Ghost Island (14 page)

CHAPTER 27

The good news: Johnny was safe for the night. The bad news: I wasn’t. I hadn’t accused Emily of lying when she said Ms. Gates had a video of me, because I no longer trusted anyone.

Now I knew how my dad must have felt when all the nonexistent evidence pointed at him, and when even my own brother—his own son—believed he was guilty of murder. That’s all it took for a conviction.
Belief.
Now it was happening to me. Why else would Ms. Gates still accept Emily’s story over mine, even though both Grace and Charles insisted we had left only to try to reach the other kids? Why else would she ignore the bewildered expressions of the three girls who followed Emily around like filmy shadows? Because of belief, that’s why. And Ms.
Gates’s
belief translated into a guilty-as-Emily-claimed charge against me. I needed to hear about this video, and I needed to hear it from the person I had once trusted.

“I wanted to strangle Emily just now,” Grace said as we walked back inside.

“I’m just glad we got Johnny away from her.”

“They’re all crazy.” She stopped in the hall and looked into my eyes. “I’ve had it with this place, and I’ve had it with everyone here except you guys. What’s it going to take to get us out of here?”

“We need someone who will believe us. Or we need someone with the power to help us leave.”

“What about money?” she asked. “My family has more money than just about anyone in Seattle. Let’s figure out a way to contact my dad. He’ll help us.”

“Grace,” I said. “If you could have contacted him, you would have. You know the phones are messed up.”

“But I still get signals on mine,” she said.
“Voices.”

Her sister Felicia.
I knew that’s what she was thinking.

“Okay, then, is there another way you could call your dad?
From yours or someone’s cell or landline?”

“What about Daniel? He’s got to have access to some kind of phone.”

“Unless he comes here, there’s no way to get to him, not with Ms. Gates on the prowl.”

“You said earlier that you have an idea.”

“I do, but I’m not sure if it will work.”

“What’s your plan? Are you going to sneak out to Peggy’s?”

“Not tonight. I’d get caught. I’m going to try to steal some pills.”

“From Ms. Gates.
You won’t get away with it.”

 
“I might,” I said.
“If we can come up with a way for you to distract her.”

“Distract her how?”

“That’s what we need to talk to Charles about.”

“Just Charles?
Not—”

I shook my head. Fear and shame mingled in my mind as I thought about how closed he’d come to being taken. “We can’t involve Johnny,” I told her. “We just can’t.”

“Is he lost then?”

“Don’t even talk that way,” I said. “Emily came close, but she hasn’t won. Charles got away from the casino, and so did I.”

“So far anyway, but the longer we stay—”

“I know. Believe me, I know, Grace. Let’s just go.”

We found Ms. Gates in the living room. The bench was pulled out from the cloth-covered table, but she stood at the front door looking out though the bars in the window at the rain. In the glow of the lantern she was holding, her body seemed long and distorted.

She turned from the door so fast that I knew we had startled her.

“
Livia
, please don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“We’re not sneaking,” I said. “Emily told us you’d taken a video of me, and I want to know if she’s telling the truth.”

“When will you kids stop fighting and realize we’re in danger here?”

She set down the lantern, and it cast
criss-crossed
shadows at the thick beams of the ceiling.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” I said.

“You also have been trying to tell me that you travel to the casino when you’re dreaming.” She pulled the bench out farther and sat down. Grace went to the other side of the table, and I started to follow her. Then I saw Ms.
Gates’s
bag on the floor at the end of the bench and sat as close to it as I could get.

“I do travel to the casino, and so do the others. Charles can back up everything I’m saying.”

“Emily was telling the truth about the video,” she said. “Now I regret sharing that information with her. You’re both acting irresponsibly.”

“You never should have told Emily something like that,” Grace said.

“I was trying to help
Livia
.” She turned to me with an expression that reminded me of her former warmth. “You understand that, don’t you,
hon
? I wanted you to see that what you were describing wasn’t possible.”

“Then please show me,” I said.

“Yes. Please show us.” Grace stood from the table.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” she said. “Come,
Livia
. My camera’s in my room.”

“Why don’t you bring it here? I’m going to try to find some coffee.”

“You’re not afraid to come with me, are you?”

“I just want some coffee.” I put my head in my hands, still unable to believe she had spied on me.

The thought of her watching me while I slept felt like a violation.

“Fine then.
I’ll be right back, and I expect you to be here. I’m sorry it’s come to this, but I meant what I said earlier. I see no other way but to restrict you to the hotel.”

“And if she decides to get unrestricted?” Grace said.

I shook my head and tried to signal her to shut up.

“Then we’ll determine what happens to her once we’re home.”

“What makes you think we’ll ever get home?” Grace asked. “Have you ever considered that
Livia
is telling the truth, and that she might be your only chance to get out of this place alive?”

“Stop.”
I shook my head at Grace, and then turned to Ms. Gates. “You used to believe in me,” I said. “You used to tell me that circumstances wouldn’t matter as long as I refused to give up. What made you stop?”

“I haven’t stopped,
Livia
.” She backed away as if afraid I
were
dangerous. “But I have a hotel full of other kids to worry about. I can’t have you risking their lives.”

“I’m not the risk,” I told her. “For once, take a good look at Emily. She isn’t the girl who got on the boat with us. Neither are the other three.”

“We’ve all taken a beating on this trip,” she said.
“You too.
But I’ve had enough of your ghost stories.”

She left the room, and I took a deep breath. I had to stay steady, not think of anything other than what I had to do.

“What’s the matter?” Grace asked.

I picked up Ms.
Gates’s
bag, yanked it open, and started digging through it. She had violated my trust, but still I knew what I was doing was wrong. Under the notebook, wallet, and countless brochures and receipts, was a container of pills. I took them out, my hands shaking, and squinted to read the label in the thin light.
One tablet
, f
or sleep
.
That was good enough for me. I poured several into my palm, put the cap back on the bottle and tried to shove it back where I had found it.

Then I dropped the bag on the floor and stared into Grace’s terrified eyes.

“I got them.”

“Quiet,” she mouthed, and pointed behind me.

“I thought you were getting coffee.” Ms. Gates came back into the room and sat beside me on the bench.

I c
lu
tched the pills in my hand. “There isn’t any.” My voice came out weak and unconvincing.

She narrowed her eyes and held out the camera. “Well, here it is.”

I shoved the pills in my pocket. “How does it work?”

“I’ll show you,” she said. “I never thought I’d resort to something like this,
Livia
, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Like spying?
Yeah, right.”
Grace got up and moved to our side of the table.

Ms. Gates ignored her and held the tiny screen, no bigger than a cell phone, in front of the lantern. The light splintered, but I could see myself in the bed beside Grace. I was lying on my side.

“So?” Grace demanded. “She’s sleeping in a bed. Do you really think—
”

“Just watch.”

As if on command, I sat up and turned toward the camera, my eyes open but dim and glazed. Then I got up and walked, my legs lifted high, as if I were climbing stairs. The camera zoomed closer, and I could see my lips moving. I lifted my arms, laced my fingers together, as if around another person, and began to move in a slow, sensual rhythm.
Dancing.
With no one.
How pathetic.

The screen went black, reflecting only the lantern beam into my eyes. Only then did I realize they had filled with tears.

“I’m sorry,
Livia
.” Ms. Gates put down the camera and rested her hand on my shoulder. “Not ghosts, just a case of somnambulism.”

“Sleepwalking,” Grace whispered.

“People have actually driven cars, and at least one man was reported to have gone to a café, ordered coffee, and returned home.” Ms. Gates recited her facts with schoolteacher precision and certainty. “You’re
lu
cky that you only thought you went to the casino. As you can see, you never left your room.”

After she left, Grace and I sat facing each other without speaking. She appeared shocked into silence, and I felt betrayed, not only by Ms. Gates, but by myself.

“Well,” Grace finally said. “It’s getting pretty late.”

“Yes, it is.”

She tugged at a strand of hair. “We should probably go find Charles.”

“Good idea.” I was ashamed to meet her eyes.

“Are you—” She leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “I mean, do you still think we should take the sleeping pills tonight?”

“Of course,” I nearly shouted. “Have you forgotten the morning you came back here soaking wet without your scarf?”

“Don’t get defensive,
Livia
. You know I remember.”

“What I haven’t told you is that Caitlin, the ghost girl, showed up in my last dream. She was wearing that eyelet jacket you threw off the shore boat.”

She threw up her hands, and the purple stone of her ring glinted in the watery light. “You do know how to make a point,
Livia
. Next time try not to make it with a sledgehammer. Okay?”

“If you’ll agree not to doubt me,” I said. “I don’t know how this works any more than you do. Maybe our bodies don’t really leave our rooms. Maybe only the essence of us does and then the changes are reflected in our physical selves.”

“You’re talking crazy again.”

“But I’m starting to figure out what’s going on here.” I got up from the table. “Let’s go find Charles.”

In the flickering light of the room, I knew she couldn’t tell how terrible I really felt. Yes, we were going to be able to get through another night without dreams, but I would play that desperate video many times in my head, my arms lifted, my lips parted, looking with love at a guy who didn’t exist.

CHAPTER 28

I am tangled in ocean waves, beneath the surface, unable to lift my head.

Someone squeezes my arm. I jolt awake and try to clear my mind.

“It’s all right,
Livia
. I’m here.”

Aaron sits on the side of the bed. He is wearing a soft b
lu
e shirt in a thick textured fabric that looks as if it’s been washed many times. A word, a name maybe, is printed in black on the pocket, but I can neither read nor recognize it.

“You can’t possibly be here,” I say. “It’s impossible.”

But I’m happy. After that humiliating video, Grace’s look of disgust, and Ms.
Gates’s
pitying expression, I am happier than I’ve been in a long time.

Then I remember that Grace is in the bed with me. I glance over at her. She is asleep on her stomach, her arms over her head.

“She won’t hear us,” Aaron says.

Because Ms.
Gates’s
pill worked on her as it must not have on me.

“How did you manage this?” I ask, afraid that if I move, he will disappear.

“I told you I’d come if that’s what it took to convince you.”

I sit up in bed in order to study him more closely. He’s gorgeous and hazel-eyed, but not in that b
lu
rred dreamlike way he has been the other times. Where he has pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, I can see the glint of hair along his arms. There’s the beginning of a dark beard shadow on his chin, and his pores there are more visible. I’ve never noticed these details. In the past, his flesh has looked like smooth stone.

“How did you get in?” I ask.

“The front door.”
He takes my hand in his, and a rush of heat connects us. “This place was built in the twenties. The security isn’t exactly cutting-edge. Come on, get up.” Then he looks at my skimpy sleep shirt and points at the window. “I’ll wait over there.”

I step out of bed, the flat carpet beneath my feet. No floating. No blending into the shades and colors of the night. No, I am not dreaming this. I’m living it. I pull on my jeans and shirt and join him. He’s pulled back the curtain and stares out at the night. Now, though, he looks at me as if taking in every detail of my appearance for the first time. I know I must be studying him with the same intensity, but I also know that I have to be careful.

“Are you aware of what’s going on?” I ask him.

“Only that I’m worried about you. Come back with me.”

“I can’t.”

“You’ve got to. Someone here is trying to hurt you. She’s dangerous.”

“Emily,” I say. “How do you know about her?”

“I hear people talking.”

“Where?”

“At the casino.
You could get hurt, and I’m going to take you back with me.”

“No, you’re not.” I reach out for his hand. “I’d be in more danger there.”

“I already talked to Peggy. We can fix up a separate room for you.” He pulls his chair closer to mine. “Don’t pretend with me,
Livia
. I care about you, and I know you care too.”

“Then believe me when I say I can’t go with you, at least not now.”

“When can you, then?”

“I don’t know. You’re so different tonight. You sound just like a normal guy.”

“I am a normal guy.” He stands and pulls me to him.

I feel dizzy but also strangely grounded.

“The way we met is anything but normal,” I tell him.

“What’s normal?”

“I don’t even know your last name.”

“St. John. What’s yours?”

“Hinson.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“No, not now.”

“But you were.”

I’m not going to lie to him.

“His name is Christopher. He broke up with me.”

“Why?”

I close my
eyes,
think about Chris and how close I thought we had been. It’s impossible to remember my feelings for him, as if he was the dream, and this is my reality.

“His family is perfect,” I say, as if speaking of a stranger. “When my family stopped being perfect too, he couldn’t deal with the pressure from his parents.”

“It sounds like you’re over him.”

“Now I am.”

He laughs and presses his lips to mine. We melt into each other. I’m kissing a guy, not a dream, and I no longer care about the video that tries to prove otherwise.

“You’re real,” I whisper into the softness of his shirt.

“Always have been.”
His breath is heavy and sweet against my face. “Will you come back with me now?”

“Why is it so important to you that I go to the casino?”

“Because it’s safe there.”
He tries to kiss me again, but I step back.

“It’s not safe, Aaron. Nothing on this island is safe. If you really want to help me, you’ll help us get out of here.”

“How can I do that?”

Good question. I think about it for a minute, and then look up into his eyes.

“Find us a phone so Grace can call her father. That’s what we need right now, a phone that works. Every day we’re forced to stay here, Emily gets stronger.”

“If there’s a phone on the island that’s working, I’ll find it for you.”

He kisses me again. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips. Once we’re out of here, we’ll work it out, I promise.”

“Then help us do that. Please.”

“I will.” He wraps his arms around me until I feel only warmth, only love.

And for that brief moment, I believe in everything.

We walk to the door together. He presses his lips to mine again, and I lean against the doorjamb as I watch him walk away. At the end of the hall, he turns and looks back at me.

“Close it,” he says, his voice low. “And lock it.”

***

I had taken the pill just as Grace had. Why had I awakened? Could it be—please let it be—that Aaron really was just a guy and not like Emily and the others?

Finally, Grace roused out of her sleep.

“
Livia
,” she mumbled, still on her stomach, her head turned toward my pillow. “Where are you?”

“I’m here, Grace.”

I was sitting in the wicker chair, with my back to the window, still tasting Aaron’s lips.

“Good,” she replied.

“We’re going to get out of here,” I said. “We might be able to call your dad, and maybe he can help us.”

“How’s that going to happen?” She stumbled over her words, and I knew Ms.
Gates’s
sleeping pill had protected her from whatever waited in the casino.

“Aaron.” I couldn’t help myself. “He promised to find us a phone.”

“What?” She shot up in bed. “You did take the pill, didn’t you? Please don’t tell me you had another dream.”

“I didn’t.” My face burned. I should have kept my mouth shut. “I don’t want to talk about it, Grace. I just want you to know that you’re going to be able to call your dad.”

“Because some ghost told you so?”
She was out of bed now, her hair flying like copper sparks,
her
expression pure disgust.

“He’s not—” I stopped myself as I felt the warmth I’d been wrapped in disappear into the cold room.

“Not a ghost? How the hell else did he get in here?”

I could point out that the front door was built in the twenties, and that the security was less than cutting edge. But I could already see that nothing would convince her.

“I know what you think,” I said, “so I’m not going to explain how. I’ll tell you more once I can show you how to contact your father.”

“Right.”
She pulled on her sweater and jeans. “Watching you in that video pretty much spelled it out for me. You have the nerve to say Felicia isn’t real, but Ms. Gates proved that whatever is going on with you is in your head.”

“It’s not, Grace. You know what’s happening at the casino.”

“Of course I do, but if you think you’re chatting up some ghost guy in this room while I’m asleep in that bed, I can’t stay here any longer.”

“You’ve got to. It’s safer if we’re together.”

“That’s what I thought.” She put on the jacket and pulled her hair into a frizzy ponytail. “I’m sorry,
Livia
. If you get scared, you can come to my room, and I’ll try to help you. I’m not angry or anything. I’m just so exhausted and so done.
Done with this whole situation.”