Ink (35 page)

“
You’re not real,” I told her for a second time.

“
I was real.”

I shrugged. “Isn’t the same as
is
. And. Your. Not. Real.”

Her expression overflowed with rage. She released a deafening shriek, headed for me, her pointed nails tearing the length of my chest. I screamed, trying to pry her off of me. Her hair spilling across her face. Her hand clamping down on my collar. I struggled to break free, breathless, battering my head from side to side.

“
Hope!” Karsen screamed at me. She was holding on to her face, her hand covering her eye.

“
Get away from me!” I yelled, sitting up in my bed.

“
You were having a bad dream,” Karsen said, looking puzzled. She came near me, pulling at my t-shirt, her hand probing my skin. “What is that?” Karsen’s eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment. “I think Slade did some damage tonight. But the bizarre thing is, I don’t remember seeing any marks on you at the concert.” She handed me my hand mirror, sitting at the edge of my bed.

“
Omigod,” I said, my jaw falling open. Angry crimson scratch marks ran from my collar bone to my chest. I ran my hand up my neck, lifting my chin.

“
Are those handprints?” Karsen said, looking uneasy. “You need to tell him to lay off.”

“
This wasn’t Slade,” I said low. “And why are you holding your eye?”

Karsen removed her hand revealing a puffed-up red mark below her eye. “You kicked me in the face with your stupid foot. I thought someone was butchering you.”

K
arsen tugged at her hair. She was as distressed as I was. Maybe extra. I wiggled my straw through my milkshake, staring off, lost in contemplation.

We were at the Hamburger Shack eating and trying to understand what happened to me. Karsen was sure I was possessed by some demons. And I was trying to think of any justification other than the fact. The fact being that Slade and Kidd were witches. I didn’t know the first thing about explaining this to anyone. This wasn’t something easy to divulge.

“
Maybe you should see a doctor,” Karsen suggested. She dragged a French fry through her ketchup, biting it in half.

“
Nightmares,” I muttered, going back to witches.

Karsen dropped her chin down into her palm. “Yeah, but what if it’s something more. What if you’re housing a giant tumor or something? I swear you looked like you were seizing. And how do you explain the claw marks?”

I sighed. “I just got a physical for school. It’s not a tumor,” I said, in my best Arnold imitation. Karsen shrugged, taking a mouthful of her shake.

I couldn’t stop thinking about what I saw in that dream. Ezra. She was haunting. Such a beautiful girl to be so menacing. And how could someone that I never knew about materialize in my dream? It wasn’t like Slade had told me all about her before I left Henry Park. So I had no justification having her poking around in my dreams.

Before I could think anything else I had to figure out a good rationalization to keep Karsen at bay. She still had a couple days left before she went home.

“
Maybe it’s just nervous stress. I’ve been under a lot of that lately.” I gave a nod, trying to make her have the same opinion with me telepathically.

Karsen chewed at her nail. “I hate to admit it, but I will. Something is not right. That concert was off. I mean anyone with any sort of brain cells could see that there was some uncanny presence all around them. It grabbed a hold of you right when the music started. Maybe you are possessed.” Her eyes grew huge with concern. I had to suppress my laughter.

“
I’m not possessed,” I promised, staring off. I watched the crowds of beachgoers pass by. Even that sounded better than witches, magic and curses.

I glimpsed a mysterious silhouette slip through the crowd, its form was dark and misty and appeared to be floating. My heart froze in my chest.

“
What?” Karsen asked.

My eyes locked on to the recognizable character. The familiar movement. That same coffee brown hair. Was she really standing on the boardwalk looking at us?

I gripped my napkin, unable to budge. My blood ran cold and my heart skidded to a halt in my chest before kicking back into gear, pounding so noisily in my ears.

I struggled to make sense of Karsen’s moving lips because now there was no sound coming from them. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that I no longer was paying interest to her.

Ezra stood on the boardwalk as the crowd parted around her as if repelled by her energy. Her expression was icy as her unblinking eyes took me in.

“
Do you see her?” I asked suddenly.

Karsen’s head followed my gaze. She stood up, looking all around her. “See who?”

“
Ezra. She’s wearing a blue jacket and black pants with one of those hats with the fur lining,” I rattled off. Ezra lips turned up at the corners as she tortured me with her icy glare.

Karsen finally sat back down. “It’s easily ninety degrees outside. No one is running around in a blue jacket and fur hat.” She muttered something under her breath, taking one last sip of her shake. She slammed it on the table, shaking her head in disbelief.

“
I don’t know how you don’t see her,” I muttered. Ezra raised a hand, wiggling her fingers at me, giving me a dainty wave.

“
See what?” Kidd said, appearing out of nowhere. I jumped out of my skin, bringing my hand to my mouth in shock. Kidd eyed me closely. “Everything okay?”

“
No, not really. According to Hope she sees some chick named Ezra running around. Ever since last night she’s been a freak on a leash.” Karsen pulled her sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose.

“
Holy shit,” Kidd said.

“
Yeah, tell me about it. Restless leg syndrome is no joke,” Karsen said, nodding her head at me.

“
Who did you say she saw?” Kidd asked again. Apparently he hadn’t heard the first time Karsen was giving up my secrets.

“
Ezra, I believe. What kind of name is Ezra anyways?” Karsen said again.

I watched Kidd’s expression grow dim. “Why would you say that?”

“
I say what I heard. What’s it to you?” Karsen prodded. “Anyways. Are we still going to the beach? Because if we are I need to go back to Hope’s and grab my bikini. Unless you want to skinny dip, then I’m good to go.”

Kidd nodded his head, keeping his eyes glued on me. “Yeah, we are. Why don’t you head back and grab it. We will wait right here for you, sex kitten.”

Karsen bought it hook line and sinker. She stood up, shaking her hair away from her eyes and planting a quick peck on Kidd’s lips. He briefly touched her arms.

I shoved my plate away from me. I knew what was coming next. Kidd waited until Karsen was a great distance away before he took her seat across from me.

“
Where’s Slade?” I started.

“
Slade didn’t want to come.”

“
What a shocker,” I said, my mood turning sour. It wasn’t that I was thrilled to be anywhere near him with the current situation, but it still annoyed me that he would steer clear of me.

“
Do you blame him now?” Kidd asked. He scrubbed his chin, giving me a worried look.

“
I don’t know what to think now. Is Ezra really his ex-girlfriend?”

Kidd gave me a nod. “That would be the one. I don’t know what all he told you, but that bitch was evil.”

“
Was?”

“
Was. She’s dead. But when she was alive and kicking she made sure to make Slade’s life a living hell. Her whole family, well, they were evil, let’s just say. But we took care of that. Well, the greater part anyways.” Kidd stared off.

“
How do you take care of witches?” I asked, looking around, hoping no one understood my crazy question.

“
Burn them. At first we got along well with them. But it didn’t take long before Ezra wanted a lot more from Slade than he wanted to give her. She wouldn’t let go. So when Slade says he doesn’t want anything to happen to you, that is the truth.”

I swallowed hard, bringing my stare back to the boardwalk. But Ezra was nowhere to be found. She had vanished. And slowly my heart returned to normal.

“
But I like him. I think I can handle it. He doesn’t need to worry about me,” I insisted. What was I saying? I wasn’t the girl to handle anything like this. What would I do if this girl decided to kill me? She pretty much gave it a shot once already.

“
It’s too risky. Slade will never give in. Spells and curses are not to be taken lightly. Slade believes he is cursed and he will do whatever he has to to avoid putting anyone else in harm’s way. She was a witch, not your regular girlfriend. She could do it.” Kidd sighed. I knew he could sense my displeasure.

“
Well, I’m not scared of some dead witch. And I really like him. This should be my choice.” I stood up. “I should have a choice.”

“
You
should
be terrified,” Kidd told me.

I took my tray from the table. “Well, I’m not. And you tell Slade if he isn’t going to come around anymore to take this stupid tattoo off of me then. I don’t need his stupid tattoos. It’s just a really bad souvenir of what I can no longer have.”

Kidd grabbed my wrist. “He put this on you?”

I pulled away, going over to the garbage can. “Of course, who else would put it on me?”

Kidd shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

I didn’t wait around to figure out what he found unbelievable. I had heard enough. I knew Slade was avoiding me. He felt he was doing the right thing. Well, if only he had done the right thing before sleeping with me two times. Before kissing me. Before showing his face at all. I hated him for all that he was. Because if it weren’t for all he was I wouldn’t be so damaged.

I
thoughtfully excused myself from frolicking on the beach with Karsen and Kidd. They liked each other, who was I to hang around like the third wheel? Besides, love of any kind didn’t sound too alluring to me at this moment in time.

I threw open the door to the kitchen. Nona and Dad looked up from the table, their expressions told me they were chatting about me.

“
Hey, sweetpea,” Nona said, standing up. She smoothed out her lengthy pencil skirt. “How have you been? Are you happy Karsen showed up?” She winked as if I wasn’t aware she was the one who brought Karsen from the airport.

“
I’m alive. And yes, I’m happy Karsen is here. I am miserable to think she has to go home though.” I did my best to hold it together.

Opening up the refrigerator and taking out left over cheesecake, I grabbed a fork from the drawer and headed off to my room where I could be by myself.

I set the cheesecake down on the bed and turned the volume high on my stereo. Rage Against the Machine blasted through my room. I sat cautiously next to my dish of cheesecake and took a mouthful, staring around my room. I was in misery. All because of Slade. I exhaled. Well, maybe because of this nutjob he formerly dated.

“
Nutjob?” Ezra asked suddenly.

I screamed, dropping my whole plateful of cheesecake on my carpet. Had she heard my thoughts?

“
Get out of here!” I yelled.

Ezra grinned evilly, taking a seat at my desk. She thumbed through one of my biology textbooks and then fingered my necklaces scattered on the desktop, ignoring me.

“
I wish you would take a hint and get the hell away from me,” I growled. I lifted the plate off my floor. I wasn’t going to give in to this idiot.

“
That’s the fun part. Of being dead, that is. I can do what I want.” She spun around in my chair like a little kid at a fair on some stupid ride. “And besides, once I know for certain you will stay far away from him, then I will do just that.”

I blotted my carpet with a tissue, not helping matters any. Dad knocked on my door. “Hope, are you okay? We thought we heard a scream. And where is Karsen?”

I sighed. “I’m all right. Unless you know a thing or two about getting rid of intruders of the mystical kind.”

“
What?” Dad said, jiggling my doorknob. Ezra stood, walking to the door.

She placed a palm against it. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“
No one can see you but me. I’m not stupid. Now leave,” I whispered.

“
Hope,” Dad called again.

“
Dad, I’m fine. Everything is just peachy. Karsen is at the beach.” I gritted my teeth. He muttered something from the other side of the door before leaving me be. I spun around to face Ezra.

“
Maybe this is something you should take up with Slade. I have no reason to speak to him. And I’m sure you would know if I did.”

Ezra ran a hand against her hair, stroking it like a pet. “And if he comes around again?”

“
Then he comes around again. That doesn’t mean he wants anything to do with me. He has already made it quite obvious. I think you have done your job. Slade wants nothing to do with any girl romantically. And it’s because of you.”

Ezra sharpened her eyes on me. “That didn’t stop him from running around with that Anaya. I don’t know what he even saw in her. She was plain.”