Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (14 page)

All eyes focused on Zach as he tried to listen to what Cody had to say.
 
He wasn’t used to letting him talk.
 
“Uh, he says he’s really happy to meet you guys, and he’s really grateful you found us, and he’s glad I finally have a girlfriend.”
 
Zach blushed at the last sentence and so did Paige.

“What do you like to do, Cody?” Rider questioned.

A quizzical look came over Zach’s face.
 
“He says he would like to race cars and go bungee-jumping.
 
I guess he’s into extreme sports.
 
Too bad it’s my body he’d be risking!”
 
Everyone chuckled and the mood lifted a little.
 
“He wants to know what it was like to get your own body, Rider.”

Rider contemplated his answer for a moment before speaking, ever-thoughtful of others’ feelings.
 
“It was…interesting.
 
Weird at first, since I didn’t have any memories, and still kind of weird trying to fit into someone else’s life.
 
It’s hard being away from Rachel so much.
 
I hate that I can’t hear what she’s thinking anymore.
 
It’s nice to have more freedom to do what I want, though.”

Freedom was exactly what Cody longed for, but Zach didn’t vocalize that wish.
 
He was excited to learn he wasn’t the only one in this situation, but meeting Rider had definitely stirred up some powerful feelings of jealousy in Cody.

“Zach, what do you think caused us to be like this?” Rider asked seriously, changing the subject.

“I don’t know, man.
 
Twins are big in my family, so that explanation made the most sense till I learned about you.
 
What do you think?”

“I think I want to talk to Jessica Reynolds again.
 
She’s the common thread between us.
 
She’s got to be the key,” Rider decided.

“How do you plan to go about that, dude?
 
You already talked to her once and she didn’t spill anything.”

“No, but how many random strangers did you tell your incredible secret to?
 
We have to convince her that her secret will be safe with us if she’s ever going to talk.”

“Uh, good luck with that.
 
She doesn’t even know you; how are you going to convince her to trust you?” Zach replied dubiously.

“I’m not going to, you are,” Rider announced.

“Say what?”
 
Zach blinked.

“Think about it.
 
I already showed up asking weird questions, so she probably wouldn’t even open the door to me again, but she’s never met you!
 
All you have to do is get her to talk to you for a few minutes.
 
You tell her our story and ask her what she knows!”

“You gotta be crazy, dude.
 
I can’t just go up to some strange woman and ask her….what?
 
About abortions she had 17 years ago?!”
 
Zach shook his head emphatically.
 
“Not a chance.”

“Come on, Zach!
 
It’s the only way!
 
How else are we ever going to get any answers?
 
Besides, you owe us one after what happened at the prom.”
 
Rider didn’t enjoy guilt-tripping people, but he sensed it was the only way he was going to persuade Zach to do what he wanted.
 
He turned his eyes towards Paige in hopes that she would help him.

Taking the clue, Paige responded in her most persuasive girlfriend voice, “Come on, Zach.
 
If you can beat up two guys at prom you can definitely ask a stranger a few weird questions!
 
Please?
 
It would really mean a lot to me, too.”
 
She batted her lashes and pouted her lips while rubbing her hands up and down his arms.

“Why does it matter to you?” Zach asked, but his will faltered as he looked into her pleading eyes.

“Rachel and Rider are my best friends!
 
Of course it matters to me.
 
Anything that’s important to one of them is important to me!” Paige explained, her insinuation that he should feel the same way about her was unspoken but still glaringly obvious.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but okay, I’ll try.
 
But you can’t blame me if she doesn’t talk to me!”
 
Zach exclaimed in exasperation.

“You’re gonna do great, I just know it!” Rider announced.
 
“Besides, we’ll just be a phone call away, around the corner or something, so we can come right over if you need us.”

“We will?”
 
Rachel questioned, giving Rider a curious look.
 
“When exactly is this going to happen?
 
We live four hours away, Rider.”

“Uh, do you think your mom will mind if we take another road trip next weekend?”
 
Rider asked, wiggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly.

The four teens chatted for a few more minutes, devising plans for the weekend, before Rachel begged off, claiming a ton of homework to finish before it was time to watch The Batchelor.
 
Once they hung up though, it was almost impossible for Rider to focus on schoolwork.

“I can’t believe this is happening!” He exclaimed, taking Rachel in his arms and swinging her around in excitement.
 
“Can you believe I have a…brother!
 
I wonder what it would have been like if we had both been born and grew up together?
 
How amazing would that have been?!
 
I mean, of course it was amazing growing up with you,” Rider backpedaled, seeing the hurt look on Rachel’s face.
 
“I just meant, it’s weird to think there’s this whole other life I could’ve lived if things had happened differently.”

Rachel tried to be happy for him, but inside she was feeling a little jealous that his attention was diverted somewhere else besides her.
 
She started to empathize with the way Rider acted when she was going out with Jason.
 
She hoped for his sake that he found the answers he was looking for, but what if it changed their lives completely?
 
She wasn’t ready for that.

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Cody’s mind was spinning as Zach slept that night, weary from all the excitement.
 
How much things had changed in just a few short days!
 
From having his existence completely denied to finding out not only was he not alone but someone just like him was now free to live his own life — Cody was overwhelmed with the implications.
 
He was thrilled, of course, that Zach was finally accepting him and ecstatic about the new friendships he had made.
 
Rider was awesome, Rachel was cool too, and Paige — well, it was better not to think too much about how he felt about Paige.
 
Was it wrong to fall for a girl that was already taken, if she was taken by the guy you shared a body with?
 
Cody had no idea how to deal with that conundrum.

He imagined tracing the line of her hips with his hands and burying his face in the curve of her neck.
 
He fantasized about a few other scenarios as well and he hoped Zach would help him live out those fantasies someday.
 
He was glad at least that Zach had the guts to talk to Paige again after what happened at the prom, but he was kicking himself for his own stupidity.
 
Zach was suspended from school because of what he’d done, so now they had less opportunity to see Paige.
 
At least Paige had agreed to let Zach visit after school again tomorrow.

After a few more fantasies about Paige, Cody’s thoughts eventually drifted back to Rider and his amazing story.
 
He knew Rider never intended to leave Rachel’s body, but what if he had wanted to?
 
Would it be possible for him to jump voluntarily if there was another body available for him to inhabit?
 
As much as Cody had hated his relationship with Zach, he never imagined it would be possible to leave Zach’s body for another.
 
Things were looking up now, so maybe sharing a body with Zach wouldn’t be so bad anymore, but what if he could find someone like Cameron — a body without a soul?
 
Maybe he could have his own life, too!
 
When the morning dawned, Cody was still dreaming of the life he would live if he were in control of his own destiny.

chapter ten

The Paige who woke up for school on Tuesday was a completely different person than the one who had sulked all the way through Monday.
 
Normally quiet and grouchy in the morning, today she cranked the music on her phone to the highest level and sang her heart out with Meghan Trainor, giving advice to her future husband, but occasionally changing the line from “dear future husband” to “dear Zach and Cody.”
 
She thought for more than the usual three seconds about what to wear and took extra care twisting her crazy hair into some semblance of decency, held in place by every bobby pin she could find in the pile of hair accessories on her dresser.
 
Looking around her disaster of a room, she wished she had time to give it a good cleaning before Zach came over that afternoon, but she figured since he had already seen it at its worst there was no point in trying to hide her slovenly ways now.

When she got to school, she smiled happily as she walked the halls with her head held high and waved at every person who made eye contact with her.
 
In each class, she did the homework from the previous period so she wouldn’t have anything to keep her from spending all evening with Zach.
 
At lunch, she found a quiet spot in the sunshine behind the school where she could stretch out in the grass and drop bites of fruit and sandwich into her mouth while talking to Zach on the phone.

“Hi!” Zach said with surprise as he answered Paige’s call.

“I wanted to eat lunch with you, but you’re not here, so I thought I would give you a call instead,” Paige explained nervously, suddenly worried she was coming on too strong.

“That’s awesome,” Zach responded, stretching out on his bed.
 
“I’m glad you did.
 
I was just thinking about you.
 
How’s school?”

“Oh, you know, school sucks.
 
But it’s a whole lot better today than it was yesterday.
 
Vince and Mason came back today.
 
Their heads look like grapes they’re so swollen and purple,” Paige tittered.
 
“What have you been up to?”

“My parents loaded me down with a bunch of chores as punishment for getting suspended, so I’ve been working most of the day.”

“Don’t tell me you can’t come over tonight!” Paige cried, sitting up so fast her water bottle fell off her lap and rolled down the hill.

“No, no.
 
I can.
 
I think my folks are actually kind of proud of me for sticking up for you, but they felt like they had to discipline me for fighting — hence the chores.
 
But they didn’t mind when I asked if I could go see you.”

“Good.
 
I was looking forward to being with you again,” Paige admitted demurely.
 
“How’s Cody today?”

“Huh?
 
Oh yeah, um, he’s good, I guess,” Zach hedged.
 
He wasn’t used to checking in with Cody and he definitely wasn’t used to anybody asking about him.

“Zach,” Paige admonished, “I know you’re not used to talking to Cody, but you have to change that.
 
He’s a person and he needs someone to talk to!”

Cody was used to being ignored, so he wasn’t too upset that Zach hadn’t spoken much to him today, but it was pretty cool to have Paige stick up for him.
 
“Uh, Cody says thanks for having his back,” Zach offered lamely.

“CODY,” Paige purposely addressed Zach’s companion, “what would you like to do tonight?
 
I’m up for anything.”

“What?!” Zach hollered.
 
“No way!
 
I’m not suggesting that!”

“What does he want to do, Zach?
 
Come on, I want to know!” Paige demanded.

Zach signed exaggeratedly before explaining, the disgust evident in his voice, “He wants to go….roller skating.”

Paige laughed and threw herself back down on the grass.
 
“That’s awesome, Cody.
 
I love roller skating.
 
You’re on.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Zach begged.

“No, why not go skating?
 
It’s fun and I haven’t been since I was a kid.”

“Exactly.
 
We’ll look like morons out there with a bunch of five year olds!”
 

“What?
 
Are you worried about impressing them?
 
I don’t think five year olds care about your reputation, and nobody else will be there to see,” Paige retorted.

Zach sighed again before conceding.
 
“All right.
 
If you really want to I guess we can go.”