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Kaleb struggled to focus. The circles underneath his eyes were deep, or it could’ve been the shadow of his black eyelashes. “Am I dead? Are you an angel? Damn. You’re smokin’ hot for an angel. Come ’ere,” he slurred.
Not hungover.
Still drunk.
I hurried to stand behind Michael when Kaleb reached out for me. More like swiped at me with a hand the size of a frying pan. He was scary big, mostly naked, and reminiscent of an escaped convict.
“Hey, Mike. I did it again.” Kaleb grinned, and his face lit up. I could see how, clothed and sober, he could possibly be endearing. Right now … not really.
“Yes, Kaleb, you did it again,” Michael said, sounding very much like a tolerant but exasperated kindergarten teacher.
“Who came to get me? I know she wasn’t there.” He pointed to me and smiled wider. “I would have remembered her.”
“I did,” Michael said. “So did Nate and Ava.”
Kaleb put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. I tried not to stare at his chest. “Ava? Why did you have to bring the Shining?”
“The Shining?” I asked.
“Stephen King reference,” Michael said to me. To Kaleb, he said, “Because Ava’s the one who answered the phone. She came to get me.”
“Came to get you?” Kaleb frowned and opened his eyes to squint at us. “Where were you?”
Michael pulled me forward to stand beside him. “With the angel. This is Emerson.”
o;Is that what you saw that day in the cafeteria? A ghost?”
“Yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that.” I smacked my forehead with my hand when I realized I’d just given her Michael’s standard answer to me. “It would take a while to explain, and I’m kind of in a hurry. But am I right? About you?”
“Em, there’s so much tied up in what I can do—what I promised my abuela I would never do. It’s not dowsing. It’s not like I use a divining rod, or even a pendulum, even though I wear this one.” She fingered the tiger’s eye pendant that always hung from a silver chain around her neck. I thought she wore it because it matched her eyes. “The short answer is, yes, I can find things.”
“Why is it such a secret?”
“I don’t know all the reasons.” Lily’s mouth turned down at the corners. “But Abuela has very strict rules about what I can actively look for. Inconsequential things, like my keys or a recipe she’s misplaced, occassionally. But a living, breathing human? Never.”
“But the other day—you knew she was back from the bank before you saw her.”
“I knew the bank bag was back. And I knew Abi had the bank bag. I’ve developed loopholes over the years.”
“Have you ever talked to anyone about it?” I thought of the Hourglass. “Like a professional?”
“A professional what? Abi would kill me if she knew I told you.” She inclined her head toward the front door. “I’m sorry I can’t help you find Michael. I know you’re in a hurry. Go.”
“I’m not if you want to talk—”
She shook her head. “Let me think about everything. Figure out what’s okay to share and what isn’t. Figure out what I want to ask you.”
“I’m glad you told me. After everything I’ve been through, everything you’ve seen … you’re still here. I’m here for you, too.”
Lily reached out to grab my arm and pulled me into a hug. “I should’ve told you earlier. You might not have felt so alone.”
“No. I understand why you couldn’t.” I hugged her back. “Thanks for trusting me. I won’t tell anyone your secret.”
“Ditto.”
We broke the embrace and looked at each other for a long time before I turned to leave. “
“Em? Wait.”
