Trance Read online

  “But why did you hesitate, to begin with.”

  “I don’t date co-workers. It’s too messy.”

  My stomach fluttered. I didn’t expect that answer.

  “You wanted to ask me out? Why didn’t you say so, in the mirror maze?”

  He laughed. “I tried to. You turned me down.”

  “I did not. You just didn’t try hard enough.”

  “Yet here we are.” He leaned back again, looking around the courtyard. “Looks like a date to me.”

  “What if I decide to take the job?”

  “Is this another Truth question? I thought it was my turn.”

  “Fine, it’s your turn.”

  “Truth or Dare?”

  “Truth.”

  “Why did you ditch Pete, and come out here with me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Bzzzt. Not an acceptable answer.”

  “Fine. Although technically I didn’t ditch Pete, I ditched Lacey, since it was she that convinced me to join them all for dinner. And quite frankly, I think she was happy that I did. I imagine she was looking for a way to get alone with Andy anyway.”

  He grimaced. “Taste is subjective, I guess.” He took another drink from his beer bottle. “You still haven’t answered the question to my satisfaction though. Why did you come out here with me?”

  “Maybe you’ve unwittingly hypnotized me, and I had no choice.”

  “So it isn’t your usual pattern to sneak out of dates to meet hot entertainers out the back of restaurants?” He placed his drink on the table.

  I grinned. “Not usually.”

  “Then I’m flattered.”

  “Only if you think I find you hot.”

  “Do you?”

  “Is that your next question?”

  “I’m going to choose Dare next. Go on, ask.”

  I took another sip and could feel a small warm buzz tickle around my head. He was certainly trying to get me drunk. Right now, I didn’t mind so much. “Truth or Dare?”

  “Dare!”

  My mind went blank. What was I going to ask him? I closed my eyes, trying to think of something I wanted him to do. Inappropriate images flashed across my thoughts. I shook them away immediately. Good grief, I’d better stop drinking this wine after all.

  “I’m waiting.”

  I opened my eyes again. “Fine. Cluck like a chicken.”

  He frowned. “Is that the best you could come up with? You disappoint me.” He clucked three times. “Your turn. Truth or Dare.”

  “Dare.” I could cluck like a chicken too.

  “Stand up and close your eyes,” he said. His voice was soft and smooth. I did as he asked. “Keep them closed.”

  I swayed slightly as I waited for his next instructions. I heard his chair scrape along the tiles of the courtyard. The music continued to play from his phone crooning through the tiny speakers.

  A rush of air caressed my cheek as it moved over me.

  I knew he was standing in front of me. I could feel his presence. My eyes were pressed tightly shut. I heard my own breathing quicken.

  I could hear his breath too. He was close. I dared not reach out. I stood still.

  “You’re trembling,” he said.

  “Yes.” I whispered.

  His hand reached around the back of my neck and he pulled my face to his. His lips brushed mine. They were soft. The kiss became more urgent, but whether it was from him or me I couldn’t tell. My hands involuntary wrapped around his waist, our chests touching. My heart was beating a million miles a hour. His tongue parted my lips. I groaned. Or he groaned. Someone groaned. I was too lost to tell who it was.

  I still didn’t dare open my eyes. I wouldn’t let him win the dare. I wanted to keep kissing him.

  Then, he pulled away, his hand leaving the back of my neck. My hands slipping from his waist.

  I shivered. My eyes were still closed.

  “You win,” he said.

  I opened my eyes and grinned. “Told you, I’m good at this game.”

  I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I ran my tongue over my lips as the cab driver took me home, remembering Jason’s taste, his touch. After I had won my dare, after the kiss, I left with a promise to call him later that week. Nothing could have made that night any better, and I wanted to leave so nothing else would ruin it. If you always leave when things are at their best, you never risk something going wrong. And I didn’t want anything to go wrong.

  I wondered when I’d see him again. We hadn’t made a specific date or time, that would come. I knew he’d arrange it. He’d gotten me outside in that courtyard, didn’t he? And that was after a moment’s notice.

  The cab pulled up outside my house and I handed over enough notes that would leave the driver a small tip. I opened the door and got outside. The air was crisp, delightful. The stars shone.

  I looked at my phone. Lacey had sent two messages asking if I was still alive. At the rate my heart was beating, then yes, I most definitely was alive. I’d call her later. Or text. I didn’t want to interrupt her own evening. I’d done that once before and she answered right in the middle of what she was doing with her date. Awkward.

  I walked down the driveway, around the side of the house and in through the back door.

  Rose, my grandmother, was sitting at the table.

  “Oh, Scarlett dear. I didn’t hear you come home.”

  “Is everything alright? How come you’re not at the hospital tonight?”

  “Oh yes, Thomas is doing marvelous. He’s a fighter.”

  “Sure is.”

  “He made me come home and have a proper rest. He insisted.” She sighed. “I can’t sleep without him by my side, though.”

  I sat down next to her and held her hands. “He’s going to be fine, you said so yourself. The doctor fixed his hip and he’ll be home with us before you know it.”

  “Yes, of course he will.”

  “And he can do his last show.”

  I saw a flicker of a frown in her face, before she smiled back at me. “Of course he will. Everything is going to be just like it always was. How was your date?”

  “Wonderful.”

  “I thought you didn’t like that boy, you were only going to please Lacey.”

  “Oh it wasn’t wonderful because of him.”

  “Well I’m glad you had a good time anyway. We are so happy when you’re happy.”

  “One happy little family.”

  She patted my hand. “We are.”

  She stood up and shuffled back to her bedroom. I knew something wasn’t right, and I also knew she wasn’t going to tell me what it was.

  My phone beeped. I read the message: “If you don’t text me back, I’m calling the police.”

  I wrote back. “You just want to meet a cute officer. What happened to Andy?”

  “Call me right now, you wench. I want to know everything.”

  I grinned and walked into my bedroom, falling freely down onto my bed on my back as I dialed Lacey’s phone number.

  “You know you can’t take the job now,” she said.

  “I also can’t choose a guy over my grandparents. They need me to help out.”

  “Then find something else.”

  “No one wants me. I’m not qualified for anything.”

  “You are coming to work with me at the department store. There is simply no other option.”

  I sighed. “Do not get me spraying perfume at random strangers.”

  “I think store security is more your style. You know every sleight of hand trick in the book.”

  “So does he.” I looked up dreamily onto the stuck on stars on my roof. “He stole my breath away.”

  She groaned. “Impostor! Where is my friend Scarlett, and what have you done with her?”

  I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not falling head over heels just yet. You know what I’m like.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “That I’ll run for the hills and
never return?”

  “That you’ll take the job anyway, just so you’ll have an excuse not to fall any harder for him.”

  “I’m not going to do that.”

  “Oh really? We’ll see.”

  “What happened to Andy?”

  I heard Lacey groan, but not in a sexy I’m-kissing-a-hot-guy kind of way, the way that makes an injured dog sound happy.

  “Good lord, what did he do?”

  “Nothing. He did absolutely nothing! What loser gets me to my front door and doesn’t ask to come in? And then kisses you on the cheek and waves goodbye? He kissed me on the cheek!”

  “Cheeky.”

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Maybe he’s just a gentleman?”

  She groaned again like she was dying. “No woman wants a gentleman when she’s ready for hot action.”

  “So are you going to give him a chance?”

  “Are you?”

  “I told him I’d see him again.”

  “Before you ran for the hills.”

  “I didn’t run. I’m taking my time. I can’t drop my pants for the first guy I see.”

  “You don’t drop your pants for anyone.”

  I frowned. “That’s not true.”

  “I’m sorry, Scar, I didn’t mean to bring that up. I’m such a bitch. I’m so sorry, it just slipped out. Oh god. Do you want me to come over?”

  I swallowed. “No. It’s fine.”

  “Call me tomorrow. I’ll set up a meeting at the department store. Get you something there.”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Promise me.”

  “I said I would.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Lacey set up an interview with the store manager at ten o’clock the next morning. I only woke at nine, so I hurriedly got dressed, applied makeup and did a pirouette in the mirror. I looked good, but my idea of good and a department store manager’s, might be completely different. At least it wasn’t an office.

  Rose had gone to the hospital already. Her bed was neatly made up with the blanket folded over her pillows, like she did every morning. I hoped she’d gotten some sleep last night. Only two more nights and he’d be home. She’d sleep better then.

  I grabbed the mail from the mailbox and jumped in my car. Most of the mail was regular junk, although one of them caught my attention. It was from the insurance company. I hesitated before placing my finger at the side of the envelope and carefully prying it open. If I wasn’t supposed to see it, then I could glue it back up.

  I pulled the paper out and unfolded it.

  The hospital accommodation wasn’t being covered. They would cover the operation, doctor’s fees and meds. But not the weeklong visit. Assholes.

  I tried to calculate in my head what an overnight stay times seven would be costing my grandparents. I had no idea where to even start. Was it the same as a hotel room? More? Less?

  No wonder they needed Thomas to do the last gig. He was getting a good advance for it. There was even talk they were going to televise it. That would put his fee up.

  My phone beeped. It was Lacey. “You better be on your way.”

  I turned the key in the ignition and backed out of the driveway. Getting a job had become high priority.

  SEVEN

  Raindrops tap-danced on my umbrella. I pushed the handle into the soft ground to my left, so it would stay up without any help from me, before kneeling down. I didn’t care if I got mud on my skirt. I never did when I visited here. The lilacs I had left last time were now brown and shriveled. I removed them and gently rubbed any dirt that had splashed up on the headstone.

  I waved my hands in the air, and then with a weak ‘ta da’, pulled out fresh flowers from my sleeve, placing them in front of the headstone underneath my mother’s name: Lily Tinks. Mother to Scarlett. Gone too young. Loved and missed. Always.

  The fresh lilacs had a strong heady fragrance, just like my mother would have wanted. She hated flowers that had no scent. What was the point, she’d say, nothing should be all looks and no substance.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in a while. Things have been all over the place lately.”

  I took a deep breath, sighing as I exhaled.

  “Granddad had a fall. Cracked his hip would you believe? I know. He can dance around on stage, wiggle out of a straight jacket. But one dip of grandma and bam.” I clapped my hands together to emphasize the point.

  “Of course, that means his last show will have to be cancelled. He tries to correct me. ‘It’s not cancelled, petal, just postponed.’ But he’s kidding himself. The way he shuffles around the house now, with grandma fussing over him.” I sighed. “I don’t like seeing him this way. Although he is getting better. So maybe he’s right. I should at least give him the benefit of the doubt. That’d be the right thing to do.”

  I picked up a blade of grass and tried to knot it with one hand. Grass was more pliable when it was wet, but this one kept springing free. I frowned and tried again.

  “I’ve been doing my best to pick up after him, so grandma doesn’t have to do it all. Men can be such babies when they need looking after, although I can’t stay in the house all the time. It’s too … too much.

  “So I’ve been walking a lot, and some running to clear my head. Like I used to. It’s been helping me think about what to do next for them. But apart from that, I’ve been good. Grandma misses you. She doesn’t say anything, but I see her looking at me sometimes and I know it’s not me she’s really looking at.”

  A drop of rain infiltrated under the cover and slid down my shoulder like a tear down a cheek. My own cheeks were dry. I didn’t have tears left for my mother. She preferred me to be happy. I preferred me to be happy too.

  “I found the hospital bills. The insurance company refused to pay accommodation costs for the hospital. Just over ten thousand dollars out of pocket expenses. I didn’t tell grandma and granddad I saw the bills though. So don’t tell them and spoil the secret. I’ve decided to pay them myself. It won’t make too much of a dent in the money. In fact, I’m heading to the hospital next, right after our visit. Once it’s paid, they can’t refuse me anymore. I hope they’ll understand I’m doing it for the right reasons. They have to see that, right? Of course they will. You raised me well.”

  I frowned. I hoped they would see that I was trying to help, and not go against their wishes to pay it themselves. They needed all their money now if granddad couldn’t do the last show. Forced to retire. It sucked. I couldn’t imagine the great Thomas Tinks retired. It just didn’t make sense.

  “Lacey’s good. She is pissed with me for not taking the job at the store, but she’ll get over it. She knows me well enough by now. And I met someone else last week. A man. He’s in entertainment too, a hypnotist actually. I know, a hypnotist, right? But his show was good. Funny. He’s…

  “Well it doesn’t matter what he is, it’s not going to work out. He’s pissed at me too. I’d be pissed at me if I didn’t return my own calls and text messages. I promised myself that I’d be different this time and wouldn’t freak out. I really thought it would be different. He was so nice. And for a while I thought I’d be able to have a real relationship. It’s been enough time. But then I had a nightmare, and…”

  I sighed. “It’s no use starting anything if I have no intention of following through. It’s not fair to him. He’s been calling nearly every day. But what am I to say ? I’m no good with this guy stuff. I kissed him. Well technically, he kissed me. Not that you want to hear about my love life. But who am I supposed to talk to about it? Lacey thinks I should get over myself and go for it. Sometimes I think she’s right, but then…”

  I looked into the sky.

  “You want me to call him back, don’t you? I know you do. I don’t know… You and Lacey should team up. You both want the same thing.”

  I frowned. “Okay, okay, already. I’ll do it this afternoon. After I visit the hospital. Yes. I promise.”r />
  I sat at her grave for another ten minutes, not saying anything. My mother knew I needed to think. She wouldn’t mind me being quiet.

  I stood up, brushed away the dirt and mud and picked up the umbrella. It wasn’t raining as hard any longer, but I kept it above my head anyway. I reached my car just as my phone beeped. I opened my purse and pulled it out.

  It was from Jason. “Just tell me you are okay. I’ll leave you alone after that. I promise.”

  I looked up at the sky. I could almost hear my mother’s voice. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it now.”

  I opened the car door and sat inside with my phone in my hand. I re-read his message, as well as the one’s that I’d received earlier from him this week. All were the same.

  My heart was thumping and my stomach was in knots. I didn’t get this nervous before stage. Why did he do this to me? But it was the right thing to do.

  I dialed.

  “Scarlett? I’ve been worried. Are you alright?”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t called.” A knot formed in my throat. What was I going to say? I’d left it too long to make up an excuse. I’d have to be honest.

  “I understand. I’ve been watching the papers for news on Thomas. How is he?”

  “He’s doing great. Better than great actually. He’ll be back to his old tricks sooner than we can blink. In fact I’m sure I saw him hiding cards under the table just this morning.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  I didn’t answer. I still didn’t know what to say. Since when was I without words? I could hear him breathing on the other side of the phone. Maybe he was as lost for what to say as I was.

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. I won’t bother you again.”

  “No, wait. I…”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m glad to hear your voice.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought I’d done something wrong. That I’d scared you away.”

  “You did scare me. But that’s not your fault. I just…sometimes I…”

  “You don’t need to say it. I understand.”

  I frowned. “You do?” What exactly did he think he understood? I swallowed. He couldn’t know the real reason, could he?