Evercrossed

Beth added. ?For all you know,” Will said, ?Guy could have killed someone and been beaten up in the process.?

?That?s crazy!? Ivy exclaimed. ?As crazy as thinking Guy was the driver who ran Beth and me off the road! ?

?Ivy, he?s pretending he can?t remember. Why are you so gullible?? Will cried.

?And why are you so ready to think the worst of someone?? she countered.

?I got an e?mail from Suzanne/? Beth said quietly.

?You did?? Ivy leaned against the railing, feeling suddenly worn down by the arguing. ?She?s been dreaming about Gregory.? Ivy thought for a moment.

?That?s not surprising.?

?She?s been dreaming about him for the last two weeks.?

?Beth, all of us have been thinking about Gregory and Tristan for the last two weeks,? Ivy pointed out. ?I read the e?mails,? Will said. ?Suzanne can?t remember the dreams — she just knows she?s talking to Gregory.?

?In the dreams, you mean,? Ivy responded. ?She?s reliving past scenes.?

Will clenched his fists with impatience. ?I said she can?t remember the dreams.

But she feels like he is haunting her.?

Ivy looked from one to the other. Will?s forehead was beaded with perspiration.

Beth?s fingers pinched her amethyst so hard, their tips had turned bloodless white.

?It was bound to happen,? Ivy reasoned. ?When Gregory died and the truth came out, Suzanne handled it ?beautifully? as everyone said. But there?s no way a person can handle that kind of situation ?beautifully.? It’s a nightmare and it will produce nightmares, and it will not go away until it has. There is no shortcut to healing from it. Suzanne is finally doing that now.?

?No. Gregory is back,? Beth insisted, taking two steps down to Ivy. She laid a cold hand on her arm. ?Ivy, you almost lost your life two weeks ago — in a car accident, just like the one Gregory caused last year. What will it take for you to believe me??

Ivy pulled her arm free and slipped through the gap between her friends. ?Your imagination?s running away with you, Beth. You and Will have made up your minds, and you?re not even trying to listen to me.?

?I?m listening,? Beth called over her shoulder. “And I hear things that you cannot.”

Twenty?three

IT FELT STRANGE, BEING AT ODDS WITH HER TWO best friends. Ivy was worried about Beth, but there was no point in discussing her concerns with Will, not now, when he was convinced that Ivy was the one going off the deep end.

Late that afternoon, having made plans to go with Guy to a summer carnival, Ivy went upstairs to look for something special to wear. She found Beth pacing the bedroom, her cell phone pressed to her ear.

?No, I?m busy,” Beth said to the caller. ?I?ve already made plans for tonight.?

Listening for a moment, Beth frowned. ?I never said that, Chase. . No, you can?t come with me.?

Seeing Ivy, Beth turned her back and hunched over the phone.

Ivy watched her for a moment in the mirror, then continued toward her bureau.

?Sorry, I have to go,? Beth said, and clicked off the phone.

Ivy glanced over her shoulder. A week ago, she would have sat on the bed, patted the place next to her, and asked her friend, How?s everything? Now she gazed silently at Beth, who frowned at her image in the mirror, wriggling her shoulders as if she had touched something distasteful, and headed downstairs.

?STRAWBERRY DAYS!? IVY SAID SEVERAL HOURS LATER, happily slipping her hand in Guy?s and gazing up at a banner that stretched between two antique fire trucks. The annual week?long carnival, which raised money for the Cape?s fire departments, was a colorful jumble of booths and rides spread beneath strings of lights.

?Where do you want to start?? she asked.

?Games,? said Guy, smiling down at her. ?I feel lucky tonight. How about darts?

Over there.?

The booth, tended by a woman wearing a fire hat, had rows of red, white, and blue balloons. Guy plunked down two dollars.

?Here?s your dahts,? the woman said with a strong Massachusetts accent. ?Good luck.? Guy picked up a dart and turned it in his hands, examining it. ?I can?t remember. . which way does it go?? he asked Ivy, then laughed at her reaction.

?I?m kidding.? Raising his arm, he aimed and threw. Pop!

?One!? said the woman. He missed with the next dart. ?One for two.? Guy set his jaw and threw — Pop! — and threw again. Pop! ?Three for four,? the woman announced. Guy threw the final dart. Pop! ?Four for five! Pick a prize, any row, sir!?

Guy turned to Ivy. ?What would you like??

?You choose,? Ivy told him, curious to see what he would select. Guy studied the rainbow of stuffed animals. ?Top row, third from the left.? The woman handed him a plush white horse with wings. ?If s either an angel horse or Pegasus,? Guy told Ivy as he laid the stuffed toy in her hands.

?Pegasus,? she repeated. ?You know your mythology.?

Guy gave her a crooked smile. ?More proof that I?m a classy guy.?

?I always knew it! Thank you,” Ivy said, tucking the toy under her arm. ?Peg is very sweet.?

They moved on to another booth and took turns tossing hoops over bottles, then caught a ride on the Ferris wheel, rising and falling through the twinkling lights of the carnival.

?Want another ride or dinner?? Guy asked her when they got off.

?Dessert for me,? Ivy said. ?And then another ride. And then another dessert.?

He laughed and they walked with arms around each other, following the signs to the food concessions. On the way. Ivy was flagged down by Max.

?Ivy, over here!? he called. He and Beth were sitting on a bench near the bumper cars. ?Who?s that?? Guy asked. ?Max. And Beth.?

?Is Will here tonight?? Guy?s voice held a tinge of uneasiness. ?I think they all came together/? she replied, and saw the guarded way Guy glanced around.

?Why don?t you get in line at the burger stand while I say hello,” Ivy suggested.

She joined Max and Beth, squeezing onto the bench. ?Hey, where are the others?? Max pointed. ?In the Dodg?ems. Beth didn?t want to drive one.

And I know how Bryan and Kelsey get into slamming cars, so I didn?t want to either.? Ivy smiled, then stood for a moment to watch. The bumper cars were the old?fashioned kind, with tall black poles ending in snakelike tongues that licked and sparked across a metal ceiling. Will and Dhanya drove smoothly around the polished floor; Bryan, Kelsey, and someone else, spun their cars like lunatics, causing multiple crashes.

?Is that Chase?? Ivy asked, surprised. ?Yes,? Max replied, when Beth didn?t.

?The smell,? Beth murmured. ?Ivy, that terrible smell.?

?Kind of like burnt hair?? Max asked. ?Bumper cars always smell that way.?

Ivy sat down. ?I didn?t think Chase was coming tonight.?

?Neither did we,? Max replied. ?He was waiting in the parking lot and followed us in.?

Be careful/? Beth said. ?If s dangerous/? Ivy frowned. Was it Chase who was scaring Beth?

?It’s electric, but it’s safe,? Max assured her. Beth shook her head, twisting the chain of her pendant. They were carrying on two different conversations. Ivy realized, neither seeming aware that the other didn?t understand.

The cars stopped, and Kelsey, Bryan, and Chase kept up their boisterous shoving and laughing as they came down the exit ramp. Will and Dhanya followed quietly.

?Hey, Ivy! You should have been out there with us, you and Guy,? Kelsey said, then stopped to look around. ?Where is Mystery Man?? Ivy pointed over her shoulder toward the burger stand. ?Getting something to eat.?

?Mystery Man,? Bryan said. ?You mean our friendly local amnesiac??

?Where?? Chase asked, his gray eyes shining with curiosity. ?The gorgeous guy, third in line,? Kelsey told