I realized I’d nearly stopped walking as I stared at him. “And you get sent there forever?”
“Until we learn to behave,” he said. “But for some, it has the opposite effect. They go feral. So yes, they would stay there forever.”
I gaped at him. Who does that? Who sends their kid away because they’re afraid of publicity?
Were they getting help while they were away, or were they just marooned and abandoned?
He looked at me and started laughing. “It’s not real, Em. Just bullshit people like to spew because we’re bored.” He took some more candy, sticking it into his mouth. “And if it did exist, my parents would never send me there. Everyone loves me.”
I shot him a look. He was too self-aware. But came off adorable.
“But The Carfax Room,” he continued. “I can see that being true.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a fabled, hidden room somewhere in town,” he told me, “which is entirely plausible since this town has lots of hiding places. It’s like a panic room, from what I understand. It’s passed from one person to the next, each occupant searching for the next who has need of such a place. There are no limits on how long you can have it. Just pay it forward when you’re done. Or something like that.”
Now the note made a little more sense.
A panic room. Someone who needs it.
Use it. Pass it on.
But…
Someone gave it to me. Out of everyone in town, someone gave it to me.
I opened my mouth, tempted to tell Will I had found it.
But I wasn’t sure I wanted anyone to know I had it.
“So it’s like the Room of Requirement from Harry Potter.”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, “but… if it does exist, each occupant must be carefully chosen, and the place must command a lot of respect.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because we would’ve found it by now.” He looked down at me. “If it is real, the location would’ve been divulged at some point over all the years, don’t you think? Whoever it’s being passed on to must need it for more than just keg parties or…”
I caught his eyes. Or hookups, he didn’t finish saying.
That’s true. Whoever had it before me kept it quiet, and they trusted me—for some reason—to do the same.
I took another bite of cotton candy but noticed Will still looking down at me. He stared at my arm, pensive.
“Doesn’t seem like makeup,” he mused, reaching out to touch the bruise.
I pulled away but flashed him a playful smile for good measure. “Take me on another ride?” I rushed to change the subject. “Something dark.”
He broke into a grin and took my hand, the bruise forgotten, and pulled us back around, leading me toward the back of the park.
I tossed the rest of the cotton candy into the trash and followed him past the boat races and the Gravitron, bells and whistles echoing in the night and middle school kids racing up and down the walkways.
Heading up to Cold Hill, the ghost train, Will nodded at the blond guy running the ride, the man opening the gate and signaling the next person in line to wait.
My cheeks warmed in embarrassment at cutting others in line. We could’ve waited our turn.
But I kept my mouth shut, glancing up at Will.
I’d never liked Cold Hill because it was dark, creepy, and you were confined indoors in a car that only allowed one vehicle per section, so by the time you pushed through the doors and entered the next theme, the car ahead of you on the track was gone. Not typically a big deal, unless you were alone. Then it was scary.
Right now, though…I didn’t want to be anywhere else with him. Maybe his connection would even let us go around twice. Or more.
Walking past the candelabras flickering their lights, we stepped onto the moving walkway and into an empty car, settling in as the bar came down on our laps.
Leaving the last of the light behind, we traveled down the track and around a corner, the darkness and cold hitting me as I glanced side to side. Groans and howls filled the air as the wall to my right shook, a red light shining between the panels of wood like someone was banging against it from the other side. Then a shot of air blasted us as smoke drifted around and the sound of chains being wound cranked above us.
The hair on my arms stood on end, and I huddled closer to Will, keeping my eyes peeled.
We traveled through Hell, the Underworld, and Hades—masks and mirrors flashing their terror on the walls, while skeletons and beasts jumped out at us.
I laughed, squeezing his hand and gazing up at the chandelier above us. Its faux candles cast a soft light against the black ceiling, changing the darkness from frightening to mysterious in a way that made me want to live in its beauty.
I almost snickered at myself, but it was true. Will was right. Something changed in the air when nightfall came, but…
The allure for me was in the glow that softened the shadows. It was more beautiful than the sun.
A lantern, a candle, a—
An idea occurred to me about the gazebo and the trees around it in the park—decorating them with chandeliers. A dozen chandeliers hanging in the branches above, lighting up the canopy of leaves.
I smiled again, tipping my head back and gazing at all the lights glimmering across the crystals above me, suddenly excited to get back to work. I could do it. There had to be lots of old chandeliers collecting dust somewhere. I’d bet I could find them cheap and get it done.
I looked over at Will to tell him my idea, but he was already staring at me. He gazed down with an entranced look in his eyes like he’d just been watching something so interesting as he stared at me.
Something swelled in my chest, and all of a sudden, I could barely catch my breath as the chandeliers were forgotten. Red lights flashed across his face and then dimmed, his eyes barely visible and then lighting up again, still watching me.
I…
God, I just wanted to wrap myself around him and never let go.
Screams and screeches went off around us, and my fingers tightened more inside his as I hovered over his mouth, letting my eyes fall closed.
“Will,” I breathed out, the torture of the centimeters between us making my blood race.
I took his hand and guided it under the bar as I tugged my dress up and slid his fingers up the inside of my leg. He exhaled hard, his nails immediately digging into my skin.
I sucked in an excited breath, my clit throbbing, and I wanted him to keep going.
Opening my eyes, I held his stare as he slid deeper between my thighs and I grew warm and wet the farther up he drifted.
A werewolf caricature jumped out of the wall on the other side of Will, and I gasped, every inch of my skin on fire. His fingers peeled my panties away from my skin and dipped inside the fabric as I reached behind my back and unzipped the dress.
I glided a hand around the back of his neck, leaning in and whispering again, “Will.”
The doors in front of us opened, the room going dark again, and we entered Davy Jones’s Locker as I held his eyes and slowly peeled down the top half of my dress for him.
Yes. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to.
Cool air tickled my bare breasts, making the skin of my nipples tighten and harden as his gaze fell and his lungs caved.
I loved his eyes on me. I didn’t know if he liked what he saw, but I didn’t care about anything right now. I knew this was over before it even started. I knew he’d lose interest eventually.