Free This is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld

the cafeteria.”
    He was sliding his lunch tray alongside Mara. I remember thinking they were just the right height for each other. With Aimee, he practically had to double over to kiss her, even if she wore four-inch platform heels. Mara’s face lit up at something Jimmy said. He shrugged modestly and kept moving in line.
    â€œDid you talk to him?” Charlie asks.
    â€œI hardly knew him...then.” I know him much, much better now. “Plus, I was on the other side of the caf.”
    Charlie scribbles something down and thumps the tip of his pen emphatically on the paper. He fixes a stare on me. The kind that makes an innocent person squirm. “You and Dan come here together?”
    â€œNo!” we say together with equal amounts of outrage.
    Charlie’s eyebrows practically hit his hairline. By now his gut must be screaming out to him—
These kids are hiding something!
“You arrived here separately.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Dan nod.
    Charlie makes a huffy sound while he writes something down
.
I gaze at the water churning at the waterfall’s base. Inside, I’m feeling just as turbulent.
    Own up, Keira,
my conscience yells.
Tell him you’re suddenly psychic and that Jimmy led you here. It’s no big deal.
    But it
is
a big deal. How could I expect anyone to take me seriously with a statement like that?
    Footsteps tramp through the woods. Charlie takes his glare off of us as Jimmy’s mom and dad arrive, looking weepy and weary. A sob rips from Mrs. Hawkins. The worst thing is seeing Jimmy’s dad—a strong guy with a quarterback’s build—crumple like a lost child. His cheerful tropical-print shirt looks horribly incongruous. It’s obvious they dropped whatever they were doing in Hawaii and jumped on a plane. Dan races to comfort them.
    Charlie heaves a sorrowful sigh. He takes a couple of steps before doubling back to me. “I know you’ve had some rough stuff happening at home with your grandmother and all. So is there anything you want to tell me about why you were
really
here?”
    Heat spreads through my body. This is my cue to come clean, but the words won’t come. Instead, I shake my head and stare at the ground.
    â€œI have to go. We’ll talk more later,” Charlie says to me in a low growl before turning to the Hawkins family.
    I’m not sure if it’s a threat or a promise. But I don’t dwell on it for long. My heart splinters as Jimmy’s mom clings to the body bag. Her grief seems to expand and fill the entire clearing. Little does she know her eldest son’s holding onto her as hard as he can, but he still can’t get close enough.
    * * *
    I drag myself out of bed when I hear Mom’s car pull up. She’d worked another double shift. She’s not the only one who was awake all night. Jimmy chose to spend time with his family. Totally understandable. He was where he belonged. Still, I feel restless without him. Lonely, even.
    â€œIt’s Saturday morning. Why aren’t you sleeping in like normal people?” Mom plants a kiss on my cheek when I enter the kitchen. She’s dressed in PJs, which she usually gets into as soon as she gets home from work no matter what time.
    â€œI’m not normal,” I say with a savagery that surprises even me, and slide onto a wooden chair.
I’m paranormal.
    â€œIs this where I get to tease you about getting up on the wrong side of the bed?” she jokes, then she takes a good look at me. “Keira, what’s wrong?”
    Tears prickle my eyes. I drop my gaze so she won’t notice. “Just thinking about Jimmy.”
    Everyone, including my workaholic mother, knows who Jimmy is. Or was. And the town revolved around him for the past week.
    â€œSuch a terrible loss! His poor parents.” She frowns and stirs honey into her chamomile tea. “You were friends with his brother, right?”
    â€œDan. A long