So Hot For You (2 page)

Krista dialed his cell phone. “What kind of psycho are you!” she yelled into the phone as soon as Cooper answered.

“Krista? Is that you?” Cooper sounded concerned, but Krista knew it was an act.

She was going to yell at him—scream accusations at the top of her lungs, but then, she fell silent. She could hear someone laughing in the background on Cooper’s end of the line—a girl. It sounded like … Aspen.

Krista’s heart sped up. She gripped the steering wheel, feeling faint.

“What’s going on?” she gasped.

“I have no idea,” Cooper said, speaking in a confidential, worried tone.

In the background, Krista heard the girl laughing again, heard her say, “Come here, Birthday Boy.”

Then the phone went dead.

Krista’s heart pounded in an exploding burst. “Hello? Hello?”

Shaking and sick, she pulled over to the side of the road, certain she was going to cause an accident. And puke. With trembling hands, she dialed Cooper’s number over and over, but there was no answer. Whimpering, she leaned her head against the steering wheel. “It couldn’t have been Aspen with Cooper,” she told herself. “It couldn’t have. Aspen’s dead.”

Aspen’s dead.

Aspen’s dead.

Aspen’s dead
.

***

When Krista got home, her house was empty. Her parents were out of town on business. Almost the instant she walked in the front door, the phone rang. When Krista finally answered it, she almost hung up, because it was
Cooper
. She’d had a long time to think while she was shivering in her car. And what she decided was this: She’d had enough of Cooper’s games—and that’s what this was—all of it—games. It had to be. Somehow. He was messing with her head. Trying to scare her. Well, it wouldn’t work. Not anymore.

“Krista? Are you alright?” Cooper asked.

She clenched her teeth.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she tried to sound casual, as though everything was normal, refusing to let him know he rattled her, refusing to give-in to his game.

“Good,” he sounded relieved. “I know you won’t believe this, but … but Aspen—”

“Aspen, what?” Krista snapped.

“She—Krista, I’m worried she’s going to hurt you.”

“Aspen?” Krista gave a bitter laugh. “Aspen can’t hurt me. Aspen’s dead.” She slammed the phone back on the hook, angry that she had let herself believe, even for an instant, that Cooper might actually be a nice guy.
What a chump!

The phone rang again a moment later, but Krista refused to answer it. Instead, she let it ring and ring and ring until she couldn’t take it any longer. Finally, she groaned and picked it up, but she didn’t say anything.

Cooper’s voice came from the other end. “Krista—turn on the television. Watch the news.”

“Leave me alone!”

Krista hung up the phone angrily, but after a moment shrugged, not seeing what harm it could do. She turned on the television. The news was already on, talking about the slaying of a local man. His throat had been cut.

Krista found the information gruesome, but didn’t see what it had to do with her. Or Aspen. Or Cooper. Or anything. She changed the channel again and again, but every news station was running the same story, talking about the truck driver whose throat had been slit. Krista only half-listened to the information from each channel. It was all the same: Frank
Tolley
, truck driver and father of three had been found slain tonight in his home. His throat had been cut … blah, blah, blah.

But then one station was interviewing Frank’s wife. She said her husband had been distraught the past couple of months, “Ever since his truck had crashed into a teenage girl’s car—killing her,” his wife sobbed.

Krista’s heart kicked into high gear, galloping against her chest. Frank’s truck had ran into a teenage girl? Killing her?
Ohhhh
. Krista grabbed onto the back of the couch for support as she listened to the truck driver’s wife go on, telling about the accident.

The phone rang again. This time Krista picked it up warily, but again said nothing. She couldn’t. She was too distraught.

“That guy—the guy that was murdered,” Cooper struggled, relaying the information Krista feared she already knew. “He was the guy that crashed into Aspen.” Pause. “Krista, I’m outside. Can I come in?”

Krista’s heart leaped to her throat. She gasped. Cooper was outside her house? For a moment, she didn’t know what to do: throw the door open and run into his arms (because she was freaked out and scared and needed comfort—from
anyone
) or bolt the door and call the police, make him go away.

For an instant, she was more frightened and inclined to call the police—but what could she say? Cooper was trying to make her believe in a dead girl’s ghost? That he pushed her head in a toilet and tried to drown her—but somehow did it without her coworkers seeing him? Without
anyone
seeing him? And he … what? Murdered the truck driver that killed his girlfriend? Did she really believe Cooper did that? Thinking about his kind eyes in class, Krista was inclined to say no. No, he wasn’t capable of that. But then, she thought about all the mean, hateful things he and Aspen had done to her all year long and decided, maybe. Maybe he could be that crazy. Maybe he could commit murder. Maybe. She didn’t know. She really didn’t.

Just then, Cooper’s face peered into her front window. Krista jumped back in fright, letting out a scream.

But Cooper’s eyes were pleading.

“Krista … can I come in?” The words from the phone struggled in her ear.

“… No,” Krista whimpered, torn—one minute terrified of him, the next unsure.

Cooper set his jaw, then sighed in resign. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just so sad, and lost without her … ”

Krista swallowed, wondering what he was confessing. “Without Aspen?”

Cooper nodded, his eyes looking tortured. “Yeah. I know she was mean to you. I know that. But—she wasn’t that way to me. And you hate me. So … I was just sad and wishing for her.”

His words were frightening Krista—sounding desperate and crazed—but she didn’t want to make him more distraught. She felt she should appear understanding. Maybe she could convince him to go away without harming her. She had to try. She gripped the phone. “And so you—you killed that guy? The guy that killed Aspen?” She tried, tried, tried to sound understanding—like she could see why he would do such a crazy, horrible thing. She closed her eyes and gulped. “Because you miss her so much?”

Cooper furrowed his brow. Then cocked his head, looking bewildered. “Krista, I didn’t kill that guy. Aspen did.”

Krista swallowed, feeling panicked, but sorry for him too.
Both at the same time.
Poor Cooper. He was insane. She could tell he really, truly believed what he was saying. Believed that Aspen had come from the dead and killed that truck driver, Frank
Tolley
. He probably even believed Aspen had slashed her tires and tried to drown her in Pizza Haven’s toilet. Poor, crazy Cooper.

Krista bit her lip, feeling sorry for him, but terrified too. Finally, she decided to go along with his story, soothe him, if she could. “So, Aspen’s back? From the dead?”

He
nodded,
again looking so tortured Krista couldn’t help the agonizing pain in her heart. It was so sad. “It’s my fault. I wished her back.”

Krista needed him to go away. She just did. He was scaring her so badly, she was sure she was going to faint any second. Still, she tried to sound sympathetic and at least semi-normal.
And semi-convinced.
She gripped the phone. “How’d you do that, Cooper
?—
wish her back?”

Cooper wet his lip, looking uncertain, like he knew she couldn’t possibly believe what he was going to say, but finally he said it anyway. “The girls from cooking class—in school today. They made me a birthday cake and lit candles on it and told me to make a wish. I was going to wish for you Krista, I was. But you were so mad, and seemed to hate me. So … I wished Aspen would come back.”

Krista blinked, not knowing what to say. She was kind of touched that he was going to wish for her. That was sweet. But of course, he was crazy.
And a killer.
So.

Cooper watched her from the other side of the window. “I’m so sorry,” he finally said into the phone. “I know it was a mistake—I knew it even when I was making the wish. It’s been you Krista. It’s always been you.”

Krista tilted her head, having no idea what he was talking about. But he seemed so sincere. And kind. And she wished so badly that he wasn’t crazy. And that she wasn’t afraid of him.
Because she wanted to believe him.
As crazy as it was, she wanted to believe his every word.

For a moment, they just stood on opposite sides of the glass, staring at each other.

“Okay …” Cooper said at last, taking a step back. “I need to fix this. Fast.”

Krista had the sudden urge to throw open the door, to plead him in and stop him from leaving. But she couldn’t.
Because she was afraid of him.
Instead, she whispered, “How?”

He took another step back. “I have no idea. I’d make another wish—but I don’t get another one until my next birthday—and no wish ever came true before—I don’t know why they started now.”

Krista bit her lip, her heart stirring. “You really believe you wished her back?”

Cooper nodded. “I know I did.” He looked around uncertainly. “Krista, keep your door locked. And, I don’t know … hide.”

Krista gulped, shaking again, his words chilling her to the bone.

Cooper’s warm brown eyes looked sorrowful, then full of resign. “I’ll fix this. Krista—I swear. I will.”

Krista watched him run into the night.

***

Krista curled into a ball on the couch, wishing for a blanket. She was cold.
So cold.
But she was too frightened to move. What was going on? She almost believed Cooper. Almost. But that was crazy. People couldn’t do that—make wishes and have them come true. They just couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. And bringing someone back from the dead?—no.

But she almost wanted to believe those things, rather than believe Cooper was insane. That he killed that truck driver … and almost killed her. She couldn’t believe those things either. Didn’t want to believe them.

Krista felt tears well in her eyes and shoved them away. Should she call the police? Was she in jeopardy? Sadly, she felt she was. She’d already been assaulted once. If Maya hadn’t come into Pizza Haven’s bathroom when she did…. Krista shuddered. She didn’t want to think about what might have happened.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to call the police. Cooper had seemed tortured and distraught.
And genuinely concerned for her.
It made her concerned for him. What was he doing, trying to fix things? Was he going to harm himself?

Krista clutched her stomach, feeling actual pain. She didn’t know what was going on—but she didn’t want to see Cooper hurt. Then again, she didn’t want him to hurt her.

Ugh!

It was such an ugly, scary mess! She wanted to fall asleep and wake up to find this was all a horrible dream. A nightmare. However, when she finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep … she was knocked in the head. Hard.

OUCH!

Krista’s eyes flew open,
then
bulged. Aspen!
Aspen!
She was standing above Krista, holding a gun.
The witch conked me in the head with a gun!

Krista rubbed her tender head, certain she was still sleeping, but ouch! Her head sure hurt … totally like it had been hit with the butt of a gun.
Very. Realistic. Dream
.

“Told you I was back.” Aspen smirked, then chuckled. “Cooper wished for
me
—not you. Ha
ha
!”

Krista furrowed her brow, tilting her head. This was a dream. Of course it was a dream. It
had
to be a dream. Still, she spoke out loud, totally baffled by Aspen being so smug. “Of course, he would wish for you. You were his girlfriend.”

Aspen narrowed her eyes,
then
shrugged defensively. “Yeah, but he always liked you. I would always see him watching you.
Always, always, always.
And he would laugh at your jokes on you’re
Myspace
page —he would follow you on that, by the way—secretly. But I’d see his history. I knew.”

Krista’s head throbbed. She squeezed her eyes shut, finding it hard to focus. But what Aspen was saying made no sense. It couldn’t be right. “He was mean to me,” Krista said.

Aspen gave a bitter laugh. “He was not. He was always sticking up for you and telling me to leave you alone. But it just made me more and more angry at you—and more jealous. He wanted you. It wasn’t fair—I loved him. I would have done anything for him—but no. He was always watching you—pining for you. I hated you for that.”

Krista’s eyes grew wide—first, out of surprise for what she just learned—then out of fear. Aspen pointed her gun at Krista—directly at her head. “But he chose
me
! He wished for
me
! Today—when all the stars are aligned just right for select wishers—birthday wishers. So, now I’m back.” Aspen cocked her gun. “And, sorry—well, not really—but I have to kill you.”