Happily Never After Read online

  “How do you two know each other? And why didn’t you tell me about it, Quinn?”

  “Quinn,” Jason smiled. “Finally I discover the name of the girl who left me standing in the street like a jackass.” He turned to look at Abby and said, “She ran me over earlier while looking at trees, accused me of flirting, then walked away leaving me standing there with my wounded pride.”

  Abby chuckled, “Sounds like Quinn.”

  “So what, did you follow me?” I asked him.

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise and laid a hand on his chest. “Me? I’m more the being followed kind of guy.”

  “Oh, please.” I went to walk away. Something about him irritated the crap out of me and set me on edge. All I wanted was to be away from him so I could breathe and ignore the signals my fluttering stomach was sending out, especially when he looked so good in his skullcap and dark sweatshirt.

  “See, she’s always walking away from me. It hurts. Now, really, what are you girls doing out here? Séance?”

  Thankfully, Abby was also the kind of girl who wouldn’t go all gooey at the sight of a hot actor. “A séance, are you for real? We’re conducting an investigation.” But I heard the way she tried unsuccessfully to sound professional.

  Great. Not only does he think I’m a crazy girl who stares at trees, now he thinks I hang out in cemeteries at night searching for monsters.

  It didn’t matter that both of those things were true but it did make me feel more freakish than I already was. Then I remembered I didn’t want to impress him anyway and tried to throw a bucket of cold water on my thoughts. Why did I have to run into an actor, of all people?

  Jason scrambled to keep up with us. “An investigation? As in, searching for ghosts?”

  I figured it couldn’t get any worse. Maybe if I told him the truth he would think we were crazy and leave. I stopped and faced him.

  “Yes, as in ghosts. You’ve seen the ghost hunting shows on TV, right?” He nodded. “Well, that's what we're doing, kinda, only on a very amateur level.”

  His eyes lit up with interest. His reaction wasn’t what I expected.

  “Have you found anything? Is there someone you’re looking for? Can I help?”

  I almost groaned. The expression on Abby’s face wasn’t quite readable. It appeared she was as perplexed as I was when she blurted, “I can’t understand why you’d want to help us.”

  “I came here for the same reason, only without all the equipment. I can’t imagine anyone coming to a city like this and not being curious about what’s out there. So, have you ever seen anything?”

  “Maybe,” I began simultaneously as Abby said, “We’ve got some great stuff.”

  Jason looked at me with newly found respect. “So you guys are the real deal? Cool.”

  “I don’t know if you can call us that. Again, we’re amateurs. And we’re done for the night.”

  Abby’s eyes widened in surprise but I knew she wouldn’t argue with me as she packed up her camera. Jason's enthusiasm was a little more than we'd bargained for.

  “Well, can I tag along next time? I’m curious about this sort of thing.” He watched as we gathered our supplies.

  Abby stood up and got really close to him. “And you think two girls like us are the kind to show you? Maybe we’re here for something very personal and don’t need some actor butting in.”

  “Maybe I am too,” he said softly.

  That caught my attention. I couldn’t imagine what he thought could be found in a cemetery at night. The last thing I wanted was have him see even a glimpse of anything personal to me. But when I peeked at him, I saw a familiar shadow of pain in his eyes, which made me feel a little selfish.

  I slung the duffel bag on my shoulder and pointed behind him. “If you walk in a straight line that way, you’ll find the south gate.”

  Abby and I left him standing in the darkness, staring after us. It wasn’t until we reached the street that Abby finally said something.

  “I can’t believe that just happened! I mean, that was who I think it was, right?” She walked into a nearby late-night coffee shop and took a seat.

  “Unfortunately.” I settled across from her and ordered a hot lemon tea. I’d never developed a taste for coffee. “He’s kind of a jerk.”

  She snorted. “Yeah, but an incredibly hot jerk. Was he serious about how you met him?”

  I took my long hair out of its messy ponytail and shook it out. “Yeah, I literally ran into him on the sidewalk and he tried his ‘I’m so charming and hot and famous’ thing but I’m immune.”

  “I saw that with my own eyes,” she giggled. “I bet he’s never had a teenage girl walk away from him before.”

  The giggling seemed to be contagious because I started as well. “At least I won’t have to see him again.”

  Abby raised an eyebrow. “You think? He did seem pretty determined.”

  “I don’t want to consider that.” I sat back in my chair. “The last thing we need is some stuck-up, pretty boy getting in the way.”

  “I don’t know, Q. Maybe it would help. The way he looks, I can’t imagine even a dead woman being immune, even though you seem to be.”

  “I’ve never been attracted to giant egos. It really is a shame he showed up tonight. Our investigation was a complete waste.”

  “Not a complete waste,” Abby said as she drained the last of her coffee. “At least you were able to get out into the real world for a couple hours.”

  Later at home, I sat down at my computer to watch the footage we'd taken. In the brief time we were at the cemetery, we'd accomplished nothing. This didn’t really surprise me considering we'd been interrupted before even beginning.

  Satisfied I was safe and no one would see, I logged onto the internet and Googled Jason. I couldn’t help it. Something about him and the sadness that appeared in his eyes as we were leaving made me incredibly curious.

  I found out the basics. He was twenty-one and had already left a trail of heartbreak through young Hollywood. He originally came from Colorado before hitting it big and avoided any major scandals. Sure, he'd donated a lot of hours working for Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers, Big Sisters but it didn’t take away from the fact that it was everything I expected to find. I got bored with it pretty quick.

  Right before I signed off I saw what it was that could explain his sadness. It was an article in the Denver Post five years ago, about a year before his first acting gig on Home. Jason had been driving up to go skiing with his younger brother Dylan. They were in an accident and Dylan died.

  A car swerved into their lane and Jason hit a patch of ice trying to avoid it. Dylan died at the scene before emergency vehicles could reach the remote area. A brutal picture formed in my mind of Jason on the side of the road holding his brother as the life slowly drained from him.

  Unwanted tears filled my eyes. I had assumed he knew nothing about pain and loss. How horribly wrong could I have been? To be the one left behind, to be the one left living, affected a person in more ways than one. This was why he was so curious about Abby and me hunting for ghosts. He must want to try to reach his brother.

  It made me wonder how much of his cocky attitude came from that day, how much of it was to hide his hurt. Much to my chagrin, I found myself wanting to help him. I felt horrible now about the way I'd treated him.

  Maybe, I’d have a chance to make it up to him. All I needed to do was keep my ears open and find out either where he was staying or where the movie was in production.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move at the far end of the attic and felt comforted. I watched as it pulsed and moved almost peacefully towards the door.

  If Jason was searching for answers, I doubted I was the girl to give him any. I didn’t care how annoyingly good looking he was, he still rubbed me the wrong way. I made the decision to find him as soon as I could and offer to help him. Hopefully that would ease my conscience. The sooner I tried to help him, the sooner I would be rid of him. />
  Chapter Six

  The thing about summer in the South, especially in Savannah, is it catches you by surprise. Though I have lived here my whole life, I was never fully prepared for when the force of the heat, mixed with the thick, wet blanket of humidity arrived. July came crashing into the city like a runaway freight train.

  For a month, I tried to find Jason. I searched the places we'd previously met and where the movie was being filmed, but I never got close enough to see him. In the end I appeared to be only one of a hundred pitiful girls waiting for him to strut past. I was close to giving up. Let him find his own answers.

  Today, Anna and Suzie, who were also hanging around the movie set, caught me trying to get close to the fancy trailers. Before I could slip through the crowd and out of sight, they saw me.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” Suzie taunted. “Either you’re pathetic and hoping to catch a glimpse of Jason Preston or you’re meeting some of your fellow vampire freaks.”

  Shame flooded my face as she pointed to a group of scary looking Goth kids I’d never seen before. Better they thought that than the actual truth.

  Anna stepped closer and bumped into me. “You better leave before we tell Mom. I’m sure she won’t be happy about you being here and not at home working.”

  “I saw a crowd and came to check it out,” I squeaked out.

  The only thing I hated more than feeling humiliated or that I didn’t fit in anywhere was the rush of meekness that washed over me whenever the twins were near. They had a way of making me feel small, like I was an intruder in the life that, by rights, belonged to me as much as it did them. Their constant reminders that I was the outsider had eventually become my reality.

  I learned to live with the teasing and the flat out mean attitudes but their taking my place, in my life, beat me down.

  Suzie lifted up the full cup of iced coffee she held and dumped it over my head. The cold, sticky liquid dripped into my eyes and down the front of my shirt. I hung my head and frantically tried to cover the thin shirt, which was now see-through, making the peace sign bra perfectly visible. Tremors raced down my body as the embarrassment flushed through me, making me painfully aware that my cheeks and neck had probably turned a deep red.

  To make matters worse, I heard a commotion closer to the set and looked up in time to lock eyes with Jason. I turned and ran the moment I saw the recognition flash in his eyes. I didn’t stop running until I was blocks away and despair crashed down on me.

  I wanted to run home and throw myself in the arms of my loving mother. Closing my eyes, I let the fantasy wash over me and tried to ignore the stabbing pain of loss. She would wrap me in a hug and whisper that everything was going to be okay, that I was better than those girls were. Then, she’d kiss my forehead and we would go into the kitchen arm in arm to bake cookies.

  I knew, as I opened my eyes, it was a childish fantasy but in that moment I would’ve given anything to make it come true. My heart ached for it. My heart ached for her.

  Gathering myself up, I made my way to Baubles and tried to steel myself for my reality.

  Even though I cleaned myself up as best as I could, Marietta still threw me glares all day. My hair was matted to my head and eventually she ordered me to wash it in one of the sinks. Afterwards, it was easier to pretend the nightmare of Jason seeing me in that condition that never happened.

  As I got back to work, I watched Marietta closely.

  There was no denying that her clients loved her. She knew what they wanted and how to make the most common and plain women feel beautiful. Even the inside of her salon reflected the tastes of the woman I once knew. I’d call it understated elegance. The walls were a deep red complimented by gold trimmed draperies. Wood floors added to the warm feeling as did the muted lighting and soft, antique furnishings. Marietta forced me to work there but over the years I grew to love it. Under better circumstances I would have enjoyed the experience.

  When Marietta catered to her clients I saw the woman Daddy fell in love with, the woman who at least acted happy to be in the same room with me. After Daddy’s heart attack five years ago, it all changed. Any sentiment she expressed towards me as a daughter vanished with him.

  It didn’t matter that something controlled her or, as I started to suspect, possessed her. Her change of heart still hurt, more than I cared to admit.

  Occasionally, as I watched, I got a sense of the shadow thing. I was wondering if it was stronger at the house when the twins interrupted. I braced myself for a continuation of the incident earlier.

  “Mom! Mom! He’s throwing an actual masquerade ball out at that new fancy resort. And he’s going to be a guest judge at the pageant.” Suzie squealed at the top of her lungs.

  Marietta came out of the back. “What are you talking about, sweeties?” She laid a hand lovingly on each of their cheeks.

  “Jason Preston. In honor of the movie, he...” Anna began.

  “His studio,” Suzie chimed in.

  “Fine, his studio is throwing an old fashioned masquerade ball, with costumes and masks and dancing. In the spirit of the old South or something like that. And he’s judging the pageant! You have to find a way for us to go to the ball so he can meet us.”

  “Oh, that won’t be a problem at all. The resort manager’s wife gets her hair and nails done here once a week. I’ll make the arrangements.”

  “You should go lie down, Mom. Do you have one of your headaches again?” Anna asked as she inspected Marietta closely.

  Marietta’s response was lost to me as I let my mind wander into dangerous territory, into a hope I never thought I had before.

  I pictured myself in a beautiful gown waltzing with Jason to the envy of everyone. I felt so accepted. The room sparkled, the faces of the people looking on blurred as we moved past. It reminded me of Mama’s fairy tales and even though I knew it was stupid, I found myself uttering damning words. “It would be fun.”

  All three of them stopped talking and stared at me as if I’d grown a horn in the middle of my forehead. Then, they erupted into hysterical laughter.

  Marietta was the first to recover. “You? At an actual ball? With actors and important people? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Who do you think you are? You don’t belong anywhere near this ball.”

  Suzie walked up and got in my face. “You’d be the laughing stock of the entire evening. Look at you! Have you seen the way you dress? This is a classy masquerade ball, not a devil worshipping convention for sluts.”

  I froze as they put me in my place. I knew I had crossed a line for even trying to hint that I wanted to be part of their world or seen at the same public event as them. Studying their hateful faces I remembered the coffee incident earlier and something inside me snapped.

  “If I really was a devil worshipper don’t you think I’d have done something awful to you a long time ago? Do you think I enjoy the three of you tormenting me all day, every day?”

  There was no warning for the slap that cracked across my face. Before I had a chance to recover, Marietta took a handful of my hair and yanked my head backwards.

  “You are an ungrateful child! Instead of sending you to family services and foster care, I let you live in my house. I felt sorry for you so I kept you.”

  “The only reason you keep me around is because Daddy’s will ordered you to! And it’s not your house!”

  She threw me on the ground and stood over me. “The minute you move out, I’m selling that evil house. Oh, you look surprised at that. I realize you plan to leave at the end of the summer when you turn eighteen. So you have a choice, your freedom or your precious house. Once you leave, I can do whatever I want to it, maybe even burn it to the ground.”

  The darkness leapt up behind her and rushed at me. The cold breeze pierced through me and shattered my flimsy courage. Something vile coursed inside my body and all I wanted to do was throw up. From a distance I heard one of the twins complaining about the air conditioning being too co
ld. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over.

  For the second time that day, I ran away and hated myself for it.

  She knew exactly how to play me and I let her. She knew how strongly I felt about my family and how much I loved our house. The surge of hatred crashing through me was something I’d never felt before. It scared me a little. When I finally took note of where I was, I saw I had stopped at Colonial Park, where Abby and I ran into Jason.

  Stumbling through the gate and past some surprised tourists, I made my way deeper and deeper into the sea of tombstones. Even after being attacked by a spirit of some kind on these grounds, I knew I would find quiet acceptance here. No one would hurt or disappoint me. I came to the same tree where we met Jason and sat down at its base, trying to calm down.

  The comforting presence of a familiar spirit settled next to me. It was the one I felt so often and the one that saved my life. Cold surrounded me and I almost got the impression of arms hugging me. I closed my eyes and let myself relax.

  “Are you okay?” a voice asked.

  Opening my eyes and turning towards the sound, I saw it was Jason of all people. The presence disappeared instantly, leaving me a little disoriented. I’d gone so far down today it didn’t even faze me that he was seeing me in this state. My eyes were probably red and puffy from fighting the urge to cry, one cheek redder than the other because of Marietta’s vicious slap. I wondered briefly if I looked better with coffee spilling down my face.

  I nodded wearily at him as he sat down beside me.

  “I saw you earlier,” he whispered.

  “A glimpse of my charmed life... I’m fine, just another typical blowout with my evil stepmother and stepsisters.”

  Jason laughed softly at that. “Evil stepmother? What does that make you? Cinderella?”

  “There are days when I think I have more in common with her than anyone could imagine.” He studied me skeptically. “Never mind. What are you doing here again?”

  A slight shrug of his shoulders was all I thought I’d get in reply but after a few seconds he answered, “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Had a hunch to try the cemetery. And maybe I’m here hiding from something, looking for something.”