The Haunted - Jessica Verday [53]
“No. No more dreams.”
He stood up and shuffled his feet. “I don’t want you to think I’m kicking you out or anything, but you should probably be on your way home before your parents wake up.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I handed him back the jacket, then glanced down at his shirt I still had on. “Can I, um… Would it be okay if I… keep this?” That sounded so lame, but I wanted to have some small piece of him.
“Sure. Although I don’t know why you’d want to.”
Because it’s yours… I kept that thought to myself. “Thanks.” Caspian walked me out of the mausoleum, and the early-morning air was cool. We both moved in silence until we got to the gate.
Jamming my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, I turned to face him. “Thanks for letting me sleep over. It was… nice.”
He snorted. “Yeah. I’m sure spending the night in a creepy tomb is every girl’s idea of the perfect date.”
“It wasn’t creepy. You were there.”
“That’s why it was creepy. Because of me.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “It wasn’t you. Don’t say that. Besides, you’re going to ruin my happy memories of shadow puppets.”
“I am pretty great at shadow puppetry. Maybe I should start my own business.” He grinned, and I felt warmth spreading through me.
I looked up at the brightening sky. “I really do have to go.” I dug my shoe into the ground.
“But if I, maybe, came back later today… would you be here?” Caspian nodded, then turned and started to walk away, pausing long enough to say, “You know where to find me.”
I stood there watching his retreating figure, then shook my head. We’d pretty much just spent the night together, and he was able to act that casual about it? Boys were so hard to figure out sometimes.
Movement on the path to my left caught my eye, and I turned and saw a person. A person with a little wire brush and a trash bag sticking out of his back pocket. A person with gray hair, a faded blue shirt, and patched overalls. Nikolas.
He spotted me, too, and paused. I walked toward him and threw my arms open for a hug when I reached him. Nikolas patted my shoulder in that rusty way of his, and hesitantly hugged me back.
I squeezed him tight, suddenly realizing how much I’d missed him. It was like seeing my long-lost grandfather.
“I’m kind of mad at you,” I told him, drawing back. “But I really missed you, Nikolas.” I could see his eyes were misty, and he scrubbed a rough hand over his face. “Forgive an old man whose eyes leak,” he told me. “I missed you too, Abbey. We thought you had decided to abandon this place.”
A sliver of guilt and shame wormed its way into my heart. I had intended to leave them all behind. “I had a lot to work through, Nikolas. I’m still working through some of it, I think. But I couldn’t stay away. In fact I was going to come see you again. How is Katy?”
“My lady is well. Her garden has been blooming these past few weeks, and she is happy to be in her element of picking flowers.”
I laughed. “I bet she is. Does she still have them covering every surface of the house?” Nikolas nodded. “I cannot take a step or make my seat without fear of crushing some fra-gile bloom.” A gentle look came over his face. “But that is what pleases her, and so I tread carefully.”
A warm feeling settled over my heart. It was nice to hear that they were still so happy together. The sky lightened to a shade of pink with faint fingers of yellow. Daylight was racing toward us, and I needed to get home.
“Is it okay if I come over later today?” I asked him. “I have a lot of questions for you.” He followed my gaze toward the sun. “Why don’t you come with me now? Katy is at home, and I’m sure she will be happy to make us some tea. We have peppermint.” His look was hopeful, and I hated to turn him down, but I could get seriously grounded if Mom or Dad found out that I snuck out of the house.
I tried to think fast. I could always tell Mom that I went for a walk early this morning. Technically, it was early morning when I went to see Caspian, and I had walked to get there. I turned my attention back to Nikolas. “I guess I could come for