Keeper(22)

CHAPTER NINE


“Well,” I said, plopping down next to Maggie in our usual cafeteria booth, “I think it’s safe to say this day wins the award for ‘Worst. Day. Ever.’” I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

Maggie gave me a sympathetic pat on the back. “Come on, Styles. It’s not so bad.”

“Not so bad? Mags, I fell asleep and screamed bloody murder in the middle of my English class.”

“No one can blame you for that. Mrs. Runyan gives everyone nightmares.”

I snorted. “Well, what about the part where I managed to make myself look like a gigantic idiot in front of the really hot guy I don’t want to admit I’m crushing on?”

“I knew it,” Maggie said with a grin. “Honestly, I really wouldn’t worry about it. Clark Kent embarrassed himself all the time in front of Lois Lane and they still managed to make it work.” She waved her hand. “I hardly think anything you’ve done today qualifies as catastrophic.”

I sighed. “Look, I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I seriously doubt there’s anything you could say that would make me even halfway reconsider my plan to go home and stay there until I’m thirty.”

“Well . . .” Maggie leaned forward, her eyes dancing. “What if I told you I had some information about your mystery man?”

My head perked up. “What kind of information?”

“Personal information. Like the kind you would find in—let’s say, someone’s personal file.”

“Personal file? But how would you . . .” My mouth dropped open. “You didn’t!”

Her sheepish grin was the only response.

“Maggie!”

“What? All the office aides do it!” she said with a shrug, not the least bit bothered by the fact that she had broken a rule, much less that there were laws about that sort of thing.

“You could get suspended!”

“I’d have to get caught first. Look, you’re my best friend, and I wasn’t about to let some random—albeit seriously hot—guy come swinging into the picture without digging up some information on him.”

I shook my head. “Maggie, I—”

“I know, I know. You’re welcome. Now do you want to hear this or not?”

I cracked a smile. There really was no stopping her once she got going. “Proceed.”

“Thank you. So his name is Tyler Marek, and he apparently just moved here a few weeks ago. He’s living with a friend of the family—some guy who owns a gym in town.”

“The one he took me to today?”

“I would assume so. And apparently, he hasn’t been enrolled in school for a while.”

“That’s weird,” I said. “Did the file say why?”

“No, but I bet it has something to do with his father’s death.” Maggie leaned forward, her voice no louder than a whisper. “According to the file, his dad was murdered a while back.”

“Murdered?”

“Yep. There was some kind of evaluation report from the counselor.”

Holy shit. It all made sense now. The look in his eyes, the tightened expression. No wonder he looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach when I asked about his dad.

“That’s awful. Was there anything else?”

Maggie shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. His file was pretty sparse. But hey, at least now we know he’s not a serial killer or some kind of psychopath, right?”

“Um, I guess.” I put my head back down on the table. “Although now I feel like an even bigger idiot.”

Maggie gave me another pat on the shoulder. “Like I said, all things considered, it’s not so bad.”

“And what exactly would you classify as bad?”

She thought for a minute. “Well, when Jason Aaron tricked Wolverine into killing his own offspring, that was pretty bad. And when Spiderman gave up his marriage to Mary Jane to the demon Mephisto in order to save Aunt May’s life, I cried for days. Oh! And Tony Stark’s battle with alcoholism—that was awful! And then there was—”

“Okay, okay! Point made!” I said, laughing. “Forget I asked!”

Maggie gave a satisfied smile and took a big bite out of her ham and cheese sandwich. “I also think I might have a lead on your whole ghost thing. What did you say her name was again?”

“Josephine.”

“Well, I think I found a way to get in contact with her.”

I stared at Maggie. “Contact Josephine? Seriously?”

She smiled sheepishly and pulled a rumpled piece of paper out of her messenger bag. She took a breath and slid it across the table.

I scanned the paper. It was an article about the moon’s orbit and its close proximity to the earth. I looked up. “Oh! There’s going to be a Supermoon on Friday.”

“Right! And according to my research, most paranormal activity coincides with some sort of celestial phenomena. Solstice, equinox.” Maggie began to tick items off on her fingers. “Eclipse. I think that’s when the veil between us and the spirit world gets . . . lifted. Or something like that.” She shrugged. “So, it should be easier for us to contact her. I think we should go to the cemetery and give it a shot.”