Vision of Secrets Read Online Free Page A

get to the mall,” I said. “I got off
at the wrong stop.”
    “Not by much,” he said. “You can cut through
the cemetery and get there.”
    I nodded and looked at the grave. “Your
mom?”
    He nodded just as there was a load clap of
thunder.
    “Listen,” I said. “Could you show me the way? I
don’t want to get lost. It’s important. Besides, it’s raining.
You’re not going to stay out here.”
    Brady looked like that’s exactly what he
planned, but he decided against it. “Sure,” he said.
“C’mon.”
    I followed Brady through the grounds of the
cemetery until we came out on the other side. The mall was down one
more block and across the street.
    “Come with me,” I said. “Stay out of the rain.
I’ll buy you dinner to say thanks.”
    Reluctantly, Brady agreed. We headed in and
went to the food court. We both just decided on a slice of pizza
and sat down with each other.
    “Did I know your mom?” I asked.
    Brady shrugged. “Maybe. She worked at the
school.”
    I looked over and saw his mom watching
us.
    “So look,” I said. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,
but I heard you say something at your mom’s grave. What did you
mean?”
    Brady didn’t answer. He just stared at his
pizza.
    “It can help to talk you know,” I
said.
    That earned me a very sad smile. “You sound
like my mom,” Brady said. “She was a counselor for the high
school.”
    “Well then,” I said. “She’d want you to
talk.”
    Brady laughed. “You really are like her. She
could usually tell when someone was upset just by looking at them.”
He hesitated a little more, but he finally started to talk. “It’s
stupid,” Brady said. “My mom was killed in a car accident a couple
of years ago. We were in the car together. On our way here, in
fact.”
    “Oh I’m sorry,” I said.
    “It’s okay,” Brady said. “The thing is, I was
complaining about the fact that she had taken away my video games
because my grades had dropped. I was really upset and riding her.
If I hadn’t….” He stopped talking.
    “What happened?”
    Brady sighed. “A car came out of nowhere and
hit us. I was in the back, on the opposite side. Mom was killed
instantly. It was the other guy’s fault. He was drunk, but if Mom
hadn’t been listening to me bug her about some stupid video
game—”
    “Brady,” I said. I put my hand on his and got a
flash that put everything together for me. “You can’t think like
that. It wasn’t your fault. Your mom wouldn’t want you to blame
yourself.”
    “I know,” Brady said. “You want to hear
something really screwed up? I’m always showing up here to ask for
her forgiveness. I don’t even play those stupid video games. I
don’t hang out with friends. I don’t ask girls out on dates. I just
wait for some sign that she’s forgiven me. I keep going to that
grave hoping she’ll find some way of giving me a sign. Funny, huh.
Like she can hear me or find a way to let me know.”
    “I don’t think so,” I told him. “I don’t think
you need to be by her grave. I don’t think those who pass hang out
there. Why would they? It’s boring. If you want to talk to her, do
so someplace that she loved to be. If anything, they’re tied to
people, not places. She’s probably with you more than you
know.”
    Brady smiled. “That would make sense, but can’t
she send me a sign?”
    “Maybe she did,” I said. “Maybe I’m
it?”
    Brady laughed. “Yeah, okay. You were just lost
in the rain.”
    “True,” I said. “I was. Lost while on my way to
the mall. And I got out right near where you were. I’m telling you.
You’re mom wanted me to find you and bring you here.”
    “Yeah right,” Brady said. “You’re just screwing
with me.”
    “No,” I said and took his hand again. “I’m
really not. And I think it’s perfect because you can help
me.”
    “Really?” he said. “With what?”
    “Her,” I said. I pointed to Jen Murphy. I
quickly explained what I knew, leaving out the