Coldhearted (9781311888433) (26 page)

Mason squared his shoulders and clenched his
jaw. He stood up with fists balled in anger. “Get out of him,
Tristan, and stay the hell away from my girlfriend.” He added a few
extra curses and threats for emphasis.

“
All right,” Russell/Tristan
said, looking defeated, which Edie knew to be a farce.

“
Really?” Mason asked,
thinking he’d won, and resumed his seat.

Russell/Tristan nodded. “Really,” he
confirmed, but then his lips began to spread wider and wider into a
grin, until he broke into a fit of laughter, throwing his head
back. “Oh, I couldn’t keep a straight face! Ha-ha!” He wiped his
tears of psychotic joy away, and then shook his head. “No, I’m not
going to stay away from Edie, Mason, but I will vacate Rusty’s
body.”

“
How-how can you do that?”
Edie asked. “I mean, why Russell, and not someone else?”

Russell/Tristan raised an eyebrow. “You mean
why won’t I possess Mason?” He gestured at him. “Well, for one,
he’s a boy, so all his bits are underdeveloped.”

“
They are not,” Mason
countered with a growl. “I’m seventeen.”

Russell/Tristan chuckled. “My, my,
you’re…testy.” He turned toward Edie and tugged on an unseen mask
on Russell’s face. “He’s easy to control,” he divulged.

“
How?” Edie asked,
curious.

“
Un-uh.” He wagged his
finger at her. “I’m not telling.”

“
All right, I’ve had
enough,” Mason said loudly but kept his seat. “If you don’t leave
right now...” He left the threat hanging in the air.

Russell/Tristan wasn’t afraid. He lifted up
his arm, and then rested it on the back of the bench. His hand was
inches away from Edie’s neck, and he began drumming his fingers
against the leather.

“
Or you’ll what?”

Mason didn’t move, defeated.

Russell/Tristan halted his rhythmic motion
but kept his hand near Edie. “That’s right, little boy, you can’t
do anything. Rusty’s the puppet and I’m the puppeteer. Make me mad
and I’ll be forced to send him through the chipper.” Unlike Mason,
he was very explicit in his threat.

Mason was scared, but he tried not to let it
show. “You wouldn’t do that. You wouldn’t have any more puppets to
string along.”

Russell/Tristan smiled maniacally. “Oh, there
are always puppets, Mason.”

“
Please leave,” Edie begged,
trying a different tactic. She grasped Russell’s cold, possessed
hand. “Please, Tristan, please.”

He squeezed her hand, not-so-gently, and then
said, “Well, since you asked so nicely.”

The man beside Edie blinked and the shadow
disappeared from his face. Russell was back. He looked down at
their joined hands. It took him awhile, but he eventually removed
his hand from Edie’s. She was surprised at how long she’d held on,
but didn’t have time to wonder what it meant.

“
Uh, what’s going on?” He
looked up at Mason, and then at the crowded restaurant. “Is my
order ready?”

Mason leaned forward. “Mr. B? Are you all
right? I mean, do you feel like yourself?”

Russell furrowed his brow. “Who else would I
be?”

Mason gave Edie a look that said, “Should we
tell him that he’s being possessed by a poltergeist?” Edie deftly
shook her head. No. Not now and maybe not ever if she managed to
get rid of Tristan, once and for all. Edie’s plan hinged on the
Grimsby Sanatorium with Jules and her ghost hunters this Saturday.
If everything worked out, and she got the answers that she needed,
she’d be on her way to detaching Tristan Lockhart from her life,
forever. If it didn’t work out…well, she’d have a ghost and no
boyfriend because she was sure that Mason would break up with her
for lying to him.

Tristan will end up being right: girls are
conniving bitches.

Rebecca came with Edie and Mason’s orders.
When she saw Russell, she said, “Oh, yours is almost ready.”

“
Big plans?” Mason asked
Russell, after Rebecca had left.

“
Huh?” Russell asked, still
confused. He’d slid further away from Edie but hadn’t left the
table.

“
The carry-out,” Mason
prompted. “Eating alone tonight or is it for two?”

Russell scratched his head. “Uh, it’s just
for me.”

“
But you ordered a lot,”
Edie said. “I mean, that’s what you said…earlier.”

Russell blinked and Edie thought that Tristan
was returning, but she was wrong. His face was light and pure and
confused. “Yeah, I divide it up, you know, for leftovers, later on
in the week.”

Mason nodded. “Sensible,” he agreed. “So…uh,
it was nice seeing you, Mr. B. Keep calm and carry on.”

Russell furrowed his brow. “Huh?”

Edie tugged on Russell’s T-shirt and
immediately regretted it. So she grabbed her knife and fork, and
began cutting up her petite steak. It didn’t take long, and she was
done before Russell spoke up again.

“
Oh, yeah,” Russell said,
noticing what was written on his T-shirt. He shook his head.
“Sorry, guys, but I’m just so confused right now. You probably
think I’m on drugs or something.”

“
Or something,” Mason
muttered, and then took a bite of his burger.

“
Here you go.” Rebecca was
smiling as she approached with Russell’s carry-out, and then
promptly left to attend to the next table.

Russell stood and gathered up the heavy bag
of food. “Well, uh, you two have fun.” He smiled warmly at Edie.
“See you in class, Edie.”

They waved goodbye. She watched him walk
away, almost stumbling once, still slightly discombobulated from
being possessed by a cold ghost, and then he was gone.

“
He likes you.”

Edie turned back toward Mason who’d stopped
eating, obviously distressed. “No, he doesn’t. Wait, who do you
mean: Russell or Tristan?”

Mason caught her mistake. “Russell,” he
repeated in a tone.

Edie swallowed, nervous, and then said, “He
asked me to call him that, and I’ve just gotten into the habit of
it.”

His eyes narrowed. “What else have you gotten
into the habit of?” he accused.

He was talking about the kiss and insinuating
it was still going on. Edie decided to fess up and set the record
straight. “When he was at my house and we were talking, I thought
everything going on with me was due to me being insane. I was
afraid of it getting out. I told Russ—Mr. B not to say a word.
Before he could even agree or disagree, I gave him a quick kiss…on
his lips. I don’t know why I did it. In the moment, I felt like it
was the right thing to do. That if I kissed him, he wouldn’t tell
on me. It was a nothing kiss, really. Our lips barely touched. And
we’ve never kissed since.” She hadn’t been looking up at him, but
now she did. She couldn’t read his expression. “Do you want to
break up with me?” Even though she didn’t love him, she couldn’t
bear the thought of being without him.

Maybe that’s the very definition of love and
I’m too stupid to realize it.

Mason didn’t immediately answer her. Instead
he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair, and then sighed
again. Finally, he reached across the table, motioning for Edie to
join him. She did, bringing her hand to his, and they clasped.

“
No, I don’t want to break
up with you. I don’t like that you did it, but you were going
through a lot when you came here. You still are. I just…I don’t
want Mr. B taking advantage of you.”

Edie shook her head. “He’s not. You should’ve
seen his face when I kissed him. He said coming to my house had
been a mistake, and we’d only talk at school, for everyone to see.
He doesn’t like me, Mason. Not in that way.”

Mason brought Edie’s hand to his mouth and
kissed it. “But how is he being possessed? Why haven’t I been
possessed? Not that I want to, but…what’s Tristan’s game? What does
he want?”

Edie opened her mouth to speak, but then
closed it, as she felt a cold, flat hand pressing against her
chest, over her heart. Tristan took his fingers and traced the
outline of a symbolic heart with an arrow going through it.

He wants to kill
me
.

Instead of voicing this certainty to Mason,
she just shrugged in response to his earlier question, and
suggested that they finish their meal.

“
You look cold,” he said,
instead of agreeing to eat.

She forced a smile. “I’m always cold.”

“
Is he here?”

Her smile faded. “He’s always here.” She
brought back her smile. “Don’t worry about him. Let’s eat,” she
suggested again.

They did, but neither of them enjoyed their
meal, leaving food still on the plate. After Edie was done, she
applied lip balm, really more to soothe her than for dryness, using
the time to mentally fume over why Tristan had to go and screw
everything up.

Oh, yeah, he’s a
poltergeist
.

Right on cue, everyone in the restaurant
started screaming. Some were knocking their plates off the tables.
Some were running out of the restaurant. Others were swatting at
their bodies, as if they were being attacked by tiny creatures.

“
Oh, God,” Mason said
loudly, and took Edie roughly by the arm. “They’re
everywhere.”

“
What?” she asked, confused,
and jerked out of his grasp.

“
You don’t see it?” He
gestured wildly at their half-eaten plates.

“
What?” she
repeated.

“
Bugs!” he yelled, as if she
were hard of hearing.

She was still confused. She didn’t see one
bug. Yet…everyone else was screaming. And Mason was terrified. He’d
reclaimed her arm and was now tugging at it, frantic.

“
I don’t see them,” she
said, and managed to break free of him, again. She heard a chuckle
in her ear, cold and calculating. “It’s Tristan,” she told Mason.
“He’s just playing tricks. There are no bugs!”

Edie kept on arguing with Mason, but then she
was cut off when a woman came running past her, screaming, and
knocked right into Edie. She fell backward and hit her head against
a hard, wooden pillar.

Mason rushed toward her. “Edie!” He felt her
head, found no blood, and then lifted her off the floor. “Edie, are
you all right?”

“
I’m dizzy,” she said,
blinking.

“
Here, sit down,” he said,
positioning her back at their booth. “You wait here. I’m going to
get everyone out safely.”

“
But-but there are no bugs,”
she reminded him.

He ignored her and took his arm, swiping
their plates off the table and on the floor. Finally, he turned
toward Edie, and said, “Tell that to everyone screaming their heads
off.”

Mason immediately left Edie. He started
gathering people up off the floor, and then escorted them outside.
Once in the cool nighttime air, the patrons stopped panicking, and
seemed to gain mental clarity, as they made the journey to their
cars, and drove safely away. Through the crowd, Edie noticed
Russell. He said something to Mason, and then came inside the
restaurant. He looked around in horror before finding her, seated
and calm.

“
Edie!” He crouched at her
feet. “What happened?”

“
What’re you doing
here?”

He hesitated, and then said, “I couldn’t find
my wallet and thought I might have left it here.”

Edie looked around, saw the black leather
billfold on the floor, and bent to pick it up. Russell noticed and
bent at the same time, retrieving it before she did. Their heads
collided.

“
Ow,” she groaned, and then
winced, already wounded from her earlier collision with the wooden
pillar.

Russell grimaced, rubbed his head, and then
tossed his wallet aside. “Edie, are you okay?” His hand was
searching her head, until he put pressure on her first wound. She
cursed. “Sorry,” he apologized. “There’s a knot. What
happened?”

“
Some woman went crazy and
knocked me over.” Russell was massaging her wound. She was getting
sleepy.

“
It seems everyone went
crazy, except you. Mason’s freaked but he’s helping people outside.
What happened here?”

“
Tristan tricked everyone
into thinking bugs were in their food.”

“
Who’s Tristan?”

Edie was about to say, “My ghost,” but became
speechless when she felt cold fingers massaging her wound. Her eyes
had been at half mast, but now they opened wide. Russell was
grinning at her.

She found her voice. “Tristan,” she growled,
and slapped his hand away. “I thought you were going to leave
Russell alone.”

Russell/Tristan’s face darkened. “Now why
would I do that?”

“
What will it take for you
to leave him alone?”

Russell/Tristan thought on that question, and
then replied, “A kiss.”

“
Here?” she asked,
worried.

Russell/Tristan grinned again. “Well, well,
Edie, that’s interesting. You didn’t refuse to kiss me. You were
just worried about being seen.”

She bit her lip, mad at herself, and then
asked, “Why should I trust you? If I kiss you, you’ll just demand
more. And why do you want to kiss me anyway? You want me dead.”

Russell/Tristan looked confused. “Dead? I
don’t want you dead.”

“
Then why’d you tattoo that
morbid design over my heart?”

His eyebrow shot up. “You really are dense
sometimes, Edie.” He stood up. “Now kiss me and not only will I
leave Rusty—for good—but I’ll also undo all of this,”—he gestured
at the somewhat subdued chaos inside the restaurant—“and make it as
if it’d never happened.”