, she always smelled so good, like a mixture of citrus and cinnamon, not that flowery crap Erin wore that always made me think of my grandma.
“Did you watch the Broncos game last night?” she asked, leaning over to tie her red Chucks. From this angle, I could see the curve of her neck and the glint of a silver chain as her hair fell forward. I imagined what it would be like to move my lips along the path of her neck up to just below her ear and…..
Snapping fingers in front of my face. “Cain? Are you with me?” she asked. I was so caught up in my daydream, I hadn’t noticed Lindsey sitting up again.
“What? Sorry, Lindsey,” I said, ducking my head, sure my face was the color of her Chucks. “I didn’t get to watch the game last night, but saw the highlights on TV this morning.”
“You missed a Broncos game?” her eyes widening in surprise. “What could keep you from that, ‘cause I know soccer practice w
as over by five since I had to pick up Caleb.”
“I was dragged to the mall against my will,” I replied, twisting the silver ring I wore on my right index finger.
“Finn made you go shopping again? Isn’t his closet overflowing with shoes by now?”
I snorted out loud, like the total babe magnet I was. “Yeah, I wish. Um, Erin needed to look for…. some kind of shirt or something. I really wasn’t paying attention,” I said, glancing sideways at her. Something flitted across her face, a girl look I was unfamiliar with. Sometimes I wished Maddie was older and could interpret things for me, explaining the foreign language of the female species. Life would be so much easier.
“Yeah, well that’s what happens when you date those prom queen types. It’s all fun and games until they need to go shopping.”
“It’s definitely not all fun and games,” I muttered.
“What was that?” Lindsey asked, a definite smirk on her face. That look I knew.
“Nothing. You coming to the soccer game tomorrow?”
“Are you kidding? After what they did to us in regionals last season, I wouldn’t miss this game for anything. I have orchestra practice in the morning, but I’ll just toss the cello in the back of the Jeep and then a few of us plan to head over after that.”
“Seriously? You’ll just toss the cello in the Jeep. It’s almost as big as you are,” I chuckled.
“Hey, I can handle it,” she huffed. “Why don’t you come to our concert next week?” Wait – I think – yep. My heart stopped. Did Lindsey just ask me out? If I didn’t know better, I’d say she even looked hopeful, but since I don’t speak girl language, I was probably completely misinterpreting her expression.
“I…” Before I could finish, Mrs. Brody called the class to order, crushing my dream. Time to discuss Gone With the Wind. Perfect.
. . . . .
Plopping my lunch tray on the table, I pulled out the seat across from Finn. What could I say about the items on my tray? What horror stories about high school cafeterias haven’t you heard? The lunch ladies were scary and intimidating and barked at the students like coarse, gruff military men and the food came in colors, textures, and smells that were indescribable and truly frightening, not to mention unappetizing. Most of the students had an irrational fear of being stabbed with sporks by the lunch ladies or developing food poisoning.
Gazing across the table, I grinned after reading Finn’s choice of t-shirt today. It read, ‘The Third Rule of Fight Club Is Have Fun and Try Your Best’. Most of his wardrobe consisted of t-shirts that were nerdy, humorous, or downright offensive, but always brought on a snort of laughter.
“Need your expertise, bro. If Lindsey asked me to come to her concert, does that count as a date or was she just being friendly?”
“Cain, my young, inexperienced Padawan, I sense the force isn’t strong in you, but use your feelings you must.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? You’re going to quote Star Wars now?”
“When is it not an appropriate time to quote Star Wars? Words to live by, my friend.”
“Still waiting.”
“Fine. Dump Erin, go out with Lindsey. Sounds like she’s into you, dude. She’s not like that pack Erin runs with and I don’t think shopping is high on her list of priorities. Lindsey’s friends are like real people, not clones of each other. And another bonus – you can actually talk to her. An even bigger bonus is that she likes yours truly. Obviously, she has good taste.”
“Obviously,” I muttered, sporking some sort of reddish-colored lump on my tray.
Speak of the devil – and the angel, a long blond mane of hair caught my eye and Lindsey, catching me looking at her, turned and said something to her two friends, Ling and Emma, then waved and walked toward our table, carrying her lunch tray. Unfortunately, the devil herself, Erin, narrowed her eyes at Lindsey after seeing her wave and raced behind her in our direction.
Lindsey slid her lunch tray onto the table and took the seat to Finn’s left. “Hey, Cain. ‘Sup Finn. Sweet t-shirt – awesome movie, but the book was better.”
Before I could say a word, Erin reached the table, leaned over and kissed me, then sat beside me, directly across from Lindsey. “Hi, baby, I missed you this morning. Finn,” Erin said, barely glancing in his direction, but she definitely noticed Lindsey, pursing her lips as she placed her hand on my thigh. “Oh, Lisa, I didn’t know you were Finn’s wench of the week. That must be….interesting.”
To her credit, Lindsey gave a bemused smile. “It’s Lindsey, not Lisa, and no, I’m not with Finn but, with his wicked t-shirt collection, exquisite sense of humor, and Harry Potteresque chaotic hair, any girl would consider herself lucky to be his wench for a week.”
“Can’t argue with the truth,” Finn said, beaming.
“Well, I consider myself a great judge of character,” Lindsey said, looking directly at Erin. “I’ve always preferred to spend my time with people who are genuine and can think for themselves.”
Erin glared at Lindsey, whose radiant smile clearly showed she was enjoying herself. I, however, was in pain because of the way Erin gripped my thigh, her long pink talons digging into my leg and probably leaving marks. Grabbing her hand, I pried it away, and dropped it in her lap. This didn’t go over so well with Erin, as she whipped her head around, eyes blazing at me. Finn and Lindsey were both trying to hide their laughter while they picked at their food.
The rest of lunch break was spent with Erin giving me the cold shoulder, something I didn’t mind, and Finn, Lindsey, and I talking about the soccer game tomorrow and Lindsey’s upcoming concert.
After lunch, I hoped Erin’s icy silent treatment would hold, but before we parted ways, she grabbed the back of my neck, pulled my head to hers and kissed me. She then gave Lindsey a cold scowl. “Oh, by the way, Lisa, nice shoes.”
“Thanks, I’ve got three more like them at home. I’d give you the name of the store, but they’re really selective about their clientele.”
If the imaginary daggers spewing from Erin’s eyes had been real, Lindsey would have bled out in front of us. Instead, Erin spun on her heel and caught up with a friend, leaving Lindsey laughing in her wake. “She’s really, um…something, isn’t she? See you guys later.”
I watched Lindsey walk away from me down the hallway, imagining what it would have been like if she’d kissed me instead Erin. Why was I worried about hurting the feelings of someone who cared so little about my own?
. . . . .
When I got home after soccer practice that evening, I sprinted up the stairs to make sure the attic door was still closed. Before I entered my room, I noticed my legs seemed a little wobbly, but figured it was only because of the strenuous practice. Not because I was afraid the chair would be kicked over and the door wide open. That would be ridiculous.
Taking a deep breath, I crossed the threshold and looked to my left. Seeing the chair and door were just as I’d left them this morning, I let out the breath I’d been holding. Everything was fine. Whatever had happened last night and this morning had been a fluke with the ventilation system like Finn said. That was all. I chuckled, shaking my head at how Finn and I had reacted, then went in my bathroom to shower.
. . . . .
“Wingardium Leviosa!” Maddie waved her wand at me with flourish and a flick of her wrist. “Cain, why aren’t you floating? That’s what the spell is for, so float!”
“Sorry, Maddie. Maybe you need to practice on smaller things first. Like Eby.”
With Mom out showing houses to clients, I’d reheated the taco meat she’d made this morning for dinner, helped Maddie with her homework, and supervised bath time. We were currently dueling each other with our wands.
Her recent fascination with all things Harry Potter had led her to make her own wand from a tree twig she’d found in the backyard. My wand was a chopstick I’d discovered on my floor from when Finn and I had takeout Chinese earlier this week.
Even though Mom felt guilty about me taking care of Maddie so much, I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her I didn’t mind. She was a funny kid and with Dad being gone, I wanted to continue some of the things with Maddie they’d done together, and he’d always read to her before bedtime. We were on the third Harry Potter book and she was captivated. Promising to read to her also made it easier to get her settled in bed.
“Eby’s going to Hogwarts with me when my letter comes, so I can’t practice on him. I don’t want to turn his hair pink or give him a pig’s tail.”
“Good point. Pink hair would ruin his street cred. How about we continue this duel tomorrow and start the next chapter?”
. . . . .
I turned in around midnight, Eby a warm, furry lump up at my side, while thoughts of tomorrow’s game swirled in my head. Exhausted from the afternoon’s practice and an evening with Maddie, I drifted off easily, my thoughts gliding to Lindsey from earlier today, and the vision of her curved neck with the silver chain. I imagined myself going to her concert and maybe doing something cheesy and romantic, like bringing her flowers after it was over.
Why was it so warm in here? Sometimes I was a little uncomfortable with Eby’s body heat added to my own, but this was approaching sauna levels. Still half-asleep, something tickled at the back of my mind, but wasn’t ready to become a conscious thought. I tried to shove the covers off me, but they were stuck on something. I reached for Eby to push him out of the way, but my hand came up empty. I didn’t feel him beside me anywhere and my brow furrowed, thinking how strange that was. He usually stayed with me all night so he could wake me early for his breakfast. Too tired to think about it now, I at least managed to kick the covers off my legs up to my knees.