Remy wasn’t there, but it’s getting harder to do now. In the past, she’d only appear every few months, and most of the time she didn’t say anything, but now she’s in haunting overdrive.”
Tears sting my eyes. “I’m getting scared, and I don’t want to do this alone anymore—that’s why I came here today. I mean, when I found out you could see her and talk to her, it was such a relief, because in the back of my mind I always wondered if maybe I was crazy.”
Luke reaches out and brushes a tear from my cheek. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll help you figure this out. And do you want to know something?”
I sniff. “What?”
“It was a big relief knowing you could see Remy too. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this stuff since Kayla died.”
“ Died? I thought she was just missing. Ari didn’t say she … you know …”
Luke walks back over to the bench and sits. He leans back and turns his gaze to the gardens, looking lost and sad.
“Ari doesn’t know. The cops don’t know. But the night she disappeared I felt like she was in the house with me. I felt her wanting me to take care of Ari for her. And then there was nothing—she was gone. I’ve tried calling her back, but Kayla knows enough about ghosts to not want to stick around. She moved on—she’s at peace.”
I walk over and sit down next him on the bench and reach out for his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He leans into me. My heart skips a beat as our shoulders touch, and I can’t help thinking I shouldn’t be holding his hand and sitting this close to him. But I don’t want to stop either.
“I just wish I knew what happened to her.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m a little surprised she’d come back and be worried about Ari, though. I know her home life isn’t perfect, but she seems pretty strong.”
Luke pulls away from me and stretches his long legs out in front of him. “Ari’s complicated. She’s got a lot to give, but she needs more in return. I think it’s because her mother passed away when she was little and her dad married Patty. As you said, things are not exactly stable at that house—probably worse than you can imagine—but I owe them big-time.
“After Ari met Kayla on the playground when they were little, the Roys took us under their wings, so to speak. They’ve helped us out a lot over the years. Paid for our tuition at school—even painting lessons when I was younger. So when things are rough at home, I try to keep Ari on an even keel to pay them back—for Kayla.”
Luke to the rescue, I almost say out loud. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he obviously inherited Nona’s desire to help people. I wonder if Luke realizes Ari is in love with him. It’s not hard imagining why.
As soon as the words form in my head, I push them out. I am not like Samantha; I don’t steal boyfriends—or Ari’s potential boyfriend. And I need to remember that the feeling I get from Luke is just part of a job, whether or not he gets paid for it like Nona.
Luke clears his throat. “But back to that girl—it looked like her heart …”
“Was missing. I thought maybe she was in one of the costumes from Land of Enchantment, but don’t you think her clothes look old-fashioned, like maybe it happened a really long time ago?”
“Yeah, they don’t make clothes like that anymore.”
I nod. “Thank God for that. Well, not that she had her chest carved open, but seeing as I just signed on to play Snow White, it’s a relief to know that this was something that happened in the past and not one of Remy’s scary-things-to-come visions.”
“Ghosts can travel the time streams—they have access to all kinds of things in the past, present, and future, but I don’t know why Remy chose that particular scene to show you, except the girl kind of looked like you.”
“Yeah, I noticed that, only her eyes were blue and mine are—”
“Brown.”
“Yeah,” I say, liking that he noticed what color my eyes
Tears sting my eyes. “I’m getting scared, and I don’t want to do this alone anymore—that’s why I came here today. I mean, when I found out you could see her and talk to her, it was such a relief, because in the back of my mind I always wondered if maybe I was crazy.”
Luke reaches out and brushes a tear from my cheek. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll help you figure this out. And do you want to know something?”
I sniff. “What?”
“It was a big relief knowing you could see Remy too. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this stuff since Kayla died.”
“ Died? I thought she was just missing. Ari didn’t say she … you know …”
Luke walks back over to the bench and sits. He leans back and turns his gaze to the gardens, looking lost and sad.
“Ari doesn’t know. The cops don’t know. But the night she disappeared I felt like she was in the house with me. I felt her wanting me to take care of Ari for her. And then there was nothing—she was gone. I’ve tried calling her back, but Kayla knows enough about ghosts to not want to stick around. She moved on—she’s at peace.”
I walk over and sit down next him on the bench and reach out for his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He leans into me. My heart skips a beat as our shoulders touch, and I can’t help thinking I shouldn’t be holding his hand and sitting this close to him. But I don’t want to stop either.
“I just wish I knew what happened to her.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m a little surprised she’d come back and be worried about Ari, though. I know her home life isn’t perfect, but she seems pretty strong.”
Luke pulls away from me and stretches his long legs out in front of him. “Ari’s complicated. She’s got a lot to give, but she needs more in return. I think it’s because her mother passed away when she was little and her dad married Patty. As you said, things are not exactly stable at that house—probably worse than you can imagine—but I owe them big-time.
“After Ari met Kayla on the playground when they were little, the Roys took us under their wings, so to speak. They’ve helped us out a lot over the years. Paid for our tuition at school—even painting lessons when I was younger. So when things are rough at home, I try to keep Ari on an even keel to pay them back—for Kayla.”
Luke to the rescue, I almost say out loud. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he obviously inherited Nona’s desire to help people. I wonder if Luke realizes Ari is in love with him. It’s not hard imagining why.
As soon as the words form in my head, I push them out. I am not like Samantha; I don’t steal boyfriends—or Ari’s potential boyfriend. And I need to remember that the feeling I get from Luke is just part of a job, whether or not he gets paid for it like Nona.
Luke clears his throat. “But back to that girl—it looked like her heart …”
“Was missing. I thought maybe she was in one of the costumes from Land of Enchantment, but don’t you think her clothes look old-fashioned, like maybe it happened a really long time ago?”
“Yeah, they don’t make clothes like that anymore.”
I nod. “Thank God for that. Well, not that she had her chest carved open, but seeing as I just signed on to play Snow White, it’s a relief to know that this was something that happened in the past and not one of Remy’s scary-things-to-come visions.”
“Ghosts can travel the time streams—they have access to all kinds of things in the past, present, and future, but I don’t know why Remy chose that particular scene to show you, except the girl kind of looked like you.”
“Yeah, I noticed that, only her eyes were blue and mine are—”
“Brown.”
“Yeah,” I say, liking that he noticed what color my eyes
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