Chapter Four
The Creepy Kasden House
As she scowled and wiped the melting snow from her face, a snicker caught her attention. Toby stood just outside the front door to their old Victorian style home. His tan, bare feet stuck out from under his navy blue pajama legs. “Oh, so sorry ‘bout that! I thought you were a snow troll!” he shouted, referring to one of the hundreds of mythical and fantastical creatures he constantly read about.
“Stop! Or the book gets it!” Becca called back as Toby formed another snow ball between his large hands. She held up the book she’d previously had tucked under her left arm like a shield and gave Toby a smiling glare.
Toby held up his hands in surrender, dropping the ball. “There’s no need to be crazy!”
Becca chuckled as she lowered the book. Toby’s face was so serious, she wondered if he actually thought she’d destroy a public library book. “You better get inside before you catch cold, Toby,” she scolded as she walked up the freshly shoveled walk-way toward the house.
The naked rose bushes at the front looked evil with their spiked limbs bared like claws. On closer inspection, though, Becca could see the small buds that awaited warmer days to open and stretch. The snow on the bushes helped cover the illusive basement windows. Becca stifled a shiver. If her best friend didn’t live here, she would stay as far away from this old house as possible. There was just something about it—maybe just the fact that it was ancient and God only knew how many people had died there; anyway, it gave her the creeps.
Becca followed Toby into the elaborate entry. She removed her coat as Toby shook his black hair and rubbed his red feet on the rug to dry them. The house might be ancient, but the Kasdens had done extensive remodeling. New, luxurious rugs covered polished hard wood floors. Elaborate chandeliers dangled from the ceilings, and expensive, antique furniture filled the rooms until they were almost too cluttered. An old grandfather clock dolefully chimed the hour. Not even a speck of dust could be seen anywhere. How was that normal?
After hanging her coat and removing her boots, Becca turned and smiled at Toby. He eagerly took the book she extended toward him. It was titled, “The Magic of Music.” Toby was like a kid at Christmas. He gave her a dimpled grin and let his sparkling brown eyes rest on her for a moment. “Thanks.”
“Sure. What’s it about, anyway?”
Toby pressed the book to his chest as he cast his eyes to the floor. “I’m not sure yet.”
Becca just looked at him. She was used to his weirdness when it came to books. He could be a little sensitive. “Okay,” she said and then followed him toward the stair case.
Just as Becca’s foot touched the bottom step, a commanding feminine voice trailed to them from another room. “Tobias? Is someone here?”
Toby looked back at Becca and rolled his eyes. “It’s just Becca, Mother.” He continued to walk up the steps as he caressed the cover of the book like a new found gem.
Before Becca could take another step, Toby’s mom, Catherine, appeared through a doorway that led to the study. “Rabecca!” The tall, pale-skinned woman glided toward her with a radiant smile and open arms. Her dark blond hair was neatly swept up in a tight roll at the back of her head, and her dress suit rustled against her skin as she lightly embraced Becca. “What on earth are you doing out on such a dreadful day? Hmm? Not that I mind you coming here, of course!” She gave Becca a wink. “If it weren’t for you, Tobias would be the loneliest boy on the planet. If he’d get his nose out of those books and play a sport or join choir at least--”
“MOM!” Toby’s voice shouted from upstairs. Becca smiled at Catherine. She knew Toby’s mother meant well, and she’d always treated her as family. But Becca had heard this routine a million times, and she was sure Toby had heard it a million more.
Catherine pursed her lips before parting them so she could release a frustrated sigh. Then she turned to Becca, her expression softening slightly. “Would you care for some hot cocoa, Rabecca?”
“No thank you,” Becca answered, swallowing the urge to end her sentence by saying, “Ma’am.” Toby’s mom had an air of authority that rang of more sophisticated times and manners. She wasn’t always comfortable to be around.
“Well, then, I shall return to my tedious paper work. Genealogies are intriguing, but the work is so dull at times. If you need anything, just call!” she sang and turned on her heal. Becca was already half way up the stairs before Catherine had re-entered her study.
“Sorry—again,” Toby said as Becca entered his room.
She shrugged. “No big deal. You know your mom just wants the best for you.”
Toby snorted loudly. “You know that’s not true. She wants me to be something I’m not so I can make her look good. She wants to control me. She doesn’t really care what I want.”
“How can you keep saying that? Look around you. She and your dad have given you everything you’ve ever asked for,” Becca said. Toby’s room was a stark contrast to the rest of the house—and the only room Becca felt comfortable in. A brand new, silver laptop rested on a desk straight out of some futuristic sci-fi movie. The rest of the desk top was covered with scattered books and papers. A fancy telescope faced the south window, and a huge feather bed swallowed up the north half of the room. A flat screen T.V. hung above the foot of the bed. The rest of the walls were covered with shelves which could hardly be seen for all the books they held—mostly sci-fi and fantasy stories. Empty soda cans and candy wrappers cluttered the floor. Everything was blanketed by a healthy layer of dust.
“That’s just because they think I’ll try to find my birth parents and leave,” Toby said absent-mindedly as he turned a page of the new book.
“I thought you had found them,” Becca said.
“Maybe I have,” Toby answered with a raised brow and a sneaky smirk.
“Come on, Toby!” Becca said and threw a pillow at him. “Why won’t you tell me what you’ve learned about them? I won’t say anything, I promise!”
Toby clamped his mouth shut and slowly shook his head. Why such mystery? He was enjoying keeping her guessing. “Dork!” she said before throwing the other pillow. He dodged it easily.
Well, he would pay for not sharing secret information. She teased, “So, what’s this book about? Any new and wild adventures in there? Strange and unimaginable creatures that might be lurking outside my window or under my bed?” There had been a time when Toby had believed everything he read. He’d gone through most of his grade school years terrified of just about anything—even potatoes. The bullies in the school still called him “Tate”.
“Shut up,” he said as he gave her a crooked, bashful smile. His cheeks flushed. “This one might actually have something real. Well,” he said as his brows came together in thought. “In a way, it could be real.”
“What do you mean?” Becca asked as she flopped onto the soft bed. The down mattress nearly swallowed her whole. It was like jumping into a cloud. She sighed and closed her eyes, smiling. Must be nice to have a doctor for a dad. Jack was rarely home, but his wealth supplied his family with luxury.
“Well, have you ever had music affect you? I mean in a deep way, like magical?”
Opening her eyes, Becca stared at the ceiling. She thought about Chris’ song at the funeral, then quickly shoved it out of her mind before it could make the tears well in her eyes. “Doesn’t music affect everyone that way sometimes?” she mumbled.
She could see Toby sitting at his desk from the corner of her eye. His head turned and she knew he was looking at her. She turned her head and met his tender eyes. “Sorry, Becca. I forgot about that particular song.” He lowered his gaze for a moment, but then continued. “What I mean is… Well, maybe I’m not sure yet what I mean.” He returned his focus to the book. “I’ll figure it out after I read this.”
“Let me know, then,” Becca answered. She closed her eyes again. Like a phan
tom, the face of Kayde the biker-angel formed in her mind. It suddenly came into strikingly clear focus. Becca gasped and sat up. The vision faded as she opened her eyes. Toby looked at her with a lifted brow.
“You weren’t asleep already, were you? I mean, you just closed your eyes! Don’t tell me you were experiencing one of those dream whisper things again.” He looked almost hopeful. Toby found her experiences of hearing and seeing pieces of her dreams in reality as she woke fascinating.
Becca grunted in frustration. Why hadn’t she just stayed still? Now the face had faded again. She looked at Toby. She had the sudden need to confess to somebody, to talk to someone about yesterday. “I didn’t have a dream whisper. I wasn’t dreaming, I don’t think. Anyway, when I was coming home yesterday, there was this biker—like motorcycle biker—stranded on the side of the road.” She re-counted the entire ordeal, except for the whole weird energy thing. Her voice involuntarily became more and more excited as she went on until Toby finally stopped her.
“Whoa! Slow down. You’re slurring your words together again. Take a deep breath and calm down so I can understand you.” Becca had this bizarre problem since she was little of talking too fast and slurring her words together when she was excited. It had always made her brother laugh, but was frustrating to most other people. She did as Toby asked and finished the story as calmly as she could. When she was done, a thought struck her.
“Oh, my gosh! What if I was slurring when I was talking to him on the way into town? No wonder he looked so freaked out! He probably thought I was mentally challenged!”
Toby stared at her for several minutes, his mouth hanging half open. When he realized what he was doing, he snapped his lids and his jaw shut, and then slowly opened them again. “Becca, you picked up a complete stranger—a biker no less—and you’re worried you might have slurred when you talked to him? You’re lucky you weren’t attacked and then left for dead on the side of the road!” He placed the book on top of the mess of papers on his desk and strode over to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed until it hurt. Looking firmly into her eyes, he said, “Don’t ever do that again!”
Toby’s dark beige face had turned pale and his brows were set in a v-shape. Becca swallowed, feeling ashamed, but also irritated. “I’m sorry, Toby. But nothing did happen. And I knew somehow that nothing would happen. There was just something about him…” She let her sentence trail away at the intense look in her friend’s eyes.
Toby sighed and lowered his arms, allowing his visage to soften slightly. “I mean it, Becca. Mom was right about one thing—I don’t know what I’d do without you. And I don’t want to ever have to find out. You’re the only true friend I have. You’re the only person I trust.”
Becca’s heart softened and she stood to give Toby a hug. His thin but muscular arms wrapped completely around her and held her tight for a moment, smooshing her face against his chest. “And you are the best friend I’ve ever had, Toby. I promise to be more careful.” They parted and she said, “But I’m not you’re only true friend. What about Ryan? You two are always hanging out.”
A goofy giggle gurgled out of Toby’s throat as he nodded. “Ryan! Yeah, he’s a good friend. But he’s a lot older than us, and I don’t spend nearly as much time with him as I do with you.”
“Whatever! You two have been out chasing phantoms every weekend lately. Glenville’s own ghost detectives.” Becca giggled.
“Hey, Ryan is, in my opinion, one of the sanest people in Glenville. Even if everyone thinks he’s a freak. He saw what he saw, and if he wants to use science to prove the existence of ghosts, then I want to help. I find it fascinating.”
Becca’s lips curled into a soft smile. “Is that really the reason? Or is it just so you can use all his high-tech gadgets?”
Toby’s face flushed back to a deeper shade as he shrugged. “Maybe.”
After talking, listening to music, playing a couple video games, and talking more, Becca decided it was time to go home. The snow had stopped, and the setting sun sent ribbons of vibrant, sparkling color across the sky and over the creamy snow-covered ground. The temperature felt even warmer, too, and Becca was sure the softening snow would be gone by the next evening.
The beauty of dusk was accompanied by the sweet sound of spring bird song; robins sent out their shrill calls, answered by the distinct whistling of meadow larks and the soft cooing of turtle doves. A flock of geese flew overhead in their signature v-formation, adding their honking tones to the mix. Involuntarily, Becca smiled and began humming. Her voice grew louder with each step, though she wasn’t fully aware of what she was doing. She took a few paces in this state before stopping dead in her tracks. A tickling sensation softly pressed against her back. Gasping, she spun around as the rumbling sound of a motorcycle engine struck her ears before it stopped abruptly.
Becca squinted into the fading light; but no one was behind her. Her heart pulsed in her finger tips as fear crept in. Nothing caught her attention except for Toby’s house looming in silhouette against the setting sun. Its glowing windows looked like staring, yellow eyes. Becca shivered before she turned and ran back to her house.
Chapter Five
Lost