Page 9

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Damen squeezed me once before letting me go, then turned me to face him. He kept his hands on my shoulders as he spoke. “Who cares, Bianca? What’s the big deal?”

While his words seemed harsh, this tone was curious and comforting. His gaze sought out my eye—he was done waiting for answers.

But the truth was that I’d messed everything up. I should have known better from the start than to bring Finn into this. I set him on this downward spiral. I should have gone after Damen on my own or solved the haunting by myself.

But my biggest mistake had been my response to his question about my medication. I’d said too much. Of course, he was concerned and suspicious.

And now he wasn’t going to let it go.

Finn on the warpath was terrifying. He was relentless when he wanted something. He’d always been on my side, but could that change?

This was the first time I’d gone behind his back like this, and I wasn’t going to be able to hide it. There was no way he wouldn’t find out about Damen. There was no way he wouldn’t put two and two together.

No way that this wouldn’t end badly…

“Bianca.” Damen snapped his fingers and pulled me out of my buckling thoughts. I jerked back, my focus resettling as Damen frowned. “How did the two of you meet?”

When had I gotten back to the couch? Damen was on his knees, facing me. My gaze was level with his face, and his arms were braced around me.

Why did he care so much? Would this make him take it back?

But I had gotten him involved—Damen and Miles, and by extension, Julian and Titus too. I was sure that Finn would blow this up. They had to know what to expect. They had to have some context of our history. It was only fair.

Otherwise, they might get hurt.

“I met Finn when I was eight,” I began. My nausea finally faded. I embraced the comforting numbness. “I’d only just been adopted.”

Damen moved his hands to my knees, and I spotted Miles. He’d taken a seat in Damen’s abandoned chair as he followed our conversation. His brows were drawn thick into a furrowed focus, but neither man said anything while they waited for me to continue.

“I’ve always been able to see ghosts. But when I was little, I was told that it had to stay a secret. When I moved to new places, keeping that secret became a way to survive.”

Damen started to say something, but I cut him off. I needed to talk before I lost my nerve.

“Then I was adopted and started a new school. Finn was in my class. He was always alone too. I-I didn’t trust anyone, and he was always around. I could see… Well, there was something attached to him.”

Damen was more contemplative than concerned. “Do you know what it was?”

I shook my head and studied my hands. “I’d never seen anything like it before, but I also didn’t know a lot. It wasn’t human. I didn’t know what to do, so I… talked to it.”

That was, technically, true.

“After that…” I wrapped my arms around my stomach. “We became friends. I told Finn about my abilities. He seemed happy at first, and I thought maybe I found someone who understood. But the next day, I was called to the principal’s office. Finn and my parents were there… along with some strangers. Finn wasn’t so happy anymore.”

Damen’s white-knuckled hold on my knees turned painful, and I squirmed. He released my legs with an apology and moved to his feet.

“Why did they hide it?” Damen asked.

“Why did they care?” Miles added.

Because I was weird—or at least that’s what I always thought. I shrugged.

“They a-asked me lots of questions,” I told them. Why was my courage betraying me now? I’d been doing so well. “I-I didn’t know what I’d done wrong. They forced me to go to the h-hospital and talk to doctors. They said I was sick. But…” I looked at my hands. “I don’t feel sick?” Why did that sound like a question?

But if that was the case, why did everyone walk on eggshells around me?

I didn’t understand.

“You’re not sick.” Miles moved to the coffee table and took my hand in his. His deep eyes only reflected genuine sincerity. “There’s nothing going on that we can’t handle.”

“But…” I bit my tongue. “Did I imagine that he believed me back then? I rarely brought up the paranormal again. I only did this time because…” I touched my lips. “Well, I needed h-help. I-I didn’t think it would go this far. What if they have me committed again?”

The silence in the room was deafening, and I glanced up, unable to miss the obvious fury in Miles’s expression and the blazing anger in Damen’s.

I was suddenly unsure of my confession. Why were they this angry?

Finn was concerned. They had to see that. After all, he didn’t believe in the paranormal.

Right?

I laughed nervously, attempting to alleviate the tension in the air. “Don’t look like that,” I said. “It’s not like you can force someone to believe in this sort of thing.”

Damen grunted, the first sound that he had made in a while, as he asked, “Do you think he doesn’t know?”

The developing conclusion was undeniable, but that didn’t make acceptance any easier.

Miles shot Damen a look. “Not now.”

Damen glowered at him, but it was too late. That was all the confirmation I needed.

“I’m not the only one, am I? Finn knows it’s all real, doesn’t he?” I lifted my eyes from my clenched fists. “Are you all like me?”

I was surprised, however, when Damen’s anger deflated. “You really do come up with some wild, outlandish theories.”

I blushed, embarrassed. I’d thought I was onto something.

“But you’re on the right track,” he continued .

It took a moment for his words to process, my mind tired and muddled from the events of the day. Still, I didn’t miss the proud gleam in his eyes as he watched me.

“Wait,” I said. “Really? You’re like me?”

“But you’re still not one hundred percent correct,” Damen responded. “You’re only two out of three.”

I pursed my lips. What was I wrong about?

“Yes, the four of us have abilities, but we are not mediums,” he said. “And yes, Finn is aware of this world and even has his own abilities. There are a lot of people like you out there.”

I was in shock as it registered.

He knew.

Finn knew that I wasn’t lying—or sick. He knew the things I saw were real.

…And he’d made me believe I was alone.

My sight wavered as my heart shattered into a million pieces. “Why wouldn’t he just tell me?”

“I don’t know why,” he said, holding my hands. “But I’ll find out.”

“I thought he was my friend,” I said, sounding so pathetic. “He was my only friend.”

The air around Damen grew warmer. “Like I said, I’ll find out.”

Miles sat beside me and rested his arm over the back of the couch. “Besides, was he that good of a friend? He sounded more like a jealous boyfriend.”

I flinched. Yesterday, I would have been overjoyed to hear the word ‘boyfriend’ associated with Finn, but hearing ‘jealous’ mixed with the label left everything tainted.

“I-I thought so,” I admitted.

We’d done so much together—we grew up together. He couldn’t be bad. But I’d been wrong before. Maybe I was just stupid.

“I really don’t know what’s normal,” I admitted. “I thought he was just protective because of… me.” I was a mess. “I thought he cared. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Normal is different for everyone. However, there is a difference between being controlling and protective,” Damen replied. “Luckily, you have us now.”

How could he still be so sure? “I don’t understand why you want to be my friend.”

“I’m glad you brought that up.” Damen’s tense jaw softened, and his posture relaxed. He ignored the fact that, technically, he was the one who suggested this topic. “Let me tell you a story.”

I wasn’t sure what a story had to do with anything, but I nodded anyway.

“Once upon a time, a handsome young prince was waiting at his castle for his perpetually late friend. It’d been a very bad day in a long string of very bad days. The prince had been bored with his life for a long time. He was full of ideas, but no one took him seriously. Because of that, he lacked initiative and had no desire to live up to his potential.” Damen’s eyes sparked as he spoke.

I fought the urge to sigh—it was clear where this story was leading. Miles, on the other hand, didn’t resist. He groaned and covered his eyes.

Damen continued, unashamed at how corny he sounded. “When his friend arrived—or so he thought—he opened the door and found an angel on the other side. He wasn’t sure what to make of her at first. But when it was obvious that she was being targeted by a devil, he knew he had to get involved. The last thing he wanted was for this beautiful girl to get hurt.”

With every cheesy word, my face grew more inflamed.

“Then he saw that she was loyal, brave, and imaginative. Something strange happened. Helping her was no longer about chivalry. For the first time in a long time, he felt inspired to be a better person.” Damen paused for a moment, and a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

He touched my hot face, lifting my chin until our gazes met. Despite the playfulness of his story, nothing in his eyes indicated that he held anything less than complete sincerity.

“It’s strange.” Damen’s gaze turned contemplative, and his speech slowed. “I can’t place my finger on it, and it should be impossible. But being around you definitely brings up familiar feelings.”

Miles shifted, and I tore my gaze from Damen. The other man’s features were twisted in indecision, and I wondered if Damen’s flirting had made him uncomfortable.

I felt weird about it, in any case.

However, Miles showed no hint of judgment. “Me too,” he said as he touched his forehead. “I don’t understand. It’s familiar, but not. She’s easy for me to talk to.”

I blinked at the two of them. What were they going on about?

Miles shook his head, shaking himself out of his stupor, then looked at me. “We should exchange phone numbers.”

“Oh.” I glanced at my lap.

“It’ll be more convenient to make plans. And you live on campus, right?” Miles asked. “My apartment is within walking distance of the library. We can hang out and study together.”

That was interesting. “I thought you lived here?” Although I wasn’t sure why I’d assumed they’d lived together.

“I have a room here—Julian and Titus do too.” He nodded. “But commuting means more work, and I don’t have time for that.” Miles handed me my phone. “What’s your number?”

“Well…” This was awkward. “This isn’t technically my phone—it’s Finn’s. He has access to all my calls and texts. It was the on ly way my parents would agree for me to have one. They get paranoid about stuff, and they like him.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the following silence.

“I’m sorry.” I touched my fingers together. I felt like such a loser. “I’ve been trying to save money to do stuff for myself, but it’s hard for me to get a job without their permission.”

“What do you mean by that?” Damen returned to his seat by the fireplace. The light of the flames threw shadows across his face, making him seem so serious. “Aren’t you over eighteen? You don’t need a parent’s permission to do anything.”

“I don’t have a driver’s license, and I don’t know where my birth certificate or social security card might be,” I explained. “No one will let you work without papers, and honestly, I have no idea where to start looking.”

Damen rubbed his temples. Meanwhile, Miles was scowling as he typed into his phone.

What was—

“Does Finn know that you have no identification?” Damen asked. “How did you even enroll in college?”

They were getting tired of me already. After all, this was pretty pathetic.

“Finn knows,” I told him in a small voice. “He told me not to worry about it. He and my parents took care of everything. I only had to choose a major.”

Damen slid his hand down his face, and my heart clenched.

Miles’s phone lit up. He checked it before glancing at Damen. “He says we can meet for a late lunch.”

Who was he ?

Instead of elaborating, Miles turned toward me. “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this—and your ghost, too. In the meantime, since you can’t use that phone, we’ll get you another.”

“But…” I stared between the two of them. “You can’t just— ”

“Shush.” Miles interrupted. “We can afford it.”

Yes, I might have suspected. But I couldn’t help but feel like a burden. It wasn’t right.

I wanted to cry.

“I get it,” Miles said, the corners of his mouth upturned as he touched my hand. “You don’t need to feel guilty. You’re not the type to accept something for nothing, right? We’ll make you repay it with some chores or something.”

“Really?” I asked. He was right, of course… but how did he know?