Sam is ten minutes older than Matt. It doesn’t matter to me, since they’re both older than I am, but they argue about it endlessly. “I’m older, so I go first.” Sam pushes Matt out of the way, stumbling past him in tall cowboy boots.
“No, I’m taller, so the biggest person goes first,” Matt argues.
“Well, Reed is older and taller than both of you, so he should go first,” I say, pulling on their shirts as we hike through the trees.
“Yeah, Reed, you go up there.” Ashley pushes her brother to the front of the line. “That way the ghosts can get you first.”
Matt and Sam stop cold, and I run into them. “There aren’t ghosts,” Sam says. “That’s kid stuff.” But he’s no longer trying to get in front of Matt either.
“Well, I’m sure something’s living in Aldridge. It’s still got buildings, so something probably lives there.”
“Could be Bigfoot,” Dad calls out as he and Mr. Hutton follow in our wake. “Or maybe vampires.”
“Vampires aren’t real either,” Matt says, pushing ahead. “Come on, Reed. I’ll race you there.”
Matt and Reed take off, tearing up the trail toward the town. “Hey, wait for me!” Sam yells, in the middle of dumping a rock from his boot. By the time he chases after them, they’re already gone around the bend ahead.
“They’re totally going to get lost,” Ashley says, reaching back to grab her dad’s hand and letting him swing her forward and into a twirl, like a dancer.
“Let them run,” Dad says. “They need to burn energy and I’d like to be asleep before midnight.”
“Did we bring the marshmallows?” I ask.
“Sure did.” Dad ruffles my hair. “I wouldn’t forget my favorite pumpkin’s favorite treat.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
By the time we reach the town, Matt and Reed are already inside one of the buildings, yelling and laughing. But Sam is standing just outside, arms crossed, eyes wide.
“Hey, buddy, did you catch them?” Dad asks.
Sam shakes his head.
“You okay? Did you get hurt?” Dad walks over and grabs his shoulders.
Sam shakes his head and mumbles, “No,” then walks into the ruins where the boys are.
“Hey, guys, I brought the spray paint,” Mr. Hutton says, tossing his backpack onto the ground. While the boys rush to get their cans, I walk into the building. Vines trail up the walls like an indoor garden, reaching for the sunlight that pours down through the caved-in roof. The only solid wall has been covered in spray-painted names, the vines ripped away to reveal gray stones that are now a rainbow of colors. Matt and Reed rush to it, while Sam trails behind. It’s so out of character for him that I ask him what’s wrong.
He glances around, and then shrugs. “Nothing.”
“Then why are you acting like something’s wrong?”
Sam waits until Ashley walks by, then continues. “I just . . . I thought I saw something.”
“What? Where?”
“In the woods. When I was chasing Matt, I got another rock in my boot. I stopped to get it out, and when I looked up, something was watching me.”
“Like an animal?”
“I don’t know,” Sam whispers.
“Well, what did it look like?”
“Like . . . a person covered with fur. Taller than Dad.”
“Are you sure? That sounds a little weird. I saw a tree back there that looked like a person reaching up into the sky. It was probably something like that. Shadows, maybe.”
“Maybe.”
“Are you going to tell Dad?”
“No, it’s stupid.” He shakes the bottle of spray paint. “Just forget it.”
Ashley’s stomach growls as the smell of pizza wafts into the room. “Is that pizza?”
“Matt’s probably having a snack.” I dust my cheeks with Ashley’s blush, barely enough to notice.
“You think he’d share?”
“You know we’re going to dinner in two hours, right?”
“Yeah, but I’ll be nervous. I don’t like eating on dates.”
“Since when?” I gape at her.
“Since now.”
“Oh.” Right. Because it’s with my brother. “Well, let’s go make him share.”
Matt’s sitting at the kitchen table when we walk downstairs, while Mom stares at the oven, mitt on her hand and a blank look on her face.
“That’s the best thing I’ve smelled all day,” Ashley says, giving me a wicked smile. I glare at her but smile anyway. It seems like the paste for my hair finally worked.
“Hello, girls. Would you like some pizza?” Mom says absently.
“Yes, thanks for letting me come crash this weekend, Mrs. Roberts.”
“Nora, sweetheart, always Nora to you.” Mom comes out of her fog long enough to smile. “Pizza is almost ready, and I’ve already got cookies made. If you need anything else, I’m sure you can find it.”
“Are you going somewhere?” I ask.
“Yes, actually,” Dad says suddenly, appearing from his office with a stack of file folders in hand. Mom glances at him, her level stare meeting his. I’d swear something passes between them. “Your mother and I will be in late tonight. The Becker family invited us over for dinner.” Dad glances down at his watch. “Nora, you should probably get ready.”
“Oh, you’re right,” Mom says as she glances at the clock on the wall. She pulls the pizza out and places it on the stovetop, steam rising up into the vent. “Leah, cut this for me. I completely forgot the time.” Mom lays the pizza cutter on the counter and tosses the oven mitt beside it.
“Sure, got it,” I say, watching her carefully. She’s hurrying, but in a good way, like she’s excited about this. The last time I checked, she wasn’t too crazy about having to have dinner at other peoples’ homes. “Have a good time.”
Ten minutes later they pull out of the driveway.
“Ben’s on his way over,” Matt says, eyeing my wet hair.
“What?” I choke down my bite of pizza. “He’s not supposed to be here for another hour.”
“He wanted to come over early.”
“Okay, we’ve got work to do.” Ashley grabs her drink, holds one slice with her teeth, and grabs a handful of cookies.
“You want a plate?” I ask.
“Nommgud,” she mumbles, taking the stairs two at a time. A few seconds later her voice calls back clearly, “Get up here, Leah!”
“Kill me now.” I drag myself out of my chair, grabbing one of Mom’s homemade chocolate-chip cookies. “Okay, wish me luck.”
“You’re going to run out, eventually.”
The look he gives me tells me he’s not talking about Ashley.
“This dance is kind of lame,” Ashley says, sitting next to me at one of the tables that line the cafeteria. Matt and Ben are at the buffet table, loading up plates of snacks to bring back to us. My feet are aching in these shoes, and I dread getting up again to dance, mainly because I almost can’t look Ben in the eye without this overwhelming guilt.
“Well, it’s a homecoming dance in the cafeteria. What do you expect?”
“More. Of everything.”
“You’ve been dancing with Matt, though. Isn’t that good?” Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?
“It’s fun, I guess. He’s not really into it, though. He got kinda pissed when Kelsey walked in with that new guy.”
“If he wanted to be with Kelsey, he would. He wouldn’t even care if we weren’t at a dance where she could show off her new date so soon.”
“But that’s just it. He doesn’t seem to care. About anyone.”
“Come on, Ash. You know Matt. That’s just how he is.”
“But why? Maybe he’s more messed up than either of us, and we just never realized it.”
I’m still thinking about what Ashley said when the boys arrive at our table.
“Okay, we’ve got a destination.” Ben points to a group of boys standing near the spiked punch. “Charlie Becker said his parents are out of town tonight.”
“Wait. Are we leaving?” I ask.
Ben smiles, glancing at my feet. “Do you want to dance again?”
“Please, no. But . . . the Beckers’. That’s where Mom and Dad are. Didn’t they say they were having dinner at the Beckers’ house?”
“Well, Charlie said they’re gone. His mom is visiting her mother and his dad is going hog hunting with friends. It’s just him and his sister.”
“Are you sure they said Becker?” Matt asks me.
“Of course, I mean, I think. You didn’t hear him say that?”
“Maybe, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, does it? They won’t be back until later, either way.”