Ember Read online

  I open my mouth to say yes, but Raven interposes. “Em’s already got plans.”

  I glare at her and she fires one right back at me.

  Asher looks at Raven. “With you?”

  She aims a conniving look at him. “No, with Cameron. You know, the other new kid.”

  Asher scowls at her. “I know who he is.”

  “Good, then I don’t have to stand here and explain it to you.” She links arms with him. “You can hang out with me today.”

  She leads him toward the stairs and I’m surprised by how little of a fight Asher puts up. When Asher and Cameron see each other, the air chills. We all stand awkwardly in the foyer.

  “Well, you two have fun,” Raven singsongs, tugging Asher toward the door.

  Asher won’t meet my eyes. “I’ll see you later, Ember,” he says, like we’re acquaintances.

  I open my mouth to tell him to stay, but my lips are incompetent. The pair leaves and Asher takes my calm and peace from death along with him. I’m dumbstruck. Thoughts of the two of them making out infest my brain.

  “So I thought we could spend the day at the lake,” Cameron’s voice intervenes my thoughts. There’s something about his demeanor that’s off today; the sadness and pain he so often carries has evaporated into an intimidating level of cockiness.

  “Yeah… I just need to change first.” I withdraw toward the stairs, wishing I’d never agreed to the date in the first place. Cameron can’t touch me without driving me insane, so what’s the point of doe-eyed looks and flirty conversation? That’s not what I want.

  What I want is Asher.

  I hurry up to my room and throw on a pair of black shorts, knee-high sneakers, and a maroon top tied together with a ribbon. I clip on my bracelets, grab my leather jacket and meet Cameron downstairs. He’s looking at the same baby photo as Asher did last night.

  “You look happy in this one,” he observes.

  “I was two,” I say, flipping my hair out of the collar of my jacket. “A cardboard box could make me smile.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He turns away from the photo and opens the front door. “After you.”

  I walk outside and frown at the empty driveway. Raven’s silver car is still parked in her driveway next door. I wonder if they really left together. This bothers me. A lot. Maybe more than anything in my life.

  Chapter 13

  The first half of the drive with Cameron is awkward, but mostly because Cameron’s dad calls and chews him out over the phone. I don’t know what for, but it’s none of my business.

  By the time he hangs up, we’re at the mouth of the canyon that encircles the lake. The heat is on, but it’s hot out and a layer of sweat coats my skin underneath my leather jacket.

  “So your friend finally found someone interested in her, huh?” Cameron tosses his phone into the console.

  I crack the window and suck in some fresh air. “Asher’s not interested in her that way. They’re just friends.”

  He turns down the heat. “Hmm… that’s not what I saw. It looked to me like they were both happy to be leaving with each other.”

  “I don’t agree with you,” I say through gritted teeth. “And Asher’s not really her type.”

  “It seems like everyone’s her type if you ask me,” he comments, downshifting. “Ember, is something wrong? You seem mad at me for some reason.”

  I encounter his gaze and the hurt in his eyes makes me feel bad. “Sorry, I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”

  The pain in his eyes subsides. “Well, you could have always came down to the cemetery and kept me company.”

  “Why were you there?” I lighten up. “Were you looking for the family jewel again?”

  “No, I gave up on that,” he says. “I was actually there, hoping you’d show up again.”

  “Sure you were.” My tone is cheerful, but I fidget unnervingly. Unlike Asher, Cameron is making me feel uneasy, in both good ways and bad. “And now you’re going to tell me that you can’t stop thinking about me.”

  His expression intensifies and his voice lowers to an intimate level. “Actually, I was going to tell you how much I like that shirt on you.”

  I glance down at the lace-up shirt Raven gave me that I’ve never worn until now. I don’t even understand why I chose to wear it. Maybe subconsciously to live up to Cameron’s flashy standards, and if it is, I’m disappointed in myself.

  He reaches over and fiddles with the ribbon on the front. “You’re so much different from the other girls I’ve dated.” He curls the ribbon around his finger and pulls on it. “There’s so much substance to you.” He gives it another tug and it loosens the shirt slightly. “And innocence.”

  My black bra is starting to show through. I lean away and quickly tie the ribbon back up. “I’m not innocent.”

  He glances down at the ribbon and then inclines his eyebrows. “Really.”

  I hug the jacket to my chest. “Don’t pretend like you know me.”

  He sighs and flips on the blinker. “Look, Ember, I’m sorry. I can be kind of cocky sometimes, but I promise I’ll try to tone it down for today.”

  I sigh, slip off my jacket, and ball it on my lap. “No, I’m sorry. I’m acting rude again and I don’t know why.” Because I want to be with Asher.

  “Because I make you nervous,” he says simply and slows the car. He turns down a bumpy, dirt road that inclines to the shore of the lake. The steep, rocky hillside is covered with debris. My dad’s Challenger. This is the exact spot where the accident happened.

  “What’s the matter?” Cameron silences the engine.

  I rip my gaze from the lake. “Nothing. So what are we doing here?”

  He points at a fire pit in the center of the shore. “Some people told me this was a good place to go.”

  “Yeah, to get wasted and have sex,” I say, thinking of all the lake parties Raven has dragged me to.

  He shoves open the car door. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He slams the door and walks toward the lake.

  I think I might be in over my head. I slip on my jacket and hop out of the car. The silver pieces of the Challenger glimmer in the sunlight like nickels. The biggest one is about the size of a tire. I pluck a piece from the rocks and turn it in my hand.

  “Looks like someone had a bad accident.” He takes the piece of metal from my hand. “They must have been driving really fast to shatter the car so bad.”

  “Yeah, probably.” I walk to the edge of the shore where the water meets the sand. Is the necklace still down there, trapped in the car?

  Cameron comes up behind me and whispers in my ear, “Tell me what you’re thinking.” He uses the same purr as he did in the cemetery, the one that pulled me to him, that begged me to touch him.

  I feel lightheaded. “I’m just sad…” I murmur.

  “Tell me why,” he purrs. “Maybe I can help.”

  It feels like I’ve drank a gallon of wine. “I was the one who wrecked… and my car, it’s at the bottom of the lake.”

  “There was something important in it, wasn’t there?”

  I nod absentmindedly. “A necklace my grandmother gave me.”

  He moves to the side of me and tugs off his black Henley. He discards it on the ground and the sun glistens against his tan skin. He wades into the water until it is waist deep.

  “Cameron, what are you doing?” I call out. “You can’t—” He swan-dives in and vanishes under the water. I stand on the shore, searching for a glimpse of him resurfacing. Too much time ticks by for a normal person to breathe underwater. I pat my pockets for my phone. “Dammit. I left it at home.”

  I race for the Jeep to grab Cameron’s phone he had tossed in the console to call Search and Rescue, but something darts behind the Jeep and I freeze. I glance back at the lake and then at the car. Dark boots stand behind the car.

  I’m not alone.

  “Shit.” I dither and then sprint for the car. I scoop up a long, sharp stick as I cautiou
sly open the passenger door. Without taking my eyes off the rear end of the Jeep, I feel around the inside of the cab until I snag Cameron’s cell phone.

  I flip the screen off lock and search for the dial pad. A tall figure steps out from the back of the Jeep. He’s dressed in his usual back cloak that shields his eyes, but I know he’s looking at me.

  “I told you to go away last night.” I back away from the Grim Reaper with the stick out in front of me. “And you have to leave because I told you to.”

  “You didn’t mean it,” he purrs softly, stepping toward me.

  I throw the stick at him. “Yes I did. And I told you to go. I’m not a child and I can’t see you anymore.”

  “You’ll see me forever.” He prowls toward me, step after step.

  My feet are frozen in place, but not out of fear. In a weird, twisted way I’ve always wanted to find out what’s beneath the hood. I reach my fingers toward him and he allows me to grab the brim. I begin to lift it back, but I hear water splashing and reel around. Cameron floats in the water, his lengthy arms guiding him to the shore. I glance back and the Grim Reaper is gone.

  “I got it for you,” Cameron calls out as he wades out of the lake. Beads of water trickle from his hair and down his well-defined abs and the sun lights up the sky behind him. It’s straight out of cheesy movie scene, where everything is fake. Fake.

  The nearer Cameron gets, the more my nervous energy charges. His soaked jeans ride low on his hips and the first word that comes to mind when I take him in is perfection. Then fake, plastic, nonexistent.

  Dangling from his fingers is my grandma’s necklace. “Did I mention that I’m an excellent swimmer?” He stops in front of me and hooks the necklace around my neck without touching me.

  The maroon gem shimmers in the sunlight. I’m speechless, not because he brought me the necklace, but because he was able to retrieve it from the bottom of the lake.

  He places his hands on my arms and I stiffen. “You don’t have to say anything.” His hands travel up my arms, over my shoulders, and down just below my neck, leaving a trail of water on my skin. My heart pounds in my chest. He’s touching me and I can’t feel the noise of death, just like with Asher. But it’s a different kind of quiet than Asher. There’s a hint of static and instead of calm, I feel out of control, like when my car went over the cliff.

  “Your heart’s racing,” he whispers with an arrogant smirk. He dips his head down and sucks the water off the hollow of my neck. It feels wrong, yet right somehow. His lips inch closer and closer, and an involuntary moan escapes my lips. I feel hypnotized and start to surrender in his arms.

  But he swiftly pulls away with his forehead furrowed. He peers over my shoulder and I turn around to see what he’s looking at: Mackenzie’s shiny Mercedes winding down the road.

  “Did you invite her here?” I ask with a frown.

  His eyes are locked on the car as he shakes his head. “Nope, I’m just as surprised as you.”

  The car slams to a stop beside the Jeep and kicks up a cloud of dust. The door opens and Mackenzie steps out. She adjusts her neon pink dress and struts forward, her high heels wobbling over the rocks. The passenger door flies open and her best friend Dana Millard swings her legs out. They both shoot me dirty looks.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I mutter.

  Cameron raises his eyebrows. “What? You don’t like her?”

  Mackenzie waves her hand. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming to this.” She marches straight up to Cameron without so much as giving me an acknowledging glance. “I thought you said you were busy tonight.”

  A lifted truck rolls down the road, followed by a line of fancy SUVs, trucks, and cars. It’s Saturday night and the whole teenage population is arriving.

  Cameron glances at me. “I am busy.”

  She pouts her glossy bottom lip. “So you’re not staying for the bonfire?”

  “Maybe we could stay,” he wavers, waiting for me to offer my okay.

  “If you want to stay, that’s fine with me,” I say, my eyes skimming the forest as I try to determine how long it would take me to walk back to the house.

  He smiles and pats my arm. “Sounds good.” He backtracks toward the shore to pick up his shirt.

  Mackenzie shadows him like a lovesick puppy, knocking her shoulder into mine as she passes by me; bound and gagged, hands tied, are you ready to die, pretty girl?

  “Watch it, killer.” Her eyes sparkle with a hatred she doesn’t understand. I flip her the finger and she rolls her eyes, chasing after Cameron. “Why are you all wet?” She giggles and gives him a flirty pat on the chest.

  I wipe the areas where Cameron touched, erasing the water and the feel of his touch. Cameron’s phone is lying on the ground and I pick it up. I dial Raven’s number as more cars and trucks roll up. Mobs of people hop out of the cars; some I go to high school with and some are older.

  “Hey Rav,” I say when she answers. “I need you to pick me up.”

  “What?” She hollers in the phone. “Em, what are you saying? Aren’t you having fun?”

  Cameron seems to be. Over by the shore, he slips his shirt on, letting Mackenzie ogle him with a ravenous look in his eyes, like he might rip her dress off at any moment.

  “Can you just come get me?” I beg. “Please.”

  “Yeah, sure, hun,” she yells over the music in the background. “Where are you?”

  The connection statics so I head toward the road, tucking in my shoulders as two guys pass by carrying a keg. “I’m at the lake,” I say, but her voice cuts out. I head higher up the road. “Rav, can you hear me?” The signal dies. I trek up to the top of the road right at the border of the asphalt. There’s still no signal, so I walk up the highway.

  About a mile later, I still don’t have a signal. It’s midday, but the clouds are rumbling and the air is tinted with the smell of an impending rainstorm. But I keep walking with no desire to turn around, watching a raven soar menacingly above my head.

  “Leave me alone, you stupid bird,” I call out. “Go haunt someone else.”

  It keeps circling and cawing. Feathers fall from its wings and I catch one. I twirl it between my fingers, trying to remember if these were the same as the ones from my dad’s crime scene. I saw a bag of them once, while I was being interrogated. But I think they were a little bit bigger.

  I swing to the side as a black car with tinted windows rolls around a corner. The engine roars as it speeds up. Music bumps and vibrates the ground. The tires screech. Inching further to the side of the road, I tuck my jacket around me. I focus on seeing my death, but again there’s only blackness.

  The car suddenly swerves into the wrong lane, intentionally taking aim at me. There’s little time to react. I scramble to the railing, but it slams into my legs and flips me onto the hood. I roll over the top and fly off the side of the road and over the edge of the cliff, bouncing off the rocks all the way to the bottom. Bones break and the rocks rip at my skin. When I finally stop, I’m lying next to the angel statue Asher took me to, surrounded by crosses and beautiful red roses. My arm is twisted behind my head, and my leg is kinked under my back. Blood drips down my forehead. I’m paralyzed. Thunder booms and lightning flashes across the sky.

  It all makes sense, like connecting dots to form a map. The lake, my brakes, Garrick smothering me with death omens. Someone wants me dead and whoever they are just succeeded.

  “Ember,” the wind howls. The Grim Reaper appears above me and I know this is it. This is my time to go.

  “Close your eyes,” he says as he begins to pull his hood down.

  My eyelids drift shut, but I catch a glimpse of black hair and dark eyes. “Asher…”

  But the dark hair melts away and the eyes hollow out into a skeleton. I wonder if this is what death looks like to everyone, or that in my death I have lost my mind.

  “Take it, Ember, or else you won’t make it. And I need you to make it… for a little while.” He plucks a red rose from th
e stem, bends down, and tucks it in my hair. “Take the life.”

  My eyes shut and I listen to my heart fade away. My breath surrenders to the wind and my heart gives its concluding beat. My life leaves my body, like leaves drifting from the trees. And every ounce of pain goes with it.

  Suddenly, I don’t want to wake up.

  Chapter 14

  Some people believe that right before death, a person reaches a point where they experience comfort and they see the images of every happy moment that completed their life. I’ve died twice, and each time all I see is the Reaper. So it that supposed to be my happy moment?