THE CELEBRATORY ATMOSPHERE has grown somber after what Willie revealed. I should have known that nothing good lasts forever, or even a few months.
"All these jolts that we're feeling is because Caleb put a stamp on us?" Luke asks to clarify.
"He's threatened by you!" Willie blurts. "He wants you under his control. You're the only ghosts that can be visible to lifers without his help. She managed to escape his grip, but then he found out that you're in a band together. It's also his way of controlling her."
They all stare at me.
"I'm confuzzled," is all I can say.
I like to use made up words. Sue me.
"Look, you're smart. You always have been good at piecing things together," Willie tells me, grabbing my upper arms. "Think!"
"You let him do this to us?" Alex butts in, pulling Willie away from me.
For some reason Luke and Reggie must be feeling protective of me because they flank me on both sides. I won't lie, I'm terrified. Not of Willie, but of what he has to say. I didn't realize that I was involved in all of this. I didn't realize that the boys were close to dying again.
My heart thumps in my chest.
"I can't stop him! He owns my soul!" Willie reveals. We take a step back in horror. "All right? He owns the soul of everyone at that club! He owns her soul. If he knew I was here talking to you he...he would destroy me."
"He owns my soul?" I gasp. "What do you mean?"
"You're a club member," Willie responds. "A Hollywood Club member."
I don't remember signing up. The fee is way to expensive.
"So if we don't join his club, the weird power outage thing happens until there's no power left at all?" Reggie asks, crossing his arms.
"Yes." Willie's eyes are concentrated on the floor.
"What exactly happens when the power goes out?" Reggie questions.
"That's...that's it," Willie says solemnly. "You're done."
"Uh-huh. And what exactly do you mean by 'we're done'?" Reggie continues in disbelief.
"You just...you don't exist anymore...not here, not anywhere," Willie says.
"What?" Alex asks.
"So we have no choice?" Luke asks simultaneously. I unconsciously slip my hand into his for comfort. "We have to say goodbye to Lila, Julie, give up everything that we've built together and work for Caleb's club? That's some club you guys got going on."
"But there is hope," Willie says, "that's why I'm here. Ade-Lila Mae, I know you've been thinking hard. You wanna know about your past?"
"Duh!" I exclaim. "You told me some weird magician dude owns my soul, of course I want to know!"
"What do you remember?" he asks urgently.
"I remember a tall, thin man approaching me at a graveyard," I say, "he wanted me to sing, but I said no. Someone I cared about died at a concert. I never wanted to sing again."
"But who?" Willie asks. "Do you remember details?"
"Not exactly," I confess, "but I think our names were Lila and Adelaide, in that order, yes?"
"Yes!" His hand pulls into his fist and he pumps it in the air. "I knew you wouldn't have forgotten everything."
"That's all I remember."
"But it's enough for you to believe what I'm about to tell you," Willie says.
"Which is what?" Luke butts in. My hand is still in his.
"Search up 'Lila and Adelaide,'" he commands.
I pull away from Luke. My fingers shake as I type the letters into the search engine. I mistype a couple of times. I have to sit down. Willie sits next to me on the couch and Luke sits on the other side.
I get a bunch of hits.
"That one," he points to an article titled, Musical Sisters Experience Great Tragedy: Lila Cooper Dies at Twenty.
"My real name is Lila Cooper?" I ask. "It that what you wanted to show me?"
The skater shakes his head. "Read."
I begin skimming the article.
Musical Sisters Experience Great Tragedy: Lila Cooper Dies at Twenty.
On May 23rd, 2000 singers Lila and Adelaide Cooper (shown above) were to perform their new album on tour for the first time. In a horrific turn of events, the stage lights collapsed on the sisters, killing the older girl. Seventeen-year-old Adelaide is recuperating in the hospital now. Staff are reluctant to reveal her conditions and when asked family members have given no information.
Sources suggest that their parents weren't keen on their passion for performing.
"They wanted Adelaide to finish high school," someone close to them who shall remain anonymous revealed. "And Lila was set for music school at Julliard. The Coopers wished that their daughters get an education before embarking on music tours."
The family has not given any response to confirm or deny that comment.
Fans are gathering to hold a vigil next Saturday. Join them at the place the accident happened to hold respect for the girl who has passed and send good thoughts and prayers towards the one in the hospital.
We vow to keep you as updated as possible.
Gone but not forgotten.
I inhale sharply. Luke and the others have read it over my shoulder.
"There's another one." Willie directs me to one of the articles in the suggested column. "You lived."
Adelaide Cooper on Survivor's Guilt
Although the teenager is reluctant to speak publicly, one our reporters was able to catch her for a short statement. Here's the script of their conversation.
Interviewer: Addie! I can call you that, right?
Adelaide: Yeah, whatever.
Interviewer: It's been four months since you recovered from the accident, but you've yet to release any new music. Would you like to explain?
Adelaide: No.
Interviewer: Well then humor me, please.
Adelaide: Fine. My sister died and I don't want the press all up in my business. You want a quote for your papers? Put this: I am never, ever singing again!
Interviewer: Folks you heard it here first, our beloved rising star is giving up on her dreams.
Adelaide: Shut the ---- up!*
Interviewer: She might not have been the best role model for your kids anyway.
*This line has been edited for younger viewers.
"I'm not Lila, am I?" I ask him. "I'm Adelaide, the younger sister. God, it seems so obvious now!"
"You couldn't have known," Luke comforts me. Then he turns on Willie. "This would have saved her so much time! Why didn't you tell her from the start when you realized that she is still alive?"
"I didn't realize that she had lost her memory entirely!" Willie defends. "I thought she picked Lila's name as an alias for an ode to her older sister. There was no way for me to be sure."
"I mentioned her to you," Alex says, "why didn't you do something about it then?"
"I was scared, okay? I'm scared now, but I'm here," Willie replies. "I'm doing the right thing."
Another article catches my eye. "What's this?"
Surviving Cooper Sister Disappears
Many remember the fatal event from May 23rd a year ago. Recently we've been informed that the former young star, Adelaide Cooper (pictured above) has run away from her home. As a legal adult, there is nothing that her parents can do to stop eighteen-year-old Addie from this decision, but the world is wondering "Where is Adelaide Cooper?"
"Why did she run? Was the pressure and survivor's guilt to much for her?" We would love to ask her.
So everyone, keep an eye out for our girl, Adelaide Cooper. If she is still performing, someone is bound to find her.
If you're reading this Addie, the world hasn't given up on you yet.
"You ran away from home just like me," Luke whispers softly. I can hear the clear empathy in his voice. It's another way we understand each other.
"She did," Willie confirms. "Caleb Covington promised her that she would be able to sing for an eternity with her sister. He told her that he has the power to let her see ghosts, touch them, feel them. She would have been able to hug Lila again, feel the love of her sister. He lied."
"So it was all for nothing?!" I yell.
"Not entirely," Willie says. "You met me and we became pretty close friends."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alex frown.
"You're like a sister to me and I don't want you to be hurt," Willie continues, "I thought you were gone forever."
"Let me get this straight: I never died, but Caleb owns my soul?" I ask.
"Lifer or ghost, no members are exempt," he responds. "But Caleb was saying that he lost his grip on you. You ran away last May on the anniversary of Lila's death. You had the jolts just like they did. I have no idea how, but you still exist."
"Maybe it's because I'm a lifer," I say. "They did say that I died, but the shocks brought me back to life."
"Your death could have severed your connection to Caleb," Reggie guesses. "That means there is a way for us to be freed!"
"But how?" Luke questions. "We already died once. We don't have another life to waste, no offense."
Alex elbows him.
"I don't know everything, but I do know this: you need to complete your unfinished business," Willie tells them. "If you do it in time you could cross over and be free from all this."
"Okay, so what's our unfinished business?" Luke asks.
"I don't know, but since you all died at the same time, it has to be something that you'd do together," Willie explains.
"Why should we believe a word you say?" Alex asks.
"Because I care about you, Alex," Willie confesses. "And I hate that I brought you, all of you into this. Addie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything before."
"Apology accepted," I say.
"I, uh, I can't be away much longer. I'm so sorry. For everything." Willie leaves.
"This is all my fault," Alex blames himself. "I...I met Willie, Willie introduced us to Caleb and now...now we're screwed."
"We all wanted to go see Caleb," Luke replies. "And you heard what he said, Caleb's after Lila - no - Adelaide anyway. We would have gotten involved."
"But maybe it wouldn't be this bad," Alex laments.
"We have to tell Julie," Reggie says.
"No, we can't do that," Luke says, "that just means more loss in her life. But if we don't want Caleb to own our souls, we have to figure out what our unfinished business is."
My stomach drops. "You-you're just going to leave us?"
"What choice do we have?" Luke asks. "We'd cease to exist."
"How are we supposed to figure it out? There was such much that we wanted to do," Alex adds. He pauses when he sees Luke's expression. "What is it?"
"There's one thing we wanted to do the night we died," Luke reminds them. "Play at the Orpheum."
"You're going to go through with it?" I question. "You're going to give up?"
"Lila, did you not listen to him? We don't have a choice! This is it! We do this or we die for good." Luke raises his voice at me.
I flinch.
"But I didn't go for good," I murmur helplessly.
"You got lucky, okay? We can't count on that," Luke says.
The serious expressions on the other two boys' faces confirm that they feel the same.
"I just...ugh!"
I storm out of the room, trying to keep in my emotions. Mr. Molina is in the den.
"Oh, Lila Mae! Daniel just pulled into the driveway," he tells me.
"Thank you." I grab my stuff as quickly as I can.
"Are you not going to say goodbye to Julie and Flynn? They're in her room," he says.
"I'm not feeling very well," I say truthfully.
"I'm sorry."
I barely spare him a glance as bile rises in my throat. I can't handle this. I can't handle any of this.
In the car I'm almost entirely silent, offering a few short responses to Mr. Williams' questions.
I'm only a few minutes away from an emotional breakdown at most.
This chapter was a little emotional. What do you think of everything? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Also, the girl in the photo with Sabrina is Ava Michelle Cota. She played her sister in Tall Girl, which is a Netflix movie I'd recommend.
xoxo,
Lynn