Pretty Please (Nightmare Hall) (3 page)

She woke up chilled and shaking, and had a hard time going back to sleep.

The following morning, when her friends, including Reed, showed up to take Jo back to Lester dorm, their skepticism was obvious. Reed, who hadn’t seen her the night before, looked especially shocked. Because the patient really did look, as the doctor had warned them, as if she had “tangled with a tiger.” And she
didn’t
look as if she’d be “good as new” any time soon.

Her face was a patchwork quilt of bruises and cuts, which peeked out from beneath the bandages that crisscrossed her face and neck.

Jo had decided, upon awakening after her bad night, that she was going to take things one day at a time. No point in getting all bent out of shape over this until she knew for sure that she wouldn’t have to wear a bag over her head for the rest of her life.

“I know, I know,” she said, gingerly attempting a grin. “I’m not looking my best.” Already dressed in the clothes Kelly had brought her the night before, she stood up. “But it could have been a lot worse, right?”

When no one said anything, Jo laughed nervously. “It
could
have, right?”

Then they all murmured, “Sure, of course, it’s not that bad.” But their eyes still registered shock. After what the doctor had told them the night before, they had been expecting Jo to look almost normal.

She did not, she knew, look almost normal. Probably not even close.

Sensing their discomfort, Jo babbled nervously all the way to the dorm. “I’m glad I only had to stay one night,” she said, trying valiantly to ignore the blatant stares of people who passed them on the Commons, a grassy area surrounded by tall stone and brick ivy-covered buildings. Some people actually stopped in their tracks, eyes wide, as Jo passed by. “That place is too noisy. They were working on that new wall behind the infirmary at six o’clock this morning. Six o’clock!”

Groups of people whispered and sneaked quick glances at Jo, avoiding eye contact. Their horror showed plainly on their faces.

Jo felt her aching face flush with heat. How could people be so
rude
?

And was this kind of awful attention what was in store for her? She was used to positive attention. Admiring glances. Not this…this shocked curiosity, as if she were an exhibit in a freak show.

She’d never be able to stand it.

They passed a pair of Twin Falls policemen, walking toward Butler Hall, the administration building.

“What are they doing here?” Jo asked Evan.

He shrugged. “Who knows? Complaining about too many speeding tickets being doled out to our fellow students, maybe?”

“I think,” Nan said, “they’re here about some girl who disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Well, she’s gone. A freshman. Hasn’t been to class or slept in her bed, I heard. She probably just went back home. Let’s face it, everyone doesn’t love Salem the way we do, right?”

“Who is she?” Jo asked. “Anyone we know?”

“Not really,” Nan replied. “At least, I didn’t. Sharon Westover.” Her tone of voice implied that anyone she didn’t know couldn’t be all that important. Nan had very clear ideas about who mattered and who didn’t. Someone she didn’t know didn’t matter. “The girl who was in that bad car wreck last fall. I heard she’d been depressed ever since. So she probably just took off, right?”

“Look,” Carl told Jo, “you’ve got enough to worry about. Don’t start obsessing about people you don’t even know. Nan’s probably right, anyway. The girl decided to go home and work at the local fast food joint.” He laughed. “I’ve thought about it a couple of times, especially around finals.”

Jo decided Carl was right. What was she doing worrying about someone she didn’t even know when every inch of her face stung?

People were still staring.

Lowering her head, she hurried her steps. And changed the subject. “So,” she said, her voice unnaturally high, “is Missy worried that I’m going to sue? Or is she just going to send me a bill for the patio door?” Her laugh, too, was high and strained. “I don’t usually destroy houses I’m partying in.”

They all laughed then, and that helped. By the time they reached room 428 at Lester, they were all laughing and talking, as if nothing horrible had happened.

“We didn’t have time to get balloons or flowers,” Kelly apologized as she held the door open for Jo. “But I did go downstairs and get you a Coke and a glazed doughnut.”

The snack was sitting on the table beside Jo’s bed.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for,” Jo said, smiling and heading for the bed. “Thanks, Kelly.”

Reaching for the Coke, she had her back to the room when she heard a soft “oooh” of dismay behind her. Evan said, “What…?” and Carl let out a soft whistle.

Jo turned around.

Her eyes followed their stunned gaze…to the wide, framed mirror hanging over the large wooden dresser Jo and Kelly shared.

The mirror was completely draped in black.

J
O STARED AT THE
mirror, which was covered from side to side and top to bottom with heavy black fabric. Not an inch of glass showed. When she found her voice, she questioned, “Kelly?”

Kelly was staring at it, too. “Jo, I…” She tried again. “I…it wasn’t like this when I left the room to go downstairs. It
wasn’t.
I…I wouldn’t do this.”

Jo looked at her roommate. “You didn’t do this? You weren’t trying to…protect me?”

“Protect you? Jo, I do
not
think of you as needing my protection. Not even after last night. I know lots of people who would steer clear of mirrors if they’d been…banged up like you have. But you’re not one of them. I didn’t
do
this.”

“It’s a joke,” Carl suggested, moving forward to tug at the black fabric. “A sick joke, I’ll give you that, but it’s got to be a joke. Maybe Missy did it.”

“Nah.” Reed shook his head. “This isn’t her kind of thing. Besides, she probably took to her bed because her party was a disaster. We won’t see her on campus for at least three days, I guarantee it.”

Carl was still tugging on the fabric. “Well, whoever did it,” he said, “did a good job. This stuff wasn’t just tossed over the mirror. It was
glued
on. Anybody got a knife?”

Evan had a pocketknife. Opening the blade, he began to cut away the black fabric.

Jo went over and sat down on her bed. She felt sick. “Do I really look that bad?” she asked quietly, her eyes on the floor. “All those people were staring at me…”

They all rushed to reassure her. “Of course not, Jo. You look fine. Don’t be silly, Jo.”

But
someone
thought she looked that bad.
Someone
thought she shouldn’t even look into a mirror.

When Evan had stripped away the last of the fabric, he glanced around the room. “You guys have your own bathroom?” he asked.

Kelly nodded, waving a hand toward the bathroom. “Why?” Then her face paled and she whispered, “Oh, no…”

Evan, his mouth set grimly, turned in the direction of Kelly’s wave.

But Jo jumped up and ran to the bathroom doorway before anyone could stop her. When she looked inside, one hand flew to her mouth. The mirror on the medicine cabinet was draped exactly as the dresser mirror had been. “Oh, I don’t believe this,” she said softly. “What is going
on
?”

Evan hurried over to gently move her away from the door. “Go sit down,” he said. “I’ll get rid of it.” And he disappeared inside, closing the door behind him.

No one said anything as Jo, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks, returned to sink down upon her bed. Kelly joined her, putting a comforting arm around Jo’s shoulders. “Someone on campus has a really sick sense of humor,” Reed said awkwardly, leaning against the dresser. “Don’t let it throw you, Jo, okay?”

Jo glared at him. Easy for
him
to say.
His
face didn’t look like he’d been run over by a lawnmower. There was no visible damage at all from the fire the night before. He was as gorgeous as ever. Still, Reed was only trying to be nice.

Evan came out of the bathroom, his hands filled with a bundle of black. “I’ll get rid of this,” he offered, and left the room.

“How well do you know that guy?” Carl asked when the door had closed.

Jo looked up at him. “What?”

“Well, I mean, you just met him, right? Last night?”

Jo nodded.

“Did he seem like the kind of guy who would go in for practical jokes?
Creepy
practical jokes, for instance?”

Jo was about to retort, Don’t be ridiculous, when she realized that she couldn’t. After all, how much
did
she know about Evan? Almost nothing.

“It’s just that he
did
ask about the bathroom mirror,” Carl continued. “None of the rest of us even thought about a second mirror. It was almost like…like he
knew
.”

Jo wanted more than anything to say, No, you’re wrong, Carl. It couldn’t have been Evan. But she was too hurt and confused to say anything.

Evan returned to a roomful of silence. He picked up on it right away. “Sorry, folks, but you’ve got the wrong guy,” he said drily. “I know I’m the new kid on the block in this group. But I’m also the only one here who didn’t know Jo’s room number.”

“Anyone can get a room number,” Carl said stubbornly. “Piece of cake.”

Evan smiled lazily. “This is true. But that ‘anyone’ would have to have a reason to make Jo miserable.” He looked at Jo. “Making Jo miserable isn’t on my agenda. You can take my word for that or not, your choice. But I think a better idea would be figuring out who
does
want to make Jo miserable.”

Jo felt her lacerated face grow warm as Evan smiled at her.

“I think Carl was right in the first place,” Kelly said, patting Jo’s arm consolingly. “It has to be a joke. An awful one, but still…maybe one of Missy’s friends did it.”

Nan nodded agreement. “Look, I’ve got a newspaper meeting. Carl, you’re due there, too. Anyway, we should go and let Jo get some rest. Remember,” waving a finger at Jo, “the doctor said you’re supposed to stay in bed today and tomorrow. And take your pain medication, okay? Don’t try and tough this out when you can take a pill and sleep.”

“Yes, mother.”

“I should go, too,” Kelly said reluctantly. “I’m supposed to meet Cath Devon at the mall to get stuff for her party next week, but I hate leaving you here all alone. Are you going to take your pill and go to sleep? If you’re not, I’ll stay.”

“I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Jo said. Then, in a gentler tone, “Go ahead and go. Bring me back a magazine? I promise I’ll do as I’m told, like the good girl that I am. Go on. How can I get any sleep if you’re hovering all over me? But,” she added lightly, “you might want to lock the door when you leave, okay? So…so no one will barge in and wake me up.”

Saying he would call her later, Evan left with the others.

When they had gone, Jo sat on the bed, her hands folded in her lap. Her face stung like crazy. She would take her pill and crawl under the covers and go to sleep, forgetting all about the cruel mirror joke.

But for the first time since she had arrived on campus in late August, Jo wasn’t comfortable in her own room.

The cozy room that had felt like home to her since the day she’d moved in now seemed suddenly different.

Jo looked around at the collages of high school mementoes over each bed, the brightly colored plastic trays of accessories, the collection of patchwork-quilted toss pillows Kelly had bought at the mall.

The knowledge that someone had been in there, someone who clearly wasn’t a friend, someone who had no
right
to be in their room, that changed everything.

Violated, Jo thought angrily, I feel violated. Even though whoever it was hadn’t touched anything except the mirrors….They hadn’t,
had
they? Jo glanced around the room again quickly, looking for opened drawers or suspicious disarray. No, they hadn’t touched anything else as far as she could tell.

Nevertheless, they had been
in
there. She hated that.

She made sure the door was locked before taking her pill and climbing into bed. In the bathroom, as she filled a glass of water, she bent low over the sink to avoid meeting her own eyes in the mirror. The mirror…how could she ever look at that mirror again without remembering the black shroud draped over it?

Maybe, she thought despairingly as the pill began to take hold, maybe I won’t ever
want
to look in a mirror again.

Because in spite of what the doctor and her friends had said to reassure her, there
was
someone on campus who thought she looked so awful, she shouldn’t even think about looking into mirrors.

What if that person was right?

When Jo finally drifted off to sleep, she dreamed that she was receiving her degree at a graduation ceremony outside on the Commons on a beautiful, sunny, blue-skied day in June.

But when she went up on stage to receive the rolled scroll tied with a ribbon, and turned to smile at the audience seated on folding chairs, she had no face.

There was only a blank oval where her features should have been.

S
HE’LL NEVER BE THE
same. Never.

She was so pretty. Beautiful, really. Although she didn’t even seem to realize it. She had a flawless face. Flawless.

But not anymore.

Now there’s no choice. Can’t have her running around in public scaring people. Even when the bandages come off, she’ll have those horrible black stitches running up and down her face. And the scars. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

This is going to be hard, though. I wouldn’t mind so much if Johanna were ordinary. But she’s not. She’s different. Special. The minute I saw her, I knew I had to get to know her. Too bad. Too, too bad.

Can’t help it. Not her fault, not my fault, it’s just the way it is. I can’t ignore my mission. That would be wrong.

I don’t have to do it immediately. If only she’ll keep her face covered so no one can see it. I can wait.

But if she doesn’t, I’ll have no choice.

J
O WENT TO HER
classes on Monday. People stared and murmured or whispered behind their hands each time she walked into a lecture hall. She had tried to prepare herself for the attention, but soon found that it wasn’t that easy. Maybe her friends were too kind to be honest with her about how bad she really looked.