She felt a little giddy as he drove off, wondering if this was the start of something between them.
* * *
Drew like being kissed by Paige. She wasn't at all like his last girlfriend, which was a good thing. They seemed to hit it off. He would give it some time to see where things went before getting too excited.
His focus turned to Noah—or Noah's ghost, if you believed his mother. I don't, Drew thought. He wanted to believe that Paige also had more sense than to accept even the possibility that the jerk who pretended to be Noah was in fact the dead Noah who had come back to haunt her, if not the entire town of Dead Lake.
People who jumped sixty feet to their deaths and were buried in a cemetery simply did not rise from the dead. Period.
That reality didn't stop Drew from being a little freaked out. It seemed like Noah Snyder was not going away entirely, even though his presence had left a bad taste in more than a few mouths.
His mind began to wander...
* * *
Drew and Noah were in the weight room working out after a swim.
"So who are you banging these days?" Noah asked.
Drew sneered. "What, you're keeping count now?"
Noah chuckled. "I just don't want to see you burn yourself out, dude. We do have a big meet next week, and we need everyone to be at their best."
"So you're saying you're not getting any these days from Amber, huh?"
"No, I didn't say that," Noah told him while doing bench presses. "I'm saying that some of us can multitask better than others."
Drew laughed mockingly, as he thought about Amber hooking up with more than just Noah. Did he know? Maybe he just didn't care.
"I'll be ready for the meet," Drew told him confidently.
"Yeah, we'll see about that."
Drew frowned. "What's with you, man? I can whip your ass in the pool anytime."
Noah chuckled. "How many times have I heard that?"
"As many as it takes for you to believe it."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Noah told him. "Until then, I'll keep riding you, just like Coach Nicholson rides me."
"Whatever," Drew muttered, grabbing his towel and walking away in a huff.
* * *
Drew came back to the present as he headed toward his house. While he admittedly missed the competition with Noah, he didn't necessarily miss the person, who could be a real ass at times. While Noah didn't mind getting up in other people's faces, he couldn't always see the demons staring him in the face. Like the two-timing Amber, which Noah probably wasn't even aware of.
And though Noah might not have liked Bonnie the same way, he was in effect driving a wedge between her and Amber without even realizing it.
But the dude was dead now and there could be no undoing all that had happened in Noah's short life, even if Drew now had some regrets—no matter what someone out there may have wanted them to believe.
Badmouthing him to Paige would not keep him from wanting to hang out with her, no matter who was behind it. He only hoped that she continued to feel the same way and would give them a chance to develop something special between them.
* * *
Paige went into the house and found her mother seated on the couch reading a book.
"Hi, honey," she said, looking up.
"Hey."
"You hungry?"
"Not so much," Paige said, though she knew she should eat something. "But I'll have whatever you made for dinner."
"Meatloaf and mashed potatoes," her mother said.
Paige nodded. "Okay."
"How was school?"
"Good." Paige sat down next to her.
Sharon studied her. "Is everything else all right?"
Paige looked at her mother and decided to come clean. "I went to see Helen Snyder, the lady who used to live in this house."
"Really?" Her mother's mouth remained open in surprise. "For what reason?"
"There was this guy I've seen a few times who looked a lot like her son—" Paige began.
"The son who committed suicide?" her mother asked.
"Yeah, that one." Paige paused. "Anyway, the guy told me his name was Noah, the same name of the one who died. Well, with the resemblance, I thought it might be his brother. So I looked up the mother to ask her about it."
"And what did she say?" Sharon's eyes locked with hers.
Paige swallowed. "She said that he didn't have any brothers."
"Anything else—?"
"Yeah..." This was where it got weird, but she had to follow through. "His mom thinks that Noah's come back as a ghost..."
Sharon's face reddened. "Was she serious?"
"I think she was," Paige said, still shocked at the notion.
Her mother laughed. "It's strange enough living in a town called Dead Lake. Now the previous resident of this house believes in ghosts? Does she think the house is haunted?"
Paige leaned back, disturbed at the thought. "I don't know. She thinks something is preventing him from passing over."
"And he needs you to help him figure it out?" Sharon asked sardonically.
"Maybe," Paige said, "if it's true."
"Well, it isn't," her mother said. "Please don't tell me you fell for any of that."
"I didn't," Paige made clear so her mother didn't think she had suddenly gone off the deep end. "I know ghosts don't really exist—not in the real world. I think Noah's mom might be a little lonely now that he's gone."
"You think?" Sharon made a face. "And maybe a little crazy, too. I want you to stay away from her."
"It was just a one time visit," Paige said defensively. "I went with Drew, a guy from school who was on the swim team with Noah."
"And what did he think about Noah being ghost?"
"Not much," Paige said. "He thinks the guy I talked to is just some local troublemaker, even if he didn't cause any real trouble."
"Pretending to be someone you aren't is trouble enough," her mother said.
"I know."
"Well if you see him again, just ignore him. Or tell him that you aren't interested in playing games—or whatever else he has in mind."
"Don't worry, Mom—I get it," she assured her. "Besides, I haven't seen him at all this week. He probably left town or something."
"I hope so," her mother said. "You need to concentrate on school, and friends you can depend on."
"Yeah, I know." Paige wanted that too, but she couldn't help but believe that the fake Noah had more on his mind in hanging around her than pranks or troublemaking. Would she ever get to find out what that was? She stood up. "Can we eat now?"
Her mother smiled, standing. "Yes, I think we should."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After dinner, Paige put the dishes in the dishwasher. Her mom had to go back to work to finish up a project. As she was cleaning up the kitchen, Paige heard the house creaking and couldn't help but think about it being haunted by a ghost. As if. The house was old and obviously more in need of some tender loving care than an exorcist.
She headed up the squeaking stairs and planned to do some homework and maybe watch a little television.
When Paige walked into her room, her heart lurched. Standing there was the guy who called himself Noah and he was very much alive.
"Hey," he said coolly, as if they were friends.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked warily.
"Noah."
"You're not Noah Snyder, if that's what you're claiming."
He touched the tip of his cap. "Uh, yeah, I am."
Paige wrinkled her nose while studying the guy who looked pretty close to the Noah Snyder she'd seen in photographs. But she wouldn't allow herself to believe what was impossible. "Noah's dead. Or did you think I'd never find out?"
"Actually, I was hoping you would," he said. "I figured it would be much easier if it came from someone other than me."
She sneered. "So I'm supposed to believe you're a ghost?"
"I guess I am, or a spirit, or whatever."
>
She wasn't buying it, even if he kept a straight face during his farce. "Ghosts or spirits don't look like human beings."
"How should I look—like an animal? Or an extraterrestrial?"
Paige wasn't amused. "I want you out of this house—now!"
He stepped toward her and she involuntarily took a step backward, though she was blocking his path for leaving, unless he had come through the window as he'd claimed to do before.
"You don't have to be afraid of me," he said gently. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You're not helping me either," she told him bluntly. "Everyone knows about you. They think you're just some creep, getting your kicks out of pretending you're Noah Snyder. Saying you're his ghost is even creepier. Since the real Noah doesn't have any brothers, why don't you just tell me who you really are and what you want from me—then leave..."
She figured he owed her that much and she wanted to clear the air, for her own sake, if nothing else.
He frowned. "Look, I know this may be hard for you to believe, as it was for me at the beginning—but I am Noah Snyder. I can't explain this any more than you can. I wish I could." He paused. "I died almost seven months ago. At least, I think that's when I died. To tell you the truth, I don't remember any of the details—just a weird feeling that things were somehow different."
Paige wasn't convinced that he was on the level. To believe him would go against everything she believed about ghosts being transparent creatures, which pretty much came down to what she read in fairytales and fiction or watched in movies or on television.
On impulse, Paige touched his chest, almost expecting her hand to go right through or get some kind of electric shock. Neither happened. Then she put her hands on his cheeks. His face felt a little cold, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"Ghosts don't have flesh and walk around like a normal human," she scoffed.
"How do you know?" he challenged her. "Unless you've seen and interacted with a ghost before."
"I haven't," Paige admitted. "But that's because there's no such thing as ghosts. And if you think your stupid story is going to make me believe otherwise, you're crazy—"
He titled his face. "I was there when you and Drew were talking to my mom."
That surprised her, since there was no sign that anyone else was there. "You mean Noah's mom," she said disbelievingly.
"She's my mother and I'm her dead son," he told her. "Sorry if I'm creeping you out, but you're the only one I can talk to about this. No one else can see or hear me."
"Yeah, right..."
He sighed. "I don't blame you for not believing me, but I can prove it. You saw me at Amber's party, but no one else did. You saw me at school, but you were the only one who did."
Paige recalled that no one else had seen him at Amber's house—at least not as Noah Snyder. Even a lookalike should have drawn some attention. But it did not. As for at school, honestly, she'd barely noticed anyone else when they were together. She was just happy to be the focus of his attention.
My mom didn't see him talking to me in front of the house, she thought. Was it a trick of the light and shadows? Or could he possibly have been invisible to her?
For that matter, Paige had thought more than once that he seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye when they were having a conversation. But did all that add up to him being a ghost?
Paige couldn't believe she was even considering the possibility that he was telling the truth. Was he really Noah Snyder, come back to life, if only in her presence?
There was one way to find out, or at the very least, expose him as a big fraud.
"If you really are Noah and no one else can see you, would you care to put that to the test?"
He looked at her warily. "What did you have in mind?"
"Come with me to Bonnie's house." She met his eyes. "You do know Bonnie Stewart, your, uh, my neighbor, right?"
"Yeah, I know her. We were cool," he said. "If that's what it takes to prove I'm telling the truth, let's do it."
Paige stepped aside. "You first." She didn't want to take her eyes off him before they saw Bonnie, fearful that he would conveniently find an excuse to disappear, but not literally.
He grinned. "Whatever you say."
She followed him down the stairs and out the front door. It seemed too weird to believe that a ghost or spirit walked instead of floated and went out the door, rather than through it.
All of which made Paige believe that his identity was about to crumble one way or the other.
* * *
Noah wasn't very comfortable going along with this test to prove he really was no longer human in the true sense of the word. But if it was the only way to win Paige over, he had to do it and hope it wouldn't freak her out even more once she realized that Bonnie could not see or hear him.
"Well, here we are," he said, standing on Bonnie's porch. "Better ring the bell so we can get this over with. I would, but since she probably wouldn't hear it..."
"I'll do it," Paige said, her voice still laced with skepticism.
It wasn't long before the door opened.
Bonnie stepped out on the porch. "Hey," she said, looking at Paige.
"Hi." Paige smiled and looked over at him, expecting a reaction. There was none from Bonnie.
"What's happening?" Bonnie asked curiously.
Paige seemed frozen for a moment as she again looked at him. "Do you recognize anyone?"
"Who—you?" Bonnie looked confused.
"I'd think twice before telling her there's a ghost standing next to you," Noah said. "Since she can't see me, she'll think you've lost your mind. Or worse."
Paige gazed at him and then back to Bonnie. "Forget I said that," she told her. "I spaced out for a minute there." She met his eyes. "I was thinking about Noah and the fact that he actually lived in the house across the street before—"
Bonnie's brow creased. "Yeah, I guess I would be a bit spooked too if he'd lived in this house. He was still a nice guy, though. I really wish he was still here."
Noah grinned at Bonnie, wishing he could tell her that he was there. He looked at Paige, who seemed to believe that Bonnie was not aware of his presence.
"What if he were still here?" Paige asked.
Bonnie raised a brow. "You mean if he hadn't died?"
Paige seemed to think about it for a moment as she turned to Noah. "Yeah."
"That would be great," Bonnie said. "Unfortunately, we can't change what happened."
"Yeah, I guess not," Paige muttered.
"Have you seen that guy anymore who was pretending to be Noah?" Bonnie asked.
Paige looked over at Noah.
"Don't do it," Noah told her. "I'm not pretending to be anyone. I'm the real Noah."
"No," Paige finally said, "I haven't seen him."
Bonnie smiled. "That's good. Maybe he'll leave you alone."
Paige remained mute.
"I will leave you alone, if you want," Noah told her. "But since you're the only one I can talk to, I may need your help. But don't tell her that."
"Drew asked me to the school dance," Paige told Bonnie.
"Really?" she said.
"I know I said I'd hang out with you and Tabitha, but—"
Bonnie grinned. "But you like him."
"Kind of," Paige said, eyeing Noah.
He felt envious of Drew, which he still couldn't quite understand. Though he was attracted to Paige, it didn't seem like he should feel emotion as a ghost. But he couldn't help it. She was attractive and likeable, and he would love to take her to the dance if he could.
"Then go for it," Bonnie told her. "We can hang out some other time."
"Okay." Paige smiled. "Well, I should go."
Bonnie nodded. "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Paige said, glancing at Noah.
She walked away, alongside him. He watched as she looked over her shoulder, as if Bonnie would be able to see them walking together.
"She only sees you," Noah told h
er. "Sorry to disappoint."
"I'm not disappointed," she surprised him by saying. "Just really confused."
"You and me both," he said honestly.
They walked into Paige's house.
* * *
Paige still found it hard to believe she was encountering the ghost of Noah Snyder. But clearly Bonnie was not aware of his presence on her porch—in spite of the fact that he looked very much like the Noah who Bonnie had pictures of on her cell phone and had befriended.
Aside from that, Paige had sensed all along that there was something slightly off about the guy, though she couldn't put a finger on it. She certainly never would have entertained the thought that he had died months earlier.
But in a way, that made more sense to Paige than having a guy masquerading as Noah, only to turn out to be some jerk playing mind games with her for some unknown purpose.
It still didn't make this any easier as she faced Noah Snyder, now seeing him in a whole new light.
"Okay, so maybe you are a ghost," she said, keeping open the possibility that there might be some other explanation for his coming and going and apparently only being able to be seen by her.
"Believe me, I wish I weren't a ghost, spirit, or whatever," he said evenly. "But this is the hand I've been dealt."
"All right, all right—you're a ghost." Paige decided to give him the benefit of lingering doubts, until proven otherwise. "So why are you here instead of heaven, hell, or someplace else away from this world?"
Noah flashed a look of befuddlement. "That's just it, I'm not sure. One moment I was standing at the cliff over Dead Lake, the next, I was somewhere else, not knowing how I got there. It didn't take long to figure out that I must be dead since everyone I spoke to never spoke back or acknowledged my presence. That is, until you—"
Paige recalled seeing him on the pier when they first arrived in town and feeling a chill. She hadn't thought much of it then. Now she wondered if it was at that point that they had somehow made a weird connection.
"What do you think it means?" she asked him, having no idea herself. "You think it has something to do with this house that you lived in?"
He shrugged. "I think it has to do with you. When I'm with you, I feel an energy I don't feel otherwise. Maybe you feel it, too..."
Teen Ghost at Dead Lake Page 9
