Lovely Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page B

can watch a movie.”
    I tried, I really did, to get Luke to open up to Billie. I even went the obvious route and mentioned they should do something together. They both liked riding dirt bikes—why not do it together?
    Billie seemed surprised at the suggestion, but thought it was cool. Luke stumbled his way around asking her on a date. Somehow, she managed to decipher what he was trying to get at.
    “Tuesday?” I pressed. I knew neither of them had anything going on, and if they waited Luke would lose his nerve.
    “Sounds good to me,” she said, looking to Luke for confirmation.
    “Yeah, good” was all he said. I wanted to smack him.
    As promised, we were home by dinner. When the dishes were done, I begged off playing board games in favor of reading a book I had just started. The truth was I wanted to talk to Aidan. Something he'd said made me think I might know who wanted him dead. However, he wasn't in my room so I picked up my book and read until darkness fell.
    “Aidan?” I whispered, feeling crazy for seeking out a ghost.
    “Yeah?” the voice came from my closet.
    “What are you doing in there?”
    “I like the way your clothes smell. Mom uses the same fabric softener.”
    “Oh.” Strange but whatever works for him. “I've been waiting for you.”
    “You have?” His voice rose an octave.
    “Yeah. I have a theory on who killed you.”
    “Really?” He sank down next to the bed. “Do tell.”
    “The guy your ex-girlfriend cheated on you with.”
    He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I don't think so. I never found out who he was.”
    “That doesn't mean he didn't know you.”
    “Right, but why kill me? He already had her, and I certainly didn't want her back. Thanks for trying though.”
    “Yeah.” I fiddled with the edge of my blanket when something entirely different occurred to me. “Aidan?”
    “Yes?”
    “You can't touch me, right? Like you can't hold things or feel things without expending a lot of energy?”
    “Right. Why do you ask?”
    “Well,” I said, unsure of what I was about to say. This was crazy. I had a boyfriend for crying out loud. And I wanted to feel up a ghost who could walk through walls?
    “Jessa, you're blushing. It can't be that bad.”
    “I was wondering if I could touch you. Just because you can't touch me doesn't mean I can't touch you, does it?”
    “I don't know.” He was taken back. “You can try if you want.”
    “Okay, but you will have to guide me. It isn't like I can see you.” I reached my hand forward towards the top of the shadow. “I want to feel your face.”
    “A little lower,” he instructed. I followed his directions. I felt his nose first.
    “Wow,” I gasped, yanking my hand back in shock. “Were you projecting?”
    “A little,” he admitted. “I wanted to feel you too.”
    “Are you tired?”
    “Not really. I've been practicing.”
    I reached out again. “No projecting.” My hand slipped right through the air.
    “Well, that's disappointing.”
    He said nothing. Standing up, he moved across the room to the window.
    “I'm sorry, Aidan.”
    “Just go to sleep, Jessa,” he said sadly.
    Obligingly I rolled over, tucking my hands under my pillow. The urge to cry was strong, but I choked back the tears. Not feeling him had been far more disappointing than I thought it would be. If it was this bad for me, I imagined it was a hundred times worse for him. Living without the human touch had to be some kind of torture. All the more thankful I could feel Levi whenever I wanted, that I could hug my brother, or link arms with my friends, I closed my eyes and counted my blessings.

4.

    Screw purgatory—he was in Hell. Jessa being unable to touch him was like a knife through his heart. He hoped against hope she would feel him; still, when her hand slid through his shadow, a new kind of pain gripped him. How much could one person endure? Death meant the end of all pain right? Somehow, he was in worse pain than ever. No end was in sight.
    He