by Amy Richie
“I asked you a question,” Lindsey snapped, moving closer to Laney. “Answer me before I call the cops.”
“Who are you?” Laney asked groggily. “Where am I?”
“Yeah, that's what I asked you.”
“That's my sister,” I squeaked to Laney.
“Your sister?” Her eyes went wide.
Lindsey sucked in a sharp breath. “What do you know about my sister?”
“I...”
“Tell her we're friends.” I jumped up and went to Laney's side. “Hurry up.”
“Me and Avery were friends.”
Lindsey's smile widened until she was practically laughing. “You and Avery weren't friends.”
“Yes we were.”
“We were,” Laney echoed.
“My sister would never be friends with someone like you,” Lindsey sneered with an upturned nose.
How typical.
“Tell her we met at camp Mitero.”
“We met at camp,” Laney cleared her throat lightly.
“The horse camp?”
Laney started to nod. “No,” I quickly stopped her. “It was a fat camp.”
“It was a fat camp,” she blurted nervously.
This was going badly. Laney just wasn’t brave enough to face my sister. To be fair, not many people were. “I’ll handle her,” I whispered just before taking over without her permission.
“Her mother just told people it was a horse camp,” I told Lindsey using my Vessel. “To save face; she didn’t want people to know she had a fat daughter.”
“And you two became friends there?” She came around to circle me like a vulture. I knew this move. “Secret friends?”
“Long distance friends,” I corrected. “I’m sure Avery had many secrets from you though; the two of you weren’t close.”
She stopped moving, suddenly looking at Laney in a new way. “You’re lying but you obviously did know Avery.”
“Obviously?”
“You’re cruel like her,” she crossed her arms, “and you were going for her money stash.”
“How did you know about that?”
“She didn’t have quite as many secrets as she thought she did.”
“Were you snooping through my closet?” I demanded without thinking.
“Who are you?”
“Laney.”
“Don’t lie to me. Tell me how you knew Avery.”
“I don’t have to answer to you.”
“Would you rather answer to the cops?”
No, I wouldn’t. “It’s...an unusual thing.” Impossible to explain.
Lindsey suddenly plopped down on the bed, her eyes sparkling suspiciously. “Everything is unusual right now.”
It was her voice breaking that got me.
Very suddenly – and very unexpectedly – I felt a surge of longing to be honest with Lindsey. More than anything, I wanted her to know I was there.
“Laney is my Vessel, Linds,” I said softly, turning so I could face her.
“What?”
“It’s me, Avery. I’m a ghost...sort of.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I never was very funny,” I whispered breathlessly.
Chapter Two
Lindsey sat on one side of my bed – facing the door; I sat on the other – facing the wall. The silence fell heavily between us. It was an awkward sort of quiet that made my stomach twist.
Maybe I shouldn’t have told her I was a ghost. Having a dead sister was probably already enough to handle. Why did I have to get so emotional? Lindsey didn’t even like me when I was alive.
“If you’re really Avery,” Lindsey spoke at last.
“I am.”
“Then prove it.”
“How?” She couldn’t see me so how could I prove it?
“Tell me something only Avery would know.”
“My birthday is...”
“No,” she cut me off, “anyone would know her birthday.”
“Then?” I took a deep breath and looked around the room. My eyes fell on the pictures along the circular mirror.
I missed that life. I had so much to smile and laugh about, the world adored me. It wasn’t fair to cut it all short.
“Someone did this to me, Linds,” I told my sister. “Someone stabbed me and left me behind a dumpster.”
“Why would anyone do that?”
“Do you remember Jane Wilson?”
“That skinny little thing with all the freckles?”
“Do you remember what we did to her in sixth grade?”
Jane’s cousin, Shelly, told Lindsey that Jane got her period for the first time. Lindsey, me, and a few of the other girls tricked her into sitting in a chair smeared with strawberry jelly. We spent the rest of that year telling everyone she bled through her pants.
She transferred schools for the next year.
“We’re such evil bitches,” I chuckled tonelessly. “No wonder someone killed me.”
“We were kids.” Without my notice, Lindsey moved to my side of the bed while I was thinking of Jane.
“It didn’t give us the right to be cruel.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She pressed her lips tight together. “You can’t just kill someone.”
“Do you believe me?”
“It’s really weird.” She stared at me, her eyebrows close together. “I don’t know what to believe.”
“I know you don’t believe in ghosts, Linds. I didn’t either until I woke up as one.”
“And this girl,” her eyes flickered over Laney’s body, “how does she play into all this? How do you know each other?”
“We share the same birthday,’ I explained briefly, “so she’s my Vessel.”
“Meaning?”
“I can use her body – use it for my own.”
“And does she...”
“She can’t hear us. It’s like she’s sleeping.”
“This is just too weird,” she repeated, shaking her head back and forth.
“Yeah.”
“So why did you come here today?”
“Money,” I admitted bluntly, nodding towards the closet.
“You were saving that money for a horse.” The corners of her mouth twitched.
“Well,” I raised my chin primly, “I won’t be needing a horse now.”
“What does a dead girl need money for? Craving a shopping trip?”
“Laney’s family is really poor and we’ve been running around a lot the past few days.”
“Doing?”
I took a breath and let it out through my nose. If I told Lindsey that we were looking for my killer, she would want to help us. For the first time, I understood exactly why Clark didn’t want his sister involved with me.
“It’s better if I just take the money and leave with Laney. If mom and dad...”
“You’re looking for the person who did this to you,” she cut me off.
“Lindsey...”
She was shaking her head before I could think of a good argument to keep her away. “I’m helping. You need me.”
“I don’t need you.” I hadn’t needed her in a long time. Somehow, it didn’t feel like the right time to remind her of that.
“You think this girl,” she waved her hand up and down my borrowed body with a healthy sneer, “will be able to talk to any of your friends? Or the police? Or anyone we know?”
“We did try and talk to the police.”
She raised both eyebrows. “How did that go?”
“They wouldn’t tell us anything; they told us to stay out of the way.”
“Let me reiterate,” she held one finger in the air, “you need me.”
“Someone killed me. They stabbed me – things could get dangerous.”
“How does this ghost thing work anyway?” She changed direction so fast, I was caught off guard.
“I’m...still getting used to it. I think if I find out what happened to me, I might be able to convince the Reaper to let me live again.�
� That’s the hope I was holding onto anyways.
“Then that’s what we have to do.”
She was right. Clark and Laney could see me but neither of them could help like Lindsey could. Besides, my sister could take care of herself better than anyone I knew.
“Ok.” She nodded solemnly. At least she was taking this seriously. “First things first,” I sighed. “You need to meet Laney.”
“This...girl?”
“Be nice to her. She’s my Vessel – I need her.”
“I’m always nice,” she snarled.
“Jane. Wilson.”
“Whatever.”
“You won’t be able to see me after I leave Laney.”
“I can’t see you now.”
She was always impossible to talk to. Still annoyed, I got up and left Laney sitting there beside Lindsey.
“Wh...wh...” Laney turned groggily until she came face to face with my sister. “Um...hi.”
“Lindsey Lewis.” She cocked an eyebrow high up on her forehead as she introduced herself. “I believe you know my sister; although saying you’re friends is quite a stretch.”
“I told her to be nice.”
“It’s...it’s alright.”
“What’s alright?”
Laney’s eyes strayed to where I was standing. “She said you were supposed to be nice.”
Her mouth fell open almost comically. “I am being nice. I didn’t call the cops, did I?”
I rolled my eyes – just as dramatic as Lindsey. “Tell her who you are,” I nudged Laney.
Her eyes went wide. “She doesn’t know who I am?”
“You’re Laney,” Lindsey declared haughtily.
“Laney Daniels.”
“Ugh.” I pinched the bridge of my nose with my finger and thumb.
“Daniels?”
Please don’t say anything bad about Clark. Please don’t say anything bad about Clark.
“Are you related to Clark Can’t?”
Oh my word.
“Clark C...” She turned to me. “Is she talking about my brother?”
“Brother?” Lindsey made a gagging face. “We are not working with him.”
“Tell her he’s not that bad.”
Laney blinked rapidly in my direction.
“Tell her.”
“Avery said to tell you that he’s not that bad.”
Lindsey, unable to catch on to anything, guffawed loudly. “Avery couldn’t stand Clark Can’t.”
“Stop...you shouldn’t call him that.” Even if she wasn’t brave enough to meet her eyes, Laney was brave enough to try and stick up for Clark.
“Let’s focus on more important things,” I suggested quickly.
“Avery says we need to talk about more important things.”
“She’s right,” Lindsey sobered. “Who does she think did it?”
There was the question of the hour. “I don’t know.”
“Avery...doesn’t know but I think...” Laney pressed her lips tight together as if trying to stop her thoughts from spilling out.
“What do you think?” I prompted.
“I think it was Tyler.”
“Tyler Minx?” Lindsey’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “He’s such a girl, no way would he do it.”
“He’s not a girl,” I scowled. “He was making out with Cassie Andrews.”
“Ummm...” Laney slid her tongue out to glide over her lips, “I guess he was kissing a girl named Cassie Andrews.”
“When? How do you know?”
“At the party, tell her I saw them.”
“Avery saw them together at the party.”
“Does he know that she saw him?”
I nodded. “We fought about it – in front of everyone.”
“Yeah,” she replied to Lindsey.
“Amber Doyle did say she saw them fighting at the party; is that why?”
Laney nodded. “I guess so.”
Lindsey chewed lightly on her thumb nail, not hard enough to break it off – of course. Just enough to show her nerves. “Tyler Minx,” she said thoughtfully. “I still doubt it, but it might be worth looking into.”
“Me and Avery already went to his house to talk to him.”
“What did he say?”
“He threatened us.” I crossed my arms over my chest, shaken by the memory of him glaring at Laney outside his front door.
“He didn’t really threaten us,” Laney argued feebly.
“You weren’t there, you didn’t hear him.” Even if she was there in body.
“He threatened you?” Lindsey dropped her hand onto the bed. “Let’s go to the football field later. They have practice, he’ll be there.”
“Are we going to...talk to him?”
“Don’t worry,” I told Laney, “Lindsey will know what to say.” And if she didn’t – I would take over.
“Here,” Lindsey crossed the room and dug out my box of cash. “Don’t forget what you came here for.” She thrust the box into Laney’s hands. “Tell Avery...” she bit down on her bottom lip, “tell her that we’ll figure this out so she shouldn’t worry.”
“Easy for her to say,” I snorted, “she’s not the one who’s dead.”
"THAT ONE IS HIM, RIGHT?" Laney pointed to the field where at least two dozen teenage boys were running around in their white tights.
"Number sixteen."
"You went to his house; how can you not know what he looks like?" Lindsey demanded.
"I remember," Laney stuttered. "I didn't get a very good look at him though."
"Doesn't he look so good in his uniform," I asked wistfully.
"Ummm..."
"That's the reason I started liking him."
"Because of the uniform?"
"Because he was a football player. I was a cheerleader. It made perfect sense, me and Tyler made perfect sense."
I wasn't sure when it all went wrong. It's not like Cassie suddenly came into our life, we'd gone to school together since kindergarten. Why did she have to be such a slut and ruin everything?
"Is she going on about how cute he is?" Lindsay rolled her eyes. "He's not though. He looks like a girl."
"Don't say that," I hissed through clenched teeth. "You're just jealous because he liked me and not you."
Down on the field, the boys had started to break off into groups. It must have been break time.
"Tyler didn't do it. I know he wouldn't kill me."
"Avery thinks that he liked her too much to do it."
"Avery thinks that everyone liked her."
"That is not..."
"Look at that," Lindsey bobbed her chin in the direction of the field.
Turning, I saw Cassie skipping over to where Tyler stood. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laughed loudly. The sound carried to the bleachers, piercing through my chest.
"If he did like you as much as you think," Laney murmured, "he sure has a funny way of showing it."
"Let's go," she suddenly snapped.
"Go? Go where?" Despite her confusion, Laney rose from the cold metal bleachers and followed Lindsey.
"I know that look," I sighed, trotting next to Lindsey. "She's going to yell at Tyler."
"We shouldn't go down there, he looks kind of busy."
"Of course we should go down there." Lindsey did not slow her walk. "Why would we let him slut around with that...thing?"
“And right in front of everyone,” I agreed with a solemn nod.
“Tyler Minx,” Lindsey called loudly. Several people turned to watch her progression towards him. “How nice to see you here.” The purse of her lips suggested otherwise.
His discomfort was painful to look at – almost. “Lindsey,” he greeted with a tight smile. “I didn’t think you’d be here today.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She stopped in front of him, dismissing Cassie without a word. That was a specialty of my sister – making someone feel invisible. “Do you mean because my sister was just murdered?”
“Well...I j
ust...”
“Yes, Tyler,” she purred, “what were you just doing?” Her eyes slid scornfully to take in Cassie.
“We were just talking.” His tongue darted across his bottom lip.
“Hmm.” Without another word, she brushed past the pair and led Laney to the waiting girls in their cheerleading outfits. One of those should have been mine. “Girls,” she called loudly, “I want you to meet Laney. She was a friend of my sisters. Any friend of Avery’s is a friend of mine.”
“Now you’re in,” I told Laney, grinning wide. Lindsey really was a genius.
“How did she even get this?” Laney asked, her eyebrows low on her forehead as she scanned the paper Lindsey had given us earlier.
“She has her ways.” I pulled the page closer to me and traced my fingers down the list of times. “Looks like Tyler is busy this week.”
“Football practice mostly,” she noted.
“That also means we’ll be running into Cassie a lot.” Football practice and cheerleading practice were often held at the same time, on the same field. Just like the games.
“Why isn’t Lindsey a cheerleader? I thought all popular girls were.”
“She was for a few years but she says it’s too much work.” She wanted to be lawyer like our dad and apparently, learning to do cartwheels and hold pom-poms wasn’t that important in a court room.
“And you?”
“They don’t let dead girls on the team.” Halfway down the list were two odd entries. “Why would Tyler Minx be going to the library?” I wondered out loud.
“Maybe he wants to study,” she shrugged.
“First of all, school hasn’t even started so what is studying,” I rolled my eyes, “and second of all – he has Wi-Fi just like everyone else so he can study at home. It doesn’t make much sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense?” Clark asked, coming into the kitchen.
“Nothing.”
I couldn’t blame him for the narrowing eyes, Laney sounded way too suspicious. She was a terrible liar – we needed to work on that.
“We were just talking about school,” I smiled sweetly at him, forgetting that we weren’t speaking.
“Liar.”
“I’m not entirely lying,” I snarled. “I just think it’s weird that Laney doesn’t go to a regular school.”
“It’s not really any of your business, so...”
“And what we’re talking about isn’t any of yours.”
