The Vanishing Game (36 page)

“Someday I'm going to California,” Noah said. “I'll live on the beach and never shovel snow again. What about you, Jack?”

“China,” my brother answered without hesitation, holding up his newly purchased chopsticks. “I want to see the Great Wall and learn to speak Chinese.”

Both boys looked at me and I closed the most recent L. M. Montgomery book I'd been reading. I spread my hands across the cover and said, “Prince Edward Island.”

Noah laughed and shook his head. “You're going someplace because of a book?”

Despite his teasing words, I could tell he understood
.

“Can I come see you?” Noah asked. “I could be there by this evening.”

I scooped the puzzle pieces into my hand and made a fist. It was hard to believe he actually wanted to see me again. “Okay. Meet me by the Harbor Lighthouse at sunset. I'll be waiting on the trail.”

I disconnected before either of us could say anything else.

It was just before sunset when I reached the path leading down to the square-shaped lighthouse at the edge of the bay. The sun spread its golden tresses across the water, and the indigo sky was streaked with luminous clouds.

Rounding a bend in the path I came to a halt, my eyes on the distant silhouette of a guy backed by the light reflecting off the bay. He pushed away from the tree he was leaning against and I immediately recognized him by the way he moved. It was Noah.

He came closer. The setting sun embossed one side of his face and head with bronze but left the other half in shadow. We met midway on the trail, and I looked into those warm brown eyes I'd missed so much. Noah started to reach for me but stopped himself. Instead, he slid the fingers of one hand into the pocket of his jeans.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“A while, yes.”

I wanted to apologize, but instead I asked, “How have you been, Noah?”

There was more awkward politeness as I studied every cherished feature of his face.

“I've moved into another place. It's a small apartment.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

He shrugged. “You're right. The truth is I've been miserable without you. Will you come back to Watertown with me?”

I looked away, gazing at the harbor that shimmered like silk in the growing twilight. He stepped closer and I felt his hands on my waist, his breath against my temple. “If you don't want to be in New York, I understand. We can go anywhere you want, even California. Or we can stay here for a while. The thing is, I can be a programmer from anyplace.”

A breeze wafted across the harbor, ruffling the water. “What do you say?”

I couldn't answer.

He reached up, gently brushing back the strands of hair that had blown across my cheek. His voice was tender when he spoke. “What's wrong, Jocey?”

“Why do you want to be with me, Noah? I'm crazy.”

“Aren't we all?”

“I'm dangerous.”

“Not to me.”

“I'm a nutcase.”

Noah pulled me to him. He kissed me long and slowly and so tenderly that all my anxious fears began to drift away. Then he moved back just enough to ask, “Do you love me?”

“You know I do.”

“That's all I need to hear.”

He kissed me again, and afterward his arms encircled me and held me close. My hand was on his chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath my fingers, and I breathed in the scent of him. We stood that way for a long time until I grew relaxed within his embrace. Noah finally let go and stepped back. He looked at me with those amazing eyes of his.

“You'll be with me, Jocey, won't you?”

I nodded.

“Let's go, then.”

Noah held out his hand and I took it, letting his fingers slide between mine. He led me away from the lighthouse and back along the path, guiding me home.

Somewhere, I knew Jack was smiling.

From raw manuscript to finished novel, there are many people who influenced this book and deserve my deepest thanks.

Rachel: my daughter, friend, and the best writing confidant I could ever have brainstorming sessions with. Deserét and Pamela: how fortunate am I to have two friends with super proofreading skills, insight, and honesty? Jessica Regel, the perfect agent for this work because you not only believed it had potential but—equally important—recognized the changes it needed. And, of course, Margaret Miller, my savvy editor, for being outside the box enough to accept this book and then help reshape it throughout this entire exciting process. Also thank you to Caroline Abbey, Danielle Delaney, Regina Roff, Alexei Esikoff, and everyone else at Bloomsbury.

Two other people hugely influenced my life, and therefore my writing. My sister Linda: you rode the freakish roller coaster of childhood with me but didn't let go of my hand. And, most of all, to Kelly: the man who—when I finally stepped off that ride—was standing there waiting for me. I'm here because of you.

Copyright © 2012 by Kate Kae Myers
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in the United States of America in February 2012
by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers
www.bloomsburyteens.com

Electronic edition published in 2012

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Myers, Kate Kae.

The vanishing game / by Kate Kae Myers. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Jocelyn follows clues apparently from her dead twin, Jack, in and around Seale House, the terrifying foster home where they once lived, and with help from childhood friend Noah she begins to uncover the truth about Jack's death and the company that employed him and Noah.
ISBN 978 1 59990 748 2 (ebook)
[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.
3. Twins—Fiction. 4. Foster home care—Fiction. 5. Death—Fiction.
6. Mental illness—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.M9872Van 2012 [Fic]—dc23 2011017508