Temptation: A Novel (33 page)

no no no make it stop get out of here Chris

suddenly no longer there. The eyes now just empty sockets.

Just like his teeth.

Just like his stare.

His mouth curls up showing rotting gums and a dark tongue that sticks out as it laughs.

“Welcome home, Chrissssss.”

He then extends his arms as if to hug me.

And that’s when I stumble backward out of the office and stagger down the stairs, grabbing the front door so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t rip off. I open the door and as I plunge into the cold dark outside, I know I’m going to feel the bony, icy grip of the monster behind me grab me and pull me back in.

I sprint down the driveway.

I don’t care anymore who sees me.

I want Staunch to find me.

I run and get to the road and keep running.

If I could run without stopping, I’d keep jogging far away from this place and this town and this state.

A state of wretched, ungodly fear.

94. So …

You wanted answers, huh? There’re your answers.

95. No Reply at All

The next day at school, Lily is nowhere to be found. She knew what I was going to do last night. Ever since I texted her with a short message saying I made it back safely, I haven’t heard from her.

“So what’s happening?” Newt asks by my locker.

You don’t have enough time in your day.

“Later, okay?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure—just dealing with—everything.”

I haven’t quite figured it all out myself, so I’m not sure how to even begin explaining it to him.

Uh, yeah, well, the guy who first discovered Solitary came from Europe and was into some strange weird stuff that got passed down through the generations. Oh, and he can somehow see spirits, like ghosts and angels and demons. Some people inherit the gene of baldness. I inherit being able to see ghosts.

Even if—well, there’s no way I’m denying this anymore—but even if every single thing that man who I still can’t call my great-grandfather, not to mention Marsh and Stanch, said is true, I still don’t know where it leaves me.

I’m supposed to continue what? What am I supposed to do?

This whole dark world needs hope. Hold on to it.

I hear the words Jocelyn wrote to me in her last letter.

She still feels so close sometimes.

I don’t want her death to be in vain.

So what am I supposed to do? Take over
what?

“You can tell me,” Newt says.

But I only laugh, because how am I supposed to tell him this? That I’ve not only figured out who the bad people are, but that somehow I’m one of them?

Being related to one and being one are two different things.

I try to get hold of Lily, but she still doesn’t reply. It makes me worry that something happened to her. Something to do with Staunch.

I go by the B and B after school, but the lady who answers the door tells me that “Lillian moved out a week ago.”

Lillian.

“Do you know where she went?”

The elderly lady only shakes her head. I thank her and then send another text to Lily before leaving to head home.

HEY, LILLIAN. JUST STOPPED BY THE B AND B AND HEAR YOU CHECKED OUT A WEEK AGO. ARE YOU GONE FOR GOOD?

I wait a few minutes for a reply, but nothing.

Later on at home, I keep my phone with me through dinner. No reply.

None that night and none the next day.

The weekend is coming and Lily is nowhere to be found or heard from and I suddenly start getting worried.

I’m worried that she’s going to be another Poe/Rachel.

Or worse, another Jocelyn.

She lied to you so why should you care?

I still don’t know everything—all the reasons and all the lies and the entire picture on Lily, but …

Nobody deserves what happened to Jocelyn.

Friday afternoon I send another text. Friday afternoon classes are the absolute worst. We’re supposed to be reading in English class, but nobody is in the mood to read. It’s raining outside. November rain. Too warm for snow, but still way too chilly to avoid jackets. I send a simple text.

WHERE ARE YOU
???

And then, a reply.

I’LL SEE YOU LATER.

I start to reply again when another message pops up.

DITCH YOUR PHONE AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

For a while, I try to make sense of what she’s saying.

And then …

I’m an idiot.

How could I forget? I didn’t forget actually. I just sort of buried it along with everything else.

Seems like I’ve suddenly gotten pretty good at burying things. Jocelyn, Poe, revenge, answers, hope …

And the iPhone that Marsh gave me.

They didn’t even have to try to monitor me. I’ve had a built-in surveillance on me for the last few months.

Maybe Lily discovered that the other day during her meeting with Staunch.

Or maybe that’s not even Lily who answered you. Just like those emails from Jocelyn that Poe got after Jocelyn died.

Before the end of school, I have an idea.

Seeing Newt out of the blue reminds me that of all the people around here, he’s one I can trust. So I go up to him.

“Newt, can you do me a favor?”

I explain to him what it’s for.

“I don’t want them knowing I’m involved,” Newt says.

“Yeah, that’s what you always say. Look—listen—you keep telling me I need to do this and that, but I need help, okay?”

“What if someone calls?”

“Don’t answer it. It’s just—if they can keep track of me, I want them thinking I’m with you.”

“They’ll know.”

I force the phone in his hand. “Listen, I bet anything they already know, okay?”

“But then—”

“Just do this, okay?”

Newt leaves with my phone in his backpack. I watch him go and wonder if he is indeed safe.

Nobody around you is safe, Chrissssssssss.

I can hear my great-grandfather’s sickening hiss in my thoughts.

I sigh and head out the doors of Harrington. Something in me expects Lily to be waiting there. But nope.

I arrive home. Mom is back to working, taking a few shifts just to get back in the swing of things. But no late nights. That’s her promise. No mornings reeking of booze. That’s her pledge.

I’ve been home for an hour when there is a knock on the door.

I pause for a moment, hoping.

Wondering what’s going to be my next big surprise.

96. The Darkness Is Easier

Maybe I’m just a dumb guy, and this is what guys do. They open the door and look at the pretty girl and suddenly forget everything and everyone. I can’t speak for other guys, but I can say that I’m glad Lily is standing there. One glance at Lily, and I know I’d still probably run away with her if she asked me.

Turns out, that’s exactly what she wants me to do.

“We need to leave right now.”

“And go where?”

“Far away. You still have your phone?”

I shake my head.

“Good. Come on.”

“Like
right
now?”

“Yes, Chris, I mean
right
now. You spend any more time in this cabin or this place and you’ll start having second thoughts.”

“But—how do I know—”

“If I’m lying? You don’t. This is now or never.”

“Now or never—what do you mean?”

“You either come now or you’ll never see me again. I almost left this place for good but I couldn’t. Just—now, Chris.”

I shake my head. It’s not that I think I’m going away for good. But I don’t want her leaving like this. I grab my wallet and keys and then follow her outside. Rain drizzles over us as we walk down to her car.

The black two-seater seems smaller than usual as I climb in and wonder what her plans are. She backs up and then speeds down the road.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m fantastic,” she says in a mocking voice.

The wipers swish away the droplets as she winds around curves like some kind of race car driver. I glance at her, the jeans and thin leather coat, her hair curly and wild, her eyes more intense than usual.

“Where are we going?”

“Far away.” She suddenly jams down on the gas. I hold the door handle and then put on my seat belt.

“What’s gone on since Wednesday? What happened with Staunch?”

“He threatened me. Not just me, but my ex. And I just—I can’t anymore. Do this. Deal with all of this insanity. These people are crazy. It’s all crazy.”

“Where is he?”

Lily gives me a look that says
are you kidding me?
“Where’s who? Kurt?”

“I’m just asking.”

She curses. “Don’t even—Chris, please. This is serious. Don’t give me that attitude.”

“What attitude?”

“You know what kind of attitude. That one—the one that’s all over your puppy dog face.”

That stings. “It’s just how I’m feeling.”

“And how
are
you feeling? Huh? Sad that you didn’t find love or sad you didn’t get any?”

The car is in the middle of the road when another car comes around the curve. She quickly steers to the right without overreacting.

“You lied to me,” I say.

“Oh, really? Open your eyes, Chris. Open them up.” She curses again, and I’m not sure if it’s directed at me or the situation.

The rain seems to start falling harder. The daylight is pretty much gone. I’m not sure where she’s going and I don’t know if she does either.

“My eyes are open.”

“You’re blind. There’s something way bigger than you and me going on here. That’s why this has got to stop.”

“They’ll find us.”

She seems to spit out a laugh. “No, they won’t.”

“You don’t understand.”

“This place is the backside of nowhere. This stuff is going on because nobody pays any attention to anybody or anything around here.”

“And you understand what’s going on?”

She shakes her head, staring out through the rainstorm and the quickly-moving wipers. “I understand that we need help. That
you
need help. I could’ve left. I almost left, Chris. I did. But I couldn’t. Because—it’s just—I don’t want—I’m afraid for you. Afraid they’re going to get through to you.”

“Through to me?”

“Stop repeating what I’m saying. Through to you. Getting you to turn.”

You don’t know me and never will.

“They’re not going to get me to do anything.”

She laughs. “They’re smart enough to find others. I wasn’t the only one. What about that guy who claimed he was your cousin?”

“What was I supposed to believe?”

“You’re a good guy, and I don’t want that to change.”

“No, I’m not,” I say.

“No, listen. I know. I know that there’s something different about you. Something special. And I don’t want that to change.”

“I’m not some little kid, even if you think I am.”

Lily rolls her eyes. “You can’t see the obvious right in front of you in broad daylight.”

She doesn’t know I’ve been trying to see the obvious in front of me ever since I got to this wretched place. It was only after I met her that I stopped looking around for answers and uncovered mysteries and simply focused on one thing: her.

And that’s exactly why they chose her, you idiot.

She curses again. “Listen, I know. I know that the darkness is easier. The night changes everything, Chris. It’s there that you don’t have to be afraid, that you don’t have to see your reflection in all its ugly glory.”

“You’re not ugly,” I say.

“Not in the night, not in the shadows. You know—if heaven is real, I don’t want to go.”

“What—why?”

“Because it’s probably bright and sunny, and I won’t belong there. They’ll be able to see everything—everything—and I don’t want anybody to see the things I’ve done.”

The person behind the wheel is a lot like that other girl who once drove me around with all this baggage following her.

“People can change,” I say, a bit weakly and a bit soft for the pounding rain.

“You remember when that Teacher-of-the-Year came to our summer school with that assignment? Remember what I read?”

That feels like a lifetime ago.

“You don’t start over,” Lily continues. “There are no do-overs and no second chances. There’s just reality. The brutal facts of life.”

“But—you don’t have to be stuck—you can do whatever you want.”

Lily only chuckles. “This isn’t a cry for help, Chris. I don’t need someone picking up my pieces. I’m fine. My choice in boyfriends—that’s the part that hurts. And if only I could—”

She interrupts herself with a curse as she glances in the rearview mirror. I can see lights reflecting off it.

“Listen to me—” she says, then keeps cursing as she starts to drive even faster.

The road is heading downhill and swerving like a snake. I keep hold of the handle of the door, watching her, then staring back at the bright headlights behind us.

Following us.

“If anything happens—you listen to me. Don’t mess with Staunch. He’s the guy—just don’t mess with him. And don’t let them change you. You got that?”

She jerks the wheel as the street veers left, then jams it over as the car slides a bit as we turn right.

The vehicle is right behind us.

“It’s going to be next May, whatever it—”

A loud cracking sound interrupts her as the car behind us slams into our tail and jerks us.

I feel us turning. Circling. Spinning, yet still racing ahead.

No

Lily screams. I reach out toward her with my hand grasping at her arm.

God no no no help

She’s still screaming.

We’re suddenly not on the road anymore. We’re spinning, flying.

“Lily,” my voice yells before the crunching breaking sound of glass and the thudding, pounding sensation.