But she just shrugs. "So you wanna know where to find your boyfriend or not?"
I move to the bed and sit down beside her. "Honestly? I'm not sure. I mean, yeah I want to know; but I don't feel right about involving you."
"But what if I already did it? What if I already know?" she says, wiggling her brows.
"You broke into the school?" I ask, wondering what else she's been up to since we last talked. '
But she just laughs. "Even better, I followed him home," I gape at her. "But when? And how?"
She shakes her head. "Come on, Ever, it's not like I need wheels to get where I want to go.
Besides, I know how you're all in love with him, and it's not like I blame you, he is pretty dreamy. But remember that day when he acted like he saw me?"
I nod. I mean, how could I forget?
"Well, it freaked me out. So, I decided to do a little investigation."
I lean toward her. "And?"
"And, well, I'm not sure how to say this, and I hope'you won't take it the wrong way, but-he's a little odd." She shrugs. "I mean, he lives in this big house over in Newport Coast, which is strange enough considering his age and all. I mean where does he get the money? Because it's not like he works."
I remember that day at the track. But decide not to mention it.
"But that's not even the strangest part," she continues. "Because what's really weird is that the house is completely empty. Like, no furniture whatsoever."
"Well, he is a guy," I say, wondering why I feel the need to defend him.
She shakes her head. "Yeah, but I'm talking seriously weird. I mean, the only things in there are one of those iPod wall docks and a flat-screen TV. Seriously. That's it. And believe me, I checked the whole house. Well, other than this one room that was locked.".
"Since when do locked rooms stop you?" I say, having seen her walk through plenty of walls this past year.
"Believe me, it wasn't the door that stopped me. It was me that stopped me. I mean, jeez, just because I'm dead doesn't mean I can't get scared," She shakes her head and scowls at me.
"But, he hasn't really lived here all that long," I say, rushing to make more excuses, like the worst kind of codependent fool. "So maybe he just hasn't gotten around to furnishing it yet. I mean, that's probably why he doesn't want me to come over; he doesn't want me to see it like that." And when I replay my words in my head, I can't help but think: Oh, God, I'm even worse than I thought.
Riley shakes her head and looks at me like she's about to let me in on the truth behind the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, and Santa, all in one sitting. But then she just shrugs and says, "Maybe you should see for yourself."
"What do you mean?" I ask, knowing she's holding something back.
But she gets up from the bed and goes over to the mirror, gazing at her reflection and adjusting her costume.
"Riley?" I say, wondering why she's acting so mysterious. "Listen," she says, finally turning toward me. "Maybe I'm wrong. I mean, what do I know; I'm just a kid." She shrugs. "And it's probably nothing, but… "
She takes a deep breath. "But I think you should see for yourself"
"So how do we get there?" I ask, already up and reaching for the keys.
She shakes her head. "No way. Forget it. I'm convinced he can see me."
"Well we know he can see me," I remind her.
But she stands firm. "So not happening. But I'll draw you a map."
Since Riley's not so great at drawing maps, she settles for making a list of street names instead, indicating their left and right turns, since north, south, east, and west always confuse me.
"Sure you don't want to come?" I offer, grabbing my bag and heading out of my room.
She nods and follows me downstairs. "Hey; Ever?" I turn.