Bye-Bye, Evil Eye Page 5

  “Dani? Did you hear me?”

  Pushing Costa out of my thoughts, I turn back to Nick and smile as the platter of seafood makes its way around the table. “Yeah, okay. Where do you want to go?”

  “I know a great place not far from here. It’ll be perfect.”

  A night out without a chaperone? My heart bounces in my chest just thinking about it. I glance across the table and see Mrs. P staring at me with a forkful of calamari frozen in mid-air. Her lemon-sucking lips are working overtime and her eyebrows are arched halfway up her forehead. It’s almost like she knows I’m up to something she won’t approve of. Suddenly I feel guilty — although I’m not exactly sure why. Cupping a hand around my mouth, I lower my voice down to a barely audible whisper.

  “But what about, you know … Mrs. P?”

  Nick grins. “Sorry, she’s not invited.”

  I poke him with my elbow. “Be serious.”

  He leans his face close to mine. “Don’t worry. We’ll sneak out after she’s asleep.”

  His voice in my ear sends a trail of tingles up my neck. I shiver and nod eagerly. Really, how can I refuse?

  It’s around midnight when I sneak out of bed and inch into my clothes, so scared that the tiniest sound might rouse Mrs. P and put the kibosh on my big date. Holding my breath, I tiptoe out of our room and pull the door shut behind me without making even a whisper of a noise. Then I go to meet Nick on the front porch of the hotel. He’s carrying a flashlight and there’s a small knapsack slung over his back. All my anxiety disappears when he reaches for my hand.

  “Ready?”

  My stomach swirls with excitement. “Yeah, but where are we going?”

  He grins mysteriously. “You’ll see …”

  We hike up the road for about a mile, holding hands the whole time. I’m grateful he thought to bring the flashlight because the road isn’t lit at all. The further we stray away from the lights of the hotel, the blacker the night becomes. When the road ends, we walk for a few minutes across a dusty dirt path until we reach a dense grove of olive trees. Here, the moon and stars disappear and the night turns even blacker.

  “It’s just a bit further,” Nick says, leading me into the grove.

  Completely dependent on the flashlight now, we carefully make our way through the trees. Fallen twigs scratch at my feet and ankles as we stumble along in the dark. I’m wearing my flimsy leather beach sandals — not exactly the best shoes for a long hike. A thin branch snaps under my foot just as a cool breeze blows over my neck and shoulders. I shudder as my thoughts careen back to that night Costa attacked me on the beach. For a second, I can almost feel his thick licorice-scented breath panting in my ear. Suddenly, my heart seizes up with panic. What are we doing out here in the middle of nowhere? How well do I know Nick anyway? Maybe this midnight date thing wasn’t such a good idea after all. A small part of me wants to run back to the hotel … back to the safety of Mrs. P’s watchful eye. Problem is, I can’t turn back even if I want to. I need Nick and his flashlight. Another breath of wind blows over my neck, sending chills up my spine. Trying to keep calm, I reach out and touch his arm.

  “How much further —”

  Before I can finish my sentence, the trees give way and we’re standing in front of a huge pile of massive marble blocks. I stop in my tracks and look around. The blocks are so stark white, they’re practically glowing in the dark. I tug on Nick’s hand. “What is this place?”

  “Ancient ruins. Aren’t they awesome? This island is littered with sites like this. Sophia told me that these are the remains of a temple dedicated to Demeter — the goddess of bread and nourishment.”

  We walk over to the massive blocks. Whatever doubts I had seem to have stayed behind in the olive grove. When we reach the nearest one, I reach out a hand and run my fingers over its pebbly surface. There are dozens of these giant rocks lying scattered across the ground — some piled on top of each other like a colossal version of a child’s building block tower. Each one is about five feet high and six feet across. In a flash, Nick’s scrambling up the side of the one I’m touching. When he gets to the top, he offers a hand down to help me up. I hesitate. “Are we allowed to do this?”

  He smiles reassuringly. “I don’t see any signs saying not to, do you? Just don’t hurt anything.”

  Don’t hurt anything? These blocks are ten times my size!

  “There aren’t any security cameras around here, are there?”

  Nick lets out a laugh and waggles his hand to hurry me along. “Quit stalling and get up here, Dani. I’m supposed to be the one who’s afraid of heights, remember?”

  “Okay, okay.” Pushing my nerves aside, I let him haul me up beside him. Once we’re both on top, he slides the backpack off his shoulders, unzips the pocket, and pulls something out. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

  “Food?”

  Nick grins. “Yeah, I raided the kitchen so we could have a little snack in honour of good old Demeter. This is baklava — classic Greek dessert.” He hands me a piece and takes one for himself. I pop it into my mouth. It’s crispy and syrupy all at the same time. One bite and the sweet dough crumbles on my tongue. Nick finishes his piece and offers me another. And then another. For the next few minutes, the sound of crunching pastry fills the moonlit ruins of Demeter’s temple.

  As soon as we’re done eating all the dessert, he takes his backpack and arranges it at the head of the block.

  “Your pillow, Karate Kid.”

  I giggle and lie down on the bumpy marble block. “Thanks, Aquaman.” A small pang of guilt pokes at my conscience.

  Why was I nervous? Nick is nothing like Costa.

  I lean my head on the backpack and close my eyes. I feel totally safe with Nick. How could I have doubted him for even a second? “This is nice,” I say as he stretches out beside me and the two of us stare up into the sky. A gasp flies from my lips when I see the stars. Why haven’t I noticed them before? There seem to be thousands more of them than I’ve ever seen back home. And they’re so much brighter. And they twinkle like diamonds — just like in that old nursery rhyme. I don’t know why, but Toronto stars never twinkle like this. Beside me, I hear Nick sigh.

  “I love looking at the sky when I’m on the islands. Away from city lights, you can see the constellations so clearly.”

  Constellations? I nod like I agree with him. But like math, astronomy’s never made much sense to me. To my eyes, the night sky always looks like a confused jumble of tiny white dots.

  Nick extends his right arm out and points upwards. “See that giant W? That’s the constellation of Cassiopeia — she was a queen who was doomed to hang upside down in the sky because she was too vain and proud during her life on earth.”

  My eyes follow the direction of his finger. I have to squint a bit to make out the outline of the W.

  “Hey, I see it!” I can’t hide the excitement in my voice. Except for the Big Dipper, it’s the first shape I’ve ever been able to make out in the stars.

  Then Nick moves his finger down to the left. “Great, now look over there — that’s Orion. He was raised up to the stars because he was the bravest hunter of all time. Can you see the three stars in his belt and his sword hanging down from it? And over there is Hercules, the great Greek warrior — he was like the Superman of the ancient world. Now look just south of Hercules. Do you see a group of stars that looks like a teapot? That’s Asclepius — the god of medicine. He could bring people back from the dead.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, the other gods put Asclepius up in the sky to honour his healing powers.”

  I shake my head in amazement. “That’s incredible. How do you know all of this?”

  He shrugs, and I feel his shoulders brush against mine. My heart knocks against my ribs. Oh no, can he hear that? “I’m Greek,” he replies simply. “I grew up learning about these stories —
they’re part of our history. Just like these old ruins.”

  I nod and run my hands over the bumpy surface of the stone beneath me. I’ve never seen or touched anything so old before. I try to imagine all the people who’ve sat on these rocks over the thousands of years they’ve been lying here. My head fills with drawings of toga-wearing, olive-branch-wreathed ancient Greeks from our Grade 8 history book. Did teenagers from those days ever sneak out in the middle of the night to come stargaze in this spot? Or are we the first? I roll my head to the side so I can sneak a peek at Nick’s profile. He’s already staring at me with those incredible green eyes. I feel like there’s a ping pong ball bouncing around in my stomach. He leans his face towards mine. I close my eyes and let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Our lips meet softly. Holy moly. He’s a good kisser. I put my hands on his shoulders and pull him a bit closer, breathing in the delicious mixture of smells that’s spilling from his skin: coconut sunscreen, sea salt, and sweet baklava. It’s perfect. Just like I knew it would be when I first saw him walk towards me in his bathing suit. Even though I’m lying on a hard slab of marble, I feel like I’m floating on air — stretched out atop the gates of heaven. All those constellations are swirling overhead like one of those paintings by that crazy old artist who cut off his ear for love.

  A noise from behind startles me out of our kiss. I sit up and look around, half expecting to see Mrs. P watching us with a gloating “caught you” look on her face. But it’s just another one of those stray cats. This one’s white with orange spots. It’s purring loudly as it curls up beside us on the ruins.

  By the time we make it back to the hotel, it’s past two o’clock in the morning. Feeling like a criminal, I tiptoe up to the door and turn the key as slowly and carefully as possible, trying to muffle the clicking sound of the lock. I can’t even imagine what kind of trouble I’ll catch if Mrs. P wakes up. Will she go ballistic? Try to ground me? Or worse, put me on a plane and send me back home early? You know what? Whatever happens, tonight’s date with Nick was totally worth it.

  Holding my breath, I slide the key back out of the lock, nudge the door open, and step into the room. What I see there makes my heart freeze.

  Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod …

  Mrs. P is lying in her bed, facing the door, eyes wide open and staring right at me. A small scream rises in my throat, but I’m too petrified to let it out. Instead, I clench my teeth, close my eyes, and try to prepare myself for the inevitable explosion. I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears as I stand there in the dark. A full minute passes, but nothing happens. When I open my eyes and look again, I let out a shuddery sigh of relief. Maybe the late hour made my vision blurry, or maybe the shadows of the darkened room were playing tricks on me. But Mrs. P’s eyes are closed and she’s fast asleep. My racing heart slowly inches back to its normal pace.

  I’m safe.

  Without wasting another second, I pull on my pyjamas and creep into my bed as quietly as humanly possible. I stay up for a long time thinking about Nick. I can’t wait to tell Kat all about what just happened. Tonight’s date was everything I’d hoped for. It was perfect.

  So perfect, in fact, that I completely forgot to ask Nick why he waited so long to ask me out.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning I invite Kat to go for a long walk so I can tell her all about my date with Nick. Costa’s standing outside the waterside café, smoking and leering at us as we leave the resort. He’s giving me that funny pirate look again as he puffs on a smelly cigarette. Ick! How could I ever have thought he was cute? His eyes connect with mine, sending a curl of nausea rolling through my stomach. My thoughts immediately fly back to that night on the beach. I shudder, remembering the feel of his hands on my waist, his face in my hair. God, I hope he’s not planning another one of his slimy Casanova moves.

  Just in case he is, I grab Kat’s arm and hurry off in the other direction. We head away from the resort and far down the beach where it’s safe to speak without anyone overhearing us. The last thing I want is for Nick to know I’m talking about him. Normally I wouldn’t kiss and tell — but last night was so great, I just have to share the details with somebody. I figure Kat will appreciate hearing about it. She lives for those Harlequin novels, after all. And here’s a real-life romantic adventure happening to me.

  I talk for about twenty minutes, doing my best to remember every detail for her. The hike through the olive grove, the glowing ruins, the dessert, the stars … and, of course, the kiss. For some reason, Kat’s unusually quiet after I finish. She definitely isn’t gushing and swooning like I thought she would be. In fact, she isn’t really saying anything at all. Slowing my steps, I turn and look at her. Her head is hanging low and her face is completely masked by a wavy curtain of hair.

  “Kat? What’s wrong?”

  I lean over and try to read her expression. She’s staring at her feet. That’s when the world around us goes dark. I turn and look at the sky. There’s a thick bank of clouds covering up the sun. Didn’t Mrs. P say they didn’t come out ’til winter? I shiver at the sudden loss of warmth.

  “I — I can’t believe you snuck out last night and didn’t tell me,” comes a small voice from behind the hair. Uh-oh. An awful itchiness begins to work its way across my skin. Kat’s feelings are hurt. I don’t need to see her face to get that. I squirm in my flip-flops, feeling guilty for leaving her out of the secret.

  “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But I … I just didn’t want you to have to lie if your mother caught me. What if she found out you knew I was sneaking around with Nick? Then we both would have been in trouble.”

  She doesn’t reply to that. Three slow waves roll in and out while I wait for her to say something. Come on, Kat … look up … smile … tell me it’s okay. But she doesn’t do any of those things. Instead, she just shuffles her toes with her face towards the sand like she’s looking for buried treasure or something. My brain scrambles for a way to make this better. It takes me a while, but by the time the fourth wave rolls up the beach, a thought crosses my mind. An awful, cringe-inducing thought.

  Oh no. Maybe it’s bothering her that I have a boyfriend and she doesn’t.

  I open my mouth, ready to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry, that I haven’t forgotten about her, and that I’m still going to help her find a cute boy to kiss. But that’s when something strange catches my eye. A funny-looking little girl with big blue eyes is walking towards us. She doesn’t look more than eight or nine years old. She’s dressed in rags, her hair is matted and knotted, and her skin is a deep brown — but I can tell from the way it’s clumped around her knees and fingers that it’s been darkened from dirt, not the sun. Although she’s headed in the direction of the hotel, I can guess from her grungy appearance that she isn’t a guest. She looks like something the ocean might have chewed up and spit out — so out of place on this pristine beach that I can’t take my eyes off of her.

  When she’s about three feet away, she notices me staring at her. Raising a dirty finger into the air, she stops dead in her tracks and stares right back. My eyes lock with hers. I don’t know how long she holds me there, imprisoned by that intense gaze. A coating of tiny pinpricks crawls over my skin. I want to move, but my feet feel frozen — like I’m standing in wet cement instead of sand. Her eyes are like water: cold, wet, bottomless. And floating on their surface is my own reflection, staring back at me.

  Finally, Kat takes my wrist and gives it a shake. “Dani? You okay?”

  Thank goodness for Kat, because at the sound of her voice the girl finally breaks her gaze and starts walking again. But I hear her mumbling something in a foreign language as she passes us. It takes a few seconds for my heart to stop racing and my voice to come back.

  “W-why do you think she looked at me like that?” My words are quivering as they come out of my mouth. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

  S
top being a drama queen, Dani. She’s just a strange little kid, I tell myself.

  But I’m not very convincing.

  “I don’t know,” Kat replies, letting go of my wrist. “Maybe she’s not used to seeing tourists on this part of the beach.”

  I rub at my arms, trying to erase the prickly sensation that’s still lingering on my skin. “And what was that she said before she left?”

  Kat shrugs. “I’m not sure. It didn’t sound like Greek to me.” She peers at me closely, like a doctor examining a feverish patient. “You okay? You look kind of pale. Do you want to turn back?”

  I shake my head. My eyes follow the girl’s trail of footsteps down the beach. She’s walking in the direction of our hotel. Another shiver passes over me at the thought of seeing her again. What I really want is to put as much space as possible between us.

  “No, let’s keep going for a bit.”

  Kat doesn’t mention Nick again, so neither do I. But the guilt is still nibbling on my conscience. I promise myself not to sneak out without telling her again. And to get her that first kiss by the end of the summer. That’ll put a smile on her face, I know it. You know it too, right?

  After a few minutes, the sun comes back out from behind those dark clouds. We splash around in the shallow waves for a while before heading back to the resort. I try my best to forget about what happened there on the beach. But for some reason I just can’t. All day long, the image of that strange, raggedy girl keeps coming back to haunt me. And later that night, she visits my sleep and peers into my dreams with her blue, staring eyes.