The Hidden - Jessica Verday [68]
Caspian looked at me questioningly. “Are you sure? We can skip tonight.”
“And miss all the fun?” I shook my head firmly. “No. Let’s go.”
Because it didn’t matter how long I stood there and wished for things to change. The Maxwells had made their decision. Now it was time to make mine.
When we got to Cyn’s, the porch light was out and we had to bump our way up the dark walkway. The doorbell stuck when we pushed on it, and it kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I was just about to cram my hands over my ears and tell Caspian we were leaving, when the front door finally swung open and Cyn peeked out.
Her wild red and green hair had been tamed back, pulled into a smooth mane that flared out from beneath a witch’s hat. Dark eyeliner rimmed both of her eyes, making them look large and exotic. As she moved forward to greet me, I saw that the little black dress she was wearing was sheer, and almost see-through. Jealousy reared its ugly head and I almost wished that we had gone home. I didn’t want Caspian to get a glimpse of any part of her beneath that dress.
“Hey, Cyn,” I said, moving to block his view.
She threw both arms around me in a giant hug. “So glad you could make it, dahhhhling. Do you like the hat?”
“Love it.”
She gestured for me to come in, and I stepped through the door. Caspian followed quickly behind, but when he passed Cyn, I could have sworn that her eyes focused on him for a moment. I held my breath to see what she would say.
A crash came from above us, and then loud laughter. Cyn’s eyes flitted away from where Caspian was standing, and drifted up. “Ben’s here,” she said by way of explanation.
“Ahhhh, I see. Then the party’s already started.”
“Yup. Follow me.”
I tried not to pay attention to the living room as we crossed through it. It wasn’t that it was dirty, or even cluttered. Far from it. It just had a vague, unlived-in look about it. None of the furniture matched. No pictures hung on the walls, or sat above the tiny TV. And there wasn’t a single personal possession in sight.
Cyn led me to the stairs, but she didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed by the way her house looked or just didn’t care. We climbed up two flights, and then came to a door. The door was attached to more stairs that led the rest of the way.
“The attic,” Cyn said slowly as we walked up. “Watch out for bats.”
Automatically I ducked my head, and she laughed.
“I’m teasing. There haven’t been any bats up here for a couple of weeks. Well, live ones, anyway. I found a skeleton in one corner, but I left it. Maybe we’ll be able to contact its former owner tonight. Do you speak batanese?”
I wished that I could have reached back for Caspian’s hand and held on to it. I didn’t want to see any bats, living or dead. Then I felt that buzzing sensation on the back of my leg, and I glanced at him. He smiled at me and whispered, “I’m here. I won’t let the bats get you.”
I smiled back. November first, November first, November first.
I took one final step up from the last stair, and the room opened into a wide space. A few chairs had been set in a semicircle, but almost everybody was sitting on the floor, spread out along a Persian rug with a black cast-iron pot in the middle of it.
Ben, of course, already had his shoes off.
“Hey, girl,” Beth called. She was sitting next to a boy I didn’t recognize, but he looked a little bit younger than us. Grant?
“Hey, Beth. Ben.” I waved to both of them.
Cyn pointed to a girl I didn’t know, sitting beside Ben. “That’s Sara—from my art class—and Mark.” Her hand went to a boy slumped in a giant leather chair. He put up one finger, then let it drift back down again.
“And Grant,” Beth chimed in. “From computer class.” She gave me a look, and I smiled knowingly.
“Hey, Grant,” I said. He was kind of cute in a geeky techboy kind of way.
“Hey, Abbey,” he replied.
Suddenly Ben did something that resembled a magic trick and made a candle “disappear,” and the girl he was next to, Sara, encouraged