Forks, Book Two Page 7

  She sighed and lifted her glass again. “You did miss a few days of school this week,” she reminded me.

  “Yeah, I know but I went today.”

  “Yes, I know that, Amber.”

  “Do you have some other things planned for your monthaversary,” I added quickly, hoping to sidetrack her.

  “Yeah, I do,” she said excitedly. “I bought this little frilly…”

  “God, Mom….” I plugged my ears.

  “You’re not a child,” she reminded me. “Grownups do things.”

  “La, la, la, la…” I pressed my fingers in my ears further. The last thing I wanted to hear was a by-blow of what she had planned for Ken.

  “Stop.” Laughing, she swatted me with a dishtowel. “Fine, you can go out.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.” I gave her a cheesy grin.

  “I know,” she sighed but she was still smiling. “So who are you going out with?”

  “Viktor.”

  “One of those Roth boys?” Her brow hitched up a notch.

  “Yeah, remember he came over to do a report with me a few weeks ago?”

  “I remember him, Amber.”

  “Well, okay, I just thought you might have forgotten.”

  “He’s the cute one with the sandy-blonde hair.”

  “No. He’s the one with the dark hair.” I lifted my hand in the air. “About this tall.”

  “Yes, I get it. You can lower your hand.” She shook her head. “Where are you going?”

  “Not sure. He says it’s a surprise.”

  “Ooo, a surprise?” She rubbed her hands together excitedly. “I’ll have to ask him…”

  “No. Stop! You better not.”

  “Calm down, I’m just pulling your leg.” She rolled her eyes. “Sheesh.” Lifting the bottle of wine, she poured herself another glass and then glanced over at the stove. “Do you think Ken will like what I cooked?” A worried look crossed her face.

  “I am sure he will love it.” Okay, so I was stretching that a bit, but I was sure he would appreciate her effort and at the end of the day that was what counted…right? Still, I couldn’t help glancing in the trash for the telltale empty chicken can. I couldn’t see one, so it would probably be good,—at least I hoped it would, for her sake, and Ken’s.

  After I set everything out on the table for an intimate dinner for two, I only had an hour left to fix myself. Stopping off in the kitchen, I gave Mom a quick hug and then ran upstairs to get ready.

  thirteen

  It was eight-thirty and I was still home, waiting for Viktor. Ken showed up at seven on the dot with a bouquet of flowers and candy for Mom. She was over the moon about it (her words) not mine. At least he was punctual. After saying hi to Ken, I made myself scarce so I wouldn’t ruin Mom’s plans for an intimate dinner. Now I was camped out on the rickety beach chair I had set up on my balcony waiting.

  Lifting my phone, I glanced at the time; it was a quarter of nine, now. Letting out a slow stream of air, I deflated my cheeks. Hunkering down, I pulled my jacket closer and propped my feet up on the railings and stared up at the sky. There were no stars, at least not any that I could see. “Stupid fog is probably smothering them to death,” I muttered despondently.

  Checking the time again, I stared at my phone. I was tempted to call Glinda, just for something to do but then I decided against it because she was probably out with Vincent. Again, a flash of anger bubbled up but I squashed it right back down. I was not going to be mad anymore and I wasn’t going to cry either. I already did that for two days and now my tears were all dried up.

  At least I thought they were until another hour passed and there was still no sign from Viktor. Then they came out anyway. Not because of Glinda, or Vincent, or even Viktor, standing me up. Fine, that was a lie. It was totally because Viktor stood me up. But I was also mad at myself because I promised myself that I wouldn’t waste anymore of my tears on any stupid boys, ever again. And here I was about to cry all over again.

  Standing up, I pushed my chair back to its usual spot. Bright beams from headlights glanced across the trees as a SUV swung into the driveway. Quickly, I swiped the tears from my face with my sleeve and jumped back in my window. On the way in, I knocked over my new lamp.

  “Shoot!” Reaching down, I set it back up and ran out of my room down the stairs. When I reached the second level I slowed down and looked toward Mom’s room, listening. Fifties music wafted down the hall. Before I heard something that might scar me for life, I ducked in the bathroom, shut the door and did a quick makeup check in the mirror, relieved my short crying stint didn’t ruin my makeup. I brushed my hair and took a deep breath. I left the bathroom and ran down the last flight of stairs to the door just as a light knock sounded from the other side.

  Taking another calming breath, I opened the door.

  fourteen

  “Glinda! What are you doing here?” She was the last person I expected to be standing outside my door.

  “I’m here to pick you up, silly.” She slapped her hand on my arm right where my scratches were.

  I shook her off. “You are?” I looked over her head at the big black SUV idling in the driveway.

  “Viktor’s in the truck,” she added. “He asked me to come get you.”

  “So it’s just you and Viktor?” I had to ask. I was getting a sinking feeling about this.

  “Nooo,” she giggled. “Not just me and Viktor, silly.” She nudged my foot. “Vincent’s with us too.”

  My worst nightmare just came true. “Oh.” It was the only word I could get out. I felt like I had a rock lodged in my throat.

  “Come on, we’re already late.”

  “Wait…” As she turned to leave, I tugged her jacket. “What are we late for?”

  “You’ll seeee…” she singsonged.

  An eerie sense of dread slid down my spine. “It’s really late now…so…”

  “Oh, come on. It’s not like your mom’s going to notice.”

  “How….”

  She angled her head towards Ken’s squad car and then lifted her brows up and down.

  “Sure…right. Let me just write a note and grab some water.”

  “Clock’s ticking,” she said and then bounced down the stairs back towards the truck.

  I stepped back inside the house and shut the door. Leaning against the wood, I let out a shaky breath.

  “Oh God.”

  I bent over and tried to take a breath but it was stuck. I wanted to bail but I couldn’t figure out a reason not to go with them.

  Walking to the kitchen, I got a bottle of water out of the fridge and jotted a quick note for Mom and Ken.

  Out with Viktor, Glinda and Vincent.

  Be back by curfew.

  xo Amber

  Once I had my whereabouts documented in writing, I headed out to meet my doom.

  fifteen

  Shoving my hands in my pockets, I made my way toward the truck. Glinda stuck her head out of the passenger door window. “Come on, slow poke.” She let out another one of her maniacal giggles as the tinted glass slid back in place.

  “Great.” Just as I reached the truck, the back passenger door flew open. Warm air hit me in the face. I could hear music too, but it was turned down really low so it was hard to hear over my pounding heart. I stepped up on the runner and crawled inside the back.

  Vincent’s smiling face greeted me. “Hey there,” he said a little too cheerily as a sly grin stretched across his face.

  “Hey.” I smiled back. I glanced at Viktor wondering why he didn’t say anything. He was staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression on his face. Getting situated, I pulled my bag on across my lap; then grabbed the handle and shut the door. Before I had my seatbelt on, Viktor threw the truck into gear and sped back out of the driveway. Then he slammed on the brakes and the truck skidded to a stop. I grabbed hold of Glinda’s seat to stop from face planting into the back.

  “Viktor…what the hell…” Vincent grumbled,
holding on too.

  Viktor didn’t seem to hear or care to answer. I was going with the latter. He jerked down the gearshift, putting the truck in drive and gunned the gas.

  We sped down the road a little too fast for my liking but what was I to say, slow down. I didn’t think that would go over very well. Instead, I grabbed the ‘oh crap’ handle on the ceiling like Vincent and held on for dear life.

  Once we turned out of my street, Glinda twisted around to look at me. “This is going to be so much fun,” she said excitedly, bouncing in her seat like she needed to pee. Her hair was pulled away from her face, thrown up into a little corkscrew ponytail. Wispy pieces of her white-blonde hair curled around her cherubic face, reminding me once again of Tinkerbelle. It was funny, you would think her looking so much like one of my favorite characters would make me feel more at ease, but it didn’t. Actually, it had the opposite effect and kind-of freaked me out more than I already was.

  Before I could ask what she meant, Viktor reached forward and blasted the music, which made any conversation impossible. At least the heavy thump, thump, thump, of the bass overrode the sound of my pounding heart.

  Glancing out at the blackened scenery, I tried to figure out where we were going but as Viktor made another sharp turn, I saw the sign for 112 as my body went sailing over into Vincent. He grabbed me and helped me back to a sitting position. His hand lingered on my arm.

  “Thanks,” I told him.

  “No problem.” His eyes flashed as we passed under a street light.

  Freaking out, I fake coughed. Jerking my arm up, I covered my mouth and successfully dislodged his hand.

  Vincent’s brows creased but he pulled his hand back onto his lap and then turned to look out his window.

  I looked out my window too but nothing looked familiar.

  Glinda started singing at the top of her lungs to “Terrible Love.”

  I rubbed my forehead. She was giving me a headache.

  By the time we reached our destination, even though it was only nine thirty, I was ready to go back home. Viktor unceremoniously threw the truck in park and killed the lights.

  We were doused in darkness.

  A light flicked on and Glinda’s disembodied head appeared in front of mine. “I see dead people.”

  Jerking back, I put my hands up instinctively.

  “Turn off the damn light Glinda,” Viktor snapped.

  This was the first time he spoke since I got in the truck.

  “Chill out. I was just playing,” she muttered indignantly and killed the light on her phone, plunging us into darkness again.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “It’s a surprise, silly,” Glinda piped in with her two cents.

  I was getting a little sick of her saying the word silly.

  “It’s all right,” Vincent said and I got a whiff of cinnamon. “We can tell her now.” He reached out, grabbed my hand, and gave it a good squeeze. I would have pulled my hand away but didn’t think another fake cough would go over very well. So instead, after a minute, I gave his overly warm hand a slight squeeze in return and let go to take the lid off my water bottle. “Just need a drink,” I mumbled, wishing again that I had stayed home.

  “That’s what we need…drinks.” Glinda sat forward and reached into her bag. “Here.” She shoved out a bottle that nearly took my eye out.

  “Watch it!” I reared back. The condensation from the bottle dripped down on my leg.

  “Oops.” She giggled and grabbed another bottle. “Amber, you want one?” she asked.

  “What is it?”

  “A surprise.”

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Vincent twisted off the top off his bottle and it made a hissing sound in the darkness—I was pretty sure it wasn’t soda.

  As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, I could make out everyone in the truck now. The faint glow of the moon sifted down through the trees and penetrated the interior.

  Viktor leaned back against his door as Glinda handed him a bottle. Again, a hissing sound cut through the silence as he opened his bottle and took a large gulping drink.

  Great. Now everyone was going to be drunk except for me. I wasn’t a prude or anything. I drank sometimes, special occasions, and a few sips of Mom’s wine but tonight I didn’t want to drink. I had a feeling I needed to keep my wits about me and besides, I had a low tolerance for alcohol. The one time I drank an entire beer on my own —I got tipsy and fell down the stairs. I had almost broken my neck.

  So needless to say, tonight, while we were out in the middle of nowhere, I didn’t think it would be a good place to get tipsy.

  Viktor let out an audible sigh. I knew it was him because I didn’t smell any cinnamon. It was weird being in the truck with both Vincent and Viktor. Neither of them seemed to be in a chatty mood either. So I wasn’t real sure what the heck I was even here for.

  “Is anyone going to tell me what we are doing?” I finally asked.

  “We’re drinking, silly.” Glinda snorted. “Oh, right, party pooper Amber isn’t drinking with us.”

  “Leave off, Glinda,” Viktor snapped.

  “I was just…

  “I don’t care …,” he warned.

  “Fine,” Glinda sighed.

  Two points for Viktor, I thought smiling inwardly.

  Vincent leaned in close to me. I could feel the heat coming off his body and shivered in spite of it. “Look out there,” he said as he pointed out the window.

  I looked to where he was pointing and saw a white flashing light. “What is that?”

  “It’s a lighthouse.”

  “A lighthouse?”

  “Yeah, it looks cool at night doesn’t it?”

  “Ah, yeah, sure.” I wasn’t sure what was so cool. It was just a stupid light.

  He chuckled like I spoke and shook his head. “It’s much cooler when you’re outside.”

  “Why aren’t we getting out then?”

  “It’s not a good idea.” Viktor spoke this time.

  “Oh—kay,” I said slowly. I felt like everyone knew something that I didn’t.

  “It’s creepy out there,” Glinda said in an ominous voice and then added another maniacal giggle for good measure. “Let’s play a game,” she said, turning in her seat.

  “What kind of game,” Vincent asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Glinda said, even though I had a feeling she knew exactly what game she wanted to play.

  “Let’s play truth or dare.” It was Vincent who spoke this time.

  “I love truth or dare.” Glinda clapped and bounced in her seat, spilling her beer.

  “Damn it, Glinda! Watch it!” Viktor snapped again.

  “Oopsie,” she giggled, sounding drunk already. “Here let me just wipe that up…” She leaned forward and started patting the front of his jeans. I could see him watching her. He had a strange gleam in his eyes, almost like he was enjoying it.

  I squeezed my bottle so tight the plastic caved and made a popping sound. “I need some air.” I grabbed the handle, wrenched the door open, and quickly jumped out of the truck before I saw anything else. With more force than necessary, I slammed the door. Taking several deep yoga fire breaths, I tried to get my raging emotions under control. The truck was parked under a bunch of trees and the moonlight flitted down on the gravel parking area. In the distance, I could hear waves crashing and smelt the salty brine of water in the air.

  I bent over, feeling sick.

  “Hey.”

  I jumped up and slammed my hand over my raging heart.

  “Whoa, Tiger, it’s just me.” Vincent held up his hands in the air.

  “You scared me.” I hit his arm lightly.

  “I didn’t mean to,” he said apologetically.

  “It’s okay.” I fiddled with the lid on my bottle.

  He leaned against the door beside me. “This was supposed to be more fun,” he said.

  “It’s a blast,” I
said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, a real blast,” he said laughingly.

  The sound of his laughter warmed me immediately like it always did. “So what were we supposed to be doing here, other than…” I left the rest of my sentence open, hoping for some clarity.

  “I was going to take you down to where the old catwalk to the lighthouse used to be so we could look around. It’s fun in the dark.”

  “Um, what’s so fun about walking around in the dark?”

  “There’s a scary story attached to it and on a night like this one, you can hear the screams of the people that got…”

  “Shut up!” I pushed him.

  He trapped my hands under his, chuckling. I could feel his laughter-rumbling deep in his chest.

  I jerked my hands away but started laughing too, just a little. It was funny…well, not really. But I could either laugh or I was going to start screaming and if I started screaming, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to stop.

  “You are so easy to mess with.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No, seriously. That’s why I wanted you to come here. You would be so funny to watch.”

  A shiver of unease slid over me. “Funny how?”

  “I don’t know. I thought you would get scared and beg me to save you.” He shrugged.

  “Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “I don’t beg.”

  “You would,” he assured me, laughing.

  Another shiver of unease slid over me. “So was this like…planned?” I was trying to broach the subject of why he and Glinda were here when I thought it was supposed to be just Viktor and me.

  He exhaled heavily and I got another good whiff of cinnamon. It tickled my nose. “No. Not really.” He stared straight ahead. I looked at his profile in the moonlight, trying to read his face. “We kind-of invited ourselves along. We didn’t know he was meeting you.”

  “Oh…oh.” It dawned on me what he was saying and I didn’t know how to respond to that.

  “He tried to get rid of us, but…well, here we are.” He turned then and looked down at me, his expression unreadable.