“I’ll leave you to it. Just wave if you need anything.” The woman finally backs away.
“I’m sorry she thought I was waiting for you. Is this really for me?” I change the subject swiftly while looking down at the cup.
“Yes, a small bribe to make sure you have a reason to sit with me,” he admits unabashedly while unwrapping his sandwich. “You can drink it and tell me the real reason you’re here alone.”
A heavy sigh leaves my chest as I poke the straw into the cup. My mom’s words echo in my head about telling someone what happened and how it might help. I don’t have to feel guilty thinking that this guy knows Corey and it will make him sad, nor will I need to worry he’ll think badly of me, because truth be told, I’m fucking mad at her and Emma. I know that doesn’t seem fair since both of them lost their lives, but they could have gotten Kate and me killed too. Every time I think about that night, I get more confused. It almost doesn’t even feel real anymore, but all the crap happening at home sure does, and I’m scared.
“It all started with a game,” I tell him, then slowly look up to meet his eyes. One brow rises, and he seems intrigued. “Have you ever played with a Ouija board?” I feel weird asking him, but I can’t take back the question now.
“A spirit board?” He wipes the corner of his mouth. “Sure.”
Corey called it the same thing, a spirit board. “Do you believe in them?”
“I don’t think it matters if I do.” He leans forward and asks softly, “Do you?” Geez, there’s something about his voice that’s almost familiar.
“I didn’t—don’t. I don’t think I did.” My muddled answer is confusing, even to me.
“So you were playing with your friends, a little fun on Devil’s Night, things got out of hand, and you ended up here?” he surmises, thinking that’s all there is to the story. He almost seems disappointed.
“No, it happened last week, a few towns over.” I give him a second to see if he reacts to the information, but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes a long pull from his straw and licks away the drop of milkshake that gets left on the center of his lip. I see a glint in his tongue—a piercing. “It made the news.”
“A sweet creature like you was on the news for playing a game?” He seems incredulous.
That’s the second time he called me a creature, but it seems like a term of endearment, not an insult. “My friend who died was—friends,” I amend. Emma and I weren’t close, but it feels wrong to leave her out.
“I don’t watch the news much. Want to fill me in?” He continues eating as if learning that a couple of my friends died is no big deal.
“Do you believe in ghosts?” I ask instead.
“Something like that,” he says without really answering.
“Do you think they can kill people?”
“Do you think a ghost killed those girls?”
I take a drink from my shake. The sugar is giving me a much needed boost, or maybe it’s just this strange conversation with this even stranger guy. “Can I ask your name?”
“Sure,” he answers but doesn’t give me his name.
“Will you tell me?”
“Soon.” He sends a crooked smile my way.
“Five minutes before we lock the doors,” a guy calls out from the cash register.
I put my hand on my bag, ready to go. I’m not sure if this conversation was helpful. It didn’t really go anywhere, but at least he didn’t act like he thought I was crazy for thinking a ghost might have killed my longtime friend.
“You can’t leave me hanging like that. I need to hear the rest of the story,” he says before I can stand up.
“They are closing,” I remind him.
“We can still talk.” He picks up his little thing of waffle fries and his drink. The sandwich is gone, so he leaves the wrapper on the tray as he stands. I’m not crazy enough to leave with a stranger, especially after what happened last week. I’m pretty sure he sees my reluctance because he adds, “How about this? You tell me where to go, a public place of your choosing, and I will meet you there.”
I rack my brain for someplace we could go, someplace where we wouldn’t stand out because I really don’t want to go home alone. “I’m sure there’s something by campus that’s open late,” I offer.
“Campus?”
“UT, it’s just a few miles away. Are you not from around here?”
