Soul Stone Read online

  Bas has his email open a few seconds later and starts typing out a message to Noel. I give him all the details I can manage, from the small town and meadow to Darcy’s name and the last time I think they were in Ireland. I know it isn’t much to go off of, but I’m hopeful that Noel will be able to tell us something.

  As Bas closes out his email, I say, “Thanks, Bas. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear from him.” He pauses. “If Sibeal says anything else, let me know. She’s a little odd, but a nice girl. If she’s really in trouble, I’d like to help if I can.”

  “Thanks, Bas.”

  He starts to get up, but changes his mind and reaches for the mouse again. With a few clicks he brings the file explorer back up and selects the picture Sibeal took of me lying in the tall grass and flowers while standing above me. I look at the image of me with my dark hair fanned out, snaking through the flowers. I loved it the second Sibeal showed it to me.

  “This one is my favorite,” Bas says. His fingers move toward my hair, as if he wants to run them through it, but they drop away before ever coming close.

  “Mine too,” I say, making Bas smile.

  After that, Bas finally gets up and walks back to his desk. I work on the collage for the remaining thirty minutes of class, but I keep making my way back to the picture Bas stopped on. By the time I finish the collage, it sits center stage. I save it and shut down my computer feeling strangely satisfied.

  I walk toward the door in a good mood for the first time today. Before I can slip away, Bas catches up to me and puts a hand on my arm to keep me from going any further. I bite my bottom lip against the response it elicits.

  “Hey, has Dani talked to you about my birthday yet?”

  I shake my head, glad when his hand drops away. I didn’t even know his birthday was coming up.

  “I usually don’t like to do anything big, but Dani won’t stop hounding me about having a party. I finally agreed to have people over to my house for pizza and video games.” He shifts, gripping his backpack strap more tightly. “Will you come?”

  I smile. “Of course. It sounds like fun.”

  Bas looks away for a moment before coming back to meet my eyes squarely. “Will you come even if Tanner doesn’t?”

  I balk. That is a much harder question to answer. I don’t think Tanner will actually miss Bas’s birthday, but I have to admit I don’t know for sure what he’ll do. If Tanner doesn’t go, will he be angry if I do? Can I really say no to Bas regardless?

  “Yeah,” I say, “I’ll still come.”

  Bas lets out a shaky breath. “Thanks, Arra. I’ll see you at lunch.”

  He darts away without waiting for me to say anything else. I walk out the door wondering if I just answered a different question entirely.

  Chapter Nineteen

  By Wednesday afternoon, I have sat through two lunch hours, and seven classes with Tanner without speaking more than six words to each other. As I shove books back into my locker at the end of the day, the ache that has been growing in my heart begins to be too much. Tears burn my eyes, but I blink them away as quickly as I can.

  Am I wrong in wanting an apology from Tanner for looking through my messages? I’m not even mad that he was jealous. I completely understand why he was mad at Bas, and even why he would be mad at me if he thought I was encouraging Bas, which I wasn’t. At least I don’t think so. I didn’t mean to if I did.

  I drop my head onto the stack of books I just deposited. I don’t even know if Bas really was trying anything at that particular moment. Yes, he may have wanted to get close to me, but he wasn’t making an overt move. I believe him when he said I’d know it if he were really trying to flirt with me. Bas can be totally arrogant when he wants to be, but I suspect he’s even better at debonair.

  Banging my head against the books, I just wish I knew what was going on in my life. I have Sibeal’s problems to worry about—another person who isn’t speaking to me—Tanner being mad at me to deal with, Bas to figure out, and the knowledge that if I don’t save Sibeal, it will cost me my life. I’m sure that last one should be my major concern, but Bas seems to be occupying my thoughts more than anything else. I just want to scream! Somebody needs to give me a break before I break.

  “Arra,” Tanner says.

  I jump, banging my head into the side of the locker. The tears I had almost gotten a handle on start welling in my eyes at the pain throbbing on the back of my head and the sound of Tanner’s voice. My eyes blink the tears back rapidly as I rub the pain away.

  “Sorry,” Tanner mumbles. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay.” I look up at him and flinch when I see the pain he’s carrying.

  Tanner rubs a hand through his hair, shifting from one foot to another. His eyes fall back to the floor. “Arra, I’m sorry…for everything.” He shakes his head. “You’re right. You never gave me a reason not to trust you. Even if Bas was flirting with you, which I’m mostly sure he wasn’t, I should have trusted you to handle it.”

  I stop rubbing my head and fold my arms across my chest. “Tanner, it’s okay that you were jealous. Yeah, I wish you would have trusted me more, but I wasn’t mad about that.”

  “I know,” Tanner says quietly. “I had no right to go through your phone. I feel terrible that I did it and broke your trust in me. I promise I’ll never do it again.”

  “Thank you.”

  A sigh pulses out of Tanner, as if a huge weight has been lifted. Maybe he thinks we’re done talking about our fight, but I know I still have something to say, too.

  “Tanner, I think I owe you an apology, too.”

  He looks up, confused. “For what? You didn’t do anything.”

  “If I gave Bas the wrong impression, I didn’t mean to. We really have been becoming better friends lately, but I wasn’t thinking about how my actions could hurt you. I should have told you about the texts, and I shouldn’t have let him touch me like that at the field. I really didn’t think he was trying to come onto me, but that’s no excuse. I hurt you, Tanner, and I’m so sorry I did.”

  Tanner shakes his head and pulls me into a hug. “Look, Bas and I already talked. He apologized for what happened at the field and told me he’d keep his distance from now on.”

  I lean back from Tanner a little and look up at him. “Did you tell him not to hang out with us anymore?” I ask.

  A flash of annoyance mixed with guilt clouds Tanner’s expression. “Well, no, I mean, not exactly.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “I just told Bas it bothered me that he was so casual about putting his hands on you like he did. I know I shouldn’t have gotten so angry and freaked out, but it made me jealous. Bas said he be more conscious of that and, you know, not put his hands all over my girlfriend like it was nothing.” Tanner looks at me, trying to gauge my reaction. “That’s it. I didn’t tell him not to hang around with us or anything.”

  “Oh,” I say. The relief his explanation hands me is hard to describe. “Good.”

  Tanner’s eyes turn wary. “Would it have bothered you if I had told him to back off?”

  “Well, yeah,” I say. “Bas is a good friend. To me, but more importantly to you, Tanner. I don’t want to be the reason you guys can’t hang out.”

  “Oh, okay,” Tanner says, but I’m not sure he believes me. I’m not sure I believe me entirely either. I don’t want to damage their friendship, but the idea of not being around Bas hurts me.

  Tanner stands awkwardly in front of me, but I’m not doing much better. Normally I would be pressed up against his chest. That’s not going to happen right now. I’m glad to know Tanner isn’t angry with me anymore, but there is still a certain amount of distance between us that isn’t easy to cross. When he steps back, my smile isn’t as full as it could be. Tanner sees it and seems to understand that it may take a while to get back to how things were before. His hands slide off my shoulders and slip into his pocket
s.

  “I know you were probably planning to go to Bas’s party this weekend, but would it be okay if I picked you up?”

  “Sure,” I say, “that would be nice.”

  Tanner steps closer and kisses my cheek gently, but doesn’t take it any further. I watch him walk away, happy that we finally talked, but still unsure about so much.

  ***

  Walking up to Bas’s house, I realize I’ve never been inside before. I’ve spent tons of time next door at Tanner’s, and I walked Bas home that one time, but I’ve never actually gone inside. It also seems a bit silly that Tanner walked all the way to my house to pick me up and then we walked all the way back to go to his next door neighbor’s house. I appreciate the effort, though.

  Tanner taps my shoulder to get me moving again and we walk up to the front door. With the music pouring out of the house, we don’t bother knocking. The usual crowd is scattered all through the living room and kitchen. I’m surprised when I see Bas’s parents and siblings roaming around the party as well. Most of our indoor parties are at Dani’s house because their house is big enough to accommodate everyone and they have a huge yard. I’ve never seen her parents grace a single one of her parties.

  “Do you want something to eat?” Tanner asks right next to my ear. Even as close as he is, I can barely hear him.

  “Sure,” I yell back.

  He steps away from me and heads for the kitchen while I look for somewhere to sit. At the entryway to the packed living room, Dani catches me. “So, are things all patched up with Tanner?” she asks.

  I shrug one shoulder. “Um, I don’t really know, but we’re talking at least.”

  “Reading your texts without permission, that was pretty low. I would have made him suffer longer.”

  “It’s kind of hard to blame him, really,” I say. “I think I overreacted at first. We’re working it out, anyway.”

  Dani just shrugs. “Anyway, Bas was asking if you were here yet a few minutes ago. I think he needed to tell you something.”

  “Thanks, I’ll find him.”

  Before I can see where Bas disappeared to, Tanner returns with food and drinks. Both the rooms are packed. I gesture at the patio door and Tanner heads in that direction. The body heat of so many people packed into Bas’s house wasn’t something I noticed until we step outside and feel the cool night air again. It feels nice as we claim a couple of chairs by the above ground fire pit Bas’s little brother is tending. He lets us know that there’s stuff for s’mores on the table behind us before going back to his conversation with his friends.

  “It’s nice back here,” I say between bites of pizza.

  Tanner nods. “Bas and his dad did a lot of the landscaping themselves. It took them a long time, but it turned out really great.”

  I nod my agreement and take another bite. Things are still a bit tense between Tanner and I, so the silence that falls as we eat isn’t all that surprising. I try to remind myself that it will get better, but when Tanner offers to take the empty dishes back inside, it’s almost a relief.

  My eyes turn up to the stars. The chatter of conversations drifts through the night, but I don’t pay them much attention. The quiet night is actually pretty relaxing. I let my eyes close for a few minutes, but thoughts of how different this night would have been had Tanner and I not fought earlier this week, pull them back open seeking a distraction. I find one.

  “Hey,” Bas says, “I’m glad you came.”

  I smile at him. “Me too.” I almost leave it at that, but I’m hyper sensitive now about how anything I say around Bas might be taken wrong…by either of us. “Tanner came, too. He’s taking care of our dishes.”

  “Yeah, I saw him earlier.”

  “How are things between you two?” I ask. I really am concerned that I’ve caused a rift between them. I never wanted that to happen.

  Bas sits down in the chair next to me. “Okay, I guess. It’s a little strained still. I’m not sure he believes me. I mean, he said he did, but I don’t know.”

  Bas and I both know how that feels. I’m not so sure Tanner believes that nothing was going on either. I think he mostly just wants it to be true.

  “How are you and Tanner doing?” Bas asks. The concern in his voice is comforting.

  “About the same as you and Tanner,” I say honestly. “I was pretty upset at him. He apologized, but it doesn’t exactly erase what happened.”

  Bas nods, but doesn’t say anything for a while. I start to wonder what happened to Tanner. I saw video games going on one of the TVs set up in the living room. It’s not hard to picture Tanner stopping to watch for a few minutes and losing track of time.

  “I actually needed to talk to you about something. I just wasn’t sure how to let you know.” Bas shakes his head. “Talking to you around Tanner just makes things worse. I was going to text you earlier, but …”

  “Bas, you can text me. Tanner promised not to do it again, and I’ve been keeping closer tabs on my phone anyway. You can text me if you need something.”

  Bas doesn’t seem so sure about that. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that my cousin emailed me back. He found a few articles in this rinky dink paper in Glendalough about the Ahearns and what happened.”

  My whole body tenses up. Fear that what he is about to tell me will implicate Sibeal sends a shiver through my body. “What happened?”

  “Darcy disappeared last year when they went to Ireland for a family member’s wedding.”

  Disappeared?

  “It was kind of bizarre,” Bas says, “because it was almost a year ago. Two days from now will make it one year exactly.”

  Goose bumps pop up all over my arms. One year? The feeling of urgency has been getting worse lately, and now I know why. It’s no coincidence. Whatever is going to happen to Sibeal will happen in two days if I can’t figure this out. Oh yeah, and I’ll die. Can’t forget that. My hands begin rubbing up and down my arms to ward off the panic and dread that is creeping over me.

  “Are you cold?” Bas asks. I shake my head no, but he reaches over to a stack of blankets set out on the patio. He stands up and settles the blanket over me before sitting back down.

  “What happened exactly?”

  Bas leans back into his chair and breathes out a slow breath. “The articles were pretty jumbled. Everyone seemed really confused at first. The first article said it was Sibeal that had vanished, but the next one said it was actually Darcy. It was strange, because the writer acted like no one even knew the Ahearns had another daughter.”

  “I’m sure they didn’t,” I say. When Bas looks over at me with a confused expression, I try to explain as much as I can. “People in Boston don’t even know about Darcy. She’s never mentioned in the Society pages. I think they kept her hidden because there was something wrong with her. She did terrible things to people.”

  “Sibeal told you all of this?” Bas’s surprise is clear on his face. I shake my head. “Then how did you find out?”

  An internal argument starts roaring in my head. Telling him the truth would be stupid. Lying to him isn’t something I want to do either. The battle rages, each side offering up really good points. I’m at a loss to choose a winner. If I tell Bas, he may think I’m a total nut job and just walk away. If he does, that solves the problem I’ve been having with Tanner and also with being confused about Bas. If he doesn’t run, it would be great to have someone else to help us, but it will most likely invite more problems.

  “Does this have something to do with what happened to you over the summer?” Bas asks.

  I look up, shocked. “Did Tanner tell you?”

  He shakes his head. “No, Sibeal mentioned something about it. She said you told her that you almost died over the summer and that was why Tanner was so overprotective, but when I asked a few others what had happened, no one had any clue what I was talking about.”

  “So, what are you asking me?”

  Bas rubs his forehead as if trying to scrub away errant thoughts.
“I’m asking for you to tell me the truth, no matter how crazy you think it sounds.”

  “Why?” I ask. “Why do you care?”

  A pained look settles on Bas’s features. He seems unable to answer right away. Tanner dropping into the chair next to me saves Bas from having to answer. “What’s going on?” Tanner asks. He tries for casual, but it doesn’t really work. The tension in his voice and posture are obvious. I do my best to relieve his worry.

  “Bas found some information on Sibeal for us.”

  “What? How does he know anything about it?”

  Bas folds his arms across his chest and stares Tanner down. “She knows my family visits our relatives in Ireland every year and asked if I knew how she could get her hands on some news articles from small towns that weren’t online. My cousin found what she needed and emailed me the articles. I was just telling Arra what they said.”

  “What did they say?” Tanner asks. Bas’s explanation doesn’t do much for the tension swirling around the two of them.

  “Sibeal’s twin sister Darcy disappeared in a little town in Ireland almost a year ago exactly,” Bas replies.

  For a moment, Tanner forgets Bas and looks over at me. “A year…exactly?”

  I nod. “I know. It’s got to be the deadline. It’s only two days away, Tanner.”

  “What do you mean, deadline?” Bas demands.

  If I just blurt out that Sibeal will most likely die in two days, the confusion I’ll be dumping on Bas won’t help this situation at all. Sighing, I decide to start at the beginning and answer Bas’s original question.

  “Right after I moved here, I started having these really strange dreams,” I begin.

  Tanner’s hand clamps down on my forearm. “Arra, what are you doing?”

  “He won’t understand unless I tell him everything.”

  “Why does he need to understand? I don’t get why he needs to be a part of this?”

  Pulling my arm out of Tanner’s grip, I look at him seriously. “Because Bas knows more about Ireland and its customs and beliefs than we do, and we don’t have time to learn it all. He can help us. And we need help, Tanner. We’re running out of time.”