“I didn’t know,” I said quietly. “I mean, I knew about the kleptomania, but I didn’t know it affected you like this. I . . . I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t want you to know. I just wanted to get the stuff returned and move on, whatever that means.” She shrugged helplessly. “And now that’s not going to happen.” She flopped back onto my bed and started to cry again.

“Don’t cry, Kim, please,” I implored. “We’ll find a way. We’ll make things happen.”

She opened her wet, black-lined eyes and looked at me. “Do you think so?”

I knew the life or death of her hope lay in my answer. An answer I already knew was going to have to be a lie. “I know it,” I said, with as much conviction as I could muster. Faith was never my strong suit; I’d never had any use for it. But even when all I really felt was doubt, Kimberlee needed more than ifs and maybes. “We’ll find a way. I—” This was the hardest part to say. “I’ll help you.”

A little part of me died inside at that. I knew I would help her—in the past month we’d become . . . I wasn’t sure friends was the right word, but we were something. So I’d help. But what would it cost me? At the very least I’d have to lie to both Khail and Sera. And until when? I was out of ideas.

But she had no one else.

“Really?” She pushed up on her elbows, her eyes brightening a little.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to sound casual. “Of course.” I smiled. “I’m the one who can see you; that must mean that I can help you. We just have to figure out how.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “If taking all that stuff back didn’t work, I don’t know what will.”

“We’ll think about it for a few days,” I said, trying to stave off the panic while keeping my expression totally impassive. “Something will come up. We’ll find the answer.”

Kimberlee looked down at the floor for a long time before looking me in the eyes. “Thank you,” she said, her voice low. Then her eyes darted away.

“You’re welcome.” I cocked my head toward the bathroom. “I gotta get in the shower,” I said. “Turns out, it is another day.”

Kimberlee rubbed her arm across her face, swiping away her tears. She had put her game face back on. Her face that held the world at bay and didn’t let anyone get too close—or know how much she was hurting. The face I was used to.

Kimberlee was back.

Twenty-Nine

KIMBERLEE FOLLOWED ME around school all day again, but she kept her distance and didn’t speak. Even with her brave front, she wasn’t exactly jovial, and a cloud of gloom seemed to encompass her. After all these weeks with a ghost in my life, I was finally feeling haunted.

And she wasn’t the only one acting weird.

“You want to come over after school today?” Sera asked, a little too cheerily. “My parents are both out of town and Khail has a big party after wrestling to celebrate the guys going to State.”

State. I am such a bad friend. I hadn’t even asked which of my guys had made it to State. I’d been so concerned about the last return that I didn’t ask how the qualifying match went.

“We could have some actual alone time,” she said, snuggling against me.

Any other time I would have been all over that idea, but everything felt strange today. My whole life felt was upside down, and my brain kept reminding me that Sera had lied and I hated that. Still . . . I wasn’t going to turn down an invitation like this.

I tried to give Kimberlee an apologetic look as I walked out the door with Sera after school, but I wasn’t sure she caught it. Still, she’d forgive me. She didn’t really have a choice. She was stuck with me. Forever, maybe.

Or was I stuck with her?

I tried to push thoughts of forever to the back of my head, but they were there, lurking just out of sight. Sera let us into her house and we went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. She chattered as she did, but I had a hard time following her conversation for more than about ten seconds. The third time I said something like, “Huh? Yeah. What?” she sighed and looked at me with one hand on her hip.

“You’re so distracted today. Come here.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind her.

The Hewitts had an awesome media room, dominated by a sectional with an enormous middle piece that was like five feet wide and turned the whole sofa into what looked like the most massive bed ever. You could just sink into it and it molded around your body with the perfect combination of softness and support. Seriously, best make-out couch ever.

And, as yet, untried by me.

Sera put on a movie, but I figured it was just for background noise when she lay down beside me and wrapped her arms around my ribs and let one leg slide up to rest on my thigh.

I leaned toward her and pressed my face against her neck. She started to kiss me and for a while I kissed her back, starting to feel like I could let everything else in my life go and just focus on her, but my thoughts kept returning to Kimberlee, going through everything she had told me. I tried to figure out what could be left for her to do.

And why me? Why was I, of all people, supposed to help her? Was there something special about me that related to what she had to do? It made sense, but I couldn’t figure out just what it was. Maybe if we had a long talk tonight I could find out something she hadn’t wanted to tell me yet. Something she—