This was really turning into a horrible night. Victor was the last person I wanted to see. Victor was always the last person I wanted to see. But here he was, and he wanted an explanation.
“Someone tried to break in,” I said. “Through the balcony.”
Victor raised his eyebrows at Peter. “Yeah, him.”
“What? No, Peter was….” What was I supposed to say?
“I stopped by a few minutes ago to give Alex her birthday present,” Peter said to Victor. “Then we heard a noise on the balcony. Someone was out there, but he ran off before we could see who it was.” Peter was still in between Victor and me. He hadn’t let his guard down.
Victor leaned against the frame of the sliding glass door. “You know, I always wondered how you got in.”
“What?”
“How Peter snuck into the house.” Victor pointed to the enormous oak tree that encroached on most of the balcony. “I guess I’ll have to cut that down.”
“Why won’t you listen to me? Someone tried to break into my bedroom. In your house!”
“After Peter broke in?”
“Peter didn’t break in. But, yes,” I said, trying to stay calm. “It was after Peter came over.”
Large meaty shoulders shrugged at Peter. “Probably just another suitor, right?”
Peter glanced at me. He didn’t say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. He was wondering if James was the intruder.
I crossed my arms. “Peter is the only person who comes in through the balcony.”
Victor smirked.
“We should call the police,” Peter said.
“Sure,” Victor said. “Alexandria, call the police. Tell them we had an attempted break-in. Well, someone else tried to break in, but the successful intruder is here right now. One for two isn’t too bad.”
Peter tensed. Waves of anger vibrated off him. This wasn’t good. It would look really bad if the cops found out that Peter snuck into my house on a regular basis. Especially since the Hazel Cove Police Department had a pretty big unsolved murder case on their hands. A murder case that started with a breaking and entering.
I tried to intervene. “What if it was the same guy who killed Megan Lackey? They broke into her bedroom, too.”
Victor motioned for us to come inside. “Don’t you idiots know what day it is?”
That caught me off guard. “What?”
Victor closed and locked the glass door once we were inside. “It’s the night before Halloween. Devil’s Night. And a Friday night.”
Peter and I made eye contact. That kind of made sense. Halloween in Hazel Cove was always a big event, but so was Devil’s Night. Teenagers took full advantage of the prankster holiday. Our neighborhood was always hit the hardest—houses toilet papered, pumpkins smashed, cars egged. Basically all types of mild vandalism.
Victor’s theory was plausible. It could have been someone from my school or Hazel Cove High. My house had never been hit by the antics of Devil’s Night, but I guess it wasn’t out of the question.
Peter looked like he was mulling over the idea, too. But I could tell he wasn’t completely convinced.
Victor ran a hand over his face. “It’s late and I’m tired. Peter, go home. If I catch you sneaking in again, I’m calling the police. Alexandria, go to bed. I’ve had enough problems from you this week.”
Peter didn’t budge. “What if it wasn’t someone out for Devil’s Night?”
“Out,” Victor said.
“But what if—”
“Peter LaViollette, get the hell out of my house now! NOW!”
Peter turned to me. I knew he didn’t want to leave me alone. “Call me if you need me.” He walked out the door without glancing at Victor.
Victor didn’t say anything. He waited for Peter to leave, gave me a dirty look and slammed the door behind him when he left.
I stood in the middle of my bedroom. I didn’t think I could sleep, I was too anxious. I locked my bedroom door. I didn’t want to see Victor again, under any circumstance. I turned off all the lights, but flipped on the switch in the bathroom. Enough light flooded into the room to qualify as a night-light, but I didn’t care.
I unlocked the sliding glass door. I got into bed, but I didn’t shut my eyes. My knees went to my chest—the anxiety of the night forcing my body to curl into the fetal position.
It took twelve minutes. Branches lightly scraped the railing. The balcony door slid open. A click of the lock. Footsteps.
Peter slid in under the covers. He opened his arms and I crawled into them. We had a lot to talk about. Victor sneaking into my bedroom. Our near kiss. The implications of our near kiss. Our feelings for each other. The identity of my possible intruder.
But it would have to wait.
The rush of adrenaline was gone and I felt like a deflated balloon. Sleep pulled at me from all directions.
“Night Lex, Happy Birthday,” Peter whispered.
I fell asleep, feeling pretty safe considering the circumstances.
* * *
When I awoke the next morning, Peter stood at the end of my bed holding a long wooden stick and a hand saw.
I stole a glance at the clock. It was after ten. “What are you doing?”
Peter lifted the instruments. “I found these in the garage.” Newspaper was spread over the floor in front of the sliding glass door. “I didn’t want to start sawing until you woke up. It might get pretty loud.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Happy birthday again. Do you feel different now that you’re officially seventeen?”
“Not really.” I pointed to the wooden stick in his hand. “Is that a broom?”
“It’s the old one Paulo keeps in the garage. I broke the bristled part off. Now, I just need to measure the handle,” Peter said.
Paulo was our gardener. He usually went ballistic if we touched anything in the garage. Now he was going to be short one broom.
“What are you planning on doing with it?” I asked.
“I’m making a lock,” Peter said, as if it were obvious.
Peter measured the broom stick against half of the sliding glass door. Holding one end with his left hand, he steadied the other end with his foot and began sawing the wood. Dust chips floated onto the newspaper.
I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and secured it with an elastic band. “Do you need help?”
Peter shook his head.
I shrugged and went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.
When I came back, Peter was placing the perfectly cut piece of wood into the metal slot in the bottom of the glass door. He pulled the handle, but the door couldn’t open because of the stick.
“It won’t stop someone completely determined—it is a glass door—but the wood should reinforce the lock,” Peter said.
I could feel myself grinning. “Thanks Peter.”
“No problem. Now if we could only figure out the identity of your visitor.”
I patted the end of the bed so he would sit with me. “Were Victor and Emma up?”
“Emma’s asleep. Bradley and the car weren’t in the driveway, so I bet Victor’s gone. And Mya’s running around like a crazy woman getting the house ready for tonight.”
“I’m not sure I feel up for the party after what happened last night.”
“Do you think it was James?” Peter didn’t miss a beat.
“What? No.”
“Why not? He’s clearly obsessed with you.”
“Obsessed is a little harsh.”
“Okay, how about: he has a serious crush on you.”
I rolled my eyes. “James and I are friends. Barely friends. Why would he try to break into my bedroom? He’s never even been to my room. How would he know which room to go to? Or that I have a balcony? Or that it’s accessible from the tree?”
Peter was silent for a moment. He seemed happy that James knew so little about my house. “I don’t know, but he’s at the top of my list.”
“You have a list?”
<
br /> “I do. And if it wasn’t James, then who was it? Logan? Lucas?”
I pondered the idea of the Cooper twins breaking in. Logan was a definite no. But, Lucas? Maybe. It was possible he’d play a Devil’s Night prank on me. There was only one way to find out. I grabbed my cell phone. Lucas picked up after four rings.
“Ramsey, what’s up? Happy Birthday, by the way.”
“Thanks Lucas. How are you?”
“Eh. A little tired. Logan, Keith and I went out last night. It got a little crazy.”
I raised my eyebrows at Peter. This sounded promising. “Did you guys happen to come by my house last night? To my balcony?”
“What? No,” Lucas said. “What are you talking about?”
It was clear from Lucas’s tone that he had no idea what I was referring to. “Never mind.”
“Is everything okay?”
No, was my initial response, but I wasn’t going to burden Lucas with my problems. “Everything’s fine. Sorry to bother you.” I sounded oddly formal.
“What? You’re not bothering me. What’s going on? Where’s Peter?”
Good old reliable Luke. Always looking out for me. It was just like back in kindergarten when he’d give me all his red gummy bears and he’d take all the colors I didn’t want. Between Lucas and Peter, I was the most protected girl in elementary school.
“I’m fine, really. Peter’s here.”
“If you say so. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll see you guys tonight. Happy Halloween.”
“Bye, Lucas.”
Peter reclined on the bed. “Any other ideas?”
“Who else was on your list?
“Just the usual suspects: James, the twins,” Peter said. “Who else do we know? Bradley? I doubt that. And we know it wasn’t Victor. His fat butt couldn’t climb up and down the tree, let alone get back into the house in time.” Peter twirled a strand of my hair around his finger. “I’m out of ideas.”
“What if Victor’s right?”
“Then the world is a horrible place.”
“I’m serious,” I said.
“What if Victor’s right about what?”
“Devil’s Night. It could have been someone from school. A stupid prank that we stopped preemptively. I should’ve been asleep. And no one knew you were here. Maybe they planned to spray-paint the window or something dumb like that.” I didn’t want to believe it could be anything else.
“Maybe.” Peter didn’t look convinced. “You’ve had a really bad week.”
We both looked at my injured wrist. A terrible thought hit me. “Do you think they’re connected?”
“The hit-and-run and the intruder?”
A sick feeling swirled in my stomach. “Do you think someone is out to get me?”
Peter took my injured wrist in his hands. “No. There has to be a logical explanation to all this, right?”
“I guess.”
“Why would anyone want to hurt you?”
* * *
After Peter left, I stayed in my bedroom for most of the day. I didn’t want to venture out of my room for fear of running into Victor and I wasn’t in the mood to see Emma, who would undoubtedly be in full party mode. From the sounds coming from downstairs, there were a ton of people working hard (my parents not included) to set up for the costume party.
Last night’s events kept popping into my mind. I didn’t want to think about the intruder, especially when I was here alone. Why get more stressed out—it was my birthday, right? I decided to focus on the one positive part of the night. My almost-kiss with Peter.
I replayed the moment in my mind a hundred times. How did that happen? Was it the adrenaline of Victor’s intrusion? Did I initiate it? Or did Peter? What would’ve happened if we weren’t interrupted? Why didn’t he mention anything this morning? What would happen to our friendship if Peter became my boyfriend? Boyfriend? Where did that come from? Did he even like me like that? Too many questions. Way too many questions.
It was a murky area. Crossing the friendship line with the most important person in my life was risky. Maybe it was best if I didn’t say anything until Peter broached the subject. It was too dangerous. What if he thought what almost happened between us was a bad idea?
I’d have to chew on those thoughts later. The pain medicine I was taking for my wrist made me drowsy. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I took a nap.
It was late afternoon when I woke up. The sun was weak and no longer streaming into my bedroom. I grabbed a sweatshirt and went downstairs.
A pink frosted cake with “Happy Birthday Alexandria,” written in Mya’s handwriting, sat on the kitchen counter. I knew it was chocolate. She’d baked my birthday cake since I was a baby, always making sure it wasn’t Halloween themed.
Other than the cake, the kitchen was empty. I wandered out to the front porch. The sun hadn’t set yet, but the sky was dark enough that the street lamps were on. A few costumed children were down the street going door to door. Bradley was sitting on the top step with a giant bowl of candy on his lap. I sat down next to him.
“There you are. I was wondering where you’ve been all day. Happy birthday.” Bradley handed me the plastic bowl. “Wait here. I have something for you.”
The air was crisp and windy. Dead leaves whirled in the street. It was the perfect night for Halloween.
“Any trick-or-treaters yet?” I pawed through the candy for Tootsie Rolls.
Bradley leaned into the trunk of the car. “A few, but it’s still too early. Only the really young kids are out right now.” He emerged from the car with a small gift bag. “Here, trade you.” He handed me the present in exchange for the candy bowl.
I gave him the “you shouldn’t have” look, but it was pointless. Bradley hadn’t missed a birthday in years. Inside the gift bag was a small wooden jewelry box. Roses were carved onto the lid in an intricate pattern. “It’s beautiful! Thank you.”
“You like it? Mum and I picked it out when I went home last spring. Speaking of home, I bought my plane ticket to go on holiday next month.”
Home for Bradley was Manchester, England. “That’s great news. Tell your mom I said thank you, too.”
“Did you see the cake Mya baked?”
“I did. It looks delicious. Where is she?”
“Dropping off candy apples at the Coopers’ house and then heading home.” Bradley brushed a lock of hair out of his violet eyes.
“She’s not staying for the party tonight?”
“I don’t think she was feeling well. Besides, Emma employed a staff of about thirty people for tonight. I think Mya was happy to get out of here. Did you finally pick a costume?”
“Yup. I’m a witch. What about you?”
“Don’t know yet,” Bradley said. “I’m going to stop by Kitty’s Costume shop when I get off in a few hours and see what I can find.”
Voices came from the foyer behind us. Victor. That was my cue to leave. “I’m going to head around back.”
“Avoiding Mr. Ramsey?”
“Of course I am. Thank you for the birthday present.”
As I headed down the sidewalk, I saw streams of white toilet paper covering the trees in front of the Johnson’s house. It was a comforting thought, but I still couldn’t swallow the notion that my midnight intruder was some teenager pulling a prank. I hadn’t asked Bradley about it, probably because I was one hundred percent sure it wasn’t him, but I couldn’t resist the urge to ask. “Hey, Bradley?”
“Yes?”
“You didn’t happen to come by the house late last night, did you?” I didn’t want to mention the balcony if I didn’t have to.
“No, why?” Bradley’s face wrinkled in question.
He had no idea about last night, just like I figured.
“No reason. See you tonight.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Happy Birthday!!” Sadie’s mermaid dress sparkled in the light. Glittery aqua eye shadow and a shell necklace completed her ensemble.
&
nbsp; I put the curling iron down. “You look gorgeous!”
“Thanks, you look great, too. How are you feeling?”
I hadn’t confided in Sadie about last night’s events, so it took me a second to realize she was asking about my wrist. I held up my damaged hand. “I’ll live.”
“Where did you get that ring? It’s pretty.”
“It was a birthday present from Peter.” Sadie was about to start in on Peter and me and our nonexistent love affair. I quickly changed the subject. “Are there a lot of people downstairs?”
Sadie’s short angled hair bounced as she nodded. “Apple Orchard Road was full. I had to park on Cedar Mill and walk over, not too far from the Van Curen house, actually.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Are they coming tonight?”
I flipped my head over to shake out my curls. “I think so.” I noticed Sadie’s smile, when I stood upright. “What?”
“Tonight is going to be interesting.”
I knew she was referring to Peter and James and how that situation could easily turn into World War III. I didn’t walk into her verbal trap. I checked my reflection in the mirror and was pleasantly pleased with the results. The black silk witch’s dress looked good.
I saw Sadie in the mirror. She was waiting for me to respond, but I was avoiding the Peter / James topic at all costs. “We should go downstairs. It’s after eight.”
She plopped the pointy black hat on my head. It slid down my face and over my eyes. I pushed the hat back with my finger and gave her a smile. It was time.
The courtyard, nestled between the wings of the house, was completely transformed. To the right, three bartenders dressed as skeletons took drink orders from behind the bar. To the left, a buffet table was filled with finger foods. Waiters, also dressed as skeletons, carried trays of appetizers. The trees were draped in orange twinkle lights.
“Wow,” Sadie said.
The band was setting up their equipment at the far end of the backyard. In front of the stage, a wooden dance floor gleamed under the night sky. Large heaters were strategically placed to keep the guests warm. Tall and short round tables draped with black tablecloths were scattered all over the yard. The short tables had chairs. The tall tables were for standing. Carved jack-o-lanterns decorated every visible surface.