Ghostly (Darkly Devoted Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter Seven

“You look incredibly hot,” Meredith said as she perched on the end of my bed in her tiny Little Bo Peep costume later that night.

I looked into the mirror on the back of my closet door. I had to agree with her comment. My hair was pulled into two braided pigtails that trailed down the top of my chest. My black dress hugged my body tightly down to the slight flair in the skirt. I also had on knee high black and white stripped socks and some short heels. My blue eyes were rimmed in their usual black with some dark shadow as well. I pulled the material at my waist downward, hoping to cover more of my legs but only lowering the already dangerous dip on the neckline of the dress.

“I didn’t realize it was so revealing.”

“Halloween is the perfect excuse to dress like a slut and get away with it,” Celeste said from the doorway as she walked in. She twirled around in her dress, which was shorter than mine, and laughed. Her boots laced up the front and landed above the knees. She smacked the fake scissors on her hands against the door.

“Oops, sorry, Briar.”

“It’s alright. I’m just glad they aren’t real.” It was uncomfortable being in the house with two girls I barely knew, but it was better than being alone. I’d agreed to the secret party Meredith had wanted to throw. Maybe I
could
fit in. Just maybe I could make some new friends.  

“Don’t cover your legs, they’re nice.” Celeste walked over to me and hiked up my dress up again. “We’re going to find you a man.”

“I don’t need a man. I feel naked.”

“You can’t see anything,” Meredith insisted and turned her head to the side.

I dreaded meeting strangers in something so revealing. The wallflower in me screamed that I was making a mistake. In the past, partying had only caused trouble for me, and it wasn’t the best idea in a haunted house.

The doorbell sounded and I jumped, throwing my hands over my chest in fear. Ever since the knife incident, I was on edge. I hadn’t told the other girls about it, so they ran from the room in excitement. They had no reason to worry, but I was quickly on their heels to make sure they were safe. Just the thought of having a party at my house made me want to throw up. I hated being around people I didn’t know.

“Hey!” Meredith exclaimed as she opened the door. 

A couple of older guys stepped inside.

The one dressed up to match Celeste stepped forward and held out a bag. “Here’s the booze.”

“Thanks, Brett,” she said with a smile and kissed him on the cheek.

From what I understood, they weren’t going out, but I could see in the way he looked at her that there was more to that story than I knew.

Celeste reached for the bag but couldn’t grasp it due to the long plastic scissors getting in the way. “Stupid gloves. Just sit it on the table.” She motioned to the living room and that’s where he went. Several other guys and a couple of girls trailed behind him in their costumes. I didn’t recognize any of them.

Ryder came in last with several large pizza boxes in his hand. I stepped closer to the door and reached out to help him. “Who are you supposed to be?”

He moved his red, plaid button up to the side to reveal a burlap sack and fake knife tucked into his jeans. “Jason. It was just too hard to hold that stuff and bring in the pizzas. Hey, your neighbor is joining us by the way. He was outside on the porch when we got here; guess you didn’t hear him knocking.”

Neighbor?

The figure behind him stepped into the house. In an instant I recognized him as the guy who had been in my basement. He was still clad in a black shirt and jeans, but his jacket was gone. His eyes met mine as he shut the door behind him.

“
You
,” I hissed as he walked past me to join the others in the room.
What was his name,
I thought, trying to remember what he said. Then I remembered he never told me.

“Hey, Wednesday Addams,” he said. His lips curved into a smile as his eyes trailed over my body. It made me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t hide the blush on my face. It pissed me off. I didn’t like the way my body continued to react to him.

I reached out to grab his arm so I could pull him to the side and demand answers, but he stepped out of reach.

“What are you doing here?”

“Joining the party, neighbor.” He motioned toward the others in the room who were oblivious to the tension between the two of us.

“Where’s your costume?”

He shrugged. “I’m a serial killer. I didn’t have time to make a mask or anything.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the rest of the group. “I’m going to grab some plates and cups.”

“I’m coming with you!” Meredith exclaimed and followed me to the kitchen.

I reached for the solo cups and plates that I’d stashed in the cabinet—black for the occasion.

“Your neighbor is
hot,”
she said as she took some of the party supplies out of the cabinet. “
Girl
, I know you like Ryder and all but
that guy.
That guy has it going on.”

I almost dropped the cups in shock.

“Ryder?” I asked. I tried to sound nonchalant, but my voice oozed guilt. I hadn’t told anyone that I thought he was cute, but I must’ve been easy to read.

“It’s written all over your face. But seriously!
That guy
.” She pointed toward my mysterious neighbor as we reached the door.

I poked my head around the corner to see him sitting beside Ryder and staring at me. It was some intense gaze he had, jaw set hard as the others talked around him. I stared back at him for a moment, trying to read his emotions, but I couldn’t. He was impossible to read, and I hated him for that.

My doorbell rang again, so I shifted my eyes from him and ran across the room to answer it. When my door opened up, people began to pour inside my house.

“What the—” I started as I was shoved out of the doorway and people continued to enter. Frowning, I could feel the anger rising in me.

God, Briar, you’re so gullible. I can’t believe you let her talk you into this.

I cursed as I looked over to see Meredith turn up the stereo extremely loud. It flowed through the house with its hip-hop vibe that made me wanna hurl.

“Paaaartay!” she exclaimed and started to dance around to the music.

Boys surrounded her almost immediately. She had that effect on them, I’d noticed. It was easy for her, and she didn’t seem to care if they really liked her or just wanted to fool around. I wished that I had that sort of control. I was terrified to be pulled back into a relationship where I got the shit end of the stick. It wasn’t worth it.

But I was seeing red at her betrayal. She knew I didn’t want a ton of people there. Just a small celebration of Halloween to satisfy my need to do so, and then move on. It felt like the walls were closing in, and I had to get out.

I started to move toward the hallway, but a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped and whirled around. My heart pounded in my chest until I saw Ryder standing there with drinks in his hand. I released the breath I was holding.

“Shit, it’s you.”

He smiled. “Yeah, of course. Who else would it be?”

A ghost.

“Oh, no one in particular.”

“What?” he screamed over the music

“I said ‘no one’!”

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to yell.” He winked and handed me a cup.

“What is it?”

“It’s just soda. I wasn’t sure if you were drinking.”

I shook my head and took the cup from him. I had no interest in drinking. It just led to trouble and stupid decisions. Maybe if everyone else got drunk though, anything weird they saw would be contributed to the alcohol. I hoped and prayed no one died.

“So, um, Mer sure outdid herself didn’t she?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah.” I frowned and took a sip of my drink.

I tried to keep my sights on Ryder, but I could feel the heavy gaze of my neighbor on me. It made me feel small and meek, even with everyone else around. My eyes yearned to look over at him, but I didn’t want to give in to that need.

Ryder said something else, something I didn’t listen to because my gaze betrayed me and moved over to where my neighbor sat on the couch staring at me. His mouth twisted up into a knowing grin as Ryder’s hand moved in front of my face.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

I looked back at him. “Huh?”

“I can’t believe you aren’t angry.”

“Well, I’m not very happy about it. My dad will have my head if he walks in on this. I thought it was just supposed to be something small. I hate crowds.”

“You know Mer, she can’t help herself.”

“She needs to learn to.”

“She’s just trying to be nice; give her a chance.”

I frowned. “We need to get them out of here before my dad comes home.”

“When’s that?”

“Around midnight?”

“I have no idea how to do that.”

“Me either.”

“Might as well enjoy it for now. We can try to make them leave a little later. I can’t believe I’m actually in here. Sorry if that sounds terrible. I’ve always wondered what the inside looked like. It’s so…”

“Creepy?” I suggested.

He shook his head nervously as if that was the exact word he was thinking, but he didn’t want to admit it. “No, no. I was going to say…old. Have you seen anything weird yet?” His eyes sparkled as he looked at me, excited at what cool things I could tell him. 

“Nope, sure haven’t,” I lied. It was probably best if no one knew. Maybe it would keep them safe.

His face fell. “Aw, man, I thought for sure you’d have seen something by now. Maybe we should move the party to the basement? Those are supposed to be haunted, right?”

“No,” I said immediately, maybe too quickly; the fear shown in my eyes. My words were echoed by another voice, one manly and amused.

Ryder turned his attention to someone behind me. “Dude, do you know something about this house?”

“Yeah, I used to live here.”

I tried not to smash the cup in my hand as I turned around to glare at my neighbor.

“Cool,” Ryder said. “Did you ever see anything creepy?”

“All the time,” my neighbor replied. His dark eyes moved over to me as if to dare me to say something. He was testing me. He knew something that he wasn’t sharing. What had happened that was so bad his family moved out and into a house close by? It made no sense.

Celeste came over, and I was thankful. Brett wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest as she spoke. “You lived here too? What did you see?”

He shrugged and turned to Ryder. “Why don’t we hear some of your stories; I’d hate to steal the spotlight.”

Just like that, everyone turned their attention away from him and to the guy standing beside him.

“Well, it’s all just hearsay,” Ryder started, “but no one lives in this house for more than three years, so there’s gotta be something to it.”

“What’s the scariest thing?” Celeste asked.

“I dunno. There are rumors, but people leave and never return. Something scares them off, and we never get to find out what happened. Except for the ones who died here.”

I bit my lip nervously as Meredith joined us and gagged.

“Ew, Ryder. Why do you have to talk about this stuff?”

“Because they wanna hear it! Don’t be a baby.”

Celeste giggled and leaned against Brett; he seemed more scared than she did.

Ryder continued. “I do know that people have killed themselves and their families in this house.”

“That’s so sad,” I whispered, but no one heard me over the sound of the loud music.

My neighbor nodded though, as if he’d heard me. I gave him a half smile and he did the same, making it feel as if it was just the two of us in the room. I became aware of the way my breathing increased and the room warmed up. With a braid in hand, I fanned myself. His eyes continued to stare at me, and I wanted to know what he was thinking.

“How about we stop talking about all this depressing stuff and see what kinda trouble we can get into?” Celeste grabbed my hand, breaking my gaze from my neighbor. “Come on, let’s play with the Ouija board.” Before I could suggest something else, she pulled me through the crowd.

When we reached the couch, she pulled a board of her bag. She pushed the stuff off the coffee table and sat it on top. Not only was Celeste fearless, she was also apparently full of bad ideas.

“I don’t know about this,” Meredith said and looked to me for support.

“I, um, yea I dunno.”
Probably not a good idea.

“You said you haven’t seen anything,” my neighbor reminded me. He smirked.

“You said you have,” I countered.

“That’s it then,” Brett said and beamed at his girlfriend. “We play.”

Celeste sat down across from him, and they both reached out to put their hands on the triangular device.