Teen Ghost at Dead Lake Read online

  The he kissed Lora on the mouth and tried to think pleasant thoughts.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "You're awfully quiet over there," Sharon said as they drove home.

  "Just thinking," Paige admitted.

  "May I ask about what?"

  Paige considered the question. Should she tell her mother that she has been talking to a guy pretending to be the Noah Snyder who once lived in their house?

  She decided to keep to herself for now. Otherwise her mom would surely tell her to stay away from him. And she would probably heed that advice, except for the fact that she needed to know why he decided to hang around her, masquerading as someone else.

  Unless the guy had finally had enough of the games and decided to move on and find a new girl to con.

  She also wanted to know if Bonnie had put him up to this, as Amber had suggested.

  "Just school stuff," Paige responded.

  "Are your classes getting harder? Or does it involve other students?"

  "A little of both," Paige told her, hoping she would leave it at that. "It's nothing to worry about."

  "Okay. But if you ever need to talk about anything..."

  "I know." Paige offered her a smile, grateful that she had her mom. But this was something she needed to handle herself.

  When they got home, Paige said, "I want to go and see if Bonnie is feeling better."

  Sharon nodded. "I'll get started on dinner."

  Paige crossed the street, unsure what to say to Bonnie, who hadn't come to school. Was she truly ill? Or had she stayed home to conspire with the guy who called himself Noah?

  After ringing the doorbell, Paige tried to collect her thoughts. Bonnie's mother opened the door.

  "Hi," she said, folding her arms.

  "I didn't see Bonnie at school this afternoon," Paige said. "Is she all right?"

  "She's doing much better now, thank you. She had a stomach virus. If you'd like to go up to her room for a few minutes, I'm sure she'd welcome the company."

  Paige wondered if that was a good idea, considering she had another reason for the visit. But it might seem strange if she left now.

  She flashed a smile. "Sure, I'll spend a few minutes with her."

  Bonnie's mother showed her the way, leaving it to Paige to announce the visit herself.

  She stepped into the room, which was colorful and cluttered. Bonnie was sitting up in bed, watching television.

  "Hey," Paige said.

  "Hey, what are you doing here?" Bonnie asked.

  "I came to see how you're feeling."

  "I'm good, after feeling like crap for much of the day."

  "Your mom says it was a stomach virus."

  "Yeah, probably was from a restaurant we went to last night."

  "Remind me to never go there," Paige said, only half joking.

  Bonnie grinned. "So how was school today?"

  "Just another day of classes and homework assignments." Paige sat on the bed. "There is something..."

  "What?" Bonnie gazed at her.

  "Some guy has been coming around, claiming to be Noah—"

  "Noah...?" Bonnie's mouth hung open.

  "Yeah—the one who used to live across the street."

  "Why would someone pretend to be Noah?" Bonnie asked, perplexed. "Everyone knows he's dead."

  "Everyone but me—until today," Paige said.

  Bonnie frowned. "I never mentioned him to you because I didn't want to freak you out if you knew that the guy who used to live there killed himself."

  Paige had to acknowledge that it normally would be something she would have been better off not knowing. But there was nothing normal about a guy pretending to be a dead guy.

  "So there was some talk at school about you being obsessed with Noah," Paige threw out there.

  Bonnie lifted a brow with surprise. "I wasn't obsessed with Noah," she said. "I like girls. He and I hung out sometimes, but only as friends."

  Paige hadn't expected to hear that. It certainly indicated that she wasn't obsessed with Noah the way Amber had suggested. "So you and Tabitha are..." Paige said, remembering the pretty brunette she had met in the lunchroom, who Bonnie seemed to be cozy with.

  "Yeah, kind of," Bonnie said. "We like each other, though neither of us has called it dating—but yes, we hang out together."

  "That's cool," Paige told her, as Tabitha seemed like a nice girl. She still couldn't help but wonder if Bonnie could have played a part in the phony Noah's game, whatever it was.

  "So you don't know anything about this Noah imposter?" Paige had to ask, eyeing her.

  "No," Bonnie insisted. "It's totally news to me."

  "Okay." Paige had no reason not to give her the benefit of the doubt.

  Bonnie looked up at her. "So what has this guy been saying to you?"

  "Nothing much—just normal stuff."

  "And he said he was Noah Snyder?" Bonnie asked, wide-eyed.

  "Just Noah," Paige told her. "But he was in my room once. He said it used to be his room."

  "Totally weird," Bonnie said and made a face. "Have you seen him anywhere else?"

  Paige nodded. "At school, Amber's party, and at the pier when my mom and I first drove into town."

  Bonnie was thoughtful. "Noah and I used to hang out at the pier sometimes. Someone obviously is fooling around with you."

  "But why?" Paige looked at her, befuddled.

  "I don't know—to scare you by trying to make you think the house is haunted or something."

  Paige rolled her eyes. "Like I would believe that."

  Bonnie propped herself up on her pillow. "He's probably one of Noah's friends from school playing a prank on the new girl to see how far he can go without being exposed."

  "I guess," Paige said.

  "Maybe you'll see him at school again and can expose as the jerk he is for everyone to see—including the principal. He would probably be expelled, and rightfully so."

  "It would definitely serve him right," Paige agreed, assuming he was a student at Dead Lake High. She still wanted to confront the guy and ask him why he was doing it, if only out of curiosity and maybe some annoyance too. She stood up. "Well, I'd better let you get some rest."

  "Thanks for coming by," Bonnie said. "Sorry if this has you bent out of shape."

  "It doesn't," Paige told her. She was more upset that he was a fraud and that she had actually started to like him. "It's just not a cool thing to do. But I'm not going to worry about it."

  "Good." Bonnie smiled. "That would just be playing into his grubby hands."

  "Yeah." Paige laughed. "See you tomorrow."

  After she left Bonnie's house and crossed the street, Paige expected the fake Noah to practically appear out of nowhere, as he seemed to always do. But there was no sign of him. Though part of her wished he would show up, overall she thought it was probably best that he didn't. After all, what he could he say to her to justify seeming so convincing in the lines he had fed her—including liking her?

  * * *

  Noah watched as Paige entered the house. He'd discovered that he could prevent her from seeing him like everyone else, with just a little willpower. Not that he was dodging her, the only friend he had left in this world. He just wasn't sure what to say to her about himself without scaring her off.

  He liked hanging around Paige. Maybe more than he should under the circumstances. He'd actually found himself wishing she was spending time with him at Amber's party and not Drew. He imagined that Drew was only too happy to drive her home and put the moves on her, if he got his way.

  Would Paige fall under his spell?

  Or would Drew quickly lose interest and refocus on being the best swimmer on the team, now that he was no longer around to challenge him?

  Noah thought about going into his old house and making his presence known to the only person he could.

  But he thought better, needing more time to come to terms with their connection and what it all meant for both of them.

  He gla
nced at the house across the street where Bonnie Stewart lived and was thoughtful for a moment, before vanishing with no one even aware he'd been there in the first place. Certainly not Paige, who was probably having dinner with her mother and wondering why he hadn't shown up lately.

  * * *

  Amber sat at the dining room table with her parents, pretending to eat, but really just moving the food around her plate as she had gotten so good at over the years. Her thoughts were on Noah, even when she wished they weren't. But she couldn't help but have old memories resurface now that Paige had triggered it with her claim that someone was pretending to be Noah.

  Did that mean that he knew things only the real Noah knew? Or was this just a pure, wicked joke that would fade now that the cat was out of the bag?

  She drifted back in time...

  * * *

  Noah sat next to Amber at the table as they ate dinner with her parents. She had been a bit nervous when they invited Noah over, but so far there seemed little cause for concern.

  "I understand you're a star swimmer at Dead Lake High," Jim Hurley, Amber's dad said to Noah.

  "Yes, sir, I guess I am," he responded while slicing through well done steak.

  Jim wiped his mouth. "I was pretty good in the water back in college. But I've been too busy earning a living since then for sport."

  "You're an attorney, right?" Noah asked.

  "That's right."

  "Cool."

  "It's also hard work," Jim said. "Any thoughts of what you plan to do with your life once you graduate?"

  "Dad!" Amber rolled her eyes, hoping this wouldn't be an interrogation.

  But her dad wasn't deterred. "It's an honest question."

  "I'm sure he hasn't given too much thought to that as a sophomore," Evelyn Hurley told her husband.

  "Actually," Noah said, "I have thought about it. I'd like to go to college and major in economics or business. After that, I hope to become an economist or work in finance."

  Jim smiled. "Those are great fields."

  "Yes, wonderful," Evelyn concurred.

  "That's my thinking," Noah agreed, sitting back.

  "Maybe you better hold onto this one," Amber's dad told her.

  "I intend to," she said, smiling at Noah.

  He grinned back at her, appearing just as content with their relationship. As far as Amber was concerned, her previous boyfriends were just that. But Noah might be the real thing.

  There was nothing wrong with being optimistic.

  * * *

  Amber came back to the present as she picked at her food while realizing how much had changed in such a short period of time. And there was nothing she could do about it.

  "What's wrong?" her mother asked.

  "Nothing," Amber told her with a straight face.

  "But you've hardly eaten any of your food."

  "I wasn't really that hungry," she said, which was nothing new, even if there were other things weighing down on her and her appetite.

  Her father frowned. "That's a problem we can't continue to ignore."

  "I'm not anorexic," Amber insisted, knowing how much other girls envied her body and looks. "I just watch what I eat, that's all."

  "There's watching and there's turning into a stick," he said huskily.

  Not liking where this was headed, she knew the perfect way to change the subject, even though it was also a topic Amber didn't particularly want to discuss.

  "The new girl who moved with her mom into Noah's old house says someone's been claiming to be Noah..."

  Jim's brows knitted. "What—?"

  "I know, right?" Amber said.

  "That's crazy," he said. "Are you sure she wasn't talking about a different Noah?"

  Amber looked at him and then her mother. "I don't think so. He told her he used to live in that house. I doubt there was another Noah living there before Noah Snyder."

  "Then there must be another explanation," her mother said.

  "Uh, yeah," Amber said. "Someone is out to cause trouble."

  "For whom?" her father asked uncomfortably.

  "I don't know," she admitted. "Paige, the new girl, hasn't really said much about what this guy wants with her."

  "Maybe nothing," Evelyn stated calmly. "Kids like to pull pranks for shock value. Usually they're harmless."

  "I hope so," Amber said. So why did she have the dreaded feeling there was more to it?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Bonnie Stewart went through the motions of another day at school. She was glad to be back after missing yesterday and had to catch up a little in class, but her mind was preoccupied with Paige's news about Noah. Or the person claiming to be him.

  It had left her shaken, after taking a long time to put Noah out of her mind, to the extent possible.

  Now someone had decided Noah was better off alive than dead. Why?

  What was there to be gained by telling Paige something that everyone else knew was a lie? Was there any way possible that Noah could still be alive?

  She had seen his body at the morgue—needing to see for herself that he was actually dead, before accepting it as fact.

  No, he had not come back to life to haunt those he left behind.

  That meant someone else was behind it. Someone at Dead Lake High.

  But was he acting alone? Or had others joined in on the charade?

  While walking down the hall, Bonnie's thoughts turned to Noah—the real one, whom she had bonded with at one point, before things went sour...

  * * *

  They were standing on the pier tossing pebbles into the lake.

  "She doesn't deserve you," Bonnie told Noah what he probably already knew about Amber.

  "Maybe I don't deserve her," he said, as if truly believing it.

  She frowned. "Give me a break. She treats you like crap. If you can't see that—"

  Noah tossed another pebble into the lake. "I know you just want to help, but it's my problem—not yours."

  "We're friends," Bonnie told him sincerely. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

  He looked at her. "Everybody gets hurt by someone sooner or later. I'm seriously into Amber and I think she feels the same way about me, in spite of her faults. We just have to get past a few things and we'll be fine."

  Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "You really believe that?"

  "Yeah, I do," he told her. "But thanks for caring. Now are we going to see who can toss the pebble the farthest—or what?"

  She smiled. "Yes, but don't be surprised when I kick your butt."

  Noah chuckled. "Nothing about you surprises me."

  Bonnie only wished the same could be said for him or Amber, for that matter. She never failed to surprise her, usually in a bad way. Maybe Noah would realize it sooner or later and find someone who wouldn't walk all over him.

  Until then, all she could do was be supportive of him, if he let her.

  * * *

  As her mind came back to the present, Bonnie was sitting in the lunchroom with Tabitha, just realizing that she had said something.

  "Where did you go?" Tabitha asked.

  "Nowhere," Bonnie lied, grabbing a breadstick.

  Tabitha frowned. "Still freaked out about the so-called Noah sighting, huh?"

  "Yeah, I guess," she admitted. "I know I shouldn't let it get to me, but—"

  "It's all right," Tabitha said, touching her hand. "He was your friend—and mine too. You have a right to be upset when some creep is out there saying he's Noah."

  Bonnie was glad to hear her say that, even if she was still trying to get past what happened to Noah and move on with her life. "Who do you think it is?" she wondered.

  Tabitha hand-brushed her hair. "I have no idea. I suppose it could be anyone. It's obviously someone who knew Noah, and knew that Paige did not."

  "She thought I might have put him up to it," Bonnie admitted.

  Tabitha cocked a brow. "Why would she think that?"

  Bonnie glanced in the direction of Amber, who was sitting
with Scott. "I have a pretty good idea," she told her. "It's pretty much her style to bad mouth anyone who saw what a fool she had made out of Noah."

  "I agree with you, but it still takes two," Tabitha said. "Noah knew what he was doing when he started dating her. Maybe he thought he could change her if he tried hard enough."

  Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Some people never change, no matter what." She glared at Amber who, as always, was totally oblivious to anyone but herself.

  "That's something they have to live with," Tabitha said, wiping her mouth. "It doesn't mean we have to let it drag us down."

  "You're right." Bonnie smiled at her, realizing Tabitha was just trying to keep her spirits up. But that wouldn't be easy as long as someone continued to mess with Paige by pretending to be Noah.

  * * *

  Paige entered the cafeteria and saw Bonnie's arms waving to get her attention. She was with Tabitha. At that point, Paige had planned to sit with Amber and Scott, but since they seemed to be preoccupied with one another, she didn't want to interrupt them so she headed to Bonnie's table.

  "Hey," Bonnie greeted her.

  "Hi, you guys," Paige said, smiling at her and then Tabitha.

  "What's up?" Tabitha said.

  After putting down her tray, Paige took a seat. She wondered how much Bonnie had told her of their conversation regarding Noah.

  "Did you talk to the fake Noah again?" Bonnie asked.

  "Not since the night of Amber's party," Paige said, slicing her grilled cheese sandwich. "It's almost as if he just dropped off the face of the earth."

  "Or maybe now that he's been exposed as a fraud, he's laying low," Tabitha suggested.

  "Maybe," Paige said, though she still had no idea what the point of any of it was.

  "Or maybe he hasn't been around since then," Bonnie said. "If so, he may not even be aware that you know he's not the real Noah."

  "If and when I run into him again, I'll try to get to the bottom of his lies," Paige said, before biting into the sandwich.

  "He could be in here right now, eating his lunch and hoping you don't spot him," Tabitha said. "Or his friends, who probably put him up to it."

  "Have you looked around?" Bonnie asked anxiously.

  She hadn't, but Paige did now, scanning the lunchroom. Most tables were occupied with students she recognized and did not. But she didn't see Noah—or the one who identified himself as such. She would know him anywhere.