Lindsay looked at Jace in surprise, taking his word for it twenty ghosts rode in the bed of the truck. She couldn’t see them or hear them like Jace. They were there to help in exchange for his taking them back with him to the place called Oblivion.
“Are those people you work with going to say anything about you bringing them back with you?” she asked and felt uneasy knowing she had a truckload of ghosts, even if Jace assured her they were harmless.
“No, I’m not sure of anything, Lindsay,” he told her as he looked at the growing party in dismay. “I can’t leave them here. I don’t care what any of them say back there. They’ve been here long enough. Nobody’s coming for them. What am I supposed to do?”
“No, I get it, the more the merrier, right?” she asked and giggled. “I just thought you were trying to sneak back and stay under the radar. Kind of hard when you bring back twenty ghosts with you.”
Jace grinned. “They think I’m out exploring. Sal and the others will go along with it. They just want out of here.”
“Is being here that bad for you?” she wanted to know, hurt in her gaze.
Jace could see his words wounded her. “No, I love being here with you, Lindsay. It’s not being a part of it anymore; watching life go on and yours is over. It’s like torture watching you just driving my old truck.”
Lindsay saw the party was in full swing and felt trepidation as she adjusted the microphone in her bra. She looked at Jace and appeared nervous.
“Come on, let’s do this.”
“You guys ready?” Jace called back to the other ghosts. They all agreed and some were even already out of the truck, wandering around the party. Jace wasn’t worried. They knew what to do.
“I’m gonna go find Cameron,” she said and regarded him worriedly. “Don’t leave me, Jace.”
“I won’t. I swear it,” he promised and she got out of the truck. He walked through the door and she shook her head and smiled.
“Must be nice not having to open doors.”
“That only happens here,” he told her as he came around to join her. “I try that back in Oblivion, I’d run into walls.”
She nodded and avoided talking about that place he would go back to tomorrow. They walked among the partygoers and Lindsay was surprised so many kids stopped her and wished her well.
Jace rolled his eyes as she was talking to a few people. They discussed their plans and wished her good luck before she wandered away with Jace.
“They might have been nicer to you a couple weeks ago,” he complained at her side, glaring back at the group of kids.
“Cameron has his click behind him but most kids see through his crap. I don’t think too many people will back him up anymore. School’s over,” she theorized and smiled. “After this summer most of these kids are going to leave.”
“Lindsay, you do everything I say,” Jace warned her as his eyes spied Cameron, standing across the bonfire, staring back at Lindsay with an inscrutable expression. “He’s right there. Just listen and don’t talk. Walk over to the other side and act like you don’t see him. I’ll be right behind you.”
She complied, pasting smile on her face and greeting other kids from school. Jace was right behind her. She thought of the gun in her purse and tried not to think about what was going to happen next.
“Lindsay, just stand here for a minute,” he told her. “Don’t walk off anywhere. He gets you in the woods; it’s all over. Cameron’s been coming up here since we were kids. He knows these woods better than you.”
“Where are you going?” she asked nervously under her breath.
“I’m going to go looking for Matt. Something’s not right. Lauder’s always buddied up to Cameron. I don’t see him here. I’m going to walk around. You stay put.”
“Ok, I’ll be here when you get back. Please hurry, Jace. I’m getting scared.”
Jace smiled at her and walked through the bonfire looking back and blowing a kiss at her.
“Show off,” she muttered under her breath as she watched him move among their peers.