by Amy Richie
“It feels...strange in here.”
“Pick something you like,” I ordered briskly and pointed out the dressing rooms for her.
“But I don't like anything.” She was breathless and looking pale.
One eyebrow cocked high on my forehead. “You're a girl, there's something here you like.” She was a plain girl who didn't interact with her peers – but she was still a girl.
“This one,” she mumbled finally, grabbing a dress and shuffling off to the back of the store.
Giving one small sigh, I plopped down next to Clark. “She's going to love being all dolled up.” I, for one, could barely contain my excitement.
“I doubt it,” he muttered.
“Ok,” Laney called out a little bit later, “how do I look?”
My smile froze and then faltered. She had to be joking – right? The bright blue material was tight all the way down her body until a wide ruffle fell by her feet. Matching ruffles went around her neckline.
“Did you find that in this store?”
“Yep.” She did a quick twirl. “Isn't it pretty?”
“It looks...fine,” Clark stuttered.
“No.” My top lip snarled up. “Don't lie to her.”
Clark's horrified stare moved swiftly between me and Laney. “I...”
“You don't like it?” Her face fell.
“Of course I don't like it.”
“I think it's...” she ran her hand down the length of the dress, “...pretty.”
“Ugh.” I pushed myself up and hurried over to her. “Let me take over for a minute.”
“But this is a nice one. I've never worn a dress like this.”
“For good reason,” I nodded. “No one wears dresses like this. Just sit back, I'll take care of it.”
I stepped inside Laney and shook my shoulders. “I can't believe you, Clark,” I scolded.
“What?”
“You need to tell her if she looks ridiculous.”
“But I...”
“Oh, never mind.”
Thoroughly annoyed, I waddled back towards the dressing room – scooping up a black garment on the way. I couldn't help my gasp when I stood in front of the full length mirror.
“How...?”
As quickly as possible, I slid out of the blue piece and pulled on the black one. The material fell just above my knees. It wasn't tight – dad hated tight dresses – but it was still sexy.
The strapless top showed off Laney's full cleavage while the sides tapered in to show off a trim waist. Her legs weren't bad either.
“Much better,” I whispered. I would have to do something with her hair but we could definitely turn some heads wearing this. And really, that was all a girl wanted.
With a smug smile, I hurried out of the changing room and sauntered back to where Clark was still waiting. He was so cute, sitting there with his hands clasped tightly in his lap.
“Ok,” I sang out, making his head snap up. “How do I look?”
“Wow.” He finally let his hands relax. “You look...amazing.”
“Right?” I twisted from one side to the other so he could see every angle.
“No wonder people like you,” he grinned.
“They don't like me because I can pick a nice dress,” I tsked.
“Well...”
“I'm going to let Laney see,” I gushed. “She'll say it's too revealing . Tell her it's fine.”
“It is fine.”
“Yep.” Happy with his reaction, I stepped away from Laney so she could see what I had picked.
“Whoa,” Laney stumbled forward slightly in her bare feet.
“I know,” I giggled. “Isn't it perfect?”
Laney's eyebrows lowered until her forehead was wrinkled. Wide eyes moved until she found a mirror nearby. “Oh my...” Both her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “I can't wear this.”
“Why not?”
“It's too...” She pulled the top up while trying to pull the bottom down at the same time.
“Nonsense,” I smacked her hands away.
“Clark,” she gasped, turning to him in hopes of finding an ally. “You don't like this dress – do you?”
Despite my orders, Clark was frowning. “It looked better on Avery.”
“Avery,” she sputtered, “was in my body.”
“I can't see you when she's in there.”
In her surprise, Laney's scowl smoothed out. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “To me, she's just Avery.”
“Because of the birthday thing?”
“Because of the birthday thing,” I affirmed.
“I'm... I'm just going to change back to my clothes.” Laney hurried away, still clutching the top of her dress.
Grumbling under my breath, I joined Clark on the chairs to wait. “You were supposed to have my back.”
“It was weird,” he hissed, looking around wildly. “Seeing it on you and then seeing it on Laney.”
“Weird how?”
“It was...sexy on you.”
“Sexy?”
“Shh.”
“It was sexy on Laney too,” I chuckled.
“She's my sister.”
A smile still on my lips, I leaned over so I could kiss the frown off of his. “And what am I?”
“A ghost.” He kissed the tip of my nose.
“If I was alive, I would be your girlfriend.”
“If you were alive, you wouldn't talk to me.”
“Am I supposed to be glad I'm dead?”
“Of course not.” He caught my mouth with his lips before I could say anything else. It didn't take much for the kiss to deepen.
LANEY POPPED HALF A carrot stick into her mouth and chewed it loudly. She always ate like that – as if she thoroughly enjoyed eating. No one liked food that much.
“I wish I could share these with you,” she mumbled around a full mouth.
“Let's just watch Tyler.” If she could share it – I still wouldn't want any.
Especially after watching Cassie Andrews climb the steps to hoover over us.
“Back again, loser?” she snarled down at me.
“Uhh...”
“Who is she calling a loser?” I snarled back, even though she couldn't see or hear me.
“We were...I mean...I was just watching...”
“I know who you are watching,” she crossed her arms angrily. “Or should I say stalking? Does Tyler need to take out a restraining order?”
Oh no she didn't, I thought savagely, clenching my back teeth together. No way was I letting this little slut be mean to my Vessel.
“What's your problem?” I sneered from Laney's mouth. “Who said you could come up here and talk to me?”
“What?” she huffed, letting her arms fall to her sides. “You better watch who you're talking to.”
“Oh really?”
“You have no idea who I am in this town.”
“There is one thing I know for sure.” I let my eyes go wide for emphasis.
“What's that?”
“You are not invited to that party.”
“You mean Lindsey Lewis's party?”
“Yep.”
“Of course I am.”
“No way.”
“Guess we'll see which one of us comes out on top.” Her eyes roved cruelly up and down my body before she turned on her heel and hurried away.
That slut. Who did she think she was? Did she think it was ok to just come up and talk to me whenever she felt like it?
“I think not.”
Barely able to contain my anger, I stuffed Laney's half eaten lunch back into her bag and slung it over my shoulder. Cassie wanted to challenge me, did she? Yeah – we would see who would win.
“Hey there,” a deep voice called. My head snapped up in recognition.
“Tyler.”
“And you're Laney,” he let his mouth raise up into a lazy grin. “Lindsey's friend.”
“Oh,” I nodded slowly. “Yeah.” Even though
I was mad at Tyler for making out with Cassie and possibly murdering me, I couldn't stop the flutter his presence caused in my stomach. That smile of his...
“I've seen you around here,” he smiled.
“I just moved here.”
“Clearview just got prettier.”
“Oh.” My face felt hot. “Thanks, Tyler.”
“Are you going to go to school here to?”
“I...haven't decided yet.”
“You get the choice?” His lips puckered. “I always thought school was kind of mandatory.”
“It is,” I nodded, a nervous laugh escaping my throat.
“So...” He kicked his toe against the metal.
“So.”
“Are you going to Lindsey's party?”
“Yeah.” I already knew he was going, that was one of the biggest reasons me and Laney would be there.
“Will you save a dance for me?”
“Won't your girlfriend get mad?”
“I don't have a girlfriend.” After one last wink he waved and went back down the bleachers.
My smile grew as I watched him walk.
“Wait.” My eyes widened and my breath sped up until I had to hold onto the railing. “Was he flirting with me?”
Oh my word.
He was flirting with Laney. What a jerk. He had one live girlfriend. One dead girlfriend, and he was hitting on the new girl in town. What was wrong with him?
“Oh my word,” I sighed heavily. What I needed was to find Lindsey and make sure Cassie wasn't on her invite list. There wasn't enough room in my parent's living room for both of us.
My footsteps echoed as I pranced down the metal steps. The sound used to thrill me when I first got my cheer leading uniform. It was the sound of acceptance; later – the sound of victory.
At the bottom of the steps, my anger was momentarily distracted by the cheerleaders doing their practice. My eyes searched out two familiar faces, which I found easily. Nina and Billie. They bounced around in the front of the group.
“I so would have made fun of her boobs today,” I muttered, half chuckling.
I should have been one of those girls with a high pony tail. My long legs would have looked so good in those little red shorts. And even though I didn't get new boobs over the summer like some of my teammates, they would have looked good in those shirts. That was the point of those shirts.
I sighed, suddenly extremely sad.
It was as if a heavy weight had been draped around my shoulders, making me feel more sad than I ever had before. It was crushing – I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Even if ghosts had no need to breathe – I didn't like the sensation.
“Alright girls,” Macie called loudly, her voice echoing enough that she didn't need a mega phone. Of course she was made captain. Of course. “We have a new routine to learn today.”
Slumping against the fence, I couldn't stop watching the practice.
“You're prettier than any of those girls,” Clark declared, walking up to join me by the fence.
“Hi,” I stuttered, my face instantly heating up. “You're here.”
“Laney told me you guys were coming here,” he informed me with one of his adorable grins.
“Of course she did.” The corners of my mouth tugged up.
“What had you looking so sad, Princess?”
“I'm not sad.”
“You sure?”
“Of course.” I moved out of his reach when he moved to tuck my hair behind my ear.
“I can tell you're missing all that,” he moved his shoulder to indicate the field I had just been watching.
“Its...” I shook my head, searching for the right word, “its no big deal.”
“It is a big deal, Avery,” he said softly. “A very big deal.” He raised his arms and leaned forward, coming in for a hug.
I ducked away before his arms made contact with my body. “Everyone can see us,” I chuckled nervously.
“So what?” he shrugged. “No one is even paying attention.”
“No, I know.” My tongue slid across my bottom lip.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” I shook my head quickly. “What do you mean?”
“You're ashamed of me.”
“Uff,” I made a noise in my throat. “I am not ashamed,” I scoffed. “That's ridiculous.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes,” I widened my eyes.
“Then hug me.”
“No.”
“No?”
“It's just weird now. I don't want to hug you.” He always made everything weird.
“You know what,” he laughed hollowly, “I'm done.”
“Clark.”
“I have better things to do with my day than sit here and watch you be ashamed of me.”
“I already told you...” He didn't let me finish though. With an angry snarl, he turned and stormed away from me.
Back out on the field, Macie's new routine was in full swing. Clementine Richards tripped over her own feet and fell backwards to the ground.
Life was so different now. Unbelievable that a few weeks ago, I was down there with them – shaking my hips and flirting with the football team for all I was worth. Now here I was, wondering if I should go after Clark Daniels and beg him to forgive me for not hugging him.
Oh my word. What a mess.
Chapter Four
“This is absolutely a waste of time,” Lindsey puffed air into her cheeks and momentarily held it there before blowing it back out.
“Lindsey doesn't spend a lot of time at the library,” I told Laney with an eye roll of my own.
“Oh,” Laney nodded slightly.
“It's so boring,” she groaned. “Don't you think so?”
“It's...” Laney looked around, her mouth parted, “it's gorgeous in here.”
Lindsey's eyes narrowed. “There's nothing but books in here.”
Laney laughed but then stopped when she realized that she was serious. “That's kind of the point of a library,” she pointed out with red cheeks.
“We can get all this stuff,” she waved dismissively at the shelves, “on our phones. Seriously, hasn't anyone heard of the internet?”
I chuckled at the look on Laney's face.
At a table in the corner, Tyler sat by himself. He was flipping through a thick book, scribbling notes onto a sheet of paper. What was he doing?
“Clearly, he hasn't.” I pursed my lips thoughtfully.
What possible reason would Tyler have for coming to the library and searching through the books for information? There was only one reason that I could think of: he didn't want the evidence on his phone.
If anyone came looking through Tyler's phone, they wouldn't find whatever he was hiding. Anyone being the police.
As we watched, Tyler got up from the table and shoved his books back on a shelf. He gathered his stuff and started towards the door, right next to where we were sitting.
“Don’t make eye contact,” Lindsey hissed. She pulled a book up and ducked her face behind it.
“Oh, like he didn’t see her,” I rolled my eyes dramatically. If he hadn’t seen her when she first walked in, he certainly saw her now that he was close to our table. Lindsey wasn’t exactly easy to miss – she made sure of that.
As he passed our table, Tyler nodded and raised three fingers in a half wave. Laney smiled tightly back without making any eye contact. Lindsey kept her face hidden, pretending she hadn’t seen him. He left the library, not taking any books with him.
“Well,” Lindsey slammed her book on the table, “this has been a fun waste of time.”
“Well...”
“I’m leaving,” she cut Laney off and stood up. “I have things to do.” In a huff of perfume and blonde hair, she gathered her things and left the library on Tyler’s heels.
“I guess there’s no reason for us to stay either, right?” Laney asked morosely.
“We can,” I chuckled. “It’s not like I ha
ve better things to do.” I was sort of stuck following her around, what did it matter if we stayed a few more minutes?
“It’s alright.” Taking longer to gather her things that had somehow spread over the entire table, Laney followed me from the building.
“You want to sit?” Laney pointed out a lone bench in front of the library.
“Why?”
Laney chuckled. “Just to breathe.”
“I’m not sure I can breathe,” I jabbed my chest. “Dead, remember?”
“Just sit with me.”
“Alright,” I shrugged. I had lived in Clearview my entire life and I had never sat on this bench before. Had it always been in front of the library, just hanging out? Did people really sit here? Maybe it was just for looks. Oh well, I mentally shrugged, if the police showed up they would only see her sitting there.
“I like this town,” she declared, looking both ways down the street. “It’s so peaceful.”
I would have agreed with her a few weeks ago. Now – not so much. Some one in this town wanted me dead, wanted me dead bad enough that they chased me through Jimmy Vale’s woods and stabbed me. As if that wasn’t enough, they wrapped me up after I was dead and threw me in the trash.
Peaceful wasn’t what came to mind now.
A familiar silver car pulled up in front of the bench. “Hi Laney,” Tyler called from the driver’s seat. “I saw you in the library.”
“Yeah,” she smiled and dipped her head.
My lips pursed tightly. She was so bad at flirting, if that was what she was even trying to do. I couldn’t be sure. Maybe she was just feeling gassy. “Look up at him,” I hissed.
Her head popped up. “I saw you too,” she blurted awkwardly.
“Now he’s going to think you’re a pyscho.”
Laney’s eyes widened.
But Tyler laughed loudly. “I hope I see you again soon, pretty girl,” he purred.
Gross.
“Looks like Clark is working on his car,” Laney noted as we pulled into the driveway at her trailer.
“He’s always working on that thing.” The space between my eyebrows puckered at the sight of him. He was probably still mad at me. I took a deep breath and huffed it back out loudly. Laney had already gotten out of the car. I didn’t bother with the handle; it was getting harder to grab it anyways.