The Boy Who Knew Too Much

Peyton

"So you got something you want to tell me?"

Peyton glanced up at her mom who'd sat in the hospital bed and had an all-familiar frown on her face. They were in her mom's recovery room at the Cybernetic Wing. It was the latest addition to the hospital. And the room wasn't too bad, either. It was private and colorful thanks to all the get-well flowers everyone brought her.

She bit her lip, decoding what her mom meant. The last few days were pretty rough. But Peyton couldn't tell her mom that. Not when she should focus on her recovery, and things were returning to normal. With her mom awake, the family had calmed, and everyone had stopped questioning them. That left one last thing still on Peyton's plate.

Peyton shrugged. "No. Everything's fine."

"So you two haven't been bothering the staff about the boy?" Her mom insisted. Her frown deepened.

A familiar voice mumbled, "Uh-oh."

Peyton turned to look at her cousin. Anna wore a cute white top and a blue plaid skirt with matching sneakers. Her long auburn hair fell past her slim shoulders. Her brown eyes studied Peyton behind her glasses. And she had her infamous I-told-you-so look on her face. Peyton groaned. She hated that look.

But Anna was right. She told Peyton someone would report them. But who? A nurse, a doctor, or maybe it was a noisy janitor. It didn't matter. Her mom knew or at least assumed. Peyton had to tell the truth. She sighed. "Yes, that was us. We just want to see him. Make sure he's okay." And get some answers.

"Girls. I understand you're worried about him," her mom said in a softened tone. A frown vanished from her face. "But you've let the doctors do their job. Now I'm sure the boy is doing fine, okay?"

Anna nodded, while Peyton folded her arms. Every nurse they talked to said the same thing. The boy was fine. His condition had improved. But when she asked to see him, they told her he couldn't have visitors. It was very confusing. Something was going on. Peyton could feel it. She wanted to ask her mom and was most likely in the loop, but knew she would not tell. This was police business now.

Her mom growled. "Peyton! Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I'll leave them alone," Peyton nodded. Her commlink buzzed—it was Lily, her best friend. She opened the message: Hey, great news. I found some info on your boy. Peyton fought back a smirk, ignoring your boy's comment. "Look. We better get going. Don't want to use all your visitor time before Dad gets to see you." She leaned over and kissed her mom's forehead. "See you later, Mom."

Peyton waited for Anna to say her goodbyes. Then they left the room together and walked down a white-painted maze of corridors. They zigzagged around doctors, nurses, and visitors. There were even some patients walking around with their implants out. Under different circumstances, she would love the view but had more important things to do. She opened the chat and texted: What do you get?

Not much. The guy's a ghost. The only thing we know is his name, Jaden. Lily texted after a few minutes.

Well, it was more than what Peyton found all week. When she and Anna weren't chatting with the nurses, they were searching the net for any scraps of info on Jaden. Peyton hoped he was a former classmate or a friend of a friend. Anything that would have connected them. Instead, they found nothing. Jaden wasn't on any social media sites and no one knew him, not even Lily, until now.

But the question remained. How did a ghost know her name? Peyton kept thinking about it as she followed Anna through a pair of double doors. They entered the waiting lobby. A small room with a coffee table and some seats. A digital screen was embedded in the wall. It played a lame talk show. Peyton ignored it, walking to the corner of the room. There her dad sat with his tablet. He was doing some last-minute work or reading a good book. As he didn't notice them walking over.