The Hidden - Jessica Verday [71]
She put one hand up against my cheek, and up close I saw her eyes. I would have recognized those eyes anywhere. They weren’t Cyn’s eyes. They were Kristen’s. “I’m sorry,” she said urgently. “Sorry this happened to you. Sorry … because of me …” Her words faded.
“It’s okay, Kristen. It’s okay. Just stay. Please. Stay—” My voice broke.
She smiled again. “You were my best—”
“There’s so much I have to tell you,” I replied. “So much you don’t know. So much to talk about—” I found myself gripping her hands fiercely.
Her eyes widened. “Be careful, Abbey! Be careful!”
And then, as if on cue, all the candles went out.
Someone screamed, and a flare of sudden panic grabbed hold of the room. “Who just touched my ass?” Beth shrieked.
“Make it stop, make it stop,” Sara was saying in a small voice. Mark yelled for someone to find the damn light switch, and I held very still.
Cyn’s hands were cold, and she was completely quiet.
“I got it,” Ben said. The overhead lights flickered on a moment later. “Is everyone okay?”
I glanced at Cyn. She looked confused. But more importantly, she looked … like her. Her eyes were green again. Not brown.
“Why am I over here?” she asked. Then she saw our hands. “Did something happen?”
“What do you remember?” I asked her swiftly. Quietly. “Anything? Do you remember starting the séance?”
“No. Was it fun?”
I didn’t know how much to tell her. What had just happened here? So I settled for “Yup. It was fun.”
The rest of the room was buzzing with quiet conversation. No one was paying any attention to us, but I couldn’t stay. Couldn’t sit there and pretend that nothing had happened, when it felt like my insides were being turned upside down.
“I need to go,” I said. “I’m helping … helping my mom out tonight. With a project.”
“Are you okay?” Caspian asked me. “Love, are you okay?”
Getting to my feet, I quickly jerked my head at him. “So, yeah. I guess I’ll see you at school, then,” I said to Cyn. “Thanks for inviting me.”
I headed to the stairs before she could say anything else, calling a quick good-bye to Beth and Ben and leaving them behind as fast as I could. It felt like all of my nerve endings were jangling together and crashing under my skin—like I’d touched a live wire and couldn’t shake the sensation.
Caspian followed me through the house. When we made it out the front door, he finally spoke. “What the hell was that all about?”
“I don’t know. I think …” I gestured inarticulately. “I think it was Kristen.”
“Abbey.” He stopped walking. “It wasn’t her.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s not here. She’s dead.”
I crossed my arms. “You’re dead. And I can still see you.”
“That’s different.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know that’s different.”
“But it was her, Caspian. I know it! Cyn’s eyes changed and everything. She was channeling Kristen or something, and Kristen was trying to warn me. About Vincent. Why don’t you believe me?”
He sighed. “I just don’t think it was her. Can we agree to disagree? All I’m worried about is whether or not you’re really okay.” He moved closer and put out a hand near my cheek. The faint hum where his hand would have touched my skin was a welcome distraction.
“I’m okay,” I said softly. “I am. I’m okay.”
He looked down at me, green eyes intent. “Then let’s go home?”
I nodded. I didn’t know if that meant this conversation was over, or if it meant we’d discuss it more once we got there, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was the safety of my own bed. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”
As soon as I stepped through the front door, Mom pounced. “Where were you?” she asked.
“At a friend’s house,” I said wearily. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t know where you were, and I was worried about you.”
“I was fine, Mom.” I crossed to the fridge to grab an apple.
“You can’t just—”
“Just what? Just go hang out with a friend? I didn’t break curfew, so what’s the big deal?”
Suddenly she came over and wrapped her arms around me. Taken by surprise, I just stood there. “You’re right,” she whispered as she held on tight. “I’m just a mom who worries too much. And I