Page 7 of Ghost
No matter how scared I was at the thought of not having anyone, this was worse. I didn’t think I could stand being taken advantage of… again.
“I’m sorry.” Damen let out a low sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. After a brief pause, he opened his eyes again, meeting my own. “It’s not a lie, but what I said wasn’t the truth either. You’re right. That wasn’t a good move toward building a solid foundation for our friendship.”
Bryce looked between us, disbelief etched on his face. “Hold on a minute,” he interrupted. “Damen, what you are thinking? You’re actually going to be friends with her? How can you—”
I had sucked in a breath as his words rang through the air, and he stopped immediately. A second later, his eyes widened—as if he just realized the implications of his statement. But it was too late for him to take back his cruel words.
Meanwhile, Damen levelled a fierce glare in Bryce’s direction—daring him to say another word. But there was something else in his expression—what Bryce said was true. For some reason, he wasn’t supposed to be friends with me. Or at least, if he was, it was definitely out of the norm.
The world swayed around me as Damen met my eyes. Had I been inconveniencing him all this time? Perhaps the four of them would get into trouble for being with me?
Would it be easier for them tonotbe my friend? “Am I bothering you?”
“No!” Damen’s eyes flared. He shot to his feet and caged me into the chair before I could even move to leave. “You aren’t a bother at all. I meant it when I said that we wanted to be friends with you. Ignore Captain Oblivious over there. You belong with us.”
I bit my lip, glancing under Damen’s arm toward Bryce’s shocked expression. “But… he said—”
“He’s just an idiot, and he doesn’t think before he speaks. He’s always been that way.” Damen released the chair and half-turned toward Bryce. “Right,idiot?”
“Don’t call me an idiot.” Bryce pursed his lips—the surprise wiped from his expression—as he sat back in his seat. “I only stated that it was strange. It’s my responsibility to look out for her. As for your lot, I couldn’t care less what you get up to.”
“Well, it’s not your job to look out for her,” Damen retorted, straightening as he pointed at Bryce accusingly. “She’s a grown woman. She can take care of herself. And she certainly doesn’t needyourhelp.”
“Oh, she is, is she? I never would have guessed.” Bryce covered his mouth in a display of mock surprise. “I suppose that’s why you rushed in here like the world was ending. Even going so far as to send in your minion ahead of time. It is all because she can take care of herself?”
Damen flushed, lowering his arm and clenching his fist at his side. “There’s a reason for that! It’s because…” he paused, glancing sideways at me.
Meanwhile, I was back to looking between them, confused. I couldn’t figure out if they were bantering as friends. Or if Bryce was also Damen’s arch-nemesis like he was mine.
“Because ofwhat, Abernathy?” Bryce waved his hand in the air impatiently. “What in the world had you rushing here in such a dramatic fashion? I’ve known you my whole life, and I’ve never seen you act like that before. You looked ridiculous.”
“Shut up!” Damen ran his hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter, everything is alright. It was just a misunderstanding.”
Bryce smirked, opening his mouth to speak. But Damen beat him to it. “As for original question. Finn lost control last night, and Bianca was hurt. I removed the signature of the curse before it spread too far. But you need to check in with the others and follow up with him. When is the last time you all met?”
The question wiped Bryce’s smile right off his face, and it was replaced with a look of chagrin. Even so, Bryce contemplated the question for a moment before responding. “Not since last Christmas. There was nothing out of the ordinary then, but we aren’t particularly close.”
Last Christmas?
I had been told Christmas was the one time of the year when Finn saw his father. Every year, Finn claimed he was indisposed the entire month because he had family business to finish.
Did that include Damen as well? And why would Bryce be involved?
The conversation continued in a whirlwind before I had a chance to interject.
“You said something was weighing Bianca down. What is it?” Damen asked, his hand grasping mine. “I don’tseethe same way that you do. Was there something I missed—something that Finn could have done?”
Bryce didn’t answer Damen, but turned to me instead.
“I’m assuming that you can see spirits?” Bryce frowned, his eyes meeting mine.
The direct question startled me, even though I had previously been thinking the same thing about him. I tore my eyes from Bryce and glanced at Damen nervously.
This wasBryce. I didn’t want to talk to him about this, or anyone else really.
Not even if he was like me. There was too much at stake.
Damen picked up on my unspoken request, and his gaze softened. “Bryce can pick up on other people who have spiritual gifts, even though he can’t tell the exact nature of their abilities. He, like you, can also see the spirits of the departed. In this, at least, you can trust him.”
