The Blackwood Curse, page 11
‘Obviously Ollie,’ Tallulah said. ‘Then Nicola and Archie – they’re a cute couple. Samantha, Joe and Josh. You’ll like them; they’re all great fun.’
‘But will they like me?’ It was terrifying. Hearing faceless names didn’t make me feel any better. Then, on a whole other level of scary was Wax. I couldn’t make up my mind if I wanted him to be there or not.
‘Don’t be silly,’ Tallulah said, bumping shoulders with me, almost pushing me in a ditch. ‘Of course they will.’
The trees began to thin out and lights from the house came into view. My heart started to thump so hard I could hear it in my ears. We came out into the circular driveway in front of the house. Wax’s van was gone, leaving deep ruts in the snow. A pang of disappointment hit me, not just that he wasn’t there, but that he’d meant what he’d said.
The impressive front door opened and Ollie stood bathed in the yellow light. It spilled out a path onto the snow. ‘Come on,’ Tallulah said, sensing me slowing down. She ran up the steps and gave Ollie a huge hug. I came more slowly on my crutches.
Two others were with him as he came forward and kissed my cheek. ‘Ouch!’ he said, when he took in all the scratches on my face. ‘Thanks for coming. Tally said you’d been in the wars.’ A wonderful cologne wrapped itself around me as he hugged me. I looked over his shoulder at the two boys with him. He seemed to remember them and pulled apart. ‘This is Joe and Josh. This is Beccah Whitely from the Blackwood place.’ Their eyes widened in recognition and they both leant in for kisses. It was a European thing I still couldn’t get used to. Joe was a redhead with green eyes, a little plumper of the two. Josh was tall and muscular like an athlete and had blond hair and hazel eyes, hidden under a baseball cap. They were both dressed casually but Josh even more so; in running sweats. ‘Come on in,’ Ollie said, indicating for me to follow.
We went through the huge hall I remembered from the time Wax had been trashing the place. Until we came out into a huge modern kitchen which completely surprised me. I guess I was expecting a similar living museum to my aunt’s place. Instead it was all exposed brick, black tiles, chrome fittings and light oak cupboards. There was a huge American fridge and a sweeping bar-like island with breakfast stools on one side and a sink and work surface on the other. The lighting was warm and inviting from tiny little spotlights in the ceiling.
A girl sitting at the island took a chug of beer before she said, ‘Hi. I’m Samantha. Call me Sam. Everyone else does.’ I shook her hand and decided she was friendly enough. Her brown eyes seemed kind, framed by all the curls of her dark brown hair.
The last to be introduced were Archie and Nicola. They were sitting holding hands on a small tan leather sofa placed underneath a huge window. Both smiled and held up a hand. The girl was stunning with poker-straight black hair. She reminded me of a goth. The guy had black hair too, spiked up, but his skin was dark with eyes the colour of coal.
‘Beer?’ Ollie asked, already popping one open on a bottle opener fixed to the countertop.
I looked around. Everyone seemed to be drinking. ‘I’m not old enough.’
Ollie grinned, draping an arm around Tallulah’s shoulder and looking across the bar at the boys. ‘The legal age is eighteen here,’ Tallulah said, putting a bottle down on the countertop. ‘You’re almost eighteen, we all are.’
I looked at the beer, cautiously. ‘So you all go to St Barts?’
They all nodded and I realised that they must be some of my classmates.
‘Take your coat off, Becks,’ Tallulah said, with a giggle.
My heart sank. I should have realised earlier but I hadn’t because I’d been too damned nervous and had my coat on. None of the others had dressed up. I looked into Tallulah’s eyes, alive with mischief. ‘You tricked me.’
Tallulah creased over with laughter.
Ollie half laughed and looked between us. ‘You went through with it?’ he said trying to get Tallulah to stop laughing and chuckling along with her. She began to undo her own coat, only to reveal a cute little black skirt and a red sweater. I looked around the room at the other two girls, who wore something similar. My heart sunk lower with each face who couldn’t look me in the eye with guilt and suppressed laughter.
‘Come on, Becks, let’s see what she got you to wear,’ Ollie said.
I felt utterly ridiculous. I’d walked headlong into their trap. My face was horrendous, my leg was in plaster and I was dressed in something out of the Rocky Horror Show.
I had a choice; hop out of the house crying, looking even more ridiculous than I did already, or accept the hazing for what it was. I looked down, closed my eyes and began to undo my buttons. There was absolutely no way out of this to save my pride. I’d been tricked and made to look a fool in front of people who didn’t know me and would judge me on this moment for ever.
The buttons seemed to go on forever, made worse by the silence in the room. I swear you could actually hear people breathing. At last I opened the coat and let it fall to the floor from my shoulders.
There was a deathly hush, then a snigger and I opened my eyes. Ollie was staring at me wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Then he coughed. I was fully aware that my boobs looked like a fourteenth-century bar wench. ‘Are you going to give me that beer or does a girl have to die of thirst around here?’
The two boys laughed at the bar, followed by everyone else. Tallulah clapped. ‘Well done!’ she said, and everyone joined in with the clapping.
My blush turned from humiliation to pure joy. I’d managed to turn it around.
Ollie, now back in charge, snapped the top off a bottle of beer and handed it to me. ‘Where are my manners?’
I took it, grateful for something to do with my hands. Tallulah bumped shoulders with him. ‘See, I told you she was OK.’
Archie and Nicola came over and introduced themselves properly this time by kissing my cheek. ‘You look amazing,’ Nicola said, and Archie agreed. The two at the bar called over their agreement too.
I didn’t think I’d felt so happy in ages. I guess it was being accepted and feeling cool for the first time in, well, ever.
Everyone chatted effortlessly after that. I sat at the bar next to the boys and quietly drank my beer. They moaned about the snow and wondered if they’d have a load of work to catch up on at school. Then they told stories of people I was yet to meet. It was easy conversation.
‘What brings you to England?’ Josh said.
‘She was in a massive car crash that killed her brother,’ Tallulah said.
It was typical Tallulah but, nevertheless, I gave her a black look. I supposed it would have come out eventually. There seemed to be a collective intake of breath as if it was the last thing they were expecting. I guess it wasn’t the usual.
All she said was, ‘What?’ as if I was being touchy. ‘It’s true, isn’t it?’
I could strangle her at times. I just stared at her and took a huge gulp of my beer, which was going down very well.
The room had got suddenly quiet. I looked around. I didn’t mean to make everyone uncomfortable. Then I saw him standing just inside the room. ‘Wax,’ I breathed. My heart had stopped dead at exactly the moment his eyes found me. I smiled cautiously and his look blackened, sapping all my confidence. He walked to the fridge in long, purposeful strides. I couldn’t help taking in his long black-jeaned legs, heavy boots and sweatshirt with the words Likely Dead and a skull on it in dripping blood. His tattoos looked even more menacing close up. He pulled his beanie off, letting loose his messy over-long black hair and opened his beer.
‘I thought you were going out?’ Ollie said, clearly trying to sound upbeat. It was the most uncomfortable that I’d ever seen him.
‘I did. Now I’m back,’ Wax said, sipping his beer and not taking his eyes off me.
‘We’ll go into the sitting room,’ Ollie said, already moving to the door; widening his eyes at me and tipping his head to follow. The others didn’t need telling twice and I went to slide off my stool.
‘Not you!’ Wax said, directly to me.
My face blasted red at him singling me out and, if I was honest, I was genuinely scared. I looked to Ollie, waiting at the door, to save me. He understood instantly. ‘She came to meet some friends, Wax, that’s all,’ Ollie said, coming back into the room. In the end he stopped and went to put a defensive hand on Wax’s chest to stop him, but Wax simply leaned into it and looked menacingly at his brother. I felt really sorry for him. He was sticking up for me and Wax was terrifying. ‘I just want to talk, then she can come and join your little tea party.’
Ollie looked at me and I looked back at him in shock. I was scared, but I didn’t want to get him into trouble. Hadn’t half of me yearned to see Wax face to face? Well, here he was. Everything I knew about him told me to run, but I needed to hear what he had to say. ‘It’s OK.’ I looked back at Wax, whose gaze hadn’t moved from me. ‘I don’t think he’s giving me a choice.’
Ollie slowly moved back and followed the others out of the room. Wax went after them and closed the door. My heart thumped as he stalked back towards me, stopping only when he was a few inches away.
We assessed each other up close for the first time. His eyes were a deep blue and lined with enviable dark lashes. He and Ollie were very alike, but Ollie’s were brown and Wax had another six or seven inches in height. I put him at about six three. And where Ollie was warm, everything about Wax scared people off. This close, his coloured tats could be clearly seen right up to his jawline. There were even small stars inked into his temple and corner of his eye.
He made a visual sweep of me all the way down to the floor and back again. It was then I remembered how ridiculous I looked and wanted to die. He widened his eyes and almost cracked a smile. ‘What on earth do you look like?’
I frowned and wanted to shove him in the chest, although I didn’t dare. ‘They tricked me into dressing up.’
The corners of his mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile. His eyes dropped to my pushed-up boobs and back again. ‘I was talking about your face.’
He was annoying me now. I hopped away from him and scrambled onto a stool. Wishing for once that I could do something that came off cool – apart from taking cruel jokes, that is. I grabbed another beer from across the island. I needed it. His hand came from nowhere and took it. ‘No more beer for you.’
I swung round to look him in the eye; he was much closer than I thought. I had to take a breath as my eyes dropped to his mouth, dangerously close. ‘Who the hell do you think you are?’ came out as a husky whisper, while my eyes stayed glued to his lips. I swallowed. ‘I don’t know you. You’re horrible to me. You insult me –’ Before I could finish, his mouth covered mine, smothering words I’d already forgotten. My hands came up but didn’t push him away. His arms came around me, pulling me to face him. So close, my chest felt crushed and every inch of me screamed to be closer.
His mouth was closed first of all and I revelled in the softness of it. I couldn’t believe it had gone from us fighting to this, but my thoughts scrambled as he moved his mouth over mine and it felt so good. He was so good at it, teasing and tempting me to give in and let my anger drain away. All that was left was a burning in my lower stomach. It was as if the minute we touched, my body remembered him. I moved my hands up from his chest to his shoulders and gripped them. His mouth opened and mine matched his, meeting his tongue, swirling and tasting the first proper kiss of my life.
All too soon it was over. He was looking down at me as if something miraculous had just happened. I couldn’t believe it either. This guy had scared, frustrated and upset me since the day I first saw him outside and now he’d just kissed me. And I’d liked it – really liked it. ‘Hello,’ I said, still looking him in the eyes.
He laughed a little and his face transformed so beautifully. ‘I told you not to come here,’ he said, narrowing his eyes.
It shocked me that he was determined to carry it on. I narrowed my eyes to match his. ‘I’m not that great at following orders.’
His grin widened. ‘Your face is a mess.’
A breath of laughter left me in disbelief. I didn’t know if he was determined to insult me or whether this was his weird British way of joking. I decided he just couldn’t help himself. ‘It’s better than it was.’
He nodded and rubbed his thumb across my lower lip. ‘Your mouth is in working order, I see.’
I smiled a little. He had a sense of humour that I wasn’t expecting. Then my smile drained away as I remembered the guy of the other day that had to be tranquilised and put to bed. I frowned. ‘It was mean calling me a Shade.’ My thoughts went straight to the ghost who’d called me it as well.
He cocked his head at an angle as if he didn’t understand something and picked up my hand. He rubbed the top of it gently and his expression deepened. ‘You feel so real,’ he whispered almost to himself. ‘But it’s what you are.’ Then he frowned and looked back into my eyes. ‘And you don’t know.’
Before I could ask him to explain what he was talking about, he pulled me gently off the stool. ‘Come on, you need to know.’
I went with him, grabbing one of my crutches on the way. He led me across the hall to a smaller room filled with various sofas and armchairs that didn’t match. The light was a warm glow from several lamps and there were a couple bookcases and sideboards around the walls. A small piano was in the corner.
I spotted the others. They were lounging around, listening to music from a laptop.
They all stopped talking and looked at us standing in the doorway. Ollie’s eyes went straight to Wax’s hand that held mine. ‘What’s up?’ he said, looking at Wax cautiously.
‘You need to tell her what you all are – what she is. She doesn’t know.’
I watched them all look at each other nervously. ‘She’s not exactly like us,’ Tallulah said. ‘Not really.’
Wax gripped my hand hard. ‘But she is,’ he said angrily. ‘Because I can see her.’ He picked my hand up, studied it and ran his hand across it. ‘I can feel her.’
I watched them all look at each other nervously. Ollie looked at Tallulah and nodded. ‘We aren’t your normal seventeen-year-olds. We’re different.’
Wax’s face was blank and unreadable.
‘We aren’t alive,’ said Tallulah.
I stared at her; my face already creased in disbelief. I’d had enough of jokes for one day.
‘Not properly,’ Ollie added.
My eyes widened, amazed that they all wanted to persist in this. I looked around. There was no laughter any more. A huge lump had appeared in my throat that I couldn’t swallow down.
‘I hung myself,’ Archie said.
‘I took my mum’s pills. I couldn’t stand it without him,’ Nicola said.
Tears were brimming.
‘There was a crash. The school minibus,’ Ollie said, pointing between Tallulah and himself.
‘Us too,’ Joe said.
‘But we died in hospital, later,’ Josh said.
‘I don’t know what happened to me,’ Samantha said, sadly. ‘I just woke up with them.’
I was looking between them all now with tears streaming down my face. I was waiting for the laughter, but none came. Even Wax’s face remained calm.
‘But I’m not dead. I know I’m not.’ I was beginning to cry properly now which made no sense if they were joking. Maybe it was because on some level I believed them. ‘My aunt!’ I said, in a bolt of inspiration.
‘She was born in 1901,’ Tallulah said, in the kindest tone I’d ever heard her use.
‘Your mum, Gerty?’
‘Cancer, when I was a little girl. She never left me.’
I sunk to the floor and stared ahead of me. ‘Stop it, stop it.’
Wax pulled me up and held me to him. ‘You said there was a car crash.’
I nodded into his chest, conscious of the trail of very real snot I was leaving on him. ‘I lived and Pete died.’ I sobbed anew at the memory.
I pulled apart to look up into Wax’s face. ‘I’m real. They’re real,’ I said, pointing at the others.
Wax nodded, the most sympathetic I’d ever known him. ‘You can feel them because you’re one of them.’
‘But you can—’
He looked sad once again, cutting me off. ‘I have been cursed my whole life. I see the dead. And now, evidently, I can feel them too.’ He shook his head and frowned as if he couldn’t quite believe it himself.
It started to make a horrible kind of sense. He was so troubled. It was enough to send anyone mad. ‘Your uncle?’
He smiled a little. ‘Alive.’
I thought instantly of the unseeing eyes as he closed Wax’s door in my face. ‘My god! He can’t see me?’
‘He can’t see any of us,’ Ollie said. ‘Wax is the only one.’ He looked at his brother sadly. ‘He sees all Shades, spirits and ghosts. Sometimes it’s hard for him to stand.’
‘So I’m dead,’ I said, watching him closely.
He nodded. ‘I knew from the time you walked here with the little dog.’
My mind went back to the day I’d walked Burt’s dog and first seen him. ‘But how do you know the difference between a Shade and a living person?’
‘You come in a bright light, like a halo.’
‘And ghosts and spirits?’
He shrugged. ‘Ghosts are like a transparent impression and mostly benign.’
‘Spirits are something else entirely. They are energy that you can hear and feel but not see.’ My mind was already on what had tried to harm me.
Tallulah nodded, following my train of thought. ‘Yeah, they’re usually hostile.’
I looked at Wax. ‘They’re something different – something evil.’
‘It’s gone for her a couple of times,’ Tallulah said.
‘We need to find out what it wants from you. Something only you can give.’
Chapter 12
Wax pulled me over to sit with him on the floor with our backs against the dark leather settee. Everyone else seemed to relax and Ollie put the music back on.
