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Conner opened the passenger door of his mother's Cadillac SUV. Once Hailey was comfortably seated, he shut the door gently and then rounded the car and jumped into the driver's seat.
"It was nice of you to take me out to dinner," she said. "It was like our first real date."
He smiled. "Sorry. We should have gone on a date sooner, huh?"
"That would have been nice." She fastened her seat belt and gazed at him. "I'd never been to that restaurant. Thanks for taking me."
"My mom suggested it."
"Tell her that she made a good choice."
"I will." He pressed the ignition. "So, what should we do now?"
"I don't know. Just drive, I guess."
Departing the downtown area of Newman, Conner steered the car toward their neighborhood of Gramercy Heights. Aimlessly cruising the streets, they didn't speak much, only stole sly glances at each other. Following a few minutes of driving, Conner said, "We can park somewhere if you want."
She giggled. "Like Lovers' Lane or something?"
Of course she would think that. He should have known that his words would immediately evoke the memory of the awkward moment at Adam's house. At school, he had a solid reputation as a Casanova. Tonight, he'd wanted to diminish any thoughts Hailey might entertain of him as a player. But the suggestion of parking had instantly generated the assumption he'd wanted to avoid. Now it was his duty to prove he wasn't only interested in Hailey to satisfy a sexual need.
"I meant, we could talk. Or hang out at my house if you want."
"Are your parents home?"
Grinning, he said, "Yes. So you don't have to worry that we're going to get caught doing something."
Again, she giggled. "That was so embarrassing. I was mortified."
He laughed. "I know."
"You weren't embarrassed, though."
He shrugged. "Not really."
"Did that ever happen to you before?"
He released a hearty chuckle. "No!"
Several seconds passed as their laughter subsided, then he asked, "Do you want to hang out at my house? Or I can take you home."
"Um. Yeah. Okay. Let's go to your house."
He looked out the driver's window, hoping she didn't see the wide smile on his face. "Good."
* * *
Trevor and his sister cleaned the kitchen and put away the dishes. When they were nearly finished, he sat down with his second slice of lemon meringue pie.
"Hey!" Kinsley dropped a folded dish towel next to the sink. "We still gotta wipe down the stove and table."
"I know. You do the stove. I'll do the table after I eat this."
Her shoulders sagged as though her entire evening was ruined because her brother decided to take a break.
"Oh, calm down," he said. "Eat another piece of pie with me."
"Are you kidding? You know how much fat and sugar is in that? You should be eating fruit or something healthy."
He playfully waved a forkful of lemon tart filling from side to side. "Ah, c'mon. You know it's really, really good."
She plopped onto the bench next to him. "Fine."
Laughing, he slid the pie tin to her. "It's not like you have to eat a huge piece or anything. I mean, jeez, sit and enjoy some time with your big brother for once."
She flashed her braces and then flicked the pink-tinted braids from her shoulders. "Just one or two bites."
"Ooh. Living on the edge."
"Shut up."
He handed her a fork. "Dig in."
She finally savored the sweet, tart dessert and then smiled.
Trevor nudged his arm against hers. "You know how much fat and sugar is in that?"
She rolled her eyes. When the two settled into silence once again, she seemed to ponder a thought before asking, "Is it true? You know, what people are saying about Jared."
At that moment, Jared's alleged exorcism and resulting death took on a whole new significance. Trevor wasn't trying to convince his doubtful parents. He wasn't arguing with friends and classmates about a rumor. His twelve-year-old sister was initiating a conversation that he could either ignore or take the lead on. For some reason, her young, innocent face made him feel like he needed to protect her from wild stories and eerie details. In his mind, telling her the truth was the best way to accomplish that.
"Yeah, it's true."
"That's scary."
"Yeah."
She set her fork down and slid the pie tin toward Trevor. "I don't understand all that kinda stuff. But it's scary to think about."
"Yeah, it is."
"I bet is was really scary for Jared."
The impact of her words hit Trevor like a punch to the gut. For the past week, he'd been more concerned with dismissing rumors and his own investigation to discover the truth, and then his refusal to accept his possible role in the whole phenomenon. Now, his little sister forced him to consider someone other than himself. Jared.
He took a deep breath and then clenched his jaw as the warm tears rolled down his cheeks. He wanted to respond to her statement, but his throat burned and tightened, strangling the words he wanted to say. Instead, he murmured "uh, huh."
Kinsley didn't move. She appeared frozen in the moment, unsure of what she should do or say. And then she rested her head against his shoulder.
Neither said a word as Trevor unleashed his pent-up emotions.
* * *
Adam, sprawled out on the sofa, intending to spend a lazy evening in front of the television, possibly even to fall asleep where he lay. After he'd found something mildly interesting to watch, his mother strolled into the living room.
"What are you doing?"
"Watching something about an asteroid hitting Earth, and then this guy in Australia has twelve hours left until the end of the world. But he finds this little girl and tries to help her get back to her family."
"Instead of doing what?"
"I don't know. Doing whatever he wants for the last twelve hours of his life, I guess."
"So, he made a sacrifice, then."
"Um yeah, I guess so."
She sat on the light-gray loveseat across from the dark-gray sofa, a contrast of colors that Adam never understood. Reclining, she curled her legs on the seat and draped a pastel-blue throw blanket over her feet. "Pause the movie, please. I want to say something to you."
Adam directed the remote at the TV. "Is this about last night again? I said I'm sorry, Mom. Seriously, I am."
"Don't go on the defense."
"Well, I thought we finished the talk last night."
"I just want to make two things clear. One, you can't be drinking it up like some out-of-control frat boy."
"I wasn't!"
"And two, you better be using protection when you have sex. You don't need another pregnancy to throw your plans off course."
"I know, Mom. Gimme some credit."
"I'm just saying, you're going to college next year. Don't screw it up by making dumb, reckless mistakes before you have the chance to succeed."
"I understand, Mom. Trust me, college will be much different."
"Your father and I never made you suffer the consequences," she continued. "I think that was a big mistake on our part."
This was a confession that neither of his parents had ever shared with him. He thought it might be his mother's way of expressing her regret about their laidback parenting tactics. Maybe his view that they'd been neglectful was incorrect. Maybe his lack of experience with consequences was simply because he was spoiled.
"I know you're eighteen years old," she said. "But you'll always be my little boy."
He wanted to curb the sappy talk before she totally embarrassed him. "Jeez, Mom, really?"
She smiled as she rose to her feet. "Yes. I'll always want the best for you. But I'm going to worry from time to time. It's my job."
"Don't stress, Mom. Like I said, college will be different."
Passing the sofa, she ruffled his hair on her way to the kitchen. "Love you, honey. Enjoy your movie."
"Love you too, Mom."
* * *
Conner thought Hailey was a good sport, hanging out with him and his brother. She endured the raunchy humor of White Chicks, which Conner and Mason thought was a hilarious movie. She briefly chatted with his parents before they went upstairs to bed at ten o'clock. Not long after, Mason followed.
Alone in the living room, they paid no attention to the television as they remained seated on the sofa. Talk of Thanksgiving plans segued to the topic of her parents.
"I'm surprised they let you stay out this late," he said.
"I'm not under lock and key."
He chuckled. "They must not know you're with me, then."
Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "They know."
"Don't they, like, think I'm a bad boy or something?"
"No." She laughed. "They really don't know a lot about you."
"That's good." He grinned and nudged his shoulder into hers. "I'm not a bad boy."
She teased, "You can be."
"What! Me?"
"I've heard stories."
"Uh, oh." He playfully swatted her knee. "Trust me, don't believe everything you hear."
The smile disappeared from her face and she lowered her head, seemingly upset.
"What? What did you hear?"
Shaking her head, she replied, "Nothing. I was just thinking about Jared."
"Oh."
"When you first heard the stories about him, did you ever think it could be true?"
He shrugged. They'd managed not to talk about Jared during the entire date. Now she'd asked about a topic he wished he could forget but knew he couldn't ignore. "Not really. Maybe a little. You never know what's really going on with someone when you're not friends anymore." He sensed his words about to drop out of his mouth in a jumbled mess. "Um. I can't . . . is there a reason . . . does it matter?"
"I was curious."
"Why?"
"I didn't believe it when I first heard the rumor. But then I thought about the way he acted and the way he looked. When we went to his house, I didn't like the way it felt in there. And then when we saw his bedroom"—she gently shook her head—it scared me."
"There's nothing to be scared of."
"Last night," she said, "you know, at Adam's."
He shied away from a full smile. "Uh, huh."
"I saw something in the corner. I know it sounds stupid. And you don't have to believe me. But I swear, I saw something that looked like a man. Like, human shaped but just a shadow."
"It was kinda dark in there. It was probably just your eyes playing tricks on you."
"I don't think so."
"Maybe you were just nervous," he said, echoing his conversation with Trevor and Adam. "Having second thoughts about what we were doing. Maybe that made you paranoid."
"I'm worried that the bad energy in Jared's house followed us."
"What? Like the devil or whatever that possessed him was still in the house?"
"I don't know." She swept strands of blonde hair from her eyes to behind her ear. "What if it did?"
"But what if it didn't?"
She inhaled deeply. "Okay. Maybe I'm being stupid. And paranoid, like you said."
"You're not stupid. Seriously, you're going to be the valedictorian."
"Yeah, we'll see."
He tilted her face toward his. "Nothing bad is going to happen. The evil was gone before we walked into that house."
"You're right. Good conquers evil."
"Yep. It does." He didn't want to talk about demons and evil, so he pressed his lips against hers.
Seconds later, she pushed against his chest. "Wait. Not here. I don't want to get caught by your parents."
Smiling, he nodded. "Two nights in a row. That would be a bad sign, huh?"
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. You want to watch something? Or do you need to go home now?"
She glanced at her phone. "It's eleven. I should probably get home. My curfew's at midnight. I might get bonus points if I show up early."
"All right."
"You're not mad, are you?"
"No. I'm not mad. Really."
Sitting upright, she said, "I don't want you to think I'm leading you on. Like, being a tease or something. I'm not like that."
"I know you're not." He pulled her to her feet. "It's time to get you home so you can earn those bonus points."
After dropping Hailey off, Conner drove through the neighborhood, taking random lefts and rights with no destination in mind. Nearly midnight, there was little traffic on the streets. Most of the homes were dark. The trees were dark, their naked limbs and branches stretching in all directions. The lack of foliage exposed most of the houses normally obscured by abundant masses of green leaves. Now, winding slowly through the streets, Conner felt like each unsheltered home revealed details about its structure and the people who resided inside.
Then he found himself on Cottage Drive, and he couldn't resist the urge to visit the Smiths' house. He parked in their driveway. Without turning the engine off, he sat and studied the house. The indigo shutters. The curtains still hanging from rods, concealing the interior from prying eyes. The navy-blue front door. The dent in the gutter above the garage caused by a basketball that had deviated so far from its intended target that it was embarrassing.
What happened in that house? What did Jared go through?
He thought of Hailey's fear that something evil had remained in the house after Jared died. But he wondered, did the priest chase the devil away before Jared died? If not, did the devil return to hell because Jared had died?
He scrutinized the shadows on the house, near the windows. The dark splotches darkening the yard. Were any of them a human-shaped entity hiding and watching Conner? He glanced in the rearview mirror and shuddered at the blackness of the street behind him. It was time to go home before he completely freaked himself out.
Driving to his house, he constantly checked the rearview mirror, fearful that he'd discover a humanoid shadow sitting in the back seat. The longer he drove, the more panicked he grew. When he arrived home, he jumped out of the car and rushed to the front door. He aimed the fob, securing the car as he scanned the yard for moving shadows.
The lamp on the side table illuminated the foyer. The rest of the house was dark. While the thump of his heart accelerated, he locked the front door and then retreated to his bedroom.
Now I'm paranoid.