"Wow! What did you do to deserve that?"
"Hmph. You shouldn't be worrying about that. You should focus on yourself," Dax said, snorting. Irene was about to ask him more questions when there was a soft knock on her door, and Ashley entered her room.
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't oversleep," Ashley said, then spotted Dax on Irene's bed. She picked him up, cradling him and kissing his head.
Dax looked very displeased by her actions. "That's my little kitty. Are you taking care of Irene, Dax?"
Dax, of course, didn't answer, while Irene couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. "You two seem to be getting along pretty well, huh?" Ashley asked, looking at Irene.
"He likes me, but it's a one-sided relationship. I've tried keeping my door closed, but he keeps finding a way in. It's annoying," Irene said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, as if daring Dax to talk back.
"Huh. Weird. Though him being in your room didn't bother you before. I guess things will change."
"How was your date? With the—" Irene trailed off when Ashley cut her off.
"Dentist? Oh, so good. He's so great! The restaurant he took me to was just incredible," Ashley said, going on for a while about the date, raving about the restaurant and the conversation. "I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this feels like it has the potential to be something serious, you know?"
"Sure. That's great. But I should probably get ready for school."
Ashley nodded as she turned to leave, while Dax climbed over Ashley's shoulder and hissed in Irene's ear. "Hmph! I don't like you either. And yes, remember the party."
"Yeah, I know," Irene grumbled, glaring at the black cat.
"Huh? Did you say something, sweetheart?" Ashley asked, glancing back at Irene.
"Nope. I just sneezed, that's all," Irene said, and Ashley nodded, leaving the room with Dax.
Irene managed to make it to school on time and was putting her books away in her locker when she noticed Amelia. "Amelia," she called out.
Amelia looked up, saw her, then gathered her books and hurried away.
Irene frowned as she watched her friend run away. She suddenly jumped when someone touched her arm.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Irene turned around to face Roman. "Psh. I woke up last week with my memory completely wiped out. It's going to take more than a hand on my shoulder to really scare me."
Roman chuckled at her words and nodded. "Hey, I was wondering—would you want to go see a movie tonight?"
"What movie?"
"There's this new horror movie I wanted to see. Midnight Moon. It's about werewolves or something. It's supposed to be terrifying. Do you like horror movies?" Roman asked.
"No, they're not my favorite," Irene answered.
"Me neither. I was kind of just looking for an excuse for us to get together."
"Oh, I see. In that case, yes," Irene answered, thinking about watching a movie to get her mind off the weird things that had been happening to her while Roman's face brightened at her words.
"Great. It's settled then. I'll pick you up at your place around six p.m. Chem next, right? Can I walk you to class?"
Irene nodded. "Sure."
Irene couldn't help how she felt, but she found Roman cute! She loved how his face brightened at the sight of her, and whenever he had his full attention on her, she felt butterflies swimming in her tummy.
But does she have the luxury of falling for him when she doesn't know about her past and a faceless ghost is out to get her? Irene mused as she walked side by side with Roman to chemistry class.
*****
Irene, who had been hoping to see Amelia and have a conversation with her, frowned throughout chemistry class when Amelia didn't show up. She was walking around the school hallway when she came across Tristan, and she decided to ask about Amelia.
"Have you talked to Amelia at all today?"
"No, why?" Tristan said, raising his brows.
"She ran away from me in the hallway and skipped chemistry class… I think she's avoiding me," Irene said with a frown.
"Why would she be avoiding you? Also, are you okay? You look like you might have had a rough night," Tristan said, and Irene took a deep breath as she fixed him with a serious gaze.
"There's something I need to tell you," Irene said and went on to explain what happened after she visited Doctor Martinez—how she found herself at Blackwood Cemetery and Amelia showed up there. "And then—" Irene paused.
"And then what?" Tristan asked inquisitively.
"You're going to think I'm crazy, Tristan! But I swear this happened," Irene said as she told Tristan about the attack by the spirit.
Tristan listened intently, and though he looked surprised, he seemed to believe Irene.
"That had to be the Black Queen, don't you think?" he commented.
"I guess. I don't know what else it could be."
"And Amelia sounded like she had talked to the spirit before this?" Tristan asked, and Irene nodded.
"She sounded like she understood very clearly what was happening."
"That's just not like Amelia," Tristan said, his brows furrowed. "How did you escape?"
"It's the craziest thing. This guy our age showed up on a motorcycle, and---"
"Rick?" Tristan cut in, while Irene widened her eyes in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"Not many guys our age ride motorcycles. Well, that's just great! You've gotten yourself involved with Rick now. And let me guess, he didn't want to help out Amelia?" Tristan said.
Irene nodded. "No, he didn't."
"See? That's the type of guy you're getting involved with if you hang out with Rick! He only pursues his own interests. No wonder Amelia ran away from you. You abandoned her at the cemetery because Rick swept you away on his motorcycle," Tristan said, scowling at Irene.
"That's not fair! I didn't exactly have a choice," Irene said with a pout.
Tristan snorted. "That seems to be a common excuse for people who get involved with Rick."
"Okay, I'm sorry. It was all terrifying. But I really need to know what was going on with Amelia. She must know something!"
"We'll talk to her later, don't worry. I'm sure she has a good explanation for this," Tristan said, and Irene nodded at him.
"I've had this feeling for a while that if we're going to get to the bottom of all this, I need to start asking about the party specifically. Never mind what led up to it. Who was I meeting? Where was it? Who was there?"
"Well, I don't know… You didn't tell me," Tristan said, and something in his tone told Irene he was not telling the whole story.
"Tristan," she called out, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Okay, don't get mad at me! I followed you that night because I was worried about you. You said you knew who had murdered your parents. Can you blame me?"
"I guess I can't hold it against you. I just wish you would be more honest with me. Tell me everything you know, please."
Tristan sighed. "It was a private party downtown; Ava was throwing it."
"Ava! That rude girl from the café?" Irene asked, and when Tristan nodded, she frowned. "What does she have to do with anything?"
Tristan took a deep breath as he answered, "Well… You and I have been friends since we were kids, but Ava was your first best friend."
"What? Why was she such a jerk to me in the café, then?"
Tristan shrugged. "I mean, you aren't friends anymore. There's a reason for that."
"What reason, Tristan?"
"I don't know the reason, to be honest. You guys just hate each other! But quietly. I'm guessing when she heard you lost your memory, she decided to take advantage of it and just be mean."
"And what about you?" Irene asked, making Tristan look at her confusedly.
"What about me?" he repeated.
"Is there anything about our relationship that you're lying to me about?" she asked, looking curiously at him.
"I won't lie to you. If you want to know something, ask me. I'll be honest. I know you don't have any proof of it, but I'm on your side. Always have been and always will be," Tristan said. His voice was confident, and he gazed at Irene with an intense emotion she couldn't put her finger on.
Irene smiled at him, then sighed. "I don't know if I'll get the same promise from Amelia."
"This is all really weird, Irene. Give her some time to figure things out."
"And Roman? What about him?"
"What about him? He's just some popular guy who—whatever! I don't know Roman, and I don't know why you want to." Tristan said with a scowl, then rose, grabbing his backpack and walking away from Irene.