Truth or Dare . ., page 7
If she only knew, Abby thought. “I will, Mom,” she replied, hoping that her voice sounded normal. “Sorry I snapped at you. I’m a little stressed.”
“You look wonderful, and you’re going to have a great time,” Mrs. Miller said. “I just know it!”
I hope so, Abby thought as she tried to smile at her mom.
But she wasn’t so sure.
Just then there was a loud knock at the front door. “That must be Jake,” Abby said as she jumped up. “I’ve gotta go.”
From the hallway, she could hear her father’s voice. “Hello, Jake. Why don’t you come inside and sit down for a minute? I thought we could have a nice chat before you whisk my daughter away into the night.”
A look of horror crossed Abby’s face. “Mom, no!” she whispered. The absolute last thing Abby wanted Jake to deal with was her dad and his sense of humor—or lack thereof.
“Hurry,” her mom said, patting Abby’s arm. “I’ll get your coat.”
Abby darted into the living room. “Hi, Jake,” she said with a little wave. “Well, we better get going. See you later, Dad!”
But Mr. Miller wasn’t quite done. “You’ll have her home by nine thirty, of course,” he said to Jake, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Um, yes, absolutely,” replied Jake. “My mom’s picking us up at nine fifteen, so that won’t be a problem.”
“No, I didn’t think it would be,” Mr. Miller said, with a twinkle in his eye.
“Come on! Let’s go!” Abby exclaimed as she grabbed the sleeve of Jake’s coat and pulled him toward the front door.
“Here you go, Abby,” Mrs. Miller said as she handed Abby her coat. “Have fun!”
Abby breathed a sigh of relief as she and Jake stepped outside into the twilight.
“Hey,” Jake said as he flashed Abby a smile. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” she said, blushing as she followed Jake out to his mom’s car. “Sorry about my dad.” But one thing Abby wasn’t sorry about was the lock of hair and the note that were crammed in the trash can in her room—presents for Jake that he would never receive.
As she buckled her seat belt, Abby felt her cell phone buzz with a text message. She reached for it, but suddenly stopped herself. It’s not Mom or Dad, she thought. And if it’s Leah, I’ll see her in five minutes. So I’m not even going to look at this text.
The short drive to the school passed quickly, thanks to Mrs. Chilson’s friendly chatter. “Bye, kids,” she called out as Abby and Jake climbed out of the car. “I’ll pick you up in front, okay?”
Abby and Jake thanked her for the ride and walked around the school to the gym, where the dance was being held. As Jake held open the door for her, Abby gasped in delight. The gym had been transformed! The walls were covered with shimmering dark purple fabric; thousands of twinkling lights looped across the ceiling like constellations from another galaxy. At one end of the gym, a row of refreshment tables was decorated with garlands of white roses that perfumed the entire room.
“It’s beautiful!” Abby exclaimed, her eyes shining happily. She had never imagined that the gym could be transformed into such a romantic and magical place. The dance was already about a hundred times better than any dance she’d been to before.
But when Jake didn’t respond, Abby turned to glance at him. The look of dread on his face told her that the dance was the last place in the world that he wanted to be.
“Jake?” Abby asked quietly. “Is—um—is something wrong?”
Jake shrugged and tried to smile at her. “No, no,” he said. “Ready to go in?”
“Sure,” Abby said, trying to sound friendly. Trying to sound normal.
Jake hesitated for just a moment, then reached for her hand. His fingers were smooth and warm as he entwined them with hers.
Abby’s heart started pounding so loudly that she was sure everyone in the gym could hear it. She felt the blood rush into her cheeks and was grateful that it was too dark for anyone to notice. Because in that sweet moment, and despite everything that had happened in the past week, Abby was overcome with such happiness that it almost made her dizzy.
Inside the gym, she could see Morgan Matthews fluttering around anxiously, making sure that everything was set up perfectly. And across the room, she spotted Chloe and Nora. Her friends smiled and waved to her. Then Abby saw something that made the biggest, brightest smile stretch across her face: Max Menendez, carrying two cups of fruit punch, walking over to Leah. Abby giggled when she saw the look on her friend’s face—somehow her expression was a combination of astonishment, excitement, and utter delight. Abby realized that she’d never seen Leah look so happy . . . or so pretty. We’re gonna be on the phone all night for sure, Abby thought, thrilled that Max and Leah were finally spending time together.
But as Jake and Abby moved farther into the gym, the smile faded from Abby’s face. She saw, then, what Jake had noticed the moment they had arrived: an enormous portrait of Sara hanging from the ceiling, watching all of them with her haunting green eyes. The portrait had been painted in such a lifelike style that Sara’s eyes almost seemed to glow. Abby glanced at Jake’s face and saw that he couldn’t take his eyes off the portrait, try as he might.
Does he see what’s really there? she wondered suddenly. To Abby, those green eyes seemed evil. The thin red lips were pursed in anger. She could find no trace of beauty in Sara’s portrait anymore.
Maybe it was the lack of sleep.
Maybe it was the culmination of her week of fear.
But Abby knew that she couldn’t do this—not here, not now, not with him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to Jake as her hand fell out of his. “I can’t.”
Then Abby turned away and ran from the room.
CHAPTER 12
“Abby, wait!”
She heard Jake calling after her but she kept running, away from the gym, away from the portrait, away from the boy who was so clearly still crazy about a dead girl. With a ghost.
“Please, Abby!” Jake begged as he caught up to her in the hallway and grabbed her arm. “Give me—”
“No,” Abby said, shaking her head. “You can’t—”
“Try to understand,” Jake interrupted her. “I knew that the money from the dance was going to her scholarship, but I didn’t expect the gym to be turned into such a huge memorial to Sara, okay? The purple decorations? Her favorite color. The white roses? Her favorite flower. And that portrait . . . Living in this town, going to this school, there are reminders of her everywhere. I can’t even take a girl I like to a dance without feeling like Sara’s watching me.”
“Because she is!” Abby exploded. Then she clapped her hands over her mouth in horror.
“What did you say?” Jake asked.
“Never mind,” Abby said quickly. “I’m just going to call my mom and get out of here, okay?”
“No,” Jake insisted. “I want to know what you meant by that.”
Abby’s resolve wavered as she looked into Jake’s eyes. He deserves to know the truth, she thought. But can he handle it?
Then Abby realized that that wasn’t her decision to make.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” she said slowly. She took a deep breath. And she told Jake everything.
Everything.
Jake listened quietly, never interrupting her, but Abby couldn’t help noticing the way his eyes narrowed and his lips grew thin and sullen. Near the end of her story she realized that she had made a huge mistake.
But there was no turning back now.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Abby finished. “I know it does. But there is no other explanation that I can figure out. Sara’s spirit hasn’t moved on. She’s still in love with you, Jake, and she doesn’t want anyone to take her place in your heart.”
Abby held her breath as she waited for Jake’s response. For a moment he looked angry. But then his anger melted away.
“Abby,” he said gently, “it doesn’t just sound crazy. It is crazy.”
Abby sighed. “Okay,” she said. “I’m going home now.”
“Wait,” Jake insisted. “I know you didn’t know her well, but Sara was a really nice person. Like, genuinely nice. She would never try to scare someone or upset them in any way. I mean, you’ve known me forever. Do you think I’d go out with someone like that?”
Abby grabbed her cell phone and shoved it at Jake. “I haven’t even read this text yet,” she said. “But I can guess who it’s from.”
Abby held her breath as Jake’s eyes flicked over the screen of her phone. One look at his face told her she was right. But then he shrugged as he handed the phone back to her.
“There’s no proof that this message is from Sara,” Jake said. “I don’t even recognize the number it came from.”
“But who—,” Abby began.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Jake continued. “It’s terrible that you’re getting messages like this. I just don’t believe that they’re from Sara.”
Abby looked down at the screen so Jake wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. At last, she read the message for herself.
DO YOU DARE GO TO THE DANCE WITH JAKE? HERE’S THE TRUTH: IF YOU GO TO THE DANCE WITH HIM, YOU WILL BE SO SORRY.
“I mean, whoever is sending these messages is just a bully,” Jake said. “Don’t give in. Come back to the dance with me, Abby. Or we could get out of here altogether—go get some pizza or something—just you and me, and forget all about what we saw in there.”
As if he could sense Abby’s hesitation, Jake pressed on. “Listen. I can tell you’re convinced that Sara’s ghost is behind those messages,” he said in a rush. “So make her prove it. Write back and ask for proof—something that only Sara could tell you.”
“Fine.” Abby sighed. Her fingers fluttered across the keypad as she typed, IS THIS REALLY SARA? PROVE IT! Then, before she could lose her nerve, she hit send.
Abby and Jake were quiet for a moment as they waited for a response. Seconds stretched into minutes until Jake suddenly laughed so loudly that Abby jumped.
“See?” he said joyfully. “It was just a prank. Whoever was sending those messages has nothing to say now! So how about it, Abby? Want to go—”
BZZZZZ!
The buzzing of Abby’s phone silenced Jake and wiped the grin from his face. “Well?” he asked, with just the hint of a tremor in his voice. “What does it say?”
Abby glanced at the screen as her face filled with confusion. “I don’t understand what this means,” she said, shaking her head. She handed the phone to Jake so he could see for himself. “It’s just numbers—a seven, a four, and a two.”
The phone slipped from Jake’s hands, clattering loudly on the linoleum floor. His face was like a mask, empty of all emotion except for terror.
“What is it?” Abby asked in a panic. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Sara!” he gasped.
CHAPTER 13
“Jake?” Abby asked urgently. “Jake! What does that mean?”
But Jake just stared at her with wide, scared eyes.
“Jake!” she cried again, grabbing his arm. “Tell me what it means!”
Abby’s touch seemed to snap Jake out of his daze. He opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head. “I can’t—,” he began. “It’s not possible—”
“What’s going on?” Abby begged.
Jake closed his eyes as he sighed heavily. “It was our secret,” he said. His voice was halting, unsure. “Sara and I had this secret code. Every night before I went to bed, I’d send her an e-mail that said, ‘XOXO 24/7.’ And when I woke up in the morning, I always had an e-mail waiting from her that said, ‘7-4-2, OXOX, a mirror of my message.’ After a while, she started texting me the number 7-4-2 during the day, after classes, on the weekends—you know, whenever. It was her way of telling me that she—that she was thinking about me. And no one in the world knew what it meant, except for the two of us. I never told anyone except for you, right now.”
Abby sucked in her breath sharply. This, more than anything else that had happened, confirmed her deepest fears.
“Listen,” Abby said slowly. “Don’t freak out. But I have an idea.”
“What is it?” asked Jake.
“You asked for proof—and you got it,” Abby continued. “So let’s take this to the next level.”
Abby bent down to the floor and picked up her phone. She started typing a text message as Jake stared over her shoulder.
SARA, JAKE IS HERE. HE MISSES YOU. CAN HE SEE YOU?
“Abby, wait—,” Jake began.
But it was too late. Abby had already pressed send.
“Why did you do that?” Jake exclaimed. “What were you thinking?”
“Jake, this has to end,” Abby said. “I can’t have Sara’s spirit haunting me like this. And it doesn’t matter if you stop liking me—she’ll just do it to the next girl you like. And the next, and the next, and the next.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t want to see her, Abby.”
“She needs to move on,” Abby replied. “And I think she needs your help to do it.”
“But I already said good-bye to Sara—at her funeral, and every day for the last year,” Jake said. “I don’t want to say good-bye again.”
Abby opened her mouth to reply when—
BZZZZ.
Abby read the incoming text without saying a word. Then she held the screen up to Jake so he could read it too.
I’M @ ST. RAYMOND’S CEMETERY. COME SEE ME IF YOU DARE!
Jake and Abby exchanged a glance. They were both familiar with St. Raymond’s Cemetery. It was where Sara had been buried nearly a year ago.
“Come on, Jake,” Abby said gently. “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Jake said at last. “I’ll come with you. But only because it’s time to put an end to this—for your sake and mine.”
Abby stared at Jake’s face for a moment, and the way the light had gone out of his eyes. He looked tired and angry. “What?” she asked. “You don’t believe it’s Sara anymore?”
“No,” Jake said firmly. “And I can’t believe you do either. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“But—,” Abby began.
“Here’s the other reason,” Jake interrupted her. He tapped the screen of Abby’s phone. “This doesn’t even sound like Sara. She really was a sweet and wonderful person. She’d never say anything like that. . . . ‘Come see me if you dare.’” Jake sighed. “If it was really Sara, she wouldn’t have to dare me. She’d know that I would be there in a heartbeat.”
“Right,” Abby said awkwardly, feeling a flush of embarrassment for liking Jake when it was so painfully clear now that his heart belonged to someone else: a dead girl. “Let’s get this over with.”
Abby and Jake didn’t speak as they walked down the long hallway toward the door and stepped into the crisp, clear autumn night.
Finally Jake’s voice interrupted the silence. “Abby?” he said. “I want to—I want to tell you that I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Abby asked.
Jake waved his hand vaguely. “For all this,” he replied. “For everything. This is not exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to the dance.”
“Me neither,” Abby said. And then, to her surprise, they both laughed.
“I really like you, Abby,” Jake said shyly.
In the moonlight, Jake smiled at her, and Abby’s heart skipped a beat, the way it always did when he looked at her. But then, slowly, his lips fell into the same sad expression that had grown so familiar to her over the last year.
This time there was something else, too: tension in his muscles and a hint of fear in his eyes as they looked past Abby.
And in that moment, she realized where they were: just steps away from the marble archway of St. Raymond’s Cemetery. She shivered as the hair on the back of her neck rose, but she forced herself to look beyond the entrance, where the tombstones stood in long, silent rows, illuminated by the pale moonlight. The close-cut grass; the stone-paved paths; the carefully-carved grave markers; all of it seemed so dark and lonely on this cold, starless night. But what Abby really hated about graveyards was the flowers. They seemed so out of place with their gaudy colors and sweet scents—especially when it was just a matter of time before they, too, died, their petals falling like tears.
Of course, worst of all were the forgotten graves, where no one bothered to leave anything.
Abby inhaled sharply. All right. Time to go in, she thought. She turned to Jake. “Are you ready?” she asked.
Jake nodded in reply.
Abby took a deep breath, and together they stepped into the cemetery. For a few moments, they walked in silence. Then Abby said, “Jake? I don’t—I don’t remember where Sara’s grave is.”
“It’s near the back,” he said. “By the border of the nature preserve.”
“Oh,” was all Abby said. But she thought, Of course it is. And my house is right on the other side. How easy for Sara to—No. I won’t go there. I can’t.
A cool breeze kicked up, ruffling Abby’s hair and sending chills down her spine. She pulled her jacket tighter around her, but the cold creeping through her body wasn’t just from the night air. As they approached the area near Sara’s grave, every muscle in her body resisted, and her steps grew heavy, leaden. She wanted to run, out of the cemetery, back to the school, anywhere away from this place of deathly stillness.
But Abby knew that she had come too far to turn back now. And, of course, there was Jake. He needed her. She wouldn’t let him down.
No matter how afraid she was.
She forced herself to keep walking, one step after another, remembering the feel of Jake’s hand in hers back at the gym, the way her own hand had felt warmer from his touch. In this dark, quiet graveyard, that memory told her something essential: that she and Jake were alive. It seemed a silly thing to focus on, but it was exactly what Abby needed to take those terrifying steps.
Suddenly Jake stopped. He stiffened. “You—do you see that?” he asked. “Abby, please tell me you see that.”
Abby’s heart started pounding as she followed Jake’s gaze to a gravestone that was as white as a pearl, with a single rose carved into its front. But it wasn’t the stone that had captured Jake’s attention; it was the pale hand resting atop it. A hand that was connected to a slender arm, one that belonged to a girl.
