Raising The Dead. Mara Purnhagen

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      Thankfully, Noah did not venture near my closet. Instead, he went straight to my bookshelf while I sat on the edge of my neatly made bed. “These are all required reading,” he said as he examined my small assortment of books.

      “Not all of them.” I was immediately defensive. I’d had no idea he would be drawn to my bookshelf, of all things. My desk was much more impressive, with a powder-blue laptop, a ceramic mug filled with pens in every color imaginable, and a framed picture of all of my friends—including him—at homecoming.

      Noah held up a paperback copy of A Tale of Two Cities. “You bought this for recreational purposes?”

      “It’s a classic.” It was also an assignment at one of the many high schools I had attended. We’d moved before I had finished the semester—or the book.

      “Hmm.” Noah looked unconvinced. He ran his fingers over the spines of my collection, stopping when he came to a red paperback. “I like this one.” He held up a well-worn copy of Fahrenheit 451.

      “That’s my dad’s,” I told him. “But it’s one of my favorites.”

      “Mine too.”

      This minor revelation made me majorly happy. Sharing the same taste in books, despite the fact that those books had been part of a school assignment, was a positive sign.

      I wasn’t sure what to do after Noah finished examining my pathetic bookshelf. Invite him to sit with me on the bed? Offer him a peek into my dresser? Fortunately, he made the decision for me.

      “I was thinking about the coffins,” he said as he sat down on the floor. “What happens after the rain stops? Whose job is it to go out and collect them all?”

      “The police? Or the county coroner, maybe?”

      “Yeah, but they’re going to be crazy busy with everything else going on. Retrieving old caskets might not make the list.”

      “Maybe not.”

      “Think your parents will get involved?”

      I sighed. “Probably.” Mom would definitely volunteer. She would want to examine not only the coffins but their contents, as well. Both my parents had assisted in similar projects, but it had been a while—not since I was a toddler, at least.

      “So Shane would help, right? I mean, he goes where they go.”

      “Wait.” I narrowed my gaze at him. “You’re hoping Shane becomes totally occupied with work for a while so he won’t have time for your mom.”

      Noah gave me a wide-eyed, innocent look. “I didn’t say that.”

      “Right. Nice try, but a few hours away at work isn’t going to stop those two from being a couple.”

      He groaned. “Did you see them at breakfast? Can’t they at least tone it down when I’m around?”

      “It was a little much,” I agreed.

      He leaned his head against my bed. “And I’m so tired. Shane snores like a wild boar.”

      “Wild boars snore?”

      “You know what I mean.” He closed his eyes. “I need a nap.”

      I got up. “Take my bed for a few hours.”

      “Really?”

      “Sure.” I had changed the sheets the night before, so I was pretty sure there were no drool spots on my pillow.

      “Well, yeah, if you’re okay with me sleeping in your bed.” Noah pulled himself off the floor. We stood facing each other for a moment. He was so close I could smell the cinnamon on his breath and I wondered if I should just step forward and kiss him. I couldn’t, though. I wasn’t that brave.

      “Sweet dreams,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear the pounding of my heart.

      I closed the door behind me and went downstairs. Noah was in my room, in my bed. It made me giddy, and I tried not to smile too widely.

      Downstairs, Mom was taking the pizza out of the oven. “Where’s Noah?”

      I sat down at the table. “He wanted to take a nap. I guess he’s had a hard time sleeping because of Shane’s snoring.”

      “Tell me about it,” Trisha muttered.

      Mom and I shared an amused glance. “Well, dinner’s ready. We’ll save him some for later.”

      After dinner, I stayed in the kitchen and called Avery. “Guess who’s sleeping in my bed right now?”

      “Seriously?”

      I curled a strand of hair around my finger. “He’s up there right now. That’s a good sign, right?”

      “No.”

      “What?” I was confused. Why wasn’t Avery excited for me?

      She sighed. “I don’t think it’s a sign of anything, Charlotte.”

      “But—“

      “Look, I know you like him, but I think you’re setting yourself up to get hurt.” She cleared her throat. “I need to tell you something. You’re not going to like it, which I why I didn’t tell you earlier.”

      I listened carefully as Avery described an encounter she had with Noah during the homecoming dance. She had watched as Noah and I danced to a slow song. When the song ended, I had gone over to talk with Callie and some of our other friends while Noah went to get us drinks. Avery went up to him. She mentioned that we seemed to be hitting it off, but Noah had shaken his head. “We’re friends only,” he said. His voice, Avery said, was emphatic. “She knows that, right?” he’d asked her. “That we’re friends and nothing more?” Avery said that I did know that. She then asked Noah to go out to her car and get a jacket for her. “I wanted to talk with you right away,” she said, “but then Jared and I started talking and I got distracted.”

      “Oh.” The giddiness that had consumed me earlier evaporated.

      “This is a good thing, Charlotte.”

      “How is this a good thing? The guy I like wants nothing to do with me.”

      “That’s not true. He likes you, but not in the way you want.”

      “Again—how is that a good thing?”

      Avery was quiet for a second. When she spoke, her voice was softer. “Charlotte, now you know. Now you can move on and find someone who wants to be more than a friend. Instead of focusing on a relationship that will never happen, you can open to the possibility of someone else.”

      “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

      “Not exactly.” She sighed. “I tried setting up Callie with someone once. She was really into him, but he didn’t return the СКАЧАТЬ