The Seven Kings of Jinn

Charlie finally showed at her party, already drunk, eyes vacant as he nodded a hello at her and wandered off to find a beer and talk to Brady Richards. Brady used to hang out with Charlie when he was going through his guitar phase when he was fifteen. She’d wanted to go to him, to ask him if he was alright, to be there for him as he grieved for his little brother on the second year anniversary of his death. But one minute he was there and the next he was gone. Now Ari couldn’t see him anywhere in the crowds downstairs. The house was full to bursting with the senior class, more juniors than she remembered inviting, and she suspected even a couple of sophomores. Music blared loudly out of her dad’s sound system in the living room, fighting with the TV and PlayStation to be heard as Nick and A.J. turned it up.

Having left Rachel in the kitchen with Staci, Ari did something that had niggled at her all afternoon during lunch. She’d thought she’d have time after the celebratory dinner at Nellie’s but she’d had to pick her car up from the garage and Rache and Staci had brought their outfits for the party with them and had insisted on going directly back to Ari’s to change and set up for the party. They had done a good job, lots of food, drink, sparkly decorations everywhere. Rache had piled up the birthday presents on the kitchen table and had taken over being hostess. Ari didn’t care. Her mind was upstairs in her dad’s room, where maybe a hidden photograph or possession of her mother’s could be found. Checking over her shoulder to make sure she had well and truly escaped Rache, Ari hurried into the hall, smiled at a junior she barely knew, and skipped up the stairs. She passed a couple of people, but everyone had been pretty good when Rache had announced the upstairs was off limits and anyone caught up there would be tried, judged, and punished. There was no one there, and as she shot a quick glance into her room, she was glad to see it was empty. Desperate now to start her search, to assuage this inexplicable need that had come out of nowhere, Ari picked up the pace.

She strode into her dad’s room with determination only to stall at the threshold.

She backed out quickly before the couple realized they’d been caught. Her feet somehow carried her to her room, even though it was like wading through thick tar, and she collapsed on the edge of her bed, her heart racing as the image of what she’d seen kept rolling across her vision.

She’d caught Charlie making out with a girl plenty of times.

That was the first time she’d caught him having sex with another girl… and in her father’s bed just to put a cherry on top of that shitty cake.

Ari wanted to throw up.

She made a harsh, choking noise.

The box of tissues on her bedside table slid toward her, and Ari shook her head. “Thanks Ms. Maggie,” she whispered. “But I will not cry over him. I won’t.” Even though it felt as if someone had punched a hole in her chest, reached inside, and raked their claws along her insides in malicious torture.

“Please tell me you are not talking to that poltergeist again.” Rachel grinned from her doorway.

“Her name’s Ms. Maggie.”

The smile dropped from Rachel’s face as she stepped into the room, glancing warily around. “Okay, I thought you guys were really kidding. If you’re serious that there’s a poltergeist living here, I may never come over to your house again.” She shuddered, jerking her head over her shoulder as if she had felt something behind her.

Ari would have laughed if she’d had it in her. “Ms. Maggie won’t hurt you.”

Rachel paled. “Seriously, Ari, it freaks me out. Stop?”

Taking pity on her friend, Ari nodded. “Sorry.”

They were quiet for a moment, each assessing the other. Finally, Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know what’s happened between ten minutes ago and now, but it can’t be good.”

“Charlie’s screwing some girl in my dad’s bed.”

Rachel blanched. “You saw?”

“Oh yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ari shrugged numbly.

Sighing, Rachel slumped down next to her. She nudged her with her elbow. “You know you’re not in love with him, right?”

“What?” Ari shifted away from her.

“Oh come on, Ari. You’re not in love with that guy!” she gestured toward the door. “You’re in love with Charlie Creagh, sixteen-year-old cutie and all-around good guy. He’s not there anymore. I’m sorry, but he’s gone. And you have too much going for you to pine over a ghost. So will you please, please, get over him?”

The words tumbling out of Rachel’s mouth infuriated her for so many reasons, but mostly because Ari knew she loved Charlie. It wouldn’t hurt so much if she didn’t love him. Right? She shook her head. “You’re wrong.”