Page 40 of Waysider
Anyone else at this school would’ve accepted instantly, no doubt. Cass saw the way women looked at Sinister, and she couldn’t deny that stir of intrigue she felt again as she met his gaze. But she barely knew this guy, and he planned to hunt demons for a living once they graduated. Cass was trying to turn over a new leaf, which meant she needed to make smarter decisions. Decisions that kept her away from Sinister Gray.
“Thanks for the invite. I’ll try to make it,” was all she said.
Bradley made another shocked noise. This time, Cass was the one to leave first. Nodding at Sinister, she lurched into motion again, and Bradley hurried to catch up.
“No way,” he blurted, his eyes so wide Cass could see the whites around his irises. “You got invited to a Shadowripper party your first week at E&B? And you told Sinister Gray you might try to make it?”
A party was the last thing on Cass’s mind. She continued down the path that would lead them to House Wayside. “I guess so.”
Apparently Bradley had recovered from his shock, too, because he talked the rest of the walk back, just like Finch did. Cass found that she didn’t mind it. The sound of his deepening, creaky voice made her think of a rocking chair, and with the moon high above, so round and bright, that roiling, restless feeling inside of her quieted.
Within a few minutes, they arrived at the hedge-lined walkway of House Wayside. Light shone through several of the windows, lending the yard and the path a soft look, instead of the ominous one haunted houses usually had—and this house was most definitely haunted. Cass raised her gaze, searching for the window to her bedroom. A whisper of surprise went through her when she saw a familiar silhouette standing there.
Michael.
They went inside. “See you tomorrow, man,” Cass said to Bradley.
“See you tomorrow!” he said back, grinning. He darted up the stairs ahead of her, taking them two at a time. Cass moved to follow Bradley, passing the doorway that led into the dining room. She paused when she noticed that the light was on, and there was a small figure sitting in one of the chairs.
Tammy had beaten them back. As usual, she was working on the EMF meter. Her bangs hid her eyes. Tammy’s thin arm shifted as she twisted a wrench, unscrewing something from the small machine. Half of the table was covered in parts and tools.
“You were right. The attic riddle was the easiest one,” Cass said suddenly, her hard voice ringing through the stillness.
She could see from the way Tammy went still that she’d gotten the message, loud and clear. After a few seconds, Tammy finally lifted her head and looked back at Cass. Hearing the words she didn’t say.
Don’t fuck with me again.
One second passed. Then two. Cass didn’t break her stare.
Tammy nodded, and even now, her face was expressionless. Her eyes immediately shifted back to the EMF meter. Cass stayed where she was for another moment, making sure her point had been made. Then she thought of the silhouette she’d seen through the window.
Trying not to seem eager, Cass turned away and went up the stairs. Music floated through the bright crack beneath Candice’s door. A rhythmic thumping came from Justin’s. Cass hurried down the hall and up the next flight of stairs, her footsteps barely making a sound on the thick rugs. Then she finally arrived a familiar wooden door, the surface lined with deep grooves and a thousand memories she’d never know about. But Cass didn’t mind not knowing—she was already surrounded by too many ghosts.
Holding her breath, she turned the knob and pushed it open. The hinges squeaked. Cass’s eyes immediately went to the window, and her heart sank when Michael wasn’t there.
Neither was Cal.
Cass frowned at the empty room. Unease crept through her stomach like fingertips gently skimming her insides. Cass ignored it and moved toward the dresser, where she took out the oversized Van Halen T-shirt she always slept in, along with a pair of boxer shorts she’d stolen from one of her exes. Then she grabbed her towel off the back of the desk chair and left again, padding downstairs to shower off the awful day.
Minutes later, with damp hair and the taste of mint lingering in her mouth, Cass once again returned to an empty room. She shoved down her anxiety a second time, but it was a little harder to do. Desperate to fill the ringing silence and drown out her own thoughts, Cass turned on the radio. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” followed her across the room as she turned off the light and crawled into bed.
Even with the radio playing, the stillness closed in on Cass. She stared into the dark and remembered the library. She relived the moment when those cold hands clamped down on her skin, and then something was inside her, controlling her.
Panic swelled in Cass’s chest. Her body went rigid as she prepared to swing upright and do something. Anything. There had to be others on campus who were awake. If not, she could always take the bus into the city. She could find a bar, a party, a place with noise and chaos and drinks—
A hand found hers in the dark.
Cass would’ve jerked away, shrieking in terror, but a scent had reached her at the same moment she felt his fingers. The familiar smell of her childhood and everything warm, happy. Like magic, the tension seeped out of Cass’s body. She let out a soft breath, and her eyes felt heavy now. She had so much to tell him—her brother should know about the revenant that had possessed her tonight, the scavenger hunt, the Haunting. All of it. Tomorrow, Cass told herself. She was so, so tired.
“Night, Cal,” she whispered.
His voice floated to her, saying the words that always brought them together, no matter how much had separated them. “I’m here.”
Within seconds, Cass fell asleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The rest of Cass’s week was uneventful.
