Slumber (3 page)

“So,” said Tam, a half-smile playing on his lips. “What would your boyfriend think if he saw you looking at me like that?”

Shit! He caught me.
Ruby's cheeks burned, but before she could say anything, a loud voice came from the top of the stairs.

“What do you think you're doing?”

Ruby looked up to see the raven-haired girl from the bedroom. There was fury sparking in her emerald eyes, and her mouth was tight with rage. She'd changed into a filmy lace top, skintight jeans and leather riding boots, which somehow made her seem even more threatening as she stalked down the stairs toward them.

“Slumming with the servants, Tam?” she said cuttingly.

“Oh, I wouldn't call it slumming, Violet,” Tam replied easily. “I'd call it a refreshing change of pace from the usual bullshit around here.”

The girl called Violet reached the bottom step, hands digging into her hips like she was trying to prevent herself from clawing something—or someone. “If playing with trash is what you mean by a refreshing change of pace,” she said, her eyes sweeping dismissively over Ruby.

Was this spoiled brat calling her trash? Ruby's temper flared.

Tam smiled, as if he was highly amused by Violet's anger. “Ruby is a far more interesting conversationalist than I've been used to lately.”

“Funny, I thought you preferred the silent and stupid types.”

A cloud passed over Tam's face. “I don't want to talk about that, Violet.”

“Ex-lovers can be hard to forget, huh?”

Lovers?
Is that what Violet thought was going on?

“Hold on, we only just met,” Ruby said quickly.

Violet swung toward her. “
You
can shut your mouth. Servants speak when they are spoken to.”

Now Ruby was really pissed off. “Servants? I'm not your servant.”

“We're not in the old days, Vi,” Tam said, ice in his voice.

“I'm aware of what
days
these are, Tam. But some things never change, do they?”

“They sure don't—especially your jealousy. It's always been the ugliest thing about you.”

“How dare you—”

Violet came off the last step toward them, hands bunched into fists of rage. Tam jerked his head at Ruby, and his eyes darted to one of the doors leading off the foyer. Ruby got the message. While Violet launched into another screed involving words like
asshole
,
loser
, and some insults in languages Ruby didn't understand, Ruby backed away and slipped through the door.

Their voices faded as she stepped into a semi-darkened library with plush leather furniture. Of course this room was trashed too, with empty bottles everywhere, and glitter and confetti stuck to every surface. Pillows had been scattered all over the carpeted floor, and a strange smell hung the air, incense mixed with the scent of roses. Or maybe it was some expensive perfume that had spilled on the carpet. Whatever it was, the stifling atmosphere made Ruby's head spin. A glance at her watch told her that it was nearly two o'clock, the time she was supposed to leave, and she'd barely made a dent in the mess.

Tam appeared in the doorway as she was tossing a cracked crystal decanter into the garbage bag. “Hey, I'm sorry about that,” he said. “Violet gets off on spoiling people's fun.”

Violet gets off on being a bitch
. “Funny, I didn't know cleaning
was
fun,” she replied instead, gingerly plucking a lacy bra soaked in liquor off the floor and throwing it in.

“Maybe I'm just having a good time hanging out with you.”

He seemed to mean it. Ruby chose her next words carefully. She had to make things clear. “It's great that you're helping me, but that's as far as it goes. I'm just not into what you're into.”

Tam folded his arms, lips quirking. “How do you know what I'm into?”

There was something about his smile, and for a moment she forgot what she'd wanted to say.
Come on, Ruby. Pull yourself together.
“I don't have a boyfriend, okay? But I've seen the drugs and the group make-out seshes. That's not my idea of a good time, and I don't hook up with guys who think that way—”

“Ruby?”

She turned toward the sound of the new voice behind her and peered into the gloom. “Shawn?”

Shawn Mosely, the boy who blew off their date last night, stood in a doorway leading to another dimmed room. He was wearing only his boxers. Embarrassment warmed Ruby's cheeks when a beautiful redhead came up out of the shadows behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. Ruby supposed she should be grateful that the redhead had bothered to put on bikini underwear. But Shawn barely seemed to register the girl's hands slithering around his chest. In fact, he barely seemed aware of his surroundings.

“I hope you took it easy on him, Faelan,” Tam said.

“As easy as I ever do.” The girl chuckled sensuously.

Somewhere in the room's shadows, a clock daintily chimed twice. Two o'clock. Ruby's time at Cottingley was up.

“I'm out of here,” she said in disgust.

“That's a shame.” Tam unfolded his arms and took a step toward her. His expression was one of unfeigned disappointment. “I hope I see you around sometime.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn't count on it.”

“And look, I'm really sorry if we—if I—made you feel uncomfortable.”

Ruby was feeling plenty uncomfortable, looking into those deep black eyes…

Shawn's voice brought her back to reality.

“Can I go with you, Ruby?” he asked.

Ruby huffed out a sigh. As annoyed as she was with Shawn, she couldn't leave him. He looked disoriented, probably from taking some of the drugs lying around. “Yeah, I'll give you a ride. Just find your pants first, okay?”

She turned, expecting Tam to be smirking at her, but he'd disappeared, along with the redheaded girl.

For a moment she was disappointed. She shook her head. No, it was better this way. She'd had enough of this place and the people who lived here.

She never wanted to set foot in Cottingley Heights ever again.

Out in the driveway, Ruby hurriedly tossed her cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaner in the back of the minivan and slammed the hatch down. She looked over her shoulder. The windows of Cottingley seemed like eyes, watching her. Laughing at her. Now that she was out of the hedonistic atmosphere inside the mansion, she couldn't get away fast enough.

Shawn stood barefoot on the cobblestone driveway, blinking in the sun like he was waking up from a deep sleep—or coming off an intense high. He'd managed to find his glitter-speckled jeans but no shirt. Ruby was amazed he'd found even that much in Cottingley's unbelievable mess. “Get in,” she told him, since he seemed to still be disoriented.
He obeyed, dreamlike.

Ruby also got in and clipped on her seatbelt. “You know, you could have just told me that you wanted to go to this party instead of blowing off our date with a stupid excuse. I totally get that hanging at the gelato shop is way less fun than partying with rich supermodels.”

Her words seemed to snap him out of it. “Blow off our date? I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Give me a break. You don't remember texting you were ditching me because your dog was sick?”

“I don't! Seriously!” He looked upset. “I don't remember sending you a text. Or being invited to this party. I don't even have a dog!”

“Whatever.” It would be pointless to continue the discussion. Clearly Shawn was still semi-high.

Except to complain that he had a headache, Shawn didn't speak for the whole ride to his house, and when he stumbled out of her van and up the front steps, he never looked back.

“You're welcome,” she said to his retreating figure. She hoped he had a massive hangover.

By the time she fought the traffic on the 27, stopped to put a precious $10 worth of gas in the minivan's tank, and made it home to Sea Oats, it was dusk. Shelley sat at the dinette, coloring.
“Ruby!” she chirped brightly as Ruby banged in, dragging her vacuum and cleaning bucket.

“Hey girlfriend.” Ruby dropped the equipment right by the front door. “Whatcha doing there?”

“Drawing pictures.” Shelley held up a drawing of pink and purple figures capering on what looked like a cloud.

“Super-pretty unicorns,” Ruby said.

“They're princesses!”

“I knew that. I was just testing you.” Ruby ruffled Shelley's hair. “Where's Mom?”

Shelley went back to scribbling a yellow sun with extreme concentration. “She's still taking a nap.”

Ruby frowned. Mom never took naps. “When did she go lie down?”

Shelley shrugged. “After you left this morning. She's been sleeping a long time, I guess.”

Stay calm.

“I'm pretty hungry,” Shelley remarked matter-of-factly.

“I'll, um”—
STOP freaking out
—“go check on Mom then make some dinner, okay?”

Shelley grabbed a blue crayon. “'Kay.”

Ruby gave Shelley's hair another ruffle before she rose and forced herself to move slowly and deliberately to her mother's room.

She tapped on the door and pushed it open. “Mom? Everything okay?”

Her mother lay in bed with the caftan pulled over her. In the half-light coming through the blinds, she could see that the circles under her mother's eyes seemed to have deepened. Ruby's breath caught as she reached out to her, then flowed out in a sigh as Mom woke up immediately at her touch.

“I guess I fell asleep again,” Mom said with an apologetic laugh. “Why is it so dark in here?”

“Shelley says you've been sleeping all day.”

“I have?” Mom looked shocked. “That's impossible. What time is it?”

“It's six o'clock.”

Mom gasped. “Is Shelley alright?”

“She's fine. Hungry, but fine.”

A little bit of color came back to her mother's face. “Thank God. Honestly, I had no idea I'd be so tired. I'll get dinner started—”

“No, you stay in bed,” Ruby said quickly. Despite the eight-hour nap, her mother still looked exhausted, and she winced when Ruby turned on the bedside light. “I'll fix us something to eat.”

“Thanks, hon.” Mom settled back down. “How was the job at Cottagers?”

“Cottingley.” Ruby picked up the empty water glass by her mother's bed. “It was fine. Typical after-party cleanup.” No way could she tell her about the insanity she experienced there. Her mother would just worry.

The bareness of their kitchen was even more obvious after the luxurious waste of Cottingley Heights. She heated up a can of franks 'n' beans and stretched it with a side of saltine crackers and a cut-up apple. “Magic beans,” she told Shelley when she put the plate in front of her. “Bon appétit.”

“Fee fi fo fum, I'm going to put you in my tum.” Shelley scooped up a spoonful and ate it with one gulp. “But I'll save one to plant outside.”

Ruby chuckled and nibbled on a saltine. Despite not eating basically all day, she was barely hungry.

She wondered what Tam would be doing right now. It was just as easy to picture him sitting down to a feast or not eating at all.

I bet Violet never eats. Wouldn't want to spoil that figure, not when your personality sucks big time.

Why would a guy who seemed so nice hang around such jerks, especially that ultra-bitch? And why was Tam so nice to
her
? She was just the hired help. But he'd wanted to hang with her, even though it was obvious he could have his pick of girls.

Or maybe it was just a game of Bag the Cleaning Lady and he'd already forgotten all about her.

Not that it mattered. Because she was never going back, and she would never see him again, or Violet, or any of the others. She didn't know why she kept thinking about them. Stupid, really.

Ruby supervised Shelley's planting of her saved bean in the gravely patch of dirt outside their front door, then got her ready for bed. After reading out ‘Jack and the Beanstalk' from the fairy tale book for the zillionth time, Ruby tucked Shelley under the covers.

“Nighty night.” She gave her sister a kiss on the forehead.

“Can we sing ‘Scarborough Fair'?” Shelley asked, puppy-eyed.

“I've got a ton of homework, Shells—”

“Please?”

Ruby sighed. She still had so much to do: cleaning up, homework, checking on Mom. Plus the ordeal of Cottingley was catching up with her. The weight of exhaustion settled over Ruby like a blanket. But ‘Scarborough Fair' was the family favorite. Ruby wore out her mother's Simon & Garfunkel album before they were forced to pawn the stereo, and they still sang the song in the minivan at least three times a week.

Ruby gave in. “Sure.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
”

“
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme…
” Shelley joined in, counting the herbs off on her fingers.

They sang a couple of rounds, then Ruby said, “For reals, Shelley, time for bed.”

“Okay, Ruby,” Shelley slurred sleepily. After making sure the nightlight was working properly, so she wouldn't stub her toe later in the dark, Ruby tiptoed out and went to check on her mother.

“That was nice,” Mom said when she entered the bedroom. “You girls have pretty voices.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Ruby picked up her mother's plate. She'd managed to eat less than half of her share of dinner. At least it was something.

“Your father loved that song,” Mom murmured drowsily. “He used to sing it to you girls, remember?”

Dad strumming his beat-up guitar, singing softly next to Shelley's crib. Dad enfolding Ruby in his big bear hug, smelling like Juicy Fruit gum and Old Spice aftershave.

“I remember.”

Mom's eyes were misty. “And how he'd let you jump from the top bunk bed into his arms, even though it gave me a heart attack every time.”

Ruby grinned. “Yeah.”

“And feed the raccoons living under the tool shed in the back yard.”

“I remember you yelling that they'd bite him and he'd get rabies.”

They both laughed.

“Your father would look at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.” Mom drew in a shuddery sigh. “Don't ever forget him, Ruby.”

As if she could. “No, Mom. I won't.”

“You're a lot like him, you know.”

“I am?” Ruby was surprised. Her mother had never said anything like that to her before. “How?”

“There's a strength in you, sweetie. Just like he had.”

Even though sometimes she felt like a big, scared baby?

“Thanks, Mom. That…means a lot.”

After washing up, Ruby settled down at the dinette to do her homework. Her grades were really taking a beating this semester, which would be hard to brush over on her college applications.
Good thing I want to be an actor, not a brain surgeon
, she mused as she dragged her calculus textbook out of her backpack. Still, NYU was an elite school with tough application standards, and she needed good grades.

Seconds later, she found herself blinking sleepily over the problem sets. “Maybe if I close my eyes, just for a few minutes,” she muttered, and her lids drooped shut.

She found herself wearing Violet's shimmery green dress, walking in a field fragrant with flowers. Tam was there. He took her hand, laughing, and spun her around. She laughed too, and they started dancing, the flowers crushing under her bare feet, cool and slippery, the wind gentle, and Tam's hand was sure and firm while lightning crackled overhead and thunder boomed on the horizon. Tam leaned forward, and she raised her face to his, anticipating. His lips captured hers, soft and warm. And then everything tasted of honey.

She woke with a start, her face plastered against the textbook, sweating, heart pounding. “Damn,” she muttered, the taste of honey lingering, the feeling of Tam's mouth on hers making her lips burn.

“Shelley, hurry up. The bus is here!”

“I'm just saying bye to Mom.” Shelley ran out of their mother's room, pink Disney Princesses backpack bouncing behind her. Ruby finished sweeping the crumbs up from the piece of toast she'd given her sister for breakfast. Thank God for free school lunches, so her sister would at least get one square meal today. She gave Shelley a friendly swat on the butt as she ran out the door to the waiting school bus.

Ruby was running late herself. After staying up late to finish her homework, she'd dragged herself to bed totally exhausted. The strange dream about Tam had stayed with her. The dream kiss was so intense, so
real
, she'd found it difficult to concentrate on her homework, which made it take twice as long as usual. Then, once she did manage to drop off, her slumber was so deep she slept through her alarm and had to rush through the morning routine. She rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, but it didn't help. She still felt sleepy.

After Shelley's school bus had pulled away, Ruby peeked in on her mother.

“How are you feeling?” she asked from the doorway.

Her mom was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Better,” she answered. Then she stood, wobbled, and fell.

“MOM!” Ruby rushed to crouch beside her. “That's it, we're going to the emergency room.”

The color had drained from Mom's face and she was breathing heavily. “But you have school—”

“No arguing.” Ruby gripped her mother under the arms and helped her back onto the bed. “I'll make up the missed classes. I always do. You need to see a doctor.”

Her mom nodded wearily. “All right. I guess we'll figure out how to pay for it later.”

Mom couldn't walk by herself, so Ruby helped her pull on a sweater over her pajamas and got her settled in the minivan. While Ruby was fighting the traffic to the hospital, horns blaring as she weaved through the lanes, her mom almost fainted again. By the time she pulled into the parking lot, her mom's face was putty-colored, and her breath came in short gasps. Ruby had to almost carry her inside, anxiety and worry eating at her. Mom felt so frail in her arms.

Today they were in luck: the emergency room wasn't packed end-to-end. The nurse called her mom's name almost right away. Ruby stood, but her mom shook her head.

“No, I don't want you to come with me,” she told Ruby, sternly.

“But Mom—”

“I mean it, honey. It's no place for you.”

“We'll take it from here,” the nurse said, signaling the orderly to bring up a wheelchair.

Ruby sank back down on the ratty bench as the nurse and orderly helped her mom in the wheelchair and disappeared with her down the corridor. Nervously, she chewed a hangnail. What if her mom's illness was serious? What if she had cancer? Would this shit be happening to them if Dad were still alive? What if, what if, what if…

A girl about her age with one arm in a sling was ushered into the waiting room. She sat a couple of chairs from Ruby, a dazed expression on her face, and her frizzy hair caught messily in a ponytail. At first Ruby only gave her a cursory glance. But her eyes were drawn back to the girl. Something about her was so familiar.

Red kimono.

Almond eyes.

“What are you looking at?” the girl snapped.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare,” Ruby said. She turned away, flushing as she remembered the half-naked, writhing bodies. She wasn't planning on being the first to bring that up.
Hey, how did you break your arm since I saw you at that orgy yesterday?
Not great emergency room conversation.

“But you were, so what're you staring at?” the girl demanded.

“Nothing really. It's just that I think I've seen you before. Were you at a party this weekend?”

“Party?”

“Yeah. At Cottingley Heights. It was a rager.”

What little color was left in the girl's face drained away.

“I didn't go to a party,” she said. “But I
dreamed
that I had.”