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

I hear an echo of the doorbell ringing, and then my own voice saying, “I’ll get it.” A beat later, the doorbell rings today.

“I’ll get it,” I tell my parents, feeling a strange sense of deja vu. I grab one of the bags of candy from the counter and head to the door, hearing it open in the past just before I open it today. After I hand out the candy and close the door, Maverick’s echo appears next to me.

“So what do you say about that haunted house tonight?” he asks. I stop in my tracks, listening.

“I don’t know. I’m sad to admit, but I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat,” my echo admits. It’s a lie, of course, but an expected one. I had to find some excuse not to go to a loud place, I guess.

“That’s what I’m here for. I’ll save you from the monsters,” Maverick teases. My echo laughs.

“Yeah, but still…” I trail off.

“It’s not that scary, honest. And we can leave if you decide you don’t want to go in,” Maverick assures.

“I’m not sure…”

“Hey,” Maverick’s voice goes serious. “Do you trust me?”

I count one, two, then three seconds before I hear my reply. “Of course I do.”

“Then what do you have to worry about?”

“Okay fine. I’ll go with you. But no promises I’ll go inside,” my echo finally gives in.

“That’s fine with me,” Maverick replies, and our footsteps start back towards the kitchen.

Later that night, I hear the echo of me and Maverick leaving the house between doorbell rings. I feel strange, like I should be leaving, following the sound, taking part in the echo. But after what happened the last time I tried to follow myself on a date, I know that it’s not the best course of action. So instead, I stay inside, taking turns with my parents passing out candy to kids, wondering what the night was like for my past self one year ago. I don’t remember going out that night, but I do remember having Mom’s meatballs. When I try to remember how I spent the latter part of the evening, my memory comes up blank.

Toward the end of the night, I finally work up the courage to ask my Mom a question. “Do you know anyone named Maverick?”

Mom’s sitting on the couch across from me. She yawns, flipping through the channels on TV. “Not that I can think of, why?”

“I just… heard the name somewhere, is all,” I tell her, feeling disappointed. Mom not remembering Maverick isn’t helping my case.

Mom looks over at me, like she wants to ask more about it, but decides against it.

“What about that house across the street? To the right of Kate’s. Do you know who lived there before?” I press.

“To the best of my knowledge, it was foreclosed a while ago, years before we moved here,” Mom replies. “Why? Have you been… you know…?” Mom trails off. I can fill in the blanks for her: hearing things?

“It’s not important,” I reply, shaking my head. I get up from the couch.

“You know you can talk to me, if you need to,” Mom tells me as I’m walking away.

I turn to look at her for a second, a sad smile pulling at my lips. “Thanks, Mom,” I say, wishing that I could just talk to her, and come clean about everything I’ve heard lately. But I don’t, because I’m afraid of what might happen if I do. Will I finally be able to put the puzzle pieces together, or will I only end up with more questions?

Chapter 15

The next day at school, Leo appears at the lunch table, setting down his tray in front of me. I blink in surprise.

“Before you say anything, I already know I’m an idiot,” he says.

“Leo—” I start.

“Don’t even try to deny it. I was stupid to think…” he closes his eyes. Sighs.

“I had no idea,” I tell him.

“It doesn’t even matter anymore.” He shakes his head.

“You don’t know that,” I say. I think of all the times I’d heard Leo and Grace bickering about random things. How they frustrated each other but were always best friends at the end of the day. They’d be a good match.

“I do know that Grace is probably never going to speak to me again.”

“You and me both,” I reply. “I’m pretty sure I actually ruined her life.”

“For now. When things go south with Andy again, she’ll come around.”

“Is it bad for me to hope it will happen soon?” I ask.

“If it is bad, then I’m the worst.” He pauses, pushing a piece of salad around on the plate with his fork. “I just hope I didn’t screw everything up with her.”

“I doubt it. She’ll come around, like you said,” I tell him, hoping he’s right. She can’t just throw away an entire year of friendship like that. Right?

“Maybe to you. But I made things weird. I can’t ever take it back,” he replies. It dawns on me that he’s probably also wondering if she’ll ever want to be more than friends with him.

It’s an interesting thought, Grace and Leo dating. I’m not sure how that might change our friend group. Would it be more fun, or would I always feel like a third wheel?

The thought of dating leads me to Maverick. The boy that only seems to exist in the echoes of the past. And a name tag. And maybe a vase. But what other evidence do I have that he exists?

The lady at Coffee and Cream, perhaps. She had recognized me that day when I ran in there to escape the person chasing me. Either that, or she thought I was someone else. But the fact that she knew I’d ordered