Midnight Games(10)

And now I felt as if I were swimming in silence, an ocean of silence. A bright white ocean of silence and light.

I grabbed the banister. I peered down through the billowing whiteness, forcing my eyes to focus.

And saw Ada. Crumpled up. Sprawled in a heap, surrounded by glittering lights. It took me a while to realize the lights were pieces of broken glass.

“Is she okay?” I screamed into the silence.

Kids were rushing to the stairway now, dropping down beside Ada. Brushing away the shards of shattered glass. Reaching for her. Eyes wide with worry and amazement.

Ada groaned. She slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position.

I saw bright red blood streaming down the front of her T-shirt and staining one sleeve. Bits of broken glass shimmered in her hair.

She groaned again and wiped her hands through her hair. Then, slowly, she raised her eyes to me.

I gasped when I saw the fierce anger on her face.

“You PUSHED me!” Ada screamed.

I heard gasps and low cries. All eyes were raised to me.

My legs felt wobbly, about to give way. I gripped the banister tightly to hold myself up. I felt my heart start to pound.

“N-no,” I stammered, shaking my head. “I didn’t touch you!”

Ada raised herself to her knees. She shook a blood-smeared fist at me. “You DID, Dana!” she cried. “You shoved me!”

I couldn’t help it. I burst into tears. “That’s a LIE!” I cried. But my sobs muffled the words.

I gazed down from face to face. They all stared at me, accusing me. They believed her.

But I knew it wasn’t true. I never touched her.

Why was she accusing me?

I couldn’t stop sobbing. I turned and ran up the stairs. Back to my attic room, where I dropped into an armchair. I gripped the arms hard, gritted my teeth, and forced myself to stop crying.

From my room I could hear voices downstairs. But I couldn’t make out the words. Were they all talking about me? Did they all believe Ada?

Why would I push her down the stairs? I had no reason to hurt her.

Did they think I pushed her because I want to steal Nate?

Nate is cute, but he isn’t worth trying to kill someone!

Did they think I pushed her because I’m a Fear? And a member of the Fear family has to be evil? How stupid is that?

I heard the front door close. Heard voices in the driveway. Car doors slammed, and engines started up. The party was breaking up.

I was still hunched in the armchair, gritting my teeth, thinking angry thoughts, when Jamie came into my room. She hurried over and placed a hand on mine. “Dana, are you okay?”

“I . . . don’t know,” I said. I felt like crying again, but I forced it back.

Jamie squeezed my hand. “It was a good party,” she said softly, “until Ada fell.”

“I didn’t push her!” I cried. I jerked Jamie’s hand off mine. “Really. I never touched her.”

Jamie nodded. “Of course you didn’t.”

I jumped to my feet. I balled my hands into tight fists. “So why did she accuse me like that?”

Jamie tossed back her dark hair. She suddenly looked so pale and tired. I could see that blue vein throbbing in her temple. “Ada will get over it,” she said.

“Get over it?” I cried. “How? If she thinks I tried to kill her . . . ”

“She was being emotional,” Jamie replied. “Ada is very high-strung. When she thinks about it, she’ll realize she made a mistake. She tripped, that’s all.”

“I . . . I felt weird up there,” I confessed. “I was standing behind Ada at the top of the stairs. And the glasses on her tray suddenly started to shine in my eyes. I felt dizzy.”

“Dizzy?”

“Yes. I thought I might black out. But . . . you’ve got to believe me. I didn’t push her. I couldn’t.”

“Of course not,” Jamie said in a soft, soothing voice. “Of course not.”

So why was she staring at me so suspiciously?





10

The next couple of days I kept to myself. I was eager to find out what kind of greeting I’d get from everyone my first day at Shadyside High. But the school was closed for two days because of a water-main break.

Jamie hung out with Lewis and some of her other friends. And I heard her sneaking out after midnight to see her friends at the bar they all go to on Fear Street.

But I didn’t feel like tagging along. Well, I guess I was a little tempted. I wanted to see Nate again. I kept thinking about him without even realizing it.

I wondered if he believed I pushed Ada down the stairs. I wondered if he’d be glad to see me, or if he’d try to avoid me.

But I didn’t leave the house. I e-mailed some friends from my old school. And I called my dad. Told him everything was just great. (As if he cared.) And I tried to read ahead in some of the school assignments.