The Shelf (Dead-End Ave) Read online

  “I’m not!” Bri couldn’t help but laugh. “I think he likes Deanna.”

  “Finally she smiles! That’s much better. And so what if he likes Deanna? Every guy likes Deanna. It has to do with the way she dresses. You’re much cooler. Give it a shot, I’m serious.”

  Aeryal only sighed as Bri shook her head. “You’ll be sorry if you don’t.”

  “And I’ll get embarrassed if I do.” There was something else she wanted to ask Aeryal. Bri steered the conversation away from the dangerous subject of Korey Parsons. “So you’re okay then? And happy?” Bri hated that she sounded so anxious, but God knows that she of all people had worried constantly for her friend.

  Aeryal bobbed her head. Serious again. “I’m okay.” But a grave look had darkened her gaze. “Bri ……. I’m more worried about you.”

  “Me? Why? As you just pointed out, I have a new love interest and all that. I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine!” Her friend was instantly contrite. “Bri, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. He’s coming for you.” The last statement was a whisper, as if she was afraid of someone eavesdropping.

  “He?” Bri was surprised to see tears pooling in Aeryal’s eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  Her friend began to cry, tears soaking the lime shirt. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. It’s really my fault. But he’s going to come for you, just like he came for me. I didn’t know, Bri, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you do it. Just read the letter.”

  “Do what?” What was she crying about? Bri had never been more confused than right at this moment.

  Aeryal looked her right in the eye, through her tears. “You’re my blood sister,” she said clearly.

  Bri bolted awake. Her room had shifted. Somehow, someone had come in and moved her bed way too close to the window, and the billowy, freaky curtain that was blowing up over her head.

  Then it hit her. She had fallen asleep in the living room. But that was no better, since the room was creepy as hell. Idly scratching her arm, Bri sat up. Then she took a closer look at her arm.

  A faint outline of a design was imprinted there, but under the skin. She could hardly see it, just feel the slight ridges outlined. And it was itching like crazy. “How strange,” she murmured. As strange as Aeryal talking to her in a dream.

  Read the letter, her friend had said. ‘What letter?’ she frowned to herself.

  Then she remembered. Among Aeryal’s things that she’d grabbed from the hospital, were several sheets of folded notepaper. “A letter, maybe?”

  Looking around, she found the Ziploc bag where she’d placed it before curling up to watch TV: lying neatly on the floor below the couch. Unzipping it, she slid the letter out. The first page was a poem, printed neatly in Aeryal’s handwriting. It wasn’t one that Bri recognized, so her friend must have made it up. The second page was what she was looking for:

  Hi guys,

  I guess you know the usual cryptic stuff…if you’re reading this, then I’m dead, blah, blah, yada. Anyways, I just wanted to say how much I loved hanging with you all. Can I say the best friends a girl could ever have? Cuz’ y’all were. Shanice and Chas, take care of each other. Still the Number One Couple in the senior class, make sure it stays that way.

  Shanice, don’t ever change. Please stay being the kindest girl I know, even if you are naïve and shallow 50% of the percent of the time. (You know I had to put that in, girlie, I got you! Smooches!)

  Chas, you’re the smartest guy I know. Besides being the Class Clown and Most Likely to Get Arrested for White Collar Crime, you’re a shoo-in for Valedictorian. I want you to take it home. When you go on to college, don’t forget about us. We’re the best crew in the world, remember? But you’ll do great things in life, I just know it. Good luck, and be good to Shanice.

  Deanna, calm down, girl!!! There’ll still be some guys left when you get to college, you don’t have to date them all now, lol. But I love you, anyway, bestie. Stay bright and funny and loud, no one can take that away. That’s your signature. If someone doesn’t like it, you what you usually do, tell ‘em to shove it!

  So, Rob, thanks for the dates to the beach on Sunday nights. I’ll really miss those. After a while, they were all I was looking forward to…..so MUAH to you, sweetie. Oh, by the way, tell your baby sis ‘hi’ and that I’m sorry that I never taught her how to crochet. She kept begging me, you know, but I just ran out of time. MUAH, sweetie.

  And Bri…I’ll miss you….

  Flipping the last sheet of paper over, Bri frowned. “That’s it?” she exclaimed. Aeryal had written so much sweet, heart-warming comments to the rest of their friends and all she wrote for Bri, her closest friend, was, ‘I’ll miss you?’

  Grumpily, Bri lay back on the couch and stared at the ceiling until she fell asleep, several hours later.

  CHAPTER

  7

  Sitting amidst waxed flowers and satin walls was not the best way she could think of to fill her afternoon. It defied logic that her feet would have led her here then, after school, to the funeral home that had buried Aeryal.

  Yet, here she sat.

  “This was a stupid idea, Bri,” she mumbled. Why had she ever thought that coming down here would give her more information somehow? She had been thinking that if she came down to the funeral home, she could talk to someone here and find out more about the cause of death. So far, she had been sitting alone in the reception room and hadn’t seen anyone coming or going, not even anyone that worked there.

  The reality of it was that she could no longer ignore what she knew: Aeryal had found a way to talk her through dreams. How could she? In the dream, Aeryal had mentioned a letter. Bri had woken up and found the letter. Proof enough.

  ‘Guess if there are no funerals, this place is pretty much deserted.’ Besides, it wasn’t as if she would really get any info out of the funeral director; weren’t funeral homes pretty much all run by grumpy, crotchety old men who hated young people?

  She stood, intending to leave when a friendly voice spoke from behind her.

  “Can I help you?”

  Turning, Bri was surprised to see a young woman in pale blue scrubs. A long black ponytail was pulled high on the crown of her head over a smooth, wrinkle-free forehead. She was probably only a few years older than Bri. For some reason, that put her at ease. “Uh, hi, I guess.” When the friendly gaze turned curious, even as the smile remained, Bri fidgeted. “Do you, um, work here?”

  The woman came forward, one hand outstretched. “I’m the owner here. What can I do for you? I’m Delva.”

  Unsure of what to say next, plus feeling totally stupid, Bri shrugged. “My friend died and-,”

  Delva’s expression turned sympathetic. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, but it’s best to let the family handle these things.”

  “No, you don’t understand. She already died and was buried. She came here, I mean her body did. I mean, you guys handled the funeral! I just thought that maybe if I came here-,” she broke off, not entirely sure where she was going with her ramble.

  Seeming to understand, Delva motioned her forward. “Would you like to take a tour around? It’s really not as scary as some people tend to think. It might help ease your mind a little bit about what happened after your friend died.”

  “Ok.” Bri followed Delva, as the funeral director explained about the different symbolisms for colors and flowers that they typically used. Aeryal’s had been yellow, she remembered.

  Delva even took her into the workshop where the floral arrangements were put together, and Bri was astounded to see the flowers of all colors stocked in the chillbox.

  “So, what was your friend’s name?” Delva asked, taking a break from the tour.

  “Aeryal Swan.” Bri fiddled with a stray daffodil petal.

  The funeral director stopped, gave her an odd look, and then stared at her up and down. Then, seeming to see something that reassured her, she resumed washing a bucket of lilies, without a word.

  ‘Wh
at’s that about?’ Bri wondered.

  “You two were in sorority together?” Delva finally asked.

  “Sorority?” Bri wrinkled her nose. “No. Why do you say that?”

  “Because of your brands.”

  “Brands?”

  Pointing to Bri’s forearm, left exposed by her tiny short-sleeved Tee, Delva nodded. “There. Aeryal Swan had one that looked just like that.”

  Lifting her arm, Bri automatically began scratching the skin where Delva pointed. The raised, bumpy area that she had felt the other night, had changed. Now it was an actual brand, as Delva had said, in the shape of four jagged lines.

  Only she hadn’t gotten anything like that done to her body.

  Saying goodbye to the friendly Delva, she headed for home. Not only did she feel marginally better about her friend’s death, but she had found out something very important.

  Brands had suddenly appeared on Aeryal’s arm, just like how they had suddenly appeared on hers. Weird. ‘Could it have something to do with that freaky thing that was inside Aeryal’s house?’

  Bri hated to admit it to herself, since she didn’t believe in ghosts or anything like that, but that had definitely not been her imagination. Something had grabbed her in the house, and it wasn’t human. A chill rose up the back of her neck, remembering the unearthly hiss that had invaded her brain. There you are. The glowing red eyes that were nothing short of evil staring at her.

  Her pace picked up.

  Without realizing it, her feet had taken her to Aeryal’s house. Halfway in shock, Bri just stood on the sidewalk for a minute. This was the last place she wanted to be, especially with the thing inside.

  “I don’t know how you stayed here, Aeryal babe, but your house is downright creepy.” Even the exterior looked menacing to her now, with its solemn dark wood shutters and heavy curtains unmoving in the windows. When her friend was still alive, those curtains were always pulled aside. Now, with them drawn, the house appeared to be in continuous mourning.

  Bri suddenly realized that she was tired. It had been a long day, she was wearing heels (in the name of fashion, of course) and she was standing outside of her dead best friend’s house for no apparent reason. Aside from just torturing herself.

  “Time to go,” she murmured, turning to leave, when she caught sight of movement at the side of the house. She paused. There, emerging from the tiny yard between the house and the one next door, a figure in dark clothes and a hooded sweatshirt appeared. The person cut across the front yard and headed straight for the curb, without seeming to realize that they were being watched.

  Bri froze, not knowing whether to try to run or to confront the person. Then she caught a glimpse of the face under the hood. Korey. What was he doing here? Then her eyes strayed to the curb, and she felt dumb for not having seen it sooner. Parked along the street, was his big black jeep. There was no doubt now that it actually was Korey, apparently snooping around Aeryal’s house.

  And she should definitely confront him. After all, he was trespassing. The only thing was, while she was making up her mind, he had continued walking briskly to his jeep. Now, the loud roar from the engine filled the air.

  Dashing to the curb, Bri shrieked, “Hey, wait!” He didn’t even glance her way as he pulled out and sped by. She gritted her teeth in frustration. God, how she hated that jerk!

  “No one that good-looking should be so ignorant,” she swore. Why had he been here anyway? He didn’t even know Aeryal. He’d moved into town around the time that she died. Was he breaking into the house? Maybe he was a petty thief, a juvie kid. Admittedly, Bri didn’t know much about the guy, other than what Chas had told them about him that first day.

  Bri began her walk home, feet still aching from her choice of shoes. “Should have called the cops on him,” she muttered vengefully. A feeling of being watched settled over her and she looked around sharply. There was silence from the other houses on the street. Not surprising, seeing that it was afternoon. Adults would be working, kids would be at after-school and teens would be hanging out elsewhere, not at home.

  So why did she still feel as if she was being watched?

  The feeling lasted even as she turned onto her street, relieved to finally arrive at home. Again, she glanced about quickly, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever might be following her, but there was no one.

  It was relief to unlock her door and go outside. Bri quickly closed and locked the door behind herself, and then moved to the window to peek out. Who could be following her? She knew that someone was, she could feel it. Was it that jerk Korey?

  The street outside was empty.

  Resignedly, Bri dropped the curtains and went to find something to eat.

  CHAPTER

  8

  Chewing robotically, Bri stared at Korey until she was certain he could feel her eyes boring into the side of his head. Korey, who seemed to be ignoring her glares, sat casually talking with Rob about motorcycles. It was lunchtime, and Bri hadn’t made up her mind about confronting him as yet.

  ‘I’m not crazy. There’s no reason a guy who just moved into town should be skulking around someone else’s house. None.’

  But, the fact that he had been, made her uneasy. Made her wonder about what secrets might lie in his past. Wonder what he left behind in his old town. Wonder what it would be like to go on a date with him. ‘Get your mind on track, Bri,’ she scolded herself, shoving that last thought wayyyy down beneath the others. Korey was still a dangerous person, as far as she knew, and she didn’t have the time to dwell on the other reason she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him.

  Down in her gut, something stirred as she watched him lazily drag a fry through ketchup before popping it into his mouth. Without warning, his gaze shifted and they stared at each other. For some reason, Bri couldn’t find it in her to break the gaze as she knew she should. Raising his brows slowly as he continued to stare at her, Korey dipped his head to the box of French fries, clearly asking, ‘want one?’

  The look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. Again, it was as if he could look right into her and see her long, lingering attraction to him. But then again, he didn’t have to look too hard for it; she could feel it wafting off of her, reaching out toward him like some rich aroma. Heat burning her face, she broke the gaze. Hastily snapping her attention to Deanna, she was grateful as her friend started to ask a question.

  “Ready for this afternoon?”

  “You have to ask? Of course.” Turning so that he wasn’t directly in her line of vision anymore, Bri rolled her eyes as just Deanna laughed.

  The kickoff for Homecoming Week was always a huge talent show in the school’s auditorium, huge enough that groups and performers from other high schools entered. Of course, their own school dance team wasn’t competing; they would be performing various numbers throughout. Bri loved it. It would be a hectic afternoon, seeing as the dress rehearsal started right after lunch, and the actual show would flow on from there.

  “Good for you. We’ll see you later, darling. Some of us have to go get glamorous.” Shanice pointed at Deanna, who flipped her the finger. Giggling, Shanice stood, along with Deanna and Chas, and walked away toward the school gates. They were going home to change their clothes; it wasn’t like they were skipping. School would be dismissed early for the show anyway; they were just getting a head start. With her friends gone, Bri began running a mental checklist of all she needed to have for the dress rehearsal.

  ‘Know what? I don’t have my makeup kit. I bet I left it on Deanna’s seat this morning coming to school. I need to call her. Gosh, I hope I have my shoes-,’

  A cocky voice interrupted her string of worries. “You never answered me.”

  Bri’s head shot up. Dark eyes stared back. “Wh-what?”

  Lazily placing another fry in his mouth, Korey drawled, “You never answered me.”

  It hit her that somehow she and he were the only two left at the table. Rob, who’d been keeping Korey thankfully occupied, had gon
e. Apparently, she’d been so busy thinking about the show that she hadn’t noticed. To her downfall. Because, with everyone else gone, there was no buffer between her and Korey. They were face-to-face. Forced to talk.

  Her heart pounded. “Answered you about what?”

  “Lunch.”

  “You offered me some of your fries, not lunch,” she said sharply, forcing her voice not to quiver.

  He gave a slow smile that made Bri’s knees weak, even as it screamed, ‘danger!’

  “If you want, I can take you out to lunch too.”

  “No!” The word came out more desperately than she intended. “Look, I have plans after lunch.”

  “Really?” His brows rose again, this time accompanied by a smirk. “What’s on the agenda? Try-to-kill-yourself 101 again?”