Page 25 of Origins
My words trailed off, and he inclined his head—encouraging.
I sighed—not wanting to get into this. It wasn’t like I thought he wouldn’t believe me. It was the topic, itself, that made me uncomfortable.
Anyway, was really necessary for me to have to get into this much detail and reveal my deeply-seeded quirkiness with a man I barely knew? After all, he had enough problems just dealing with Finn…
“I don’t do anything to cause it to happen,” I said pensively. “But I had always been able to see shapes, figures, shadows… In most instances, they appeared like people. I could talk to them if I wanted. But I tried not to. Then some stuff happened—and it wasn’t the same after that. The hauntings only recently started up again when I took on this house-sitting job at Professor Hamway’s.”
“I’m not going to pressure you to talk about things that you don’t want to disclose.” Damen must have noticed my discomfort. He didn’t seem pleased, but didn’t press. Thankfully. “Seeing spirits and communicating with them is something else—a clairvoyant medium. Did you see something at Professor Hamway’s house?”
I nodded, overwhelmed. “I saw a little girl early this morning. But I couldn’t tell what she was wearing, or very much about her appearance. She didn’t talk to me. So I couldn’t pinpoint when she might have died…”
My thoughts trailed as I recalled something else. “I think there’s more than one, but I’m not entirely sure. It’s confusing, and I get a lot of conflicting information. It’s hard to think.”
Damen frowned as he wrote down something else. “We’ll figure it out. Sometimes mediums can only see certain types of spirits. Good call on trying to pinpoint the year of death. You were at the library trying to research the house?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “I wanted to search through old records. But I wasn’t sure how—”
My statement was cut off as the double doors slammed open.
Miles burst into the room. He was disheveled, and—without looking around—he began to pace in front of the fireplace, tugging at his scarf nervously. “Damen, this is a disaster! I haven’t been able to find—”
He stopped as quickly as he began when he spotted me, and I couldn’t help but hide behind my teacup under the weight of his sudden attention.
“You’re here!” he said excitedly. Before I knew what was happening, he was already sitting beside me on the couch, his arm flung over my shoulders. “Did you get my note? Did you get the flowers? Titus wanted to give you chocolates, but I didn’t think it’d be a good idea.”
The statement made me blush even more, and I was so flustered that I had to set my teacup down before I dropped it. “Thank you, I loved the flowers.”
“Good.” His face brightened. I could tell that, for some reason, me not running away made him happy. “In the language of flowers, hyacinths mean ‘I’m sorry’. I thought it was fitting—considering.”
I didn’t know how my face could grow any warmer. However, my sudden anxiousness melted away as, after a moment, I was lost in Miles’ chocolate brown eyes.
“I know,” I heard myself saying, “I’m a botany major.”
The second I said it, I felt like a terrible person. That sounded completely rude.
But Miles didn’t seem to think so. His gaze softened and his mouth lifted slightly. “So you like plants, too?”
“Too?” I repeated his statement. “Are you a science major?” I had never seen him around the department before, but the semester was still young.
“No, I’m in pre-law,” he said. “My focus is on environmental law, though—plants are a passion of mine.”
I didn’t know how it was possible for him to become even more attractive, but it had happened.
I wondered how he had become friends with Damen, especially since Damen must be older if there was a grade difference between them. Titus, too. Julian, I could somewhat see the connection. Psychology and medicine were similar fields of study. But outside of that, it seemed like they all had such different interests.
“So did you agree? What did Damen tell you?” Miles asked, glancing toward Damen. “Are we going to have a slumber party after all?”
“Slumber party?” I asked, confused.
I had never been to a slumber party with anyone besides Finn. And while those were good memories, I had a feeling that this would be quite different—considering the circumstances and all.
Besides, wasn’t it unprofessional for ghost hunters to refer to an investigation as a party? Not that I knew a lot about ghost hunters, but still.
I glanced at Damen, wondering what his reaction would be. He caught my confused look and smiled before he answered.
“Absolutely. That’s what friends do, after all.”
“We’re friends now?” Miles perked up, squeezing my shoulder. “Excellent! You did good, Damen.”
