It was the definition of humiliation.
“I remember,” I said. I could only imagine what would happen this Saturday.
“Well, don’t go.” Peter said it playfully, but I knew he was serious. Peter knew better than anyone that I was bound to humiliate or hurt myself. And this Saturday night could potentially be worse, especially if Peter wasn’t going to be there to keep an eye on me.
“If I don’t go, I’ll never hear the end of it, especially from Olivia.” I glanced at the clock. How long was Victor’s phone call going to last?
“Olivia? Well, I’m glad I’m not going if she’s going to be there. Who else is in?”
“Sadie, Jillian, the Cooper twins and that new kid.”
“James? The one you slapped the other night when he tried to kiss you and the one who almost got you suspended?”
“The one and only.”
“Why is he going?”
“He’s friends with the twins.”
Peter breathed into the phone. “Has he been bothering you?”
“No, he apologized. Well, he didn’t actually apologize, but in his own weird way he kind of did.”
“Hmph.”
“So you’re definitely out for Saturday?” I didn’t think it would hurt to ask again.
“I’m out. I’ll be back on Sunday.”
“Oh! Do you want to go to Salem on Sunday? I have to get a costume and then we can stop by and see Grandma Claudia.”
“Sure. Do you think she’ll bake if she knows we’re coming over?”
The intercom buzzed and my father’s voice sounded over the speaker. “Who’s here, Diane? I don’t have anyone scheduled this afternoon.”
Diane pressed the button. “Your daughter.”
A pause. “My daughter? Oh.”
“What should I tell her?” Diane asked.
Victor paused. “Tell her to come in.”
I whispered into the phone. “Peter, I have to go, Victor’s conference call is over. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye, Lex.”
Diane’s eyes darted to Victor’s office door. “You can go in now.”
I pushed open the heavy door and immediately regretted my visit. Victor frowned behind his enormous desk. Stacks of documents were piled high in front of him. “What are you doing here?”
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I plopped down in one of the two chairs facing his desk.
“Yes, you did.”
“I’m supposed to pick up the caterer’s menus.”
He ran his hand over his face, pulling his features down. “I told your mother I’d bring them home with me. But, obviously, she can’t wait a few hours.” He pointed to a thick manila envelope on the corner of his desk.
I snatched the package and peeked inside. Pages upon pages of menus.
Victor’s phone rang as I stuffed the envelope into my bag. He picked up the phone and raised his finger at me.
While Victor yelled at someone, I looked around his messy office. A large window behind his desk overlooked the street. The other three walls were lined with shelves, stocked full of books. Victor didn’t have any pictures of Emma or me in the office, only framed degrees, certificates and a picture of Victor and his fraternity brothers.
Victor hung up the phone. “Do you need anything else? I’m busy.”
“Oh. No. I’ll go.”
“Tell your mother I’m working late again.”
* * *
“Why are you sitting out here? It’s freezing!”
The end of Bradley’s nose and the tips of his ears were pink. “I’m on call tonight, so I’m waiting.”
“For who? Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she going?”
“I don’t know, but she told me I was to drive her after she ate dinner,” Bradley said. “And she said that she better not have to search for me. So here I am. Fancy that.”
“Where’s the car?”
“Mr. Ramsey drove himself today. I’m driving one of Emma’s, I suppose, but she won’t give me the keys.”
“Why don’t you wait inside?”
Bradley’s violet eyes widened.
I patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want to go inside and I’m her daughter.”
I walked into a horrifying scene in the kitchen. Emma hovered over a pot on the stove. She stirred something with one hand and held a wine glass in the other. Mya, who usually did all the cooking, was nowhere in sight.
“What are you doing?”
Emma whipped around with her hand over her heart. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Where is Mya?”
“I sent her home. She wasn’t feeling well.”
“You sent Mya home? And you’re making dinner?” It was like walking into the Twilight Zone.
Emma nodded. She was even wearing an apron.
I tried to peer around her, but she blocked my view. “What are you making?”
“Spaghetti.”
“Hmm.” It was early enough in the day and she didn’t appear to be drunk. Maybe there wouldn’t be any harm in Emma making dinner. I pulled a stool out from under the counter. “Here are the menus. What’s that?” I pointed to a stack of papers near the sink.
“The guest list for the party. I was checking who’d RSVPed and who I needed to call.”
“Did you invite the Van Curens?”
“I did. Mary Cooper told me they moved in last week. It’s only a father and son. Not sure where the mother is. Did you meet the boy?”
“Yeah, I met him all right.”
James was coming to our Halloween Party. That was going to make matters interesting. I’d have to keep James and Peter from killing each other.
Emma stirred the spaghetti sauce. “Isn’t this nice? Having dinner together?”
She was right, it was nice. It was surprising to see Emma in such a good mood. We didn’t spend much time together. Either she wasn’t home or if she was home, she wasn’t “home” in a coherent sense.
She drained the pasta and dished it out. At least it looked like spaghetti. She grabbed the plates. “Let’s eat.”
I grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and, in complete disbelief, followed my mother into the dining room.
Emma spun her fork around the noodles. “Your father and I are going out of town this weekend.”
My head perked up, but she didn’t notice.
“We’re going to Manhattan again,” Emma said. “I need to pick up some last minute things for the party and your father has to meet clients.”
“Oh.”
“I already told Lauren. I’m sure they’re expecting you this weekend.”
“Peter has a hockey game in Maine on Saturday.”
“You can stay at the LaViollettes’ without Peter. I’m sure Lauren and Anne Marie would love to have you.”
I shook my head. “Not without Peter. It would be weird.”
“If you say so. Will you be okay here by yourself?”
No Peter and no parents this weekend. I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell her that I would be terrified in this huge empty house all by myself. I wanted to tell her to stay home, that I wanted to spend time with her just like we were doing now. I wanted to tell her not to leave me alone like she always did.
But I didn’t.
Chapter Six
I watched Peter eat his fifth taco. He was perched on my kitchen counter babbling in between bites about strategy for tonight’s hockey game.
I pointed to the clock. “Strategy is going to be meaningless if you miss your bus.”
Peter shoved the rest of the taco into his mouth and hopped off the counter. “Offer’s still on the table. Come with me to Maine. Coach won’t mind, you could work the scoreboard.”
I bit my lip. It was hard to say no to Peter when he looked at me like that. “Thanks, but I’m going to conquer my fear of haunted houses.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Play well tonight.”
I pumped my fist in the air. “Go Cougars!”
“You’re such a dork.” Peter planted a loud kiss on my forehead. “Don’t knock down any walls.”
* * *
It was six-thirty. I was dressed and ready to go, which was unusual for me because I was always running late. The plan was to meet at the Coopers’ at seven, but it was too early to walk over. They only lived two blocks away.
After Peter left, I called Sadie, cleaned my bedroom, did a few loads of laundry, ate dinner, took a shower and started getting ready. I chose a pair of dark jeans, a black knit sweater and black riding boots. Black was a safe color to wear in case I fell. It would easily hide the dirt or fake blood.
So here I was, with time to spare, worrying about the multitude of catastrophic things that could happen to me inside the haunted house. I was in the living room, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Definitely a bad sign. What did I get myself into? I should’ve taken Peter’s offer to go to the hockey game. Working the scoreboard was looking pretty appealing at the moment.
The doorbell rang, which was strange because I wasn’t expecting anyone. Sadie was meeting me at the Coopers’. I pulled open the front door.
“You look hot.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Want to walk with me?” James had on khakis and a blue sweater over a white collared shirt. His cheeks, usually olive colored, were pink from the cold.
“Why? It’s only two blocks away,” I said without thinking.
His face fell. The dimples disappeared. For the first time since I’d met James, I realized he had feelings. And I’d just smashed them.
“Okay. I’ll see you over there.” James jogged down the porch steps.
“Wait. I’m sorry. That was rude.” I smiled in an attempted peace offering. “I’ll walk with you. Let me grab my coat.”
James shook his head, but a faint smile appeared. “You are something else.”
“That’s a good thing.” I locked the front door. “Keeps people on their toes.”
“You seem nervous,” James said.
“I’m not a fan of haunted houses.”
“Ah, so I’ve heard.”
“Lucas told you?”
“No, Logan did. It’s not a big deal. If you want….” James didn’t finish his sentence. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” I said. “Please?”
James stared at the pavement. “I’ll stay with you in the haunted house, if you want.”
I nudged him in the arm. “Thanks, James.”
* * *
It wasn’t the same place we went to last year, thank goodness.
Looming in the distance, behind an array of leafless trees, stood a massive three-story structure. An abandoned mansion converted into a fully working haunted house attraction. You had to thank capitalism. The ironic part of it, to me at least, was that they were charging us to go in. Where was the logic behind that?
I couldn’t fathom getting lost in there. I couldn’t bring myself to think about it without having a panic attack. My head started spinning.
Lucas squeezed my shoulder. “Ramsey, are you okay?”
I closed my eyes. “Mm-hmm.”
“You can’t pass out before we get inside,” Lucas said.
A long line snaked outside the entrance. Unfortunately for me, it moved quickly. I tried to calm myself, but irrational thoughts kept scurrying around in my head. What if I got lost and couldn’t find my way out? What if some lunatic put a mask on and slipped inside? How would anyone know? Did they do background checks on their employees? Another ghastly notion popped into my head: What if Megan Lackey’s killers were inside?
We were at the front of the line within minutes. Admission was twenty dollars per person and it took forty-five minutes to an hour to complete. Logan slipped a stack of twenties under the ticket window.
We walked up the stone steps and through the front door into a circular waiting area. The room had no windows and double black doors opposite the entrance. A few other teenagers were waiting, but no one looked as terrified as I felt.
A young girl with a pixie haircut and a plastic name tag sat on a stool next to the ominous double doors. When she gave the nod, customers were allowed to enter.
Pixie girl cleared her throat. “While in walking areas, follow the white spray-painted arrows on the ground.”
Okay, white arrows. I could follow arrows.
“If you happen to get lost—”
At that precise moment, all my friends turned to see if I was paying attention.
“—keep walking. You’ll eventually find one of the arrows.”
Pixie girl popped a red bubble with her chewing gum. “Keep following the arrows. They will eventually lead you to the exit. Don’t forget to stop by the gift shop on the way out.”
I didn’t like how she used the words “eventually” or “walking areas.”
Pixie girl pointed to us. “Your group is too big.”
My heart stopped.
“Split into groups of three or less.”
I wanted to hit her. My intentions must have been clear, because Pixie girl looked directly at me. “It’s our policy. Three or less. Large groups are trouble.” She directed her last statement at Lucas and Logan. Apparently, the twins looked like troublemakers. I couldn’t disagree.
My safety net was gone. I was counting on strength in numbers, but now we had to separate into three groups—three, two and two. This was getting worse by the second.
“Who wants to go with me?” Logan asked.
“I have to go with one of the guys,” Olivia said to James. “I’m scared.”
Jillian shrugged. “I don’t care who I go with.”
“What about Alex?” Lucas asked.
Pixie girl hopped off her stool. “Do you want to break up by girls or boys? Or do you want to mix it up?”
“We should probably mix it up,” Lucas said.
“Okay.” Pixie girl pointed at us. “You and you are group one. You, you and you are group two. And you two are group three. Done.”
Group three, according to Pixie girl, was Jillian and me. I bent over and put my hands on my knees. I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I should’ve asked Lucas for the baby leash.
“No, take my place,” James said to Jillian. “I’ll go with Alex.”
James placed his hand on my back. “Take a deep breath.”
I nodded and concentrated on the air entering and exiting my lungs.
After I stopped panting, James stood me upright. He kept one hand on my arm in case I fell over. “Do you feel better?”
“I think so,” I whispered.
“Good, because I think that Olivia girl wants to kick both of our asses. And I’m not sure I can protect us if I have to hold you up, too,” James said.
I had to admit, he made me smile. This was incredible in itself because, at the moment, I was an emotional basket case.
Group one was Logan and Olivia. Lucas, Jillian and Sadie were group two. Group three was James and me. We were going last. Sadie gave me an encouraging smile before the black double doors swallowed her whole. Pixie girl yawned and then gave us the nod. James grabbed my hand and we entered the haunted house.
We were immersed in darkness. I couldn’t see James, but he had a firm grip on my hand, which calmed my fragile nerves. My eyes slowly adjusted. I heard screams, but I wasn’t sure if they were real or part of the theatrics. I was hoping the latter.
James pointed to the arrows on the ground. “I guess we go this way.”
“Thanks for coming with me,” I whispered.
He squeezed my hand.
A single wooden door stood alone at the end of the hallway. Gusts of air funneled out of the room when we pulled open the door. A creature leaped in front of us. James swung himself in front of me before I could react, but the man with the monster mask let us pass. He grunted and howled behind me,
but he didn’t chase us.
We followed the white arrows around the corner and into a fog-filled room.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand,” James said.
The machine-generated fog made it impossible to see anything but the spray-painted arrows on the floor. Something brushed my leg. James must have felt it too, because he quickly pulled me along.
A small bridge ran the length of the connecting room. A rotating cylinder tunnel surrounded the bridge, forcing us to lean to the right. I gripped the railing with my free hand. The psychedelic spinning made me dizzy.
James and I stumbled out of the revolving room, our legs not yet adjusting to the nonspinning. A female vampire motioned to another door. “Right through here. One at a time.”
“We’re going together,” James said.
“No, one at a time. House rules.” Her fangs caught the light. “Don’t worry. You end up in the same place.”
“It’s all right,” I said. As long as James and I weren’t going to be separated, I was okay. “We end up in the same place?” I asked the vampire again.
“Yes.”
I volunteered to go first.
I stepped inside. The door snapped shut behind me. Thick air polluted the confined space and I had to push down the wave of claustrophobia. Breathe. White spray-painted arrows lined the dirty floor, ran up the wall and disappeared into a perfectly cut squared hole.
A tunnel.
Welcome to the “nonwalking” part of the haunted house. Great. I glanced back at the closed door. James was on the other side. In a few minutes, he would come in and go through the same passageway. Then we would finish this stupid haunted house. Together.
I could do this.
The bottom of the square hole came to my waist. I hesitated, but I had no choice. This was the only way out, besides throwing a fit and demanding to leave through the front entrance. I didn’t want to cause another scene. I needed to face my fear. I slid into the wall on my hands and knees. The space was wide, two people could crawl side by side, but it wasn’t tall. I had to keep my head bent so it wouldn’t hit the ceiling.
The passageway was lit with small bulbs in a clear tube fastened on the edge of the tunnel, just like the emergency lighting in the aisle of a movie theater. It didn’t emit much light, but, thankfully, it wasn’t completely dark.