The Form of Things Unknown

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just a klutz.”

  He pulls me over to one of the stools on the side of the stage. “Here. Sit. You’ve seemed kinda spooked all day.”

  “Just tired.” Caleb’s text messages kept me awake for hours last night. Now that seems like the least of my problems.

  “If Starla and Raine are freaking you out with the ghost stuff, ignore them. You don’t have to hang out here after practice if you don’t want to.”

  “Oh no, that’s all just fun and games,” I say, wishing I could believe it. “Just silliness.”

  “You’re saying now you don’t think a ghost grabbed your ankles the other day?”

  I shake my head. “Probably Hailey or Bailey playing a trick.” I look up at him. “You don’t think there’s really a ghost, do you?”

  “Definitely not.”

  I slump down a little. He thinks I’m hallucinating.

  “Lucas! Is this the flat you’ve been working on?” Starla says, peeking at the giant flat on the floor behind us. “It’s incredible.”

  “That’s for The Mechanicals’ play at the wedding.”

  “It’s awesome. Are you going out to eat with us tonight? Nat, you’re coming, too, right?”

  I twist the cap on my drink.

  Lucas covers the flat back up with a sheet. “I can’t tonight. Cait’s had enough junk food this week.”

  If that’s a dig about me taking her to McDonald’s, it hurts. I’ll get David to take me home. I slide off my stool and go looking for him.

  Caitlyn finds me first, attacking me with a hug. “Did your mom make any more cupcakes?”

  “Not today,” I say sadly. Today was a strawberry and rhubarb tartlet day. She had an order for a bridal shower.

  “That’s okay. Can I come over next time she makes the chocolate ones?” she asks, adding in a whisper, “My dad liked them. Lucas did, too.”

  My cheeks grow warm. He’s disentangling himself from Starla as she talks to Raine. He glances over at me and for just a moment I see that sad look in his eyes. I wish I could wipe the sadness away for him.

  “I’ll be sure to hook you up,” I tell Caitlyn. “I think your brother is looking for you.”

  “ ’Bye!” She skips over to him.

  I need to run to the little girls’ room before David takes me home. The stalls are all empty, but out of habit I go to the very last one.

  When I come out to wash my hands, I scream. Two tiny handprints, in what looks like blood, are pressed against the mirror. Something dark flutters in the mirror behind me and I shriek. My heart is pounding. It looks as if someone just ran behind me, but there’s no one in the bathroom with me.

  I head for the door and run into Raine and Peter, who are trying to come in. “Was that you?” Raine asks. “What’s wrong?”

  I don’t even care that Peter shouldn’t be in here with us. “I came out of the bathroom stall and found that on the mirror.”

  “What?” Peter asks.

  I walk back toward the mirror. There is nothing there. Nothing on the glass at all.

  “What is it?” Raine asks. “You look like you’ve seen a . . . oh no.” Her eyes grow huge.

  “There were handprints,” I whisper. “Two little-girl-shaped handprints. In blood.” Where did they go? I could swear no one was in here with me. “Are you okay?” Raine asks. “You look like you should go home and lie down.”

  Peter stands in front of the mirror, poking the glass with one finger. “Cooooool,” he says.

  The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “What?” I ask.

  “Check out my sideburns.”

  Raine rolls her eyes. I sigh. I could have imagined the handprints. Am I just hallucinating? Or are there ghosts here who just want to mess with my head? I don’t know which frightens me more.

  “Hey. Are you really okay?” Raine asks. “I think I just want to go home.” Peter stares at both of us. “There’s really a ghost here, right? Cool.”

  Raine frowns at him. “Did you think Mrs. Green was making shit up?”

  “I guess the building is plenty old enough. And I did hear that some kid died here years ago.”

  Raine nods. “Her name was Lily. She was with a circus troupe.”

  I shiver, and I don’t want to look in the mirror again, because now I’m afraid I’ll see the shadow again. Either there really is a ghost in the theater or I’m really going crazy. I’m not sure which scares me more.

  “Want me to find your brother?” Raine asks.

  “No. I’m not staying in here. I can find him. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  “Okay, be safe.” She grabs Peter by the arm and drags him out ahead of me. He’s going to the Pirate House with them tonight.

  I find David out in the parking lot with Starla and Colton. “Take me home, please?”

  “You don’t want to get food with us?”

  “No. I’m not feeling good.”

  Both Starla and Colton take two steps back from me.

  I shake my head. “Not sick. Just tired.”

  David frowns at me for a minute. “All right then. Come on. See you guys in a bit.”

  * * *

  In the truck, he frowns at me again. “Need to talk?”

  “What? No.”

  “And I think you do. Nat, even Colton was shook up by that light falling. I buckle my seat belt. Honestly, I’ve already forgotten about the light. “I thought I saw something in the bathroom mirror and it really freaked me out. But I think I’m just tired. Or maybe my contacts are dirty.”

  “Nat . . .” The serious frown is still on his face.

  “Yes, I’m taking my pills! Do we have to go through this again?”

  He starts the engine. “Have you talked to Mom about this stuff? Maybe you need the dose changed.”

  “Or maybe there really is a ghost in the theater,” I mutter.

  “One that only appears to you?”

  “You saw the Ouija board that night,” I say. I hate when my brother makes more sense than I do.

  “That was probably five drunken teenagers guiding it.”

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” I ask. “You really think I’m unstable again.”

  David sighs. “I think it’s a good thing you’re going home and getting some rest. That’s all I know.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Today, we are hanging out at the pool where Lucas is a lifeguard. There’s no getting out of it. Starla and Raine made plans over a week ago for a pool day, but we got rained out. Today I have no such luck. There’s not a cloud in the sky and the high is supposed to be 96 degrees.

  My medicine has a photosensitivity warning on the bottle. I’m not sure what will happen. TEEN DIES AT LOCAL POOL BY SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. Or maybe I’ll just break out into a weird rash. TEEN DIES FROM EXTREME MORTIFICATION.

  I pull out my one-piece from last summer, a racing tank with purple and black stripes. I have an old gray, long-sleeved T-shirt of David’s from the 40 Watt Club that I wear as a cover-up. And I borrow one of Grandma’s huge sun hats. It looks like something Audrey Hepburn would wear.

  Raine and Starla burst out laughing when they see me. They are both wearing bikini tops and cutoff shorts.

  “Come on,” Raine says. “We need to grab breakfast on the way.”

  I’ve already had a piece of toast, but get a large Dr Pepper at the drive-thru. Once Starla and Raine are properly caffeinated and their sugar levels are sufficiently high, we hit the YMCA pool.

  “I wish we had a membership to the Aquatic Center,” Starla says as we cart our towels inside. “Their pool is covered.”

  I have to pay the daily nonmember fee here. Maybe my parents would get us a membership at the indoor pool. Then I could bring the girls there and I’d be the hero of the day.

  But of course, Lucas works here. Not at the Aquatic Center.

  He’s perched up in the lifeguard chair, sunglasses reflecting the sun off the water. Starla
and Raine wave to him and he waves back.

  He’s wearing a white T-shirt and swim shorts. And he looks utterly delicious. Why isn’t everyone in love with him? I just can’t believe that Starla would let someone like Lucas get away. And just because they used to go out, now he’s untouchable to all of Starla’s friends.

  It’s not fair.

  “Okay, ladies.” Starla takes in the crowd surrounding the pool. The water aerobics class for the elderly is just finishing up and they are exiting the shallow end of the pool. A few young kids are running around the splash pad with their moms gossiping nearby.

  There are no other teenagers here.

  “That is where we are going to sit,” Starla points to a space near the diving board, with several deck chairs. There’s a shirtless, sweaty staff member trimming the hedges just outside the fence.

  “Perfect,” Raine says, staring at the shirtless person with approval.

  “He looks a little old,” I say. Not to mention smelly.

  Starla shrugs. “Only twenty-two. Hunter is in some of Colton’s classes. Come on.”

  I guess it’s not such a terrible age difference if she’s already out of high school. But I know my dad would have a cow if I brought home a boyfriend that age.

  I follow her and Raine and we stake our claim on the deck chairs, draping them with our beach towels. I’m so glad I was able to find a plain blue towel in Grandma’s closet. I didn’t want to bring my Little Mermaid one. This one was just as big and smells like Downy. I dig out my sunscreen.

  “Nat, you’re never going to get a tan if you cover your skin with that,” Starla says, snatching my bottle of sunscreen away. “It’s like SPF one million.”

  “You’re pale as a ghost,” Raine says. “Just try some of Starla’s stuff. By the end of the summer you’ll look like you spend your summers on a yacht in the Mediterranean.”

  “Hello, skin cancer,” I grumble.

  They both strip out of their shorts and Starla makes sure Hunter watches as she gets Raine to slather suntan oil on her back. She smiles and then flops down to ignore him.

  Maybe it’s Hunter that Starla has dragged us here for and not Lucas. I don’t know if that makes me feel better or not.

  “Sunshine would love it out here,” Raine sighs. “She likes to curl up on her hot rock in her tank and sunbathe.” I shiver at the thought of a happy, sunbathing boa constrictor as Raine pulls out a paperback from her tote bag. “Want one?” she asks. “I have a couple of really good books in here.”

  “Sure.”

  “Here. Try this one.”

  I take the book she offers me and almost die from embarrassment. A naked man chest graces the cover. Her Wickedest Desires. Oh. My.

  Raine grins at me before losing herself in her own book. I peek at her cover. His Wickedest Dreams. Oh. Dear.

  I open the book she gave me and start reading, preparing myself to be bored. But the surly and studly hero has blond hair and sparkling green eyes. It makes me think of Lucas, even though Lucas’s eyes are hazel. Sometimes they seem green and sometimes they look grayish-brown. I guess it depends on what color shirt he’s wearing. I can’t believe I’m thinking so much about Lucas’s eyes. I try to focus on the pages in front of me.

  I can’t stop blushing as I read. And I can’t put the book down.

  I vaguely notice Starla getting up to walk over to the pool, where she dips her foot in the water. She comes back and sits back down, and before long I am lost in Her Wickedest Desires again.

  But it’s getting hot and I have to take my T-shirt off. Partly because of the sun, partly because of the steamy passages I’m reading. “Did you already read this one?” I ask Raine.

  “Mmm-hmm,” she says, never taking her eyes off her own book.

  Starla squeals when Hunter jumps in the pool, his weed trimming finished for the day. His splash sprays all of us. I manage to save Her Wickedest Desires from drowning.

  Raine’s book is not so lucky. “You asshole!” she mutters, shaking her book out. The poor duke and his wicked dreams.

  The water feels good, though. We couldn’t bring our drinks out here, so I’m dying of thirst. “Is there a drink machine inside?” I ask.

  “Right by the bathrooms,” Starla says. And she jumps in the water with Hunter.

  Raine sets her soggy book down to join them, but now I really must know what happens to the characters in the story I’m reading. The drink can wait.

  I sit back down on my chair, even though my towel is damp now, and settle back in with the smutty book.

  I tune out the splashing and the laughing in the water and get sucked back into the story.

  I know it’s silly, but I’ve already grown to care for the spunky heroine and I want her and the hero to find their happily-ever-after. The hero rescues the heroine from a house fire and she gives him a steamy kiss.

  I need to fan myself with the book, it’s so hot out here today. But I don’t want to join the girls in the pool. I’m not the strongest swimmer and now they’re playing Marco Polo. Hunter kind of reminds me of Caleb, so I have no desire to get in the pool near him.

  I peek at the end of the book. I only have probably twenty or so pages left. I can read really fast if it’s something I’m interested in. I go back to their steamy kiss.

  I pull my hair back off my neck, and I wish for the millionth time today that I’d remembered to bring my sunglasses. The bright sun is burning my eyes.

  Before long, there are spots dancing all over my line of vision. I keep blinking, but they won’t go away. I feel a prickle of cold on the back of my neck, but the rest of me is still warm. Too warm. I don’t think it’s the book anymore.

  I stand up, probably too fast, because I start to feel wobbly. I can hear the splashing and laughing in the water, but I really can’t see them anymore. My hands tingle and my vision is closing in. I need to get out of the sun, but I’m afraid to move. I’m scared I might fall in the pool and drown.

  “Natalie!” someone shouts.

  The wobbliness takes over and the ground flies up to meet me. Ouch.

  I hear more voices. And then shade looms over me. Lovely, cool shade. “Natalie,” a voice asks. “Are you okay?”

  I can’t open my eyes. I think it’s Lucas. My hero.

  “Get her some water,” Lucas shouts. Coconut-scented arms pick me up. “We need to get you out of the sun.”

  “I’m all right,” I try to say.

  “Your skin is on fire,” he murmurs as he carries me inside to the air-conditioned exercise room.

  I think that’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. I think I might swoon.

  Especially when he passes his fingertips across my forehead. “And it’s dry,” Lucas says. “Why aren’t you sweating?”

  “Here’s some water,” someone says. Raine, maybe?

  Lucas props me up to a sitting position on the floor. “You need to drink this, but not too quickly. Go ahead and call nine-one-one,” he adds to someone close by.

  My eyes fly open, and I almost choke on the water he’s trying to get me to take. “I’m fine. Please don’t call anyone. Just let me sit here for a minute.”

  “Nat, are you crazy?” Raine asks, getting down in my face. “You just passed out. You need to be seen by a doctor.”

  Lucas is frowning. He asks Raine to get another bottle of water since I’m almost done with this one. Did I drink it too fast? As soon as she leaves, he stares at me. “Shit, Natalie. What kind of medication are you on? You’re probably not supposed to be out in the sun, right?”

  Of course he would know. I feel so stupid. He probably thinks I’m stupid, too. “Zyprexa,” I whisper. And I shake my head, even though it makes my head swim. “But I was covered up.”

  “And you got overheated,” he says, with a heavy sigh. “You have to be seen by a doctor, Nat. You know those meds increase your risk of getting heat stroke.”

  “Is she going to be okay?” Starla asks, coming up behind him.

&
nbsp; I shouldn’t have taken such a stupid risk coming out here today. My stomach clenches and I know I’m about to puke.

  “I need to get up—” and that’s all I can manage to say before all the water comes back up. At least I manage to turn to the side and not get Lucas.

  Starla shrieks, jumping back before she is splashed. I’m so mortified, I want to die. “I’m so sorry,” I say.

  And suddenly the EMTs are here. I glare at Lucas. Even though I know I need to be seen.

  They push everyone out of the way and start examining me, checking my temperature and hooking me up to a vital sign machine. The older guy asks me for a parent’s name and phone number.

  Oh God. “Please don’t bother them,” I say. “Dad’s working and Mom has to stay at home and take care of my grandmother.” Maybe they will just think it’s just because I have a feeble, bedridden elderly grandmother. Not one who needs to be watched so she doesn’t harm herself or others.

  I feel a sharp sting in my arm and look down. The younger EMT is starting an IV. Maybe I am sicker than I thought.

  “Sweetheart, you have a medical emergency,” the older one says. “I’m sure one of your parents can spare the time to come down here and be with you.”

  I don’t like the way he calls me “sweetheart,” but I tell them Dad is a doctor in the ER at Savannah Memorial. I don’t need to upset Mom right now. I don’t want her to be disappointed in me again.

  While the EMTs look me over and try to get in touch with Dad, I hear Lucas talking to Starla and Raine. Starla gasps. I think he’s telling her about Winter Oaks. I see her glance at me and then quickly look away.

  Raine comes back over to sit on the floor with me and grabs my hand. “Silly girl. Why did you have to go and scare us like that?” She looks worried.

  The EMT is still talking to my dad. “Yes, sir. We’re about to head out with her. Right.” He hangs up and looks at me. “We need to get her on the stretcher.”

  “No, I can walk,” I say, trying to get up without tangling the IV tubing. Raine stands up, too, and she and Lucas hold their hands out to help me.

  But my legs wobble and darkness swallows me up again.