Jazmine gasped and cupped her mouth. "Was it dead?"
Amy nodded, then sipped her coffee. It was obvious that she was enjoying telling this story. I wondered if I should stop her before she scared the poor girl.
"What happened to the boy?" Jazmine asked.
"No one knows," Amy said. "But there are many theories."
"He died?"
"No one knows. They never found his body," Amy said. "He was just gone."
"So, he disappeared?" Jazmine asked.
"Some believe his parents killed him and made up the story about the noises," I said. "That they—maybe accidentally—killed the boy and hid the body somewhere. Some think it might have been in the lake by the park. The dad was known to have a bad temper and to beat the boy up occasionally."
"Others say he was taken by a vampire," Amy said and made a hissing sound, reaching out her nails like claws towards Jazmine. "A skinny, flying, bloodsucking vampire with long sharp teeth and claws. "
Jazmine looked afraid. I chuckled. "Don't listen to her. She likes to tell stories. I mean, how do they even know all this happened if he was never seen again?"
Amy grinned and sipped her coffee, then grabbed another cookie and dunked it in her cup. "Rumor has it that vampires do live around here, though," she said, winking. "So be careful if you plan on going out at night."
"Amy!" I said.
"What? I can't have a little fun?"
Jazmine smiled awkwardly and finished her coffee. She shrugged. "It's okay. I don't scare easily."
Amy smiled and nodded. "Good because this place can get scary from time to time. Just so you know."
Chapter Nine
Jazmine went to bed early that night. She was exhausted from all the moving and the new impressions. Even though she had already made some friends, she still felt lonely. She missed her old friends terribly. These girls on the street seemed a little strange. Amy was fun and she liked her, but Robyn was kind of strange, she believed. She seemed like she had a lot to hide under that picture-perfect façade. Jazmine couldn't believe how beautiful her mother was; it was almost terrifying. She shivered under her covers just from thinking about meeting her earlier. It was like once the woman turned around and walked away, she took the icy wind with her, and it wasn't until then that Jazmine felt like she could breathe freely again.
Her mother peeked inside.
"You ready for bed already?"
"Yeah, I thought I would make it an early night," Jazmine said and yawned. "It's been a long day."
Her mother approached her bed and sat on the edge. She leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"I think we will be happy here, don't you?"
"I don't know, Mom. I really liked where we lived before. I miss them already. Tamara. Chris. All of them."
"I know, sweetie. But this move was important for your father, and so it is for all of us."
"I just don't understand how paper can be so important?"
"It's not just paper, sweetie. It's a very high position for your dad. It also means more money. A lot more."
"Money isn't everything," Jazmine said tiredly.
"True," her mother said. "But don't you think you can at least try to be happy here?"
"I guess," she said with a sigh. "Those kids are just a little…strange. Why did you choose this neighborhood?"
"I liked the house. And we wanted to live in a neighborhood where there were more people like us."
"More people like us? They are nothing like us. At all."
Her mother smiled, then got up from the bed. She walked to the door, then turned and said:
"Give them a chance. I think you'll realize they aren't that different from us. You might have more in common than you think."
Her mother walked out the door and closed it behind her. Jazmine exhaled. Outside the window, the moon shone brightly. It wasn't full, but it still seemed way brighter than what Jazmine was used to. The bright light kept her awake. At least she believed it was that. Maybe it was the bed. It felt uncomfortable. It was the same bed as she had slept in for years, but somehow it felt different. Had they assembled it wrong somehow? Or had the mattress grown harder in the moving truck on the way there?
Jazmine tossed and turned for a few hours. She listened to her parents getting ready for bed at around eleven, finally calling it a night after spending all day unpacking. She heard them talking in the hallway, then she heard the toilet flush and her mother's feet creaking on the floors outside her room as she went downstairs for a glass of water like she always did right before bed.
Then the house went quiet and Jazmine had never been more awake.
Sleep now, Jazmine. Go to sleep. Think about something you like. The ocean. The beach.
Jazmine imagined the beach close to where she grew up. She knew she was going to miss that more than anything since she loved going to the beach. Her parents had never enjoyed going there, so they rarely did, and when they did, they would mostly sit under the umbrella while Jazmine played in the sand. Jazmine had been swimming all her life and was an excellent swimmer. She had discovered as a very young child that she found it easy to float, to stay on top. She hadn't been more than three years old when she fell in a pool at some friends' house while they were visiting and, instead of sinking, she had simply bobbed up to the surface. She had then been able to make her way to the edge and get herself out. Her parents didn’t even realize it had happened until they saw her wet clothes. Jazmine had later taken swimming lessons and wanted to continue doing it, maybe even get a scholarship, but then they had to move. And where they were now, there was no ocean and not many people had pools. Besides, it was colder here, and she wouldn't be able to swim year-round anymore.
Go to sleep, Jazmine. Now.
Jazmine closed her eyes again and stayed completely still, emptying her mind of every thought, but it was hard. Every time she thought she had succeeded, something popped up in her mind. Finally, a few minutes before midnight, she managed to doze off, when she was violently pulled out of her sleep by the sound of what she believed was screaming.
Jazmine felt her heart race and she hurried to the window and pulled the curtain aside. The ear-piercing screeching and squealing continued as a flock of bats flew over the neighborhood, a flock so massive they covered the moon for a few seconds while sounding like they were crying.
Chapter Ten
A week later, it was Adrian's birthday. It had been a good week for me. I had taken care of Jazmine and made sure she felt welcome at the high school and we had quickly become good friends, all of us. Amy too. We had become a little group, hanging out at lunch and carpooling in Amy's truck. I had recently gotten my license, but we only had two cars, and Adrian used the only one my parents could spare during the day, so I'd have to wait till he left for college before getting it.
I was able to meet up with Jayden every day after school and just hang out without anyone stopping us. It felt good to be alone with him, even though I did notice that Jayden would send Jazmine looks in class, looks that weren't quite like anything he had ever sent me when looking at me. At least, I didn't think so.
Still, I was the one he met with every day by the lake and not her. Maybe it was just because she was new. Maybe he was just trying to make her feel welcome, I told myself.
He had given me a book. He thought I might find it interesting, he told me. Happily, I had cherished it and read from it every day when I got home from the lake. We usually only met up for about twenty minutes since that was as long as my mom wouldn't worry and call the police because I wasn't back from school yet.
Now, as it was the weekend, I knew I had to wait two whole days before I got to see him again. At least celebrating Adrian's birthday made time fly by faster. He had invited a few of his football friends over and they were hanging out in the living room, eating snacks, consisting mostly of beet and spinach smoothies and hummus made from edamame beans. Mom had decorated the living room with happy birthday signs, confetti, and streamer
s. I could tell Adrian was beyond embarrassed as his friends tried to choke down their laughter. Luckily, Adrian had always been a popular boy in school, so them teasing him really didn't get to him in any way. He could take it.
"Happy birthday, my boy," Mom said as she brought out the flourless quinoa chocolate cake. Dad stood behind her, smiling, holding the knife ready. The candles, a one and an eight, flickered.
Adrian hurriedly blew them both out. His friends laughed behind his back, but he gave them a look, which made them shut up. While Mom cut the cake, they high-fived him and they laughed while eating. His best friends were all from the high school's football team, The Shady Bats. Adrian was a quarterback, the best the school had seen in many years, they said in the school paper, and he had already landed a huge scholarship. I envied him a little while watching him with his close buddies. His future was set already and all he had to do was go out into the world and grab it. He wanted to play professionally and, so far, he was given great chances. It wasn't something our mother was very fond of, though. She felt it was too dangerous for him to be out there with all the brain injury cases they had learned about. She didn't think it was a good choice for him and always told him he might want to change his plans in time. She believed he would be better off becoming a lawyer or something more respectable.
"We all change with age," she would say. "What we want now doesn't always have to be what we want later in life."
Dad seemed to agree with her, but I could never tell. I suspected him of just agreeing with mom to keep the peace around the house. Not many people dared to stand up to my mother. Least of all her husband. But now that Adrian had turned eighteen, Mom could no longer make the decisions in his life. I knew he had been looking forward to that. Now he could choose any career path he wanted. Even though he could be a pain in the butt, I loved my brother, and I wished the best for him.
I smiled happily for him as Adrian ate his cake, then kissed Mom on the cheek and told her he and the boys were going to play football in the park.
"All right," Mom said, surprisingly calm and not even trying to stop him. "Be back at ten."
"Mo-om," he said, suddenly sounding like a much younger child. "It's my birthday."
"All right. But you have to be home before midnight."
"Ah, come on," he sighed. "The boys want to take me out. There's a concert downtown that I want to go to. One a.m.?"
Mom gave him a strict look, then gazed at Dad, who stepped forward.
"All right, son. You heard your mother. You know the rules."
Adrian exhaled. "But I’m eighteen now. I can vote. No one can decide when I come back."
"As long as you still live at home, we can," Dad said.
Adrian grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. "Can't wait to leave this house. Come on, boys. Let's go!"
Chapter Eleven
That evening, Adrian came home two minutes before midnight. I heard him slam the door shut and walk up the stairs to his room, then slam his own door shut. I then lay awake for a little while longer, trying hard to suppress the desire to go to the bathroom, but as time passed, I realized I wouldn't be able to fall asleep until I went.
I pulled my feet out from under the covers and put them on the freezing floor. I hated getting up at night because the house was always so cold I couldn't stand it.
I hurried to the bathroom in the hallway. I finished my business and washed my hands, then wiped them on the towel, when I thought I heard a sound coming from my brother's room. I walked out into the hallway when I noticed the door to my brother's room was ajar. I approached it and peeked inside, but just as I did, I spotted my mother coming toward me, fast. She was wearing her white nightgown as she approached me, rushing to the door like she didn't want me to look inside.
"Why aren't you in your bed?" she asked, coming out of Adrian's room, rushing to close the door behind her.
"I…I had to pee," I said, thinking I felt my mother was a little more intimidating than usual. I felt a shiver go down my spine as Mom put her hand on my shoulder.
"Go to bed, Robyn."
"But…is Adrian all right? Is there something wrong?"
Mom smiled. "No. No. Nothing is wrong. He's just…I was just kissing him goodnight since we kind of left it on bad terms this afternoon. I wanted to wish him a last happy birthday. That's all."
"Oh…o-okay."
Is that blood on her lip?
Mom seemed to notice it herself and touched her lip. "Oh, my," she said. "Oh, silly me. I must have bitten myself. Clumsy me." She licked the blood away, then smiled again. "Now, let's get you back to bed, shall we?"
"O-okay," I said and walked back to my room, Mom following me closely, then sitting on the edge of my bed, leaning over me, stroking my hair, tilting her head.
"Did you have a bad dream or something? You look so pale, sweetheart," Mom said.
Not knowing what else to do, I nodded.
Mom smiled again. Was she paler than usual?
Stop it, Robyn. You're just imagining things. She bit herself. Your mother is always pale. She likes to protect her skin from the sun.
"Now, go to sleep, my dear. Everything is going to be much better tomorrow. After a good night's sleep."
"Okay, Mom," I said and closed my eyes.
"That's it," Mom said and sang a song she used to sing when I was younger and had a nightmare. I dozed off and felt my mother leave the side of the bed, then heard her voice through the fog as she said:
"Tomorrow, everything will be much, much better."
Chapter Twelve
"Did you like the book?"
Jayden smiled when he saw me. His smile always made me feel good. His bike was parked against the tree where we usually met. It was Monday and finally, we were back to school again. The weekends felt endless.
"Yes. I read it over the weekend. It was awesome. Thank you so much for letting me borrow it," I said and handed the book back to him. He grabbed it and put it in his backpack.
"I thought you might enjoy it."
I had. A lot. It was a story of love. Of a young girl falling in love with her best friend. While reading it, I had barely been able to breathe, thinking that Jayden had to have some reason for giving me this book. He had loaned me books before, but it had been years since he did it last.
"I wanted to give it to Jazmine," he said, "but thought you might read it first."
My blood froze. "Excuse me?"
"Jazmine," Jayden repeated. "She told me she loves to read too. I think she'd like this one, don't you?"
I swallowed hard. "Sure."
"Wait. Are you mad?"
I shook my head. "No. No. Not at all. I think it’s very nice of you."
He looked at me, his head tilted slightly. "Are you doing that thing where you say one thing, but mean something else? Because I’m not good at games. I thought you knew that."
I sighed. "I do. That's what I like…I mean, that's one of your really good…" I bit my lip a little harder than I intended to. "I know you don't like games and I’m not playing one. Don't worry."
"You're blushing," he said. "I don't think I’ve ever seen you blush like this before. What's going on?"
"I…I…it's the cold. Biting my cheeks. Let's get back. I have a lot of homework. I'll go first."
I swallowed again, trying to suppress my feelings, then turned my back on him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back. We stood close. My heart stopped. I could hardly breathe as I lifted my head and looked into his eyes.
"I miss you," he said. "I’m scared of losing you. With everything that is going on with our parents and all."
I smiled. "You won't. It'll blow over."
He exhaled. "Good. Because you mean the world to me. You know that, don't you?"
I nodded, biting my lip again. We were still holding hands. He moved his long hair from his face. For a second, I wondered if I should just ask him straight up what he was saying. I meant the world to him, yes, but as a best friend or as more than that
?
But, of course, I didn't dare to.
I was such a coward.
"I'll let you go first," he said. "See you tomorrow?"
I nodded. "Sure."
He had never looked as handsome as he did in those seconds when the sun hit his face and his hair. His brown eyes glistened.
"See you tomorrow, then."
Chapter Thirteen
The first week had turned out to not be terrible for Jazmine. She felt very fortunate to have met a bunch of new friends right away, and that was a huge advantage on the day she started school. Amy and Robyn had shown her everything and made sure she never felt alone. Jazmine still missed her old friends like crazy but those two somehow made it bearable. Her parents had been very busy lately, not just with the unpacking, but with a lot of other stuff as well. Jazmine didn't really know what it was they were doing, but they seemed to be out of the house a lot of the time, even her mother, who didn't work. Whenever Jazmine asked where she was going and what she was doing, she would just smile and answer that with a big move like this, there was a lot of practical stuff that needed to be taken care of, but that she didn't need to concern herself with any of it.
"Just enjoy your new friends," she said, then rushed out the door.
Now, as she came home from school the following Monday, the beginning of week two, she found the house empty once again. Jazmine grabbed some food from the fridge, made herself a grilled cheese, then did her homework. After she was done, she felt like the house was suddenly too big for her and she grabbed her phone and texted Robyn.