Lainey
Owen has been silent since we left Father Gary, and that's not like him, but what do I know? It seemed like everything I thought about him has been wrong.
"I'm going to drop you off at your house, I have to run a few errands," Owen says.
Translation: I can't help you so I'm going to drop you off at your house and never come back.
And I don't blame him, he's got enough going on in his life, and he has no reason to help me. He can't help me because I don't even know what's wrong with me.
Owen parks in front of my house and I silently climb out.
Owen looks like he wants to say something, but he simply gives me a tight-lipped smile.
Once he drives away I walk to my house. Since I'm not entirely a ghost I can't walk through doors or walls. So, I climb the tree in my yard, walk across the roof, and push open my window.
The familiar smell of my room greets me as I climb through my window.
It's exactly how I left it, bed made, a shirt thrown over my closet door that never shuts, and my desk is still covered in homework I needed to get done over spring break.
I sit down on my bed and let my new reality hit me. I'm going to be invisible forever or until my family finally pulls my plug.
Then who knows what will happen, I could be stuck as a ghost; having to watch my family and friends experience life while I'm stuck at the same age.
The worst part is I don't think my family would care. Yes, I know they love me, and they would miss me at first, but after time they would forget about me.
Because a small, twisted part of me believes they don't care about me. That part of me believes Maize and Trey don't like me, they just put up with me.
I've worked so hard at shoving that part of me down, but now it's too big and I have no control.
As I wipe my eyes, wet from stray tears I see a piece of paper sitting on my bedside table. I pick it up and realize it's the wish Maize gave me on my birthday. I smile as my eyes scan over it.
But the smile leaves as soon as it comes as I read the wish over again.
That can't be the reason this happened. I shake my head, There's no way the wish came true.
But then again this whole situation seemed impossible three days ago.
I flip the card over and think about it. The wish and my situation seem very similar. So similar that the wish coming true seems like the only explanation.
Shit, shit, shit.
I fall back on the bed, if the wish came true then there has to be a way to undo the wish.
And to undo the wish I'm going to need Owen's help. Even if we silently, basically told each other we were going our separate ways.
And if I'm going to have Owen's help then I'm going to have to tell him about the wish.
Meaning, I'm going to have to tell him about my crazy, stupid crush/infatuation I used to have on him.
As I ponder my next choice an idea pops into my mind. Maybe I could tell Owen about the wish without him knowing the wish was about him.
I could tell him the wish was about another Owen and for some reason I'm stuck with him.
I sit up, yes, that could work.
I will have to team up with my sworn enemy, I will have to endure all of Owen's bullshit, and I might regret this tomorrow, but Owen is the only one who might be able to help me.
With a plan already forming in my mind, I stand up and grab a shirt and a pair of shorts that are sitting on my desk and change clothes.
Since Owen is likely not coming back I will have to walk to his house and beg him to help me.
Four days ago me would say, fuck it, being invisible is better than working with Huntley.
But today me doesn't have much of a choice.
I'm about to fill a backpack with clothes when I hear the floor squeak behind me.
Standing in front of my window is Owen Huntley wearing a blank expression.
~~~~
Owen
As soon as Lainey shuts my door I feel guilt settle over me, neither of us said it out loud but we both know there's nothing I can do to help her. And as I pull out of her driveway I know she knows I'm not coming back.
It's better this way, I can't help her, even if I have too much going on in my life.
I'm on freaking spring break for the last time in my life. I should enjoy it instead of trying to help my sworn enemy.
But the farther I get from her house the sicker I begin to feel. It's not Lainey's fault this happened to her.
And I'm sure if it was up to her, she would have not chosen me to be the only person able to help her.
My car slows down as the light in front of me turns from yellow to red. I can't leave Lainey alone no matter how much I have going on, no matter how much I hate her.
Without thinking I pull forward and do a U-turn, the car behind me bows its horn, most likely because of the no U-turn sign beside me.
I reach her house in record time; hopefully, she'll be inside.
After I climb her tree using the well-worn footholds in the tree trunk from years of being climbed. I slip into her room through her window.
Lainey's room is nothing like I expected it to be, there are pictures and paintings everywhere.
It's a chaos of decorations everywhere, each wall has something on it. On top of the chaotic decorations, her room is very messy, with papers all over her desk, clothes thrown over the desk chair, stuffed animals shoved everywhere, and her closet is so full it won't shut.
Not what I thought at all, I figured her room was neat with white blank walls. Not the explosion of color and photos.
"What are you doing here?" Lainey asks, surprised.
I pull my eyes away from her clustered room. "I came back, I can't just abandon you no matter how bad I want to."
She rolls her eyes, then sighs, "I think I know what's wrong with me."
I fold my arms across my chest, "A what may that be, ghost."
Her eyes narrow ever so much; most likely at the ghost jab. "Do not laugh at me," She demands.
I raise an eyebrow and she counties, "On my birthday Maize had this stupid wish that I made when I was younger and I think it came true."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask with a smile dancing on my lips.
She folds her arms, "About five years ago the school had a fundraiser and there was a fortune teller."
"The fortune teller was granting wishes instead of telling children their futures, I guess." She looks down, avoiding my gaze. "I made this wish that she said would come turn when I turned eighteen."
"Which was?" I ask when she remains silent.
"I wished this guy I had a huge crush on at the time would finally notice me even if he was the only person that could," Lainey whispers.
"What does that have to with me?" I ask.
Lainey finally looks up at me, "The guy I had a crush on had the same name as you. He moved away about two years ago."
I scoff, "Lane, I think you're going crazy."
The nickname slips out so easily as if I've called her that my entire life. Either Lainey doesn't notice or she lets it slide.
Her eyes flare, "Do you want to talk about crazy? This whole situation is effed up." She shakes her head, "I think anything is possible at this point."
I let her words sink in, maybe there is a tiny possibility that the wish came true.
What am I thinking, there's no way that a damn wish is the root of this problem.
"I know you don't believe me," Lainey snaps.
"Well, I'm finding it quite hard to believe that a wish that you made when you were a child is the reason you are invisible to everyone but me."
She throws a shirt on her bed in a way that I think she thought would be aggressive, but it comes off more like something a child would do. "Listen to what you just said, it seems very coincidental."
I groan, "Whatever Lainey, believe whatever shit you want, but I came back because it wouldn't be fair to leave you alone."
Lainey's face softens for a second then she goes back to glaring at me, "Awe look at Owen Huntley being all sentimental."
It takes a lot of control to not throw the bag sitting on her bed at her face, "Keep on and I'll leave you all alone."
A small smile graces her lips as she tightens her bag, "So you're agreeing to help me."
I sigh, "I fucking guess so."
She gives me a smile that makes my blood burn, "Failed Wishes are not something you should mess around with," Lainey says with a snicker.
Lord kill me now. Why did I come back for her?
Why did I agree to help her?
Because you're a good person, a voice says in the back of my head.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't.
I hope y'all enjoy!