Kyle thought about his last girlfriend, Cheryl Hendrickson, who had died on that very boat last year. Overcome with guilt, he decided to make a confession to his best friend, if only to get it off his chest.
After taking another swig of beer from the can, Kyle gathered his courage and said, "I have to tell you something..."
Noah, not picking up the seriousness of his tone, responded with a chuckle and said, "Oh, man, please don't tell me you're about to puke."
"I killed Cheryl," Kyle blurted out.
"What—?" Noah stared at him.
Kyle repeated himself before adding, "It wasn't an accident—not really."
Noah frowned. "You're kidding, right?"
"I did it." Kyle tasted more beer. "She was acting like a bitch like she always did when she didn't get her way. I told her to get out of my face. Instead, she called me an asshole and slapped me. I reacted without really knowing what I was doing, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her away. Guess it was harder than I intended. She tripped over something and hit her head. When she didn't move, I thought she was faking it. Once I realized something was seriously wrong with her, I tried to wake her up, but it wasn't happening. She was dead." He paused and finished the beer. "I panicked, man, and said she tripped on her own."
"I can't believe this," Noah said, looking at him as though he were a monster. "Why couldn't you just tell the truth?"
"I was freaked out," he answered truthfully. "I didn't want to ruin any chance I had of getting a scholarship and going to college—and end up in jail instead."
"It wasn't intentional," Noah told him. "The police would have understood if you'd just explained it."
"Maybe, but don't you see—I just couldn't take that chance. Cheryl was gone and I couldn't bring her back. Why should I have to suffer for it?"
"You can be a real asshole sometimes!" Noah told him.
"Yeah, but I'm also your best friend, dude," Kyle said. "Meaning you can't tell anyone."
"I won't," Noah promised. "But I hope you step up and do the right thing. You owe that to Cheryl and her family."
Kyle did not respond as he tossed the empty beer can in the water.
* * *
In the hall, Kyle brushed aside the thought as he headed toward Lora, who was talking with Amber and Roni. He forced a smile as Lora faced him.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey you," she said, raising her chin in anticipation of a kiss from him.
He didn't disappoint. "What's up?"
"We were talking about the school dance on Friday and what to wear."
"Anything will look great on you," he told her.
Lora fluttered her lashes. "Oh you're so sweet..."
"Are you like a broken record or what?" Amber sneered. "I remember you using the same line on Cheryl."
Kyle frowned. "Don't go there."
"Why not? She was my best friend."
"And Noah was my best friend," he countered. "They're both gone now. Time to move on..."
"He's right," Roni said. "Let's not dredge up the past. We've all made mistakes. We still have to live our lives."
Amber backed down from a glaring contest with Kyle. He welcomed that, having no desire to be on her bad side any more than he wanted her to be on his.
"Anyway, I need to get something out of my locker," he said, as a means to get away without further harm. He gave Lora another kiss. "Catch you later."
Even as he walked away, tasting her lip gloss, Kyle couldn't help but think about Cheryl and Noah.
* * *
Monica waited till nearly everyone else left class before approaching Vince, the Civics teacher and her secret lover.
"Hello, Monica," he said professionally. "How can I help you?"
"I wanted to ask you about the assignment," she said with a straight face.
"Okay."
She had a couple of things she'd prepared in her mind to ask him, if needed. But now that the room was empty, except for them, she could stop the pretense.
"I'm not sure I can do this any longer," she told him.
He frowned. "You mean us?"
Monica gazed up at him. "Yeah."
He sighed. "Can we talk about this somewhere other than in my classroom?"
"Such as...?" She suspected he would say his apartment, which was the last place she wanted to be right now.
"That café on Cedar Lane we went to."
It was far enough away from school and where she lived that Monica felt it was unlikely either of them would run into anyone they knew.
"Okay," she agreed. "I can meet you there at six."
"I'll be there," he said, smiling.
She smiled back, but didn't feel the meeting would change anything. Getting together with him had not been her smartest move. But ending it had been hard, as it seemed they belonged together in many ways. Even if in other ways, it seemed just the opposite.
Monica left him to grade some papers and turned her thoughts to Noah Snyder, someone who was never too far from her mind for various reasons...
* * *
After making out with Vince in his car, Monica had him drop her off about a block from her house.
"Nice to spend time with you," he said.
"Same here," she told him.
His eyes crinkled. "So I'll see you in class tomorrow."
"Yeah." Monica got out of the car. "Bye."
He drove away and she started to walk, nearly running into Noah, who had been jogging.
"Hey," he said. "Was that Mr. Dixon's car?"
"No," she lied.
"I think it was. And I also saw you coming out of his apartment."
She sneered. "I was picking up some notes."
"Yeah, right." Noah rolled his eyes. "Maybe you need to get a life—with people your own age."
"Maybe you should mind your own business."
"Hanging out with a creep like Mr. Dixon isn't cool," Noah said. "Can't you see that he's just using you? And he's probably doing the same with other girls."
"You don't know anything," she shot back, a feeling of jealousy coursing through her.
"I know enough to know that he's bad news and you should stay away from him."
Monica considered his words, but since they weren't what she wanted to hear, she rejected them. "I don't have time for this! Just leave me alone."
"Okay," he said, "I'm just trying to help."
"I never asked for your help."
"That doesn't mean you don't need it."
"I don't." She furrowed her brow. "Please keep your thoughts to yourself. If rumors begin to fly around school, it would get back to my parents and—"
"Don't worry, I won't rat you out," Noah promised. "I just hope you think about what I've said—for your own sake. Later."
He started running again.
Monica headed home, her thoughts about Vince suddenly more confusing than ever.
* * *
At her locker, Monica's thoughts returned to the present. She wished she had done some things differently. Maybe a lot of things. But it wasn't too late to change the direction of her life, was it? Unlike Noah, who no longer had any options left. Not even a fake Noah could change the fact that the real guy had breathed his last breath.
Monica headed for her next class. On the way, she texted one of her friends to cover for her while she met with Vince tonight, for better or worse.
* * *
Roni sat in the front seat of Jeffrey's car in the school parking lot. She fidgeted as she handed him the wad of bills that she had snuck out of her mother's purse.
"It's all there," she told him before he could ask, which included the rest of what she owed him from the last time.
"Good," he said tonelessly, not bothering to count it. He put the cash in his jacket pocket.
"Where's the stuff?" Roni asked desperately, her body aching all over.
Jeffrey reached inside his jacket and pulled out the small bag of coke. "Here."
She snatched it from him
and immediately opened the bag, poured out a line, and snorted it. She closed her eyes as the drug took effect.
"You're hooked," Jeffrey told her smugly.
She sneered at him. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Maybe you'd better give it a rest."
"Like you care."
"I don't," he admitted, "but your boyfriend might."
Roni's chest heaved. "Leave him out of this," she warned.
"I'm just saying...." Jeffrey grinned crookedly. "If you want to keep your little secret from coming out to him and everyone else, I suggest you clean yourself up and make sure our little transactions stay under the radar."
"Whatever." She rubbed her nose, having no intention of exposing him and losing her means of feeding her habit—even if he was a snake. And she certainly had no desire to have any of this get back to Paul, her friends, or family. She just hoped she had the strength to prevent that.
Roni got out of the car and watched him speed off. She imagined he was going to get more drugs for her and others who could pay him to satisfy their addictions.
"Hey..." she heard and saw Paul standing there.
She nearly panicked, fearful that he would be able to tell that she was high. "Hey."
"Was that Jeffrey Harper's car you just got out of?"
Roni practically froze in that moment. She wanted to lie, but felt that would do more harm than good. "Yes," she said evenly. "He wanted to borrow my notes from English class."
Paul stared at her. "And that's all...?"
"Yes." She made herself smile innocently. "There's nothing going on between us."
"There better not be," he muttered.
Roni liked that he was jealous, even if that jealousy was misplaced. It meant he really cared for her and didn't want to lose her to a creep like Jeffrey. As if that would ever happen.
She put her arm around Paul's waist. "You're the only one I want to be with, baby."
He grinned. "Same here."
She smiled at him as they headed toward the school.
* * *
Jeffrey had his music blaring as he drove into town to meet with his supplier. He literally had the students at Dead Lake High eating out of his hands, making him lots of money. But as careful as he had been, he wasn't stupid enough to believe that it couldn't all come crashing down around him if someone like Roni should open her mouth and say the wrong thing.
That was something he used to fear could happen with Noah Snyder, who was sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted. But that all changed when he took a sixty foot dive off Dead Lake Cliff...
* * *
After class, Jeffrey stepped outside for some fresh air. He heard someone come up behind him and turned to see Noah approaching. He had an angry look on his face.
"What's up?" Jeffrey said casually.
"I want you to know that I'm on to you," Noah told him.
Jeffrey tried not to appear flustered. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about bringing drugs into the school and handing them out like candy to the students."
"Where did you get that nonsense?" Jeffrey asked tensely.
"Doesn't matter," Noah said. "What does matter is that your drug dealing days at school are over!"
Jeffrey felt the bile rise in his throat as he moved closer to Noah. "Or what?" he challenged him brazenly.
Noah didn't back down. "Figure it out, asshole!"
"Not cool being a snitch," Jeffrey warned.
"Less cool being a drug pusher on campus. If you don't stop it, I will!" Noah glared at him before stepping back and walking away.
Jeffrey inhaled deeply, suddenly feeling that his operation was being threatened. He didn't know Noah very well, but believed he could rat him out. That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it.
* * *
Jeffrey put that thought out of his mind as he drove up to the house on Footbridge Way. In the last seven months, things had pretty much gotten back to normal with his drug dealing business. There were plenty of students more than willing to pay for what he had to offer. And there was no more Noah Snyder to stand in the way.
Admittedly, Jeffrey had been rattled when he'd heard someone was going around pretending to be Noah. Roni had actually accused him of being this dude. Though he'd laughed it off, he wasn't laughing inside at the thought of Noah coming back from the dead in the form of an impersonator, especially if the person knew what the real Noah had carried with him to the grave.
But apparently these rumors of someone claiming to be Noah had been just that, having all but disappeared lately. That was fine with him. He had enough drama in his life and didn't need any more to deal with.
He got out of the car and headed toward his supplier's house.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Your date is here," Paige's mother called up to her on Friday evening.
"I'm coming," she yelled back, glancing in the mirror above her dresser at the outfit she'd chosen for the dance. It was a navy blue dress with a scoop neckline. Her hair was pulled up into a chignon. She hoped it wasn't too much or too little as she stepped into the high-heeled shoes.
"You look gorgeous," she heard Noah say.
Turning to her right, Paige saw him standing there. She suspected he might show up sooner or later tonight.
She blushed. "Thanks." Then another thought occurred to her. "Did you just pop in—?"
He chuckled. "Yes. Don't worry; I wouldn't secretly watch you get dressed."
Paige believed him. "Good," she said, "that wouldn't be cool."
"No, it wouldn't," he agreed. "Maybe if things had been different between us, we could have... Well...no reason to go there."
"Yeah, you're right." In her mind, it was a place Paige would have welcomed going, had he still been human and they got to know each other better. But since that possibility was lost forever, neither of them could change it.
"So, you're all set for your date with Drew?" Noah asked.
"Yes," Paige responded awkwardly. "Sorry."
"Don't be. It's cool. He's available, I'm not."
She was glad to see he apparently had a change of heart about Drew. "That's true," she said, but still felt as if she were choosing one over the other. She looked at Noah. He wasn't wearing his cap, but the same clothes. Not that she expected a ghost to have his own wardrobe. "But you will be there, right?"
"Yeah, I'll check it out," he told her. "Could be fun hanging with my friends, even if they don't know I'm there."
"It might also help you to remember if any of them pushed you off the cliff." Paige shivered at the thought of it, but it wasn't something either of them could just dismiss.
Noah nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." He met her eyes. "Did you learn anything from anyone yet?"
"Nothing concrete," she told him. "No one wants to think that anyone had it in for you."
"Or maybe they're afraid to admit it," he suggested. "Or they're hiding something."
"I'll keep trying," Paige promised, though fearing it might be an uphill battle. But it was one she couldn't run from.
Noah met her eyes. "So will I. Whatever happens, happens. Or not..."
She concurred, though it was what might have already happened that was the issue. "Well, better get going."
"Go ahead," he told her. "I'll show myself out."
She giggled. "Very funny. Hey, do you want to catch a ride with us?" She assumed he could go anywhere he wanted in the blink of an eye, but she wasn't sure how that worked so she thought she'd ask.
"Not really," he said. "It's that three's a crowd thing. Besides, I can get there before you even head out the door."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that," she said. "Guess I'll see you there."
"Count on it," he told her.
She would, as she wanted to spend time with him in a teen social setting, even if no one else knew he was there.
Downstairs, Paige found Drew waiting in the foyer.
"Hey," he said, grinning.
> "Hey."
He gave her the once over. "You look nice."
"Thanks." She smiled. "So do you."
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah," she said.
Before they could leave, Paige's mother came out of the kitchen. "Hope you two have a great time."
"We will," Drew said politely.
"And you'll being Paige home at a decent hour?"
"Mom..." Paige said, batting her eyes.
"No problem," he answered.
"Great." Sharon smiled. "Drive carefully."
She saw them out and, once they were alone, Paige said, "I hope my mom didn't ask you a thousand questions."
Drew chuckled. "No, not that many. My mom probably would've asked you more."
"Something to look forward to," she said half-jokingly, as he opened the car door for her.
Paige couldn't help but look back at the house, almost expecting to see Noah looking out her window, if not standing right next to them. But he wasn't there. Part of her wished he had been, as she somehow took comfort in his presence.
* * *
Bonnie and Tabitha walked into the gym where the dance was being held. There was a band composed of students playing music.
"I see some of our friends," Tabitha said.
"Me too," Bonnie told her. However, she didn't see Paige and Drew. They seemed like a good match. Bonnie hoped that Paige wasn't being affected too much living in Noah's old house—so much so that she was trying to turn his death into a mystery, which had already been solved.
"Let's go say hello," Tabitha told her.
"Okay."
Before they got too far, they were cut off by Amber.
"I didn't expect to see you two here," she said smugly.
"Didn't expect to see you either," Bonnie replied curtly. "So I guess we're even."
Amber chuckled. "Too bad Noah's no longer around for you to pine over." She glanced at Tabitha. "But since you're into girls now, I guess it doesn't matter."
Bonnie tried to keep her emotions in check, but Amber always knew how to push the right buttons. "Just for the record, I've always been into girls. Maybe if you had spent more time being faithful to Noah instead of sleeping with his friend, you'd know that Noah and I were never more than just good friends."
Amber rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Teen Ghost at Dead Lake Page 12
