The Haunted - Jessica Verday [108]
“Ready.”
“Ready,” Caspian called from the back.
I pulled down the visor and flipped it open, using the pretense of fixing my hair in the mirror. Caspian met my eyes and winked. With an inward sigh, I shut the visor and steeled myself to play invisible referee.
Ben and I talked about the upcoming school year and what teachers we hoped we’d get, and the first two hours passed pretty quickly. Then the conversation moved on to our future plans and what we’d be doing after high school.
“I think it’s really cool that you want to have your own store, Abbey,” Ben said. “But why are you going to rent that dinky place downtown? You should open up a store in Manhattan.” I could practically feel Caspian’s scowl from the back seat.
“Because she doesn’t love Manhattan, you idiot,” he growled. “She loves Sleepy Hollow.” Trying to pretend that I didn’t hear him, I said, “I guess I’m just really attached to the town.”
“Which you’d know if you spent five minutes actually paying attention to her,” Caspian added.
“I don’t know.” Ben shook his head. “I just don’t get it. The statistics are much better there.
More volume, more customers, more profit.”
“Higher overhead, higher taxes, less history,” I rebutted. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, Ben. Trust me. Plus, it’s something that Kristen was going to help me with.” Caspian leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I think it’s a great idea, Abbey. Don’t listen to him. He’s a schmuck. And by the way, have I told you how beautiful you look today?” Ben was talking too, and I had to fight not to shiver at Caspian’s words. I tucked a stray curl behind one ear, getting lost in the moment of having him so near.
“… did you ever find that out?” Ben asked. He looked at me expectantly.
“Sorry,” I said. “Got distracted by a car. What was that?”
“I asked if you ever found out who that D. guy was, since you thought I was him.” Bad memories immediately clouded my mind, and I frowned. “Oh, yeah. I did. He was… a jerk.”
“But Kristen was seeing him?” Ben said.
I looked out my window. Trees and houses rushed past in a never-ending blur. “She was seeing him, yeah. But I think she knew it was a mistake. When she wrote about him in her diaries… I think she realized that she was in over her head.”
“Did these diaries mention anyone else?” He gave me a hopeful look, and I felt bad for him. I resisted the urge to reach out and put a hand on his arm.
“No, she didn’t mention anyone else. Sorry, Ben.”
“What about you and that guy you were dating?” Ben asked. “Are you still together? How come I never see him around?”
Fidgeting with my seat belt, I looked down. “It’s… complicated.”
“Complicated as in you guys broke up? Or complicated as in you’re still together?”
“Um, I don’t really know how to describe it.”
Ben’s face changed. “Oh. I get it. Friends with benefits.”
“Good Lord, no,” I blurted out. My face felt like it was on fire, so I opened the window to suck in a mouthful of fresh air. As soon as my face felt normal again, I turned back to Ben.
“We’re not, um, like that. It’s just… complicated.” Drop it. Please drop it, I mentally commanded him.
“I see,” Ben said. Then, “Okay, no I don’t. But I guess it’s none of my business.”
“Ding, ding, correct answer for ten bonus points,” said Caspian.
I waved my hand in his direction to gesture for him to stop talking, and Ben glanced at me funny. “Bug… flying… gnat… thing.” Oh God, how much longer do we have until we get there? This car ride is going to be the death of me.
“I thought he was an ass.” Ben said. “You seemed really upset by him at school last year.”
“It’s cool now.” I reached down to the radio, and held my finger over the power button. “Do you mind if I put on some music?”
He shrugged, and I scanned through the stations, trying to find something good. I paused when I came to a familiar voice. Steven Tyler sang for a couple of seconds before Ben changed the station.
“Hey,” I said.
“What? That song’s almost over.”
“Yeah, but I like it.”
“Isn’t it from an asteroid movie? Doomsday