Chapter 18

Charlotte

I fell asleep in the car, and my mother woke me with a gentle voice once we were home. I almost fell when I got out of the car.

Eyes half closed, I headed straight to my room and fell on my bed. Amore jumped onto it and began licking me.

Ned brought my suitcase to my room, and when he saw me lying with my eyes closed, he threw the spare blanket, which rested at the foot of the bed, over me. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and closed the door as he left.

I woke later that afternoon and went downstairs. On Sundays, my family was lazy. We spent the days eating, lying around, and watching television.

Andrea had made sandwiches and was carrying them to the living room. She bumped into me when I arrived downstairs, and almost dropped the plate.

“I’m sorry, I did not see you!” she said.

I rubbed my eyes. “That’s alright.”

Ned was lying on the couch in front of the television, and Juan was most likely studying in her room.

She was the only one in the household who studied on Sundays. She had to because she did not work enough during the week due to her friends and partying.

Andrea sat down next to Ned and handed him a sandwich. “Are you hungry?” she asked me.

“I’m too lazy to make food,” I said.

Andrea offered me half of her sandwich, which I accepted gratefully. It was peanut butter and jelly.

“I think we should go away the weekend after Halloween,” Ned said.

“But we just had a weekend away,” Andrea told him.

“I know, but I want a weekend with just the four of us.”

“Can we go to California?” I knew better than to ask, but I was still hoping that for once we could go on a holiday I’d actually enjoy.

“No,” Ned laughed. “I was hoping for something closer. Somewhere where there will be horses and water.”

“I’ll look into that,” Andrea said.

I groaned. “This is not my idea of a fun weekend. Can I stay home?”

My parents shot me an irritated look that suggested I had to come along.

“You are a part of this family,” Ned said.

“Not by choice,” I added. “When can we go on a vacation that I can enjoy?”

“No one wants to go to a big, crowded, and dangerous city,” Andrea drummed her fingers on the armrest.

“There are beautiful lights and there is always something to do. We can go on a tour or go and see a Broadway show.”

“It’s not happening,” Ned told me in a tone much gentler than Andrea’s. “Feel free to suggest other places.”

“I don’t know of any other places,” I mumbled. There were plenty of cities I’d like to visit—LA, Tampa, Denver. But there was no point in listing them, as my family would not listen to me.

“You can look into it,” Ned told me.

I groaned and turned to go to my room, but my mother’s voice brought me back. “Charlotte, sit down, we need to talk about what happened this weekend.”

I turned, but didn’t take a seat. “What’s there to talk about?”

“You saved Hanna’s life.”

I might have felt brave or proud if I wasn’t so traumatized by the Red-eyed Lady. Up until now I had thought she was pure evil, so why had she led me to Hanna?

Maybe she only wanted to punish me and not my family. But why had she pointed to Hanna when I asked her what she wanted?

“Charlotte?” Ned asked, and I realized that I hadn’t said anything for a while.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, and shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

“What were you thinking?” Andrea asked.

“Nothing.”

“You can tell me. You can tell me anything.”

But I couldn’t. My whole life, they had never listened to me or taken me seriously, and I doubted they were going to start now.

“I’m just tired and I want to go to my room.”

Andrea sighed. “Okay.”

I went up to my room, where I lay on my bed and read for the rest of the day. It was a good distraction from all the supernatural things that had happened.

My mother did not cook that night, and each of us ended up making dinner for ourselves.

It was bedtime when Dimitri decided to climb through my open bedroom window. I was already in my night clothes and sitting on my bed. I smiled when I saw him.

“Hey,” he said. “I did not know what time you would be home. If this is too late, I can leave.”

I wondered if the sight of me in my nightclothes made him uncomfortable.

They were baby pink and silky. The pants were a bit too long—I stepped on the ends. The button-up shirt had long sleeves, and I was obviously not wearing a bra.

“You’ve been here at a later hour,” I said. “It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you too.”

His smile reached his eyes, and it was contagious.

“How have you been?” I asked.

I felt like our relationship was deeper than mundane questions with mundane answers. ‘How are you’ was not a mundane question to someone whose little brother was dying.

Dimitri shrugged then sat down at my desk, and I wished he had chosen the bed instead.

“I’m as good as I can be. Ethan is getting worse and worse. He is not moving around a lot, and I’m not sure how to take him trick or treating next weekend.”

“I forgot that it is Halloween next weekend!” I said.

“Do you have any plans?” Dimitri asked me.

“I usually stay in,” I said.

He gaped at me. “I would never have thought you were that boring.”

I glared at him and defensively said, “I am ~not~ boring. For someone that sees ghosts, Halloween is never a fun night.”

Dimitri gazed into the distance, thinking. “Have you ever been in a haunted house?”

“No.” I shrugged.

I was a nervous enough person and never dared to go into one. I had a feeling I wouldn’t like what I saw. I was scared enough of real ghosts, and didn’t need to pay people to dress up and scare me even more.

“Let’s do it this year,” Dimitri said. “Let’s dress up and have some fun!”

“Fine, but you are not allowed to dress up too scary,” I told him. “You are most certainly not allowed to be a ghost.”

“Alright, I won’t be a ghost.”

“I have not dressed up since I was a child,” I admitted.

Every Halloween, I carved pumpkins and stayed home to give candy to the children who knocked on our door. Juan was out every Halloween—each of her costumes was crazier than the last.

“What was your favorite costume?”

“A fairy princess dress,” I said with a smile.

Dimitri laughed. “That defeats the point of Halloween!”

“I loved that outfit,” I said. “If you want scary, go and talk to Juan. She often dresses up like a vampire or witch.”

“I prefer talking to you.” Dimitri grinned, and his eyes danced over me.

“I am outstanding company.” I smiled.

“That you are,” Dimitri said.

I yawned. “I’m still tired. I had an exhausting weekend.”

“I’d love to hear about it,” Dimitri said.

“I’ll tell you about it next time,” I said. “I need to sleep now, otherwise I will be too tired for school tomorrow.”

“Does this mean I have to go?” Dimitri asked.

“Are you going to miss me?”

“Yes.” Sadness tinged his voice.

“You’re going to miss me even more when my dad takes us away for a weekend.”

Dimitri groaned. “You’ve only just got back!”

“I know. If it were up to me, I’d stay home.”

I pulled the sheets over myself and secretly wished Dimitri would climb under them as well. He liked his space and was certainly not clingy or romantic.

Amore was lying on the far side of the bed. She was glaring at Dimitri.

“You can stay until I fall asleep,” I said, instead of inviting him to lie down next to me. “I don’t like saying goodbye.”

“I’ll do that,” Dimitri said.

He picked up a pencil and started to draw in my notebook, and I wondered if it was another flower. I enjoyed his company because he was the only person who didn’t drain my energy.

My eyes drifted closed, and my breathing deepened. The sound of pencil on paper was a lullaby to my ears.

***

The next morning, I woke to an empty, quiet room. I went over to the notebook to look at the beautiful daisy Dimitri had drawn for me. It made me happy.

Then I noticed the brochures next to the notebook. It was an advertisement for a vacation home. George Coleman, Dimitri’s stepfather, owned the place. His name and number were on the brochure.

I wondered if Dimitri had left them there for me because I had told him my father wanted us to go away for a weekend.

I carried them downstairs where my family was already eating breakfast. I greeted everyone and handed the brochures to my father.

“What is this?” my father asked.

“A vacation place,” I said. “It’s private and in the middle of nowhere. You will love it.”

My father studied the brochures. “There are quad bikes and a small dam with row boats. And it is not too far away from a horse farm for your mother. This is perfect.”

Juan studied the brochures. “It’s close to one of my friends as well. Her name is Audrey.”

“Audrey is the girl that hosted the party at the pumpkin farm, isn’t she?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Juan, this is a family trip. You can’t disappear to visit a friend.”

Juan said nothing, and I knew she was plotting her way around this. The pumpkin farm was surrounded by other farms... and the Red-eyed Lady had been murdered on one of those farms.

I shuddered. Maybe Dimitri had not left those brochures, after all. Maybe the ghost wanted me to go there.

***

“Are you going Halloween shopping?” I asked Juan.

Juan was in her room, looking for something. She found her handbag and swung it over her shoulder before she looked at me. “Yes, I am. Why?”

“I want to come with you.”

“Did I hear correctly?” my sister asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to dress up this year.”

“Who are you and what have you done to my sister? The Charlotte I know hates Halloween.”

“The Charlotte you know has never had a date before.”

Juan smiled. “Is it Dimitri?”

“Yes,” I said.

“You have got to introduce me to this guy,” Juan told me.

I must introduce her, but somehow the timing was always bad—either I was grounded and not allowed to have guests over, or she wasn’t home.

We went downstairs to Juan’s car. She drove us to the party supply store that was close to our house.

“What do you want to dress up as this year?” Juan asked.

“I have no idea,” I said.

I entered the shop and looked at everything. There were rows and rows of costumes, shoes, hats, gloves, makeup, and masks.

I tried to be open-minded but could not find anything I liked—everything looked plastic, low-quality, and fake.

Juan didn’t share my concerns as she quickly found a cute, colorful dress and a wig. She had decided to go as a clown, which did not sound sexy, but my sister could pull off any outfit.

As I wandered through the shop, I eventually found face paint, which sparked an idea. I bought black and white face paint, as well as little red roses instead of a costume.

“What are you going to be?” Juan asked me.

“You’ll see.” I smiled mischievously.

We went home and found Andrea in the kitchen. She had bought several pumpkins and was ready to start carving them.

Juan joined in immediately while I took my paint and flowers upstairs and placed them on my dresser. Then I headed back downstairs and helped my family carve.

I carved two pumpkins—one with a bat in it and the other a cat. It was hard work, and I did not enjoy cleaning the pumpkin. I did not like the smell either.

Andrea seasoned the pumpkin seeds and put them in the oven to bake. I’d enjoy those as a snack from time to time.

When we were done carving, we placed the pumpkins on the porch. Andrea put a small, happy ghost on her plants.

Other than that, we did not have any other decorations. Our house looked neglected compared to the neighbor’s tarantula- and cobweb-covered roof.

“Are there any other decorations you girls would like?” Andrea asked, as she washed her hands in the basin.

“No,” Juan said. “I won’t be home anyway.”

“The house looks fine,” I said.

“You are much better at decorating for Christmas,” my mother told me.

“I like Christmas much more,” I said. “It’s my favorite time of the year.”

“I know,” Andrea said. “You love the presents. I don’t understand why you never loved the Halloween candy equally.”

“Because it makes me fat,” I shrugged, and Andrea smiled.

Halloween was on a Saturday. When the time came, I wanted my sister to help me with my outfit. Unfortunately, Juan left early that morning. She planned to get dressed at a friend’s house and sleep over.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Andrea offered.

“Thanks, but no.”

I took a bath and washed my hair. I blow-dried it, then went to Juan’s room to steal hair products and a curling iron. My hair took a long time to style, but when I was done, I was satisfied.

I had put tiny curls into my hair and then I braided it to one side of my face. I wove the little plastic roses I had bought into my hair. Then I used my face paint.

On one side of my face, I put on eyeliner and red lipstick. The lipstick only covered the half of my lips that was closest to my hair. That side of my face had to look normal.

The other side was the dark side. I drew a big, black circle around that eye. It created the illusion of an empty eye socket. I colored half the tip of my nose as well as the side of my nose black. Thus it looked like an empty hole.

I painted that side of my face white—like a skeleton. I drew my cheekbone more prominent with black. On that side of my mouth, I drew teeth over my white-painted lips.

One side of my face looked like a princess and the other side of my face looked like a skull.

I had seen someone else do this before, but I was not ashamed of stealing the idea. It was not like there were any unique costumes on Halloween anyway.

Then I went to my cupboard. In the back—where the clothes I never wore were—hung a beautiful black dress. I removed it and admired it in the light.

It still had its price tag, and I had never worn the dress before. It was made out of a beaded black material that flowed to the ground like black mist.

The dress proved to be a tight fit, but the material stretched so that I could move around easily, and its long, see-through sleeves fell to the ground like a waterfall. I then looked at my shoes.

I had beautiful heels that I could wear, but my feet would quickly start hurting. Instead of heels I put on comfortable black sneakers. The dress covered my feet—thus no one would notice.

I descended to the ground floor like a princess of darkness. My parents observed me from the couch where they were sitting.

“Wow,” Andrea said. “Charlotte! I’ve never seen you look this beautiful.”

Ned’s face was a bit pale. “It’s a bit tight, don’t you think?”

“Dad, I am not ten years old anymore.”

“I know,” Ned said. “Where is this Dimitri? Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“I am meeting him at his house,” I said. “He does not have a car.”

I hadn’t told my father about Dimitri’s car accident. He would be overprotective, and he would not want me to drive with him. I did not want my father to think that Dimitri was irresponsible.

“Oh,” Ned said.

I kissed my parents, then left the house in a hurry. The sun was setting by the time I reached Dimitri’s house, and I drove a little further so I could park by the guest parking space.

Dimitri had told me his dad did not like it when cars parked on their lawn or outside the garage, because it looked untidy. They did live in an upper-class area, and I respected their wishes.

Dimitri was waiting for me when I climbed out of the car. His jaw dropped as he took in my beautiful dress. I blushed and twirled so that he could see all of me.

“I’m speechless,” Dimitri said.

His eyes said it all, and his appreciation made me feel like I was a celebrity standing on the red carpet.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I feel so underdressed.”

He was wearing casual clothes—jeans and boots with a T-shirt. It was the kind of clothes one wore every day. His hair was not styled differently. The crazy curls still stuck up in all directions, but his makeup looked fabulous.

“Those wounds!” I exclaimed. “They look so real! Who drew them for you?”

“One of my friends is a makeup artist,” Dimitri smiled.

He had a gash on his cheek. The flesh was red, and the blood dripped onto his shirt. He had minor scars and bruises all over his body. The big wound was on the side of his head.

It almost looked as if someone had struck him with a baseball bat.

“It’s incredible,” I said.

“Not as incredible as your half-skull,” Dimitri said. “Did you draw it yourself?”

I nodded. “I did.”

“Then you don’t have to take drawing lessons from me,” Dimitri said.

I was flattered and became aware of my every move around him. “What are our plans for the night?” I wondered.

“Ethan is struggling to walk. He is also tired and sleeping,” Dimitri said. “I was hoping we could bring him some candy . . . ”

“Do you want to go trick or treating?” I asked.

We were a bit old for that, but it was for a good cause, so I did not object. Poor Ethan. No child should be sleeping on Halloween.

“Yeah,” Dimitri said. “We don’t have to be long.”

“Let’s do it,” I said.

He smiled at me. “You are such a good sport.”

“Anything for you.” I winked. Maybe I was not boring after all . . .