Chapter 16

"There's Jace."I bump Zoey's shoulder. "And there's Brad. Still with Lacy, as well. Why the fuck he didn't dump her ass years ago, I'll never understand. He looks rough."

"It's been ten years."

"We don't look rough."

She shakes her head. "We're dead. We don't age."

"There's Eli's car." I hop down off the wall. "You coming?"

"No. You go and meet him. I want to wait here and watch for Arabella."

I don't need to walk to the parking lot, I could just think myself there, but I don't want to. I've avoided that particular area the entire time I've been here. By the time I arrive, Eli's car is parked, and he's climbing out.

"Fuck." The guttural curse reaches me and I hurry closer, reaching Eli just as he sinks to his knees and leans his head on the grill of my car.

I rest my hand on his shoulder, taking care not to let it pass through him.

"You've got this. Get up and go into the cafeteria. That's where the invitation said to go when you arrive."

"I can't do this, Kell," he whispers.

"Don't be ridiculous." I summon up a smile, not that he can see it, and force a light tone to my voice. "Of the two of us, it's me who can't do it. No physical body, you see. Hard to socialize when no one can see you."

His laugh is choked.

"I love you, Eli, but it's conditional. If you're going to sit out here in the dark, crying on the hood of my car all night, I'm going to have to reevaluate whose head I'm haunting. I might have to hop over to Arabella's instead."

"You're not even fucking in my head. I'm just imagining what you might say to me."

"It counts." I don't bother trying to persuade him otherwise. I've learned that if I push the fact he can hear me, it makes it harder to get through to him. "You know it's what I'd say if I was there."

"If you were here, this wouldn't be such a fucking problem, you idiot."

"Stop swearing at me. Get up, wipe your eyes, and remind the assholes inside who you are."

He looks down at his fingers, surprise clear on his face.

"Suck it up, buttercup. Admit it. You love me. You miss me."

"You already know I miss you."

"Then get your ass inside, unpack, then come and visit me in the cemetery." I don't think he's ready to go to the chapel, but the cemetery is close enough.

"You're not fucking here."

"As good as. Stop the fucking pity party, get up and walk in there. You owned the hallways of Churchill Bradley. Remind them!"

His chest moves with the lungful of air he sucks in. "You're right."

I keep pace beside him as he walks toward the building. His eyes move back and forth, pausing on the wall where we used to sit, and he shakes his head.

When we reach the cafeteria, I touch his arm.

"You can do this, Eli. You're stronger than you know."

I don't go inside with him. I'm not ready to see everyone in one place. Instead, I go in search of Zoey.