The Shelf (Dead-End Ave) Page 13

  Eighteen, the age when Rikgso would come. Suddenly Aeryal was there, standing at the edge of the bed. Her brows drew down at the sight of Bri and Korey in each other’s arms. “You,” she whispered menacingly, “deserve what you get. Didn’t I tell you he was mine?”

  “No! I didn’t know it was him! Please, Aeryal!”

  Her friend raised one arm and beckoned to someone behind her. “Come, my pet demon, please kill my ex-friend for me.”

  Bri heart pumped so far she swore it was about to pop right out of her chest, and then suddenly there was harsh breathing behind her. She rolled over to see Korey transforming slowly into the horrible demon.

  “She’s right, you know. You have to die.”

  Her scream reverberated throughout the room.

  ****

  Bri awakened to Gerald’s hands around her throat.

  “Stop!” she shrieked.

  Gerald chuckled reassuringly. “Relax, it’s okay. You’re with me. I’m just taking off this necklace you have on, it was getting tangled around your neck while you slept.”

  Feeling silly, she shook her head to clear it. “Thanks.” A quick glance out the window told her that they were almost there. A wave of unease rolled over her again and she lolled her head to the side. It felt so good to be reclining that she edged down some more until her head hit something soft. Bri snuggled in until she realized that the ‘something soft’ was Gerald’s shoulder.

  “Should I move?” she said sleepily, a yawn cracking her jaw.

  “No.” Gerald’s voice was very comforting and peaceful. “Stay right where you are. Go ahead back to sleep, you need the rest.”

  “Ok. It will just be a short nap this time.” She snuggled in again, trying to shake the chills sliding down her back. As the truck rolled along, she finally felt into a dreamless sleep.

  CHAPTER

  20

  They turned onto the road for the hotel and Bri studied it curiously. It didn’t seem like there was a lot going for it, but maybe that was just in her eyes. They parked in the grass, at the end of a long trail of cars and got out.

  “Ready?” Their eyes met over the top of the car.

  “Ready,” she nodded and moved to the car to grab their bags. Gerald pulled both bags from her grip easily.

  “Let me carry those.” He smiled off-handedly and Bri once again found herself smiling back. There was some sort of spark to Gerald that hadn’t been there before, and it was really drawing her in. She was seriously attracted to him, and that smile. When he shifted both bags to one hand, and took her hand with the other, it felt natural.

  Hand in hand, they approached the hotel.

  There were a few seniors that she knew from school milling around the lobby, and Bri stopped to say a couple of hellos here and there. Most wore bathing suits or damp towels, and she frowned, remembering that her own bikini was still folded in her drawer at home.

  Gerald nodded to a few of the nerdier guys that Bri didn’t know well. Eyes following the loud group, still dripping as they made their way back to their rooms, he commented, “Guess that means there is a pool. Going in?”

  “Forgot my suit.”

  “Ah,” was all he said, but she could see the look of disappointment on his face.

  Hastily, she continued, “Well, at least Shanice is close to my size. Knowing her, she’s got at least five suits tucked away in her luggage. The only problem is that her idea of modesty is way less than mine is. I’ll be lucky to get a suit that actually covers everything I want it to.”

  His grin was mischievous. “I don’t see how that’s a problem.”

  Playfully punching his arm, she scowled, “I’ll just bet you wouldn’t.” Then they reached the other end of the large lobby, and just inside the glass doors to the patio, sat Deanna and Rob.

  Her friend’s face was tear-streaked. She leaned against the wall, shaking and just looking at Rob, who slumped on a little couch, head in his hands. Letting out a little sob as Bri and Gerald approached, Deanna swiped one hand across her eyes and sighed. Slowly, she stepped forward and gripped Bri in a tight hug. As she stepped back, she took Bri by the shoulders and sighed again. “Shanice is dead, Bri. She killed herself.”

  ‘What?!’ Bri’s jaw dropped as she glanced from one friend to another. “Are you guys kidding me?”

  “No, I wish. That’s why Chas isn’t even here. He’s at home, in bed.”

  She swung her gaze to Rob, waiting for him to dismiss Deanna’s crazy claim, and just tell her that it was a joke. Just a stupid, retarded joke, since she hadn’t returned any of their calls and they were pissed with her. Tell her that Shanice and Chas were upstairs sleeping off the long drive.

  But Rob didn’t, wouldn’t, meet her eyes.

  “Is this true?” Neither of her friends said anything. Deanna leaned again along the wall, head pressed against the smooth surface.

  Anger surged to the surface as the two remained mum. “Answer me!” she shrieked. Shanice wasn’t dead; she and Bri went all the way back from Jr. Kindergarten. It was impossible. Killed herself? “Answer me!”

  Gerald, who had been silent the entire time, now stepped forward. “Hey! She’s asking you a question. Don’t you see that Bri’s stressed out enough already? Answer her!”

  At that moment, Deanna seemed to pull herself out of her hysteria just a bit, enough to straighten up and glare at Gerald. Rob, too, raised his head, got up and stood face-to-face with Gerald.

  “Obviously, we don’t have any more answers than you do, kid, or we’d be giving them out.”

  Deanna folded her arms and stared between Bri and Gerald. “Who are you exactly?”

  One hand slipped around Bri’s shoulder protectively. “I’m with Bri.” Gerald’s voice was mean and a little menacing, she thought. It was clear that he didn’t like either of her friends. Why, she had no clue. She would deal with that later. Right now, she needed to find out what was going on with Shanice.

  Swinging the sudden glare to Bri, Deanna just shook her head. Pointing at Gerald, she rolled her eyes. “Bri?” That was all she needed to say to convey her message: Ditch the loser.

  Looking from Deanna to Rob to Gerald and back to Deanna, she shook her head slightly, eyes locked with her friend’s. “Guys, its okay, really. He’s with me.” A sudden need to protect him washed over her, and at the moment, she knew that she wouldn’t let anyone send him away. “Is this news about Shanice true?”

  Before either of them could answer, Gerald spoke up. “How about I go see about checking us in, Bri?”

  Caught off-guard, she just stared at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Then she remembered that neither she nor Gerald even had rooms as yet. “Um, okay, that would be good.”

  They all watched Gerald saunter away toward the check-in desk. Only then, did Rob this time, answer her question. “Uh huh. We found out this afternoon when we went to pick her up for the road trip. Ambulances, police cars, you name it, all parked on her street.” Twisting on his locks absently, he shook his head. “A real mess. Chas was over there, her mom was screaming that it was his fault, he was screaming that it was her mom’s fault.” He shook his head again.

  As he paused, Deanna jumped in. “All she left was a little note, saying ‘Tell my friends goodbye.’

  “Especially Bri,” Rob mumbled.

  Frowned creased Bri’s features. “Huh?”

  Rob cleared his throat. “I’m saying, what the note actually said was, ‘Tell my friends goodbye, especially Bri.’ I saw it when the police were carrying it out in a plastic bag.”

  With the onslaught of terrible news, Bri hadn’t taken a moment to be upset, frightened or devastated. She’d still been in shock. Now with Rob’s admission that Shanice had mentioned her specifically in a suicide note, strong emotions were building up inside. And she could feel a major freak-out coming on.

  …..the glint from the large knife Shanice held against her own throat caught her eye. Before she could say anything, the oth
er girl drew the knife across her throat, blood running like a sheet down her chest…..

  A vision. That’s what she had, a vision of Shanice’s suicide. A suicide which had coincidentally come supposedly just minutes after Rikgso’s message about showing her how serious he was.

  She could feel an extra presence around her, something cloaking her like a sheet. Without thinking, she reached out with her mind and latched on to it. ‘Hey, you dumb demon! Did you do this? Are you responsible for my friend’s death?’ She knew the evil demon was behind it all, and she wasn’t going to let him off the hook. He was going to tell her, NOW.

  But there was no answer this time, no heavy, weighted tones responding to her furious accusation. Instead, there was just laughter, an insulting sound of amusement.

  Bri fumed. How dare he laugh? As she snapped back to herself, she found Rob and Deanna both staring at her, a little worriedly.

  “You okay, girl?” Deanna asked.

  “I’m fine,” she responded harshly, and was instantly sorry for her snappish response. “Why isn’t the Senior Trip cancelled for mourning? This is horrible news.”

  Rob was shaking his head. “We’re the only ones that know,” he rumbled. “No one else around here knows that Shanice is dead.”

  “What?” Bri’s head spun. “Why not?”

  “We haven’t told them.” Deanna’s eyes were wide. “This is the Senior Trip. Kids have been waiting for this for the entire year. I didn’t want to ruin it for them, you know? Come up here and announce that Shanice killed herself? What a downer.”

  Unable to believe what she was hearing, Bri took a step back. Because Deanna and Rob didn’t want to ruin the Senior Trip, they chose not to tell Shanice’s classmates about her death? This was probably the last time any of them would be together. And now Bri was wondering if she should even trust them. Maybe Shanice wasn’t really dead. Maybe they were just telling her that to play on her fears. When she’d fainted at Fantasy, she hadn’t told anyone what she’d seen that made her faint. What if Deanna and Rob knew about her vision because Rikgso told them? Maybe one of them was really the demon in disguise.

  Something in her head told her not to trust them, at least for the moment until she could prove that they were telling the truth. Narrowing her eyes, she turned toward the lobby. It was probably in her best interest, not to be alone with her friends. Thank goodness Gerald had driven up with her.

  With her friends in tow, she headed to the lobby desk to check on the room reservations. Having spied her coming, Gerald met her halfway there. “You’re all set,” he said, handing her a plastic room key, “checked in and everything. But the thing is, they don’t have any more rooms available.”

  “Pity,” Deanna mumbled meanly.

  Ignoring her, Gerald continued. “Do you mind if I stay in your room, Bri? I’d hate to have to drive all the way back down at this time of evening. Plus, I don’t see that it would be an inconvenience.” He smiled shyly. “I’m never any trouble.”

  Her lips parted to say, ‘No way, if my parents find out..,’ but instead, ‘of course, Gerald,’ came out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rob and Deanna exchange surprised looks. Not that she blamed them; she was pretty astonished with herself for agreeing to share her room with a guy for the weekend. Being chased by a bloodthirsty demon had really messed up her morals. Usually, she was cautious around guys, but as she reasoned to herself, Gerald made her feel very comfortable.

  “Bri, come on.” Deanna seized her arm. “Let’s go down to the pool party.” She tossed over her shoulder at Gerald, “Sorry, it’s seniors only.”

  He scowled. “Keep your sorry. When Bri goes, I go.”

  Relief washed over Bri. For a second, she had honestly been frightened to go off with her friends. Wasn’t that a shame, that she trusted a boy she used to tutor for a couple of months more than she did her friends.

  Deanna and Gerald faced off, both glaring, with Bri caught in the middle. “I’m not leaving her side,” Gerald spat. With that, Rob snorted, irritation crossing his face as he walked off, apparently going to the party without them.

  As her on-again/ off-again boyfriend stalked away, Deanna’s face reflected her fury, but she stepped around them both. “Bri,” she called behind her, already moving swiftly up the hall, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  Bri turned to Gerald. “Well, might as well get settled into the room, and then I guess we’ll come back down and check out that party.”

  “Works for me,” he shrugged.

  ****

  “What’s up with your friends?” he asked as soon as they were alone in the elevator. “Pretty obvious that they’re not feeling me.”

  “Um,” she was totally embarrassed about their behavior, “I’m not even sure what’s wrong. Maybe it’s our friend’s death, I guess. I mean, this is the second friend that we’ve lost in a month…”

  He nodded, mouth pressed in a straight line. “Maybe.”

  Should she confide in him? She would. “But even so, I think they’re acting a little strangely.” No sense going into the story of either Deanna or Rob possibly being possessed, that might be a bit much.

  They got off the elevator and carried their bags to the room. As Bri unlocked the door, Gerald commented, “I’d keep an eye on them if I were you.”

  That was exactly what Bri planned on doing.

  ****

  After dropping the bags and after Bri had found herself something halfway decent to wear, they found themselves weaving through a crowd of wet, screaming high school students. Trying not to appear a nervous wreck as she studied the carefree souls in the water dunking each other, Bri pulled her sundress tighter around her body.

  “There you are!” Deanna’s tone was sharp, and as she appeared in front of them, her eyes stared Gerald up and down. He, in turn, slid his arms around Bri’s shoulders protectively. “What’s with the dress, Bri?” Her friend, of course, flaunted her figure in a red backless bathing suit. Typical Deanna.

  “Well, I just got here, but I was feeling a little chilly. That’s why I just left it on.” Gerald’s hands were making her nervous, the way they moved up and down her skin boldly, but she tried to hide her jitters.

  ‘Remember, you’re here to relax and just go with the flow,’ she reminded herself. ‘That means having fun and enjoying yourself. No demons, no dead friends, nothing, just fun.’ If only she could really believe that.

  Side-stepping two girls who were already drunk, Bri felt a hand on her arm. “Hey, Bri, you made it,” she heard Rob’s deep voice over the music. He clasped her in a quick ‘hello’ hug, but she didn’t miss the fact that he ignored Gerald completely.

  She sighed. Her friends could be such jerks sometimes. As she watched Rob and Deanna start to dance together, Gerald grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the bar. “Let’s dance.”

  “I don’t know if I want to dance. I’m not really in the mood, especially with all these people around.” But Bri let herself follow Gerald’s lead as he pulled her away from the crowd.

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry about all the people. We’re going someplace private.”

  She let him pull her away, but her spirits still drooped. She was lying to him, dancing wasn’t her problem; she loved to dance. Pretending to not think about something wasn’t the same as not actually thinking about it. Demons and death still held her attention.

  They ended up in a secluded corner on the other side of the deck, a bit away from the louder part of the party. He was right; their corner was very private, hardly anyone even glanced over at them there.

  “Hey.” Gerald brightened and surveyed her up and down before pulling her into a hug. Bri enjoyed the feelings of his hands sliding along her back, massaging slightly. “Relax. You’re at a party.”

  Nodding once, Bri stepped into the circle of his arms and they swayed together to the music. They clung together for a while, as Bri began to notice little, different things. The way his heart raced against her c
hest, the way a small muscle twitched in his jaw as he looked down at her, the way his lips parted slightly, releasing a light breath.

  Fingers slid over her own, in a soft caress, and their eyes locked. By now, their dancing had slowed to a halt, and they stood there, gazing at each other.

  It occurred to her that she was confused: was she attracted to Gerald? The moment they were experiencing was perfectly romantic and was quickly becoming really intimate, especially as he raised her hand and kissed it.

  ‘But since when have I been into Gerald? And besides that, he’s way too young for me. How old is he, anyway?’ Scanning her brain for those times he’d told her his age, she came up with nothing. It was so strange; she should know exactly how old he was. He had told her many times when they were studying together.