Phantoms of Fall (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 2) by Joy Elbel Read Free Book Online Page A

mound. I wanted to call out the deceased’s
name, but there wasn’t a headstone yet. So I just talked to the
grave like I would have spoken to a stranger sitting beside me
on the bus. Supernatural small talk.
“So, what do you think of the weather?” Nothing.
     
“How do you like it here?” Nothing.
     
“How did you die?”
    And a voice from behind me asked, “Are you talking to
me?” A cool breeze brushed past me as I turned to confront
whoever—or whatever—was behind me.
    All I found was a boy about my age with long blond
hair and
a confused look on his
face.
I recognized him
immediately. He was the boy I saw at Silver Lake the night
Zach broke up with me.
“Are you talking to me?” he repeated looking at me
strangely.
     
“Uh…no,” I responded.
     
The strange look melted into a smile. “Oh. Who are you talking to then?”
    Awkward—infinitely awkward. First he hears me get
dumped and then he hears me talking to a lump of earth.
If
any of this got back to Misty, I’d be branded a freak from the
first day of school. I had to do some damage control—fast.
    “I’m writing a short story about a girl who can talk to
dead people. I was just trying out some dialogue.” Writing
before school even started—what was I thinking?
Oh well,
better a geek than a freak, I suppose. Plus, he didn’t look like
the type who would ask questions so I figured he would take
it at face value and move on.
    “Do you think it’s possible? Talking to dead people, I
mean.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited for my
answer.
    Crap!
Who
would
have
thought
he
would
be
interested in something like that? “No, I don’t,” I lied, “Do
you?”
“Nah, me neither.” And he said nothing more—he
simply stood there looking at me oddly.
    He was starting to creep me out, so I decided it was
time to leave. “See you in school,” I said as I stepped away
from him. Stupid, I know—but what else was I supposed to
say to him?
He shook his head. “I’m not in school anymore. I’ll see
you around, though. The name’s Clay, by the way.”
    “See you around, Clay.” Hurriedly, I got into the car. If
Zach found out, he would be adding another name to the list
of guys he wanted to push into a swimming pool. Clay waved
as I drove off but I didn’t wave back. No need to add fuel to
Zach’s fire or make this weirdo think I might be interested in
him.
    The clock in the car showed I only had fifteen minutes
before I was to meet Zach, just enough time to make the drive.
No ghostly activity in the graveyard was a relief.
Rita was
wrong—I just proved that.
What happened to her was
unfortunate, but
it wasn’t going
to
happen
to me.
I
remembered that I didn’t return Zach’s text saying he loved
me. I felt bad about it, but I would make it up to him tonight.
Boy was I going to make it up to him.
    Arriving at The Hideout a few minutes early, I saw
that Zach was already there waiting for me. He was leaning
against his car with a worried look on his face.
“Is everything okay?” he called before I even had a
chance to turn off the engine.
    “Everything’s just fine.” I sincerely felt that it was.
Rita was wrong—I proved that in the cemetery. I didn’t see a
single thing and
would never see another ghost.
It was
over—definitely over. I wouldn’t have to break up with Zach
to keep him safe.
    As I approached him, he met me half way. I grabbed
him and buried my head in his chest. He held me for a while
and then whispered in my ear.
    “What’s wrong, sweetie?” He knew me well enough to
sense that something wasn’t right so he stroked my hair
comfortingly. “Talk to me.”
    I could have told him about my conversation with
Rita. I should have told him about my conversation with Rita.
But I didn’t. There was nothing to worry about so there was
no reason to bring
it
up—he would only
obsess
over
something that would never happen again. So I chose to keep
it to myself.
    “I’m just sad because