Page 16

Paige’s fingers were like a vise on Jodi’s wrist. Even as others started fussing over Paige, giving her water, placing a pillow under her head, her grip on Jodi remained firm.

The EMTs came a few minutes later. Paige had a blistering electrical burn on her arm and a bump on her head. Half the party had vanished out the back door once Paige woke up, making a run for it before the ambulance arrived.

Paige’s parents were called. Then Lucy’s. Soon it was just the five of them and the EMTs. They hovered at Paige’s side as they laid her on a stretcher, explaining that she had to go to the hospital to have her burn treated. Julian asked if someone could ride in the ambulance with them, and the female EMT looked him up and down, dressed only in his boxer shorts, still wet from the pool. “You all should probably sober up before doing anything.”

Jodi stepped forward. “I’m sober. Can I go?”

The woman nodded. They loaded up, and Jodi climbed in, buckling herself awkwardly against the wall.

Paige was propped up, wires sprouting from her like vines. She stared out the back window as the ambulance took off, her skin gray and her eyes empty.

Cheryl Montgomery called Jodi’s phone, and Jodi assured her that she was with Paige and that she would wait at the hospital until Cheryl came. They arrived at the hospital and took Paige to a bed in the trauma bay. It was very much, and yet nothing at all, like Grey’s Anatomy . She took the chair by Paige’s bed and waited as the EMTs filled in the doctors. Paige had to answer tons of questions about illegal drugs, saying every time that she’d only had one puff of a joint with her alcohol.

When the doctors eventually left them alone, Paige pivoted her neck to Jodi, something eerie in the way her head twisted.

“I saw her. She’s been trying to talk to us,” said Paige, smiling widely like she’d solved a math problem. “Jodi, the pictures. The texts. The inhaler . We were right.”

She opened her mouth to deny that she was part of a we and thought better of it. “Tell me what you saw.”

“I was on the football field or something. It was really, really bright, and I was lying on my back, staring up at the sky…” She blinked twice and turned to Jodi. “That might have been the ‘walk toward the light’ thing they tell you about.”

Jodi nodded. Her fingers were cold as she thought about Paige being so close to that. Being so calm about it now.

“And I looked to my right, and Emily was there, lying in the grass with me. It was so bright, I could hardly see her. She told me not to look at the sun. To look at her. ‘It’s not time yet,’ she said.”

Chills crested along Jodi’s arms as she remembered the dream she’d had of Emily in the hospital after the drive-in.

“She told me she’s been trying to talk, but we’re not listening.” Paige’s eyes were bright. “She said something about safety, like we’re not safe? And then I felt like I was… sinking into the ground, lower and lower, and she leaned over me and said something, like an afterthought. Like it wasn’t even for me—”

“What did she say?” Jodi was leaning forward, elbows on knees.

“‘I’ll protect you.’”

Jodi jerked upright, heart hammering.

“Isn’t that strange?” Paige went on. “But then I woke up.”

The curtain around Paige’s bed flew open with a rattle of clicking plastic rings. Cheryl Montgomery burst in, pushing Paige’s hair from her forehead, asking Jodi questions without waiting for answers, screaming for a “damn doctor,” ignoring Paige’s protests.

On Monday, Paige found Jodi in the art building at lunch. “I want to speak to a medium,” she said with bright eyes.

Jodi chewed her sandwich slowly before swallowing. “The one your aunt goes to?”

Paige nodded. “I want to know what Emily wants. How to get her to stop.”

The Reeds had been very upset to hear that their stereo system’s faulty wiring had almost killed Paige. They apologized profusely and had it inspected immediately. The electrician couldn’t find any reason why Paige had received that shock.

“Who was the text from?” Jodi asked. “The one that made you go get your phone?”

“No clue. It was a different number than before, but I think it’s the same person.” Paige showed Jodi her texts.

189. No context. Just the digits.

“Do you know what it—?”

“One hundred and eighty-nine days since she died,” Paige said, pocketing her phone with a grim expression. “I counted. I called it, and it rang and rang.”

Jodi’s chest felt cold. She took a deep breath. “Have you told Greg? Or your lawyer?”

Paige shrugged. “And say what? ‘Someone is asking about our summer, suggesting hair colors, and sending random numbers?’ It isn’t really threatening taken apart like that.”

Jodi nodded. When she met Paige’s eyes, they were intent.

“Will you come with me to the medium?” Paige said.

Jodi wanted to remind her that the texts could be from anyone, that freak accidents happen. But the words from Paige’s vision rang back to her:

I’ll protect you .

Jodi swallowed thickly, and that familiar feeling like she was sinking returned.

“Yeah, I’ll go.”

Paige’s aunt Bette had been seeing a medium since she was twenty-two, when her mother died. Paige’s mom had thrown herself into work and spin class instead, not understanding her younger sister’s need to speak to their mother every two weeks.

Bette brought Jodi into her arms with a tight hug, her long, wavy blond hair just like Paige’s. “Paige talks about you all the time, Jodi.”

The three of them had lunch at Burr’s, where Jodi heard a lot of stories about Bette’s medium, Nan, and how she accurately predicted 9/11.

“My uncle Rich—he died when I was twelve,” Bette said, shaking a sugar packet before ripping it open and dumping it in her iced tea. “He shows up every time I see Nan. It’s like he’s in a waiting room, just hanging out, looking for a window to peek through.” Bette rolled her eyes and sucked on her straw.

Jodi picked at her french fries. She’d woken up with a dead arm again. Her left fingers still felt colder than her right, no matter how she warmed them. Hearing Bette talk about reaching out to dead people wasn’t helping.

It wasn’t that Jodi didn’t believe in mediums. Well, maybe she didn’t. But she had no reason yet to believe. If she was being honest, it was a lot easier to hope that Emily’s spirit wouldn’t come to them today than hoping it would.

“Now, this session is on me,” Bette said, placing a hand over each of theirs from across the booth. She squeezed. “I know you both are concerned about your friend, so I’m glad to introduce you to Nan. She’s put my mind at ease about so much over the years. I can’t even imagine having a friend die by suicide and leave you with so many questions.”

Paige flashed her thin smile. None of the others had agreed to come with them. Julian had a water polo match, and Zack and Lucy were there to support him.

Jodi cleared her throat. “What’s it like? What are we supposed to do?”

“Nan told me to only prep you with the basics so as not to muddle your energies,” Bette said. “First thing is, don’t give her information unless she asks for it. Including Emily’s name, okay? She wants to make sure she’s talking to the right person, not just who you want that person to be. Trust me, Uncle Rich has crashed more of my sessions than I can count.”

“But how does Nan communicate what we want to ask Emily?”

“That’s the best part about this spiritual world, darling,” Bette said with a dreamy smile. “Emily is with you. Emily knows already.”

Nan’s salon was nothing like Jodi was expecting. It was far less holistic healing and more family therapist: warm sunlight, sleek modern furniture, and watercolors surrounding a framed Stanford diploma in literature. Nan, herself, was also unexpected—a woman in her fifties with a brown bob and a firm handshake.

“Let me talk a little about what I do.” Nan slipped into the chair across the table from Paige. “I get images, letters of names, sensations—things like that. I’m very often wrong, okay? That’s why I ask you a lot of questions and make sure we’re on the same page. I can’t see the past, I can’t predict the future. But I can get messages from your loved ones.”

Paige nodded quickly, and Jodi watched her fingers fidget under the table.

“What if they don’t want to talk?” Jodi said.

Snapping her eyes to her, Paige said, “She does. She told me.”

“What if she doesn’t show up? That’s all I’m asking.”

Nan nodded and said, “That happens a lot. Maybe the person you were hoping to hear from isn’t ready. That’s okay. There’s a lot we can still discuss today and a lot that can still come up.”

Jodi itched to tell Nan that this wasn’t a lifestyle she intended to nurture.

“Okay,” Paige said. “How do we begin?”

“Well, on my side, it began about ten minutes before you arrived. So no need for a ‘prayer’ or anything.”

Paige sat on the edge of her chair, leaning forward.

“I’m getting a young female. An E name.”

“Emily,” Paige all but whispered.

“There’s a couple other energies here as well, but Emily seems real close.” Nan turned to Bette on her left. “You didn’t know Emily when she was alive?”

“No, I never met her.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” Nan said, her eyes turning back to Paige, then sliding over to Jodi. “I just want to check some things, okay? Emily was blond?”

“Yes.”

“And young, about your age?”

Paige nodded.

“Why am I seeing turquoise? Is there anything with turquoise?” Nan looked between them both.

Jodi’s brows drew together. “Her favorite color was pink.”

Paige looked at her sharply, and Jodi flushed.

“No, I’m seeing bright turquoise. Maybe a car? Or a school binder? A favorite jacket? Turquoise or an aquamarine.”

“The only… the only thing that was aquamarine was my prom dress,” Jodi said.

Nan hummed. “Did you buy the dress together? Did she loan it to you? What’s the significance of the dress?”

Flashing red and blue lights. Her bare feet pressed against the grit of the sidewalk.

“No. She died while I was wearing it.”

Chills crested down her arms. Nan tilted her head to the side, and Jodi could almost envision Emily whispering into her ear.

“She wants you to know she was with you,” Nan said. “She was with you—was it outside? A residential area?”

Jodi nodded mutely.

“She was there.” Nan smiled, as if this was the comfort Jodi came to seek. “She—”

Nan cut off, tilting her head again and listening. She rolled her shoulders back, and leaned her elbows on the table.

“Hm. There’s someone else here. Emily and this person have very loud voices so I’m just trying to parse through what I’m getting.”

“Is it Uncle Rich?” Bette rolled her eyes. “Rich! Not today!” she yelled at the ceiling. “Today is for Paige, okay?”

“No, it’s female.”

Paige looked at Jodi with a question in her eyes. “And it’s not Emily?” Paige asked.

“No, it’s separate. Emily is still here, but this other person… Female. The letter H .”

Bette and Paige squinted at each other, thinking, before turning to Jodi. “Is it your mom, Jodi?”

A flash of frozen shock passed over her before she shook her head. “My mom’s name was Josephine.”

Nan continued, “Anyone else in your family who has passed?”

“ My family, specifically?”

“Yeah, the energy is coming from you, Jodi.”

Jodi blinked at her. “Um… two grandparents. My—my father’s mother was named Helene.”

Paige and Bette swung their eyes to Nan expectantly.

“Hm. I’m getting younger than grandparent.”

“She died young. She died around thirty.”

Nan pursed her lips. “Was her death violent in any way?”

Jodi froze in her chair. “Violent?”

“Was it murder or a painful accident?”

Jodi shook her head dumbly. “I—I don’t know.”

Nan shook out her shoulders. “Okay. Let me see what else—” Nan cut herself off again, tilting her head like listening for rainstorms in the distance. “A bathroom?”

Paige drew in a shaking breath. “Yes. Emily died in a bathroom.”

Jodi felt like she was rooted to the chair. Was Emily upset that Jodi went into that very bathroom?

“Okay… Maybe we’re back to Emily. I’m getting…” Nan’s eyes flicked to Jodi. “I’m getting a similar message from the energies here. But let me parse it. What about flowers? Flowers at funerals? Flowers in a home?”

“Emily’s parents’ house is covered in floral patterns,” Jodi jumped in.

Paige nodded quickly. “We—we didn’t attend her funeral.”

Nan frowned, then reached up to rub her eyes. “Someone is holding out a rose. Do roses mean anything to either of you?”

They shook their heads.

“Is there a location associated with roses? Maybe a florist shop. Or a place you received roses? They are really pushing this idea of going to the roses.”

Jodi’s mind flashed to the corsage that Julian supposedly ordered for Emily, but that was odd. Why go to the florist?

Paige almost jumped out of her chair to answer, “The rose garden. In East Sac. We went there with Emily. We—we had a fun night.”

Nan nodded, following that string. “There’s a big energy here that believes that place—maybe the rose garden—is safe. It’s a safe place.”

Paige’s breath was quick, and Jodi could almost see the way her feet wanted to bolt there now. But Jodi didn’t get it. Was something in the rose garden? Something left behind that they needed?

“Okay, this is weird.” Nan rubbed her temples. “Emily’s energy is coming in fits and starts. It’s like… it’s like electricity.”

“What does that mean?” Paige whispered.

“It’s… I’ve never felt it like that before. She’s happy though. Emily is really pleased about something. It’s like there’s a bulb turning on and off.”

“That’s—” Jodi cut herself off, but Paige nodded for her to continue. “She might be trying to talk to us. I think she controls lights.”

Nan narrowed her eyes at Jodi, opening her mouth like she was going to deny the possibility of that, when suddenly her expression dropped, melting away. Her face was blank as she read something from the beyond.

“There’s another presence joining us, but…” Nan swallowed. “I don’t think we should talk to him yet.”

“Uncle Rich!” Bette yelled. “Go. Away!”

“No, we’re not going to talk to him yet,” Nan repeated, and Jodi had the faint impression that she wasn’t saying it to them. “Emily is very pleased about something. She thinks… things will be better.”

Paige’s breath rattled out of her. “Better?”

Nan was pale as she nodded. “Not everyone here agrees. But Emily thinks you’re better off now.”

Relief rolled off Paige in waves. She leaned back in her seat and ran a hand through her hair.

“You said there’s a new presence?” Jodi asked. “What do they want?”

Nan cleared her throat and stood. She grabbed two business cards from the plastic holder on the side table.

“I think… I think we need to stop for now.” She slid a business card to Jodi and one to Paige. “There’s something… We just need to stop.”

“Stop?”

“But if you’d like to speak with me this evening, or tomorrow, I will happily continue the conversation.”

Jodi looked down at the business card. Psychic Medium—Nan Herrington—Readings for $85. She wasn’t going to be able to afford to talk to her again.

“Thank you so much, Nan,” Bette said, like this was normal to stop a session after ten minutes. She stood and shook her hand. Paige did the same, chirping happily about what a wonderful experience this was—exactly what she wanted.

Jodi stood slowly. “I’ll meet you outside,” she said to them. “I just want to ask one more question, if I can.”

Nan smiled wanly and nodded.

Paige and Bette exited, talking about fro-yo.

As soon as the door closed, Nan grabbed Jodi’s arm, nails sinking into her like claws.

“Are you not safe?”

Jodi stared at her, breath frozen in her chest. “What?”

“Every single energy in this room wants to protect you, Jodi.”

“Me?”

“Are you in danger in some way? Everyone here is very loud and no one likes each other, but they agree on you. Emily is…” Nan shook her head. “I don’t like her energy. She didn’t want to talk to Paige at all. She barely wanted to use me. She just wanted to be near you, Jodi.”

Nan’s fingers on her arm—her left arm—drew away the sensation in Jodi’s fingertips.

“She rides very closely on the lines between our worlds, and I know that doesn’t mean anything to you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you felt her presence more fully than a usual spirit.”

Jodi’s throat was dry. She nodded. “She’s been… I think she wants to kill us.” Saying it out loud pushed tears out of her eyes that she hadn’t known she was holding back.

“No.” Nan lifted a warm hand to Jodi’s cheek. “At least, not you .”

Something flashed in Nan’s hazel eyes—clear blue skies after a rain—and then it was gone. Nan dropped her hands from Jodi’s skin. Her left arm felt dead. Just a limb.

“Call me,” Nan said, pointing to the card in Jodi’s other hand. “I can’t talk about why now. But if you have questions this evening, I want you to call me.”

Jodi stumbled away from her. She grabbed her bag and left through the door. Her heart hammered as she flew down the stairs. Not you.

Them? Emily did want to kill them?

She stepped out onto the sidewalk and found Paige on the phone, her hand over her mouth and tears pouring down her face. Bette was rubbing her back.

Paige looked up at Jodi, her eyes wide in terror and pain.

The absence of feeling in Jodi’s fingertips spread up her elbow, to her shoulder, and into her chest as Paige whispered, “Julian got hurt during water polo. He’s not breathing.”