“Hey. I did call. Like a dozen times.” He takes a deep breath, “But I just kept hanging up.”
“Why?”
“Because I was never quite sure what to say to you. You were always so uninterested. I only asked you out today because you seemed so…different. Relaxed.”
I nod. He didn’t call because he thinks I’m a total ball-buster. Or at least he did.
“But if I’d known you even wanted to go to those dances, I would have asked you to every single one.”
I shake my head in disbelief.
“No really. Just like I’m asking you now. Zoe, will you go to Homecoming with me?”
I suck in a breath. This is happening a lot quicker than I expected.
I narrow my eyes, “You aren’t just asking because you feel sorry for me, right?”
He laughs again and it’s a deep belly laugh. “Zoe, I promise you, I do not feel sorry for you. If I did you’d probably kick me in the junk.”
That’s probably true. I grin. “Sure. I’d really like to go to the dance with you.”
Now it’s his turn to smile. “It’s a date.”
Out the corner of my eye I see Logan head back to the car with a snort.
Nine
Logan isn’t around much for the next few days, leaving me in relative peace. He shows back up the night before school starts, appearing in my room while I’m on the phone with Carlos, rehashing his most recent date with the guy we are now referring to as Mr. Perfect. Logan just pops in and I nearly jump out of my skin. Wrapping up the convo quickly I put my phone onto charge and curl up in my chair.
“You ready for tomorrow?” he asks coolly.
I shake my head. “That’s all I get? You disappear for a week and I get a ready for tomorrow?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“How about starting with where the hell you’ve been for the last few days. Then work your way into an apology. Groveling wouldn’t be out of the question.”
He sighs, flopping down on my bed.
“I was around.”
I fold my arms and glare. I’m pretty sure if looks could kill, he’d be dead. Again. Deader at least.
“I thought I saw someone.”
“Who?”
He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Someone like me.”
“Another ghost?”
“Not exactly. Something else. I’ve seen him a few times. It’s like, he’s following me.”
I sit forward, irritation almost gone.
“What does he want?”
Logan shrugs.
“Did you go looking for him?”
“No. I was trying to lead him away.”
“Away from what?”
His head snaps up, “From you, Zoe. I was trying to keep him away from you.”
I feel my face soften. Irritation gone.
“Why?”
He looks away, “The thing is, he feels…dangerous. Like he wants to hurt me. Or maybe you. I’m not sure, but he just feels malevolent.”
“That’s a big word for a jock.” I quip, unable to restrain myself.
He rolls his eyes.
“Sorry,” I offer with a grin. “I’ve been holding it in all week, it has to come out somewhere.”
He’s not amused.
“So is he gone?”
Logan shrugs, “I don’t know. But I couldn’t stay away any longer.”
I smile. “You wanna watch TV? There’s a special on the Travel Channel.”
He sits up, rubbing his face. I’d say he was exhausted, if he could actually get tired anymore. Maybe even dead people can get emotionally tired. Maybe it’s even worse for them.
“Sure. What kind of special?”
I flick on my TV. “Exotic Destinations. My favorite. I keep this list of all the places I want to see after I graduate. Sort of my bucket list.”
I cringe as soon as the words are out. “Sorry.”
He half smiles, staring at the flickering screen. “No big deal.”
“Did you have a bucket list?” I ask out of sheer morbid curiosity.
He nods, “I did actually. Didn’t get much done.”
“What did you get done?”
He starts counting on his fingers, “Surf in Hawaii, we went there on a family vacation a few years ago, walked on a volcano, also saved a life—“
“Whose?”
“Craig Peterson. Last year we were hanging out and he choked on a piece of popcorn. I gave him the Heimlich.”
I pucker my lips. “Cool.”
“And I had sex. With an actual girl. That was a big one.” He laughs and I reach out to slug him in the arm before I can stop myself.
And I hit him.
He looks at me and I look at him. I slug him again and pass through.
Pulling one leg under me, I prop myself up beside him. “Ok, I think I have this figured out.”
His eyes are wide, “Really? That would be nice.”
I hold up a finger. “Like in the car. You hit your head, and felt it, because you expected to feel it. It was sort of…instinct.”
“And just now—“
“You expected me to make contact. It’s like for just a second, you forget you’re dead. You forget that you can’t feel, so you do.”
“So how do I control it?”
I frown, “That I don’t know. But I bet we can figure it out.”
“How?”
I hold out my hands. “I don’t know. Let’s just sit here and talk and relax. Just like we were.”
He settles back, “Okay. I can do that.”
I sit back too. “So what didn’t you get to do on your list?”
“Well, I always wanted to go to New York City. And I never got to crash a wedding. Or invent something—I always thought I’d invent something. And I was really looking forward to college.” He pauses, his face growing dark. “Never fell in love.”
I can’t hide the surprise in my voice. “Really? What about Kaylee?”
He shakes his head. “She was great, but it was never like that. It was more a relationship of…physical attraction that faded into convenience. I wasn’t even mad when she dumped me. It was more like feeling relieved.”
“That’s pathetic, truly.”
“Yeah, yeah. Make fun of the dead guy. What about you, what’s on your list?”
I cock my head to the side. “I want to backpack through Europe. See the pyramids. Fly in a hot air balloon. Swim the English Channel. Learn to scuba dive. Climb a mountain. Stand inside the Parthenon. Learn to speak Chinese .”
“Why Chinese?”
I shrug, “So I can order my food in the proper language?”
He laughs and I join in.
“And fall in love,” I add softly.
He reaches over and grabs my hand. I can feel it. Just for a minute before he fades away, but I feel it, and I squeeze.
“See? Like that,” I say sadly.
At some point I fall asleep, curled up next to a dead guy, which is just too insane for words. He rouses me around one in the morning, whispering my name in my ear, and I crawl into bed without really waking up. When my alarm goes off in the morning, he’s sitting in my chair with his legs draped over one arm, his head resting on the other.
“You know, the only thing worse than being dead? Being dead and having to watch crappy TV because I can’t change the channel.”
I snort, clicking off my wailing siren. A soft knock at my door makes me jump.
Mom pokes her head in.
“Good morning sweetheart. You excited for your first day of senior year?”
I raise an eyebrow and she chuckles.
“Yeah, I figured as much. How about you and I go grab some breakfast and I’ll drop you off today?”
Her voice is so hopeful that it’s almost painful to turn down the offer.
“Oh. I’d love to but I um…I’m actually getting a ride today.”
“Carlos?”
I look away, fighting back the blush crawling up my neck. “No. His name’s Kyle Bruno.”