Page 113 of Zero Chance

She nodded, looking guilty again before glancing up and quietly asking, “Because of what happened with your mom?”

I pulled my face back, shocked.“What do you know about my mom?”

Waverly shrugged.“Nothing really.Just that she died when you were nine from cervical cancer.Which makes me thinkthat’swhy you’re a nursing major in the hopes of becoming a gynecologist someday.To help women, where your mother didn’t get the help she needed.And that’s why you’re so knowledgeable about women’s health.”

Well, fuck.She knew a hell of a lot more than anyone else did.Only my core group knew this much.Other people usually just assumed I was a creepy sleazebag who wanted to get off by looking at women’s vaginas all day.

“That’s right,” I said slowly, tipping my head curiously in wonder over who Waverly Frank really was.“But how the fuck didyouknow that?”

She merely gave another one-shouldered shrug.“People talk.I listen.”

“Huh.”As we neared the library, I watched her shudder out a fearful breath.

I tightened my grip supportively around her hand.“It’s okay.You don’t have to worry about anything in this building.I promise.”

She glanced at me uneasily, but at least she let me lead her back inside.

“Did you know my mom was a librarian here when she was alive?”I asked as I held the front door open for her.

Glancing at me in surprise as she stepped inside, she said, “Inthislibrary?”

I nodded.“Yep.This very library.”

“No.I—” Shaking her head, she blinked, completely dumbfounded by the news.“I had no idea.”

“Yeah.”I smiled softly and led her to the right, looking around as we went until we made it to the door in the back corner that took us down the secret stairwell to the basement stacks.

Once we were alone there, I paused to face her.

“She died at the hospital,” I explained.“From her cancer.But when she was alive, this was her favorite place on the planet.”

Waverly’s lips parted as things became clearer to her, like my reason for always visiting and irritating the hell out of her with my presence.

“About a year ago,” I went on, looking around and waiting for my mom to join us.“I learned that she might’vedied, but she never actually left.She’s just been hanging out here—in this building—all these years.”

“Wait.”Waverly shook her head, frowning at me.“What?”

I blew out a cheek full of air and grabbed her other hand, squeezing them both as I faced her head-on.

“Do you believe in ghosts, Frankie?”

26

WAVERLY

My mouth fell open.

Then I snorted.Butghosts?

“You’re kidding, right?”

Keene shook his head.“I really wish I was, but no.I’m serious as fuck right now.”

Eyebrows lifting, I pointed to the stacks of books.“So you’re telling me you think?—”

“I don’t think,” he interrupted softly.“Iknow.My mother is haunting this library.”

I scoffed but said nothing else.Didnothing else.Remembering all the strange, freaky things that happened here, I could actually see why he might assume it was haunted.But there had to be another explanation.

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