Four Walls (Book One) ✔️

Chapter Eight

I get into the backseat of Keaton's sedan, while Ada climbs in the front and smashes her lips against his. Keaton wraps his arms around her neck and embraces her. When they break apart, they look at each other with so much adoration in their eyes that I feel an unpleasant combination of nausea and intrusiveness.

It's been almost two months of The Keaton and Ada Show. They can't get enough of each other.

And I'm getting sick of them both.

Damian keeps asking why I always tag along for their hangouts, and I always tell him the same thing: because they keep inviting me.

I think Ada is afraid of what might happen if she leaves me alone. We never talk about Hank, but I'm smart enough to know when people are worried about me, and Ada is definitely concerned. I want to reassure her that I'll be okay, that she's allowed to spend quality time with her boyfriend, except I have this nagging fear that if I do, we'll drift apart and stop hanging out altogether.

"Comfy back there?" Keaton asks me as he puts the car in drive and zooms out of Ada's driveway.

"Yes," I reply, folding my hands in my lap.

"Okay." He doesn't talk after that, at least not to me. He and Ada communicate with each other in murmurs too quiet for me to hear.

We pull into the cemetery parking lot and get out of the car. Ada is going to attempt to talk to—not summon, not act as a vessel for, but talk to—a ghost. She and Keaton have been doing this a lot lately. Supposedly, she's spoken to a woman named Margret who died during the Civil War, a man named Chris who was killed in a car accident, and a man who wouldn't reveal his name but admitted to hanging himself in the church across the street. Ada had me look into it, and sure enough, there was a man who committed suicide in that church thirteen years ago.

"Hey, I hope you guys don't mind, but I invited a few friends to come along," Keaton tells us as we climb the hill and begin to examine the headstones.

"Not a problem, babe," Ada replies, snuggling into his side.

A pair of headlights appear, and two guys get out of the car. One is wearing a beanie and a black hoodie. The other is skinny with pale blonde hair.

As they approach us, I think about how badly I need a cell phone. If I ever needed to call Damian for a quick rescue, I'd need to ask to borrow one of theirs.

"Hey," Beanie Boy greets us. He looks Ada up and down and smiles. "You must be Keaton's new girl."

"Sure am." She holds out her hand. There's a confidence about her that I've never seen before. "I'm Ada."

"Grant," he responds. "This"—he nods toward the other boy—"is Thayden."

"This my best friend, Layla," Ada introduces me.

"Hello, Layla." The way Grant says my name makes me cringe. "Do you go to Starkton High?"

I nod my head and muster a smile.

"Nice. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around."

"She kind of keeps to herself," Ada tells him.

"Plus, she's only a freshman. You're a senior," Keaton adds. There's a warning in his voice that only I seem to hear.

"Well, I'm ready to see this ghost-hunting thing," Thayden says.

"Eh, I'm all set." Grant turns to me. "Layla, want to take a walk?"

I shove my hands in my pockets and pretend to ignore Grant's lascivious stare.

"Actually, she should stay with me," Ada says, hooking her arm through mine. "Trying to contact the spirit world requires a certain amount of energy. Layla's usually my righthand gal."

"You have Keaton and Thayden to help you," Grant replies with a blatant eye-roll. "Layla, you up for a midnight stroll?"

My brain screams no, but my head moves up and down. My feet follow him away from the group, away from safety in numbers. My fingers close around his as he forces his hand in mine.

Once we're far enough away from everyone, he turns to me and asks, "So what do you do for fun, Layla?"

"Read, mostly," I respond. Maybe I'll bore him. Maybe he'll find me so uninteresting that he'll let me go back to Ada.

"Cool. What do you like to read?"

"Pretty much anything I can get my hands on."

"You must be pretty smart."

"That's what people keep telling me."

He looks down at me, a smirk on his face. "You're too pretty to be a nerd, you know."

I force a laugh. I don't find him funny; I find him creepy. I'm just afraid that if I don't play along, he'll become aggressive, and I have enough aggressive men in my life.

We stop in front of a stone-laden tomb. He removes his hand from mine and pushes my hair behind my ears. I look away, my heart racing with something I can only assume is fear.

"Are you nervous?" he whispers.

"No."

"You don't need to be nervous. Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

Again, I say, "No."

"I'll walk you through it." He grabs my wrist and pulls my hand toward the front of his pants. "Just keep your hand there, okay?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not interested." I step back, wrapping my arms around myself.

The expression on his face reminds me of Hank. He looks angry. Really angry.

I realize that to him, "no" is not an acceptable answer. He's accustomed to getting what he wants, even if he has to make it happen.

Even if he has to use force.

"Why the hell did you even come with me if you weren't up for this?" he demands. "Why hold my hand and be a tease?"

"I... I didn't know what you wanted."

"I think I made it obvious."

I try to steady my trembling hands. "I'm not very experienced. I'm sorry."

In the distance, Ada screams. I push past Grant, who is still waiting for an explanation as to why I cruelly led him on, and race toward my friend.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Grant calls after me. I ignore him and keep running.

My best friend needs me.

A/N:
What do you think happened to Ada? 👀