Sweet Nightmare, page 4
I think about pulling out my phone and blowing up the whole charade, but it’s not worth the detention I’ll surely get.
So instead, I duck my head and lean back in my chair. This time, it’s my shoulder Uncle Brandt pats, and for a second, I want to cry. Not because of my mom, but because his smile reminds me so much of his daughter’s—my cousin, Carolina, who died a couple months ago after escaping the scariest prison in the paranormal world.
She was sent there when we were both in ninth grade, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. But knowing she’s gone forever has made that ache so much worse.
My mother continues the meeting per her agenda, but after a couple more minutes, I tune her out.
Finally, just when I can taste freedom, she hands the gavel back to Uncle Christopher.
“Our last order of business tonight is a little more family oriented.” He grins with pride, and so does my aunt Lucinda, who is practically squirming in her seat with excitement.
The suspense lasts mere seconds before Uncle Christopher announces, “I’d like us all to take this opportunity to congratulate Caspian on getting early acceptance into the University of Salem’s prestigious Paranormal Studies program!”
The whole table erupts in cheers while I just sit there, feeling like I’ve been shoved off a cliff.
Chapter Seven
Let The Pickle Chips
Fall Where They May
“Congratulations, Caspian!” Aunt Carmen tells him, lifting her tea cup in salute.
“That’s fantastic news!” Uncle Carter jumps up, knocking over his chair in an effort to be the first one to clap Caspian on the back.
The others quickly follow, and it isn’t long before my cousin is preening under all the attention and well-wishes.
I force myself to walk over to him and give him a hug. After all, it’s not his fault I’m reeling. Any more than it’s his fault that my mother won’t so much as glance my way.
She refused to let me apply.
She told me I couldn’t go—that none of us fourth gens could leave the island for college.
She even asked why I couldn’t be more like Caspian and be happy to stay on the island after graduation—take over the academy like we’re meant to do.
And now I find out that he’s been applying to schools all along? That his parents have been supportive of him?
Anger rips through me as I give Caspian a hug.
He may be a bit of a tool, but I don’t blame him for finding a way off this island and taking it.
My mother, on the other hand? I definitely blame her.
“Congratulations!” I tell my cousin when he finally lets me go.
He beams at me, his bright-blue eyes shining against his copper skin. “Thanks, Clementine! I can’t wait to hear where you’ve been accepted.”
My stomach sinks, because what can I say?
Why didn’t Caspian and I talk about college before now? Why did I just trust my mother when she’s been known to play fast and loose with the truth?
My smile is forced as I try to figure out what to say when Carlotta elbows me out of the way to congratulate Caspian.
I try to calm down, try to tell myself there’s still time to apply anywhere I want to go. I’m not stuck here after I graduate. I can still leave this place in my rearview.
Her control over me is almost over.
It’s that thought that gets me through the rest of the Conclave. It gets me through Caspian’s ridiculously pompous speech and Uncle Christopher’s proud bragging. It even gets me through my mother’s continued refusal to meet my gaze.
But the second the meeting is adjourned, I race for the door.
I’ll confront my mother tomorrow. Tonight, I just need to get far away from her and the rest of my family.
Grandma calls after me as I book it down the hall, but I don’t turn back. If I do, I’ll end up bursting into tears. Tears are emotion, and any emotion is weakness. My mother doesn’t respect weakness. So, to keep the tears from falling, I just keep running.
My phone vibrates just as I make it back to the cottage. Part of me expects it to be my mom demanding that I come talk to her, but it’s all quiet on that front. Instead, it’s Serena.
Serena: I hope Flavia’s carrot cake made it more bearable. I want to hear all of the gory details
Me: It helped, but there’s not enough carrot cake in the world
Serena: I’m finally going to do it
Me: Do what?
Serena: My first spell
Serena: It’s going to be a full moon tonight. I’ve gathered all the ingredients I need. Once it gets dark, I’m going to cast a circle, channel the moon, and go for it
I send her a celebratory gif.
Me: What kind of spell is it?
Serena: It’s for luck. I still haven’t found a new job, and rent is coming due
Me: Why don’t you just cast a prosperity spell? Then you can take your time finding something
Serena: All the books say not to do that. Prosperity spells always backfire. But I’ve got an interview tomorrow, so I’m hoping the luck will help me get the job
Me: You’ll do great, with or without the spell. Send me pics of the circle you cast!
Serena: I will! Wish me luck!
Me: Always <3
I think about calling Serena and telling her about what happened with my mom, but she sounds so happy that I don’t want to kill her mood.
The front porch light comes on, and the moths immediately flock to it. A second later, Eva sticks her head out the door. “You coming in?” she asks. Then she takes one look at my face and says, “Uh-oh. Bad Conclave?”
“Bad everything,” I answer, heading inside.
She’s watching Wednesday on Netflix, and there’s a half-eaten bowl of M&M’s on the coffee table. “Apparently I’m not the only one who had a bad day.”
“Guys are dicks,” she answers.
“So are mothers.” I flop face down on the blue velvet sofa that takes up most of our sitting area and bury my face in one of the bright-purple pillows.
“And English teachers.”
She settles down at the end of the sofa, and a few seconds later, I hear her rattling the bowl of M&M’s next to my ear. “Chocolate makes everything better.”
“I’m not so sure it can fix this,” I groan. But I reach out and take a few anyway. “What’d Amari do?”
She snorts. “Cheated on me with a mermaid.”
“What an asshole!”
“It’s not like it was true love or anything,” she says with a shrug. “But I did like the big jerk.”
The leopard shifter does have a reputation for being a fuck boy, unfortunately. “How did you find out?”
“She was in the theater, bragging to her friends about their hookup and how I ‘didn’t have a clue.’ She didn’t know I was painting sets backstage.” She picks through the candy bowl until she has a handful of green M&M’s, then starts popping them in her mouth one by one. “For a minute, I really wished I had access to my magic.”
“I can punch her for you,” I offer. “I know it’s not the same, but it could be satisfying.”
Eva shrugs again. “She’s not worth it. Though I did think about punching Amari when I confronted him and he tried blaming it on me.”
“On you? Why?”
“Because I don’t ‘understand him.’ And because he thinks with his dick, obviously.” She reaches for the bowl of M&M’s again and this time starts picking out all the orange ones. “Now tell me what happened to you?”
“Caspian got into U of S.”
“What? I thought you couldn’t—”
“Apparently that rule only applies to me. Caspian is free to do whatever he wants.”
“Wow. That’s not cool.” She hands the bowl back to me. “So what’d your mom say?”
“Nothing. She wouldn’t even look at me.” I flop back down on the sofa.
Eva looks concerned. “Why not? You need to talk to her and—”
“Aguilar paired me up with Jude for a class project,” I interrupt.
Her eyes go wide. “Holy shit.” Then she stands up.
“Where are you going?”
“M&M’s aren’t going to cut it for this.” She opens the pantry and coos, “Oh, hi, Squeaky! Good to see you’re okay. We missed you yesterday.”
I roll my eyes. “I can’t believe you named the mouse.”
“Hey, mice need love, too.”
Seconds later, she’s back with a bag of our favorite dill pickle chips.
“Where’d you get those?” I ask, making grabby hands.
“I have my ways. I was keeping them for an emergency, and this is definitely an emergency.” She opens the bag of chips before handing it to me. “Now spill.”
So I do, telling her everything that happened in class today. She stares at me in rapt silence until the end.
“I can’t believe she wouldn’t change your partner,” she says when I’m finally finished. “Everyone knows not to pair you with Jude.”
“I am so unbelievably screwed.” I shove another chip in my mouth as a knock sounds at the door. “If it’s my mom, tell her I’m dead,” I snark as I toss the furry blanket over my head.
I need time to figure out what I’m going to say to her. Right now, I feel like I can’t even be rational when it comes to all her lies.
“It’s not,” Eva says, going to answer it.
I raise my brows. “So you’ve got x-ray vision now?”
“No. But I did call in reinforcements.” She throws the door open and reveals Luis standing there, carrying Korean face masks in one hand and a bottle of cyanide-green nail polish in the other.
“Green?” Eva asks, brows arched.
“You’ve heard of fuck-me red? This is fuck-you green, perfect for breakups.” He hands it to her, then turns to me. “You look awful. Tell me everything.”
“I can’t do it again,” I say, shoving a handful of chips in my mouth so I don’t have to talk.
He turns to Eva. “What did Jude do?”
“How do you know it’s Jude?” I squawk.
“Please.” He waves a dismissive hand. “The last time you looked like this was when I first got to the island and that boy had just broken your heart. It took forever to mend you, so tell me what that jerk did this time so I can go kick his ass.”
I put the chips away before I’m tempted to eat the entire bag. Then I say, sulkily, “He never actually broke my heart.”
“Oh, please.” He rolls his eyes. “You cried yourself to sleep every night for six months.”
“Because I’d just lost my two best friends. Jude ditched me for no reason, and Carolina—” I break off because I don’t want to think about her right now.
Luis sighs as he settles himself on the couch and pulls me in for a hug. “I didn’t mean to bring her up. I’m just saying, you’ve got two new best friends who are totally willing to kick Jude Abernathy-Lee’s ass if we need to. Right, Eva?”
“I mean, I’m willing to try,” she agrees doubtfully. “But I don’t know how well it’s going to go. That boy is tough as hell.”
“True.” Luis contemplates for a second, then holds up the packets in his hands. “How about face masks, then? Looking good is the best revenge.”
I laugh, exactly as he intended. Then I say, “Only if I get the watermelon one.”
“Please, do you think you’re dealing with an amateur here?” He snorts. “They’re all watermelon.”
“Okay, then.” I hold out my hand for one. Because Luis is right. I do have two new best friends, which is a rare thing to find here. While neither of them will ever replace Carolina, they don’t have to. Because they really are the best, just the way they are.
Even before Luis—in typical guy fashion—says, “I still think we can take Jude.”
Eva considers it. “Maybe if we pepper spray him first?”
“You know what they say, baby.” Luis makes a little clicking noise with the corner of his mouth. “First the face, then the mace.”
“Literally nobody says that,” I tell him when I finally stop laughing.
“Not where you’re from,” he says slyly.
I roll my eyes at him, lean back on the couch, rest my head on his shoulder, and kick my feet up just as the next episode of Wednesday comes on the TV.
Tomorrow’s going to suck, but that’s Tomorrow Clementine’s problem. Because tonight, it’s all about us, and that’s more than enough.
Chapter Eight
Rain, Rain
Ghost Away
“So what happens if you call in sick to chrickler duty?” Luis asks the next day at lunch as we make our way down to what is very definitely a dungeon. He insisted on accompanying me today because “yesterday was rough.”
He isn’t wrong.
“I have to say, after your mom’s bad behavior, I think she should have to do it instead.”
“No shit,” I agree. I stopped by her office this morning to talk to her before my first class. I figured I’d be calmer before I had to take on the chricklers and Jude in the same afternoon—but she blew me off. Told me she’d try to make time for us to “chat” after school.
Also, that damn storm that was brewing yesterday is moving in fast—which means the chricklers should be in extra nasty moods today. I’m a little terrified that I’m going to be longing for yesterday’s level of roughness before the next hour is over.
“I think you should let me go in with you,” Luis suggests for the fourteenth time today as we continue down the hallway. “It’s clear you need help.”
“Yeah, but if my mother catches you helping me—” I start, but Luis cuts me off.
“It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone,” he says, making a face at me. “And it’s not like your mother is going to be setting so much as a toe down here any time soon. No one has to know.”
“Yeah, until one of the chricklers takes a chunk out of you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Claudia seems good at keeping secrets.”
“You really want to test that theory?” I shoot back as I pull out my phone to turn on the flashlight. Before I swipe it on, I fire off another text to Serena, asking how the spell and the interview went. I really hope she gets the job.
“I can’t believe your uncle didn’t replace the lightb—” Luis breaks off as I stop dead. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” My stomach clenches a little, but I ignore it. Just like I ignore the fact that the closer we get to the end of this hallway, the more I notice a strange glow coming from the vestibule at the end.
“Your face doesn’t look like it’s nothing.” He glances at me, concerned.
“It’s probably just the storm. No big deal.”
But then a low, rasping moan creeps its way around the corner and stops me in my tracks.
“What?” Luis demands, skidding to a halt beside me. “What did you see?”
“It’s not what I saw. It’s what I heard.” The sound comes again, lower and more desperate this time, as unease slithers along my skin.
Luis, on the other hand, jumps straight past panic into full-blown terror. “I didn’t hear anything. Did something actually get out?” He squints his eyes, surveying the hallway with his diminished but still excellent wolf vision.
“It’s not the menagerie.” I try to force my feet to start moving again, but they don’t budge.
His eyes widen as he finally figures out why he isn’t hearing—or seeing—what I am. “Oh, fuck.”
I look down at the floor, focus on the cracks running through the cement, and force myself to get my shit together.
“Let’s go,” I tell him.
“Go?” Luis looks wild eyed. “Don’t we need a plan? The last thing I want is for them to hurt you again.”
“They won’t.” I blow out a breath. “And I have a plan.”
“Oh yeah?” His brows go up.
“Get in front of me and run like hell. We’ll take the long way to the chricklers and hope they don’t follow us.”
“That’s it? That’s the whole plan?” he demands.
I nod. “That’s the whole plan.”
“I should have made it clear I meant a good plan.” Still, he starts backing up. “Okay, tell me when to run.”
Another eerie wail makes every one of my pores prickle. The sounds are getting closer.
One more deep breath before I force myself to shout, “Now!”
We book it all the way back down the hallway, but I skid to a stop a few feet before we have to turn because the eerie light is leaking around that corner, too.
“Why are we stopping?” Luis demands. “Shouldn’t we—”
“We need to get to the stairwell.” I grab his arm and start tugging him backward.
“The stairwell? What about the chricklers?”
“They’ll have to wait.” But the second I turn around, I know it’s too late.
“What do we do?” Luis yells.
“I don’t know,” I answer. Because everywhere I turn is suddenly filled with ghosts.
Hundreds and hundreds of ghosts.
Chapter Nine
Time to Get the
Hall Out of Here
The ghosts hover just a few inches off the floor, and they all have three things in common. They’re all translucent, they all have a strange, misty glow that radiates from inside them, and they all emit a musty smell that reminds me of old, dusty books.
Right now, the hallway smells like a dim, ancient library even though it’s lit up like a fireworks show.
“Shit, there are a lot today,” I mutter. I try to draw a mental map around them to the stairwell, but it’s so crowded right now that I don’t know how I’m supposed to get past them all unscathed.
