The Spirit Seer

Chapter 19

That night I'm attempting to study. I've read this same line about ten times now. I sigh. My mind isn't on homework. It's on Heath. I know I shouldn't be thinking about him. I have a boyfriend, but he's never distracted me this much. I like that he doesn't distract me. I have goals, and I like that Chad doesn't take me away from them.

Why does Heath? I can't get that look in his eyes out of my head. Just thinking about it makes me hot all over, again. But the distraction thing is a huge reason why I have to get my mind off Heath. I have a great boyfriend. He is everything I need, and I don't need some random boy distracting me. Now I just have to follow through with it.

Ok back to reading, I will get past that dang sentence this time.

Athyrium filix-femina is a large, feathery species of fern native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

What was the look about? Did it mean anything? Maybe I was just reading too much into it, but it felt like it meant something in the moment. Do I even want it to mean something?

Ughh, I did it again. I sigh dramatically and close my book. This is not working out well at all. Clearly, I can't get past that damn line.

Stop thinking about him. I order myself sternly.

That works for about two seconds. Just as my mind starts to wander back to that moment at lunch. Jayne pops in. Thank goodness, maybe with a real purpose I can stop obsessing about Heath.

"Hey Jayne, good timing. I have been thinking about what to do next to figure out what happened, but I'm stuck. I don't really know where to go next. Do you have any suggestions on who might know something?"

She doesn't answer me. She stares at the wall. It's like she didn't even hear me. I spoke out, loud didn't I? I'm pretty sure I did.

"Um, Jayne did you hear me?"

She finally looks at me. She looks shocked. I almost tell her she looks like she saw a ghost, but that probably isn’t the best thing to say in this situation.

"Are you ok?"

She nods slowly. "I was just at the police station spying. They...um....they have a suspect… It's Tavis."

"Wait a sec, who’s Travis?" Should I know who that is?

"My ex. They think he killed me out of jealousy."

Oh, wow. "So, are they going to arrest him?"

She shakes her head. "They are still investigating. It's just a theory at this point."

"I'm sure they'll find proof soon."

She looks at me like a wounded puppy. "What if he did it? Was I that stupid? I didn't think he was capable of doing something like this. What if I dated him all that time and he was a monster?"

I shake my head. "No, Jayne this isn't your fault. People like that; they are good at hiding who they really are. And we don't know that he did it. He's just a suspect. Maybe he didn't do it."

She looks away. "Yeah maybe."

I feel so bad for her. I can't imagine dealing with all she's had to deal with. I can't fathom the confusing feelings going around in her head after finding out that the guy she cared about might have killed her. I wish there was something I could do to make her feel better.

"How did things go with Spencer the other day?" I may not be able to change the ex-thing, but a distraction is the next best thing.

She smiles. "They went great. He showed me all the best places to meet other ghosts around our age, and he taught me some tricks. It was really fun."

Yay! I'm so glad it went well for them. Jayne will broaden her horizons, and as an added bonus that will keep Spencer busy, so he bothers me less. Win, win. "I'm glad he's helping you."

"Yeah, and he is very cute."

"That he is." I have no interest in him, but I am female, and I have noticed that he is nice to look at. I would have to be blind not to.

“He’s also really funny. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. He showed me how to move across the country just by thinking about it. We went on this tour of a museum and he was mocking the guide. It was so much fun.”

She is so animated when she talks about him. It’s nice to see her that way. I hope she doesn’t have to be lonely anymore. Even if nothing ever happens between them I’m glad I introduced them. Can ghosts even interact in that way? I know they can’t touch the alive, but can they touch each other? A question to bear in mind I guess.

I look back at Jayne but she’s gone quiet and stares into space.

“Are you ok?” I ask softly.

She meets my eyes. “I’m not sure. Travis wasn’t the best boyfriend. I mean he cheated and didn’t always treat me the best, but I never imagined he would be capable of something like this. Yesterday I would have said there’s no chance he did this but now I don’t know if I can say that anymore. I feel like I should have seen it.”

A hopeless feeling fills my stomach. I wish I could hug her or comfort her in some way but that’s not possible and it makes me feel like a failure. She’s alone in this and there’s nothing I can do to fix it or even help.

“Jayne I don’t yet know who killed you, but I am going to do everything in my power to help you figure it out. You aren’t in this alone. If Travis did this then he will answer for it. People can be deceiving. If he is the monster that you fear he is, then he would have made sure you couldn’t see it. Don’t let what he may have done make you question yourself. You are not responsible for his awful actions. We will find answers I swear.”

She nods and smiles a little and it makes me feel a little better. I helped her get through her self-doubt but now it fills me. Can I really help her find the person who killed her? I have no idea what I’m even doing. I have no skills for solving a murder. How am I ever going to do this?

~~~~~

It's between classes and I'm heading to my next class. I'm thinking about the homework from the class that just got out. Suddenly I end up in front of Zoey. I am still a little frost bitten from our encounter yesterday, but since she's Heath's friend I plaster on a fake smile.

"Hey Zoey, what's up?"

She sort of smiles back. "Can I talk to you alone for a second?"

I want to say no. I just don't trust her. She clearly doesn't like me, but if I pass up this opportunity she is giving me, it could affect my friendship with Heath. So, I agree against my better judgment.

"Um...sure" We go to the girls’ bathroom. It's the only place we can talk.

Once we are alone, I start to say something but before I can she pushes me up against the wall and glares at me. Man, she is stronger than she looks. She's petite and even a few inches shorter than me, but apparently, size is not important in this situation.

What the heck is her problem? "Why did you do that?"

She continues to glare. "I don't know what your angle is, but you need to stop it now. I am not going to let you hurt Heath."

Hurt Heath? Why would I do something like that? I like him. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't play dumb. I know you have some ulterior motive and I am not going to let you play whatever trick you have planned on my friend. Leave him alone."

Was she smoking something? Where did she get this? I guess I did sort of have an ulterior motive. I became friends with him to help Spencer, but that's not what it's about anymore.

"I have no intention-" but she interrupts me before I can finish my defense.

"Don't ok? I will say this one more time. LEAVE HIM ALONE." She enunciates each word to make it clearer. "I will do whatever it takes to protect him. So, walk away." She gives me one more glare for good measure, and then leaves me leaning against the wall speechless.

What just happened? I don't know where that came from. Why would she think I wanted to hurt Heath? I would never do that. I can't help but wonder if there is more to it than overprotection of a friend. I saw something in her eyes when she was talking about him. It's likely that she might have deeper feelings than she's letting on. If that's the case, then it makes a little more sense. But I don't know why she'd be jealous. He and I are just friends, and I have a boyfriend. I may have to talk to Heath about it, so it doesn’t happen again.