The Haunted - Jessica Verday [79]
“Sorry,” I said with an embarrassed smile.
“Is that all?” he asked.
“Yup.”
“That’ll be a buck twenty-five.”
I handed him two ones and waited for my change, glancing outside again. Ben was doing a crazy version of the robot, and Beth was almost in tears from laughing so hard.
“Here you go. Want a bag?”
“Um, no. I’ll just carry it. Thanks.”
He nodded, then handed me my receipt and something else. “This is your friend’s. He dropped it when he was paying for the pizza.”
Ben had been the one to pay, so I said thanks and took the plastic card, then shoved it along with the receipt into my back pocket. Leaving the pizza place, I joined my friends outside, and we headed for my house, laughing the whole way.
Ten minutes after they dropped me off, the phone rang.
“Hey girl, it’s Beth. I just got in.”
“Oh, hey.”
“So?!” she squealed. “What do you think? Is Lewis worth it? I mean, he’s the total package, right?”
I sat down on my bed and pulled off my shoes. “Definitely. Brains and muscles.” I didn’t even know if that made any sense, but it sounded good.
“Oh, he’s got muscles all right. Big, and well built in every way. And I do mean every way.” This was turning wayyy too personal for my tastes. “Go for it.” She squealed again, and I held the phone away from my ear. There was some shouting in the background, and I heard Beth yell, “Just a minute!” Then she said to me, “Okay. I have to go. Thanks for coming with us tonight, Abbey.”
“No problem.” I yawned. “Night.”
Crawling under the covers, I kissed the cool glass of the four-leaf clover necklace I still had on. “Good night, Caspian,” I whispered. “Wish you could have been with me.” I fell asleep to dreams of starry skies and green eyes.
But sometime during the night my dreams changed.
It was a party, with decorations and streamers and fairy lights strung everywhere. The floor was covered in a sea of pink and red balloons, and I had to kick them out of the way.
Kristen was there, sitting next to a giant three-tiered cake, her back turned to me. Her red hair was longer than it had been in real life, and hanging loose.
“Kristen!” I yelled to her. “Happy birthday!” She tilted her head and laughed, but she didn’t turn around.
A tugging at my ankles distracted me, and I looked down. The balloons had crowded around me again. A band started playing, and couples suddenly appeared out of nowhere, dressed in old-fashioned clothing. They swept between the balloons, gliding back and forth, all of them executing perfect dance steps.
Every time I tried to move, closer at first, then farther away, they’d stop in unison and turn to stare at me. Every single face was hidden behind a mask.
The balloons swelled again, climbing higher and higher. Burying me deeper and deeper. I tried to dig my way out, flinging them to the sides, but the balloons grew heavy. Suddenly, one of them burst, and water came slowly leaking out.
It was like a special effect. As soon as the trickling stream touched another balloon, it burst in slow motion, and then another and another would go off.
The crowd kept dancing. Moving along a balloon remnant–littered floor. None of them seemed to notice the puddles under their feet.
Finally I broke free. Enough balloons had popped that I was no longer weighed down, and I rushed to Kristen’s side. “Did you see that?” I asked her. “Is this a masquerade?” She turned to face me, eyes downcast, with a pout on her lips. “Where’s your mask, Abbey?”
“I don’t have one,” I said.
She stroked one hand along the black dress she was wearing. “Do you like this? I wore it to my funeral.”
I drew back, horrified. “Why would you say that, Kristen?” She leaned down and put one finger to her lips, making a shhh sound. “I’m waiting for someone. Now put on your mask, Abbey.”
I was getting frustrated now, and angry. “I don’t have a damn mask, Kristen.”
“Sure you do. Everyone does. I’m wearing mine.” Her face turned tight, pinched, like she was schooling her features. Then a single trumpet blared, announcing the arrival of someone, and Kristen clapped her hands