Page 1 of High for the Haunted (Rejected 4)

Prologue

Ricki

Nine years old:

“Please, please, don’t come home tonight. Please don’t let him come home tonight,” I pray really hard while hiding underneath my covers. I know it’s pointless. I’ve been saying this same prayer since I was five years old, and nothing has changed. I can remember vividly the first time my dad hit me. I’m nine years old now, and the beatings haven’t stopped. Almost every night, he comes home and makes sure I get what’s coming to me. His words, not mine.

“Psst… Hey Ricki. Open the window!” I hear coming from outside. I didn’t mean to shut it, but the bugs started getting in. It must have stuck when I slammed it shut.

“Landon, I didn’t think you could come over tonight!” I say excitedly to my best friend, Landon.

“Mom and dad left and won’t be back tonight. I made sure Joey was asleep before I snuck over here. Is your dad here yet?” he asks me, climbing in the window.

I shake my head no, climbing into my bed and scooting closer to the wall so he can move in beside me. He holds me when I get scared, and most of the time, he’s here whenever the nightmares get so bad I scream. When I scream, my dad only gets madder and hits me again. He’s already in basketball shorts, and I can smell he just took a shower. We played in the creek earlier today, and both smelled like fish when we got out. I’m glad he showered before coming over.

“Don’t worry, Ricki, I’m right here. Go to sleep, and I’ll wake you when he gets home. You know what to do,” he tells me, wiping my hair out of my eyes. I nod before closing both eyes and drifting off to sleep. We both jump at the sound of the door slamming open. Heavy footsteps and a shattering of glass have Landon and I jump up.

“Remember, hide. Don’t come out, no matter what. Promise me, Ricki,” Landon says. I nod my head, promising not to come out.

I hate promising that. I hate that he puts himself in my place. He doesn’t deserve this, and I don’t want him to pay for my mistakes, but he won’t let me. He told me he was sent here to protect me, and I have to let him do his job. He said it doesn’t hurt, and it makes him happy knowing I’m safe. I quickly hide in the pile of stuffed animals in the corner of my room. The stuffed animal pile shifts all around me until I can only see out of a space between two stuffed bears.

I watch as Landon jumps back in my bed and covers himself fully with the sheets. Only a second later, my bedroom door bursts open, and my daddy stumbles into my room, taking off his belt. He doesn’t even speak as he heads straight for my bed, beating it badly with the belt. Moans and squeaks come from the covers. Landon wants my dad to think it’s me in that bed. My dad finally tires of using the belt, so he drops it and starts hitting my bed with his fists. He looks like a gorilla beating Landon, and I want to get up and scream. Tell my dad to stop, to leave Landon alone. I can’t. Landon made me promise I wouldn’t come out. Plus, daddy would punish Landon more for being in my room. Then he would tell Landon’s dad, and I might never see him again.

I close my eyes tight, silently crying and trying not to move an inch. I cover my ears, trying not to listen as Landon gets hurt. Finally, I release my hands from my ears and open my eyes. I move to look and see my room is empty, and Landon is whispering my name. My room is pitch black, and I know my daddy is gone. He won’t be coming back in tonight. I race over to my bed, pulling back the covers and crying harder when I see Landon with cuts and bruises all over. There is blood on my sheets, and Landon looks like he can barely open his eye.

“I can’t walk back home tonight, Ricki. Do you think your dad will come back in here tonight?” he asks me as I grab one of my new school shirts and race over to hold it over one of his cuts. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know there is too much blood on his face.

“No, he’s done for the night. You can sleep here,” I tell him, climbing over him and scooting as close as I can to him.

“I wish you wouldn’t have made me hide. I don’t like you getting hurt because of me.” I tell him with tears still running down my cheeks.

“I won’t ever let him hurt you, Ricki. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you. You’re always going to be my girl,” Landon says before he drifts off to sleep. I follow behind him, praying I can keep him safe, even if that means I get to be the one who bleeds.

Landon

Twelve years old:

Ugh, I hate school. The only good thing about this place is I get to sit behind Ricki in Mrs. Oliver’s seventh-grade classroom. It’s time for lunch, so everyone gets up to leave, but as Ricki stands to leave class, I see a red spot on her pants and in the chair. I quickly pull on her braid until she falls back in her seat before anyone else can see it. I don’t want her to be embarrassed, but then she turns around, spitting fire at me with her eyes, and I just smile at her.

“Can you stay back with me for a minute?” I ask.

She rolls her eyes but stays and doesn’t ask questions. When everyone is finally out of the room except us, she turns around and lifts an eyebrow, waiting for me to explain.

“I don’t want you to be embarrassed,” I tell her softly. I hate seeing her hurt or embarrassed. It guts me.

“Just spit it out, Lan,” she says impatiently. I know she’s just as anxious to get to lunch as I am. Ricki loves food, any kind of food, and that girl can put it away. It doesn’t help we don’t get a lot of food at home. We usually go all day just eating the free school lunch.

“I think you may have started your period. There is a red spot on your pants and on the chair,” I whisper to her, even though we are the only ones in the room. She gasps and goes to stand again. When she sees the spots I’m talking about, she gasps and turns to me with panicked, embarrassed eyes. She looks like she’s about to cry, but I know better. She’ll suck in the tears because she’s too strong to let anyone else see.

“Oh no, what am I going to do? I don’t have an extra set of clothes, and no way will dad come and get me,” she says, worrying her bottom lip. I think for a minute, having no clue what to do either.

“Here, take my jacket. Tie it around your waist. I’m going to get some tissues and hand sanitizer from Mrs. Oliver’s desk. Stand by the door,” I tell her, then go about cleaning up the seat before moving back toward her.

“I can’t wear this all day. It might ruin your jacket, and I don’t know how to make it stop,” she tells me, panicking again.

“Let’s just leave school for the day. I’ll make sure my brothers cover for us somehow. We will walk home,” I say, taking her hand and sneaking out of the school.

“It’s freezing out here, Lan. You can’t walk home with no jacket in the cold,” she says worriedly.

“I was hot anyway. The cold air will cool me off. Come on. Let’s head home,” I lie, knowing if she knows how freezing I really am, she will make me take the jacket back. The last thing I want is for anyone to laugh at her. We walk down the road, both of us silent and lost in thought. There’s an old convenience store halfway between school and home, so I pull her to a stop there.

“I can’t go in there. I have no clue what to buy, and I have no money,” she says nervously, trying to pull me toward home.

“Stay right here, Ricki. I’ve got an idea,” I tell her with a grin before letting go of her hand and walking into the store. Determined, I head straight for the aisle with all the products that look like the ones my mom used to keep in the bathroom. I look for something small. I don’t know if that’s right, but Ricki is so tiny I don’t think she needs something huge.

All these products look the same, and I’m wasting time just standing here. I don’t want to keep Ricki waiting any more than I already have. Decision made, I grab what I can and then go to the counter, snagging a couple of Ricki’s favorite candy bars on my way, knowing it’ll be a nice surprise. The girl behind the counter rings everything up, not caring about me or my items. I use the ten dollars I found in the dryer to buy it. I was going to use it for Joey and me to get a snack after school, but Ricki’s more important.

I exit the store and hand her the bag. We are close to home, but I wonder if she’s uncomfortable.

“If you need to go into the store and use the bathroom, you can. I’ll wait right here,” I tell her as she’s looking at what I bought.

“I can wait until I get home. I really want to take a shower,” she says before throwing her arms around me.

“Thank you, Lan. I couldn’t live without you. You’re my best friend.” I hold her tight, not wanting to let go. I silently try to show her what I feel as my arms squeeze her small body. How can she not know by now? I’m afraid if she ever finds out, I’ll lose her forever. Ricki is amazing and so strong. She could definitely survive without me, but there is no way I could live without her.

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