it.”
“I’d…like that,” Damon said.
“You can give it to your girlfriend.”
“No girlfriend,” Damon said, glad to get back to lying. Krysta’s hands shook slightly as she cut one of the longest, straightest stems for him.
Damon reached out to take it and their fingers touched.
Damon smiled at her.
When Krysta’s knees went boneless with pleasure, Damon caught her easily and went on with what he was doing.
Meredith was right behind Bonnie as she stepped into Caroline’s room.
“I said, shut the damn door!” Caroline said—no, snarled.
It was only natural to look to see where the voice was coming from. Just before Meredith cut off the only sliver of light by shutting the door Bonnie saw Caroline’s corner desk. The chair that used to sit in front of it was gone.
Caroline was underneath.
It might have been a good hiding space for a ten-year-old, but as an eighteen-year-old Caroline had curled into an impossible position in order to fit there. She was sitting on a pile of what looked like shreds of clothing. Her best clothes, Bonnie thought suddenly, as a twinkle of gold lamé flashed and was gone when the door shut.
Then it was just the three of them together in the darkness. No illumination came from above or below the door to the hall.
It’s because the hall is in another world, Bonnie thought wildly.
“What’s wrong with a little light, Caroline?” Meredith asked quietly. Her voice was steady, comforting. “You asked us to come and see you—but we can’t see you.”
“I said come and talk to me,” Caroline corrected instantly, exactly as she always had in the old days. That should have been comforting, too. Except—except that now that Bonnie could hear her voice sort of reverberating under the desk, she could tell it had a new quality. Not so much husky as—
You really don’t want to be thinking this. Not in the midnight darkness of this room, Bonnie’s mind told her.
Not so much husky as snarly , Bonnie thought helplessly. You could almost say Caroline growled her answers.
Little sounds told Bonnie that the girl under the desk was moving. Bonnie’s own breathing quickened.
“But we want to see you ,” Meredith said quietly. “And you know that Bonnie’s scared of the dark. Can I just turn on your bedside lamp?”
Bonnie could feel herself trembling. That wasn’t good. It wasn’t smart to show Caroline you were afraid of her. But the pitch-blackness was making her tremble. She could feel that this room was wrong in its angles—or maybe it was only her imagination. She could also hear things that made her jump—like that loud double clicking noise directly behind her. What had made that?
“All rrright then! Turrn on the one by the bed.” Caroline was definitely snarling. And she was moving toward them; Bonnie could hear rustling and breathing getting closer.
Don’t let her get to me in the dark!
It was a panicked, irrational thought, but Bonnie couldn’t help thinking it any more than she could help stumbling blindly sideways into…
Something tall—and warm.
Not Meredith. Never since Bonnie had known her had Meredith smelled like rancid sweat and rotten eggs. But the warm something took hold of both Bonnie’s upraised hands, and there were strange little clicking noises as they clenched.
The hands weren’t just warm; they were hot and dry. And the ends poked oddly into Bonnie’s skin.
Then, as a light by the bedside went on, they were gone. The lamp Meredith had found put out a very, very dim ruby light—and it was easy to see why. A ruby negligee and peignoir had been tied around the shade.
“This is a fire hazard,” Meredith said, but even her level voice sounded shaken.
Caroline stood before them in the red light. She seemed taller than ever to Bonnie, tall and sinewy, except for the slight bulge of her belly. She was dressed normally, in jeans and a tight T-shirt. She was holding her hands playfully hidden behind her back, and smiling
“I’d…like that,” Damon said.
“You can give it to your girlfriend.”
“No girlfriend,” Damon said, glad to get back to lying. Krysta’s hands shook slightly as she cut one of the longest, straightest stems for him.
Damon reached out to take it and their fingers touched.
Damon smiled at her.
When Krysta’s knees went boneless with pleasure, Damon caught her easily and went on with what he was doing.
Meredith was right behind Bonnie as she stepped into Caroline’s room.
“I said, shut the damn door!” Caroline said—no, snarled.
It was only natural to look to see where the voice was coming from. Just before Meredith cut off the only sliver of light by shutting the door Bonnie saw Caroline’s corner desk. The chair that used to sit in front of it was gone.
Caroline was underneath.
It might have been a good hiding space for a ten-year-old, but as an eighteen-year-old Caroline had curled into an impossible position in order to fit there. She was sitting on a pile of what looked like shreds of clothing. Her best clothes, Bonnie thought suddenly, as a twinkle of gold lamé flashed and was gone when the door shut.
Then it was just the three of them together in the darkness. No illumination came from above or below the door to the hall.
It’s because the hall is in another world, Bonnie thought wildly.
“What’s wrong with a little light, Caroline?” Meredith asked quietly. Her voice was steady, comforting. “You asked us to come and see you—but we can’t see you.”
“I said come and talk to me,” Caroline corrected instantly, exactly as she always had in the old days. That should have been comforting, too. Except—except that now that Bonnie could hear her voice sort of reverberating under the desk, she could tell it had a new quality. Not so much husky as—
You really don’t want to be thinking this. Not in the midnight darkness of this room, Bonnie’s mind told her.
Not so much husky as snarly , Bonnie thought helplessly. You could almost say Caroline growled her answers.
Little sounds told Bonnie that the girl under the desk was moving. Bonnie’s own breathing quickened.
“But we want to see you ,” Meredith said quietly. “And you know that Bonnie’s scared of the dark. Can I just turn on your bedside lamp?”
Bonnie could feel herself trembling. That wasn’t good. It wasn’t smart to show Caroline you were afraid of her. But the pitch-blackness was making her tremble. She could feel that this room was wrong in its angles—or maybe it was only her imagination. She could also hear things that made her jump—like that loud double clicking noise directly behind her. What had made that?
“All rrright then! Turrn on the one by the bed.” Caroline was definitely snarling. And she was moving toward them; Bonnie could hear rustling and breathing getting closer.
Don’t let her get to me in the dark!
It was a panicked, irrational thought, but Bonnie couldn’t help thinking it any more than she could help stumbling blindly sideways into…
Something tall—and warm.
Not Meredith. Never since Bonnie had known her had Meredith smelled like rancid sweat and rotten eggs. But the warm something took hold of both Bonnie’s upraised hands, and there were strange little clicking noises as they clenched.
The hands weren’t just warm; they were hot and dry. And the ends poked oddly into Bonnie’s skin.
Then, as a light by the bedside went on, they were gone. The lamp Meredith had found put out a very, very dim ruby light—and it was easy to see why. A ruby negligee and peignoir had been tied around the shade.
“This is a fire hazard,” Meredith said, but even her level voice sounded shaken.
Caroline stood before them in the red light. She seemed taller than ever to Bonnie, tall and sinewy, except for the slight bulge of her belly. She was dressed normally, in jeans and a tight T-shirt. She was holding her hands playfully hidden behind her back, and smiling
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