The Haunted - Jessica Verday [34]
“Bring it here, out of the light, so we can see it blink,” he suggested.
Holding my tiny captive carefully so that I didn’t squish him, I followed Ben back toward the trees. My hands lit up every couple of seconds.
Ben leaned in closer and cupped his hands around mine. “Wait, he’s saying something.” I leaned in too and held my breath. Does he really know Morse code?
“Happy… birth… day… Happy birthday… Abbey.” Ben looked up at me and smiled. “The lightning bug wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
Our hands were touching, but now our heads were almost touching too. My eyes were finally adjusting to the darkness, and I could see the outline of his eyes, his nose, and his lips.
He was staring at me, and I could tell he was noticing the lack of space between us.
Shifting my weight, I moved slightly closer. Is this… ? Are we going to… ?
A buzzing sensation drew my attention from Ben, and I realized that the firefly was trying to escape. “Oh!” I moved my hands away from his. The flapping of tiny insect wings against my skin was giving me the creepy crawlies.
Ben looked confused.
“Sorry,” I said. “It wanted to get loose and was moving against my hand. Kind of gross.”
“Kind of gross, huh?” He laughed.
I nodded. What should I do now?
Then I felt his warm fingertips brushing against my collarbone, and I looked down, shocked to see his hand on my necklace.
He took a step closer, and was practically touching me. Standing so close, I had to look up at him to see his face.
“Your star was crooked,” he whispered.
But he’d straightened it.
… and still had his hand there.
A strange feeling flooded over me, and immediately I knew what was going to happen next. In that split second I saw it all playing out in front of me. Like a scene from a movie.
It should have been a moment of shivery breathlessness, yet I only felt… betrayal? Wait.
That can’t be right.
Ben tilted his head down, and I said the first thing that came to mind. “It was a gift.” He paused, and smiled. “Oh, yeah? From who?”
“Kristen.”
As soon as I said her name, I knew that was where the feeling was coming from. I was betraying Kristen. Or more so, I was betraying the fact that Ben once had a crush on Kristen, probably still did to some extent, and if I kissed him right now it would be like kissing my dead best friend’s almost boyfriend.
Not cool.
Ben stiffened and jerked his head back, almost like he was thinking the same thing. Then he ran his fingers through his hair, a gesture I found oddly familiar but couldn’t place. “Abbey,” he said suddenly. “It’s getting late. I should go.”
Could he tell what I was feeling? “Okay,” I said. “Well, um, thanks for coming and all that.” Now it was going to get awkward.
Clearly, he didn’t know what to do either, because he kind of leaned in for a half hug and patted me on the back. “So, happy birthday. And I guess I’ll see you at our next science session.”
“Yeah. Thanks for coming, Ben.”
He nodded once and then turned back toward the house, disappearing inside. I headed to the porch and sat down again on the second step next to what was left of my birthday cake.
“That was weird,” I said out loud. “Really weird.”
Overhead, the distinct rumbling sound of thunder broke through the distance, and seconds later a jagged piece of greenish lightning lit up the sky. The loud boom that came after the lightning made me jump, but I stayed where I was.
I wasn’t ready to go inside yet. I had more cake to finish.
˜ ˜ ˜
I stared out my bedroom window, watching sheets of rain cascade down the glass pane.
Mom and Dad had said good night an hour ago, with Mom tipping slightly to one side, and I’d been getting ready to change for bed when the lightning had lured me over.
There was something strangely beautiful about this storm. The trees outside were swaying in the wind, dipping low as they bowed to one another. A scattering of leaves lay on the streets, and every now and then one got caught up in the current of shallow runoff and went dancing merrily