AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Brooklyn.”
“Us too,” he says. “We live in Flatbush. What neighborhood are you in?”
“Um, I’m in Flatbush too,” she says.
That one surprises August. Jane’s never mentioned living in Flatbush. She’s also never looked quite this shifty. Niko adjusts his shoulders. They both know Jane is lying, but that doesn’t mean anything—maybe she doesn’t want this guy she just met to know where she lives.
“That’s interesting,” he says. “Maybe we’ll see you around sometime.”
“Yeah, maybe so,” she says with a small chuckle.
August doesn’t know how long Niko needs, or what exactly he’s reading off of Jane, but he watches her return to her book with his hands palm-up on his knees, fingers relaxed, holding up the weight of the air.
August keeps waiting for him to bust out another question. Hey, ever walked through a wall? Or, Do you have any unfinished business in the realm of the living, like maybe a tragic unsolved murder, or a loved one who needs to give all the workers at the factory Christmas off? Or, Do you happen to see horned creatures when you close your eyes? But he sits there, and Jane sits there, both of them incomprehensible.
Finally, as they’re pulling into the first Manhattan station, Niko announces, “This is our stop.”
August looks at him. “It is?”
He nods decisively. “Yep. You ready?”
She glances over at Jane, like she might have disappeared in the last few seconds.
“If you are.”
They have to pass by Jane to exit, and August feels a gentle hand close around her elbow.
“Hey,” Jane says.
When August turns, that muscle’s twitching in her jaw.
“Don’t be a stranger.”
Niko pauses on the platform to look back at them.
“Okay,” August says. “Maybe I’ll—I’ll see you on Monday.”
She turns to Niko as soon as the train pulls away, but he’s eyeing the ceiling thoughtfully. She waits like she’s one of the nuns at her Catholic middle school waiting to hear if they picked a new pope.
“Yep,” he says finally. “Okay.” He uncrosses his arms and turns, striding off down the platform. August has to jog to catch up.
“Okay, what?”
“Hmm?”
“What’s the verdict?”
“Oh, tacos,” he says. “I decided tacos. There’s a stand that’s open late a few blocks from here; we can pick some up and take the 5 home.”
“I meant about whether or not Jane is dead!”
“Oh!” he says, sounding genuinely surprised. Sometimes August wishes she could know for even a second what goes on in Niko’s head. “Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”
Her heart does an uncomfortable sort of parkour maneuver. “You—you don’t? You’re sure?”
“Mostly,” he says. “She’s really, like, present. Solid. She’s not a ghost. She’s corporeal. Do you think I should try the seitan this time?”
August blows straight past his question. “So, she’s an alive person?”
