Page 43 of How (Not) to Conjure a Boyfriend
“Yes!” He jumps.
Maybe this is okay. Since I hadn’t actually asked Kaitlynn yet. Probably should ask her now.
13
It’s colder up here than I thought it would be. I’ve two jackets on over a pair of thermals and a T-shirt and I’mstillfreezing. This might have been my idea, but I didn’t expect it to be the coldest day of the year.
“You expect us to jumpthatfence?” Zachary looks puzzled.
Ah yes. The fence. I forgot about that little detail. It’s at least eight feet tall and built out of black wrought-iron bars. The top is well out of his reach, andsoout of mine. Maybe we could help each other over, but there’s also the problem of the thick spiky pieces of metal jutting from the top of each bar. It’s almost like they didn’t want anyone getting in.
“Are you sure the gate’s locked? This place has been abandoned forever,” Kaitlynn whines, which is against rule number one.
No complaining.
It took a lot of convincing to get her to come along, which somehow she spun into Zach and me needing a chaperone, not because I simply asked her to come, and in the end I had to lay down some ground rules. Number two wasDon’t embarrass me. She’s the queen of that, maybe even thrives on it, but tonight is not that night. There’s also a third I added later because she wouldn’t shut up about it.No calling Zachary my boyfriend. She somehow got it in her head that’s why he’s coming. Hence us needing a “chaperone.” It’s not though.
“Of course,” I say. “I checked last week.”
“Really?” she sounds surprised.
“No, bitch.” I roll my eyes. “I’ve never been here before.”
“So…” Zachary smirks, steamy breath rolling from his mouth the moment it hits the chilled air.
I think he’s trying to understand Kaitlynn and my dynamic before getting in the middle of it. Smart boy. She’s a handful that he doesn’t want to upset, not yet.
“I hate you. You know that, right?” Kaitlynn eyes me down.
I smile back and then nod to our right.
“The gate’s that way,” I tell them.
“So youdidcheck it?” Zachary finally asks.
“No.” I toss the word behind me and start off.
We ditched Zachary’s truck back where the fence picked up, just in case there were cameras. We could be misidentified on camera, but a license plate…that’s a little easier to catch. Not to mention Zachary’s truck isn’t that subtle. It’s big and, well, very orange.
Plumes of steam billow from Kaitlynn’s nose when I point my phone’s light back toward her and we pass the vine- and weed-wrapped fence. She’s not the biggest fan of my little expeditions into the abandoned, but I drag her along anyway whenever I can manage. She loves me. It’s mostly the dark that gets her, I think. Above us, the moon continues to wane into a thin crescent, and with all the clouds, it’s nearly pitch black. It’s so quiet I can hear every breath we take, especially Kaitlynn’s, and the occasional insect singing its late autumn song to the coming winter. My trespassing sneakers—yes I have old shoes just for trespassing—squish and sink with each step, courtesy of today’s morning rain. It’s not a sound I particularly enjoy.
“Is there a story to this place?” Zachary asks. “Why’s it abandoned?”
There wasn’t much talking on the half-hour drive up. At least not with him. Kaitlynn wouldn’t shut up as usual. I could barely enjoy the music for her raving about the new season ofSiesta Keyand how Elijah looked at her in Math yesterday. She’s determined he’s in love with her. There wasn’t time to talk about the house.
“From what I’ve heard, there was a family living here in the early ’90s,” I start relaying what little I know.
“That’s forever ago,” Kaitlynn mumbles.
“We weren’t even born,” Zachary whispers back to her.
“Yeah, major old.” I laugh. “Well, they say it was a husband and wife and their two kids. Twins, I think, a boy and girl.”
“That’s rare,” Zachary comments.
“The dad was an only child, and they say he was training his son to take over the farm,” I say. “But—”
“This is a farm?” Zachary interrupts.
