Body and Soul

Ben’s backyard looked like it had at all the other parties I’d attended here. The food—chips of assorted varieties in plastic bowls, and pizza that was already mostly gone—was laid out on several card tables.

The keg was probably just inside the tree line at the back of the property, based on the steady flow of red-cup-carrying partyers coming and going from that general direction.

Most people had gathered on the open grass between the deck and the woods, dancing, talking in small clusters, and generally stumbling around. The outdoor floodlights were on, and someone, Ben probably, had stabbed the ground with those tacky bamboo torches at varying intervals throughout the yard. The flickering flames cast wild shadows across the faces of those standing near them. Music thumped hard from huge speakers near the deck—someone’s iPod was plugged in, churning through a party mix that was mostly bass and nothing recognizable at that volume.

I spotted my friends—former friends, actually—sprinkled throughout the yard. Misty and Chris didn’t seem to be here yet—no surprise there, as Misty was always late for everything. But Ashleigh Hicks and Je

Jeff Parker, the intended audience for said sexy dancing, was paying no attention, his head bent over his guitar, and an adorable underclassman girl standing next to him, asking about the guitar or playing or something. Ha, good for him. I’d always liked Jeff—he was less likely to participate in our bullshit. At least he hadn’t openly mocked me after my death. Unlike some people…

Miles Stevens stood off to one side, watching. He was spiffily dressed as usual, in a long-sleeved dress shirt and khakis, despite the lingering August heat. I couldn’t be sure from this distance, but I was willing to bet that, thanks to me, his nerdwear was now designer.

And Lea

My heart sank. Maybe she wasn’t here after all. She’d be near Lea

I moved closer for a better look, skirting the edge of the crowd and weaving my way through the tiki torches. It wasn’t until I was within a few feet of Lea

And she wasn’t the only one watching whatever or whoever it was. In fact, a good majority of the people on this side of the party appeared to be enjoying the same spectacle, pointing and giggling and whispering and…

Oh, God.I froze, afraid to turn around. Only one person made Lea

And suddenly I was terrified that I knew exactly who one of them would be.

Let’s be clear: I never expected the Erin/Lily-at-Ben’s party scenario to be good. I had heard enough from Erin to know that if she was here, she was looking for debauchery at its finest. Or worst. Whatever. Combine that with people thinking she was Lily and remembering what had gone down at the last party she’d attended, and we were already in uncharted levels of nasty.

But I have to confess, when I finally convinced myself to turn around and see what everyone else was seeing just fifteen feet from me, I never expected it to be thisbad. Erin/Lily was wrapped around Ben Rogers like he was a stripper pole. Dark lipstick— nota flattering color or the one I’d picked out for Ally—was smeared across her face; her top bore a huge wet spot from beer she must have spilled down the front of it; and she had grass stains on her jeans from where she’d probably fallen. She was also somehow missing a shoe. But that wasn’t the worst part. No. The worst— oh, sweet Lord—was her sticking her tongue so far down Ben’s throat I half expected it to be poking through the back of his head.

And all of it while wearing MY face and MY body. Well, a face and a body I still thought of as my own; I’d seen them in the mirror every day for over a month.

I gagged first—oh, so many germs; I couldn’t even think about what was living in Ben Rogers’s mouth—and then a flash of fury swept over me, burning everything away, including common sense.

The smart thing would have been to turn around before Erin noticed me, go back to the car to talk it over with Will, and come up with some kind of plan to get her out of here…or at least away from everyone else.

Right.

“You stupid bitch.” The words flew out of my mouth in a shriek, like I had no control, and in that moment, I didn’t. So much for doing the smart thing.

Erin heard me, even over the music, and looked around, dazed and startled. But she still kept her hold on Ben.

Unacceptable.

My vision blurry with rage, I threw myself past Lea

Ed woke up with a snort seconds after Alona slammed the door shut. The two events were probably not unrelated.

It seemed to take him a few seconds to orient himself in the world again. In the rearview mirror, I watched as he sat up slowly, one hand holding his head and the other reaching out to touch the roof of the car, as if he wasn’t sure it was real.

He belched in that alarming fashion that often precedes major stomach evacuation. “Where am I?” he whispered, more to himself than me.

I turned in my seat to get a better look at him. “About to get kicked out of my car if you’re thinking about puking.”

He squinted at me. “Hey, I know you.” He gave me a wobbly, still-drunk smile. “You’re that kid who sees ghosts. Lots and lots of ghosts…” His smile faded as more details returned to him. “You were at my parents’ house.” He cocked his head to one side. “But they weren’t there. The place was empty.…” He sniffed loudly.

I shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, look, I’m sorry about—”

“Where are we?” Still holding his head, he leaned forward to stare out the windshield, most likely at the brick monstrosity that was Ben’s house.

I took a deep breath. Of course Alona would not be here for this conversation. She was much better at being…well, blunt. That was probably the nicest term for it. Insensitive, occasionally mean, brutally honest—those were probably more accurate. And exactly what we needed in this situation. “We’re trying to find your sister.”

“Erin is here?”

“Maybe.” I glanced back toward the side of the house, where Alona had disappeared. By now she’d reached the party and was probably searching. Given the chaos that Ben’s parties were reported to induce, it might take her a few minutes to determine whether Erin was there and then to report back. “We’re trying to find out.”

He rubbed a hand over his face. “You said…you said she had a body.” He sounded vulnerable and uncertain, like he wasn’t sure if he was remembering correctly, or like he was afraid that he’d somehow incorporated an unrelated drunken dream into reality.