The Ghost Runner Read Online Free PDF

Between my job and Alex’s, between school and the Stop Ed Jacobs campaign, the only time Alex and I usually have to spend together is when we go running.
    We are heading for the Lost Mine Trail, which is now a constant reminder of Ed Jacobs and his devastating work. Right before the entrance to the trail are acres of steep, forested land that, over the past six months, have been shaved clean of trees and graded with huge yellow machines. Now there are concrete trucks and piles of lumber, even a few wooden frames ready to be raised for the homes that will take over where forest used to be. Where bears and deer and gray foxes used to roam. Of course, the animals will still be here—but they will no longer be welcome, and they don’t know it yet.
    This was a trail I loved when I first moved to Lithia, but I soon abandoned it. Now, coming back is more difficult than ever, and not only because of the construction. This was the trail Stacey died on, and I was there, a few hundreds yards away—too far away to help, but not far away enough to avoid hearing her scream.
    I don’t know how I will ever forgive Roman for taking her life. Stacey died less than ten months ago, and yet it feels like years, decades even. I still miss her, especially now, as I see the familiar overlook where we used to pause and look down on Lithia. I know David misses her, too, though he is doing his best to move on, trying to convince me to do the same. But he doesn’t carry the same guilt that I do—he wasn’t here when she died, and he wasn’t falling in love with her killer.
    I wonder if his sadness will ever fully lift. When I’m at Lithia Runners, sometimes I still catch him staring blankly at the shoe wall. But then, sometimes I also catch myself staring into nothingness. We do our best to pull each other back to reality.
    After all, life goes on. That’s what he told me, and that’s why I’m on this trail. I’m moving on. I’m doing what Stacey would have wanted me to do. I keep running.
    Yet today I find myself falling behind, slipping off the pace that Alex has set. Every so often I notice him glancing back, a nice way of letting me know I’m dragging my heels, and I accelerate to catch back up. But minutes later he’s pulling away again. This time, I let him go. Running just doesn’t feel all that important right now.
    I round a bend and find Alex waiting for me with a curious look on his face.
    â€œYou okay?” he asks.
    â€œFine.”
    â€œYou don’t seem fine.”
    I’m not ready to tell Alex what happened yesterday: that my dad is in town, that he wants to see me again. I need more time to process the fact that my father has come back from the dead—at least, this is how it feels.
    As I was trying to get over the initial shock of seeing him, my father offered to buy me a smoothie. I was amazed that he remembered my fondness for smoothies, but I told him I was busy. So he suggested dinner. When I didn’t respond, he handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it, asking me to call him.
    I know I should be grateful that he’s alive—but I’m also scared. He’s never been a good person, and I don’t know what he’s doing here. He seemed different—he was a lot nicer to me than he’d ever been—but, on the other hand, there was something in his eyes that told me I can’t trust him. Not yet.
    â€œI’m just a little tired,” I tell Alex. “Why don’t you go on without me? I could use some time to walk and to chill out a bit.”
    Alex glances around at the trees surrounding us. “I don’t want to leave you all alone.”
    â€œI’ll be fine.”
    Alex studies my face, and I see a shadow come over his. “Is this about Roman?”
    â€œRoman? What makes you say that?”
    â€œYou miss him.”
    â€œI wonder about him, that’s all. Why he left so suddenly.