Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance Read online

  They walked down the hall and Sapphire headed right for Jimmy. Jimmy felt his breath catch in his chest. She was so gorgeous. As beautiful as she was during their visits down by the bridge, she was even more gorgeous in this vision. This is how she had looked when she was alive and young. This is how she had looked with her entire life ahead of her and a world to take by the horns. She passed right through Jimmy, causing him to gasp. He reached down and grabbed his shirt. He could smell her on his clothing.

  Jimmy turned, feeling as if he were floating. He floated directly behind Sapphire. She was still talking to her friend, chatting away excitedly. Jimmy looked around and saw hand-drawn and painted posters up all over the halls promoting the upcoming dance. As Sapphire walked, heads turned to follow her. He could see boys craning their necks to watch her pass. Girlfriends stared at her with jealousy as their boyfriends rubbernecked to see her. Sapphire remained completely oblivious to the chaos she caused just by walking down the hall.

  Sapphire kept walking down the hallway of the lower level of the school. The crowds appeared to part before her. Again, Sapphire had no idea of what she was doing. She finally made a right turn and came to the final bank of lockers before another short staircase and a short hall that would lead to the main lobby. She said goodbye to her friend and turned left. She faced a young man with a shy smile, awkward taste in clothing, glasses, and blond hair.

  It was Jesse.

  He smiled as Sapphire approached. Jimmy recognized that smile. It was the same smile Jimmy had on his face whenever he saw Sapphire. Jesse was hopelessly in love with Sapphire. Whether or not Sapphire realized it was not clear at the moment, but she did walk up to him and give him a kiss on his cheek. Jesse's smile looked like it might split his face in two, and he blushed a deep crimson.

  Just then the image before him began to change. The air became wavy, and then there was absolute blackness for several seconds. Things slowly came back into focus, and suddenly it was dark. Piercing the darkness were lights that emanated from a stage off to Jimmy's left. Jimmy noticed that a stage had been set up at one end of the school gym. All around were circular tables with plastic chairs. A large portion of the middle of the gym was cleared of tables. Upon the stage were several teenagers with instruments, playing some kind of music that Jimmy identified as early rock and roll.

  All around Jimmy were students, most of them coupled-up and dancing. The music was slow at the moment, and many were dancing very close to each other. Circling the students, and keeping a watchful eye were teachers. Jimmy turned on the spot, taking in the decorations and sights. Just then the door to the gym opened, and in walked Jesse and Sapphire.

  Sapphire was wearing the blue dress she always wore whenever Jimmy saw her. She was even more gorgeous in this vision. She practically glowed, and there was nothing supernatural about it this time. It was just her sheer life force projecting through.

  Beside her, significantly shorter than her, was Jesse. He looked dumbfounded, as if unable to believe that he was actually there and Sapphire was actually on his arm. They entered arm in arm, and Sapphire immediately lit up when she saw the gym and spotted a group of her friends. It all looked happy.

  There was one exception: a segment of the gym off to Jimmy's right.

  Jimmy recognized Devlin Little. He looked just like Stan. His hair was in a crew-cut, but he looked almost the same. Devlin and several other large boys were standing in a loose cluster off to the right. They all turned and looked as Sapphire and Jesse entered. A sneer crossed Devlin's face and he turned back to talk to his friends. All around the football players were other pretty girls, probably cheerleaders, but the group were all clustered together, ignoring their dates. Their dates looked bored, but they sat there looking at each other.

  Jimmy watched Sapphire and Jesse head over to a group of kids in one corner. Sapphire put her jacket down and then grabbed Jesse's hand and headed out onto the dance floor. It was so like what she had done with Jimmy on Friday night that Jimmy got chills just watching it. The two of them danced and circled and moved around the dance floor. Jesse looked as if he had died and gone to heaven.

  Just like with Friday night, the two of them danced and danced. All around them the students parted and let them have the floor. The two of them were lost in each other, oblivious to the fact that so many of their fellow students were just watching them dance. Their dance had a strange kind of beauty and elegance. Sapphire was breathtaking, as if she were absorbing the light itself and reflecting everything that was good back towards those watching.

  After what seemed like forever, they finally parted and headed back to their table. Their friends applauded when they approached and Sapphire laughed. Sapphire sat down, and Jesse headed across the gym to get something for them to drink.

  That was when Devlin moved in.

  Watching the young man, with his dark eyes and nearly smooth head, was like watching a shark with legs. He cruised between the dancers and revelers and headed directly for Sapphire. Jesse headed back toward the table as Devlin reached the halfway point. He saw Devlin and his eyes went wide. Jimmy knew the fear. He had felt it and had worn a similar expression on his face many times in the presence of the football players. Flanking Devlin on both sides were more football players.

  Devlin reached the table before Jesse. All of the students surrounding Sapphire gasped and their eyes opened wide in fear. Most of them suddenly found a reason to head elsewhere. Any of the other boys at the table who made attempts to stand up and say something were immediately intimidated by the football posse that surrounded Devlin.

  Jimmy could not hear what Devlin was saying, but the constant sneer on his face was enough to tell him all he needed to know. Stan had said similar words to Jimmy just a couple nights ago. Devlin grabbed Sapphire's arm and tried hauling her to her feet.

  Jimmy almost started forward himself, but he was so busy concentrating on Sapphire, he missed what Jesse was doing. Suddenly a rain of punch splashed into Devlin's face. He was positively dripping with it. Sapphire broke out into hysterical laughter. Devlin whirled on whoever had dared and found himself looking down into the frightened, but determined, face of Jesse.

  Devlin's entire body seemed to quiver with rage, but Jesse did not back down. Words were exchanged. Sapphire was still laughing. However, she had now gotten up out of her chair and was moving toward Devlin and Jesse. Devlin had balled both of his hands into fists. Jesse, instead of backing away, moved forward until his face was directly in Devlin's. The two of them were exchanging words at the same time, talking over each other, spittle flying from both of their lips. Sapphire moved forward, reaching out to grab Devlin's shoulder, and, at that moment, Devlin put both hands on Jesse's shoulders and shoved.

  Jesse went flying backwards as if he were made of straw. He landed on a boy sitting behind him, then stumbled backwards over a chair and landed on a table. The table flew up and Jesse fell to the floor, food and other materials falling on top of him.

  Sapphire screamed.

  Devlin turned to face Sapphire, his face filled with rage.

  Sapphire reared back with her hands and raked her nails across Devlin's face. Devlin opened his mouth and screamed, clutching his face. Blood flowed from between his fingers. Sapphire reached back with her other hand and lashed out, slashing Devlin's hand. Just then Devlin's entourage moved to grab Sapphire. That was when three of the teachers showed up.

  A female teacher grabbed Sapphire by her arms. Sapphire's teeth were bared and she looked like a being of pure fury, wanting to tear Devlin apart. Another teacher reached down and helped Jesse get back to his feet. Another teacher was tending to Devlin. From out of nowhere a fourth teacher, or perhaps the principal, showed up and fended off Devlin's posse.

  Angry words were exchanged. The most passionate was Sapphire. She was arguing desperately against the principal, begging for her and Jesse to stay at the dance. The guy was having none of it. He crossed his arms and then pointed to the door. Cheers went up fro
m some of the other dancers. Up on the stage, the band just kept playing.

  Sapphire spat more words out, her mouth still twisted into an angry sneer, but she grabbed her purse and sweater, then took Jesse's arm. Jesse looked embarrassed and more than a little scared.

  Devlin, meanwhile, stood off to one side, still clutching his face. Blood was all over the front of his suit and his hands were stained with it, but no fresh blood was pouring out from between his fingers. He was shaking his head, trying his best to look like the wounded victim whenever the teacher was facing him, but glaring with unadulterated hatred at Sapphire and Jesse whenever the teacher was distracted.

  Eventually, all parties were escorted from the area. Devlin was led out of the gym, and, Jimmy guessed, to the nurse's station for bandaging. Jesse and Sapphire were guided to the door. Sapphire did not stop her diatribe against the injustice she felt she was being forced to endure, but then they reached the door, and her voice faded as it closed behind them.

  Just then, the world warped and turned black.

  Jimmy sat up in his bed. His heart was pounding. He was breathing hard. The static in his head was still there, buzzing away at the back of his thoughts. He did not say or think anything, but he knew that Sapphire was there and that the memory of that night had come flooding back to her, and now it had been shared with him.

  Devlin.

  Jesse.

  An obvious confrontation that had very closely matched the one Sapphire and Jimmy had had with Stan at the dance. Perhaps the fact that Stan was the age he was and at the dance had contributed to Sapphire's ability to appear that night. Exactly what the connection was between Jesse and Jimmy, he had no idea. Other than the fact that both Jimmy and Jesse were social outcasts who, apparently, the football players felt were unworthy of Sapphire, there was nothing else to connect them.

  Jimmy could imagine what had happened later. Devlin would not have been able to stand Jesse getting the upper hand over him. As soon as he was bandaged, he would have met up with his posse and gone after Jesse and Sapphire.

  What did not make sense, however, was the timing. Surely it would take time for Devlin's wounds to be cleaned. He would have had to convince the nurse or teacher that he did not need stitches and that he could be let go on his own. Why had Sapphire and Jesse not made it home by then? Why had they ended up at that bridge?

  Whatever the reason, Jimmy guessed that they had only made it that far. Perhaps Jesse's car had broken down or gotten a flat. They must have been terrified when Devlin's car rounded the corner. What had happened then?

  Another confrontation, of course. With Devlin trying to finish what he had started at the dance. Had Sapphire resisted? Probably. Given her fiery temper against the teachers, she had probably fought whatever advances he had made. Jesse would have been immobilized by the other football players, and probably watched in horror as Devlin struck out against Sapphire, perhaps sending her over the bridge.

  What had happened to her body? Jimmy wondered that for the first time. Were her bones still beneath that bridge? She seemed trapped there.

  And had Devlin held Jesse hostage all of these years? Always threatening him with harm if he told anyone? Over time, that fear would have changed from fear of harm to fear of being prosecuted for not reporting the crime all of those years ago. All of those years living with that fear—it must have been like a stone in Jesse's gut.

  Jimmy felt sorry for Sapphire and Jesse. He knew exactly what it was like to be an outcast. To just want to have one night where everything went right and to have that one moment of magic to carry with you on the other nights when the world seemed dead set against you.

  Jimmy sat up in bed and looked around the room. Already the soft light of dawn was filtering through the windows. It was morning, but early. Jimmy thought about putting his head back down and going back to sleep, but he felt that he had dreamed just about enough for the night. He decided it was time to head downstairs and see what he could scrounge up for breakfast.

  The buzzing in his head had now faded to the point that he could not hear it any longer. Did ghosts sleep? Did they just kind of go into a stasis? Jimmy had no idea, but he wasn't about to ask Sapphire. She had had enough questions thrown at her at once.

  Jimmy swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His legs popped, and then his back. He realized just how sore he was. The frantic bicycle riding, the fights, and everything he had been through over the last several days were taking a toll on him. He was not in particularly bad shape, but he also didn’t really spend a lot of time working out. His muscles were protesting.

  He moved slowly around the foot of the bed and padded barefoot down the stairs and into the living room. The house was dark and silent. Tabitha's laptop had been placed haphazardly on the coffee table, and various papers and research were scattered around it. She had obviously been up late into the night. A cup with a withered tea bag sat near the laptop. Jimmy grabbed that and headed into the kitchen.

  Jimmy rinsed out the mug and then began searching the cupboards. He finally came across a box of cereal that he felt he could eat, and went to the fridge to get the milk. After another few moments of searching, he also found the bowl and the spoon. He had just poured the cereal and the milk and was sitting down at the kitchen table to eat when Warren appeared and just about scared him to death.

  "Sorry," Warren said, and smiled when he saw how Jimmy had jumped. "I get up pretty early these days. It usually happens when I'm working on a book."

  Jimmy caught his breath and ate a big mouthful of cereal. "What are you working on?"

  Warren grabbed a mug and made himself some tea and sat down across from Jimmy. "Well, it's about a plane crash in Indiana. It was blown up back in the thirties, the first attack of its kind against a commercial airliner. It's the first time I've written one of these books without living in and around the place where it happened. I'm working through research and FBI files I got about the thing. It's fascinating."

  "You like this stuff, huh?"

  Warren shrugged. "I like telling stories, and the stories I’m drawn to tend to have very dark aspects."

  Jimmy nodded and ate. Warren sat there and sipped quietly. Jimmy respected a guy who could appreciate silence. Warren didn’t feel the need to fill the space with idle chatter.

  "So what do you think about this whole thing?"

  Warren took another sip. "I think you guys are just scratching the surface. I think that this entire area has some very dark secrets, and you guys have stumbled across one of those."

  "Are we in trouble?"

  "There's always a risk when you start digging around,” Warren warned. “When I started looking for another thing to write about, I looked around here and found a few tantalizing leads. Then I came across the crash in Indiana, and decided that was the better story for my own mental health. The last time I ventured into a story around here, I nearly ended up dead."

  Jimmy nearly choked on his cereal. "The Boogeyman story?"

  Warren nodded. "Yes. That's when I found out that ghosts and demons and evil are all very, very real. And that in some places, like here in Knorr, they can punch right on through from the other side and into our world. And how there are things on the other side that are far more dangerous than anything we have here. And now, thanks to you and Sapphire, I know that the road works both ways. You can punch back through into the other dimension."

  "I've found that things right here in this dimension can be plenty dangerous," Jimmy said, finishing off his bowl of cereal.

  Warren agreed. "That's very true. I’ve written enough books about how dangerous we can be to each other. So do you think she was murdered?"

  "Yes,” Jimmy said. “I had a very vivid dream last night about Sapphire and the night of that dance. It was eerily like what happened with her and me at the dance just this past Friday. Devlin Little wanted her and he didn't like her being with Jesse, and there was a confrontation. They left the dance and Devlin was hurt, and somethin
g happened after that. I think Devlin Little and his friends found them, maybe broken down beside the road, and they killed her."

  Warren thought about that and then nodded. "Could be, Jimmy. But there are still a lot of holes to fill."

  "I know, but I just can't help but wonder if Devlin has been holding Jesse in fear all of these years. I worry about just how much power he has."

  "You have every right to worry," Warren said. "However, Tabitha and I don't think that anyone is untouchable. If he did it, then we'll help you get him. We'll find justice for Sapphire."

  "I know," Jimmy said. "I just worry what happens then. If Sapphire gets justice, does she cross over forever? Do I help her and, in doing so, lose her?"

  "It's possible, but I think once someone touches your heart, you never really lose them. There's a connection between you two that's so strong it crosses decades of time and the infinity of death itself. So I think that even heaven couldn't keep you two apart."

  Jimmy smiled. He liked the way Warren had a way with words and could make him feel better.

  "So are you visiting the school this morning?" Warren asked.

  "Once Tabitha wakes up, yes."

  Warren laughed. "She was up late last night. She can be notoriously bad at getting up in the morning. She is not a morning person. You may want to head up and knock on her door."

  Jimmy looked dubious.

  "Don't look at me," Warren said with a laugh. "I now know better."

  With that, he winked and stood up. He poured more hot water from a kettle on the stove over the bag of tea in his mug.

  "You're a guest, so maybe she won't actually bite your head off," Warren said. "Just be careful. Both of you."

  He vanished into his office.

  Jimmy sat there for a moment, mulling things over. He looked at the clock. It was still very early. He decided he would wait another half an hour and then go knock.