The Ghost Hunter's Daughter
Page 24
After a few minutes of silence Doreen said, “Kind of creepy knowing what’s out there.”
“What’s down here isn’t always that great either,” Freddy said.
“What if,” Anna said, “there are other people, other friends like us—aliens, I guess—having their own space gaze right at this moment?”
“Statistically speaking,” Freddy said, “it’s possible there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of intelligent life forms in the universe doing exactly that.”
Freddy didn’t respond with a what if of his own. He was sulking a bit, Anna could tell. He’d probably heard about her appearance at Craig’s. She turned to Dor.
“Anything new on your mom’s homecoming?”
“Tomorrow,” Dor said. “A healthcare aide is helping out until she can get around on her own.”
Anna felt herself relax. “I predict she’ll be in a much better mood.” Having Cindy home would make Bloomtown feel close to normal again.
Dor’s eyes glowed mischievously.
“Me too. Thanks for all those texts. Freddy also filled me in on the demonic real estate dude’s visit to his house…and the kiss.” Dor made an exaggerated kissing face at the two of them, saying to Anna, “Kinda pervy kissing someone when they’re asleep.”
Anna’s heart raced. The light-body kiss. Freddy had felt it.
“Dor, shut up. You have the biggest mouth,” Freddy said.
“Sorry, but I’m not shutting up this time. I’ve been through enough crapola lately, and from now on I’m gonna say what I want whether you like it or not. Now this thing with you two? It’s your problem, not mine. So you deal with it, because it’s annoying. And you know what else? I want shotgun sometimes on the way to school.”
“Somebody’s getting feisty!” Anna said.
Freddy pumped his fists. “Let’s get ready to Reeeenie!”
“He promised nothing would change between us,” Dor said to Anna. “That we’d still be together, all of us, no matter what.”
“Of course,” Anna said, feeling discombobulated. “Duh.”
Dor was only worried about their friendship changing. She didn’t have a crush on Freddy?
“Well, how was I supposed to know?” Dor said. “You two are either pissed at each other and acting like I don’t exist, or there’s this weird tension and you’re acting like I don’t exist. Please go somewhere and make out already. Somewhere far from me preferably, because, yeah, gross. I need some time before I can witness that.”
Freddy sat up on his elbows.
“Do you hear something?” he asked Anna.
Anna feigned confusion. “From where?”
“This general direction.” Freddy gestured toward Doreen.
“Don’t be silly,” Anna said. “For something to make a noise it must exist.”
Dor stuck a finger into the air. “Aha! But I must exist, you see, because you”—she pinched Freddy’s arm—“spent all night with me in the hospital, and you”—Anna got pinched —“went all super hero and saved me and my mom. So I feel pretty good about this friendship, and that whatever happens with you two isn’t going to mess it up.”
Settling back on the grass, they were quiet for a while. There was a chill in the air and Anna felt the heat from Freddy’s face on her cheek. Dor broke the somewhat awkward silence by announcing that she’d decided to only drink bottled water, but wasn’t sure now because she heard about a huge blob of discarded water bottles floating in the ocean that was the size of Texas.
“Do you know anything about that?” she asked Freddy, slyly nudging Anna.
As Freddy launched into a monologue about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Anna and Dor shared a smirk in the darkness, each knowing that pontificating on the subject would put him at ease. While he explained that the patch wasn’t a mass of water bottles, consisting instead of tiny particles of degraded plastic, Anna ran her cold fingers through the grass. She remembered how each blade in her own yard had sparkled with intricate life while she was out of body. There was so much to explore, right there, where she’d always been. Anna just hadn’t realized it before. Soon enough, her fingers found Freddy’s hand in the grass.