Page 22

Chance

T here was a knock at the door. Maybe. I couldn’t tell, because it was so quiet, it was like a delicate little mouse knock. I thought I imagined it, but no, there it was again.

‘Hello?’ a female voice called out, which had me immediately tensing with dread. Did she seriously follow me to Rhodes’ house?

‘Hello?’ she called out again, quickly followed by another soft rap of her knuckles against the piece of wood separating us.

She did it again, louder this time, like she was gaining confidence in her mental instability. Fucking socialite. Always thinking about appearances before showing their true colours when they didn’t immediately get their way. She quickly dropped the meek and polite act in favour of knocking loudly and practically screaming through the door.

‘ Hello? Chance, I know you’re in there!’

Fuck. If I were on my own in my van, I would have just let her knock and shout until she tuckered herself out and fucked off, but I couldn’t let her wake up Rhodes after his seizure. He needed rest, not drama.

So, I threw my head back and released a groan of pure annoyance, then got up and stomped towards the door. I snatched it open, barely avoiding her raised fist before it collided with my face instead of the door. I scowled down at her, hoping to exude enough malice to intimidate her into leaving of her own accord. Naturally, she ignored it, smiling up at me through fake eyelashes and way too much makeup in what she must have thought was an innocent, alluring smile. It was anything but. My stomach clenched uncomfortably as I swallowed back bile.

‘Florence. What do you want?’

‘You’ve been avoiding me, Chancie. I came all this way to see you, and you haven’t even said hello. It’s been days .’

I breathed through my nose, wrinkling it when I caught a whiff of her overly sweet vanilla and floral perfume. She had doused herself in enough of it, I wondered if I lit a match, would she go up in flames? It was a pleasant thought.

‘This isn’t even my house. You shouldn’t have followed me up here. And I’m working. You need to leave.’

Instead of obeying or following any rules of common decency, she attempted to push past me inside the house. I blocked her path with my entire body, refusing to let this woman inside Rhodes’ home, especially when he was sleeping and unwell.

She pouted, the expression wrong as she tried to look sweet and childish. Instead, she looked like her puffed-up lips were about to drop right off her face. ‘Come on, Chancie. Let me in.’

‘No.’

‘But…’

‘I said no. This isn’t my house, and you do not have permission to enter. Go back to the campsite and find someone else to bother.’

She reared back like I’d hit her, crocodile tears shimmering in her eyes that I didn’t believe for a second. ‘Why are you being so mean?’ she whined.

‘I’m not being mean. You’re trying to insert yourself where you’re not wanted. It’s time for you to go before you start a scene. The owner of this house is sick and is trying to sleep.’

Her tune changed so quickly I felt like I was getting whiplash, but she still wasn’t taking the hint. ‘Who’s in there? Is it a woman? Are you cheating on me, Chancie?’ she shrieked, and I wanted to duct tape her mouth shut to stop any more noise from escaping.

‘No. And even if there was, it would be none of your business. You and I are not a thing. Now stop being such a delusional bitch and go, before I call the cops.’

‘How dare you?’ she seethed. For a moment, I felt a pinch of guilt and wondered if I’d gone too far, but then tilted her nose up in the air and sniffed in that self-important way all the ditzy socialites were so good at, and I couldn’t bring myself to care. She needed to fuck off before I said something worse. ‘Your parents will be so disappointed in your behaviour, Chancie. How could you do this to them?’

I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling if I’d tried. ‘Yeah, that shit’s not gonna work on me, Florence. Now fuck off and don’t bother me again.’

Her lips pursed as she contemplated her options until, finally , she got the memo that she wasn’t welcome. ‘Your parents are going to disown you if you push me away, Chance,’ she said, ditching the act in favour of the truth. ‘You’ll regret this.’

I merely shrugged, completely unfazed by her threat. Or my parents’, for that matter, because I had no doubt she hadn’t come up with that threat on her own. I made my own money and avoided dipping into the trust fund Calvin had set up for me at my mother’s behest unless I was investing into the business. It was petty of me, but they hated whenever I splurged on a new device almost as much as they detested my career choice, but it wouldn’t matter soon anyway. I would have no need for it when I joined Kali. There wasn’t much holding me to this life anymore anyway. All of it was just… irrelevant.

Thankfully, Mikey chose that moment to come chugging up the driveway in his overpriced, two-storey RV, interrupting the silent stand-off that had commenced in the wake of Florence’s threat. He parked up and hopped out, then stopped short when he saw Florence standing in the doorway with me still blocking her way in. She sneered at my friend and stormed off, keeping a wide berth between them and the RV – like she thought one or both would bite and give her rabies or something.

It would have been amusing if not for the way Mikey wilted beneath her disapproving stare. If she wasn’t already walking away, I would have dragged her out myself. I was a gentleman, but I was also protective of my friends. I had no problem man-handling a woman if the situation called for it. It seemed she was suffering more than enough, however, when his stupid choice of high-heeled footwear sank into the dirt and skidded on the gravel. Her ankles rolled painfully, but she kept her nose in their air and fought for her balance as she wobbled away.

Mikey relaxed as soon as she disappeared down the driveway, though he still remained closed off after the interaction. He was a shy guy and had always been treated poorly by his rich peers, and it had stuck with him well into adulthood.

‘Good timing,’ I told him with a lopsided grin. ‘I was struggling to get rid of her.’

He met my grin with one of his own, even if it was smaller and meeker. ‘Glad to be of assistance.’

I let him in, locking the door behind us as I led him into the living room. He perched on the edge of the couch, uncomfortable in the unfamiliar space, but he quickly relaxed back into the cushions when he saw me treating the place like it was my own.

‘What brings you up here?’ I asked him. ‘I thought you’d be with the girls.’

‘They needed some time to themselves. They’re arguing again.’

I sighed. ‘This is becoming way more complicated than we’d planned.’

Mikey shook his head, a sad down tilt to his mouth. ‘They told me. About Kali.’

I nodded numbly.

‘I’m sorry, Chance.’

‘Don’t be.’

‘I hoped she was alive, too,’ he admitted, his voice breaking as his emotions clogged his throat. Kali had been his friend, too. One of the only people who had never judged him or treated him as anything other than an equal. I forgot sometimes that I wasn’t the only person who had lost her. I wasn’t the only one grieving.

Doubts trickled in about my decision. Maybe leaving Mikey behind would devastate him more than I thought. Oh, who was I kidding? Of course, it would. We were family, and the sudden realisation of how selfish it would make me if I took my own life when I had someone like Mikey in my corner slammed into me with the force of a battering ram. I gasped.

‘Hey, you okay, man?’

I nodded, but I could feel my forehead creasing and my cheeks aching as my entire face drooped downwards, revealing the thoughts and emotions running through my head.

He gave me a miserable, watery smile that proved he knew me better than anyone. Except maybe Ashe.

‘You need to talk to her before you make any decisions you can’t take back,’ he said, his voice warbling as he held back tears.

‘I…’ I began, but I didn’t know what to say, or even if there was anything to say.

‘I get it,’ he said. ‘I do. You love her. I’ve been waiting for you to make this decision for seven years.’

‘You have?’

He nodded, his eyes downcast and shut tight as tears finally began to spill over. ‘You were always going to follow her to the ends of the earth. You just needed proof before you felt safe enough to do it.’

‘Mikey…’

‘I’ll miss you, but our line of work is proof that it’s not the end. We’re good, Chance.’ He met my eyes as he said this, letting me see the depth of his grief, but also the acceptance. ‘Kali’s lucky to have you, and she’d be stupid if she stays blind to what the two of you could have together. I always knew you were soulmates, even if she didn’t quite get the memo.’

I laughed at that. It was true. My love for her had become such an intrinsic part of me that there was no chance of separating myself from her anymore. I had stopped living my life the moment she’d died, and I would be happy even if she didn’t love me in quite the same way I loved her, as long as we faced whatever the future held together.

‘I just… I need to talk to her. Whoever hurt her needs to pay for what they’ve done before I can join her, so I’m not going anywhere yet.’

His smile was a little brighter, and a little meaner, as my words sank in. It was a look I had very rarely seen on him since he didn’t have a mean bone in his body, but he could be just as protective over those he loved as me when warranted, it was just rare to push him to that point. I could only recall one time in our youth. Our group had gone to see a movie when I was backed into a corner by a group of bullies. They targeted me for not being Calvin’s true son, calling me name after nasty name, until words were no longer enough, and they had started beating me. There were seven of them and only one of me. Kali had just left with Blake to continue their night as a couple, so she hadn’t known what was happening. Ashe had run off to get help, but Mikey? He lost it. He wasn’t a fighter by any means, but that just meant he came prepared for worst-case scenarios. He’d whipped out a bottle of pepper spray and went at it. He had terrible aim, so of course I got caught in the crosshairs as he sprayed wildly, but they ran off and never bothered me again.

‘I’ll help in any way I can,’ he promised me. ‘Let’s get the fucker.’

‘I hope I’m not interrupting,’ Rhodes’ tired voice sounded from the stairs, and my head snapped up. I hadn’t even heard him rouse, let alone come down the stairs.

‘Hey, how are you feeling?’

‘Fine,’ he answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. ‘Nothing I’m not used to. I’ve been dying my whole life, this time is just gonna stick.’

‘You’re dying?’ Mikey asks, and I forgot for a moment why he would be so shocked. None of us had told him about Rhodes’ condition.

‘Glioblastoma. Not long left now,’ Rhodes explained with a shrug, completely nonplussed.

‘Shit…’

‘It’s fine. Not my first rodeo, but it will be my last. Can’t say I’m too upset about it now I’ve met Kali, though,’ he grinned. I frowned as I tried to decipher his comment, and Mikey shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

‘Speaking of. When are we setting up the reunion?’ Rhodes asked as he settled into a lone armchair off to the side of the room with an air of carefree interest. It creaked beneath his weight, the sound making me wince in concern for the structural integrity of the old thing, but it held him up, nonetheless.

‘Do you want me to call the girls back for this?’ Mikey asked me, his eyes still watery with emotion that he was continuing to beat back.

I shook my head. ‘No. I’ve got my equipment in my van, and you’ve got yours. They don’t need to be here for this.’

He nodded, silently acknowledging the words I wasn’t saying out loud. I didn’t want Ashe or Gloria to worry about my decision any more than they already did.

‘I’ll grab my stuff. Where do you want to set up?’

‘What stuff?’ Rhodes asked, leaning forward as intrigue sparked in his eyes that excitedly bounced between us.

‘Our gear.’

‘Like, to catch ghosts?’

‘To record them, but yes,’ I corrected him.

‘Can I watch?’ he asked with an alarming amount of energy as he bounced in place so hard I swore the armchair was going to finally break.

‘Sure,’ I agreed easily. ‘We need you to show us where she usually shows up, anyway, so we can set up in the right spot.’

He was nodding so hard I wondered what would kill him first, the brain cancer or whiplash. ‘Sure. I just need to throw some clothes on, and I’ll show you where she keeps popping up.’

I clapped my hands and stood, nervousness clashing with excitement inside me at the prospect of talking to Kali for the first time in seven long years. ‘Then let’s go.’