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Well, actually I kind of need a favor. But if you don't want to
do it, then I totally understand, and there will be no hard
feelings, since I know it's a little weird, and um, I feel kind
of dumb right now, standing here talking to myself, so if you
can hear me, could you maybe give me some kind of sign?"
And when my stereo suddenly blasts the Kelly Clarkson song
she always used to sing, I open my eyes and see her
standing before me, laughing hysterically.
"Omigod-you looked like your were two seconds away from
closing the blinds, lighting a candle, and pulling the Ouija
board out from under the bed!" She shakes her head and
looks at me.
"Oh jeez, I feel like an idiot," I say, my face turning red.
"You kind of looked like an idiot." She laughs. "Okay, so let
me get this straight, you want to corrupt your little sister by
making her spy on your boyfriend?"
"How'd you know?" I stare at her, amazed.
"Please." She rolls her eyes and plops down on my bed.
"You think you're the only one around here who can read
minds?"
"And how'd you know that?" I ask, wondering what else she
might know.
"Ava told me. But please don't be mad, because it really
does explain some of your more recent fashion blunders."
"And what about your more recent fashion blunders?" I say,
motioning to her Star Wars getup.
But she just shrugs. "So you wanna know where to find
your boyfriend or not?"
I move to the bed and sit down beside her. "Honestly? I'm
not sure. I mean, yeah I want to know; but I don't feel right
about involving you."
"But what if I already did it? What if I already know?" she
says, wiggling her brows.
"You broke into the school?" I ask, wondering what else
she's been up to since we last talked.
But she just laughs. "Even better, I followed him home," I
gape at her. "But when? And how?" she shakes her head.
"Come on, Ever, it's not like I need wheels to get where I
want to go. Besides, I know how you're all in love with him,
and it's not like I blame you, he is pretty dreamy. But
remember that day when he acted like he saw me?" I nod. I
mean, how could I forget?
"Well, it freaked me out. So, I decided to do a little
investigation."
I lean toward her. "And?"
"And, well, I'm not sure how to say this, and I hope you
won't take it the wrong way, but-he's a little odd." She
shrugs. "I mean, he lives in this big house over in Newport
Coast, which is strange enough considering his age and all.
I mean where does he get the money? Because it's not like
he works."
I remember that day at the track. But decide not to mention
it.
"But that's not even the strangest part," she continues.
"Because what's really weird is that the house is completely
empty. Like, no furniture whatsoever."
"Well, he is a guy," I say, wondering why I feel the need to
defend him.
She shakes her head. "Yeah, but I'm talking seriously weird.
I mean, the only things in there are one of those iPod wall
docks and a flat-screen TV. Seriously. That's it. And believe
me, I checked the whole house. Well, other than this one
room that was locked."
"Since when do locked rooms stop you?" I say, having seen
her walk through plenty of walls this past year.
"Believe me, it wasn't the door that stopped me. It was me
that stopped me. I mean, jeez, just because I'm dead
doesn't mean I can't get scared," She shakes her head and
scowls at me.
"But, he hasn't really lived here all that long," I say, rushing
to make more excuses, like the worst kind of codependent
fool. "So maybe he just hasn't gotten around to furnishing it
yet. I mean, that's probably why he doesn't want me to
come over; he doesn't want me to see it like that." And
when I replay my words in my head, I can't help but think:
Oh, God, I'm even worse than I thought.
Riley shakes her head and looks at me like she's about to let
me in on the truth behind the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny,
and Santa, all in one sitting. But then she just shrugs and
says, "Maybe you should see for yourself."
"What do you mean?" I ask, knowing she's holding
something back.
But she gets up from the bed and goes over to the mirror,
gazing at her reflection and adjusting her costume.
"Riley?" I say, wondering why she's acting so mysterious.
"Listen," she says, finally turning toward me. "Maybe I'm
wrong. I mean, what do I know; I'm just a kid."She shrugs.
"And it's probably nothing, but ... "
She takes a deep breath. "But I think you should see for
yourself"
"So how do we get there?" I ask, already up and reaching
for the keys.
She shakes her head. "No way. Forget it. I'm convinced he
can see me."
"Well we know he can see me," I remind her.
But she stands firm. "So not happening. But I'll draw you a
map."
Since Riley's not so great at drawing maps, she settles for
making a list of street names instead, indicating their left
and right turns, since north, south, east, and west always
confuse me.
"Sure you don't want to come?" I offer, grabbing my bag
and heading out of my room.
She nods and follows me downstairs. "Hey; Ever?" I turn.
"You could've told me about all the psychic stuff. I feel bad
about making fun of your clothes."
I open the front door and shrug. "Can you really read my
mind?"
She shakes her head and smiles. "Only when you're trying
to communicate with me. I figured it was just a matter of
time before you'd want me to spy on him." She laughs.
"But, Ever?"
I turn to look at her again.
"If I don't come around for a while, it's not because I'm mad
at you or trying to punish you or anything like that, okay? I
promise I'll still look in and make sure you're all right and
stuff, but, well, I might be gone for a while. I might be kind
of busy."
I freeze, the first hint of panic beginning to stir. "You are
coming back though, right?"
She nods. "It's just, well ... " She shrugs. "I promise I'll be
back, I just don't know when." And even though she smiles,
it's obviously forced.
"You're not leaving me, are you?" I hold my breath,
exhaling only when she shakes her head.
"Okay; well, good luck then," I say, wishing I could hug her,
hold her, convince her to stay, but knowing that's not
possible, I head for my car and start the engine instead.
Twenty-Three
Damen lives in a gated community. A detail Riley failed to
reveal. I guess since the presence of big iron gates and
uniformed guards could never stop someone like her, it
didn't seem very important. Though I guess it doesn't really
stop someone like me either, since I just smile at the
attendant, and say, "Hi, I'm Megan Foster. I'm here to see
Jody Howard." Then I watch as she scrolls down her
computer screen, searching for the name I just happen to
know is listed as entry number three.
"Leave this in your window, on the driver's side," she says,
handing me a piece of yellow paper, the word VISITOR and
the date dearly marked on its front. "And no parking on the
left side of the street, right side only." She nods, returning
to her booth as I drive through the open gate, hoping she
won't notice when I pass right by Jody's street as I make
my way toward Damen's.
I've almost reached the top of the hill when I see the next
street on my list, and after making a left, quickly followed
by another, I stop at the end of his block, kill the engine,
and realize I've lost all my nerve.
I mean, what kind of psycho girlfriend am I? Who in their
right mind would even think of enlisting their dead little
sister to help spy on their boyfriend? But then again, it's not
like anything in my life is remotely normal, so why should
my relationships be any different?
I sit in my car, focusing on my breath, fighting to keep it
slow and steady despite the fact that my heart is pounding
like crazy and my palms are slick with sweat. And as I gaze
around his clean, tidy, affluent neighborhood I realize I
couldn't have picked a worse day to do this.
First of all, it's hot, sunny, and glorious, which means
everyone's either riding their bikes, walking their dogs, or [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]