The Haunted - Jessica Verday [21]
The Haunted
Chapter Five
HAUNTED
A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmo-sphere.
—“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
I didn’t know what it was that woke me up, but one minute I was sleeping peacefully, and the next I was lying there, staring at the dark wall. Rolling over on my back, I threw off the covers and draped one arm over my eyes. All I wanted was to go back to sleep. Why was I awake?
I shut my eyes and tried to relax. Forcing every muscle in my body to go still, I inhaled and exhaled deeply. But my neck was uncomfortable, and I knew I couldn’t stay that way. I flipped my pillow over and felt the smooth, cool side of a pillowcase that had been resting against the sheet. It was heavenly, and I buried my face into it. The scent of fresh laundry still clung there, and the smell was already making me feel sleepy again.
I grabbed for my second pillow to do the same thing with it, but part of it had slipped down in the space between the mattress and the headboard. I had to give it a good, hard yank. It came free, and I slid a hand underneath to flip it over too.
There was something cold and hard there.
My fingers grasped the small square, and my mind recoiled in recognition of what it was.
One of the necklaces Caspian had made for me. Almost compulsively, I stroked the smooth glass plates and found the black satin ribbon attached.
I pulled it out and held it in my palm, horror stealing over me. How can this be real? He wasn’t real. It doesn’t make any sense.
A dreadful urge came next and whispered in my ear, Put it on.… My hand shook slightly with the willpower it took not to listen. I couldn’t. I didn’t know how it had gotten there, but there had to be some other explanation for it.
I held it to my cheek. The glass was cold and gentle. Like a dying lover’s kiss.
I threw it to the floor. It was making me crazy. These were irrational thoughts and feelings.
What was I doing? It was haunting me.
Huddling back under my covers, I squeezed my eyes closed. Sleep. Go to sleep.
Everything would be better in the morning. I just needed sleep. My head nestled deeper into the pillow, and I slipped down into a dream.
Wind blew my hair into my face, and I laughed out loud as I tried to shove the black curls away. The radio blasted out a rhythm of earth-shaking bass beats and soaring guitar riffs as we raced down the highway. Eyes closed, I leaned my head back and felt the vibrations moving through my entire body. My toes curled in my boots and tingled with pleasure.
Throwing my arms wide, I caught the breeze and rode the wind. There was no barrier between the sky and me. We were one.
A shriek of pure joy escaped my lips, and I felt as light as air. If I wanted to, any second now I could float away, out of the car. The music was the only thing holding me down. The only thing anchoring my soul.
A hand reached out and caught mine. Our fingertips snagged, intertwined. I turned my head and held that hand close to my cheek. When my eyes opened, there was no surprise as I registered brown eyes. Curly brown hair.
No surprise… but no heat, either.
Ben grinned at me, and the wild music faltered, sputtered out. Only for a second, but it happened.
“Let’s take a break, babe,” he called.
I nodded. The music played on. A different song now, but one with the same driving urgency behind it. The car slowed and came to a stop. I looked down, surprised to see that we weren’t in Ben’s green Jeep, but in a red sports car instead.
The scenery around us shimmered and changed from an endless orange desert to a fifties-style silver boxcar diner. We were inside now, and I took in the kitschy decor.
Plastic-covered menus, their sides greasy and flecked with dried bits of food, sat on round red vinyl tables. The floor was covered in black-and-white-checkered linoleum with curled and peeling edges. A jukebox was on, and the song “I Only Have Eyes for You” echoed through the small room.
Ben grabbed my hand again and flipped it over, palm side up. He began to trace it,