August Page 16

  On the bright side, Mrs. Hightower had told us that Carley would be just fine. On the downside, doom waited for me the next night when both Samuel and Holt were expected for dinner.

  Wow. I had thought it would be bad when my dad met my first boyfriend, but I was sure this was going to be tons worse.

  Once Mrs. Hightower had made Samuel promise to come to the house, he reluctantly left. I don’t think he wanted to leave, but I knew he wouldn’t stick around with Holt there. He gave me one last look before he left. I was just as torn, because part of me wanted him to stay so that I could hear how he had rescued Carley. But I didn’t want to ask in front of Holt.

  He moved over to sit next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. He felt wonderfully warm and solid.

  Soon after Samuel left, Nick came back. The doctor had told him that he just needed to rest and that he’d have “a real shiner.” Instead of being upset or tired, Nick was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait to show Carley.

  Finally, when Mrs. Hightower shooed us away, Nick headed home to reassure his parents that he didn’t have brain damage, and Holt offered to drive me back to Carley’s.

  “I don’t know why he’s so proud of that black eye,” I muttered when we were walking to the parking lot.

  Holt laughed. “You don’t? He fought for the girl he loves and he’s proud of it. Does that surprise you?” He held his car door open for me and I got in.

  Once he’d started the car I said, “It’s just stupid. Look at his face!”

  “You think the idea of guys fighting over a girl is stupid?” asked Holt.

  Suddenly I realized where he was going with that and blushed.

  “I’d prefer guys didn’t have to fight over me,” I murmured.

  “What was that you said?” asked Holt, leaning closer to me and pretending he hadn’t heard properly.

  “Oh, shut up,” I said, slouching back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s been a long night.”

  “How are you doing?” Holt asked. We hadn’t had much chance to talk at the hospital. At first we’d been too worried about Carley, and then Mrs. Hightower had shown up. I’d basically been running on adrenaline and fear, and I still wasn’t sure if there would be any lasting effects on Carley. Yeah, Samuel had said she’d been fine, but how could he know?

  I slumped further down in the seat.

  “You alright?” Holt asked again.

  “Is Carley going to be okay?” I asked.

  “Of course,” said Holt. “Samuel knows what he’s doing and they got to her in time.”

  “Yeah, but if she was really alright she wouldn’t be in the hospital,” I pointed out.

  Holt sighed. “They’re just making sure she’s okay. Stable. That’s all. She’s going to be fine.”

  After that he asked what had happened at Chelsea’s house. I told him everything. I even told him about Lydia and Leslie being terrible excuses for human beings. He pointed out that they had sort of redeemed themselves by helping Samuel get Carley out of the water, but I ignored that. I was convinced that they had an ulterior motive for helping him and weren’t doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, because at this point I was pretty sure they didn’t have any.

  I reached out and took Holt’s hand. I felt him hesitate for a second, then relax. We drove the rest of the way like that.

  Once we were at the house, Holt waited until I’d turned some lights on to drive his car home. He was coming right back, of course. Now more than ever I apparently needed someone with me, but he couldn’t leave the car at the house without Mrs. Hightower knowing that he was there.

  He told me to go inside and lock the door and that he would be right back. I thought he was being a bit silly. It wasn’t as if there was an ocean in the living room for a Water Sprite to jump out at me from, but I did what he said.

  I was too tired to want to do anything but crawl into bed, but I still had a lot of sand on me from sitting on the beach, so I took a quick shower. I hurried, because I really didn’t want Holt to get to the house while I was naked. At least, I didn’t think I did.

  I hopped into bed as soon as I was dressed, and no sooner had I pulled the covers up to my chin than there was a soft tap on the door. I let him in, and in the light from the nightstand I could see that he’d changed into a plain t-shirt and workout shorts, more comfortable to sleep in than what he’d been wearing earlier. I found myself briefly wondering what he slept in, or didn’t sleep in, when he was alone….

  “How do you get up there?” I asked. “There are no trees out there or anything else to grab onto. Do Fairies have super strength?”

  “Not exactly,” said Holt. “But I do have a plant bring me.”

  “You…what?” I asked.

  Holt shrugged. “It’s summer. My connection with growing things is strong, so if I need to get up somewhere high.…”

  “Samuel said something about that earlier,” I said thoughtfully. “But a plant isn’t very superhero-like.”

  Holt looked at me sharply. “What did Samuel say earlier? And I’m not a superhero, so that’s okay.”

  “He just said that he and the Cheshire girls weren’t as strong in the summer, because it wasn’t their time. Winter is their time.”

  Holt nodded. “It’s true. They could still fight us in the summer because there are more of them, but it’s not as easy. Not when we have all the wonders of light and life to draw on.”

  I scooted over in the bed so he could hop in. Instantly I felt safer with him there. I cuddled into his shoulder and put my hand on his chest, glad for his strong arm around me.

  “I really don’t see why I need protection when I’m not even swimming,” I grumbled.

  I could feel Holt’s chest rise softly as he laughed.

  “You want me to leave?” he teased.

  I felt my cheeks warm.

  “That’s not what I meant,” I murmured.

  “What did you mean?” he asked.

  I turned my head up to look at him. He was looking down at me. There was such warmth in his eyes. I smiled. Under my hand I could feel his heart starting to beat faster.

  “Well?” he asked, grinning.

  Again, I’d been caught staring.

  “Oh, um…I just meant that I’m safe here,” I replied.

  “I know,” said Holt, “but the Sprite has now come after you and your best friend.”

  I was too tired to process what he was telling me; I didn’t want to have to figure it out. My eyes were already drooping closed despite my best efforts to keep them open. I just wanted him to say it in plain English, so I asked, “What exactly does that mean?”

  “It means,” said Holt softly into my hair, “that we are more sure than ever that the Water Sprite is targeting you specifically.”

  That news should have alarmed me. I knew that. It probably would alarm me when I had more energy for the worry it would cause to heat up. That’s what my mom always said: worry just eats up energy that could be better spent on something else. She always thought that something else should be cleaning my room or homework. Foolish Mummy.

  “It’s coming after me?” I asked sleepily.

  “Maybe,” said Holt very quietly.

  “You should have told me,” I said, trying for indignation but only managing a yawn. “I might need to learn to protect myself.”

  “Probably,” said Holt. Again very softly.

  “But you’ll protect me,” I pointed out.

  “Always.” He kissed the top of my head and that’s the last thing I remember before falling asleep.

  When I woke up the next morning Holt was gone. I’d expected as much. He hadn’t stayed around the night before last either.

  I hurried out of bed. It was one thing to put myself in danger (and let’s face it, I usually did that when I was stupid and not thinking), but another thing entirely for my friends to get hurt because of me. Being a damsel in distress could only carry me so far. I had to check on Carley.

&nbs
p; I texted Holt, but when he didn’t respond instantly I texted Samuel. He didn’t answer either. Why couldn’t I have gotten two Fairy princes who kept better track of their phones?

  Once I was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts and had tried to do something with my hair, I stomped downstairs. I wanted to know what was going on with the Water Sprite. I was pretty tired of these Fairies not keeping me in the loop.

  I was ready to march out the door and not stop until I had answers from someone: Holt, Samuel, Susan, or even Logan – but Mrs. Hightower stopped me.

  She was in the kitchen, which for some reason I hadn’t expected. I had thought she’d still be at the hospital with Carley.

  “Morning,” I said when I came into the room.

  She was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. A cup of coffee and some toast were in front of her.

  “Morning,” she said cheerfully. “I’m heading back to pick up Carley soon.”

  “She’s fine?” I asked, relief flooding every part of my body.

  “Yup. Doc said she’s completely fine. Even though the kids said she hit her head, there’s no sign of it. She did get some water down her lungs, but that’s about it. She doesn’t remember anything that happened. She’s a little weak, but with a bit of rest she should be good to go. Hopefully by dinner tonight.”

  I gulped. Oh yeah. Dinner. Just another stop on the awkward train that was my life.

  “Have you heard from Nick?” I asked, hoping he’d be there tonight as well. At least he’d be more of a buffer between Samuel and Holt.

  “Of course. I don’t think I could keep him away from Carley if my life depended on it. I’m not sure she realizes how much he cares about her, though.” She frowned. I didn’t say anything even though I agreed with her.

  “Anyway,” she said, finishing her coffee and getting up. “I’m going to go get Carley. I was planning to stop at the grocery store afterwards to pick up some stuff for tonight; I think I’m going to make spaghetti and meatballs with red sauce. But I think it would be best if I brought Carley straight home. Could you….”

  “Of course,” I said. “Happy to.”

  “Great! Here’s the list and here’s some money,” she said. She dug out a couple of twenties from her wallet. “If there’s anything you want to get for yourself, feel free.”

  “Oh, um, no thanks. You already do so much for me,” I said, feeling awkward. Carley and Mr. Hightower were letting me live at the house for the summer for nothing, after all.

  “Don’t be silly,” she scoffed. “We love having you.”

  I guess my yelling at whoever deserved it would have to wait. Mrs. Hightower needed me to get this stuff for her, and who was I to say no? She might like having me around, but she’d probably change her mind if she knew I was the reason some magical creature had tried to kidnap her daughter and that’s why she was in the hospital. I thought about this dejectedly as I headed for the door. Yeah, she’d probably change her mind really fast if she knew about that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I wasn’t looking forward to the grocery store, because I always seemed to run into a Cheshire when I went around town. I remembered the time I saw Samuel’s mom in UP, UP and Away. She’d come there looking for me so she could order me around, but still, ever since then, whenever I was in UP, UP and Away and I’d felt a draft come through the door, I wondered if it was her again, and shivered. Her cold stayed with me long after she was gone. Luckily, she was still away, or at least I hadn’t heard anything about her. I hoped it stayed that way for the rest of the summer – or the rest of my life.

  Castleton was deserted as I walked along. It was still pretty early in the day and most of the kids in the town had been at Chelsea’s the night before. It felt like a long time ago already, and I was just now realizing how much magic the Cheshires must have done. I was sure that none of the kids at the party would remember what had happened, even though they had been watching. Even Nick thought Carley had just hit her head. I hoped it stayed that way.

  I got everything on Mrs. Hightower’s list at the grocery store and headed for home. She’d had me pick up stuff for dinner, plus a lot of sweets for “poor Carley” stuck on bed rest. Carley was going to be the happiest almost-drowned person ever.

  All the while I’d been in the store I’d been aware that the ocean was in view from the windows. A couple of times I’d snuck over to peak out at the blue surf. It was beautiful. The water didn’t look anything like the blackness that had swallowed Carley the night before.

  I decided I needed to make a mental list of all the stuff I needed to talk to everyone about:

  1. See how Carley was doing.

  2. See how Nick’s face was doing.

  3. Find out about becoming a Fairy.

  4. Find out where Holt had been for the last month.

  5. Find out about becoming a Fairy.

  Okay, so now I was repeating myself.

  After I’d paid for the groceries I headed outside, and when I was out the door I glanced at the water again. I could feel its pull on me. It was just such a nice day and the water looked so calm and serene....

  Without hesitation I wandered down towards the water. There were people on the beach, but this wasn’t one of the really popular spots. The sand was rough and there were a lot of stones that made it uncomfortable to sit. Besides, today wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been the past couple of days.

  I wandered onto the sand, enjoying the sun on my face. I still held the bag of groceries, but soon I put it down so that I could take in the scene in front of me without having to bother with it. I felt completely relaxed and happy, like everything in the world was going to be just fine.

  Even when I concentrated as hard as I could, I couldn’t really think of anything that had been going wrong recently.

  Without thinking about it, I kicked off my shoes and hurried towards the water.

  My feet were inches away from the wet sand, where I knew in just a minute another wave would wash up on shore, covering my ankles in cool, salty water.

  Since it was blustery outside, I tied my hair back against my neck to keep it out of my eyes.

  All I wanted to do was plunge into the ocean, to feel the cold surrounding me and refreshing me. That’s what summers in Maine were for, after all: swimming on beautiful days like today.

  Something held me back, though. No matter how much my heart wanted me to jump in and embrace the waves, somewhere in the dim recesses of my brain a voice was screaming.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it. Frowning in concentration, I tried to remember what was wrong. Something was wrong. I knew there had been something wrong this morning, but I couldn’t…quite…remember….

  I lifted my right foot, but hesitated. I could feel the waves calling to me. I know it sounds crazy, but they wanted me with them and I wanted to go.

  Just then, though, an image snapped into my head so fast that it made me pause. It was of Holt last night and of me lying happily on his chest. He’d been so warm and so safe. That was real. That was wonderful.

  It occurred to me that the ocean wasn’t going to be safe and it probably wasn’t going to be warm, either. The damned ocean was hardly ever warm.

  I took a step back and shuddered, and the waves seemed to rise up in anger, demanding to know why I didn’t want to join them. I was suddenly very cold.

  But I stood my ground.

  Shaking and shuddering, I backed away from the water – and I suddenly felt like I was being ripped out of a trance. I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere near the water! Holt and Samuel had both told me it would be dangerous and here I was all alone, about to dive right in, dressed in my street clothes.

  I stumbled back to the grocery bag and picked it up before giving one last reluctant glance over my shoulder at the waves. Unlike a minute ago when the water had looked like a flesh-eating monster, it now looked calm and normal.

  I sighed and shook my head. The Water Sprite must be doing something to me, I tho
ught. That’s the only explanation for how I could be so stupid. No one would have been around to help me if I had gone in; I would have been completely on my own.

  “Hi, Autumn,” said a voice ahead of me as I crested the small hill and landed back on the main road.

  Startled, I looked up. Logan was lounging on a bench by the side of the road, eating an apple. He wore a blue button-down and white shorts and looked exactly like he had just stepped out of a J. Crew advertisement. Somehow I didn’t find it attractive.

  “Hi, Logan,” I said. I continued to walk. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was way past time for me to be home.

  Logan jumped up from the bench and fell into step beside me. “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Fine,” I replied. Ever since Logan had caught me in Holt’s room – which I seriously hoped he hadn’t told his older brother about – I’d felt uncomfortable around him.

  “It looked like you were going to go for a swim,” he commented, taking a large bite out of his apple.

  “Um, no,” I said. “Just looking.”

  “Sure,” said Logan, grinning. “That’s what I thought. Must go!”

  His house was not far away and he walked away without so much as a “Have a Nice Day.”

  I glared at his back. It had been odd to run into him this morning, but I forgot to wonder about what was odd with Logan when my phone buzzed.

  I glanced at it, relieved to see Holt’s name pop up.

  “Mind if I come a bit early for dinner?” he asked.

  “No, not at all. In fact, that’d be great. When are you coming?” I wanted to know, thinking of all the questions I still had for him. He seriously needed to stop disappearing before I woke up in the morning. The thought of the past two nights in bed with him made me blush, but luckily no one was there to see it.

  I could see Carley’s mom’s car in the driveway, which meant that Carley was home. I raced up the steps and burst into the living room. Carley was sitting on the sofa bed watching TV, about to stuff a handful of Doritos into her mouth.