The Unseen

by J.L. Bryan

Copyright 2013 Jeffrey L. Bryan. All rights reserved.

Advance praise for
The Unseen
:

"In
The Unseen
, J.L. Bryan will send chills down your spine and leave you on the edge of your seat, waiting to read each terrifying, masterful word.” -Courtney Cole, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the
Beautifully Broken
series

"
The Unseen
is creepy and sexy and the best kind of high. I couldn’t sleep that first night, but I loved it so much I couldn’t put it down. J.L. Bryan is kind of awesome that way." -Heather Hildenbrand, author of the
Dirty Blood
series

For J.L. Bryan’s
Jenny Pox
series:

"Wonderfully disturbing and darkly romantic, the
Jenny Pox
series is a journey into a unique and vividly imaginative mythology. Drawn in by the compelling characterization, I was wowed the deeper I fell into this surprising world, every turn an unexpected one. Filled with humor, horror, romance, reality and fantasy, the
Jenny Pox
series is a gritty and stylish must-read for fans of the paranormal genre." -Samantha Young, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of
On Dublin Street
and
Smokeless Fire

I have to thank my wife Christina for doing the initial read of the book, and then re-reading it again (and again).  Authors Daniel Arenson, Courtney Cole, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, Heather Hildenbrand, and also my proofreader Thelia Kelly gave me some excellent notes on improving the story.  I also really love the cover art by Mallory Rock, which expresses the story so well, I think.

A huge thanks to all the book bloggers who’ve supported me over the years, and especially to those who agreed to do advance reviews of this work, or have otherwise helped me get the word out.  In no particular order: Heather, Heather and Danny from Bewitched Bookworms; Jenny from Supernatural Snark, Kelly at Reading the Paranormal, Ashley from Bookish Brunette and Loretta from Between the Pages, Giselle from Xpresso Reads, Ash from Smash Attack Reads!, Katie and Krisha at Inkk Reviews, Jennifer and Julie from Tale of Many Reviews, Heather from Buried in Books, Isalys at Book Soulmates, Line from MoonStar’s Fantasy World, Jessi from Reading in the Corner, Chandra from Unabridged Bookshelf, Shirley from Creative Deeds, Jennifer from Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews, Kristina from Ladybug Storytime, Kristin from Blood, Sweat & Books, Kat from the Aussie Zombie, AimeeKay from Reviews from My First Reads Shelf, Melissa from Books and Things, Liliana at Lili Lost in a Book, Lauren from Lose Time Reading, Kelsey from Kelsey’s Cluttered Bookshelf, Kristilyn from Reading in Winter, Heidi from Rainy Day Ramblings, Andra from Unabridged Andralyn, Jenni from Alluring Reads, Mandy from I Read Indie, Michelle from In Libris Veritas, Jessica from J. Bronder Reviews, Amy from Simple Love of Reading, Michelle from Much Loved Books, Amy from Book Loving Mom, Lindsay from the Violet Hour, Aeicha from Word Spelunking, Anjana from Kindle and Me, Rebecca from Bending the Spine,
Aliraluna
from Velvet Red, Lori from Contagious Reads, Ashley from Bibliophile’s Corner, Holly from Geek Glitter, Louise from Nerdette Reviews, Bella from bellabf.com, Star from You Could Be Wishing on a Star, and Shanon from Escaping with Fiction, Liz from Lizzy’s Dark Fiction, Jess from Taking It One Book at a Time, Regan from ReganClaire.com, Alexa from Pages of Forbidden Love, Savannah from Books with Bite, Tara from Basically Books, and Rachel from Parajunkee!  If I missed anyone, I apologize!

For Christina, obviously

Years later, Cassidy would remember the night of the party as her first encounter with the unseen world.  It began with broken glass, blood, and a homemade Ouija board.

The day after Cassidy’s seventeenth birthday, her mother was away at work for the night, inadvertently giving Cassidy the best possible present: a Saturday night alone at the apartment.  Her younger brother Kieran was staying at a friend’s house for the weekend.  Cassidy’s mother had forbidden her to have any guests except for her best friend, Barb.  Boys, as always, were doubly forbidden while Cassidy’s mother was working the night shift at the hotel.  Her mother called her on the land line to make sure she was home—never Cassidy’s cell, always the land line.

The night started out calmly, with no sign of the horror to come.

Cassidy and Barb stood in the narrow kitchen, spreading sauce and mozzarella on a pre-made Boboli crust. Cassidy opened a jar of olives.

“Seriously?” Barb asked. “Why you are always trying to sneak olives into everything?  You’ve got an olive fetish.”

“Olives are awesome on pizza,” Cassidy said. “Way better than one of your Hawaiian-style travesties.”

“I like things that follow a theme.”

“Even though pineapples and ham actually taste terrible and ruin it?” Cassidy scattered olives on one half of the pizza. “There.  I’m saving you from any olive deliciousness.  Tamila and I can eat this half.”

“You really invited Tamila?” Barb frowned.

“I told you I was.”

“I thought you were kidding.” Barb had never particularly liked Tamila Evans, who was Cassidy’s “old” best friend from middle school. 

Barb was
the sort of sixteen-year-old girl who dressed in black lace, corpse-white face powder, purple lipstick, and hair dyed “Black Death,” just one of the colors offered by Barb’s beloved Horror Girl Cosmetics.

Cassidy’s old friend Tamila, by contrast, played trombone in the marching band and had joined groups like Math League to pump up her college application, while Cassidy and Barb spent the football games getting high or drunk under the bleachers.  Cassidy and Barb also struggled to pass Science and Society, a boring remedial class better known as Science for Slackers. 

Cassidy had tried for a couple of years to create a friendship between Tamila and Barb, but neither girl had any real interest in the other.  Cassidy had found herself drifting away from Tamila and closer to Barb, and having both girls to her apartment at the same time could get awkward.

“Reese said she’s coming, too,” Barb said.

“Ugh,” Cassidy said.

“I’m telling you, you’d like her if you just give her a little bit of a chance.”

“What’s to like about Reese?”

“She’s fun,” Barb said.

“Let’s not confuse
loud
with
fun
,” Cassidy replied, shaking her head. 

Cassidy couldn’t stand Reese Warwick, but the skinny blond girl was Barb’s latest girl-crush.  Barb was always hunting for a third girl to link into her and Cassidy’s friendship so they’d be a “clique” instead of “just a couple of losers.”

Barb had been hopeful about Reese as a third Musketeer because she was pretty and had a salty tongue, able to cut down the lame preppy kids with a few choice words.  Cassidy thought Reese was a big fake—her blond pageboy-type hair, the golden ring in her nose, the skimpy tops and ultra-short skirts she wore, as though being pretty wasn’t enough and she just had to snag the attention of every male in the room at all times.

Barb herself was chunky, with a low build a bit reminiscent of a bulldog.  Cassidy was tall and gangly, with a hideous number of freckles and long, unmanageable red hair. 
Cassidy was five foot eleven and holding, hoping each day she didn’t grow another inch and cross over into six-foot territory.  She already towered over her mom and her brother.

Cassidy’s unusual height had led to her being recruited for the girls’ basketball team as a freshman.  She had sucked at basketball and quit after one season—Cassidy liked the Art Club, she liked painting backdrops for school plays, and she liked getting high in the woods behind the gym.  She did not like chasing a ball and putting it through a hoop like some kind of trained hamster.

Cassidy thought Barb just wanted a hot girl like Reese around to make their small group look more attractive.

The doorbell rang.  Cassidy opened it and hugged Tamila, who gave her an uncertain smile that said everything about the deteriorating state of their friendship.  Tamila was devolving toward a gross
preppy
look, too.  She wore a blue and white Abercrombie dress with two matching bows in her long, soft black hair.

Tamila’s smile, weak enough to begin with, faltered more when she saw Barb.

“Hi, Barb.” Tamila waved.  Tamila was a shapely, dark-skinned black girl who had grown out of middle-school gawkiness to become a real beauty with large, deep brown eyes.  If Barb wanted a cute girl for their group of friends, Tamila should have been a top pick, but she was too bookish and not wild enough for Barb.

“Tamila!” Barb said with fake friendliness, then turned her attention to sliding the pizza into the hot oven.

“Want some wine?” Cassidy offered.

“Is it a merlot?” Tamila asked.

“It’s a...pinot noir.” Cassidy read the words off the label, pronouncing them
peanut no-wire
, since she had no idea how else to say it
.

“Just a little, thanks. I don’t want to get dizzy,” Tamila said.

“This should be fun, right?” Cassidy asked them, handing Tamila her wine.

“Sure.” Barb refilled her own glass, avoiding eye contact.

The evening was quiet and awkward until Reese arrived, at which point it became loud and awkward.  Barb let Reese in the door while Cassidy and Tamila sliced the finished pizza in the kitchen.

“What’s up, bitches?” Reese announced as she entered, waving a tall vodka bottle like a trophy.  The blond girl staggered into the room, dressed in a transparent mesh shirt with a skimpy bra top underneath, her tight low-rider denim shorts strategically slashed in several places. “So you call this a party, huh?”

“Want some pizza?” Barb offered.

“Um, do I
look
like I want a giant ass?” Reese unscrewed the vodka bottle and swigged. “So can we have some fucking music up in here?”

The group moved back to Cassidy’s room to blast Cassidy’s stereo.  Cassidy sat on her daybed, which was lined with cushions, between Tamila and Barb.  Reese was left with the sagging armchair in the corner.

“So what’s for entertainment tonight, ladies?” Reese asked.

“I brought a pack of Uno cards...” Tamila reached into her purse.

“Uno?  Because we’re a bunch of kindergarteners?” Reese snorted. “Let’s play ‘Hot or Not.’”

“What’s that?” Cassidy asked.

“Where we judge the boys at school like the pieces of meat they are,” Reese said. “I’ll start:  Hot or not?  Dexter McKenna.”

“Ew, not,” Tamila said, frowning.

“How is he not?” Reese scowled.

“Because he’s a dick.” Tamila sipped her glass of wine. 

“You don’t
like
dicks?  You’re a chick-licker, aren’t you?” Reese laughed and stuck out her tongue, pierced with a stud that looked like a black pearl. “A preppy little dyke.”

“
I am not!” Tamila snapped.  She gave Cassidy a desperate look, her eyes pleading for rescue.

“
Come on, leave her alone.” Cassidy held out her glass to Barb, who had the open wine bottle. “Let’s drink more.”

“
What do you think, Cassidy?” Barb poured until Cassidy’s wine glass was dangerously full. “Is Dex hot or not?”

“
He’s kind of cute, but Tami’s right.  He’s a dick.” Cassidy drank her wine and fought down the urge to grimace at the bite of the alcohol.  She had a feeling Reese would make fun of her for it.

“
I think he’s hot,” Barb said.

“
Thank you, Barb!” Reese said. “All guys are dicks, people.  You just have to pick the hot ones.”

“
Wisdom from Reese.” Barb toasted her and drank.

“
I’m full of it.” Reese lit a Parliament.

“
You really are,” Tamila said softly.

“
What was that?”

“
I’m going to let the smoke out.  It’s getting hard to breathe in here.” Tamila stood and opened the glass door to the balcony, letting in a warm, damp April breeze from the night outside.

Cassidy’s apartment was crappy and small.  The air conditioner smelled like sour rust, the plumbing was unreliable, and she could hear her neighbor’s dog barking day and night on the balcony below hers.  She and her brother shared a small hallway and a bathroom.  Their mother had the master bedroom, all the way across the living room.  The only good things about her apartment were that it was on the top floor of the three-story building and it had the little corner balcony.  Doors opened onto the balcony from both the living room and Cassidy’s room.