Page 35 of Origins
I mumbled—again—that it was alright and also took a seat, watching him awkwardly. This wasn’t my home—I couldn’t raid the wine cellar and play hostess. Besides, I had no idea how old Julian was, so there was that aspect of things. There was no food—he was supposed to have brought that with him. But he did look tired, so it was likely that he had forgotten.
Should I offer coffee, or just conversation? I had no idea how to socialize.
Then, something he had just said struck me. “Job?” I asked. “You work and also go to medical school?”
“Something like that.” Julian yawned again. At this rate there was no way he’d be able to fully participate in our all-nighter.
“What do you do?” I was curious—and also mesmerized by the graceful length of his legs as he crossed his ankles while I spoke. “Leg modeling?”
Julian, who had been moving to lean back into the couch, stumbled sideways in his seat.
Meanwhile, I was mortified at my word vomit and covered my face with my hands. “Oh my goodness.” I couldn’t look at him. “I just thought that your legs are really nice and…”
What was I saying? Men didn’t like being complimented on their appearance—especially, theirlegs. This was mortifying.
“I was just curious about your job,” I finished lamely.
Julian chuckled, and I lowered my hands and watched as he regained his composure. He was sitting up now, and had his elbows braced on his knees as he watched me. “You like my legs?”
‘No,’ I groaned. I could never take that statement back. “Could we pretend that I never said anything? You should rest,” I tried to change the subject. “Are you tired? You might want to take a nap, since you’re here early.”
He paused, looking at the couch longingly. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “It would be rude to—”
“No,” I protested, thankful for this subject change. “It’s alright. That gives me time to finalize things around here before the others arrive. And you do look tired.”
Julian studied the couch for another moment before he shot me a thankful look. “If it’s not a bother to you. I shouldn’t really sleep—I should be helping you.”
“You’ll be more helpful if you aren’t falling asleep where you sit.” I pointed out, walking toward the linen closet to pick out a throw. “I’ll have a pot of coffee ready when you wake up.”
He smiled thankfully and accepted one of the fuzzy blankets that I offered him. “Just for an hour, then wake me up.”
I didn’t intend on waking him up at all, but agreed anyway.
I couldn’t take a bath with Julian in the house—what if he woke up and needed me? I couldn’t fail in my duty as hostess. So, I spent the next half an hour lounging in the kitchen, both trying to kill time and to figure out dinner. I couldn’t blame Julian for forgetting to get something, since he clearly had a full schedule and was now being roped into helping me with my ghost problem.
At the same time, I felt strange. Finn never would have done something like this for me. Yet, now I had these new friends who were treating me as if they’d known me for years. Was this what friendship was supposed to be like?
The only thing that I knew for certain was that I had to make this the best slumber party/ghost hunting experience they have ever had. And one requirement to get this accomplished was pure unadulterated caffeine.
I finished prepping the coffee maker, excitement outweighing nervousness. It had been a long time since Finn and I had our last sleepover...
And once again, my thoughts drifted back to Finn. It was inevitable, considering that I had known him for over half my life.
Everything about this day felt so surreal. Damen had asked me to be his friend, I had gone out to lunch in a fancy public place…and Titus. There was too much going on, and I was way too mentally exhausted to think about everything that had happened today with Finn.
I had both of my cell phones out beside each other, and it was hard to miss them—in plain view on the counter. Throughout the afternoon, they had been a constant reminder of a problem that I needed to address. But now there was nothing distracting me—not even the need to take care of things around the house.
It was hard not to compare the two devices. Not only in appearance, but also in symbolism.
Titus had taken the time to pick out something that he thought I’d like. That action spoke volumes—even he was trying to be a better friend than Finn had ever been. And it was ironic that Titus had been right on the mark. Plus, the fact that he also enjoyed cute things only made him seem more human, and less scary.
My eyes drifted towards the phone that Finn had given me. It was still off—I had tried not to touch it much. But I couldn’t avoid it forever.
I sighed, pulling it to me. It was past the time that my mother would have messaged me, and I would need to respond. Other than that, I would either have many messages from Finn—or complete silence.
I didn’t know which would be worse.
The phone had barely started up before two alerts chimed from the device. Two new messages.
