Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(10)

"Or it could mean that he's decided not to communicate with me." A knot rose in Kylie's throat.

"Don't get worked up over it until we know."

Kylie pulled her knees up and dropped her head on them, trying not to cry. Was her hope of discovering the truth now slipping away?

Holiday rested her hand on Kylie's shoulder. A sweet calm came with the touch, and while it soothed Kylie's panic, it didn't change anything. They sat there for several minutes, not talking, Kylie trying not to cry and Holiday doing what she did best-offering emotional comfort.

The soft breeze whispered past and somehow Kylie's mind shifted from one problem to another. "Derek told me he talked to you about ... things."

Holiday brushed a strand of hair off Kylie's cheek. "I'm sorry. I imagine that came completely out of left field."

Kylie nodded. "What am I supposed to do with that information?"

"I don't think you have to do anything."

Kylie exhaled. "It makes me feel crazy and sad, and I start questioning things. And Lucas is jealous of him and I don't blame him for being jealous because I feel the same way about Fredericka. But..."

"But you care about Derek," Holiday finished for her.

"I do. I'm just not sure if what I feel for him is what I feel for Lucas. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense," Holiday assured her. "You'll figure it out."

"Will I?" Angst rose inside Kylie again. "Everything in my life is a huge effing question mark. I'm tired of not being sure of anything. And then the ghost..." Kylie let the words fade.

"You have a problem with a ghost?" Holiday asked. "Is it your grandmother? Have you asked her about what your dad said?"

"No, it's not her." How much should Kylie tell Holiday? "At first, the spirit showed up looking like a zombie, hardly even had a face. I insisted she fix that. But ... then the face she got was ... someone who wasn't dead."

Holiday bit down on her lip. "Are you sure she isn't dead?"

"I'm sure." Extra sure.

"Well," Holiday continued, "it could be one of two things. The most likely answer is that you have a ghost with an identity crisis."

"Seriously? Ghosts can have an identity crisis?" Kylie asked.

"Afraid so. They may not even know what they looked like. Or they may not have liked how they looked, so they plaster the face of someone else on their ghost bodies. Most of the time, they use the face of the ghost whisperer. And seeing your face on a ghost..." Holiday shivered. "Not good."

"I can imagine," Kylie said, but she didn't want to imagine it. She already had too much on her plate. "What's the other thing it could be?"

"It's rare," Holiday said. "But did you see A Christmas Carol?"

"Yes." Kylie recalled the plot. "The Scrooge thing, right?"

"And the ghost from the future," Holiday said.

Kylie's breath hitched. "This person could be about to die?" Sure, the thought had crossed her mind, as it had Derek's, but not until Holiday said it did it feel real. No, Kylie refused to accept it. She'd seen too much death already.

"Is this one of the things I can change?" Kylie asked, panic building in her chest.

"Probably not." Holiday frowned. "Is it someone you know well?"

Kylie didn't answer. She couldn't. She just kept reminding herself that Holiday had said it was rare.

"Is it someone from Shadow Falls?" Miranda's voice piped up from behind them.

Kylie turned to see Miranda standing in the doorway behind them.

"Sorry," Miranda said. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop ... but is it someone from here?"

"No," Kylie lied.

"Oh, good." Miranda did a dramatic swipe of her brow. "Your phone's chirping." She held out the phone. "It's your mom. This is like the third time she's called in the last five minutes."

"You should call her," Holiday said. Then the camp leader's phone rang. She glanced down at the number. "It's Burnett."

Holiday and Kylie stood at the same time. Kylie reached for her phone from Miranda as Holiday answered hers.

"Hello." Holiday paused. The worry wrinkle between her eyes appeared. "About what?" Her tone had Kylie hesitating to make her own call. "Let's talk before you go. I'm on my way." Holiday hung up.

"What's wrong?" Kylie asked.

"I-I'll talk with you when I know something." Holiday took off, but her answer had Kylie suspicious that the call had something to do with her.

"That didn't sound good," Miranda said.

Just great, Kylie thought. How much more could she take?

Chapter Five

"Are you okay?" Holiday's voice stirred Kylie awake about an hour later. After trying to call her mom numerous times and leaving several messages, her mind and heart gave up and she went to bed and took a nap.

She looked at Holiday perched on the end of her bed. Sitting up, Kylie yawned and brushed her hair from her eyes. "I've been better."

"Life can be so hard sometimes."

"Tell me about it." Kylie remembered the call from Burnett. "Is everything okay? What happened?"