Echoes by Marissa Lete (best books for students to read txt) 📕

“And my wish came true because I didn’t tell you what it was. Point proven,” my echo says matter-of-factly.

“Actually, I would have kissed you whether you told me or not, so point not proven,” Maverick replies, and my stomach drops. Kissed?

“Whatever,” my echo huffs. There’s another pause and I feel like I’m eavesdropping on an intimate conversation that was only meant for the people involved. Like I’m hearing another person’s life unfold in front of me. Not mine.

“You don’t have to wait for another shooting star to get another kiss, you know,” Maverick finally says.

“I’m okay with that being a permanent rule.”

“Deal, but only if I’m permanently upgraded to a rank higher than strange man.”

“I guess I can do that,” my echo teases.

He laughs, and silence falls across the backyard. I’ve heard myself meeting, flirting with, and going on a date with this guy, and I still have no recollection of any of it. And now, I’d apparently kissed him, though I definitely don’t remember kissing anyone, ever.

This happened a year ago. An entire year, and I have no idea what happened after this. Did we keep dating? Did we break up? And where is he now?

These echoes are giving me a glimpse into the relationship that Maverick and I must have had, but there isn’t any useful information about who Maverick is or what happened to him. I’ve got two pieces of solid evidence that he actually exists—the vase and the nametag—but how can they mean anything when no one seems to remember anything about him?

Chapter 14

Two days later, it’s Halloween. It’s a day I’ve dreaded for a few years now, ever since I grew out of my trick-or-treating days. Now, all the day brings is a constant stream of doorbell ringing, both from the past and the present. It’s a day where sitting in the office can’t even bring me peace and quiet, and going out is even worse because everyone throws parties on Halloween.

“You’re not going to dress up?” Mom calls to me from the stairs just as I’m about to open the front door to leave for school.

“Not a chance!” I call back, waving. There’s a decent amount of my peers who do dress up for the holiday, but I’m not one of them. I imagine that if Grace and I weren’t on such bad terms, she’d have convinced me to dress up with her—but under the circumstances, that wasn’t going to happen this year. Even Leo has been avoiding me since the confrontation on Tuesday where he confessed his love for Grace. I’ve seen glimpses of him in the hallways, but he hasn’t shown up at the lunch table or in the parking lot since.

Though it sucks eating alone, I’ve been using the time to focus on my studies. I can’t afford to get another bad test grade, at least not without risking parental involvement, which I don’t ever want to have to go through. I’ve put my parents through enough stress throughout my life, and the last thing I want them to worry about is my grades.

So after school, I head straight home, hoping to use the few hours I have before the doorbell starts ringing nonstop as effective study time. And I do, for the first forty-five minutes or so, until I hear an echo of my front door opening. Footsteps walk into the kitchen, the sound of plastic bags along with them. I hear things being set down on the counter, then Dad’s voice. “Kara, honey, are you home?” he calls out.

“I’m coming,” Mom’s voice echoes from her office. Her footsteps enter the kitchen.

“I got the stuff you asked me to get from the store. What’s all this about? I thought we were just going to order pizza tonight?”

“We were, but we’ve had a slight change of plans,” Mom’s echo replies.

“What do you mean?”

“Laura texted me. She invited Maverick to come over tonight!” Mom sounds way too excited.

“Did she?” Dad replies.

“Yes, and I don’t want to scare him off. I’m going to make my famous meatballs.”

“You shouldn’t be worried about scaring him off, Kara. This is our chance to find out more about him. Intimidate him a little bit and see if he’s even a good fit for Laura,” Dad says. I almost laugh at the idea of my dad trying to intimidate a guy I brought over. If I’d ever actually brought a boy over, which I don’t remember doing.

“No, Jeff, we can’t scare him away,” Mom replies.

“Why not? If I don’t think he’s good for Laura, I have no problem telling him exactly that.”

“This is her chance, Jeff. The first boy she’s ever dated—even though she won’t call it that. If this goes well, she might gain some confidence and realize that she can live a normal life, just like the rest of us,” Mom tells him, concerned. I repeat the words back in my mind, closing my eyes. I know my parents always wished they’d had a normal kid, and I’ve felt so bad about it. They didn’t ask for this life, none of us did, but there’s nothing we could do about it.

“I get that, but if he’s not treating her right, then things could get even worse,” Dad points out.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about. You remember him, right? He helped you move all that furniture. He seems like a total sweetheart. And I’ve never seen Laura so happy before,” Mom replies, and I can hear the smile in her voice. I try to imagine feeling so happy, with no chaos or confusion surrounding me. But I can’t. Not while listening to an echo of something I don’t remember anything about.

“I know. But I still want to make sure his intentions are