The Haunted - Jessica Verday [86]
He gave me a strange look and put the library card away. “Are you okay, Abbey?” All I could see was a black spot over his face, like I’d been blinded by a bright light. I put out one hand and then jerked it away. “Fine… I’m…” My throat felt funny, tight and constricted. With my vision clearing, I stared at him, my mouth gaping wide.
“You… sure?” he asked me.
Bile churned in the back of my throat, and I knew I was going to be sick. “I think the pizza isn’t sitting very… well,” I gasped. “Go on. I’ll… Bye.” I waved my hand, desperately hoping that he’d leave before I puked all over his shoes.
Ben must have been able to read what was on my face, because he turned and headed for the door. “Okay. See you later, Abbey,” he said.
I waited for half a second, then ran up the stairs for the bathroom before I even heard the front door close. I made it just in time.
The tile floor was a cold comfort against my cheek, and I lay there for a while afterward.
My body twitched every now and then, little spasms of aftershock that ran through my veins, making my arms and legs jerk to keep time with some unseen clock of horror. I didn’t know how long I lay there. Felt like minutes. Felt like hours.
A door slamming and voices below calling my name broke through my stupor, and prompted me to struggle to a sitting position. I couldn’t let them see me like this or I’d never hear the end of it.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Using the edge of the sink, I hauled myself up and nudged the bathroom door shut just as a knock came on my bedroom door.
“Abbey?”
In here. But it didn’t come out, and I tried again. “In here.”
“Did you already eat? We found a pizza box downstairs.” Mom’s voice came through the door.
“Yeah, Ben came over for some pizza, but it didn’t agree with me.”
“Aww, poor baby. Do you need me to do anything?”
Gripping the sink, my knuckles turned white, and I tried to keep my voice steady. “No, I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Okay. Come downstairs when you’re ready.”
I waited until her footsteps faded away before I looked at myself in the mirror. I was almost afraid of what I’d see. But it was just me looking back. My eyes were surprisingly clear and dry. My hair didn’t look any different. Though my face was completely white. I was pale as a ghost.
I laughed a little hysterically at that thought and then shoved my fist into my mouth to muffle the sound. No, stop that. Get a hold of yourself, Abbey. Turning the cold handle, I splashed some water on my face until the frigid temperature turned my cheeks red.
Drying off, I mentally composed myself to go downstairs. I needed to leave. I needed to go find Caspian.
Mom and Dad were in the kitchen making dinner.
“There she is,” Mom said. I smiled wanly at her. She put down the frozen pack of shrimp she held and came over to me. “You’re pale. Do you want to lie down for a little bit?”
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Dad asked.
“Food poisoning.” Mom held the back of her hand to my forehead.
“I’m feeling better now,” I replied. “I think I just need to go for a walk. Get some fresh air.” I went over to the door.
“Don’t be gone too long,” Mom said.
“Okay,” I called back, slipping out the door.
I ran to the cemetery, out of breath and out of the ability to think clearly. All I knew was that there was one person who could help me make sense of this. One person who could make it all better. And I was going to find him.
Darkness hadn’t fallen yet, so the main gates were still open, and I pounded toward the mausoleum. The overwhelming urge to just find Caspian and tell him about Ben was driving me mad.
“Caspian!” I yelled, pushing open the mausoleum door. A single candle burned by his makeshift table. My voice bounced off the walls and came back to me. “Caspian, where are you?”
He wasn’t answering.
I moved to his stuff, calling his name over and over again. Frustration