“Y

ou’ve been acting creepy, that’s all.” Jinx was practically running out of the coffee shop. She’d agreed to meet Brian there and talk about what happened at school. She didn’t know why she’d agreed, but she had. Now she regretted it.

Slipping on her coat as she walked out the door, she turned to the right instead of toward her house. While she was out, she might as well go to the bridge. She was sure Haley and her lemming friends were full of it, but the idea of a haunting—no matter how unlikely—still appealed to her.

Brian followed her like a puppy dog. In fact, he followed so closely that he stepped on the heel of one of her Chucks. She stopped, exasperated, and he ran right into her.

She looked at him pointedly. “I need some time alone.”

“Well, that’s too bad!” Brian said. “I don’t need time alone! I need to talk to you and figure out why you’re being such a...”

Jinx crossed her arms, daring him to say it. She knew she had her meanest look on—the one even her mom was afraid of. It worked on Brian, too. “Being such a what, Brian?” she snarled.

“All I’m saying is you’re overreacting. I was joking at school, that’s all.”

Jinx huffed out air. “I know that’s what you’re saying. You’ve been saying it for an hour. And what I’m saying is, I don’t buy it. You looked genuinely happy to hear about people jumping off a bridge. That’s seriously messed-up, Brian. And that blog post you did, talking about your powers...I just need to do some thinking.”

Brian sneered. “I had no idea you were such a prude. You seem like you’re edgy, but really, deep down, you’re just a plain Jane.”

Jinx’s whole body went rigid. Knowingly or not, Brian had touched a huge nerve. She got right up in his face and said, “Listen, you immature little toad. I’ve seen what happens when people die. My best friend’s dad died, and there’s nothing, I repeat, nothing, funny or cute or good about it. You have the maturity of a deranged llama, Brian, and I’m starting to think you have a serious personality disorder too. Now back off and give me some air, or so help me I will scream bloody murder so loud that you’ll be locked up for years!”

Brian stepped back at the force of Jinx’s words. Fire burned through her, and her chest heaved. He put his hands up, pale and shaking. “OK, OK. I’ll give you some space.”

Jinx continued to stare at him. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

Good riddance, Jinx thought. That boy was bad news. She had to think of a way to fire him.

She began heading toward the bridge, which was only about six blocks away. As she walked, her iPhone twinkled—the sound she had chosen for text messages. It was from Jackson.

Hey. I know yr mad but hear me out. At least stop hanging out with Brian. Hes a creep. I think you might get hurt.

Jinx let out a grunt of frustration. How did he always know exactly when things were falling apart for her? When she wasn’t mad at him, she adored that trait. Jackson could always sense, from wherever he was, whatever trouble she was in. He was almost psychic—and almost always right. At that moment Jinx could have punched him for it.

She stopped and thought about what to write. She certainly wasn’t going to let him know that he was right about Brian—he didn’t need to know that. In fact, he needed a little punishment. Her heart still hurt from him dating Haley, and she wanted to hurt him back. She wouldn’t lie exactly, but she could stretch the truth, right? She typed in:

YOU’RE the one who hurt me, remember? Brian is fine, he couldnt come close to hurting me like you did. You are not my friend. Stop txting me

There. That would do it.

Guilt stung her, but she told herself Jackson deserved it. He was probably with Haley right now, and Haley was probably talking trash about her. Because that’s what she did. She and all her popular friends.

Jinx walked slowly toward the bridge and remembered Haley’s exchange with Maddie earlier. She had defended the idiots who had jumped...Despite herself, Jinx admired Haley for speaking up. Haley had taken something like that seriously, and more importantly, she had said something.

Then again, Haley hadn’t talked to Jinx in front of her friend. So maybe her defense of the bridge-jumpers was just a fluke. Clearly, that’s what it was. Haley was a puppet like all the other popular kids.

And she was dating Jinx’s best friend.

Jinx shook the thought away. She was coming up on the bridge, and she could see a figure smack-dab in the middle of the bridge, standing along the railing. The figure looked familiar, but a fog settled right around it, clouding Jinx’s view.

Jinx decided to go check out the fog. There was something very unnatural about it. Why did it only hover around that one spot? As Jinx got closer, she squinted to see if she could make out who the person was. With a start, she realized it was Jackson. Was he OK? And what was he doing on this bridge? She walked a little faster and saw that he was looking down and typing on his outdated phone, shoulders slumped.

Jinx was jogging now. Something wasn’t right. Her phone twinkled again—she had a text—and she pulled it out of her pocket. The message was from Jackson.

J, Im sorry. I dont deserve your friendship. Im going to jump. Its better for everyone.

Jinx had to reread the message before it dawned on her. She looked up and saw Jackson put his foot on the railing and swing his leg over.

Without thinking, Jinx took off at a sprint, running faster than she ever had. She didn’t have enough breath to say Jackson’s name—she needed everything to run.

Twenty feet away, Jackson flipped his other foot over the railing.

Ten feet away, she saw Jackson look down at the water and close his eyes. Jinx’s lungs burned.

Five feet away, Jinx watched as he peeled his fingers from the railing. He leaned forward toward the dark water.

Jinx caught the back of Jackson’s coat just before his feet left the ledge. She pulled back with all her might, so hard she could hear Jackson choking.

Sobbing and panting, Jinx put her arms under Jackson’s armpits and pulled with all her might. Jackson easily had seventy pounds on her—Jinx was a small girl, and he was a football player. But adrenaline made her strong, and she pulled him over the railing and dropped him on the cement.

Then she doubled over.

Everything hurt. Her lungs were on fire—she was pretty sure she would never be able to breathe again. Her legs felt loose, like they could fall off at any moment. Worse, she couldn’t stop crying. For a girl who barely ever cried, the feeling was more than a little uncomfortable.

Splayed across the ground, Jackson shook his head like he was coming to. He put his arms through two of the poles that ran along the railing and pulled the rest of his body up, and then held his head like he had a huge headache.

Jinx had caught her breath but was still sobbing. She walked over to Jackson and began hitting him in the chest.

“What...were...you...thinking?! Your mom, your brothers—me! You stupid...what is wrong with you?”

Jackson grabbed her arms and pulled her into a hug. She sank down into him, and he stroked her hair.

“I’m OK. It’s OK. I’m here.”

She felt like she would never stop crying. When she finally did, she looked up at him accusatorily.

“Jackson,” she said, her voice low and dangerous.

He said, “I have no idea, J. I mean it. It’s like something took me over. I would never...!” Tears spilled out of his eyes. “My mom has gone through enough with my dad dying. You know I’d never make her go through something like this.”

Sniffing, Jinx nodded. She was suddenly very, very tired. She laughed a little. “It sounds like,” she said, sniffing loudly again, “the Paranormalists may have a case.”

Jackson looked at her and smiled. Then the two of them were laughing so hard they were crying again. Jackson hugged her, and she breathed in his boy scent that was so familiar to her. He said on top of her hair, “Holy crap, girl, have you been working out? How did you pull me away?”

Jinx sat back and said seriously, “I would never let anything happen to you.”

Jackson’s face crumpled. “Me neither, Jinx. Me neither. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I can’t live without you, do you understand? You’re my best friend. I’ll do what it takes to make you happy.”

“Yeah, life pretty much sucks without you, too.” She smiled up at him, then hit him hard one more time. “So never, ever, ever, ever, ever do something like this again!”

“There’s something here, Jinx. I swear.”

Jinx nodded. “I know. When I was coming up the bridge, I saw this cloud around you. Kind of like...”

Jinx pointed to a spot farther along the bridge. The cloud hung around a girl sitting on the railing.

“Oh god,” Jinx said. She put her hand to her mouth.

“Jinx,” Jackson said, “that’s Maddie Jacobson.”

Maddie—the girl Haley had talked to in Jinx’s English class. The one who had made fun of the people who jumped off the bridge. Jinx stepped forward to yell a warning to her.

Maddie looked at Jackson and Jinx. Even from where they sat, Jinx could see the unbelievable sadness in her face.

Before Jinx could say a word, Maddie flipped herself over the railing and fell to the water below.