Seers (8 page)

“Thanks, I guess . . .” Lee looked at me purposefully, but I didn’t know what to say. Slowly I ate my food, wondering the whole time what Patrick O’Donnell was up to.

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Seven

The first week of school went by quickly, all things considered. It had been one of the most eventful weeks of my life, and I was glad when Saturday came around. Honestly, I didn’t know how much more I could take.

Patrick continued to be everywhere. I even caught a glimpse of him in the grocery store, but he was gone before I could talk to him—plus I didn’t want to leave my Grandma standing alone by the frozen foods. He was in my every class, and we even talked a little. Not enough to get to my questions, but enough to learn that he was indeed coming to Lee’s party Saturday night.

As for the invisible man, I didn’t see him once the rest of the week. I didn’t know how to feel about this, actually. Of course I was somewhat relieved, but it was almost worse not seeing him because I was left to wonder where he was instead.

Aaron and me . . . we were pretty much the same. I don’t think he noticed my sudden interest in Patrick, but he couldn’t have been completely oblivious. Maybe he just thought I was being friendly. Aside from seeing each other at school, we didn’t hang out much. Thursday night he came to my house for dinner, and to play board games. He and Josie were the last survivors on Monopoly, sheer desire to win keeping them both in the game far longer than the rest of us. Grandma finally called it a draw when Josie tried to wriggle out of a payment by trading Park Place with three hotels—more than fair, she insisted evenly. Grandpa and

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Jenna started a low chorus of “Fight, fight, fight,” but Grandma pretty much insisted that the game end there. Though the two weren’t happy about it, Aaron and Josie shook hands and called the win even. But just to be safe I decided we probably shouldn’t do another game night any time soon.

I spent Saturday with Lee, trying to get her house ready for the party. Her mom was out of town on a weekend business conference. She was usually gone every couple of weekends, which made this annual party possible. I still wasn’t sure how she managed to pay for all the food, but Lee knew how to throw a party.

While Lee set up her mom’s impressive sound system on the large deck in the back yard I covered the fence, shrubs, and railing in strands of Christmas lights—colored, and plain yellow.

Once that was done, we dug out some coolers and filled them with ice and sodas. Each guest was supposed to bring some sort of snack, but even without that Lee probably had it covered. Lee’s party would be bigger than Prom.

The party was designed to run from seven until way past midnight, but it was pretty much a ‘come when you want’ thing. Once I’d helped her with the setup I hurried back home to change. I thought about wearing a summer dress, but settled for just jeans and a brown top. I could have been more exciting, I know, but I added a necklace at least.

Grandma ordered me to be home by midnight, and she also assured me that she would be up waiting for me. Grandpa opened the door for me, and told me in a whisper that Grandma was asleep by eleven every night, and not to worry about it.

I shook my head fondly at him and then I was gone.

I had to park several houses away, and by the time I was at her neighbor’s house I could clearly hear the booming music. I knew from experience that the neighbors wouldn’t complain until ten, though. I moved right into the backyard through the open gate and was shocked like I always was by how many people were already crammed into the yard.

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The music was loud, and with the darkening sky above the lights in her yard were pretty spectacular. The swimming pool was covered with a tarp, but almost every other space was occupied by people. Some, I knew. Many, I could have sworn I’d never seen before. Several groups had to be made up of college students, and once again I wondered where Lee found these people.

I could see Lee on the deck talking loudly to a group of Goth boys in front of the stereo. I thought about going to her, but then decided it wasn’t worth it—the deck and stairs were packed.

Instead I moved back around the swimming pool, where there was actually some breathing room.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Aaron, to see if he was here yet. A minute later I got his reply. Just left. C u soon.

There was also an emoticon of a pink heart, and I couldn’t help but smile. Aaron could be predictable, but was always cute.

“Quite the crowd,” someone spoke beside me.

I shut my phone and looked up quickly to see—of course—

Patrick O’Donnell. He looked great. He was wearing the familiar light jeans, and button up shirt—only instead of the usual blue, it was dark green. His brown hair was a couple inches long, and some locks were curling onto his forehead. It was somewhat raggedly cut, but it looked good. I wondered why I’d never particularly noticed, but then my eyes caught his and I remembered why I got distracted around him.

“She doesn’t really know all these people, does she?” He sounded almost concerned.

I chuckled lowly and shook my head, forcing my eyes from his. “No. I doubt she knows half.” He nodded once, and then held out a Sprite. At my wondering look he shrugged. “I was only going to make the trek once, so I got two. Trust me, you’d die of thirst before reaching that cooler.” I took the can with a quick thank you, and proceeded to pop it open. We both sipped our drinks for a moment, letting the music and the roar of the laughing crowd wash over us.

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Finally I found my voice. “So, how are you liking school?” He shrugged. “Some classes are better than others. I’ve never really liked math.”

“I’m with you on that,” I chuckled, and took another quick drink before continuing. “It’s a pretty good school, though.”

“The teachers are good,” he agreed. “And the students are really quite nice.”

Something seemed weird about the way he said that, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Besides, his accent made everything he said sound a little different.

“Have you lived here your whole life?” He asked.

“Mostly. I was born in California.”

“That’s a beautiful state,” he commented.

“Yeah. I wish I could remember more about it, though. I moved here when I was seven or so.”

“Not too long ago,” he shrugged, taking another drink.

“I guess.” I straightened, and forced myself to look at him.

“So, have you started our reading assignment? In Lit?”

“The House of the Seven Gables, yeah. I finished it this morning. Sort of bored, I guess.”

“You finished the whole book?”

He nodded. “It was a slow day. What about you?”

“I’ll be done with chapter ten by Monday,” I laughed, slightly breathless for some reason. The drink was cold, so that was probably it.

He grinned. “What do you think of it so far?”

“It’s pretty good,” I admitted slowly, considering. “Better than I thought it would be. The symbolism is pretty cool.”

“There’s a lot of that,” he agreed. “It’s a good book. Not the best, but not bad.”

“So . . . What is your favorite book?” He bit his lower lip and squinted into the crowd. “Hmm . . .

could you have picked a harder question?” He shook his head, then shrugged. “Would you laugh if I said Peter Pan?” 58 K • • •

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“Seriously?” I asked, completely shocked.

He nodded, still looking toward the deck. The Christmas lights shined and reflected in his eyes, making them appear all the more mysterious. “Sure. It’s got a boy who never grows old. What could be more fascinating than that? Forever young and happy.

You have to admit, it’s a great idea.”

“I agree, I just . . . I’ve never heard anyone pick that for a favorite.”

“You’ve read it?” He sounded a little surprised.

“It’s one of my favorites,” I admitted. “The Disney version isn’t so bad, either.”

“I haven’t seen that,” he said, before hurrying to take another drink. For some reason I got the impression that he’d said something he hadn’t meant to.

I pressed my lips together, then decided to ignore that for now, and just enjoy the conversation. Though I knew he wasn’t normal, I was really enjoying his company. Of course, I told myself that I was only pretending to be friendly. This was all part of the plan to make him slip up and reveal something devious. “You’ve never seen Peter Pan?” I tried. “That’s like, child abuse. It’s a classic. I think they really captured the magic of the story.”

“For a British guy, J. M. Barrie knew how to enchant an audience.”

I chuckled again, and my fingers played with the condensa-tion on my soda. “You sound like you don’t like the British.”

“Has anyone ever liked the British?” He teased.

“Come on—They’re polite, they’ve got great accents, and they drink a lot of tea. What’s not to like?”

“They’ve been at war with pretty much every country,” he pointed out. “They tried to rule the world.”

“Wasn’t that the Germans?”

“Them too,” he laughed.

“I can’t believe we’re at a party, talking about this.”

“And immortal flying boys,” he added, his lips twisting into a

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breathtaking half grin.

I laughed again, and that’s when Aaron stepped into our bubble. “Hey,” he said, glancing between us. “Sorry I’m late. Dad just doesn’t know when to stop, you know?” I swallowed hard, assuring myself that the disappointment I felt at Aaron’s intrusion was only because I was making progress with Patrick.

“Don’t worry about it,” I told him, keeping the smile firmly on my face. I gestured to Patrick with a small wave of my hand.

“We’ve just been talking about school. Can you believe he already finished The House of the Seven Gables?”

“Really?”

Patrick shrugged. “I didn’t have anything else to do.” He finished off his drink, and then excused himself to find the trash.

I watched him disappear into the thick crowd, and then Aaron spotted Jaxon. Without asking me he took hold of my elbow to guide me through the thick tangle of people, and I fought to cover my sigh while I let him lead me.

I stood with Aaron and his friends, and I kept my eye out for Patrick. But between all the people and their multi-colored auras, it was hard to see anyone specific. There was a moment I saw a flash of silver, and I supposed it was his strange aura. But when I tried to focus on it, it was gone. I soon gave up on trying to spot him, and instead I craned my neck to get a better view of the deck.

I knew Lee would be around there somewhere, and she’d be the perfect excuse to get away from sports talk.

There she was, still standing by the stereo. The Gothics she’d been entertaining were gone, and now she was only talking to one person. I felt my stomach drop.

She was talking to a Hispanic man, with a silver aura. It was him! The invisible man! He was here, talking to her!

“I’m going to find Lee,” I told Aaron quickly. I don’t know if he really heard me, but he didn’t stop me as I shrunk out of the circle and headed for the deck. I was soon swallowed up by the 60 K • • •

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pounding music and the thick crowd.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but a plan of action didn’t seem really necessary at the moment. This was the man who’d been haunting me, and now suddenly he was talking to my best friend—someone who hadn’t been able to see him last time. I may have decided against demanding answers from Patrick O’Donnell, but from this invisible man I was going to get my answers.

I pushed up the wooden stairs of the deck and then forced my way to the back corner. “Lee!” I called, knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to hear me, so close to the speakers. I wormed around a small group of giggling girls, and then bumped right into my best friend.

“Whoa!” She laughed, reaching out to steady us both. “Hey there, things are going great, huh? This has to be one of my best ever!”

My eyes darted around us, but he was gone. I couldn’t let him get away! “Lee, that guy you were talking to—where did he go?”

“Toni?” She asked, smiling. “Oh goodness, I wish you could have met him. But he said he had to run.”

“Did you see which way he went?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed as she recognized the worry in my voice.

“Yeah, he went that way. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’ll explain later,” I promised, already moving for the stairs.

Once free of the deck I pushed in the direction she’d pointed. I elbowed through the last of the crowd, and then found myself in the empty side yard.

The gate was still open, and with the sun completely gone now there wasn’t much light over here. Going from surrounded by body heat to empty night forced a shiver through my body, though I wasn’t cold. Despite myself, my footsteps slowed and I found myself actually pausing at the corner of the house. The music was still pounding loudly, but it was oddly distant now that I was nearly to the front yard. I hesitated, then followed my instincts. I peered cautiously around the corner of the house, like you see in

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the movies, and I wanted to gasp at what I saw.

Two men stood in the front yard. Their heads were bowed, and they were obviously having a heated discussion. They were both outlined in silver, and though their voices were low I heard every word.

“Come on,” the invisible man was saying lowly, in a dark but eerily playful way. “I was just having a bit of fun.”

“I’m not laughing,” Patrick said thinly, his voice incredibly deep.

“Look, just because you’re mad at me about that doesn’t mean you should ruin my Saturday night. For a while there, I thought I was teaching you how to be loose. Come on, man,” Patrick seemed unmoved. I found myself shivering again at the sound of his voice. “I’m counting to five. And you better be out of my sight, or I swear . . . ”

“No you don’t. I’ve never heard you curse.”