18 Thoughts (My So-Called Afterlife Book 3) (24 page)

“Hahaha. Very punny.”

She flipped the visor mirror down and reapplied some lipstick at the stoplight, ignoring my equally corny joke. “Anyway, we’re heading to Sean’s cabin in the woods for a barbeque. After they’re done cooking the hamburgers, they’ll scoop out the hot coals and make a path in the grass for us to walk on!”

“Please tell me this is the start to a ‘You Know You’re A Redneck If’ joke.”

She threw her head back in laughter. “Ha! Now that’s funny.”

“Thank you. But seriously, this has disaster written all over it.”

Nic batted my concerns away. “ Relax. Today is going to be a good day. I just know it.”

I hoped she was right, but an hour later, we pulled down the dirt road to the cabin Sean’s parents used as a tiny vacation getaway three miles into the woods and saw Conner’s vehicle parked next to the house.

We sat in the car for several seconds, listening. Silence never seemed so loud. Nobody else had arrived yet. At least Tammy’s car wasn’t in sight. She was the one chauffeuring everyone, but they had to stop at the store for supplies along the way.

“Does your cell have service here? Mine doesn’t.”

Biting her lip, Nic checked and shook her head. “Nope. We’re in a dead zone.”

No kidding.

“Should we leave and come back? I mean, he could still be dangerous. We should wait to confront him until everyone is here.”

Hands slamming on the trunk made us both jump and scream at the same time. Turning around, I spotted Conner through the back windshield, his expression as grotesque as ever.

“Nic, go!”

Launching a tsunami of curse words, she spun the wheel frantically like a DJ running turntables. Instead of getting out of the way like a normal person would, Conner leaped onto the hood, laughing at us like he was having the time of his life as Nic surged forward.

“Olga, what do I do?”

“No idea!” I withdrew the rosary from underneath my hoodie and started praying, praying God would give me some answers. When I looked up, I saw Tammy’s Lexus barreling toward us on a dirt road only wide enough for one car. If this was a game of Chicken, Tammy won.

“What the frick!” Nic shrieked.

Thinking fast, I placed my hands on the wheel and jerked her Honda Civic out of the way, causing Conner to fly off into a tree.

Tammy rolled her window down and shook her fist. “Haha, suckers! We win!”

I threw myself out of the car and ran to Conner, who lay unconscious in the grass.

“Jesus! Is that Conner?” Sean shouted, rushing to my side. Apparently, they hadn’t seen him through the thick cloud of dust churned up by the speeding cars.

“Conner!” I yelled, tears beading in my eyes.

He twisted in my arms, and I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he was alive.

Sean, Kyle, and Nate all crouched around us.

“Olga, go wait in the car with the girls,” Nate instructed.

Ignoring him, I watched Conner slowly pry his eyelids apart. His eyes were a pure blue.
My
Conner.

“Olga,” he whispered.

“Hey.” Relief made me shudder.

Nate lifted me up and set me aside. “Go in the house with Nic and Tammy. Now. We’ll deal with this.” He smoothed the hair off my forehead. “Trust me.”

“Ha! You’ll forgive me if I have a few reservations about trusting you with Conner after you threatened to kill him the last time you saw him.”

“Exactly. If he hurts you now, I won’t be able to stop myself. So please go inside. I promise not to hurt him.” He made an
x
over his heart as a way of demonstrating the seriousness of his oath to me.

“No way. I’m staying out here with Conner.”

Nate threw his hands in the air. “Fine. But at least stand back while we inspect him for injuries then.”

I nodded, then watched wearily as Kyle and Sean made sure Conner was okay before proceeding to ask him some questions about how he got here. Nic and Tammy flanked each side of me, holding up my trembling body. A black cat appeared out of nowhere and flicked her tail at us just once before vanishing in the woods.

“This place is creepy as hell,” Tammy muttered. “Who’s idea was it to come here?”

Nic raised her hand. “Sorry. It seemed like a good idea last night. Sean and I have been talking about coming up here anyway to…” She paused, struggling for breath.

Patting her shoulder, I said, “Well, you know what they say. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

“Agreed,” Tammy said, then took out a cigarette as I sighed. “I know you hate it, but I need a smoke to calm down.”

As soon as she said the words, the scene around me disappeared and merged into a new one, Tammy still beside me but overlooking a lake instead.

“Why do you smoke so much?” I ask her, holding up my hands. “I’m not judging, just curious. It’s your life, and I respect that.” Shaking my head, I continue, “I can’t believe I spent most of high school stereotyping you as a single-minded, snobby, backstabbing cheerleader.”

Tammy takes one last drag, then stomps out her cigarette on the ground. “Girl, neither can I. I mean I only stole your prom date, threatened to light you on fire, and slapped you in the face.”

Blinking, I realized I was sandwiched between Nic and Tammy in the woods and Tammy still smoking her cigarette.

“Where did you just go?” Tammy asked me.

I stepped away from them, shaking. “You’ve never thought about lighting me on fire, have you?”

She straightened to full height. “Another vision?”

I nodded.

“No, not that I remember anyway.”

“That’s comforting.” Although it wasn’t really.

For the next half hour, I paced around Conner, praying and rubbing my rosary. Finally, the boys let him stand, and I rushed to his side to help him walk toward the cabin.

He flashed me a grateful smile. “Hey.”

“How could you disappear like that?” I knew I should be angry with him for our last encounter. But the boy who threw me into his Ford wasn’t the same one before me.

“Believe me, I’m wondering the same thing,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing.

“Are you hurt?”

His steps faltered. “A little.”

I supported him as we climbed the front steps, deciding my interrogation could wait. From all the supplies lying around the cabin, it was obvious Conner had been hiding out here for the better part of the six weeks he’d been missing.

“We’ll get you some ice and Tylenol,” Nate said, ushering me into the kitchen with him as Conner lay on the couch.

From a drawer, I retrieved a Ziploc baggie and filled it with ice as Nate filled a glass with tap water. He pursed his lips in worry, searching the cupboards for what I assumed was pain medicine.

“Conner claims he doesn’t remember attacking you or anything from the last six weeks. Says the last thing he knew he was going to sleep after seeing us at the coffee shop.”

“I know. I heard. Do you believe him?”

“Well, he should win an Oscar if his story’s an act. He was pretty convincing when we grilled him outside.”

“So now he’s suffering from amnesia in addition to Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and a bipolar disorder?”
And a possible demon possession
. “Things just keep getting better and better. What do we do now?”

Nate shrugged. “Obviously, we all have a lot to figure out. But for now, everyone’s hungry, and it seems like fate has brought us here together for a reason today.”

“So we stick with the plan.”

Nodding his head, he said, “Yep. We’ll have ourselves a barbeque and a firewalk.”

I bit my lip, nervous. “Okay.”

He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Here, take this to Conner. I’m gonna help Sean get the stuff out of the car. Kyle will stay in here with you girls in case anything funny happens with Conner.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s in the mood to tell any jokes.”

Nate chuckled, kissing my forehead before he strode out of the kitchen.

As I headed back to the living room, tears sprung to my eyes as the events of the past months caught up to me. I sucked in a breath and told myself to grow a pair. All this crying was really getting on my nerves.

“Here. A double dose of pills should help with the pain.” I grabbed two throw pillows off the love seat and propped them behind Conner’s head. Immediately, he popped the four pills into his mouth, like relief couldn’t come fast enough. Then I lifted the glass of water to him and placed the straw on his lips. “Drink.”

He drained the entire glass.

“I’ll get you some more.”

He grabbed my hand, then pulled me into a hug. “I hate that I’m the cause of your tears.”

“You’ve caused a lot more than that, buddy,” Tammy said from across the room.

Glowering at her, I said, “Don’t take that tone with him. Whatever’s happening to him isn’t his fault.”

“Who’s to blame then?” Conner asked, taking the glass out of my hand and placing it on the coffee table.

“Me,” I answered flatly, soaking in all the guilt like a sponge.

He scrubbed his fingers through his already disheveled hair that was in desperate need of a trim. “What are you talking about?”

I shrugged. “I just can’t ease my conscience that this is all my fault.” I went on to tell him about the mysterious journal that showed up at my house while he was gone.

Conner laughed, the sound startling me.

“What’s so funny?” I asked without any trace of humor.

“Sorry. It’s just, this sounds worse than a plot we’d see on a Spanish soap opera or something.”

“Oh, yeah, I can’t wait until Mrs. Garcia plays the next episode in class,” Kyle yelled. “I hope Jaime and Carlos finally hook up.”

We all laughed for a minute before he continued, more serious this time.

“Can I give you your birthday present while we wait?” He slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small angel pin. “This used to be my grandma’s before she passed. I don’t think she’d be opposed to you having it. It’ll get a lot more use from you, even has your birthstone since Grams was born in October, too.”

Holding out my hand, I studied the shiny opal twinkling in the light. “Kyle, this is beautiful. Are you sure your parents won’t mind you giving it to me?”

He smiled. “On one condition. You stop wearing those rosary beads as a necklace all the time. No offense, but you’ve turned into one of those spooky religious people.”

Tammy laughed. “Yeah, on that note. You should probably open my gift.”

She handed me a wrapped box, and inside I found a small plastic container that said “Our Daily Bread” on the front. Inside were tons of index-sized scripture cards.

“I found those at a little gift shop downtown with the same idea Kyle had in mind, apparently. I’m hoping you just put a card or two in your pocket instead of carrying around that mass book. Seriously, you look ridiculous.”

Even though she delivered an insult, her tone was meant to soothe. I knew she and Kyle both had good intentions, so I thanked them and figured they were probably right.

After Nic gave me a prayer box she made, decorated with pictures of the Jedi Order, beads, lace, and little crosses, Nate sent me a text telling me the food was cooked and to come outside. Sure enough, hamburgers and hotdogs were on the picnic table, while a ten-foot path of coals fresh off the grill lined the grass nearby.

“We’re seriously still doing this?” Tammy asked.

“You don’t have to, but it’s something Olga and I need to do,” Nate explained cryptically. Turning to me, he said, “Ready to roll? We don’t want the coals to cool down too much.”

I gulped several times. “Yeah, what a waste that would be. You really think this will work?”

Nate picked up the plate of hamburgers. “I’d bet my lunch on it.”

“That’s all this is worth to you?”

“Hey, I take my meat very seriously. Now listen, I’ll go first so you can see it in action. When you go, the best tip I can give you is to keep your gaze ahead of you, repeating the words ‘cool grass’ over and over until you’re across. Don’t look down and don’t let your mind think about the heat. Mind over matter.”

I nodded stiffly. “Sounds easy enough.”

Nate practically glided across the coals, but that didn’t stop me from having a full-blown panic attack when it was my turn. This caused Sean, Kyle, Tammy, and Nic to go before me, demonstrating how easy walking on fire was even for first timers. The Jedi Order lined the path: Kyle, Sean, and Conner standing on one side, Tammy and Nic on the other, and Nate waiting at the end. I backpedaled a moment, then increased my speed, muttering, “Cool grass,” as instructed while swiping the air in front of me as if the action would cause me to go faster. Finally, Nate wrapped me in a hug at the end, stumbling a bit to the side since I’d apparently jumped on him.

Panting, the stinging anticipation returned. We locked eyes, and I heard a distant voice whispering in my mind that what the mind could conceive, it could achieve, when screams of agony came from behind us. Conner had decided to firewalk, too, but he only trekked halfway across. Something terrible burned inside him. We could all see it, like he’d swallowed the sun and it lay decomposing within him.

Sean and Kyle pulled at his arm from the side, but he wouldn’t budge. Whatever lived inside him had rooted him to the spot.

Rubbing my new angel pin, praying for help, I remembered the vial of Holy Water in the pendant around my neck. Something prompted me to buy the necklace at the bookstore during my shift on Monday and fill it with Holy Water during my confession yesterday afternoon. Stepping forward, I dabbed the water on my finger and made the sign of the cross on Conner’s forehead, his face close to blistering as he gritted his teeth.

Nothing.

I placed my rosary around his neck and threw the entire contents of the vial on his head, continually making the sign of the cross while reciting a prayer from the mass book I’d memorized. “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in this battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do so through the Prince of the Heavenly Hosts. By the power of God, cast into hell any evil spirit who prowls about, seeking the ruin of our souls.”