the sooner you can help her move along. Sounds like she’s been here a while. It may be harder to convince her to move on than other spirits.”
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to the lobby. “Great, another stubborn ghost. Just what I need.”
&
I saw his legs the minute I turned the corner. Slim, but muscular, standing on a tall ladder. His sweat-soaked shirt stuck to his back. When I got out of my dad’s truck, I watched him wipe his face with the hem.
He had barely repainted the top section of the wall. From the looks of things, it would take several coats to cover his urban version of Charlotte, whose dark eyes looked down on me in an obnoxious, judging manner. He managed to capture her essence perfectly. I hated her.
“Hey,” he said, twisting on the ladder when my door slammed. “How did you find me here?”
I nod at the mural. “Kind of hard to miss.”
“I guess so.”
“Ava and I came down here to see it yesterday. The guy told us he dropped the charges but you had to repair the wall.” Connor climbed down the ladder and stood in front of me. “I would have told you all that yesterday or today if you returned my calls.”
“My mom took my cell. Punishment.”
“I’m surprised she’d let you out of her sight, much less without a phone.”
“Oh,” he laughs. “They have something better.” He tugged down his sock to reveal a thick plastic band and a square box attached to it. “Ankle monitor. They’re tracking me 24/7.”
“Oh, that sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.”
We stood awkwardly in the middle of the parking lot. Connor had his hands shoved in his pockets and fresh drip marks on his shoes. My thoughts were caught in my chest and lodged in my throat. I had so many things I wanted to say and so many feelings scrambled with those words. But to speak them would lay me bare in this crappy parking lot in the middle of the July heat. Finally, I looked up at Charlotte’s image and said, “Where do we go from here?”
“I’m trying. I really am, but I can’t get her out of my head.” His words sting like a slap and I turn away. He grabbed my arm. “I’m taking my meds. I don’t want to do this stuff – the drawings, the dreams – but she’s all up in my head and she’s not letting go.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means she’s with me when I sleep and when I’m alone. Her voice echoes through my head – whispering. All day long.”
“But you can’t see her.”
“No.”
“This isn’t right, Connor.”
“I guess she needs me for something right? This is how it works.”
“But this isn’t how it works. They don’t take over our dreams and thoughts and make us do illegal things.”
His mouth dropped and I felt his comeback before he even had the chance to say it. I held up a hand in warning. “Don’t say it.”
He raised that eyebrow. The one that made me fall for him, and the one that at this very moment made me want to smack it off. “I won’t because obviously there is no need for me to comment on all the laws you broke to help Evan and the completely reckless way you risked your own life to save him. I won’t bring that up.”
“It’s not the same.”
“The hell it isn’t. This time it’s about me and not you and your BFF Evan. It’s about some girl you have no reason to be jealous of – dead or alive.” His eyes flashed mean. “It’s about stuff you wouldn’t understand, Jane, with your quirky, supportive family and friendly ghosts.”
I step back. “Is that a back-handed way of calling me naive? I’m not naive, Connor.”
“Maybe not, but I have a ghost, a friend no less, in my head and in my dreams. And this girl had a shitty life. Horrible. Obviously, she isn’t ready to let go and I don’t really have a choice. So right now, what I need is a supportive girlfriend, not one bent on jealousy and destruction.” He picked up his paint brush and dipped it into the can on the ground. “Obviously,
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to the lobby. “Great, another stubborn ghost. Just what I need.”
&
I saw his legs the minute I turned the corner. Slim, but muscular, standing on a tall ladder. His sweat-soaked shirt stuck to his back. When I got out of my dad’s truck, I watched him wipe his face with the hem.
He had barely repainted the top section of the wall. From the looks of things, it would take several coats to cover his urban version of Charlotte, whose dark eyes looked down on me in an obnoxious, judging manner. He managed to capture her essence perfectly. I hated her.
“Hey,” he said, twisting on the ladder when my door slammed. “How did you find me here?”
I nod at the mural. “Kind of hard to miss.”
“I guess so.”
“Ava and I came down here to see it yesterday. The guy told us he dropped the charges but you had to repair the wall.” Connor climbed down the ladder and stood in front of me. “I would have told you all that yesterday or today if you returned my calls.”
“My mom took my cell. Punishment.”
“I’m surprised she’d let you out of her sight, much less without a phone.”
“Oh,” he laughs. “They have something better.” He tugged down his sock to reveal a thick plastic band and a square box attached to it. “Ankle monitor. They’re tracking me 24/7.”
“Oh, that sucks.”
“Yeah, it does.”
We stood awkwardly in the middle of the parking lot. Connor had his hands shoved in his pockets and fresh drip marks on his shoes. My thoughts were caught in my chest and lodged in my throat. I had so many things I wanted to say and so many feelings scrambled with those words. But to speak them would lay me bare in this crappy parking lot in the middle of the July heat. Finally, I looked up at Charlotte’s image and said, “Where do we go from here?”
“I’m trying. I really am, but I can’t get her out of my head.” His words sting like a slap and I turn away. He grabbed my arm. “I’m taking my meds. I don’t want to do this stuff – the drawings, the dreams – but she’s all up in my head and she’s not letting go.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means she’s with me when I sleep and when I’m alone. Her voice echoes through my head – whispering. All day long.”
“But you can’t see her.”
“No.”
“This isn’t right, Connor.”
“I guess she needs me for something right? This is how it works.”
“But this isn’t how it works. They don’t take over our dreams and thoughts and make us do illegal things.”
His mouth dropped and I felt his comeback before he even had the chance to say it. I held up a hand in warning. “Don’t say it.”
He raised that eyebrow. The one that made me fall for him, and the one that at this very moment made me want to smack it off. “I won’t because obviously there is no need for me to comment on all the laws you broke to help Evan and the completely reckless way you risked your own life to save him. I won’t bring that up.”
“It’s not the same.”
“The hell it isn’t. This time it’s about me and not you and your BFF Evan. It’s about some girl you have no reason to be jealous of – dead or alive.” His eyes flashed mean. “It’s about stuff you wouldn’t understand, Jane, with your quirky, supportive family and friendly ghosts.”
I step back. “Is that a back-handed way of calling me naive? I’m not naive, Connor.”
“Maybe not, but I have a ghost, a friend no less, in my head and in my dreams. And this girl had a shitty life. Horrible. Obviously, she isn’t ready to let go and I don’t really have a choice. So right now, what I need is a supportive girlfriend, not one bent on jealousy and destruction.” He picked up his paint brush and dipped it into the can on the ground. “Obviously,
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