I tried to turn away. Tried desperately to think of something-anything other than Caspian and the hotel room … the towel … no shirt. … And then there was the lotion.
“Oh, gross!” she yelled. “Do not want. I did NOT need to see that! Cool it, Abbey. Put a shirt on, dead boy.”
Caspian just looked confused. “What’s-”
“Never mind,” I blurted out, forcing myself to think about the puppy I saw in a store window at the mall during Christmas when I was twelve. He’d been so cute and fluffy, and I got to pet him-
“Thank you,” Cacey said immediately. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was a much better one.”
I stared down at the floor. My face was never going to feel normal again. I was always going to have a scarlet ring of shame around my ears.
“Aaaaaaanyway,” Cacey said a moment later. “I’m just here to let you know that we’re still keeping an eye on things, so keep playing it cool. If you see Vincent, let us know. Don’t accept rides from strangers. Don’t eat Halloween candy that doesn’t come from your neighbors, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the whole safety drill. Understand?”
I glanced up at her. “Yeah, we got it.”
“Good.” She stood up. “Then, I’m off.” She waved to Caspian, then turned to me. “Oh, and I heard about this big prom thing coming up? Just FYI: Don’t be surprised if you see me and Uri there.” She started to move toward the door, but stopped. “Do they still serve Coca-Cola at those things? Or do I need to bring my own?”
I just laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“I’m taking it that’s a no?” she said. “I don’t need to bring my own?”
“No,” I said eventually. “You don’t need to bring your own soda. They’ll have drinks.”
“Cool. Then, have fun. Drink smart. And use protection.” She slipped her hand into her back pocket and withdrew something before tossing it to me. “And by that, I mean this.”
I glanced down at it. “A phone? I already have one of those.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t.” She nodded at Caspian.
“You got a phone for me?” he said in clear surprise. Then suspicion crossed his face. “Why?”
“So in case you need to reach us right away and you can’t get to her phone, you have your own.”
Caspian and I shared a look. It made a lot of sense, and I couldn’t help but wonder why we hadn’t thought of it sooner.
“Oh, and don’t worry about the bill,” Cacey called, continuing out the door. “You’re covered by the Revenant calling plan. The long-term contract, however, is a bitch.”
She laughed again as she went out the door, and a minute later I heard her downstairs talking with Mom and Sophie.
I flopped back onto the bed, feeling like I’d just been run over by a truck.
Talking to Cacey was exhausting.
* * *
Later that night Caspian and I left for Cyn’s house right before nine. Main Street wasn’t that far away, so it would only take us about two minutes to get there. I was actually a little bit surprised at how close she’d been this whole time.
On the way there we passed Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell’s house, and I noticed two things right away. The first was that even though it was dark outside, their house looked really dark. And … empty. The second was the reason why it looked that way: the FOR SALE sign in the yard. I came to a complete stop in the middle of the road and just stared at it.
“What’s going on?” Caspian asked, coming to a stop beside me.
“That’s the … For … It’s …”
I couldn’t even speak. All I could do was point.
“Isn’t that-”
“The Maxwells’ house,” I blurted out. “Kristen’s house. For sale.” I stood there, just looking back and forth at the sign and their empty house. I couldn’t believe it. They’d just upped and moved? What about Kristen? What about her room?
“This doesn’t mean they don’t love her anymore,” Caspian said, reading my mind. “You know that, right?”
“Yeah, but how can they …? Why would they …? I didn’t even know they were thinking about leaving,” I said softly.
Caspian stood there with me in silence, until I realized that we were going to be late for Cyn’s séance. “We should go,” I said, reluctant to pull myself away.
Caspian looked at me questioningly. “Are you sure? We can skip tonight.”
“And miss all the fun?” I shook my head firmly. “No. Let’s go.”
Because it didn’t matter how long I stood there and wished for things to change. The Maxwells had made their decision. Now it was time to make mine.
When we got to Cyn’s, the porch light was out and we had to bump our way up the dark walkway. The doorbell stuck when we pushed on it, and it kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I was just about to cram my hands over my ears and tell Caspian we were leaving, when the front door finally swung open and Cyn peeked out.
Her wild red and green hair had been tamed back, pulled into a smooth mane that flared out from beneath a witch’s hat. Dark eyeliner rimmed both of her eyes, making them look large and exotic. As she moved forward to greet me, I saw that the little black dress she was wearing was sheer, and almost see-through. Jealousy reared its ugly head and I almost wished that we had gone home. I didn’t want Caspian to get a glimpse of any part of her beneath that dress.
“Hey, Cyn,” I said, moving to block his view.
She threw both arms around me in a giant hug. “So glad you could make it, dahhhhling. Do you like the hat?”
“Love it.”
She gestured for me to come in, and I stepped through the door. Caspian followed quickly behind, but when he passed Cyn, I could have sworn that her eyes focused on him for a moment. I held my breath to see what she would say.
A crash came from above us, and then loud laughter. Cyn’s eyes flitted away from where Caspian was standing, and drifted up. “Ben’s here,” she said by way of explanation.
“Ahhhh, I see. Then the party’s already started.”
“Yup. Follow me.”
I tried not to pay attention to the living room as we crossed through it. It wasn’t that it was dirty, or even cluttered. Far from it. It just had a vague, unlived-in look about it. None of the furniture matched. No pictures hung on the walls, or sat above the tiny TV. And there wasn’t a single personal possession in sight.
Cyn led me to the stairs, but she didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed by the way her house looked or just didn’t care. We climbed up two flights, and then came to a door. The door was attached to more stairs that led the rest of the way.
“The attic,” Cyn said slowly as we walked up. “Watch out for bats.”
Automatically I ducked my head, and she laughed.
“I’m teasing. There haven’t been any bats up here for a couple of weeks. Well, live ones, anyway. I found a skeleton in one corner, but I left it. Maybe we’ll be able to contact its former owner tonight. Do you speak batanese?”
I wished that I could have reached back for Caspian’s hand and held on to it. I didn’t want to see any bats, living or dead. Then I felt that buzzing sensation on the back of my leg, and I glanced at him. He smiled at me and whispered, “I’m here. I won’t let the bats get you.”
I smiled back. November first, November first, November first.
I took one final step up from the last stair, and the room opened into a wide space. A few chairs had been set in a semicircle, but almost everybody was sitting on the floor, spread out along a Persian rug with a black cast-iron pot in the middle of it.