Rise of Midnight Read online

  The house phone rang off the hook the rest of the week. My dad took a few days off work to be with my mom, and they, taking Sammy along, spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house. As for Jericho and me, we hadn’t been back to school since the accident. During our days out, we spent a lot of time together, more so than usual. But it was different now. I felt a change between us. After seventeen years, I felt like I was genuinely getting to know my sister. We talked about girl stuff—why I should wear comfortable hoodies to school or what brand of makeup was the best. We kept our conversations light and airy.

  I hesitated to keep pressing her about the man who jumped from the overpass. Eventually, I knew I’d make her sit and listen to me, but not now. For me, talking about the accident so soon would just add to the pain, and I knew it would upset Jericho, too. She did, however, ask about my right eye again. At first, I’d relentlessly kept it hidden under my hair, but for the past few days, I’d forgotten about it.

  “What’s the deal? I mean, are you trying out colored contacts or something?” she asked.

  “Uh, sure,” I said and fidgeted nervously as the lie escaped my lips.

  “In one eye?” she probed.

  I nodded. Sitting across from me on my bed, she scoffed. The look on her face told me exactly what she would say before she even said it.

  “Well, that’s stupid,” she laughed and thankfully went on to talk about school, about who would ask who to prom.

  I just wanted to tell her the truth, but I knew it would lead to another lecture about seeing a doctor. As we talked, I worried in the back of my mind. I wondered if the people from the interstate would attack again, if they would continue stalking me. What was it they wanted from me? Or had I been hallucinating them?

  I remembered some of the strange things I heard the voices say just outside the truck when we wrecked, but none of it made sense. I thought about it for days, checking out of my window every night to be sure no one was standing on my neighbors’ rooftops.

  Even though I dreaded the thought of returning to school, I knew we’d have to go back to our normal routine. I hoped it would help us move on.

  Except, things there had changed while we were gone.

  Chapter 4

  Not the Same

  The glowing-eyed things I’d seen three times now never left my mind. Images of them lingered on the edges of my thoughts. I even started having nightmares about them. I kept searching for them every time I left the house or passed by the front window. I felt like I was losing it. I couldn’t stop thinking about the wreck and Jacoby, either.

  Thursday was twelve days after the accident and also the first day Jericho and I returned to school. I was still in a daze. It was like stepping into a new and lonely world without Jacoby—like I was the only one walking down the hallway that morning and everyone else I encountered was part of a foggy dream. I knew it would be hard facing all of those people, our friends, getting back to life as usual as if nothing happened. Since my friends had sent cards to our house as well as called or texted with their condolences, I hoped no one would bring it up at school.

  I snapped out of it after Art class. I closed my locker and headed down the hall. I usually meet Jericho upstairs about that time so we could walk together to our third-hour classes. But before I made it, Gemma stopped me in the hallway. She took me to the girls’ bathroom where we stood there face to face. I waited curiously for her to speak.

  We’d been best friends for seven years, and not once had I known her to look bent out of shape over anything, not even as a kid. She had a way of putting on a mask in front of people. But now, something was different. She placed her arms around her waist like she had a stomach ache. Her thin eyebrows drew together, nearly meeting in the middle of her heart-shaped face. Her lips parted. I could already feel something burning in the pit of my stomach.

  “I…have to tell you something. Wait a minute,” she said and leaned in closer, her eyes bouncing back and forth between mine. “What’s wrong with your eyes? That one looks blue.”

  “Yeah, I know. I woke up the other morning with it,” I blurted, anxious to hear what she had to say.

  “Autumn, that’s super weird. You should go get that checked out.”

  “Is that the reason you brought me in here?” I asked with a cringe.

  “No, no. Listen.”

  “What’s wrong? Are you…you’re not pregnant, are you?” I joked nervously with a half-smile.

  “Are you kidding? No,” she replied plainly.

  She hadn’t responded with a chuckle the way I’d expected. Her serious expression remained on her face like a resin cast.

  “It’s about Devron,” she said.

  Devron. Not only had I not spoken to him since our awful date, but I hadn’t even thought about him. My chest tightened as my mind wandered.

  “Look,” she said. “I know you don’t need to hear this after everything that’s happened, but you have a right to know. I know you were excited about your first date with him and all.”

  She continued beating around the bush, but what she said next could change a girl’s high school experience and emotional state for weeks. But in this case, not so much for me.

  “He’s been seeing another girl since you’ve been out of school.” She went on to explain how she’d spotted him kissing a girl in the parking lot just before I arrived that morning.

  A pressure released from my chest. “Wow,” I replied and exhaled.

  “Look, he’s a total dog. I don’t even know what you saw in him to begin with. He’ll get his. Forget him,” she urged.

  “Gemma, I’m not upset,” I explained. “I’m relieved. Thank you for telling me, but I’m not worried about it. I didn’t get a chance to tell you last week, but he acted really weird on our date and things just didn’t feel right afterward,” I stammered my way around the story without going into too much detail. “Devron is the least of my worries right now.”

  “Good,” she smiled. ”I was hoping that’s what you’d say. I’m glad you’re not upset about it. You can do better.” The two-minute warning bell rang. “Let’s get to class before we get written up for being late again,” she advised.

  At lunch that afternoon, I couldn’t seem to get away from the same conversation. Someone at the table asked about Devron. I replied that I didn’t want to talk about it. But somehow, that made my friends want to dig deeper. I felt like they were far more upset about it than I was. Truthfully, it was my fault. I’d hyped up our date before it even happened. Or maybe they were just talking about it to avoid the real reason I was upset.

  “Devron? Screw that guy,” my friend Brad said through a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Why did you even like him in the first place? He’s a smug asshole. You’re not normally attracted to guys like that.”

  I had no defense, only that Devron hadn’t been a jerk until our date.

  “I don’t know,” I moaned. “I honestly don’t care.”

  “Yeah, he’s a bad seed,” Gemma added.

  “About time that guy was out of the picture,” Brad murmured in agreement. “By the way, nice contacts. When are you going to put the other one in?” His smile spread cheek to cheek. This made his entire face flush and his eyes squint closed.

  “Shut up, Brad,” Marcus stabbed at him. “Jericho said she’s just trying out colored contacts.”

  My eyes widened. Gemma shot me a look. I knew she remembered our conversation from earlier.

  “I’m just trying to cheer her up. Geez,” Brad snorted, his goofy grin falling into a pouty frown.

  “Autumn, why don’t you just go to that after-party at Derrick’s place with us tomorrow night?” Gemma encouraged. “We can get ready together. It’ll be fun!”

  She’d begged me to go to that party for three weeks now.

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll be too tired from cheer after the game.” I’d answered that way every time she’d asked me.

  “So? You can come to my house after the game to fresh
en up, and I’ll drive us,” she coaxed.

  “Let her be,” Marcus said, siding with me. Leaning over the table, he knocked over his empty drink for the second time since we’d sat down, blushed, quickly set it upright and folded his hands as if nothing happened. “She’s been through a lot the past few days. We all have,” he defended me.

  I knew he missed Jacoby, too.

  “I think you should go to the party,” Stephanie, another girl who sat with us at lunch, chimed in. “That way, I can finally introduce you to my brother’s friend. He thinks you’re cute.”

  “Ooh and he’s in college,” one of the other girls at the table added slyly before biting her bottom lip.

  “No, it’s fine. I don’t have to have a man to be happy,” I said under my breath.

  “Damn right,” Gemma said and cocked her head.

  My friends started another conversation while I sat there, leaving my food untouched in a numbing daze. I hadn’t been able to eat a full meal in days. My stomach twisted itself into tight little knots when the bell rang. I didn’t hesitate before walking into the front office and checking myself out. Lying to the attendance lady made me feel gross on the inside. I explained how I thought I was coming down with the flu—it was going around. But in my defense, I was afraid to tell her why I really wanted to leave, afraid of bursting into tears in front of her. And I know that’s exactly what would’ve happened if l brought up my brother.

  “Sure. Seems like everyone has the flu today,” she said sarcastically.

  “Yeah,” I replied and sniffed, pretty much speechless at her bold but passive accusation.

  Visibly reluctant, she let me call my mom and leave. When I got home, I took a lava-hot shower and bawled until the water ran cold. It was nice to be alone for a while. My mom and Sammy would be at my grandma’s until 2:00 PM, and Jericho would be home shortly after that. I needed that time by myself to cry out the tightness that had grown in my chest and throat all morning. Gemma texted me as soon as I got out of the shower, asking why I left school so early. I hadn’t had a chance to reply when my cell rang. It was Jericho. I went to the kitchen for a soda as I answered it.

  “Hey, I just got out of class. Where did you go the rest of the day?” she asked, concern heavy in her voice.

  I groaned. The last thing I needed was to be scolded by my sister, although I had to remind myself that maybe she’d go easy on me.

  “It was just a long day. I’ll tell you later,” I promised.

  “Was it because of Devron?”

  Her question left me angry.

  “Wait, who told you that?” I asked in disbelief. “Devron has nothing to do with it.” I caught sight of the digital clock on the stove. “Oohh, great! Jericho, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight. We can talk about it then.”

  I said goodbye and got off the phone. I’d completely forgotten about cheer practice. We had a pep rally the next day to rehearse for and then a basketball game that same night. Everyone, our coach especially, was in an uproar over it—it was a home game and also the last game of the season. Coach was serious about everyone making it to practice on time. Cheer practice was what I needed since I’d missed so many days, and I also needed to be around all my friends. It would comfort me, help take my mind off things.

  Practice went well, and after I explained to Gemma why I left school earlier in the day, she hugged me in the locker room.

  “I promise this will get easier for you as time passes,” she said between hugs. “Jacoby was always so proud of you. He’ll always be watching over you now.” She squeezed me tighter as I cried on her shoulder.

  I got home around 5:30 PM, ate dinner, ignored my homework, took a hot shower for the second time that day and got ready for bed. When I went to my room, Jericho followed me in her pajamas.

  “When are we going to talk?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sorry,” I apologized. “We can now. I wasn’t trying to dodge you all day. I just had a lot going on.”

  “I understand,” she said and sat beside me on my bed. “So, where did you find that picture?” She nodded at my vanity.

  She’d obviously seen the picture of Jacoby and Eden already...had obviously been in my room while I wasn’t there.

  “I found it when I cleaned his room after the funeral,” I admitted.

  “It’s a good picture of him. You know what Jacoby would say about this whole situation with Devron, right?” I could almost hear his voice in my head, see his expressions as Jericho spoke. “That guy’s a dumbass.”

  I giggled at my sister’s perfect impression of him. She even had his exact facial expressions down. They had their apparent differences despite being twins, but it was scary how much she favored him sometimes.

  “Jacoby knew what was best for you and so do I,” Jericho went on. “It’s time for you to make room for someone else, someone who will be all about you, not all about other girls.”

  “That’s not why I’ve been upset, Jericho. I don’t care about Devron. I just really miss Jacoby.” My eyes became teary after saying his name.

  “Me too,” she said after a long pause, and her voice cracked as she tilted her head. “He knew you’re a good person, Autumn. I know you don’t believe me, but I think the same thing. I’m hard on you a lot because I know you can do better. Sometimes, I can see a little of myself in you. You’re stubborn and strong and want to do things your own way, but I see a little of Jacoby in you, too. You think things through, and you don’t usually jump into situations that you can’t get yourself out of…except for last weekend when you went streaking with the guys.”

  We both lightly laughed.

  “I’ve never taken the time to see the maturity in you until after Jacoby. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for all the times I’ve given you hell. And I love you.”

  Her last sentence sounded awkward to me. It visibly made us both feel a little uncomfortable, but then, we smiled at the same time.

  We never said things like this to one another, and it proved to me that Jacoby’s passing had awakened a gentler side of my sister. I had to stop myself from wondering whether she would jump up and yell, “Just kidding! I didn’t mean any of that!” and run out of the room.

  “I love you, too,” I said.

  We chatted a minute longer, and before I knew it, it was almost 11:00 PM.

  “Alright, girl. I’m going to bed. Get some rest. And take out that contact or put the other one in or something. Your friends are starting to ask questions,” she teased and rubbed the top of my head, messing up my hair.

  “And I hear you’ve been giving them answers. Goodnight,” I replied and half-contemplated buying a green contact for my right eye. “Wait!” I exclaimed.

  She’d just disappeared around the corner when she popped her head back into the room.

  “I’ve been trying to talk to you about this. You can’t tell me you didn’t see a man jump off the overpass and land right on the hood of Frank’s Jeep that night.”

  “Autumn. Like I’ve said, I didn’t see anything. I was sitting in the back behind Frank, remember?” she reminded me. “None of the witnesses said anything about it, either.”

  “It will be the first question I ask Frank when he comes out of his coma,” I said to myself. “He would have seen it. I know Jacoby did, too.”

  “So, you’re saying you saw a man fall on the car, and that’s why Frank lost control?” she asked, visibly doubtful.

  “Yes,” I confirmed sternly.

  “Maybe a suicide jumper? What did he look like?” She shook her head as she spoke.

  “I...couldn’t make him out. It was dark. But he had these glowing eyes—” I stopped myself.

  She came to sit beside me on the bed again, then placed her hand on the side of my head. “You’ve been through a lot, Autumn. We both have, but—”

  Her voice shook as if she were holding back tears, as if she were going to break down right there in front of me.

  “I know what I saw
,” I cut her off slowly. “And I know how ridiculous it sounds. Jericho, I have to tell you something else. People have been following me, the same people who caused the wreck.” I pointed across the street. “Twice now, I’ve seen them on the roof across the street. I saw them again on the overpass just before the wreck. And their eyes, they glow.”

  Jericho just stared at me with her eyebrows raised high across her forehead. “Autumn, you’ve sounded delirious since—” she began, dragging her words out. “I think I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad.” She moved to get up, but I took her wrist.

  “No, no. I’m fine. I just—” I stopped myself.

  There was no point. Nothing I said was going to make her believe me. Who would?

  “I just need some time to adjust,” I assured her, feeling helpless.

  “We all do. Get some rest, girl.”

  By the time I got in bed, I was exhausted physically and emotionally. But then, I remembered I had to “pep up”. I had an “exhilarating” pep rally to be in the next day. Then, I had an “awesome” basketball game to cheer at. These were the words my coach drilled into our heads at practice to try keeping us pumped. As happy as I tried to convince myself to be, I still ended up crying myself to sleep.

  I woke up to Jericho tapping on my door. She did this every weekday morning to let me know it was my turn in the bathroom. I could barely pull myself out of bed as the alarm on my phone sounded. I was like a car running off the last drop of gas. I dragged myself through the hallway in the dark, bumping into the little lampstand. In the bathroom, I pulled my hair back into a bouncy ponytail and threw on a little makeup. Irritated that I had to wear that uncomfortable baby blue and white cheer outfit all day, I squeezed myself into it.

  Off to school I went. I made it to my fourth-hour class a little more aware of my surroundings than the day before. Especially when I had to sit beside Devron in Algebra II class. Our assigned seats suddenly, for lack of a better word, sucked, but I acted like I’d never met him in my life. And he did the same. In my sixth and last class, I got to leave early. I had to meet with the rest of the cheer squad in the gym and get ready for the pep rally. We exchanged waves with the basketball players as they entered the gym. Some began their stretches while others sat down in the fold-up chairs at the other end of the bleachers. After our warmup, I watched as three girls hung a light blue and white banner in the back of the gym. It read—