Chapter 37: Chapter 37
Sammy wasn’t there either, though Robby said it wasn’t because he was grounded. Rather, Sammy had gone to a friend’s house out of town, according to Robby. Beth didn’t know if she believed that or not, but it made her life easier not to have to see him. When Michael had showed up earlier without Ryan and Halley, she grew a little nervous. Hopefully, everything was okay. Carly had been asking all night where her totally hot neighbor was, but Beth didn’t have an answer, and so far, no one else did either.
Michael was avoiding her; that was obvious. But there was something else off about him as well. When Amber draped her arm around him and started whispering in his ear, he hardly reacted at all. That was different than the night before, and a clear sign something was going on. Eventually, weary of questioning where Ryan might be, Beth sucked in a deep breath and approached Michael, out of earshot of the rest of the gang that was sitting around on the hoods of cars moaning about boredom.
“Hey, do you know where Ryan and Halley are?” she asked quietly. A roar of laughter from Mindy helped secure their conversation.
“Yeah, his mom didn’t want him to go out two nights in a row, so Halley came over to his house to watch a movie.” Michael seemed timid, like he didn’t really want to talk to her about it--or talk about it at all--but it seemed like he needed to say something to someone. And Beth could tell he knew more. There was some sort of secret brewing behind Michael’s dark eyes, something Beth could relate to.
She glanced back at the other kids and took another step away from them, hoping Michael would follow. He did. “I, uh, am a little concerned about her.”
Michael tipped his head to the side, his eyes widening slightly, and his lips parting before he closed his mouth and nodded. So there was something. Beth considered the possibility of telling him what she’d discovered that evening, about who Halley really was, but she wanted to feel him out first. Clearing her throat, she said, “Can we sit in you truck for a minute?”
Once again, he nodded, and looking over at the others, they both confirmed they were preoccupied. Beth hurried to cross the few spots and climb into the cab of his beat up truck, not sure why she was acting that way except for maybe Amber might think she was after her new crush. Funny how she’d been worried about Lexy’s feelings a few days ago, and now it was one of the most popular girls in the school who might be jealous of her talking to Michael.
“So… I know something about Halley that’s a little shocking,” she began, once they were inside and Michael started the engine so that the AC came on.
“You do?” he asked, surprised. “What is it?”
She inhaled through her nose, not sure what to say or when to say it. “I don’t know what to do with this information. I don’t think I want to use it against her, at least not right now. But I don’t trust her.” She thought he’d snap to the other girl’s defense, the way Ryan had, but Michael only nodded, and Beth could see in his eyes that she was not alone. “She… lives at Phoebe’s. I think she’s her niece or something.”
“What?” Michael was shocked. So that wasn’t the information he had, obviously. His eyes were wide, and he stared at her for a long time, unable to process the information.
Beth decided she needed to keep talking, to enlighten him. “Yeah, I was walking passed there this evening on the way back from my grandma’s, and I saw her in the yard.” She saw no point in telling him right now that Halley had been digging in the trash cans. “I heard someone yell for her to come back in, and she said she was coming, but she called her ‘Aunt Phoebe.’ Isn’t that weird?”
“That’s really weird,” Michael agreed, shaking his head. He was silent for a moment, resting his wrist on the steering wheel and his head against the seat back. Beth was quiet, letting him put his thoughts together. Eventually, he turned to her and said, “Okay, well, last night, when she got out of my truck, something fell out of her pocket. I went to pick it up for her, but she snatched it out of my hand so fast, it was crazy.” He shook his head, looking off, like he was remembering a crime scene or something equally chilling. “She had this look in her eyes, something I’ve never seen before, not in a person anyway. Maybe an animal, like one of the bobcats my dad’s shot. I don’t even think they looked so wild, so… evil.”
Listening to him brought chills to Beth, and she rubbed her arms. Thinking it was the AC that was making her uncomfortable, Michael reached over and slid the bar on the dash, making it slightly warmer. “What do you think it was?” Beth asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“I know exactly what it was.” His words came slow, like saying it out loud would unleash some sort of demonic presence into their town. Beth had a feeling it might be too late to prevent that. “It was a pill bottle.”
She cocked her head to the side, not sure she understood. “You mean, like aspirin or something?”
“No, like a prescription. One of those brown ones, with the white lid, like you get when you’re sick, or like my grandparents have lining their dressers.”
“Right,” Beth said, understanding now. “Okay. That’s weird. But… maybe she has allergies or something.”
“Yeah, maybe. But here’s the thing, Beth. I didn’t get much of a look at it because she grabbed it so fast, but I don’t think it had her name on it. I think it said something else. I just caught a glimpse of a capital C. Or maybe it was an O. Anyway, it wasn’t an H.”
Beth vaguely remembered Dee Dee saying she thought she recognized Halley and that her name was something else. Maybe it was something that started with one of those two letters. “This whole thing is really bizarre,” Beth murmured. “Who is this girl?”
“I know. We don’t even know her last name,” Michael agreed.
“Actually, she told Ryan it was Night,” Beth noted, not that it was much help.
“That’s odd,” Michael said, not the first time something revolving around Halley was less than typical. Beth waited for him to finish his thought. “Isn’t Phoebe’s last name Day?”
“Yeah, it is,” Beth remembered. “Huh. What are the chances that someone’s aunt’s last name is the opposite of their own?”
“Not good.” Michael shook his head. “I don’t like this, Beth. I’m not sure what’s going on with this girl, but something’s not right. And Ryan’s so naïve and trusting…. I’d hate to think anything bad might happen to him, but I think we need to be careful.”
Once again, goose bumps sprung up on Beth’s arms. “You don’t actually think she could be dangerous, do you?”
“Who knows?” he asked. “I don’t have enough information to make that determination, but she sure the hell is one strange girl. And I don’t think I want to have anything to do with her myself. I just hope Ryan will listen to reason, if he isn’t too far gone already.” He let out a really long sigh, and Beth had a feeling there was more to that thought, more he was holding back.
“This is my fault,” she said quietly, dropping her eyes. “If I had realized before….” She stopped talking. She had no idea if Michael was aware that Ryan had had feelings for her or not, and she didn’t feel right announcing it if he didn’t.
Michael reached over and took her hand, and Beth let him. It was comforting. “It’s not all your fault, Beth. But… we sure do miss the real you.” He squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him through blurry eyes. “Do you think she’ll ever be back?”
She nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “I do. But for now, I think it’s best if I keep this up, at least long enough to figure out what’s going on with Halley. I can’t risk getting thrown out of this clique if being here can help me sort this all out. If something happens to Ryan… even if she just breaks his heart, that’s not cool.”
Michael sighed and slowly released her hand. “I’m not sure you can break something that’s already broken.”
His words stabbed her right in the gut, but Beth felt like she deserved it, even if she’d had no idea what she was doing to Ryan through her insistence on being something she wasn’t. She knew what she’d done to Michael. “I’m so sorry,” she said, turning to face him. “But the truth of the matter is, Michael, you deserve someone so much better than me. So does Ryan. I’m just… I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You were tired of being the doormat, Beth, I get it. I definitely know how that feels. Maybe it’s the year I have on you, but I don’t care anymore. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s illuminating a wide world beyond Barryville. These assholes won’t matter to me in another two years. For you, it’s three, but close enough. You’ve proven you’re better than them at their own game. What else can you do? Just, keep your word. When this is done, be our sweet Beth again, okay?”
She nodded, managing a smile, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand.
“Don’t mess your mascara up,” he teased.
“It’s waterproof,” she assured him, wishing on the inside that her heart was Ryan-proof but not feeling sappy enough to voice such a silly thought. “Thanks, Michael. If you find out anything else, let me know, okay? Do you have my phone number?”
“I have your parents’ number, but you have your own line don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s 5312,” she said, thinking he could remember that since the first part of everyone’s phone number was exactly the same.
“Got it.” He gave her a half smile, and Beth reached for the door handle. “You coming back?”
“No, thanks. Jeff’s having a party tonight, and I promised him I’d head over. I guess there’s a nice girl with glasses and a big heart who wants to see me.”
A smile spread across Beth’s face as she realized he was talking about Lexy. “Tell her I said hi, okay?” Pangs of regret hit her again as she thought about just how desperately she missed her old friends, her true friends.
Michael assured her he would, and Beth walked around the front of his truck, heading back over to the bored kids on the cars, a fake smile plastered on her face. At least she could see an end to her charade in the distance. She just had to make it to the finish line. Figuring out who Halley really was wouldn’t be easy, but if it meant rescuing Ryan, then it would be worth the trouble.