The Haunted - Jessica Verday [39]
I lifted a finger and gently traced the outline of one of them. Who was this girl? She was sad and beautiful all at once. It couldn’t be me. I wasn’t that pretty.
A bit of wax suddenly rolled down my thumb, leaving a burning trail. The light dipped and wavered, casting dancing shadows across the room. Several boxes were piled nearby, and I turned to them, curiosity aroused.
Two of them were overturned and being used like tables, but a couple of smaller ones had stuff inside. I sat the candle down and knelt to take a look.
There was an alarm clock, a picture frame with an old school picture in it, a couple of books, and some clothes. I picked up the frame, feeling a thrill run through me. It was almost like being in his room. I smiled when I saw a copy of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” sitting next to the alarm clock. Guess he’s finally gotten around to reading it.
On the nearest overturned box rested a sketch pad, a set of charcoals, and another book.
It was one of the Christmas gifts I’d given him. I opened it, flipping through the illustrations of stars.
An abrupt scraping noise had me scrambling to my feet, and the door opened. I dropped the book and the candle. The candle rolled and sputtered once before dying.
Caspian looked surprised to see me. “Abbey?”
I didn’t know what to say. Glancing down at my feet, I saw the book sprawled open with several of the pages sticking out at an odd angle. I bent to pick it up and put it back on the box.
I waited for him to confront me, but he just turned away.
“How did you find this place?” he asked.
“I—I saw you. I, um, sort of came looking for you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just… After last night, I wanted to see you again.”
“So you came in here and went through my stuff ?”
I could feel my face flushing, even in the semidarkness. Then I got mad. “Well, you were hanging around my house. And…” I glanced over at the drawings. “And you’ve been stalking me!”
Caspian glanced at the pictures too. “You saw those? What did… what did you think?” The hopeful look in his eyes completely threw me off balance.
“I… um… I thought the drawings were really good. I mean, there’s no way I look like that.
That pretty, I mean.…” I blushed. Then I decided to be truthful. “It was kind of weird, actually.”
“I’m not stalking you,” he said. I raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not!” he protested.
“Everything I drew, I drew from memory. It’s kind of like my way of having you here with me.” At that moment I wished desperately that I still held the candle. I wanted to see his face clearer. Did he mean it? He drew them so that I would be “here”? I didn’t know if that was totally creepy or totally swoonworthy.
“They really are good,” I said again. I didn’t know what to say beyond that, so I waited for him to speak. Instead he moved to the bench and sat down. I just waited. For what, I didn’t know, but now I was here. He had to do something.
The “something” he did was ignore me. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Are you hoping that if you don’t talk to me long enough, I’ll turn into a pile of bones like all the other ones in here?” I flung my arms out in exasperation. “Sorry, but it won’t happen.”
“No, I was hoping that if I stayed quiet long enough, you’d take the hint and leave,” he said.
Wow. That hurt. “If you want someone to leave, just tell them.” I turned and started to storm off, then stopped. “Oh, and since we’re on the subject of people leaving, this is a tomb, if you haven’t noticed. Not a place for squatters. You shouldn’t be here either.” I was breathing fast and getting all worked up. The space around me felt like it was growing smaller and warmer every second.
“I know,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t be here. But I don’t have anywhere else to go.” The loneliness I heard behind those few short words made my heart ache. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Just leave, Astrid. Please.”
“Why?” I asked him. “I want to stay.