Truth or Dare . . (10 page)

“So all this time when I was wondering how my phone got moved, how it seemed to turn on by itself—that was you?” Abby asked, shaking her head. “And you just let me keep wondering about it instead of confessing?”

“I was embarrassed,” Leah said. “But do you understand now why I kept telling you that there had to be a reasonable explanation? Because those things
seemed
really creepy, but there was a perfectly rational explanation for them.”

“Except for the scary message—I mean
messages
,”
Abby pointed out. “And the ripped-up top, and this hair in my drawer, and—”

“I get it,” Leah cut her off. “And I can't explain that stuff, Abby. I wish I could, but I can't.”

There was a pause as Abby tried to think of something to say. Suddenly Leah continued. “You don't understand, Abby. It's so
easy
for you.”

“Excuse me?” Abby asked. “Easy for me that I have some crazy
ghost
stalking me?”

“Not that,” Leah said, shaking her head. “You can text Jake. You can talk to him like it's no big deal. And then, surprise, he asks you to the dance. But I've had a crush on Max
forever
and he barely knows that I even exist.”

“Because you never talk to him!” Abby exclaimed.

“Because I'm scared I'll say something stupid!” Leah retorted.

Abby sighed. “Do you want me to talk to Jake? Find out who Max likes?”

“No. Maybe. I'm not sure,” Leah replied. “I'll think about it. But speaking of Jake, what are you going to do?”

“Do?”

“Well . . . you know . . .,” Leah said, gesturing to the photo of Sara on Abby's dresser. “Are you still
going to go to the dance with him?”

For a moment Abby didn't answer as she turned away from Leah and stared at Sara's picture. Then she picked up the photo and slowly tore it in half with a loud, satisfying
riiiiippppp
.

“You bet I am,” she replied as she dropped the torn photo in the trash. “I'm not going to let some
ghost
keep me from living my life.”

Leah raised her eyebrows. “Wow,” she said. “Go, Abby. You're so brave.”

Abby glanced at the lock of red hair and the crumpled-up note that had accompanied it. “What choice do I have?” she asked.

By the time Saturday evening came around, though, Abby's courage began to waver. Friday and Saturday were thankfully uneventful, but Abby hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since her sleepover. She was exhausted as she got ready for the dance. She peered at herself in the mirror and frowned. “There's not enough makeup in the world to get rid of these circles,” Abby said as she dabbed concealer over the dark shadows beneath her eyes.

“Don't be silly. You look beautiful!” Mrs. Miller replied as she reached for Abby's hairbrush. “Let's put your hair up a little. Just to see how it looks.”

“Mom. My hair is fine,” Abby said. “Leave it alone.”

“Okay.” Mrs. Miller sighed. “It just looks so pretty
when you clip it up. See what I mean?”

“But I want to wear it down,” Abby argued, pushing away her mom's hands.

“Okay, okay! Honey, you seem so nervous,” Mrs. Miller said, her voice filled with concern. “Jake is such a nice boy. Just try to relax and have fun tonight!”

If she only knew
, Abby thought. “I will, Mom,” she replied, hoping that her voice sounded normal. “Sorry I snapped at you. I'm a little stressed.”

“You look wonderful, and you're going to have a great time,” Mrs. Miller said. “I just know it!”

I hope so
, Abby thought as she tried to smile at her mom.

But she wasn't so sure.

Just then there was a loud knock at the front door. “That must be Jake,” Abby said as she jumped up. “I've gotta go.”

From the hallway, she could hear her father's voice. “Hello, Jake. Why don't you come inside and sit down for a minute? I thought we could have a nice chat before you whisk my daughter away into the night.”

A look of horror crossed Abby's face. “Mom,
no!
” she whispered. The absolute last thing Abby wanted Jake to deal with was her dad and his sense of humor—or lack thereof.

“Hurry,” her mom said, patting Abby's arm. “I'll get your coat.”

Abby darted into the living room. “Hi, Jake,” she said with a little wave. “Well, we better get going. See you later, Dad!”

But Mr. Miller wasn't quite done. “You'll have her home by nine thirty, of course,” he said to Jake, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Um, yes, absolutely,” replied Jake. “My mom's picking us up at nine fifteen, so that won't be a problem.”

“No, I didn't think it would be,” Mr. Miller said, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Come on! Let's go!” Abby exclaimed as she grabbed the sleeve of Jake's coat and pulled him toward the front door.

“Here you go, Abby,” Mrs. Miller said as she handed Abby her coat. “Have fun!”

Abby breathed a sigh of relief as she and Jake stepped outside into the twilight.

“Hey,” Jake said as he flashed Abby a smile. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she said, blushing as she followed Jake out to his mom's car. “Sorry about my dad.” But one thing Abby wasn't sorry about was the lock of hair and the
note that were crammed in the trash can in her room—presents for Jake that he would never receive.

As she buckled her seat belt, Abby felt her cell phone buzz with a text message. She reached for it, but suddenly stopped herself.
It's not Mom or Dad
, she thought.
And if it's Leah, I'll see her in five minutes. So I'm not even going to look at this text.

The short drive to the school passed quickly, thanks to Mrs. Chilson's friendly chatter. “Bye, kids,” she called out as Abby and Jake climbed out of the car. “I'll pick you up in front, okay?”

Abby and Jake thanked her for the ride and walked around the school to the gym, where the dance was being held. As Jake held open the door for her, Abby gasped in delight. The gym had been transformed! The walls were covered with shimmering dark purple fabric; thousands of twinkling lights looped across the ceiling like constellations from another galaxy. At one end of the gym, a row of refreshment tables was decorated with garlands of white roses that perfumed the entire room.

“It's beautiful!” Abby exclaimed, her eyes shining happily. She had never imagined that the gym could be transformed into such a romantic and magical place.
The dance was already about a hundred times better than any dance she'd been to before.

But when Jake didn't respond, Abby turned to glance at him. The look of dread on his face told her that the dance was the last place in the world that he wanted to be.

“Jake?” Abby asked quietly. “Is—um—is something wrong?”

Jake shrugged and tried to smile at her. “No, no,” he said. “Ready to go in?”

“Sure,” Abby said, trying to sound friendly. Trying to sound normal.

Jake hesitated for just a moment, then reached for her hand. His fingers were smooth and warm as he entwined them with hers.

Abby's heart started pounding so loudly that she was sure everyone in the gym could hear it. She felt the blood rush into her cheeks and was grateful that it was too dark for anyone to notice. Because in that sweet moment, and despite everything that had happened in the past week, Abby was overcome with such happiness that it almost made her dizzy.

Inside the gym, she could see Morgan Matthews fluttering around anxiously, making sure that everything
was set up perfectly. And across the room, she spotted Chloe and Nora. Her friends smiled and waved to her. Then Abby saw something that made the biggest, brightest smile stretch across her face: Max Menendez, carrying two cups of fruit punch, walking over to Leah. Abby giggled when she saw the look on her friend's face—somehow her expression was a combination of astonishment, excitement, and utter delight. Abby realized that she'd never seen Leah look so happy . . . or so pretty.
We're gonna be on the phone all night for sure
, Abby thought, thrilled that Max and Leah were finally spending time together.

But as Jake and Abby moved farther into the gym, the smile faded from Abby's face. She saw, then, what Jake had noticed the moment they had arrived: an enormous portrait of Sara hanging from the ceiling, watching all of them with her haunting green eyes. The portrait had been painted in such a lifelike style that Sara's eyes almost seemed to glow. Abby glanced at Jake's face and saw that he couldn't take his eyes off the portrait, try as he might.

Does he see what's really there?
she wondered suddenly. To Abby, those green eyes seemed evil. The thin red lips
were pursed in anger. She could find no trace of beauty in Sara's portrait anymore.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep.

Maybe it was the culmination of her week of fear.

But Abby knew that she couldn't do this—not here, not now, not with him.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered to Jake as her hand fell out of his. “I can't.”

Then Abby turned away and ran from the room.

“Abby, wait!”

She heard Jake calling after her but she kept running, away from the gym, away from the portrait, away from the boy who was so clearly still crazy about a dead girl. With a ghost.

“Please, Abby!” Jake begged as he caught up to her in the hallway and grabbed her arm. “Give me—”

“No,” Abby said, shaking her head. “You can't—”

“Try to understand,” Jake interrupted her. “I knew that the money from the dance was going to her scholarship, but I didn't expect the gym to be turned into such a huge memorial to Sara, okay? The purple decorations? Her favorite color. The white roses? Her favorite flower. And that portrait . . . Living in this town, going to this
school, there are reminders of her
everywhere
. I can't even take a girl I
like
to a dance without feeling like Sara's watching me.”

“Because she is!” Abby exploded. Then she clapped her hands over her mouth in horror.

“What did you say?” Jake asked.

“Never mind,” Abby said quickly. “I'm just going to call my mom and get out of here, okay?”

“No,” Jake insisted. “I want to know what you meant by that.”

Abby's resolve wavered as she looked into Jake's eyes.
He deserves to know the truth
, she thought.
But can he handle it?

Then Abby realized that that wasn't her decision to make.

“I don't even know where to begin,” she said slowly. She took a deep breath. And she told Jake everything.

Everything.

Jake listened quietly, never interrupting her, but Abby couldn't help noticing the way his eyes narrowed and his lips grew thin and sullen. Near the end of her story she realized that she had made a huge mistake.

But there was no turning back now.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Abby finished. “I know it does. But there is no other explanation that I can figure
out. Sara's spirit hasn't moved on. She's still in love with you, Jake, and she doesn't want anyone to take her place in your heart.”

Abby held her breath as she waited for Jake's response. For a moment he looked angry. But then his anger melted away.

“Abby,” he said gently, “it doesn't just sound crazy. It
is
crazy.”

Abby sighed. “Okay,” she said. “I'm going home now.”

“Wait,” Jake insisted. “I know you didn't know her well, but Sara was a really nice person. Like, genuinely nice. She would never try to scare someone or upset them in any way. I mean, you've known
me
forever. Do you think I'd go out with someone like that?”

Abby grabbed her cell phone and shoved it at Jake. “I haven't even read this text yet,” she said. “But I can guess who it's from.”