“People.” I licked my lips. “People don’t last forever. They either die, or just leave.” We were quiet for a while.
“Does that take away from the time you had with them?” He asked his voice still a silky timber.
“Doesn’t it? You know it’s going to end, so what's the point if it’s not going to last.” I had to bite my tongue to keep control of the emotions this conversation was bringing to the surface.
“Just because something will end, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it while it lasts.” Miles gestured toward the stars. “Most if not all of those stars are already dead. Does that mean I shouldn't look at them? That I shouldn’t enjoy the fact they existed?” I don’t think we were talking about the stars anymore. I was fighting back tears, so I bit down on my bottom lip hard. It didn’t work. “If I did that, then those stars would have lived and died without anyone appreciating them.” He sighed. “And that would be a travesty.” We laid there quietly as I thought about what he said. I was expecting the guys to leave me if or when they found out about the Sight. I worried about it every night before I went to sleep. It was in the back of my mind when I was with them. It shadowed everything we did together, all the fun we had together. It was always there. Maybe Miles was right. Yeah, the guys might bail on me in the end. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy their friendships while I had them, I just couldn’t let them in too far. I gave Miles a small nudge in the arm with my elbow.
“You’re pretty smart you know that.” I kept my voice light and soft. I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye.
“Book smart yes, but people smart not always.” He scratched his nose. “That thinking just sounded very familiar to me.”
“Who did you get your answer from?” I asked looking over at him. He smiled a bit.
“Several Psychology textbooks.” He admitted his ears getting pink. I chuckled quietly as I looked back up at the sky. I felt him shrug next to me. “A friend was having a hard time, and I needed some way to help.”
“So you went and found one.”
“Yes.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “There is usually an answer out there to any question you could have. You just have to know how to find them, or where to find them.” I smiled to myself.
“So you memorized the textbooks?” He snorted.
“Not intentionally.” He admitted; his voice still silky soft as it slid through my ear. “If I read something or see something I can just remember it perfectly.”
“A photographic memory?”
“For places and things yes. For books, if I read them I remember every word and can access that information anytime.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “It’s kind of weird.” I felt a large chunk of the wall around my heart crumbled as I smiled to myself. Miles didn’t know what weird was.
“Not weird Miles. Unique.” I whispered back to him. “You are unique, and that’s not a bad thing in a world full of carbon copies.” We were quiet for a while.
“Thank you, Lexie.”
“Thank you, Miles.”
We were still laying there in comfortable silence when the back door opened. I didn’t bother sitting up to see who it was. I felt big feet walking on the dock and knew it was the guys.
“Did we miss it?” Isaac asked sitting down behind us.
“Not yet, it’s not an exact science with meteor showers.” Miles said as he lifted his arm and checked his watch. “They should be getting close though.” Someone sat behind me; I tilted my head to see Asher upside down. I gave him a smile then looked back up at the sky. It wasn’t long before I felt fingers playing with my hair. I smiled knowing it was Asher. A streak of light ran across the sky.
“Here we go.” Miles announced. I kept my eyes on the sky as I blowed into my hands.
“Where are your gloves, Beautiful?” Ethan asked from behind Asher.
“I didn’t know I needed to have any.” I answered honestly. I was from California this was winter weather to me not fall.
“I’m buying you some gloves.” Ethan sighed. I smiled to myself as I watched more light streak across the sky. I knew hanging out with the guys would end, but I decided to enjoy it while it lasted. We sat there in silence watching the meteor shower late into the night.
Chapter 7
“Lexie.”
“Hmm?”
“Lexie, wake up.” Rory’s voice brought me out of my comfy sleep. I opened my eyes to find Rory standing in my bedroom doorway. He was grinning down at me.
“The boys are downstairs, they're going hiking. Something about scouting out new rock climbing spots.” I rubbed my eyes and stretched on my side. That sounded pretty fun to me.
“Tell them I’ll be down in like, ten minutes.” I put my feet on the floor and ran my hands through my hair. It was a mess; I had forgotten to put it back in a braid last night. Rory shut the door as he left. I went to my closet and found a pair of old blue jeans and an old faded black Aerosmith shirt. I pulled on an old pair of boots and grabbed a hoodie. I was heading down the stairs trying to pull my hair back when I heard laughing.
“Damn Red, you’ve got serious bed hair.” Isaac’s voice was cheerful this morning, and loud. It was too early for this. I stuck my tongue out at him as I finally tied my hair back. I looked over at Zeke, Ethan, and Miles. Oh yeah, Asher was working this morning. Everyone was wearing old faded clothes for the hike.
“Before we go anywhere you need to feed me.” I warned them grumpily.
“We’re picking up coffee and breakfast on the way.” Ethan was practically bouncing on his toes. I was pretty sure he already had his coffee this morning. I shrugged, and we headed for the door.
“Hold on!” Rory shouted. We all turned and watched Rory walk out of the kitchen. “What path are you hiking? How far are you going? And when will you be back?” Zeke answered all his questions then we were all piled into the back of Zeke’s old ‘97 black Jeep Cherokee. Soon I was downing my breakfast sandwich happily.
“So, why didn’t I get any warning about this morning?” I asked before taking a deep drink of my coffee.
“I thought someone had already told you.” Miles admitted before biting into his sandwich.
“I told Ethan to do it.” Isaac chimed in.
“You did not; you said you were going to tell her.” Ethan shot back. Isaac gave Ethan a shove which knocked him into me. I saved my coffee, barely. Ethan shoved him back.
“No fighting with her right next to you!” Zeke barked at them over his shoulder. The twins stopped instantly. Isaac leaned around Ethan and looked at me.
“Sorry Red.” Isaac offered. I glared at him.
“You’re lucky you didn’t kill my coffee.” I told him in a menacing voice. The guys chuckled. Soon we were pulling off the road to a marked trail head. When I climbed out some of the guys were already opening the back of the Jeep. Zeke pulled out a big pack and pulled it on; he clipped the straps across his chest. The straps didn’t look comfortable; they were a little tight against his chest.
“Shit, I’m going to need a new pack this summer.” Zeke grumbled as Ethan pulled on his own pack.
“Good, then I can have your old one.” Isaac chimed in. I just shook my head at them. It wasn’t long before we were walking along the trail. The woods were beautiful, full of reds, oranges, and yellows. There was even some green here and there from the pines. I wish I had thought to bring my sketchbook. Then again, the guys probably wouldn’t have stopped long enough to let me draw anyway.
“I’m going to have to come back out here with my sketchbook.” My fingers were actually twitching to use my pastels.
“Not alone.” Zeke called back from the front of our line. I rolled my eyes. Over the next couple hours, the guys told me about their rock climbing trips over the years. Isaac told me a story about Ethan losing his grip, dropping and swinging right into the rock face. That set Ethan off on a story about Zeke grabbing a weak ledge, the ledge crumbled, and he dropped eight feet to the ground. Zeke only admit
ted that it hurt. The boys explained how rock climbing works, what kind of stone you want to find and what happens if you make a bad decision. You drop, and if you had a bad anchor or belay you die. This did not deter me a bit in wanting to try it. Eventually we reached a rock face that ran up a few hundred feet up to the top.
“Wow, that’s high.” I said lamely.
“That’s kinda the point.” Zeke chuckled before turning to the other guys. They began talking about possible routes, and hand holds. Were there any cracks for hand holds? The more they talked, the more I started to see the rock face the way they did. It was a challenge. I decided then and there that I was rock climbing with them this summer, well, if they were still around. At some point Isaac stepped away from the guys as Zeke was pointing out an overhang on the left that Asher might want to try climbing. Isaac began climbing up the wall without any gear. He was about eight feet up when I started to get worried. If an eight foot fall hurt Zeke, then it’d hurt Isaac too.
“Um, guys. Isaac’s climbing.” I actually pointed at Isaac’s back. Everyone looked up and cursed. Well, except Miles. Miles never cursed.
“Isaac get your ass back down here!” Zeke barked his voice hard, his face pissed. Isaac waved a hand dismissively at us. He climbed another few feet, my heart started racing.
“Isaac! You have no gear on! Get your ass down!” Ethan shouted his face stormy.
“It’s an easy climb!” Isaac called down to us. He moved to the left towards the overhang.
“Don’t even think about it Isaac!” Miles shouted, his voice turning cold. Miles, mild sweet Miles was getting angry too.
“I’m going after him.” Zeke growled. The guys stepped in front of him.
“You can’t get him down without gear, Zeke.” Miles said his voice so cold it sent shivers down my spine. “It’s not like you can carry him down.” Isaac had reached the overhang; he was looking for a handhold when I got an idea.
“I’ll get him.” I told them quietly my eyes still on Isaac. I knew they were looking at me. They were probably thinking I was crazy.
“You're not touching that wall, Lexie.” Zeke growled. I smiled wickedly.
“It’ll only take a few feet.” I reassured him before I stepped closer to the wall. “Hey Isaac. I’m coming up!” I shouted. I felt the boys go still behind me.
“No, you’re not Red!” Isaac shouted down, his head now turned toward me. I stepped up to the wall and looked for a handhold.
“You said it’s an easy climb!” I shouted back innocently. “If that’s true then I can probably do it.” I found a hold and grabbed it, my fingertips scraping against the stone. I put my foot on another ledge and boosted myself up. I looked for more holds.
“Someone fucking stop her!” Isaac shouted, his voice demanding. I found another hold and another spot for my foot and lifted myself up.
“I’m not going to piss off Beautiful.” Ethan answered Isaac, realizing what I was doing. I moved up another hold.
“Zeke!” Isaac shouted. I couldn’t tell but I think he was coming closer.
“I’ve learned that Lexie is stubborn, if she wants to hurt herself that’s on her.” Zeke declared his voice indifferent. I smiled to myself.
“Miles damn it!” Isaac shouted. I looked up to watch him making his way back along the route he’d taken.
“I don’t go around grabbing girls, especially without permission.” Miles shot back. I smiled at the wall as I hoisted myself up a little more. I didn’t know how high I was, but I trusted that if I were getting past the guy's reach they would grab me off the wall. I found another handhold and pulled myself up.
“Lexie.” Ethan coughed. He was telling me not to go any higher. I nodded my head so they knew I heard. I was pretending to look for another handhold when I heard Isaac cursing. I looked up to see him making his way down the rock face.
“Don’t you dare move an inch Red.” Isaac growled as he found hand holds that brought him down beside me.
“But I thought it was an easy climb?” I asked pretending to be confused. His face was furious as he reached a hand out to my back.
“It’s not!” He snapped looking down at where I was on the wall. He seemed to realize I wasn’t that far off the ground because he started climbing down again. “Don’t you fucking move.” I kept still as I watched Isaac climb down the last 6 feet or so. He dropped to the ground and looked up at me. His hands wrapped around to my hips, his fingers biting into my skin. “Come down a bit so I can get you.” He ordered his voice boiling. Oh boy, Isaac was pissed. I reached down with my left foot and feeling along till I found that foothold. I felt around and I found the handhold I had used before. I moved my foot and hand at the same time, hitting both holds right. I looked for the next foothold and handhold, then moved onto those. Isaac’s hands slid up to my waist before he pulled me off the wall and against his chest. I was dangling for a moment before he put me down on my feet. He turned me roughly towards him and got in my face.
“Don’t you ever fucking do that again.” He growled, pointing at me. “You don’t have any gear on; you’ve never even had a lesson!” He took a breath then growled at me again. “You understand?!” I swallowed hard at the anger on his face; I nodded. Satisfied he got the answer he wanted he turned on the guys. “What the hell were you guys thinking? You just let her start climbing?!” All the guys shrugged.
“Lexie is going to do what Lexie is going to do.” Zeke explained calmly his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yeah, we can’t stop her if she wants to do something.” Ethan added looking innocent. Miles just shook his head.
“Next time stop her!” Isaac shouted, though the volume of his voice was starting to lower as he calmed down. Isaac reached back and wrapped a hand around my arm. “Come on Red, you’re staying next to me so I can keep an eye on you.” He grumbled, giving me a tug as he began walking back down the trail. When Isaac’s back was turned Zeke gave me a thumbs up, Ethan grinned at me, and Miles started laughing quietly. I winked at them as I followed Isaac trying my best not to smile.
One of the guys gave me a bottle of water as we headed back down the trail; we were maybe halfway back when That chill down my neck. Really? Fucking really? I’m out in the fucking woods and of course there’s going to be a ghost. I sighed as I looked around for it. I spotted her watching us on the trail. She had long blonde, blue eyes. She was wearing a bloody flannel shirt and slashed jeans. She was screaming at us.
“Come on! Can’t one of you find me?” She was crying as she pushed her bloody hair out of her face. Any annoyance I had disappeared as I watched her. Shit.
“Hey guys, I’ve got to...you know, find a tree.” I announced my eyes on the ghost. The twins chuckled. Everyone stopped walking.
“Go a hundred feet off trail.” Zeke informed me as he took off his pack.
“How does a girl do that in the woods by the way?” Ethan asked curiously. I laughed as the other boys groaned.
“I’m not going to explain it to you.” I shot over my shoulder as I headed off trail; I made eye contact with the woman and tilted my head that she should follow me. Her eyes grew wide before she followed. My head started throbbing. My body felt torn up, across my chest, my head felt crushed. I don’t know how she died, but it wasn’t easy. I walked until the others were out of earshot before turning to her.
“Who are you?” The relief on her face was so great that my own head spun. Shit, she was way too close. My head started throbbing.
“My name’s Karen Malone; I just want someone to find my body.” She told me in a rush before continuing. “A bear got me a couple weeks ago, I think and no one has found me. Please help me.” I was afraid of that. I had the guys with me now; I couldn’t go body hunting. Could I?
“How far away is your body?” I asked debating
“Not even half a mile, I’m maybe 150 feet off trail.” She assured me. Fuck. I was going to do this. I knew I was.
“You're going to have to show me.” And I
was going to have to come up with some reason to get the guys in her direction.
“I will; it’s just a right at the next trail split then a little further.”
“Okay, let’s go. I’ll think of something to tell the guys.” I mumbled heading back toward the trail.
“Thank you so much, you have no idea what this means to me.” She gushed.
“Oh I do, that’s why I’m doing it.” I whispered grumpily before stepping out onto the trail. Everyone got up, and we started walking again. Karen stayed next to me the whole time. She told me about her life. She had been a university student here on a little weekend vacation when she somehow got between a bear and its cub; the bear didn’t like that. Then she told me about her family. She was an only child; her parents were still alive and would be devastated if she wasn't found. She just wanted them to know what happened to her. I nodded along, trying to keep up with the guy’s conversation and Karen's chatter. My head was throbbing; Karen's memories started slipping in. It was an hour before we reached the trail split.
“Here! We need to go right.” Karen announced anxiously. My mind raced to find some reason to go down the other trail, anything besides hey, there’s a dead body this way, we need to find. Otherwise, this girl's soul won’t move on. I finally just settled on curiosity.
“Hey what’s this way?” I asked stepping down the right side of the split. The boys stopped. Zeke pulled out the map and checked the trail.
“That connects to a longer trail around the mountain.” I looked over my shoulder at the guys.
“Let’s check it out.” I offered lightly. Come on guys, this ghost is killing me. “We won’t go too far.” All the boys shrugged, and we headed down the trail. Yay, for being the only girl in a group of boys! When you wanted to check something out, they were willing to go with you. We started walking again, the boys talking back and forth. I couldn’t focus on their conversation now, my head was throbbing in time with my pulse and there was that pressure in my face. I had tissues out and against my nose before the others noticed. Come on Karen, where's your body. This fucking hurts. It was fifteen minutes later when Karen ran ahead of me and pointed off into the trees.
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