Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) (19 page)

“If it were up to Damian, we
would prevent all that, because else we can’t do our job. But I don’t agree with that. I think it’s a great way to score some chicks. Use my powers and stuff,” he says as he kicks the gear up. With my fingers clenched to the seat I hold on tight, afraid I might fly straight through the windshield, even with the seatbelt on.

***

Joey drops me off at my place. My hair is all jumbled up from the bumpy ride, but I survived. I say goodbye and go inside.

My mom’s on the couch. She’s staring at a talent show program, one which I
view with disgust. Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t watch them either, and I swear it was on a different channel before I came into the house.

“Well, it’s about time
, Young Lady.” My mom switches off the television and turns around.
Oh dear, here she goes.

“What?” I ask.

“What do you mean,
‘What’
? Do you think it’s normal to disappear for an entire day and then come back home at this hour?”

“Yeah, because I’m sick and tired of you.” I walk to the kitchen and see the pots and pans on the
stove. It smells of burnt beans, so I guess she’s already eaten. I make a sandwich with peanut butter and jelly. It’ll have to suffice as dinner.

“Listen here, Raven. You’re supposed to be home by dinner. I don’t care what’s going on. We had a deal. You
were going to obey the rules.”

“I never agreed to that. Mom
—”

“No, you could’ve been in danger, for all I kn
ew. I never heard anything from you. Not even a text message. I almost called the cops.” She folds her arms together.

“Mom, just stop! Stop being such a crazy person for once in your life!” I smack my sandwich onto a plate and
storm into the hallway. “Nothing happened.”

“You will b
e home on time from now on. That’s it. End of discussion!” she screams, but I’ve already stomped up the stairs.

I lie in bed with my plate and try to get my mom’s screams out of my mind. She’s not worth it. Instead, I think of Damian and his ‘problem’ while
I eat my sandwich. Every bite I take feels like it’s stuck in my throat. I can hardly get it down. I wipe away a tear and try to compose myself. I refuse to cry about something like this.

To distract myself, I take out my laptop and surf for myths and ghosts. I find a lot, but
none of it is true. I know what’s real.

***

I have to work the entire day Sunday. Simon and I promised Cheng when he had to leave early last week. I don’t mind unpacking boxes, but I do mind that it’s with Simon. He’s constantly sighing and avoiding me without end, even though I prefer him staying away at the moment, so I don’t have to start a conversation about the awkward situation I created at his place.

Mister Cheng’s in his office, behind the
computer. He’s talking a lot more now than he used to, so I guess he’s starting to like me a bit more. He’s even told me Jianyu is his son. But today we don’t talk. He’s too busy taking care of his finances.

There’s nothing to do in the shop today
, and it’s dead quiet, because Simon’s not talking either. I wouldn’t know what to say anyway. All I know is that I ripped his heart from his chest, thrust it onto the ground and crushed it with my feet.

I hurt his feelings, though I didn’t want to. I wanted to prevent that, and I’ve failed. I don’t even know what I want anymore. Damian is cold and distant
, and Simon’s friendly and cares for me, which are exactly the traits I could use right now. But still, I feel some sort of obligation toward Damian and that I can’t start anything with Simon. Despite the fact that I don’t know if Damian and I are a thing or not. Even after all those kisses.

Simon comes into my hallway with a couple of boxes in his hands
, and I see him hesitate before he walks farther toward me. I know he has to be here only to unpack the boxes.

“Nice and quiet, isn’t it?” Simon coughs
, and I hesitate before continuing with my work.

“Yeah, it is,” I answer, not sure what to say, as I put some pots and herbs onto the shelves. At this moment we’re both in the same hallway, with no excuse to get out. How pathetic is that?

He bends over to get a box. “I …” he starts, but doesn’t finish.

My mouth wrings into every corner, because I’m chewing on my cheeks.

Still bent over, he drops the box from his grip and looks at me. “Listen … I don’t want to push my luck, and I don’t want you to feel like I’m forcing myself onto you. If you need some time, I get it.” He steps a bit closer.

Why is he always so sweet?
I can barely resist the urge to drop myself into his arms and tell him it’s okay, but maybe I should run away instead.

“No … it’s okay
. That’s not it,” I say, hesitating. I fold up the empty box and throw it onto a cardboard pile. I want to do the same thing to my heart; take it out and throw it away, so I don’t have to think about the choice I have to make between these two guys.

For a moment, we’re both silent. He sighs and cleans up
a heap of trash on the floor.

“There’s a
dance tomorrow, at school,” he says, but when I look at him, he turns around to another shelf. Smart trick to avoid my eyes.

He coughs. “I was wondering, if you’d … maybe … like to go with me?” He stutters while pronouncing the words. When I op
en my mouth, nothing comes out.

How could I possibly answer that
question?

Nothing has changed since the last time I was at school, even though my world was turned upside down. Lillian and Emma are sitting together at a table in the cafeteria. Emma seems uninterested, and Lillian stares at me, her eyebrows scrunched down, and she even stops eating when she sees me. I see them whispering to each other, and I know our fight still isn’t over. Why they’re being so snappy about me hanging out with Damian, I don’t know. I trust him, I think. I just have to follow my heart.

At the other table right in front of me are Joey Mason and Jianyu Cheng. Joey’s stirring and poking at his pudding, while Jianyu’s almost inside his cell phone.

“Hi!” I say cheerfully, while putting down my tray, but I know I sound fake. They seem happy I dropped in though; Joey’s smirking, and Jianyu puts his phone away.

“Did you get some sleep last night?” Joey asks with a wink as he takes a lick from his pudding. I’m getting chills watching the nauseating game his tongue is playing with the spoon.

“Fine,” I lie.

Yesterday, I dreamed about the car and the road again, only this time Jianyu and Joey sat in the car adjacent to mine. Blood gushed from their ears and mouths as they rolled across the street and got ripped apart like ragdolls.

“And you?” I ask.

“Okay, unlike him.” Joey points at Jianyu, who rolls his eyes.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, he got an A minus for the first time this year.” Joey chuckles.

I laugh. “Isn’t that great, then?”

“Not when you get straight A plusses the entire year,” Joey says, smirking. “His
old man made him study all night. I reckon Jianyu could summarize each page of the book to you right now.”

Jianyu sighs and rubs his saggy eyes. “Can we please talk about something else?”

Well, if he’s asking for it, I know a different subject. “How did you two actually meet?” I ask. “I mean, you two and Damian.”

Jianyu takes a tiny bite from his pudding. “I’m from another school. I asked to get transferred here. I wanted to work with Damian,” he explains.

“So you already knew him before you came here?” I say.

“Yeah. We met each other during a ghost hunt, a few years ago. He went after … well that one … and thought it was me. He almost electrocuted me
.” He chortles.

I can’t really laugh about it. My pupils get big hearing this, b
ut still I listen to his story.

“When I found out I could become a ghost,” Jianyu continues
in a voice I can barely hear across the table, “the first thing I did was experiment. I wanted to know what I was capable of, how far I could go. Then when Damian and I crossed paths, I knew it was the opportunity I’d been looking for. First I lived with my mom, but I convinced her to let me live with my dad,” he says.

Running tests on ghosts. It sounds absurd.

“And what about you?” I ask Joey.

“Me? Well I met Damian here at school. Good guy, he’s great to hang around with, if he’s not annoyed.
” And then Joey whispers, “The first time I saw a ghost I nearly shit my pants. That was here, by the way. I was just like you, still new and ignorant. Damian noticed I could see ghosts, and he taught me how to become one.”

Me? Ignorant? The word
repeats in my mind. I feel a bit offended, but I know he’s right when speaking of spirits. “Interesting,” I say.

From the corner of my eye I spot Simon Pierce walking into the cafeteria. Next to him
is a board with a bunch of flyers on it that say ‘Dance!’ It reminds me of yesterday, when I was working in the grocery shop. I stop eating when I see Simon walking straight toward me. I wonder what he’s going to do, and my heart starts pounding in my throat. When I see that he joins Lillian and Emma for lunch, I feel relieved.

Yesterday he asked me to go to the dance tonight. I was too shocked to even say anything. Still chewing on my cheek, I could only look at him. He took it as a no.

Right after, he grabbed the pile of carton boxes and took them to the container, leaving me behind in the store, baffled. I know he was only running away from me.

When he came back, I told him he should go with Emma, since she likes him and I … well I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know what I want anymore. It’s better for him to be with someone who loves him so much she doesn’t want to let him go. He deserves a girl that will go a hundred percent for him. That’s not the kind of girl I am.

With his fork, Simon pricks a piece of meat and glares at me. I feel punctured by the fork.

Then Damian Hayes storms into the cafeteria. The look in his eyes predict
s thunder, but still my heart beats faster for him. If I hang out any longer with these kind of guys, I might have a heart attack.

The girls at Simon’s table hang on his lips. Simon looks at me
, and I know he sees the yearning look in my eyes when I watch Damian. Then he turns his head toward Damian. In Simon’s eyes, I see the fierce desire to attack Damian. Still, he stays put, rigid on his chair.

Damian grabs a
chair, turns it around and sits with his chest against the back at our table. He’s not carrying any food with him and looks too tense to eat anything.

“We have to try again, guys. Tomorrow,” he barks. In his voice the anger from yesterday still lingers, seeping through every word like venom.

Behind us, Simon stares at me and switches his gaze from me to Damian. He winces, and his eyes turn watery. I know what he’s thinking. Damian and I are together and Simon wishes it was him sitting beside me.

“No, Damian. You’re getting weaker every time. This isn’t right. The more we do it, the bigger the consequences. Think of your body
,” Jianyu says.

I reminisce about the time Damian spit out blood and the time he saved me from the black ghost. How many times has he done it by now? How many times has he coughed up blood? I wonder how long his body’s going to hold up.

“I don’t care,” Damian says curtly. “I’ll find them, no matter what it costs.”

“Are you out of your mind? When are you going to let it go, for crying out loud?” Joey asks.
Then he whispers, “That ghost isn’t worth it.”

Damian seems to control his anger, but only just. His fingers are clasped on the seat
, and he’s grating his teeth. “Fine, I’ll do it alone,” he says, before he gets up again and storms out of the cafeteria.

I sigh.
What is making him so furious?
He wants to go to the end of the earth to find this ‘person,’ and he abandons all kindness with it. He must be driven by revenge. I’m worried about him.

I throw away the remains of my lunch and follow Damian, who’s walking toward the gym. Stamping with his feet, he marches through the halls like an enraged bull
, ready to run over bystanders.

So it’s still bothering him, even though I have no clue why. I’m wondering what he’s going to do
at the gym. I don’t have any classes right now, but I know Damian doesn’t always have the same classes as me.

I run over to him and walk beside him, while watching him contemplate.

“Just leave me alone for a while, alright?” he says calmly, but his fists are clenched, and I know he’s holding back.

“No, I want to know what’s going on,” I say and keep tagging along. “You yelled at me and pushed me asi
de, and I don’t understand why.”