Page 27 of Chasing Your Ghost

It had almost looked like something had been pulling or dragging him away from her. It was nothing like the way ghosts passed on, their forms growing more and more transparent until Riley couldn’t see them anymore.

It was also nothing like the way they could willingly and intentionally teleport elsewhere, their bodies vanishing in the blink of an eye. This was something else. Something she had no experience with and had no idea how to fix.

She stood there, frozen with her arms outstretched, for minutes that felt like years. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for. Maybe she was hoping Asher would return. Maybe she was simply too shocked to move. Perhaps she was too rattled to go outside and somehow pretend that everything was fine. Or maybe she couldn’t move because she was too horrified by the stark terror she’d seen in Asher’s green eyes before he’d vanished.

Riley was used to helping people. She didn’t always enjoy doing it, but she had soothed angry spirits and comforted ghosts who didn’t want to leave their loved ones behind. She had even done crazy things like break into an older lady’s home. With the ghost’s help, she’d found the only surviving copy of her will and ensured her scheming daughter didn’t get the money that was intended for her grandchildren.

But Riley wasn’t used to this, and she most certainly did not know how she was supposed to help a ghost she could no longer see.

“Everything okay?” Noah asked her once she’d finally regained some semblance of calm and gone back outside. His concerned frown told Riley she wasn’t doing a very good job of acting normal.

“Fine,” she replied when really, she wanted to tell them about what she’d just witnessed.

But she knew they’d never believe her. Even if they did, it wasn’t as though they could help her.

Without her dad, there was nobody she could talk to or turn to for help. Riley had never felt more powerless or more alone.

8

“Thanks for the lift,” Riley said to Noah and Chris while she opened the back door of Noah’s Jeep.

It was Wednesday afternoon, and while she had her first ballet lesson in the studio in Old Town, Noah and Chris would be at summer training. They were both on the football team, so they’d be heading to the Georgetown campus for whatever torture their coach had in store for them.

Noah had already been to a lecture that morning as well. The poor guy must have been exhausted from dealing with summer classes, football training, his mom’s cancer, and his missing friend.

Riley was surprised the bags under his eyes weren’t larger.

“No worries,” Noah replied.

“If you ask me, it was a big inconvenience,” Chris sighed.

Riley’s jaw dropped, and she reached between the front seats to slap his shoulder. “Rude.”

He grinned. “Oh, I see how it is. You can dish out sarcasm, but you can’t take it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Both boys turned around in their seats to look at her and lifted their eyebrows meaningfully.

“Okay, so maybe I’m a bit heavy with the sarcasm,” she admitted, getting out of the car and moving to stand next to the open passenger window. “But you should feel honored to receive it.”

“Honored, huh?” Noah asked.

Riley nodded energetically. “Absolutely. I only use sarcasm around people I like.”

Chris smirked. “Aw. Did you hear that, Noah? She said she likes us.” He got out of the car and pulled Riley in for a crushing hug, lifting her from her feet before spinning them around.

Riley’s shriek turned into a laugh, which turned into a groan. She probably should have been weirded out that her stepbrother’s friend had lifted her off her feet and was twirling her around like they were in some cheesy romantic comedy, but Riley had quickly learned that Chris was a bit of a flirt. Thankfully, the effect was charming, not creepy, so she found it amusing more than anything else.

She didn’t think he even liked her that way. He was just a goofball.

“Ugh, you’re making me dizzy,” she said when he didn’t stop after the first three spins. “Put me down before I vomit all over you.”

Chris complied, setting her down on her feet and chuckling when she wobbled.

“I thought a ballerina would be used to spinning around,” Noah commented. He’d gotten out of the Jeep as well and was leaning against Chris’s closed door.

“My turns are far more precise and controlled, thank you very much,” Riley informed them. “Speaking of which, I’d better go. I need to stretch before the lesson.”

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