Page 78 of Shadows of Nightshade
“I can’t do that,” I told her. I didn’t understand this urgency, but I couldn’t hold myself back. I’d seen spirits all my life, but rarely felt such kinship with one. It was my job to help her. “Everyone is worth saving, especially you.”
Her eyes rounded, and her ashen complexion paled further. “But you’re—”
The door opened, streaming the afternoon light into the room, before two girls entered. They were leaning into a secret conversation and were so absorbed that they didn’t notice me—nor the ghost. She looked at them before disappearing.
I was still looking in the mirror, so I saw the reflection of their reactions the instant they spotted me. Their unguarded expressions shielded from surprise to distrust.
‘It’s her.’ I didn’t have to hear them—the words formed effortlessly on their lips—and my breath caught in my throat. The last visage of any hope I’d been holding on to faded away.
So this was the price I was going to have to pay to have friends.
“Sorry,” I whispered, not sure if they could hear me. But it wouldn’t have mattered.
I wiped my hands over my skirt and sidestepped them. It was better this way. There was a sound behind me, but I didn’t stop to check and see what it might be. I walked quickly, with my breath tight and my shoulders hunched, until the shadow of the building was far behind me.
I returned to my seat, holding my fists over my knees, and watched Miles as he grinned at his teammates. He looked so carefree and relaxed, and he had such a good heart. I would never regret my decision. I didn’t want to live in a way that allowed others to dictate my actions.
It was only with that peace of mind that I was able to breathe again.
Milesleft me outside a brick building that housed the locker rooms. He’d asked me to wait, but he was taking forever. His teammates had been trickling out of the building for some time,and I’d resorted to drawing stick figures in the soft dirt with a stick to save myself from boredom.
By the time he finally came outside, the toes of my flats were smudged with earth.
Apparently, his definition of ‘quick’ and mine were not the same.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, not looking me in the eye. His hair was still damp, and a light pink dusting over his cheeks brightened as he picked up my bags. “Coach wanted to talk to me,” he said.
“Is everything all right?” I asked as I fell into step beside him. His strides were naturally longer than mine, but he adjusted his gait so that I could keep up without running.
“Just another lecture,” Miles muttered, almost bitterly. “Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
What would Miles have done to deserve a lecture?
“Was it about the fight?” I wondered. I’d imagined that such displays in athletics were the norm. After all, Finn was always getting into similar situations, and nothing happened.
Even the professionals on television reveled in such dramatics.
I wasn’t stupid, though. I could understand that not everyone approved. “Did you get into trouble?”
“Trouble?” Miles looked at me, his fluffy brows drawing high. Why did he feel more distant than earlier? “No,” he said finally. There was an invisible wall between us keeping me away. “It was just about girls.”
“Oh,” I replied. Why was my stomach twisting with unease now?
Miles allowed his gaze to move toward the distant fall foliage. “He wanted to make sure we were being safe.”
“What do you mean?” Perhaps I’d misheard, because in this context, that made no sense.
His face turned red again. “Safe, as in, protected.”
I tilted my head. It still did not make sense. Why would Miles need to be protected? Was it from the fans? Their presence had been rather hard to ignore.
But if there were issues there, I could take care of things.
“It doesn’t matter.” He suddenly stalked forward. I had to rush to catch up. “I told him that it wasn’t like that. We’re friends.” He was speaking faster now, which made his words slip.
I chewed the inside of my lip, trying to hide my frustration. Understanding accents was especially difficult for me.
“But then he said that maybe it wasn’t good for us tobefriends.” It almost seemed like he was talking to himself. I wanted to scream. I was certain I was missing some much-needed context, but he didn’t notice. “I don’t know where he gets off thinking he can lecture me on the rules.”
