If I'd Known_The Cursed Series Part 1 Read online

  “So there’s this office or something hidden up here with a bathroom in it. Another girl showed me earlier,” Allie tells me.

  She pulls back a section of the heavy curtain next to a black door, casting light into the dark space. I quickly duck through the opening and she follows, concealing us behind the fabric wall.

  Light shines through a window-lined office where four girls wait to use the bathroom. When we enter, the first thing I notice is an oversized ornate mirror propped on a metal desk. A girl’s leaning in close to it, lining her eyes. When I approach it, I immediately cringe at my reflection. No wonder Joey hasn’t kissed me.

  I slide my headband off and let my hair down, shaking out the sweat-soaked strands. I rake my fingers through the length that extends to my lower back before sweeping it up into a large twisted bun and securing it on top of my head, sliding the crystal headband back in place. That’s a little better.

  “Is your hair white?” Allie asks.

  I turn with a start, unaware she was hovering.

  “It’s blond. It’s just really light.”

  She’s not the first to mistake my hair for being white. Although it’s usually little kids I’m correcting.

  “You should totally color it white,” she says to my reflection, stepping closer to the mirror without blinking her eyes. “You would look like a frost princess. But you really do look like a princess.” She reaches out to touch me, the reflected me, running a finger along my headband. “It’s so sparkly.”

  “Uh, thanks. My mother gave it to me.” I watch her curiously. She’s definitely … unique.

  Allie spins around to face me, the real me, and throws her arms around my neck. “You’re so beautiful,” she says, hugging me tight. She steps back, holding me at arm’s length, and just stares at me like she’s trying to decide if I’m real. “I’m so high.”

  I nod. Really? I mean, the wide, unblinking eyes pretty much gave that away. And for the first time, I recognize I’m feeling pretty floaty myself—but definitely not lost in the stratosphere like Allie.

  “You gotta go?” a thin brunette in boy shorts and a bikini top asks, motioning toward the bathroom that just opened up.

  “I do,” I answer. And I also need the sink to clean off the black streaks running down my face. I look like I’ve been crying mud.

  I ease out of Allie’s grip and enter the bathroom.

  When I come back out, Allie’s still there. I’m not sure why. Maybe she thinks we’re friends now. Except … we’re not.

  I inspect the sweat marks on my top in the mirror. Pulling the fabric away from my skin, I flap it gently, hoping it’ll dry.

  “Want to go outside?” Allie asks. “It’s so hot in here.” She plops down on the desk, like she’s too weak to stand. “I need some air.”

  She doesn’t look so good. I’m worried she may pass out, and there’s no way I can hold her up.

  “Where can we go?”

  “This way,” she says, crisscrossing her long legs as she weaves toward the door. “Why am I so hot? This is so not good, my princess.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure her, taking her by the elbow to steer her through the curtain so that she doesn’t grab on to it and pull it down. “Which way?”

  “That way.” Allie points right.

  I direct us through the black door, entering a stairwell.

  “That way again.” Her finger indicates a blue door with Exit lit above it.

  I push through and find a small group of people smoking on a fire escape spanning the alley between two buildings.

  Allie stumbles out of my grasp and trots down a few feet before collapsing on a grated metal step. “Omigod. My skin needed this so bad.” She flops her arms over the railing in blissful relief.

  “Water?” some guy asks, offering her a bottle.

  “You are so super sweet,” she says, looking up at him with her big blue eyes and thousand-watt smile.

  I grab the bottle from him first to make sure it’s sealed before letting her have it.

  When she dumps half of it in her mouth, she releases an obnoxiously loud moan. “Best. Water. Ever.”

  “Glad I could make you happy,” the guy says with a creepy, predator smile.

  I turn to him, knowing he’s lingering because he thinks he has a chance with her. “Get lost.”

  He scowls and goes back into the building. That’s when I notice the black boots on the steps next to my head. And, of course, I find Vic, the master scowler, doing exactly that down at me.

  I let out a disgusted breath and focus on Allie, pointedly ignoring him. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m so happy,” she responds, beaming. “Here, have some.” She hands me the bottle of water before taking ahold of the railing to pull herself up.

  I easily finish it and abandon the empty bottle on the step. “Thanks.”

  Allie stares at me with that same doe-eyed expression she wore in the truck. “You could be a fairy, you know. You have the biggest black eyes.”

  “They’re brown.”

  “A little, tiny nose, kissed with stardust.”

  “Or freckles.”

  “And super-pointy cheekbones. Do you have pointy ears too?”

  She tips her head to look, like she expects they might be.

  “I don’t.”

  “All you need are wings and you’d be my fairy princess.” She places her palms on my cheeks and speaks in a high-pitched voice, “I wish I could shrink you and put you in my pocket.”

  I have no idea what she’s talking about. She’s delusional. I need to get her back to her boyfriend.

  “Where’s Seth? Let’s go find him. I’m sure my friends are wondering where I am too.” Or at least I hope they are.

  “You do have wings! They’re just hiding!” Allie declares when I turn to walk toward the door. She traces a finger along my right shoulder blade. “You are my fairy princess!”

  “Yup, you’re right,” I say with a sigh.

  When I glance at her over my shoulder, I realize Vic is gone—which is a good and bad thing. Good because I can’t stand to be within two feet of him. Bad because now I have no idea where he is again, and I still don’t trust him not to do something stupid.

  I reach for the door at the same time it pushes open. A girl steps out and I slide by her.

  “Allie!” I hear her screech in excitement right before the door clicks shut behind me.

  I groan into the empty stairwell, knowing Allie’s no longer following me. I’d much rather be drinking and dancing with my friends, but I can’t leave her. She’s a disaster. I have to help her find Seth. I’m blaming the drugs for my uncharacteristic kindness.

  I set my hand on the release bar. As the door cracks open, I’m forcefully yanked from behind and slammed against the wall. Pain floods my head when it collides with the concrete. I blink to clear the spots from my eyes, disoriented. Something hard pokes my ribs and a forearm presses against my chest, pinning me. I pull at the arm, then grunt when the object jabs into me. It’s a gun.

  How many guns does he have? Did he get this back from Nina? Why am I thinking about this right now?

  “You’re not going to say anything about what happened tonight,” Vic demands, his rank breath invading my senses.

  I stab him a thousand times with my glare. When I refuse to answer, he thrusts his weight against me, crushing my chest. I grit my teeth in pain.

  “Right?”

  “I’m not going to say anything,” I growl. “Now get off me!”

  I try to push him, but he shoves me back against the concrete, banging my head again. I cry out, overcome with blinding pain.

  “If you do, I’ll hurt you,” he threatens. “I mean, really hurt you.”

  “Hey! Get off my fairy princess!” Before I can react, Allie jumps on Vic’s back. “Leave her alone!”

  “What the— Get off me, you psycho!” Vic bellows as she wraps an arm around his neck and pounds his back with her fist.

  V
ic steps back. I move to get out from under his arm, but he lunges forward, trapping me again. He whips the hand holding the gun over his shoulder and hits Allie on the side of the head.

  “Ow!” she yelps, releasing him and landing with a hard thud on her feet. She staggers backward, her hand cradling her head. “That hurt.”

  “You asshole!” I jam my knee between his legs.

  Vic moans in pain and bends in half, cupping himself. Clasping my hands together, I swing up as hard as I can, colliding with his jaw. Vic’s head flips up with a howl. He stumbles back, slamming into Allie.

  Allie pounds his arm with the sides of her fists. “You’re so mean!”

  Vic reaches out and clutches Allie by the throat. She claws at his hand, making gurgling noises. As I rush toward him, he stares at me, his dark brows dipping to shadow his eyes. A malevolent, bloody smile creeps across his face, causing me to falter in my steps. If evil has a face, he’s staring at me right now. I know exactly what he’s about to do the second before he does it.

  “No!”

  I reach for Allie … just as Vic tosses her down the stairs.

  Chapter Eight

  “Where’s my daddy?” I ask.

  Everyone stops eating. My aunt Allison’s fork clangs on her plate. I look at my mom. She doesn’t say anything.

  “He’s gone, baby girl,” my grandmother tells me, running her hand over my head.

  A sharp cry escapes and my mom cups a hand over her mouth to trap it as tears fill her eyes. She looks like she’s in so much pain.

  I never ask about my dad again.

  Allie’s scream echoes throughout the stairwell ’til it’s abruptly cut off when she collides with the first step. Her body continues to haphazardly tumble with thuds and clangs down the metal stairs, coming to a violent stop on the concrete landing.

  I remain frozen with my mouth gaping open in a silent scream.

  Allie doesn’t make a sound—not a groan or a cry, despite the awkward angle her leg is bent beneath her. Her arms are splayed above her head. Blood slowly seeps out from under her short blond hair, pooling into a crimson halo around her head.

  “Allie?” My voice is weak, like I’ve been screaming this whole time.

  She doesn’t move.

  I take a step, about to go to her, when a hysterical voice turns me around. “What did you do?”

  I stare into the frantic wide eyes of the girl from the fire escape, the one Allie hugged.

  “Did you … did you push her?” But it’s not really a question. It’s an accusation.

  I can see the blame in her glassy-eyed stare. But she’s not focused on my face; she’s looking down … at my hand clutching Allie’s pink wig. I drop it like it’s burning my skin. Panic begins to creep over me like crawling vines.

  “You did. You pushed her.” Her words are thorns, penetrating my flesh.

  I take a step back, shaking my head. My lungs constrict, and I can’t draw in enough air. This can’t be happening. She stares at me like I’m some kind of monster, and I want to shrink into nothing. I take another step backward. She opens her mouth. I shake my head faster, silently begging. I continue to increase the distance between us, moving farther away from her. I need to disappear before she—

  A horrific, bloodcurdling scream vibrates throughout my bones.

  Doors click open. Two large bodies in black rush by from behind, brushing past me. Several more people enter from the fire escape. Their faces blur. I’m unable to focus. Color and voices move around me. But no one goes to her. Allie’s still lying in her blood, needing someone to save her. My heart is beating so fast, I have to press my hand to the wall to stay on my feet.

  “What’s wrong?” a girl asks, her attention drawn to the screaming girl, yet to notice the broken body at the bottom of the stairs.

  But the massive bouncer who first entered sees Allie and his stature changes, taking on an authoritative stance. His voice bellows, “Get them out of here!”

  The other body in black forces the small group back onto the fire escape, keeping the devastation hidden behind him. The screaming girl is sobbing now, the only one left in the stairwell … other than me. But no one seems to notice me, except for her. She grasps the muscular arm of the bouncer closest to her, pointing … directly at me. But he’s too busy locking the door leading to the fire escape.

  The bouncer in charge lowers his voice and speaks into the cuff of his shirt, “I need the E team to stairwell five. Now.”

  Air moves around me as the door behind me is shoved open again. A different guy dressed in black brushes past me.

  I slip through the opening just as I hear the lead bouncer shout orders at him, “Lock down all entrance points into this stairwell. Don’t let anyone come or—”

  And then the door clicks shut, cutting him off.

  A tall, thinner, but no less intimidating, male moves in front of the closed door with his hands clasped in front of him.

  I turn and take a step into the dark, my senses overwhelmed with the sudden inundation of strobing lights and pounding bass. I stare, unfocused, and release a quivering breath. I can’t feel a thing other than the frantic beat of my heart. Bodies dance seductively along the railing, arms floating in the air, hands gripping hips. I remain paralyzed by the twisting vines of panic around my limbs.

  Hands grip my shoulders. I blink up into bright blue eyes.

  “Lana? Are you okay?” Parker examines my face with concern.

  I cannot find the words to respond to his question. Am I okay? No. I am not. I am so far from being okay that I am nothing.

  He calls to me again, “Lana?”

  I fight to break free from the suffocating restraints holding me mute.

  “Parker?” I utter feebly.

  None of this feels real. I’m stuck in a slow-moving dream.

  “Are you hurt?” he asks when I continue to stand there, staring into his eyes.

  He scans my body, searching for injuries. His inspection comes to a sudden halt. Parker wraps his hands around my wrists and holds them up. A spray of blood glistens along the back of my left hand, and pink hairs are entangled around the fingers of my right. I yank free from his grip, my pulse firing rapidly.

  Parker reaches into his pocket and hands me a pressed handkerchief. I take it from him and frantically scrub at my hands, smearing red stains on the pristine white cloth.

  Raising his right cuff to his mouth, Parker talks into it, “Find my brother. Tell him I need him on the mezzanine. Now.”

  I inspect my trembling hands, turning them over to make sure I’m rid of all the evidence. Parker eases the cloth from my grip, stuffing it into his pants pocket.

  He gently cups my face. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  I’m lost to my hyperventilating breaths, unable to connect with what he’s telling me.

  “Lana?” He forces me to focus on him. “I’ve got this. But you need to leave. Okay?”

  The panic is wrapping around me, tighter and tighter.

  “Don’t say anything to anyone about what happened,” Parker instructs.

  “But I didn’t—” I begin in a rush.

  “Don’t,” he interrupts firmly. “Not a word.”

  He thinks I did it, that I pushed her—just like the screaming girl in the stairwell.

  Parker leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead, murmuring, “I’ll take care of everything.”

  I take a step back, at a loss. He truly believes I’m capable of that?

  “What’s going on?” Joey asks from behind Parker. “Some guy said … ”

  Parker turns to face his brother.

  “Lana?” Joey looks from me to Parker. “Everything okay?”

  “No,” Parker responds, his spine lengthening with his cursed Confidence. “A girl fell down the stairs. The EMTs are taking her to the hospital, but I need you and Lana to leave in case the cops show up.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a car key. “There’s a door on the opposite side, downsta
irs. Go through it. Take the elevator to the first level. Your Jeep will be there along with your phone. I’ll get her friends and meet you”—he hesitates for a moment—“at the golf course. Wait for me.”

  Parker looks to me again, caressing my cheek, “Say nothing.”

  Joey takes hold of my hand. “I’ve got her.”

  Parker looks down at our clasped hands and scowls.

  In the next second, Joey is guiding me along the mezzanine. I look back just as Parker disappears through the black door leading to the stairwell, talking into his cuff.

  Joey navigates us down the stairs and around the perimeter of the crowded dance floor. Bodies brush by in a streak of color and jostling of flesh. I can’t focus on anything other than the hand holding mine and the blue shirt in front of me.

  When we reach the black door concealed in the dark corner, Joey knocks and an unseen hand immediately opens it. It falls closed behind us after we pass through. A tall guy with a blond buzz cut stands behind it silently. He struts over to what looks like a closed garage door and pulls on a strap, revealing a freight elevator. We enter and the door comes crashing down behind us, shutting us off from the booming music and chattering voices.

  Within the quiet box, the inner chaos overtakes me—Vic’s threats, Allie’s fall, the girl’s screaming, Parker’s warning … I collapse against the wall, my unfocused eyes trained on the floor. My mind is whirling. My pulse is thrumming. I clench my shaking fists and concentrate on breathing, trying to free myself of panic’s strong hold.

  “Lana.” Joey’s voice finds me, firm and soothing.

  I lift my head.

  Joey has the elevator control in his hand, his eyes steadied on me. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just holds me in his brilliant blue gaze.

  “Nothing bad’s going to happen to you, I promise.” He sounds so certain, like he has the ability to control our fate. “Do you believe me?”