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“He’ll be okay,” Desi whispers, and I nod, trying to reassure her. I give her a tight smile.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine, princess. He’ll be fine.”
I wish to hell I believed that right now.11Toi“You okay, blue eyes?” Ghost asks. I’m sitting outside on the doorstep. Ghost is standing against the building watching me and smoking a cigarette. I’ve never been a fan of smoking, but for some reason Ghost smoking close to me I find reassuring. He’s been really nice to me. One of the small bright spots in my new world.
I nod my head yes, but I avoid his eyes.
“What’s up?”
“Harley.” I mouth the word, barely making a noise. I rub my throat. I hate the way it makes me feel like I’m weak.
“Don’t let him get you down. The kid talks tough, but you’ll break through to him,” he says, and I want to scream that I won’t. I don’t know anything about kids, especially kids that are angry at the world. Hell, I’m angry at the world. How am I supposed to make things better for them?
I don’t respond, but I look at Ghost, and I’m pretty sure my thoughts are plain for him to see. They must be, because he laughs and sits down beside me once he snuffs out his cigarette. I scoot over on the step to make room for him. It feels weird having a man sit this close to me. It actually makes me nervous; even though Ghost has been good to me, I haven’t been here that long. I don’t really know him, and I don’t trust people. I hug my knees, letting my fingers bite into the fabric of my pants, until I reach the point that I can feel the sting of pain on my legs.
“You’re something, Toi,” he says as I pull my eyes to his face. He’s leaned in close, and I might be inexperienced, but I’m not that young either. I see the intent on his face.
Ghost wants to kiss me. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I have been kissed before. Before I lost my voice, I went on dates, I had boyfriends—kind of. Ghost is really cute, but he is part of this club. He’s part of Marcum’s crew and... Marcum confuses me.
“Ghost,” I whisper, and it’s a definite whisper, since that’s all I can manage. It’s so soft I wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t hear me.
“You have courage, honey. You manage to make yourself known more than any woman I’ve seen, and you do it with very little communication. I admire you,” he says, and those words warm something inside of me.
I mean, they’re nice. I don’t think anyone has ever told me they admired me before. Again, I’m not naïve, so I know he may only be saying it to get me to sleep with him. But, still it’s nice. I lean a little closer to him. What harm could one little kiss be?
“Ghost, Topper needs you in the garage,” Marcum says from behind us.
I tense up immediately. I hear Ghost whisper a muted curse under his breath, and I resist the urge to smile. He likes me. For some reason, that makes me feel special, and I’m not even sure why. But, I like it.
“Marcum, when did you get back?” Ghost asks as he gets up. He reaches his hand down to me, and I place mine into it as he pulls me up.
“Just a bit ago. Go see what Topper needs,” Marcum answers, his voice tight. He’s obviously still upset over Harley.
“Topper didn’t call my cell,” Ghost responds, staring at Marcum. Marcum doesn’t answer; instead they stare at each other intensely. “That’s strange, don’t you think?” Ghost adds.
“Not my problem,” Marcum responds.
“I’ll take Toi back to her room then and head over there.”
Ghost puts his hand at my back. I’m staring at Marcum, and it’s clear he’s upset. I have to wonder what Harley told him. If he’s upset at the way I’ve been trying to teach them and spend time with them, then it’s on him. It’s not like I have experience with kids. He knows that. He didn’t give me much of a choice in this situation. I’ve done the best I could!
“Leave Toi here. I need to talk to her about Harley.”
“You need to talk to your son.”
“I did. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Marcum crosses his arms and stands looking at Ghost as if he is daring him to say one more word. If I was Ghost, I wouldn’t. Anger seems to be radiating off of Marcum now, and I get the feeling he’s just looking for a fight.
I don’t think I’d take the bait.12MarcumWhen I see Ghost about to kiss Toi, I’m filled with annoyance. I’m not sure why; I just know I don’t like it. He’s been interested since he first saw the girl, and she needs someone to protect her. Having them get together would be the perfect answer to a lot of issues. I should be happy about it.
