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My mind was made up. I grabbed what homework I needed for tomorrow and slammed my locker shut. I began backing away. Noah trailed after me. “Where are you going?”

I still ignored him. “Thanks, Ethan. Though, I still don’t owe you after this one.”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” I heard him mutter as I hurried out of the school. Cassian had long ago headed for his hockey meeting, so there wasn’t an issue about running into him, but my mind was made up. I could do this. Go to my grandparents’. Sneak in. Grab a bag for what I needed and get out again before anyone knew.

My grandparents would know, but it wasn’t like they cared. I could totally do this and no one would be the wiser. I skimmed Noah a glance as he fell in step beside me, still giving me an intense perusal once we got to the sidewalk and turned away from the school.

Noah could set fires, but could he do anything else? It wasn’t like he could communicate with anyone who wasn’t dead.

The plan was perfect.

19

“This is a bad idea.” Noah was beside me.

I continued to stare straight ahead. “This is a great idea.”

We were standing on the sidewalk, staring at my grandparents’ house. It wasn’t a big house. Two stories. There was a basement. The siding used to be painted white, but it was faded and cracked so that it looked more speckled and gray than white. The front step was made out of cement, a giant crack going through the middle of it. The grass wasn’t too bad since I mowed it a few weeks ago. Temperatures had gotten colder so the grass stopped growing. My grandpa asked our neighbor if I could use their mower. A part of me was happy, seeing that I made a difference. That the difference lasted.

“You’re sad. For some reason I don’t like that. And I don’t like that I don’t like that you’re sad. Stop being sad.”

Suddenly a pale head popped out of the front door. Seeing me, he grinned widely. His entire body stepped through next.

Noah exclaimed, jumping backward, “What the fuck?” He pointed at the ghost who zoomed across the lawn to us. “What the fuck is that?”

Benji careened to a stop, a few feet away and now self-conscious.

He was still the same age as when he passed. Eight years old. A red ball at his feet.

Benji was a ghost, but he was a special ghost. He was very pale, almost completely see-through, but his energy levels were off the charts. If there was anything or anyone who was strong enough to be a poltergeist, it was Benji.

However, Benji didn’t know that about himself.

I was hoping he didn’t learn that about himself either.

I tried to convey all of that in a glare at Noah, keeping my mind clear so Benji couldn’t pick up what I was thinking.

I smiled warmly. “Hi, Benji.”

He had blond hair that had a small amount of curl, that mostly looked washed-out white. A smattering of freckles over his face. Sometimes he showed color, and the few times he did, I’d been given a glimpse of his blue eyes. They were the bluest eyes I’d ever seen on a ghost and they hadn’t diminished. It gave a beautiful, but eerie look to him. He blinked now. “Hi.” His voice cracked. His hands were behind him and he held back, giving Noah an uncertain glance.

Noah, I hissed in my head.

“What was that?” Noah looked around us.

I hit him. Or tried. My hand went through his hip.

He pretended to be horrified. “Don’t do that. Personal boundaries.”

“You were sitting inside of people all day.”

“Yeah, and that was my personal boundary that I chose. Their boundaries don’t matter.”

I motioned to Benji. “This is Benji.”

Noah stiffened, giving Benji a look as if he was about to step on top of a rattlesnake, or the ghost-like equivalent. “What are you?”

Benji recoiled, his overall color paling even more.