Part 19 (1/2)

I brought my head back in, pulled down the screen and the window, and locked it. I gazed at the woods beyond. We had no neighbor on this side. No one would have seen who it was.

A s.h.i.+ver coursed through me. The day Kayla died, Mr. Tucker swore up and down that he hadn't seen anyone else come in or out of the house. And it made sense - from his viewpoint he could see both our front and side door. But he couldn't see this side. Someone could have snuck in and out by climbing the trellis, and Mr. Tucker never would have seen them. In fact, if that was how the killer got in and out of the house that day, there was a good chance that it was that same person who'd done it now.

The killer had just been in my house.

Sometimes I think no one loves me. Not my friends. Not 28. Not even 1 and 2. Not really.

I think the only reason 1 and 2 even had a kid was because a baby was the ”in” accessory among their friends at the time. They don't want to be with me much and granted I'm not exactly a ray of suns.h.i.+ne around the house. But maybe they're the reason why.

If I'm sad, they don't ask me what's wrong. They avoid me. They only want to talk when I have good news to share.

If I died today, they probably wouldn't even care. It would just be an excuse for 1 to buy a new Donna Karan black suit.

I wonder what would happen if I just disappeared.

Later that night, Marie plodded into the kitchen, dressed in her scrubs, a coffee mug in her hand. The bags under her eyes were darker than normal, and she still had a full night of work ahead of her. She was in one of her moods, probably exacerbated by the fact that Dad wasn't coming home until Sunday and that I'd forgotten to put in the lasagna.

As if I didn't have enough to worry about - like a killer breaking into our house this afternoon. But if I told her about that, she'd ask me for proof. And, of course, I had none. Nothing was broken or stolen. She'd call me a liar again and nothing would come from it but more fighting.

She brought her coffee to the table and sank into a chair. ”Guess I'll be working the overnight s.h.i.+ft on an empty stomach tonight,” she said groggily.

It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes. Yeah, I hadn't had a chance to put the lasagna in the oven before she and Colby returned. But she could make herself a sandwich before she had to go. Plus, I hear hospitals have these things called cafeterias and vending machines. I didn't say any of that, though. I just quietly sat and pretended to do my homework. The sounds of SpongeBob drifted in from the living room.

”You know what Colby's kindergarten teacher said today?” Marie said bitterly.

I shook my head no.

”She said he seems tired during the day and accused me of not putting him to bed early enough. Would you believe that? That boy goes to bed plenty early.” Marie rubbed her face. ”The only one around here not getting enough sleep is me.”

Marie was perpetually tired, no doubt about that. And - despite the defensive Mom act she was pulling right now - I knew she was worried about Colby. I could see it in her eyes.

I thought about giving honesty a second go-around. Twisting a pencil in my lap, I said, ”He goes to bed early, but he doesn't always stay asleep.” I paused, giving myself one last chance to back out, and decided to go for it. ”He's scared sometimes -”

She cut me off. ”Don't even start with that ghost nonsense again, Jade.” She shot me a look. ”I don't want to hear it.”

I slammed my textbook closed and stood up. ”Fine.” And added silently, Keep your head in the sand.

Marie pulled her hair back with an elastic band and moved on, quickly pus.h.i.+ng aside my attempt at truth. ”I need you to babysit Sat.u.r.day night. The other nurses invited me out.”

”I can't,” I tossed over my shoulder. ”I have plans.”

”You'll just have to change them to Friday night. This is the first time they've asked me to come out, and I could really use some friends in this area.”

”Well, I have to make new friends, too.” Frustration filled my voice. ”And I already babysit at least three nights a week.”

Anger leaked into my voice. I was sick of being taken for granted. I didn't mind taking care of Colby. I loved that kid so much I'd rearrange the night sky if he wanted me to. And I knew we didn't have the kind of money most families in this town had, so I had no problem pitching in. But it would be nice to be thanked now and then. After all, I was enrolled in Overachiever High and was the sole person responsible for getting rid of a vengeful ghost.

Marie snapped, ”I'm sorry your half brother is such a burden to you.”

The words were like a sucker punch. My mouth opened and closed, shocked at the venom leveled at me. Marie paled, knowing instantly she'd gone too far. She probably wished she could take the words back, but they were out there, hanging in the air between us. No one had ever referred to Colby as my half brother before. I despised the word. It was technically true, but the insinuation was that we weren't fully connected.

”He is not a burden to me,” I seethed. ”I love him more than anything. If you even knew what I was doing for him ...”

”Are you guys fighting?”

Both of our heads turned to the doorway. Colby stood wide-eyed, his thumb in his mouth. He hadn't sucked his thumb in three years.

I rushed over to him. ”No, it's okay.”

He pulled his thumb out. ”I heard you.”

”It was just a little disagreement.” I held his tiny hand in mine. ”Want to go upstairs and I'll read you a story before dinner's done?”

He looked at Marie, who must have nodded some form of encouragement over my shoulder. ”Okay.”

I threatened to tickle him on the way up the stairs, and he giggled as he climbed them. When we reached the landing, I said, ”What book do you want?”

He hesitated, staring at his open door. ”Can we read in your room instead?”

”Sure, buddy. Why?”

He peeked down the staircase, presumably to make sure Marie wasn't in hearing distance. ”The girl was in my room again last night,” he whispered. ”She was just watching me. Like she wanted something. She didn't even try to talk like she usually does. Then she left. It really scared me, Jade.”

I dropped to my knees beside him so I could look him straight in the eye. ”It's going to be okay, Colby. I'm working on a way to make her go away. Don't worry.”

”Are you sure?”

The little tremble of fear in his voice made my heart ache. Made me hate Kayla for messing with him. And hate Marie for not believing me. But Colby didn't need my anger right now. He needed confidence.

I cracked a smile and did my best Darth Vader voice. ”I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Colby cackled like he always did. My Darth Vader was a sure thing.

”Seriously, buddy. I'll protect you. You have nothing to worry about.”

I pulled him into a tight hug and rubbed his head. He still had that soft, fine hair. It smelled of baby shampoo and innocence.

I would protect him. Whatever it took.

Friday night I put on jeans and a red T-s.h.i.+rt and tossed a hoodie over it. Comfy and not s.e.xy in the least, so Kane wouldn't get mixed messages. I slid a rosy shade of lipstick on and used cover-up on my chin (it always breaks out when I'm stressed). Satisfied, I nodded at myself in the mirror, grabbed my phone and car keys, and left for my non-date.

When I'd first asked Kane to hang out Friday night instead of Sat.u.r.day, he was a little reluctant and said that he'd planned on going to the football game. But that just happened to be perfect. Tons of people were going, so I'd get to do some research on Kayla and also keep my promise to Donovan about staying in public. I convinced Kane that going to a high school football game was just what I wanted to do, and we made plans to meet there.

I'd sent Alexa a text, inviting her along, thinking the more the merrier. But she replied that she'd rather mentally count prime numbers to infinity, which I think was her way of saying she'd rather watch paint dry than go to a football game.

Kane was waiting for me in the parking lot as planned. He patted his buddies on their backs and shouted a ”see you in there” while he walked over to me.

”Hey,” I said. ”So are we going to win tonight or what?” I smiled awkwardly, hoping my sudden surge of school spirit seemed legit.

But Kane looked as uneasy as I did.