The Secret Bedroom (12 page)

A silent voice inside her, the voice of her conscience, most likely, her sensible voice, her realistic voice, told her to back away. Get out of there. Leave the door alone. Leave the ghost alone.

The voice told her to close up the attic. To stay away from there. To tell her parents about it. To tell her parents about Catherine. To let them deal with this. To let them face all the fear.

But that sensible voice was too quiet. It was
drowned out by a much shriller voice, a much more powerful voice, a much more compelling voice—the voice that called for revenge.

“Open the door!” Catherine called from inside the secret bedroom. “Please—open the door and come in.”

Lea turned the key and, without hesitating to listen to her sensible voice, pushed open the door and stepped in.

“I
didn't mean to hurt you last night,” Catherine said nervously, her hands clasped at her waist.

She stood in the center of the room, dressed as before, in the high-collared, ruffled white blouse and the heavy black skirt that went down to the floor.

The same candles glowed on the small table and on the dresser. Lea suddenly realized that the candles in this room must burn but never melt.

“I didn't mean to hurt you,” Catherine repeated, her expression serious and apologetic. “It's just that I hadn't touched anyone in so long. I—I forgot myself.”

“That's okay,” Lea said uncertainly. “I think I overreacted. I mean, I got scared and—”

“I won't do it again,” Catherine interrupted

“My name is Lea,” Lea told her, moving slowly into the room.

“It's a pretty name,” Catherine said softly, shyly.
“You're very pretty. I like your hair. Such an interesting hairstyle.”

“Bangs?” Lea exclaimed. “Interesting?”

“I always wanted dark hair,” Catherine said, sitting down in the hard-backed wooden chair by the table.

“But your hair is beautiful,” Lea insisted.

“Watch what I can do with it,” Catherine said, a spark of playfulness lighting her eyes.

As Lea watched with a mixture of awe and fright, Catherine made her blond hair grow brighter, brighter, until the golden curls seemed to throb and flash, sending rays of light twirling around the room. Then, just as quickly, Catherine's hair darkened, faded until it was as dark as the black velvet hair ribbon she wore, and all of Catherine seemed to grow dark and shadowy until she was only an outline, a suggestion, a dim presence.

“Come back,” Lea pleaded.

Catherine reappeared, obviously pleased with herself. “There are
some
advantages to being a ghost,” she said, smiling. “There are things it is possible to do without a body. And then there are things …” Her voice trailed off.

“Would you like to come outside?” Lea asked, blurting out the words almost as a single word. She knew if she said them slowly, she would rethink them and not say them at all.

“What?” Catherine's pretty face filled with surprise.

“Would you like to leave the room? Come outside with me?” Lea asked, her heart pounding.

Catherine's smile transformed her face. She jumped
happily to her feet. “Yes!” she cried. “Oh, yes! Yes! Thank you, Lea! I don't know how to thank you! You
do
believe in me, don't you?”

“What?” It was Lea's turn to be thrown off-guard by a question. “Believe in you?”

“You do believe that I'm a ghost? And that I won't harm you?” Catherine asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Lea didn't really want to think about that. In fact, she didn't want to think about anything. She wanted to
act.

If she thought about it, she knew she'd turn back.

And it was too late to turn back.

“Where shall we go?” Catherine asked excitedly, clapping her hands together. “Where will you take me?”

“To a friend's house,” Lea replied.

“A friend?”

“Well, she isn't really a friend. Actually she's an enemy, I guess you'd say.”

Catherine's face filled with bewilderment.

“Her name is Marci,” Lea said, deciding to tell Catherine everything before they began. “I want to play a joke on her, scare her a little.”

“A little?” Catherine asked.

“A lot!” Lea corrected herself.

Both girls laughed.

“I'm beginning to understand,” Catherine said, fussing with the tight collar of her blouse. “You want
me
to frighten Marci.”

“Can you make things float?” Lea asked.

“I can make
myself
float,” Catherine told her. “Is that what you mean?”

“No. I mean like, if you disappeared and lifted that candle holder,” Lea said, pointing.

“Do you mean like this?” Catherine vanished from sight. A few seconds later the candlestick appeared to lift off the dresser top and glide through the air toward Lea.

“Yes! That's it!” Lea cried happily. “That's perfect!”

Catherine reappeared then with a soft
whoosh
of air, standing beside Lea, the candlestick in her hand. “This could be fun,” she said, smiling. “I've never haunted anyone before.”

“I want to convince Marci that I have evil powers,” Lea said, unable to suppress an eager grin. “I worked out this whole idea on my way home from school. This girl has been so awful to me. I just want to pay her back so she'll leave me alone.”

“I'll be happy to help,” Catherine said, floating back across the room to replace the candlestick.

“You just have to follow my cues,” Lea said excitedly. “Make it appear that I'm making all kinds of strange things happen. I want to terrify Marci out of her wits. I want to make her so frightened that she'll never dare to hurt me again.”

“She'll never hurt you again,” Catherine repeated quietly to herself. She took Lea's hand and squeezed it gently. Catherine's hand felt so cold in Lea's.

Cold as death, Lea thought. But she forced herself not to react. She didn't want to hurt Catherine's feelings.

“I cannot believe you are taking me outside,”
Catherine said, floating up joyfully off the floor. “When can we go?”

Lea glanced at her watch. “It's quarter to five. Marci is probably home right now. Let's go now, Catherine.”

“Yes!” Catherine cried ecstatically. “Yes. Now. She'll never hurt you again. Yes!”

Catherine vanished from sight, startling Lea. She stared around the room, searching for her.

“Catherine? Where'd you go?”

Suddenly Lea began to feel strange. At first she felt dizzy. Then the dizziness became like a weight that pressed down on the top of her head.

“Catherine?”

Lea felt the weight press its way down on her head, down her shoulders and chest, then down on her entire body, lower, lower.

I feel as if I weigh a thousand pounds, she thought.

But then suddenly she felt as if the weight had been lifted and she became so light she might actually float away.

Then she had the sensation of losing control, losing all control.

“Catherine? What's happening?” Lea cried. “Oh—help! Catherine? Stop! Please stop! Catherine—what are you doing to me?”

“R
elax, Lea,” said a silent voice inside Lea's head. “I can feel the tension in your body.”

“Catherine—where are you? What have you done to me?” Lea cried.

“It will be fine,” the voice inside Lea's head said mysteriously.

“You—you're
inside
me!” Lea realized with horror. “Inside my brain!”

She was still standing in the attic room. At least, she
thought
she was standing. She couldn't feel her legs, she realized. Or her arms. Or anything.

Catherine has taken over my body, Lea thought. I'm still inside—but I'm no longer in control.

“It will be fine,” Catherine repeated. This time the words came out of Lea's mouth—in Lea's voice!

“Catherine—please!” Lea pleaded. “I'm frightened. I feel so strange.”

“I'm frightened too,” Catherine replied in Lea's
voice. “I've never been outside before. I won't hurt you, Lea. I promise. And I'll separate myself from you when we reach Marci's house. It doesn't hurt, does it?”

“No,” Lea admitted. “It just feels so strange. I feel so light, so weak. So out of control.”

“I'm sorry if it frightens you. But it would be impossible to travel any other way,” Catherine said, speaking softly through Lea's lips. “It would take all my energy. I'm not strong enough to travel any distance on my own.”

“And you promise you'll get out of my body when we reach Marci's?” Lea asked warily.

“Of course,” Catherine reassured her. “I am forever in your debt, Lea. You are so kind to invite me out. I don't want you to be frightened.”

Catherine's words calmed Lea. In a few seconds she was descending the ladder, a passenger in her own body. A few seconds after that, she had pulled on her down jacket and was walking toward Marci's house.

“Marci lives on Hawthorne Drive, just a few blocks from here,” Lea informed Catherine.

“It's so beautiful out here,” Catherine said.

Lea's feet crunched over the carpet of brown leaves that covered the ground and sidewalk. The sun had already lowered, leaving only a few traces of pink and scarlet in a graying sky. The sweet and pungent aroma of burning wood filled Lea's nose. Someone down the block had a fire going.

“Everything is so magical, more beautiful than I ever imagined,” Catherine said. Lea could feel warm tears sliding down her cheeks.

“I guess I usually take it all for granted,” Lea admitted.

They turned onto Hawthorne. Marci's house was just a few houses down the tree-lined block. The houses here were rambling and old, in style not much different from the houses on Fear Street, only in better condition, the lawns carefully manicured and raked clean of leaves.

“It's so exciting to be in a real body again!” Catherine exclaimed. “To feel the air on my face. To feel the cold. Just to
feel!”

“I'm glad,” Lea replied with less enthusiasm than she had intended.

If Catherine likes being in my body so much, will she leave it when we get to Marci's? Lea wondered, her fear returning. Will she keep her promise?

What will I do if she refuses to leave?

“Here we are,” Lea said as they walked up the gravel drive. Marci's house was white shingled, the shingles recently painted, with black shutters framing the windows, a sloping red roof on top.

As they stepped onto the front porch, Lea began to feel strange. For a brief moment she felt again as if she weighed a thousand pounds. And then she could feel the weight floating up, up, up from her body.

She raised her arm.

Lea was in control again.

She felt perfectly normal.

“Catherine?” she whispered.

“I'm right beside you,” Catherine, invisible, whispered back. “I'm so excited, Lea. This is the happiest day of my life.”

Catherine kept her promise, Lea thought with relief. I guess I can really trust her.

She rang the doorbell. “Now let's see if we can
ruin
Marci's day,” she whispered.

Despite her excitement, Lea was suddenly filled with doubt. What am I doing here? she thought. This is crazy. Insane. I let my anger control me. I just wasn't thinking clearly. This can't work.

But then she thought of Marci in the hall at school, making up stories about her, and she remembered the two girls who snickered as she passed. Her doubts faded to the back of her mind.

Lea rang the bell again. She heard rapid footsteps approaching from inside. The porch light went on above her head. Then the door was pulled open halfway, and Marci poked her head out, surprise on her face.

“What are
you
doing here?” Marci asked coldly, her breath smoking against the evening air.