Page 31 of Ghost
It was a natural progression. If I did this right, she and I could become bosom-buddies. Just like inAnne of Green Gables.
We’d go shopping together. Gossip. Watch movies. Already, she offered to teach me the art of drinking on my twenty-first birthday—the reason why we were here at a cafe instead of a bar.
What else could she teach me?
“You’re a strange girl,” Maria interrupted my musings. “Are you aware that you’ve been staring at me—unblinking—for five minutes? Are you traumatized? I thought the food might help. Or…” She paused, and concern flickered in her eyes. “You’d let me know if Damen did something weird? He’s clueless, in a particular sort of way. But he does know better.”
“No!” I pressed my hands to my cheeks, unable to imagine the expressions that must have shown on my face. I was totally failing at girl-bonding. It was the environment. I thought a cafe would be better than a bar. But what if we were supposed to go to a spa instead?
I had to make this better.
“No trauma here, I’ve been through worse.” I brushed aside her concern, needing to think of a topic thatnormalgirls would talk about. She was close to Titus. We could talk about him, that was safe. “Titus is rather large, is that normal?”
Maria, who had been serenely sipping her drink, froze suddenly. Her face turned red, and an instant later her mug fell onto the floor as she began to cough uncontrollably.
“Maria!” I jumped to my feet, rushing to the other side of the table. Horror raced through me. Titus’ assistant—and my future bosom-buddy—was going to die and it would be my fault. That horror spurred me forward, and I began to pound on her back. “I’m so sorry!”
I couldn’t believe such a stupid question left my mouth. Perhaps it was a sensitive topic. I was completely clueless about these things.
After a moment, the small crowd that had gathered around us dispersed as it became apparent Maria would be alright. Even so, it still took a few more moments of back-patting before Maria breathed normally once again.
I wasn’t sure what to say—her near-death experience was clearly distressing. She blamed me. That much was obvious at the wide-eyed stare she levelled in my direction as I returned to my seat.
I had ruined everything. I wanted to cry, but I could wallow later. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, toying with the fabric of my sleeve. I sucked at talking. “I didn’t realize the thing with Titus was a secret. I enjoy science. I thought that gigantism might run in his family or something.”
The shocked look fled from her expression in a blink. Instead, her face filled with something unreadable. “You were referring to his height?”
“Yes…” I answered, confused as to what else there would be. “I thought it might be rude to ask him personally. I figured that you might know.”
Maria hummed, beginning to respond. But our waiter arrived to replace her tea. After a short lull in our conversation, and her hands were busy tracing the rim of her mug, she began to speak. “He isn’tthattall. Six-five is on the shorter end for his line, actually. But he does work out obsessively. So that could make him appear larger.”
In what world was six-five not that tall? I couldn’t even imagine. But feeling empowered by her response, I continued, “What line? The giant line?”
“You’re interesting.” Maria smiled at me. “But no, Titus and the boys are average heights for us. You’re just short. I like you. We’re going to be good friends.”
I clapped my hands, which was probably pathetic, but there was no way to contain my glee. I had successfully landed my very first female friend.
New friends. New life. Once this ghost was gone from Professor Hamway’s house, the world was mine. Who knew dumping Finn would have so many benefits?
“So, on a more serious note.” Maria levelled a serious look at me. I found myself holding my breath in anticipation. “What are your thoughts on the WWE?”
Maria dropped me off at Professor Hamway’s home, stating Titus needed her assistance. Fortunately, I hadn’t even gotten to the edge of the driveway before Miles greeted me.
“Bonsoir, ma petite douceur. I’m afraid it’s only you and me for a bit. You’ll have to protect me.” Miles stepped off the patio.
“Protect you from what?” I wondered why he hadn’t waited inside. For the purposes of our investigation, the boys had made spares of the key to the house. But then again, I had made a rule no one was to be inside the house alone. It surprised me slightly that they were listening. If he was out here, that probably meant that—
“Where’s Julian?” I asked, searching Miles’ face. He wasn’t himself, and it made me wonder if he might be angry at me as well.
“He has a prior engagement,” Miles responded, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “So for dinner, we’ll have our own plans. We’ll be all alone.”
He seemed really happy about this. But I wasn’t as much. He was forgetting something very important.
“Don’t forget about the spirits with questionable motives,” I reminded him. “We only have four days left. Nothing has happened the last two nights. What if we can’t figure out things before Professor Hamway returns?”
I glanced toward the front door. Every passing moment, my feelings became more jumbled. A sweat seemed to wash over me, and conflicting feelings of determination and sadness touched my senses.
I’d never felt like this before. I wondered if there was something wrong with me. There was a possibility I might be becoming ill—which was terrible timing. But there was something else that could be the cause for these feelings as well.
