They peered in, and sure enough, the young woman from the park was lying unconscious on the bed. A mystery novel sat on the table beside Olivia’s bed, as if someone had been coming by to read to her.
“She looks better,” Marcus whispered.
Lena nodded. Even though the woman was still unconscious, she seemed to have more life to her than when she’d been rushed off in the ambulance.
As Marcus turned away, Lena thought she saw a hint of a love spark fluttering near Olivia’s heart. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? It must have been a trick of the light.
When they got to the end of the hall, Marcus froze again. “It’ll be okay,” Lena whispered. She watched him take in a shaky breath and then give a little nod of his head.
They went into the room to find Marcus’s parents and his sister sitting by the hospital bed. An old, frail man was asleep in the bed, hooked up to wires and machines. Lena didn’t need her soul-collecting powers to know that he didn’t have much time left.
“Marcus, there you are,” a man who had to be Marcus’s father said. “What took you so long?”
“I had to stop at home to pick something up,” he said. “Oh, um, everyone, this is Lena.”
Normally, she would have felt awkward meeting a boy’s parents, but that was the least of her worries right now. His family looked at Marcus with confused expressions on their faces. Most guys probably didn’t bring girls to their dying grandfather’s hospital beds.
“I’m here for moral support,” Lena explained.
“She made Grandpa a quilt,” Marcus said, pulling it out of his backpack.
“Thank you, Lena,” his mom said with a tired but warm smile. She turned to Marcus. “Grandpa hasn’t been awake since we got here. They don’t know if he will wake up, honey. But they said there’s a good chance he can hear us, so if there’s anything you’d like to say to him, now’s the time.” She looped her arm through Ann-Marie’s. “We’ve already said our good-byes.”
Marcus nodded. “Can…can I have some time alone with him?”
“Of course,” his mom said.
When Marcus’s family was gone, he slowly walked to Grandpa Joe’s bedside and spread the quilt out over him. When she’d been frantically working on it the night before, Lena had hoped that the quilt would bring Grandpa Joe some comfort, but it seemed that Marcus was the one who needed comfort now.
“What do I do?” he asked Lena when he was done.
“Talk to him,” she said. “Let him know you’re here and that you’ll make sure he’ll be okay.”
He nodded, but she could tell that he was still hesitant. “Do you want me to go?” she added. Maybe it would be easier for him to do this without her watching.
“No! Please stay. I can’t do this by myself.”
“Okay. I’ll be right here.”
He took a long breath and sat down beside the bed. “Hey,” he said softly. “Um, I’m here, Grandpa. It’s Marcus. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. I’m sorry I’ve barely come to see you at all these past few weeks. I was scared.” He laughed softly. “I still am scared, but I’m here.”
He glanced at Lena, as if looking for reassurance that he was doing things right. “Keep going,” she said.
“I’m not ready for you to go, Grandpa,” Marcus said. “There was all this stuff we were going to do. Remember that trip to Philadelphia that we kept talking about? You said I couldn’t go through life without seeing the Liberty Bell at least once. You said it was the only broken thing worth looking at.” He laughed softly. “I’ll still see it though. I promise.”
He put his head down, and Lena thought he must be crying. But when he finally glanced up again, his face was dry. “You know that book you gave me? I think it helped. So thank you. For that, and for everything. I…I don’t know what else to say. Except that I brought you something.” He dug in his bag and pulled out the moon ship. “I wanted you to have this. I…I thought it might make you smile.”
As he gently placed the model on the table by the bed, Marcus’s phone beeped, telling him it was almost time. He let out a long breath and looked at Lena. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he said.
“You have to, Marcus. Once the soul is assigned to you, you’re the only one who can collect it.”
Marcus jumped to his feet and went to the window. He struggled to open it, but it wouldn’t unlock. “It’s not fair. Why would they have me do it? I’m his grandson,” Marcus said in a hushed voice, clearly not wanting Grandpa Joe to hear.
“You’re right,” Lena said, going over to him. “It’s not fair. It was probably supposed to be my assignment, but now that you have my powers, they gave it to you.”
Suddenly, Marcus’s face brightened. “I know, you can zap him! A love boost will give him extra time like it did with Mrs. Katz.”
Lena shook her head slowly. “Remember what Eddie said, it’s only temporary. And for all we know, the only reason that worked was because the mailman showed up at the right time.”
“We’ll find a nurse and have the two of them fall in love. If it keeps him alive, then—”
“Marcus,” Lena said. “You might give him a few more days, but that’s it. I know you don’t want to let him go, but it’s selfish to keep him here when his soul is ready to move on. It’s his time.”
Marcus stood there not moving or speaking. She wasn’t sure he was still breathing. “I know it doesn’t feel like it,” Lena added softly, “but you’re helping your grandpa. I promise.”
He whirled toward her, his face bright red. “How can you even say that? I’m not helping him. I’m killing him,” Marcus said in a fierce whisper. “Can’t you see that? You’re like an emotionless robot. No wonder you didn’t get into the play.”
Lena stared at him in shock. How could he say that to her? She’d thought Marcus really cared about her, but clearly she was wrong.
“You know what?” she said. “Do whatever you want. You’re on your own.”
She turned to leave the room, but Marcus jumped in front of her. “No, please,” he said. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean it.” His face crumpled. “Please don’t go. I can’t…I can’t do this by myself.”
Lena hesitated. No matter how betrayed she felt, could she really leave Marcus to do this collection on his own? If he chickened out, Grandpa Joe’s soul would drift around, totally helpless and confused. She’d never met the man before, but from hearing Marcus talk about him, she knew he was something special. She couldn’t let that happen to him.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll help you.”
His phone started beeping incessantly. Marcus turned it off and went back to his grandpa’s bedside. “Okay,” he said softly. “What do I do?”
She went to stand beside him. Her anger at what he’d said was still bubbling in her chest, but she pushed it down. He’d been upset, that was all. Maybe he really hadn’t meant it. And besides, she had more important things to think about right now.
“Call up your energy.”
He did as she said, and a moment later, his fingers flared purple.
“Now, put your hand on his arm and imagine his soul going off somewhere calm and peaceful. Imagine that you’re sending him off on the best vacation ever.”
Marcus smiled sadly. “The biggest golf course in the universe. He’d love that.”
“Perfect,” she said.
She watched as his glowing fingers crept toward Grandpa Joe’s hand. Then, slowly, the energy flowed into the old man’s skin and disappeared.
Marcus pulled his hand back and slumped, clearly exhausted.
“Are you okay?” Lena asked.
He nodded but didn’t say anything.
“It’ll happen in the next couple of minutes,” she said. “You don’t have to be here to see it if you don’t want. You did your part.”
Marcus shook his head. “No, I want to stay with him…until the end.”
He gently took his grandpa’s hand again and held it, talking to him in a low murmur that Lena could barely hear. As she watched Marcus saying good-bye, she was surprised to feel tears rolling down her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried, really cried, since her mom had left. That time, she’d been crying for herself. But this time, her tears were for Marcus.
Chapter 27
When Grandpa Joe finally slipped away, Marcus was in a daze. He watched as the nurses rushed around, trying to do something, but he knew it was too late. As he and Lena stood in the hallway with his family, for once he was the only one not crying. He didn’t need to cry. Because when he’d felt Grandpa’s soul leaving, it hadn’t been terrible. In fact, he’d felt a sense of relief, as if the soul had finally been set free. And now Grandpa didn’t have to be in pain anymore.
Lena had been right. He couldn’t keep running from Caspar his whole life, just like he couldn’t keep running from everything else he was afraid of. Especially not when Grandpa had needed him to be brave.
“Marcus,” Lena said softly. “I think you should be with your family. I’m going to go home, okay?”
“Thank you. For everything. If it wasn’t for you, I’d…”
She smiled. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
He blinked. The party. With everything that had happened, he’d forgotten. But yes, of course he had to go. If this was his chance to swap their powers back, he had to take it. Still, he didn’t feel so desperate to get rid of this power anymore, now that he understood what it really was.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said.
Once she was gone, his dad came over to him. “Son, are you all right? Did you get to say good-bye?”
Marcus couldn’t believe how upset his dad looked, how red his eyes were from crying. Maybe there were times when looking weak didn’t matter.
“I’m fine,” Marcus said. “Are you guys okay?”
His mom put her arm around Ann-Marie. “We’re hanging in there,” she said. “Your grandpa always wanted us to be okay, no matter what. You remind me of him, Marcus. You have ever since you were born.”
“Really?” Marcus asked.
“Your mother’s right,” his dad said. “Your grandfather was a good man.” Marcus realized, with a shock, that his father had actually paid him a compliment. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.
His mom let out a soft laugh. “You even look like him when he was your age, Marcus. Did I ever show you photos from when your grandpa was growing up?”
Marcus shook his head.
She sighed. “I’ll have to look around in the basement and try to find them.”
“Do you have a date with Lena tonight?” Ann-Marie suddenly chimed in. He was ready to be annoyed with her for making fun of him, but she didn’t look like she was teasing him. “I like her,” she added.
“It’s not a date,” he said. “Not exactly. But there’s this party tonight—”
“Party?” His dad pursed his lips. “You’re not going to a party. Not with everything that’s happened. How would that look?”
“But you don’t understand. I have to go.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” his mom interrupted. “Let’s go home, okay?”
Normally, Marcus would have let his mom brush the topic aside. Then he’d give in when his parents forbade him from doing whatever it was he wanted to do. But this time, he wasn’t going to let that happen. Not when this was so important.
“No. We’re going to talk about it now.”
His dad raised his eyebrows. “Marcus—”
“Please, listen,” Marcus said. “When I said I have to go to this party, I meant it. I made a promise, okay? I can’t break it. You’re always going on about being a man and honoring the family and all of that. Doesn’t that mean keeping promises?”
His dad looked at him.
“You know how much I love Grandpa,” Marcus went on. “I would never go to a party on a day like this if I didn’t have to. But it’s important. Please trust me.”
His dad gave him a long look, and Marcus waited for the explosion to come. But it didn’t. Instead, his dad looked at him with an expression Marcus had only seen him give his sister, one of respect.
“All right,” his dad said. “But don’t stay too long, okay?”
“I won’t.” If all went according to plan, Marcus would only need five seconds.
Chapter 28
Connie Reynolds’s house was exactly like it had been the previous weekend. Music echoed up from the basement windows while kids milled around in the front yard, waiting for their friends to arrive. Once again, someone had tied an oversized bouquet of balloons to the Reynoldses’ mailbox that threatened to pull the whole thing out of the ground.
Had the last party happened only six days ago? It felt like a lifetime had gone by since Lena had had her old powers.
“There you are,” Abigail said when they met in Connie’s driveway. “I was starting to think you weren’t coming.” It was exactly what she’d said to Lena the last time.
“How was play practice today?” Lena asked as they headed toward the basement stairs.
“Oh, it was good.” It sounded like Abigail wanted to say more, but she didn’t go on.
“What?” Lena asked finally. “Why are you being weird?”
“Nothing. It’s only…I figured you didn’t really want to hear about the play since it’s a sore topic and everything.”
It was a sore topic, but after everything that had happened today, it didn’t seem as important. Abigail was obviously the best actress in their grade. She deserved to be in the play. “I don’t mind if you talk about it,” Lena told her. “Honest. Besides, I’m going to work my butt off so that next time, I will get in.”
Abigail smiled. “Well, if you really want to hear about it…the first day was awesome!” Then she recapped how the read-through had gone and declared that it was going to be the school’s most amazing production ever.
As the two of them wove through the basement, Lena was overwhelmed all over again by the loudness of the crowd. A boy from her science class was (yet again) banging away on a drum set in the corner, making the floor shake. Most of the kids were even wearing the same outfits they’d had on the previous weekend.
“I can’t believe this is so much like last time,” Lena said, shaking her head in wonder.
“Last time?” Abigail asked.
“Yeah, Connie’s party last weekend. Remember?”
Abigail blinked. “Oh yeah. Funny that she’s having another one so soon.” Then she shrugged, the topic clearly forgotten.
Lena smothered a smile. Eddie really had worked some kind of magic. Wait, why was she thinking about magic of all things? But then again, she wasn’t sure what else to call it. Science really couldn’t explain the fact that everything was almost exactly as it had been a week ago.
“I’m going to go see if Marcus is here,” Lena said.
Abigail gave Lena a knowing smile. Then she glanced down at her flashing phone. “It’s Hayleigh. She’s in the bathroom having some kind of glitter emergency. How about I go help her and you go find Marcus?”
Lena went over to the snack table, scanning the crowd for Brent Adamson. Thankfully, like last time, he wasn’t in attendance. She’d feel terrible if he got sick in the middle of a party because of her.
As she realized that she was standing next to the bowl of Cheetos, déjà vu washed over her. What had she been doing at the party last Saturday? That’s right. She’d been counting the seconds until Abigail and Hayleigh got back from the bathroom.
She put a Cheeto in her mouth and started—1, 2, 3—when she heard a familiar voice screech, “You! I dare you to kiss Lena Perris for five seconds
.”
Lena whirled around, and sure enough, Marcus was there, peering back at her with a smile that felt like it was just for her.
“You want him to what?” Lena asked, fighting back a smile of her own.
“Do it,” Connie said. “Or I’ll make you both lick the toilet.”
Lena barely heard the chorus of “oohs” that echoed around her. She was already walking toward Marcus. Before she knew it, they were in the closet and Connie was squawking, “Remember, five seconds!” and shoving the door closed behind them.
“So, do you want to?” Marcus asked.
This time, Lena didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”
They took a step forward and then another. At first they bumped noses. Then they bumped chins. And the third time, for some reason, they bumped ears. But finally, their lips met and—
Wow, Lena thought. The kiss was perfect. It was exactly what she’d always imagined her first kiss with Brent Adamson would be like.
Then Connie threw open the door, and it was over.
“Well, how was it?” she asked.
But Lena and Marcus didn’t answer. Instead, they headed up the stairs and out into the yard. The night air was deafeningly quiet around them.
“Ready?” Lena asked.
Marcus nodded. “I think it worked, don’t you?”
They put out their hands and called up their energy. Their fingers flared up in unison and—
“Oh,” Lena said as Marcus let out a disappointed sigh beside her. Her fingers were still red and his were still purple. If anything, the colors were even more pronounced than they had been before.
“It didn’t work,” Marcus said. “I don’t get it. We did everything right.”
“Maybe we’re not meant to switch them back,” Lena said. “Maybe they’re meant to stay this way from now on. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault.”
“No, I’m sorry that you have to keep collecting souls. I know how much you hate it.”
“It…it wasn’t as bad as I thought. You were right. It’s how things work. I’m sorry you have to make people think they’re in love.”
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