by Amy Richie
"What's going on?" Laney demanded hoarsely. "You said you needed my help and then.... I don't know what happened after that."
"Did you hear what me and Clark were talking about?"
"Him promising to help you with something?" her forehead wrinkled.
"Before that."
"No," she said slowly, "It was like... I was sleeping. Weird, huh?"
"Are you okay now Lane?" Clark's face contorted with worry. "You look a little pale."
"I'm fine."
"So you were sleeping while I was inside of your body," I concluded out loud.
"I felt weird, like I was in a dream. And everything went fuzzy and... now I'm here."
"Interesting." So when I was Laney, the real Laney wasn't here at all. Good thing I didn't make Clark my Vessel. Who would have helped me then?
Chapter Seven
I wandered aimlessly through the familiar streets of Clearview. Everyone was going about their lives as if nothing had happened to me. They probably didn't know yet, I concluded.
If the neighbors knew that just a few nights ago a young girl was brutally stabbed to death, they wouldn't be able to just mow their lawn. Surely their lives would pause; they'd stop and at least feel sorry for me a little bit. Maybe even miss me.
I passed the two-story green house that wasn't far from my own. A week ago, I would have stopped and talked to Nina. We would have compared notes on Jimmy Vale's party. We would have pretended to be shocked over who kissed who and who broke up over the summer.
Now - I ducked my head low and hurried past. If Billie was inside talking about me, I didn't want to know.
The mood inside my own house was strained, to put it mildly. I let myself in through the front door and peered around the kitchen. It was empty and spotless. I glanced up the steps, wondering if mom was still in her room crying.
There wasn't really much point in me looking in on her, why torture myself when there was nothing I could do?
I moved past her closed door and made my way to my own room. It would be quiet in there at least - so I could think.
I had never tried to solve a murder case before. It was hard to know what to do next. In the movies, the cops gathered evidence and interviewed witnesses. But how could I do that?
Even in my Vessel, it would be impossible. How would I get anyone to talk to Laney about Avery Lewis? Everyone would know that the two of us weren't friends. It would just look suspicious and I promised Clark that I wouldn't involve his sister.
Getting her arrested for murder would probably go against that promise.
"Whatever," I scowled. Maybe Clark had an idea; I would ask him in the morning.
Gliding through my bedroom door, I came to an abrupt halt. Sitting in the middle of my bed - was Lindsey.
"What are you doing in here?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear me.
Lindsay took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky whisper. "Avery."
My eyes narrowed. "Lindsey? What's wrong?"
Had something else happened while I was at Clark's? Maybe I should have checked on mom after all. I glanced back at my closed door.
"I don't know who did this to you," Lindsey continued, causing me to hesitate. "I'm going to find out though." She sniffed loudly.
My heart slammed in my chest. Lindsay was in here crying over me. My ice hearted sister, actually upset.
I sank down on my vanity chair. It was all too much. Seeing mom upset was bad enough, I couldn't handle Lindsey too.
"I really wish I was with my Vessel right now." My eyes closed.
THE SILHOUETTE OF CLARK's trailer slowly came into better focus. My relief at seeing that trashy thing that Clark called home was alarming. "You better watch it Avery," I told myself, "you're starting to go native."
I glanced around me in the dark, confused. Before, when I wanted to be with Clark, I ended up right in his bedroom. Why was I outside now? Where was Laney?
Next to the white car in the driveway, I could just make out a dark shape. It looked like a person huddled on the ground. As I watched, the shadow raised up enough to see over the top of the car's hood. Then it quickly ducked back down.
"Laney?" I called out. Why was she hiding? "Laney is that you?"
It wasn't until I got closer that I could make out the shapes of her face. Her eyes were huge, as if they were trying to suck in all the light.
"Avery," she tried to smile.
"What are you doing out here?"
Laney grimaced. "Clark left and... they started fighting." She gestured towards the trailer. "It got kind of loud so I came out here."
Even from this distance, there were the unmistakable sounds of two people arguing from inside the trailer. There was a lot of swearing. "I'm surprised nobody's called the cops," I muttered, plopping down beside Laney in the driveway.
Laney straightened her body and sat down next to me. "I think people here are used to them."
"Is that why you went to live with your grandma?"
"Twins are expensive," Laney shrugged. "I'm the lucky one, Clark had to stay."
"He didn't stay tonight," I pointed out.
"He went somewhere with his friends, he'll be back later."
"How long are you going to stay here?"
"I'll just wait until they stop fighting," her lips quivered. "I'm sure one of them will pass out soon."
"I meant in Clearview." I didn't really care how long she was staying, but talking to Laney was better than thinking about my sister.
"They put grandma in one of those homes so I think I have to stay here now."
"And go to school here?"
She shook her head. "I'll just do home-school. I did that in Florida to."
"Sounds lame."
Laney grinned.
Above us, a streak of lightning lit the sky. "Looks like a storm," I unnecessarily pointed out.
Laney peered again at the trailer. "I think I'll just sleep in my car," she declared.
My face scrunched up. "Why would you sleep in your car?"
"I don't think they're done yet."
"Go in there and tell them to shut it."
"I can't do that."
"I can do it for you, if you want." It might be fun, to go yell at someone else's parents. Besides, she didn't need to sleep in the car when she had a perfectly good bedroom.
"You mean..." she licked her lip nervously. "You mean you'll go into my body again."
"Only if you want me to."
Laney shook her head back and forth. " I'll just sleep in the car, it probably won't be that bad."
Thunder roared again.
"No way," I snarled. "I got this."
Laney held her breath as I walked into her body. I took a deep breath and pushed the unfamiliar dark hair off my shoulder. Squaring my shoulders, I practically stomped up the trailer steps.
The door must not have been closed securely because with my slightest touch, it banged open. Both of Laney's parents turned to look at me.
"What is with all this noise?" I demanded.
"What the hell are you doing here?" her father slurred.
Oh crap! I forgot that he could see me too.
"What's that supposed to mean?" her mom shrieked. "She can come here when she wants. This is her house to."
"I can't come in here when you guys are screaming," I yelled back. "Either stop fighting or go outside." I jerked my thumb towards the close door. "Your choice."
They both stared at me with slightly open mouths. "W... well I...," her mom stuttered.
"It's late," I continued angrily. "I don't want to hear you fighting."
Leaving them sputtering after me, I made my way down the short hall and stormed into the smaller of the two bedrooms. I wasn't sure how I knew, but I did know that this room belonged to Laney.
I separated myself from her as soon as the door closed. "This is a nice room," I lied.
The small box-shaped room was barely big enough to turn around in. Where did she keep her clothes? And h
onestly, she probably had more room if she did sleep in the car.
"What happened out there?" She looked back at the door with wide eyes. "I don't hear them yelling anymore."
I shrugged. "I just asked them politely to keep it down."
"That worked?"
"Guess so."
"Do you want to stay here tonight?" she offered.
I took a deep breath. "Yeah, but there's something you should know about me."
"Clark already told me."
"He did?"
Laney nodded. "He said you and your friends were not nice."
My mouth turned down into an instant frown. "I'm nice," I snapped. "Sometimes."
She smiled wide.
"That wasn't even what I was talking about." I climbed onto her bed and sat with my back to the wall. "I don't know why he has to say things like that."
"He also told me you were a ghost." She pulled off her oversized hoodie and threw it onto a desk that was positioned in the corner of the room.
Her nice curves were hidden under a horrendous wardrobe. With a hoodie on, I couldn't tell if she was stick-thin or overweight. It turned out she was neither. "Did he tell you I was murdered?"
"He sort of mentioned it."
"The Reaper said it might not be my time yet."
Laney nodded slowly. "If you don't feel like going home, you can stay here," she offered again.
"You're nicer than your brother."
"He told me not to get involved with you." She crawled under the covers and turned on her side so she could look at me. "Do you have any idea who would do this to you?"
"Not really." I let my head fall back against the wall. "Everyone loves me."
"Well you are very pretty," she agreed.
That wasn't why they loved me, I wanted to argue. Her eyes were already drifting closed though. I would just have to tell her in the morning.
AS SOON AS I SAW CLARK at the kitchen table, I knew this was going to be ugly. I followed Laney's lead and sat at one of the empty chairs without a word.
"What are you doing here?" Clark scowled.
"Don't worry," I raised my eyebrows as prissy as I could, "I'm not here to steal your breakfast."
"You were in Laney's room," he accused.
"So?" I shrugged, hoping I came off as innocent.
"So," he raised his eyebrows as he made the single word into several syllables, "You promised to stay away from my sister."
"I..." I shut my mouth quickly and bit down on my lower lip. I sort of did promise that, but I couldn't exactly admit to him that I was wrong. "I only promised not to get her involved with this whole murder thing."
"Murder thing?" he sputtered. "You can just wait outside until I'm done eating."
"What?" I squealed indignantly. "I am not your dog." No way was I just going to wait outside. Who did Clark Can't suddenly think he was?
"The dog actually knows how to listen," he chuckled darkly.
"Like I said - not the dog."
"If you think..." His teeth were clenched so tight together the words barely came out.
"Oh," I sang out in mock fear, waving my arms in front of me. "What are you going to do, kill me? Looks like someone beat you to it."
"Avery," Laney said my name quietly, "that's not funny."
I could still feel my face in pout formation; I wasn't going for funny. Clark was pissing me off.
"She's staying right here, Clark," she informed her brother. "You shouldn't have made her promise anything so ridiculous."
"Ridiculous?" Clark's scowl turned on Laney. "It's not ridiculous to want you safe."
"I'm her Vessel," she pointed out calmly, as if this sort of thing happened every day. "She needs me."
"Laney," Clark growled, "this is not up for debate."
"You're right," she agreed. "We need to talk instead about what we should do next."
"Next?" Clark and I both said in unison.
"Hmmm," Laney pursed her lips thoughtfully, "we should probably retrace your steps."
"We already tried that." Resigned, Clark went back to his cereal. "She can't remember that night."
"It was the night of Jimmy Vale's end-of-summer party," I explained.
"A lot of underage drinking," Clark explained further.
"We don't know if that's why I can't remember though," I shot a quick dirty look at Clark. "It might be because I died."
"Still," Laney went on, " it seems like the place to start is talking to the people that went to that party. Maybe one of them saw you leave and who you left with. Someone must have seen something."
I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. If these two were going to help me figure out what happened that night, I didn't need to be hiding anything. "I found this," I pulled out the earring from my shoe. "I found it that day we went and looked at my body," I handed it to Clark. "It was in my hand, but it's not mine."
He held the small diamond between two fingers. "Well," he declared dramatically, "looks like we have a place to start."
"I'M NOT STAYING HERE," Laney insisted, pushing her thin lips out into a full pout.
Clark was standing against the car door in an attempt to make Laney stay behind at the trailer while me and him went to talk to Nina. She was having none of that though. Maybe I was wrong about Laney, maybe she did have a little spunk.
"Let's just go," she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth impatiently. "We're wasting time here."
"I agree with Laney," I raised one hand in the air, which was promptly shot down by Clark.
"Fine," he snarled through clenched teeth. "You guys win, but I'm driving." With the same aggravated gusto, he wrenched open the front door of the car and slid behind the wheel.
"You can have shotgun," I whispered, hurrying around to open the back door before she could.
"Where to?" Clark asked roughly.
"Let's go to Nina's house." Nina was my best friend; we must have been together at that party. If anyone saw me leave, she was the most likely.
It was going to be a little tricky with Clark. If he showed up at her doorstep, she would probably call the police. Or throw water at him or something.
Obviously I couldn't go up there by myself. I needed someone to speak for me. Laney.
How was I going to get Clark to stay in the car? Especially since he was so worried about his sister. I chewed my lip nervously all the way to the street I had grown up on.
"Which house is it?"
"That little green one," I pointed out Nina's house and Clark parked in front of it on the street.
We all three looked at her front door with some trepidation. "What should I say when I get up there?" Clark asked. "What's a good excuse for me coming here?"
"There is no good excuse."
"Me and Avery will go by ourselves," Laney said for me. I was glad she was the one that said it, even though I had been thinking the same thing.
"No way!" Clark glared back at me as if I had been the one to suggest it. "I let you come here, but you're not going anywhere by yourself."
"I won't be by myself. They're Avery's friends, they're not dangerous."
I chose not to correct her thinking. I didn't need to give Clark any more reason to protest. "I'll be right there with you the whole time," I assured her.
"What help will you be?" Clark thundered.
"I'll be there to tell her what to say." Before he could yell anymore, I swung the car door open and stepped outside.
Laney was right behind me.
"Do you have the earring?" I wasn't sure why I was whispering, I knew no one would be able to hear me.
Laney opened her fingers slightly to reveal the mysterious jewelry. "I'm a little nervous though," she admitted in a small voice. "Do you think they'll talk to me?"
"Of course." I just wasn't sure what they'd say. Hopefully it was just Nina; her by herself wouldn't be so bad.
Laney balled her hand into a tight fist and knocked on the front door. We both held our breath as we waited.
"I know," she breathed back.
"So you can't answer me."
"I..."
I held up one hand to stop her from saying anything else. "Better just start now."
She nodded silently. It was a good thing to; the door suddenly flew open mid nod. Nina's grandmother stood there, glaring out at us.
"Ummm..."
"Ask for Nina," I quickly ordered.
"Is Nina here?"
Her grandma's eyes narrowed. "Are you a friend from school?"
"Say yes."
"Yep."
Although she didn't look fully convinced, she turned away from us and called for Nina. "Come on in," she waved us into her comfortable living room.
I had never spent much time in this room. Nina always said her grandma didn't speak English so we stayed upstairs. It was pretty easy to understand her telling us to make ourselves comfortable though.
"Don't fidget," I reminded Laney. "Only guilty people fidget. You have nothing to be nervous about."
"I'm not really in the mood for company," Nina call dramatically from the doorway.
I didn't know whether to laugh or just be shocked. Nina stood there in a tight black dress. Her mascara ran down her face and such perfect lines that I was pretty sure she drew herself. My mouth dropped open.
"Who are you?" she asked airily. "Gram said that it was someone from school."
"I'm Laney," she stood up to face Nina. "Laney Daniels."
"Don't tell her you're related to Clark," I warned her.
"As in... Clark Daniels?" Nina's nose scrunched up in disgust. "Are you actually related to him?"
"Tell her that you knew me." This was starting to make me nervous.
"I knew her," Laney stumbled over her words, making me cringe.
"What?"
"Avery, I mean. I knew Avery."
Nina's glare disappeared. "How did you know Avery?"
Laney looked back at me, desperation in her eyes. "Do you just want me to take over?"
She nodded quickly.
Stepping into Laney's body was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes. I raised my shoulders and stared back at Nina, haughty and sure of myself. She seemed to recognize the difference; her eyes went briefly wide.
