It was then that I realized I was crying. Swiping both hands across my cheeks, I rubbed away the tears, and bits of my makeup, before going back to the table where my purse was waiting. I wanted to go home. Caspian was there while I was here, and it was almost … I glanced down at my phone. Almost midnight.
I shot a quick look around me, but I didn’t see Cacey or Uri to ask if they could give me a ride, and I wasn’t about to hang around waiting. I didn’t know how long Beth and Ben would be. Maybe I can walk.
Putting my phone back into my purse, I was pulling my hand away from it when all of a sudden it buzzed. I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Abbey? Hey, it’s Cyn. I know this is kind of weird, but … were you just going to call me?”
A creepy feeling settled at the back of my neck. I laughed weakly. “Are you stalking me, Cyn? I was just trying to see who I could call. I need a ride home from the dance.”
“I’ll explain everything when I get there,” she said. “Wait outside.”
While I waited for Cyn, I texted Ben that I was getting a different ride home, and she pulled up in a silver Audi about five minutes later.
“New car?” I asked, one eyebrow raised. “Holy crap, Cyn. You were holding out on me.”
She unlocked the passenger side. “It’s not mine. I … borrowed it. For the evening.”
I climbed in. The interior was all sleek black leather and chrome gadgets. She gunned the motor, laughing as I frantically scrabbled to grab hold of the seat belt. “You really do have a thing for cars, huh?” I said.
“You don’t know the half of it. It’s sort of a hobby of mine.”
I slid a hand over the smooth dashboard in front of me in awe. “Seriously, Cyn. Where did you get this? Is it rented?”
“No. It’s not rented. I told you, I borrowed it.”
The way she said “borrowed” made me feel unsettled. “We’re not going to get pulled over because we’re riding in a boosted car, are we?” I said seriously. “I really don’t need that right now.”
“There won’t be any cops.”
I shot her a look.
“Trust me,” she said. “I do this sort of thing all the time.”
“You steal cars all the time?” I knew my jaw was hanging open.
“Not steal. Okay, technically, steal. But I see it more like borrowing. I always return it in the morning. And they never know.”
“They never know? You wouldn’t happen to be friends with Kame, would you? Or Sophie? What about Cacey and Uri?”
“Who?” She frowned, and I tried to read her face. Tried to see if she was bullshitting me. “I don’t know any of those people.”
I looked at her closely.
“Honest. I really, truly don’t,” she said.
“Then, what do you mean, ‘they never know’?”
She shrugged. “It’s sort of a gift that I have. I tell someone that I want to borrow their car, and they give it to me. Then I tell them that I’ll return it in the morning, and they don’t remember a thing. It just kind of … works.”
My life was getting entirely too complicated for this new piece of information. “Are you casting some sort of spell on them?” I joked.
She gazed at me. “If I said yes, what would you think?”
“Honestly?” I looked out the window before I answered. We were almost to my house. “I’m surprisingly open-minded.”
“I don’t really know if that’s what it is,” she confessed. “A spell, or whatever. All I know is that I get these feelings. Like the one tonight, to call you. That, and the fact that plants seem to like me. Maybe I am a little bit witchy.”
My house came into sight, and I was completely relieved. Normally I would have been happy to stay and talk to her about the freaky thing she had going on, but right now all I could think about was Caspian.
She pulled into the driveway and put the car into park. I unlocked my door and put one hand on the handle. “If you want to talk about it later, just call me. I’d stay now, but I have … something else that needs to be taken care of.”
She glanced at the house. It was dark, except for a single light in the kitchen, and then she nodded. I opened the door and got out of the car.
“Thanks for the ride, Cyn,” I turned back to say.
She winked at me. “Have fun, Abbey.”
I was left standing there with what must have been a confused look on my face as she pulled away. Does she know about Caspian? There’s no way …
I squared my shoulders and turned back to the house. Something told me that even if Cyn did have an idea of what was going on, she wasn’t going to tell anyone. At least not anytime soon.
I glanced down at my phone again, feeling a pinch of nerves in my stomach. It was 12:13 a.m. November first.
Caspian’s death day.
Chapter Twenty-one. NOVEMBER FIRST
When he entered the house, the conquest of his heart was complete.
– “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
My legs were shaky as I walked up the front walkway, and I exhaled. I put one hand on the doorknob, turned it slowly, and then pushed the door open. A trail of red rose petals greeted me, leading the way across the living room and into the kitchen. I followed it and found a piece of paper there that said, Astrid, come find me upstairs.
Placing my purse on the counter, I slipped off my shoes, then padded over to the downstairs bathroom. My white dress was hanging on the back of the door there. Please let him like me in it …
Taking another deep breath, I unzipped the back of my red dress and wiggled my way out of it, draping it across the edge of the tub. I pulled down the white dress and gently removed it from its plastic garment bag. The silky fabric whispered across my skin as I stepped into it, and I could almost hear the soft sighs of another time and place. Of another woman, who had worn this dress before me, to go meet the man she loved before he would be taken from her forever.
The bodice took some extra time to lace because my hands were trembling, but finally, finally I was ready.
I turned and looked in the mirror, slightly stunned again by my miracle cleavage. The dress was just as beautiful as the first time I’d tried it on. It was as if it had been made for me.
My makeup, however, was not beautiful anymore. I pulled off the false eyelashes that I’d been wearing, and washed away the mascara stains from under each eye. Luckily, I had a spare cosmetics bag under the counter, so I was able to touch up my blush and lip gloss. I didn’t want to overdo it too much. It didn’t feel right in this dress.
I debated whether or not to take my hair down, but decided to leave it up. Caspian hardly ever saw me wear it that way and I wanted to surprise him. I did take out the rose that Ben had given me, though, and put it on the sink.
With one final look, I left the bathroom behind and started slowly up the stairs.
I could feel the rough pattern of the carpet runner underneath my bare feet, and I tried to focus on that. My stomach felt all fluttery and nervous, and with every step I took, I came closer and closer to the reality waiting for me just a few short feet away. Please, please let him like me …
Please …
The top of the stairs was lit with candles, and more rose petals were scattered on the floor. They pointed to my bedroom.
I bent to pick one of the rose petals up and rubbed the velvety smoothness between my fingertips. This is a dream. It has to be.