“Olivia!” He shouts, gaining on me fast. I know I’ll never be able to outrun him and reach the gate before he catches me, so I change course, racing for the pool. As I near the edge I slow down, then change directions again. I hear Lukas curse loudly behind me, then a loud splash as he plunges into the pool, his speed and momentum preventing him from changing direction in time.
I reach the gate and feel through the ivy for the latch. When my fingers brush against it, I wrench it open and run down the path. What I see when I reach the entrance to the cemetery stops me cold in my tracks….a party?
Shimmering white, transparent people spin in circles, in time with the music. Ghostly laughter fills the air as the transparent band changes their song, the music picking up. The ghosts -that’s what they are, they have to be- switch partners and someone grabs my arm. Well, not grab exactly. I shudder. It feels like they have a hold on my arm, but are actually reaching through it at the same time.
Suddenly, I’m pulled into the chaos, being spun round and round so fast I can barely think, much less see a thing. The music slows again and whoever I’d been dancing with passes me off to a tall, ghostly boy, with translucent golden curls, and light brown eyes. We begin a waltz, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. He leads me-tripping over my own feet- spins me and dips me, and then right when the music changes, I decide to try and dance. It could be fun!
The next boy I dance with says “I’ve never seen you around before.”
I nod and say “I’m new here.”
He nods, and picks me up, spinning me through the air above him. When he sets me down, I submit myself to the dancing, entranced by the music. I spin against his chest, then we strut across the graveyard, the music picks up again and I spin into another partner's arms. We dance quickly, flipping and spinning, then the girl dancers lead. We salsa, tango, then something slow, something fast. I’ve lost count of how many times we changed songs, and I think I keep hearing someone calling my name, only I don’t know who, but who cares? I’m having a blast!
“Olivia!” A voice cuts through the crowd, during the short silence when the musicians are changing songs, and I see Lukas. “Come on! We’ve got to go!” He yells at me.
“Lukas!” I yell back, “Don’t be such a party pooper!” The music starts up again, I grab my new partner’s hand, and we spin off into the crowd.
My feet ache. I feel like I’m going to faint or barf, or both. I still want to dance, though -why wouldn’t I want to dance? I don’t think I can go anymore…...only, I can’t stop. We change songs again into a fast paced jig, and I go through the motions. I'm having a wonderful time. It’s great! God. I’m going to die of exhaustion.
“Olivia.” I look up. I realize we are right near the entrance to the cemetery, and Lukas is standing in front of me.
As the music changes again, I’m pulled away from the entrance and into the mass of dancers. I can’t do this anymore, I think as I lead the dance. I’m tossed into the air and I giggle. Why would I want to stop, again? I’m having sooooooooo much fun!
When my rational brain surfaces again, I catch sight of Lukas and croak out “Help…” Ha! I sound like a frog! Frogs are so cute………..
My legs buckle and feel someone catch me. Lukas scoops me up, and the world goes black.
Chapter Three
“You said she was doing what?”
“You heard me.”
“Maybe we should take her to the doctor. Sophie, what do you think?”
“I am a doctor, Zach.”
I awaken to people talking in hushed voices around me. I keep my eyes closed for a moment longer, wanting to hear more of their conversation, but my mother says “I’m a doctor Olivia. I can tell when someone is awake.”
I open my eyes and find myself lying on one of the L couches in Grams family room, my mom and dad staring down at me in concern. The owner of the third voice, I was sure it belonged to Lukas, is nowhere in sight. My memories are clear, but I can’t believe that’s what had happened so…..I ask.
“What happened?” And the part I don't know. “How did I get here?”
“The gardener says you were in the cemetery?” My dad asks with concern. “Is that true?”
I don’t see a reason to lie about that, so I don’t. What would I say? As weird as this story is, I doubt they’ll believe me anyway. “Yes, it’s true.”
“Sweetheart, could you please tell us why?” I look up. My grandmother comes in holding a steaming mug of tea, which she hands to me. Lukas follows closely on her heels and leans back against the wall, his expression guarded, but concerned.
“Um...yeah.” I say, knowing full well it’ll sound nuts.
“Go on.” My mother prompts. I catch Lukas’s gaze and he shakes his head ever so slightly. Gram and my parents all stare at me, waiting.
I glance at Lukas again. “It’s not like they’ll believe me anyway. ” I mouth.
He shakes his head again. “You have no idea.”
I turn back to my parents. “I was watching….” I trail off and look at Lukas who is most decidedly not looking at me. “I was watching something in the backyard, I pushed too hard on the window, the latch came undone and I fell out. Lukas was in the backyard...working, maybe, and he caught me. After that I saw people down near the cemetery, so I ran to see what they were doing. Lukas followed me and…..” I spare a glance at the still slightly damp Lukas. “fell into the pool. It turned out that there was a party of some sort going on at the cemetery. They danced a lot, I danced with them…...that’s all I remember.” Well that’s a slightly toned down version of the truth. It’s still utterly ridiculous, but oh well. There’s really not much I can do about that, since I've never been one lie to my parents.
Gram trades a concerned look with Mom, then looks up at me hopefully. “Were these people teenagers? Because if they were, and they were vandalizing the cemetery, then we’ll have to call the police.” It’s almost as if she wants this to be the case.
I decide to tell them a bit more of the truth, and see what they say. “No. They were people of all ages, men, women, and children. They were….....ghostly, translucent, sort of. I could see their features as clearly as I can see yours, but I could also see straight through them.”
Gram and Mom look at each other, then Gram stands up. “Liv, you must be starving. Sophie, come help me fix Liv something to eat.” I frown. It’s obvious that they have something to say that they don’t want me to hear.
I turn to Dad who is staring at me with his brow furrowed. I wince. I know that look. It means he thinks I’m lying to him. “What?” I ask him.
“There are hedges below your bedroom window. For Lukas to catch you, he would have had to leap into the hedge, and I doubt he would voluntarily do that for someone he barely knows. So, what I want to know is…... what really happened?”
I wince. He caught me in a lie, and I don’t like lying to him, but I’m not going to give up Lukas’s secret, if it is a secret, without his permission. I don’t meet Dad’s gaze as I shrug my shoulders. “Why don’t you ask him?” I mumble.
“Yes why don’t you?” Mom comes back in and hands me a sandwich. I’m tempted to ask her what her and Gram won’t tell me, but she seems fully focused on dad asking Lukas about this.
“Lukas?” My dad says raising his gaze to meet his.
His voice is quiet when he answers. “I caught Olivia when I was fifteen feet above the hedges.” When Dad looks at him startled, he catches my eye, nods ever so slightly, and says “Ask Olivia to tell you. She knows.”
I take a bite of my sandwich (chicken salad) and chew slowly, buying myself time to think about this. Lukas gave me permission, at least I think it was permission to tell, but he dropped the burden on me and it’ll sound nuts. But my parents are looking at me expectantly now, waiting for answer and I can’t see a way around this. I’m stuck. I take a deep breath. “Lukas was flying. That’s what I was watching when I fell. He caught me in mid-air.”
; My parents look at each other, identical expressions on their faces. Disbelief. I sigh again. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Gram comes back in and hands me a brownie from earlier, then sits down and whispers to Mom, asking what she missed, probably. “Do you?” I prod.
“Well sweetie” My mom sounds reluctant to answer. “what you’re saying sounds impossible. You’re telling us that you saw Lukas flying when you fell out the window, and he caught you in mid-air. Then you say you saw ghosts- ghosts Liv, are you even listening to yourself!? This all seems utterly crazy, so no we don't believe you. I’m sure Lukas caught you, and you saw people in the cemetery, but the rest?! I put that to be stress or the shock, or just your own exhaustion.”
I shove the rest of my sandwich in my mouth, and bolt to my feet, still holding my brownie. “Why even bother asking if you don’t even try to believe me? I’m not saying you have to believe everything that I’m saying, but if you’re going to ask then you should at least give me the benefit of the doubt! Instead all your doing is interrogating me, then telling me I’m crazy!” I shout. I don’t normally yell at my parents, but this is too much.
Gram stands as well. “Liv, that’s not what we’re saying. We’re just saying that we think you may have imagined a lot of what happened.”
I don’t want to yell at my grandmother, so I take a deep breath and try to compose myself. “That is basically telling me that you think I’m crazy.”
Dad stands and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Liv honey, you must be so tired. Why don’t you just go back to bed and we’ll talk about this more tomorrow? You do have school after all.” His tone makes it clear that I don't have an option.
I nod numbly and mumble “Good night.” As soon as I leave the room I hear Gram and my parents start talking quietly to each other. I roll my eyes. “Whatever.” I whisper.
I walk through the entry hall, and lean against the banister on the spiral staircase eating my brownie, wondering if Lukas is going to follow me. He does. A few moments later, he exits the family room and stands in front of me. “Lukas, what the heck happened in the cemetery? And in the yard? I mean Jesus Christ you flew.”
He heaves a huge sigh. “Liv, I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?” I demand.
“It’s a secret. You don’t need, and don’t want to know. At least until you can prove yourself anyways.” He adds under his breath.
“Lukas! You need to tell me right now ! I’m just going to keep bothering you. Today, tomorrow, the day after that…...forever until you tell me!” I whisper-shout.
“I was afraid you’d say that. I believe you’ll do it too, which is why I have to do this.” He takes a step toward me and puts his fingers on my temples.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Olivia.” He whispers.
.
Chapter Four
Beep. Beep. Beep! Beep! BEEEEEEEEP!!!!!
“Uggghhh…..” I groan as I sit up and turn off my alarm clock. “Monday, yay! My favorite day!” I grumble as I drag myself out of bed.
At least I’m not the new kid anymore. I think as I pull on jeans and my Beatles t-shirt. I lace up my gray and dark blue vans, then drag a brush through my tangled light blonde curls, thinking back on the previous week. School, surprisingly, was fine. I like all my classes and most of my teachers, and I met a girl named Esmeralda Arlington, and I guess we’re friends now. The only thing that was weird was this boy named Dillon.
Dillon, as my new friend told me, is a popular boy who plays football and is as all popular boys are: think-they-are-oh-so-handsome, think they are athletic when they’re not, stuck up, rude, and all around jerks. But he seemed weird to me. Off. He even knew the last name of one of my long-ago ancestors, and used it like it’s Gram’s name, even though it never was. I think back to my first day of school.
I step off of my bus, and head up the front steps of the school, nervousness churning in my stomach. A tall blond boy with his hair gelled up into spikes steps out in front of me, and I slam straight into him. Rude much? I think, but seeing as it’s my first day and I don’t want to make any enemies I quickly say. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t see you there.”
He doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything at all, so I take a step downward to the step below me so I can see his face more clearly. He has black eyes that don’t seem to have any pupils in them at all, and are empty of all feeling, except for malice, like a demons. He is staring at me, one eyebrow raised in interest.
“And who might you be?” He asks in a voice that seems friendly enough, but has underlying current of danger. I shudder.
“Liv.” I say, determined not to let him see how much he freaks me out. “I just moved here.”
“There were no houses for sale.” He says, his voice quiet, dangerous. Almost likes he thinks I’m lying. What would I be lying about, exactly?
“I moved in with my Grandmother.” I say as calmly as I can, but my voice wavers. I’m a little freaked out.
“Your Grandmother?” He asks, his eyes gleaming. “Izabel Regium-McAllister? You live with her? What about her gardener, Lukas, does he live there too?” He asks too quickly, too eagerly. He leans a little closer, and I hurriedly step back another stair, losing my balance and stumbling.
Someone grabs my elbow, steadying me. “Dillon!” The nice- albeit very talkative- girl from the bus, with frizzy red hair admonishes. “Leave her alone, you’re scaring her! And on her first day too! What’s wrong with you? You’re acting different!” He looms over her, eyes narrowed, and opens his mouth, but before he gets a word out someone cuts him off.
“Yeah Dillon. What’s your problem?” Lukas says, appearing next to us. “Leave the new girl alone.” He walks past us without another word, and Dillon, still looking interested, scowls and follows, leaving us alone on the steps.
After that he acted completely normal the rest of the week, chatting with his friends, making fun of people with a lower social status than him, pushing and shoving friends in the hallway, and being an all around idiot. Just like most popular guys do, but every now and then, when I would catch his eye, he would raise one eyebrow and smirk like he knows something I don’t, and it would send shudders down my spine. I don’t understand what it is with him when he sees me, or Lukas I’ve noticed, but I get the sense that something’s very wrong with him. I’m determined to stay away.
Other than that, the thing that’s bothering me most, is the memories of last Sunday night. Both sets of them. Here’s what I remember, and what my parents remember: I was at my window watching a bird, supposedly an owl, when I pushed too hard on the window pane and the latch came undone. I fell, and Lukas, who was supposedly doing yard work- at 3:15 in the morning? Yeah right.- caught me before I fell into the hedges. After that I saw, or thought I saw, someone down by the cemetery, so I took off, to investigate. Lukas followed me and fell in the pool. When I got to the cemetery there was some sort of party, with people of all ages, and I got caught in the crowd and just decided to dance. It has a lot of gaps doesn’t it? And doesn't make much sense. I mean, why would I just start dancing?
Now here are the other memories. The ones that flash in and out of my mind, like fish, and slip away when I try to catch them. I was watching Lukas through my window. He was flying. I fell, when the latch on my window came undone, and Lukas caught me in mid-air. After that I saw people near the cemetery, and I ran off, then I caused Lukas to fall in the pool. When I reached the party, there were transparent people, ghosts, dancing. I felt compelled to dance…….and dance……..and dance…..and I couldn’t stop.
Now, the first one is the one that I think is true most of the time, but sometimes the other memories surface, and I don’t know what to think. Honestly, I’m inclined to believe the second story. Flying gardeners, and ghosts, I know, but it just feels more true. Plus every time I bring it up to Gram or my parents, they immediately dismiss it, and every time I look at Lukas, he drops his gaze. If that’s not sus
picious, then I don’t know what is.
I jog down the stairs and join my brothers at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, grabbing a peach, and a chocolate chip muffin. Lukas comes in from his gardener's shack through the back door, and grabs a muffin off the baking tray.
“Hi, Lukas!” I say cheerfully. His gaze darts to me for a second, then away incredibly fast. Before he looks away though, I can’t help but think that he looks disappointed.
“Morning Olivia. Morning, Nate and Max.” He turns to go back outside, but my grandmother walks into the room at that instant.
“Lukas, wait.” She says, and he stops, and raises his eyebrows. “I have guests coming over at five, so-”
“Don’t worry.” He says, giving her a mock salute. “Everything will be in order by the time your guests get here.”
She smiles. “Thank you Luke. Liv, Lukas, you’re going to miss the bus if you don’t hurry.” She taps her watch meaningfully.
I jump up and grab my denim backpack, grabbing the books and binders I left on the counter last night, and shoving them in. I grab my packed lunch out of the fridge, and put it in too. “Luke, come on!” I yell as I leap down the front steps and run down the driveway.
Lukas scowls at me as he joins me at the end of the driveway. “I never said you could call me Luke, Liv.”
I glance up at him, and smirk. “Well, Sourpuss I never told you, you could call me Liv, did I? People just do. Just like people just call you Luke, Luke.” I jump onto the bus as soon as it pulls up, and flop onto a seat next to a girl with frizzy reddish brown hair pulled back into a tight bun.
“Hey Mer.” When my usually incredibly talkative friend doesn’t reply I glance up at her.
Esmeralda is staring at me, her hands clapped over her mouth, her dark green eyes glittering. “Mer……” I ask hesitantly. “What’s up?”
“OMG!!!!” She squeals. “You really told Lukas! And he listened! Do you think he likes you!?”
Seventh (The Hafling Chronicles Book 1) Page 2