Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,35
to tell me that?”
He sighs and comes over to me, pulling me into a hug, kissing the top of my head. “Just go easy on him, okay? And talk to Ada about it, but she’ll probably tell you that everything is pretty normal over here.” He pulls back to put his hand at my cheek, peering at me. “Maybe the better question is if you’re okay?”
“Me?” I blink. “I’m fine.”
He studies me for a moment and then nods. “It’s your birthday. Everyone here loves you and just wants you to have a good time. Let’s try not to worry about anything for today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. In fact, let’s just enjoy our little vacation and when we get back to Seattle, you can start worrying again.”
“Sounds great,” I mutter.
“Come on,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me out of the room.
We head downstairs just as Ada’s Mini Cooper comes to a screeching halt outside the house. My sister drives like a maniac.
She practically kicks the door open, proudly displaying two large pizzas in both hands, a bottle of champagne sticking out of her purse.
“Dinner’s ready!” she yells.
At least Ada looks normal—I mean relatively. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a messy topknot, and while her eye makeup is heavy-handed as always, green glitter smudged over black, she looks fresh-faced. She’s wearing a giant furry coat I’ve never seen before that swallows her lithe frame, pale pink with white trim, and I’m pretty sure that Dior tote she has is real. She gets so much free shit from her Instagram posts, it’s crazy.
She holds the pizzas out in front of me. “Happy birthday.”
I smile and take the boxes from her. “Thank you.”
She gives me a light hug, smelling like fancy perfume, but when I have the chance to look at her up close, she does look a little more tired than I first thought.
Are you okay? I ask her in my head, conscious of our dad nearby.
She gives me nothing in return but a quick smile and walks past me into the kitchen.
Great. So now both my dad and Ada are being weird.
Dex puts his hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze in that remember to have fun and not worry way.
We all settle down around the kitchen table, my dad putting out the plates, cracking open yet another bottle of red wine.
“Don’t forget the champagne,” Ada tells him, nodding at the fridge.
He gives her a look, brow raised. “Dare I ask you how you managed to buy champagne when you’re only nineteen?”
She shrugs and gives Dex and me a conspiratorial smile. “I guess I look older than I am.”
Oh, that’s not true at all. She has a fake ID now, I bet on it. Either that or Jay bought it for her.
Speaking of which…
“Where’s Jay?” I ask.
The bit of light in her eyes goes out momentarily. She straightens up, raising her chin. “He’s not here.”
“Where is he?” Usually Jay is always here. That’s the convenience of dating the guy who lives next door to you.
“He’s away,” she says, taking a piece of pizza from the box.
“Jacob’s car is here.”
“Jay is away,” Ada says, her words with an edge now. The look on her face has one too. Yikes. “Jacob is here.”
Obviously there’s something going on with them but I’ll have to tackle that later, along with everything else. But if Ada and Jay are having problems, it might explain why she’s been texting me less lately. Though you usually can’t get Ada to shut up, she tends to get quiet when she’s going through something.
My dad clears his throat. “How about a toast,” he says, raising his glass of red wine. We all do the same, including Ada, which surprises me since he’s been very strict about underage drinking. Then again, she just bought liquor and he doesn’t seem too fazed by that.
“To the birthday girl,” Dex says as he smiles proudly at me.
“To always being the oldest,” Ada says, and I kick her under the table, causing her wine to almost spill.
We drink, then eat, and despite everything, things feel kind of normal. The pizza is good, even though I’m mentally planning an extra spin class for next week, and the wine is even better. Even my dad seems to relax a bit.
SMASH!
There’s a loud echoing crash from the living room, shaking the whole house. I let out a scream, jumping in my seat, my heart in free fall, while Ada yelps.