realize how strange, how sad, how utterly unfair it was that she never lived her life past the third grade.
But this was different. Lacey had IM’d him yesterday.
I have a test and I’m going to be late for school.
Anya didn’t have tests; she didn’t go to school. Anya had never even been on Facebook. Anya wasn’t alive. Lacey was. She had to be.
Things are sort of … complicated right now.
Complicated didn’t even begin to describe it.
Once again, he ran through the possibilities.
1. Lacey was communicating with him from beyond the grave. There were a lot of problems with this theory, not the least of which was that Jason was pretty sure he didn’t believe in ghosts. But say Lacey was dead — why would her spirit have chosen Jason, a person she never knew, to contact? Sure, he had reached out to her first, but judging from the gifts left for her at the memorial, Lacey was not a person who was lacking for friends.
2. Someone was pretending to be Lacey. Compared to this option, Jason almost wished he had a ghost on his hands. Only someone cruel would impersonate a dead teenager, and whoever Jason was dealing with wasn’t cruel. And again, he had to ask, why him? Jason may not have had a boatload of friends, but he certainly didn’t have any enemies, and someone would have to want to hurt him to do this.
3. Lacey was still alive. A little thrill ran through his body when Jason considered this one. It wasn’t just that he wanted it to be true — which he deeply, truly did — more that it seemed like the only real option. And yet it still didn’t answer why she would allow her family and friends to believe she was gone. The Lacey he knew wouldn’t hurt people around her like that.
When he had read and reread their messages and conversations, a theory had begun to form, and something about beinghere, in this space dedicated to her, helped it crystallize: She had sought him out because she had known they would have a real connection. Jason knew if he said it out loud, Rakesh would laugh in his face, but it added up. He had recognized something deeper in her when he found the Mountain Goats quote on her Facebook page, and she had seen a kindred spirit in him. But she had to be sure she could trust him before she revealed her secret — whatever it was. Jason just had to prove that he was committed to her, no matter what she was hiding.
“Did you know her?” The voice was soft and sweet, but Jason started when he heard it. He swiveled around and found a petite, fair-skinned girl standing over him. He stood, clumsily brushing the leaves and grass from his pants as he turned to face her. He tried to place her, but her face gave nothing away.
“Did I know her?” he finally squeaked when it registered that she’d been speaking to him.
The girl gestured to the sculpture. “Lacey. We built this for her. She passed away last year.” She was clutching a bouquet of daisies in one hand as she spoke.
“Oh, um, no, I never met her.” At least it wasn’t a lie. Before she could ask what he was doing there, he hastily added, “I’m so sorry. Was she your friend?”
“My best friend,” the girl said a little sadly.
And then he remembered Lacey’s messages. Me and J Money have been friends practically since we were born — we’re family at this point. So that was why she seemed so familiar. Her full name had been in the Brighton Times — it was Jenny. Or Jenna. He couldn’t quite recall.
She leaned down to replace the wilting flowers at the memorial’s base with the ones she’d brought. Jason took the opportunityto survey her more closely. She had dark hair that swung around her chin, and her pale skin and light eyes almost seemed to glow in contrast. The features on her face were small and delicate, and though she smiled at him as she straightened up, she had an air of mourning about her. “We wanted to make this the type of place that she’d want to visit.”
“It’s really nice,” Jason
But this was different. Lacey had IM’d him yesterday.
I have a test and I’m going to be late for school.
Anya didn’t have tests; she didn’t go to school. Anya had never even been on Facebook. Anya wasn’t alive. Lacey was. She had to be.
Things are sort of … complicated right now.
Complicated didn’t even begin to describe it.
Once again, he ran through the possibilities.
1. Lacey was communicating with him from beyond the grave. There were a lot of problems with this theory, not the least of which was that Jason was pretty sure he didn’t believe in ghosts. But say Lacey was dead — why would her spirit have chosen Jason, a person she never knew, to contact? Sure, he had reached out to her first, but judging from the gifts left for her at the memorial, Lacey was not a person who was lacking for friends.
2. Someone was pretending to be Lacey. Compared to this option, Jason almost wished he had a ghost on his hands. Only someone cruel would impersonate a dead teenager, and whoever Jason was dealing with wasn’t cruel. And again, he had to ask, why him? Jason may not have had a boatload of friends, but he certainly didn’t have any enemies, and someone would have to want to hurt him to do this.
3. Lacey was still alive. A little thrill ran through his body when Jason considered this one. It wasn’t just that he wanted it to be true — which he deeply, truly did — more that it seemed like the only real option. And yet it still didn’t answer why she would allow her family and friends to believe she was gone. The Lacey he knew wouldn’t hurt people around her like that.
When he had read and reread their messages and conversations, a theory had begun to form, and something about beinghere, in this space dedicated to her, helped it crystallize: She had sought him out because she had known they would have a real connection. Jason knew if he said it out loud, Rakesh would laugh in his face, but it added up. He had recognized something deeper in her when he found the Mountain Goats quote on her Facebook page, and she had seen a kindred spirit in him. But she had to be sure she could trust him before she revealed her secret — whatever it was. Jason just had to prove that he was committed to her, no matter what she was hiding.
“Did you know her?” The voice was soft and sweet, but Jason started when he heard it. He swiveled around and found a petite, fair-skinned girl standing over him. He stood, clumsily brushing the leaves and grass from his pants as he turned to face her. He tried to place her, but her face gave nothing away.
“Did I know her?” he finally squeaked when it registered that she’d been speaking to him.
The girl gestured to the sculpture. “Lacey. We built this for her. She passed away last year.” She was clutching a bouquet of daisies in one hand as she spoke.
“Oh, um, no, I never met her.” At least it wasn’t a lie. Before she could ask what he was doing there, he hastily added, “I’m so sorry. Was she your friend?”
“My best friend,” the girl said a little sadly.
And then he remembered Lacey’s messages. Me and J Money have been friends practically since we were born — we’re family at this point. So that was why she seemed so familiar. Her full name had been in the Brighton Times — it was Jenny. Or Jenna. He couldn’t quite recall.
She leaned down to replace the wilting flowers at the memorial’s base with the ones she’d brought. Jason took the opportunityto survey her more closely. She had dark hair that swung around her chin, and her pale skin and light eyes almost seemed to glow in contrast. The features on her face were small and delicate, and though she smiled at him as she straightened up, she had an air of mourning about her. “We wanted to make this the type of place that she’d want to visit.”
“It’s really nice,” Jason
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