Teen Ghost at Dead Lake Page 6

  "He's not in here," she declared.

  "Well, what does he look like?" Bonnie asked. "Maybe it's someone we can identify."

  Paige described him as well as she could, with and without the cap. Bonnie stared at her with her mouth hanging open.

  "What...?" Paige asked wide-eyed.

  "The person you described sounds just like Noah Snyder," she said.

  "And probably half the other guys in Dead Lake," Tabitha said wryly.

  Paige put her sandwich down, confused. "But he's dead."

  "Uh, yeah," Bonnie said. "Which means it was someone else who probably doesn't really look like Noah, other than generally speaking."

  "I still think the guy masquerading as him goes to Dead Lake High," Tabitha said. "That way he'd be knowledgeable enough to pull this off."

  It made sense to Paige, even if the reasons behind it, whatever they were, did not. If only she could see him again and get some answers.

  She was curious about the real Noah and why this guy had chosen her when impersonating him, using the charade to gain her trust. Was he looking for her pity? Didn't he think she would find out eventually that he wasn't really who he claimed to be?

  Paige gazed at Bonnie, who had said she used to hang out with Noah. "Do you happen to have a picture of Noah on your cell phone?"

  Bonnie stopped eating. "Yes, why?"

  "If I can see what the real Noah Snyder looked like, maybe I can get a better perspective on the fake one."

  "True," Bonnie agreed, taking out her cell phone. She pulled up a picture and handed the phone to Paige. "That's me with Noah on the pier. It was taken a month before his death."

  Paige gazed at the photograph with shock and said the first thing that came to her mind: "That's the person I saw—"

  "That's impossible," Bonnie said.

  "He was wearing the same cap," Paige noted, as crazy as it seemed. "I know what you're thinking: that every guy in town has a cap like that. But it's more than that—his features, his size...even the eyes..."

  "Unless you believe in ghosts—and I don't—obviously it couldn't have been Noah that you spoke to," Tabitha said, taking the cell phone from her and looking at the picture, as if to see for herself.

  "I wasn't talking to a ghost," Paige made clear, whatever the explanation. "The guy was as human as we are."

  Tabitha frowned. "In that case, you see how ridiculous it sounds to say it was Noah that you saw. We know he's dead and the only way he could come back to life would be as a ghost. Spooky!"

  "It's not funny!" Bonnie said, taking the cell phone from her.

  "I'm not laughing," Tabitha insisted. "I just think it's really strange that she still believes Noah is the person claiming to be Noah."

  "All right—so it wasn't that Noah," Paige conceded. "Maybe there's some other explanation, other than that I need glasses."

  Bonnie showed her another picture. This one was closer and only of Noah without the cap. "Does he still look like the guy you've seen?"

  Paige studied the image, which was an even greater likeness to the guy who told her his name was Noah. But she hesitated to say so, fearing it would only make her seem like even more of an oddball to two people she considered friends.

  On the other hand, to deny that he looked very much like a guy she had seen several times would be lying to them and herself.

  She decided to take a different approach. "Does Noah have a twin brother—or maybe another relative that looks like him?"

  "Not that I know of," Bonnie said, taking a breath. "As far as I was aware, he was an only child."

  "Then that settles it," Tabitha said, propping an arm on the table. "This lookalike couldn't possibly be related to the Noah who killed himself six months ago."

  "Maybe I'm only imagining that he looks like the real Noah," Paige said, glancing at her half eaten sandwich. She doubted her own words, but couldn't think of a better explanation for the similarities between a dead person and a living one. "Living in his house, having this guy talk like he was the real Noah, probably just played tricks with my mind."

  Tabitha wrinkled her nose. "If you say so."

  "I can't believe we're having this conversation," Bonnie said. "Ghosts, lookalikes, whatever. Noah was a human being and a good guy. He took his own life and someone seems to be messing with his memory for who knows what reason."

  "Let's just forget it," Paige said, as if that were possible. "He had his fun and now chances are I won't see him again. Unless there's more in store..."

  She looked thoughtfully at the other girls, who were also reflective on the subject.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Noah walked around the house he used to call home. Paige and her mother weren't there, leaving the place to him.

  It was still hard to believe he was there and yet he wasn't. His mother was no longer present to tell him what to do and sometimes what not to. He felt bad for her, knowing how hard she took his death. But there was nothing he could do to comfort her.

  If he could have told her he was still alive, technically speaking, he would have. He tried that and failed.

  Only Paige could see and communicate with him, when he wanted this to occur. He just wasn't sure how much she could handle, even if he missed her company.

  Maybe she would be cool with a friendship with a ghost. Or maybe it would send her running in the opposite direction. Or straight to a psychiatrist.

  That he could relate to, having done the same thing for years in dealing with his dad's violent death. It was something no eight-year-old should ever have to go through, much less a seventeen-year-old who seemed to have his whole life ahead of him.

  Only he didn't.

  Certainly not the life he envisioned.

  Noah scaled the stairs, peeking in Paige's room, envisioning her being there and flashing her teeth at him.

  Then he looked in the bathroom and found himself going back in time...

  * * *

  Noah stood before the mirror, fully dressed, staring at himself as though in a daze. Then he opened the medicine cabinet and took out a prescription bottle of antidepressants. He removed two pills, tossed them in his mouth, and downed them with water.

  He went downstairs and found his mother in the kitchen standing over pancakes on the griddle.

  "Good morning," she said, smiling as she gazed at him.

  "Morning," he told her, going to the refrigerator. He grabbed the carton of orange juice, removed the top, and took a swig.

  "The pancakes will be ready in a moment."

  "I have to go to school," Noah told her.

  "So early?"

  "Swim practice."

  She frowned. "You still need to eat."

  "I know," he said, grabbing one of the pancakes right off the griddle. He took a big bite out of it. "I'll eat the rest on the way."

  She flashed him a worried look. "Did you take your meds?"

  "Yeah, Mom." He gave her a quick peck on cheek. "See you later."

  In the living room, Noah grabbed his backpack off a table and headed out the door. He looked back over his shoulder and could see his mother, still in the kitchen, sipping coffee thoughtfully.

  Though he knew she was lonely without his father and no other man in her life, Noah could only hope that his mom would one day find someone to love and care for her. Just as he had with Amber.

  At least he hoped that what they had was just the beginning of a bright future.

  * * *

  Noah looked at the empty living room he was standing in as his thoughts of a past life left him, replaced by an uncertain present and unpredictable future.

  He heard a car drive up. Peeking out the window, he saw it was Paige's mom. She was home early. He imagined that she and his mom could have been friends. Maybe they still could be.

  But before any of that could happen, he had to deal with his life that wasn't much of a life and his relationship with Paige. She needed to know the full story, or at least as much as he knew. Only then could she de
cide if she wanted to remain connected. Or if he would once again be on his own to fend for himself in a world between worlds.

  Noah vanished as Sharon Preston entered the house, unaware of its visitor.

  * * *

  Amber was beneath Scott on her bed as they kissed, while still dressed. Her parents were not home, giving them time to themselves, which they took full advantage of.

  Though she was mostly into him, with all the gossip lately at school about Noah, Amber wasn't sure where things were headed with Scott. She suspected he felt the same, even if he really cared for her and wanted them to be together.

  But deep down inside, she knew their secrets would always keep things between them from being what they might have been. And maybe it was better that way.

  Her mind wandered...

  * * *

  Amber was putting on her clothes after being romantic with Scott. She watched him as he lay there on the bed contentedly.

  "You can't tell anyone about this," she told him.

  "By anyone, you mean Noah?" he said.

  She sneered at him, feeling guilty that she had just cheated on her boyfriend. "Yes, I mean Noah...and anyone else."

  "I won't tell a soul..." Scott got out of bed and tried to touch her.

  "I'm serious," she said, glaring at him. "If this gets back to Noah—"

  "It won't," he promised. "Not from me."

  On that note, Amber allowed herself to smile, even while averting her face when Scott tried to kiss her. She didn't want him to get too comfortable with what just happened between them. As far as she was concerned, Noah was still her boyfriend and she saw no reason for that to change.

  * * *

  Amber stopped kissing Scott as she came back to the present.

  He looked up, frowning. "What's wrong?"

  She squirmed from beneath him and sat up. "I can't do this."

  "Do what?"

  "This...us," she said, feeling guilty, even if Noah was dead and things had fallen apart between them before it reached that point.

  "Why not?" Scott pressed.

  "You know why." Amber met his eyes. "It doesn't feel right."

  "It felt right yesterday and for the last six months," he said, touching her shoulders.

  She stood up. "That was before all this talk around school about Noah."

  Scott stood as well, his brow furrowed. "Don't let some jerk mess things up between us."

  "I don't want to," she admitted, still trying to get past what happened with Noah. "But whoever it is, the whole thing is freaking me out."

  "Maybe that's what he wants—to freak out everyone who knew Noah."

  "Well it's working," Amber said, buttoning her blouse. She knew she wasn't the only one feeling uneasy about it. Her friends were just as uncomfortable with someone pretending to be Noah—even to the point of resembling him, if Paige was to be believed.

  "Look, the bottom line is Noah Snyder's dead," Scott said, putting his arms around her waist from behind. "He can't come between us anymore. Neither can an impersonator."

  Even if she believed that, Amber would still feel much better when the creep's true identity was uncovered, if it ever was. She hoped Paige would run into him again and call her to come and see for herself.

  As Scott kissed the back of her neck, Amber ignored the fact that it felt good, pushing him away. "Just go. My parents will be back soon." In fact, she didn't expect them back for at least another hour, but he didn't need to know that.

  "All right, all right," he muttered, straightening up his pants. "I'll call you later."

  She flashed him a smile and became thoughtful as she heard him leave the house and get into his BMW.

  * * *

  Scott Sanderson drove away from Amber's house. He was pissed that he had to leave earlier than intended. And all because some freak was hanging around the new girl, trying to make her believe he was Noah Snyder.

  Who the hell was this impersonator? Could it be one of his friends out to ruin things between him and Amber now that they were just getting to where he wanted them to be?

  Scott dismissed that thought. If it was someone he knew, he would have already found out about it—and dealt with them, if necessary.

  No, it had to be someone outside of Dead Lake High with an agenda of some sort. But who?

  And why now when Noah had been dead for months?

  Scott flashed back in time to a confrontation they had...

  * * *

  After realizing he needed to get something off his chest, as well as rid himself of the competition, Scott met with Noah in the park.

  "What's up?" Noah asked curiously, wearing a cap.

  "There's something you need to know," Scott said with hesitation as he stood before the taller Noah.

  "What?"

  Scott took a breath. "I slept with Amber..."

  Noah's brows knitted. "What did you say?"

  "You heard me," Scott saw no reason to repeat it, but decided to do so anyway. "Amber and I were together—"

  "You had sex with my girlfriend?" Noah asked with an edge to his voice.

  "We have sex with each other," Scott told him, building up his courage.

  "You're lying through your teeth. Amber wouldn't do that."

  "Uh, yeah, she would and did," Scott made clear, hoping she wouldn't hate him for going back on his promise not to tell. "She doesn't want to be with you anymore, man."

  "And you think she wants to be with you?" Noah flashed him a hard look, and then grabbed him by the collar. "You bastard!"

  Scott jerked himself free, prepared to fight if he had to. Maybe if he was a bit bruised, Amber would take pity on him, drawing them even closer together.

  "Yeah, I think she does want me and there's nothing you can do about it," he said boldly.

  Noah looked like he wanted to punch him, but held back. "You're not worth it. Neither is she, if Amber gave up a good thing for a creep like you."

  He walked away and Scott felt a sense of triumph. This was quickly replaced by fear as to how the revelation might impact things between him and Amber, who he had been eyeing since freshman year and now seemed to have her for himself with Noah out of the picture.

  * * *

  Scott continued driving as the thought left him. He slowed down, realizing he'd been driving over the speed limit.

  Just as he thought Noah was only a past memory, someone was trying to make waves by pretending he wasn't dead.

  The last thing Scott wanted or needed was for this person to somehow try to get between him and Amber. He couldn't lose her—fake Noah or whatever.

  But what could he do to stop it, if this person continued to be the talk of Dead Lake High and played with Amber's guilty conscience? Not to mention his own conscience.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Paige sat in front of her computer in her room. She was reading an article about Noah Snyder. It said that he had fallen off Dead Lake Cliff and the death was ruled a suicide. Apparently he had a history of depression, dating back to when his father died when Noah was just a boy. The authorities indicated that no one else had been present during the time that he went off the cliff and hit his head on the rocks, fracturing his skull.

  She gazed at the photograph of Noah in the article. Paige shivered in seeing the strong resemblance between him and the guy she met who called himself Noah. She certainly didn't believe in ghosts, but she also didn't believe her eyes were playing tricks on her.

  I know what—who—I saw, she thought, feeling as if she was looking at him on the screen. But how could she have seen someone who was dead?

  The answer was obvious. Noah had to have a twin or brother who was pretending to be him for some reason, even if none of Noah's friends were apparently aware of this other person. Perhaps he wasn't around when Noah was alive and decided to show up afterward—to freak people out.

  Or at least her, even if he seemed to be just the opposite—a nice guy who appeared genuinely interested in getting to know her. And vice vers
a, to some degree.

  "Dinner is almost ready," Paige's thoughts were broken by her mother.

  She looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. "Okay, I'll be right there."

  Paige had expected her to leave. Instead she came in and stood over her shoulder. "What are you doing anyway?"

  Paige had considered switching to a different screen, but knew she had to come clean about the home's previous occupant.

  "The teen guy who used to live here killed himself," she told her.

  "Oh dear..." Sharon's eyes widened.

  "I was just reading about it," Paige explained.

  "Kids at school told you?"

  "Yeah."

  "He died in this house?" her mother asked, looking appalled at the notion.

  "No, he jumped off a cliff into the lake," Paige told her.

  Sharon frowned. "How sad."

  "I know." Paige cut off the computer.

  "Are you all right?" her mother asked with concern.

  "I'm fine. It happened before we moved here, so..."

  Paige decided now was not the time to tell her that she had seen and talked to a guy who looked like the dead Noah, at least not until she had investigated it further. Otherwise, her mom just might think she had lost her marbles. Or worse, that the house was somehow haunted.

  "Well, if you need to talk about it, we can."

  Paige smiled thinly, not sure what there was to say at this point. "Okay," she said.

  Sharon nodded. "I'll see you downstairs."

  After she left, Paige went to wash up. Even then, she knew she wanted to visit the real Noah's mother. His counterpart had suggested that she still lived in the area. Maybe she could shed some light on his lookalike. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising at all if she saw the guy—perhaps Noah's brother—living with his mom.

  * * *

  Monica Blake went grocery shopping with her mother. Truthfully, it was the last place a seventeen-year-old wanted to be on a Wednesday evening, but she couldn't come up with a good enough excuse without twenty questions to get out of it.

  If nothing else, at least it would give her the opportunity to get some of the food and drinks she actually liked, instead of what was supposed to be good for her.