Midnight Games(9)

His smile faded. “She doesn’t own me.”

I followed him out the front door. It was a cold, clear night. A tiny sliver of moon was almost lost in a sky full of stars.

Cars jammed the driveway and both sides of the street. One of them was parked on Jamie’s front lawn.

Nate shook his head. “Mr. Richards isn’t going to be too happy about that.”

I hugged myself, trying to stay warm. My little midriff top wasn’t much good against the cold. My arms had goosebumps up and down.

Nate appeared tense. He had his eyes down on his sneakers. “Sorry about Ada,” he muttered. “I mean, the way she pulled me away like that.”

“No problem,” I said. I didn’t know what to say. “How long have you been together?” I asked.

He shrugged in reply. “I’m not even sure we are going together.”

“Liar,” I said, grinning. “That’s not what I heard.”

He grinned back.

I guessed he was interested in me. Maybe very interested.

I didn’t mind. I was interested in him, too. I thought, maybe he’d like to put his arms around me and warm me up.

But he didn’t make a move. He just stood there, staring down at the ground. “Hey, maybe you and I could hang out or something,” he said finally.

“Cool,” I said.

Then he ruined it. He raised his eyes to mine and said, “I’ve always wanted to meet a Fear.”

“Really?” Is that why he’s so interested?

“I have a lot of questions,” he said. “You know. About your family.”

Well, that was nice while it lasted.

I thought he wanted me—not my family.

“You writing a magazine article?” I snapped. I didn’t mean it to sound so cold, but it did.

Nate didn’t seem to notice. He jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. “No. Things have been weird around here. I mean, some scary things happened to my friends and me. Like we were cursed or something. We almost drowned, you know. And then that girl in our class died . . . . ”

His voice trailed off. I could see he was really messed up. But why did he think I had anything helpful to tell him?

I was shivering. I rubbed my arms. “Think I have to go inside,” I said.

I turned—and saw a face pressed against the window, staring out. Ada. She was glaring at Nate and me.

Was she bad news or what?

“Look, Nate—,” I started.

But he had turned away from me. He was staring up into the branches of a tall sycamore tree.

“Earth calling Nate,” I said. “What’s up there?”

“A bird,” he said. He turned back to me, scratching his head. “I thought I saw a blackbird. I mean. Well . . . I guess it was just a shadow.”

“You’re into bird watching?” I said.

He didn’t seem to hear me.

Ada still had her face pressed to the window glass. I decided to give her something to look at. I slid my arm around Nate’s shoulders, pulled him close, and led him back into the house.

Jamie greeted me at the door. She squinted at me. “You and Nate?”

“Just talking,” I said. “It’s hard to hear in here.”

“I need you,” Jamie said, pulling me through the crowded living room. “I’m out of everything. Some guys went for pizza. Can you check the basement? See if you can find any more cans of Coke?”

“No problem,” I said. I shivered. I couldn’t shake off the cold from outside. “Just let me run up to my room and put on something warmer.”

I bumped past Lewis, who was changing the CDs on the music system. Two couples were pressed together at the bottom of the stairs. They squirmed to the side so I could get upstairs.

I found a long-sleeved pullover in my dresser, tugged it on, and hurried back to help cousin Jamie. I stopped at the landing because someone was blocking the way.

Ada stood in front of me on the top step. She held a tray of glasses in front of her. The glasses tinkled as the tray shook in Ada’s hands.

The bright ceiling light reflected off the glass, and I blinked. Whoa.

I suddenly felt dizzy, off-balance. The floor tilted, and the stairs appeared to rise up in front of me.

What a strange feeling. Why was the light reflecting so brightly? White light. Almost blinding.

I shut my eyes for a moment, trying to fight off the dizziness.

I opened them when I heard a shrill scream—and saw Ada falling . . . Ada tumbling . . . toppling headfirst down the staircase.





9

Screaming all the way, Ada thudded down the stairs.

The music and voices were so loud, but I could hear every bump, every time her head hit a wooden step.

And then the voices and singing and laughter stopped. As if someone had turned a switch. A few seconds after that, the music stopped too.