Anchor disappeared again, and Pearl shooed him away from the stove with a flick of her towel.“You need to go sit down because you are going to distract me, and I need all the focus I can muster on this French toast.Shoo.”
Shay turned back to me, her voice soft.“What do you plan on doing today?”
I shrugged and rested my forearm on the bar.“Not much.But whatever I do,” I tilted my head toward her, making sure she saw I meant every damn word.“you’ll be with me.”
She didn’t argue.
Didn’t try to pretend she didn’t need it.
She just leaned her arm against mine and nodded.“I like that plan.”
Chapter Eight
Shay
By midday, my nerves had finally stopped rattling like loose screws inside my chest.Breakfast had helped.Pearl’s lopsided French toast had helped even more.But what helped the most was simply being near Prime.Close enough to feel him, and close enough that I didn’t have to explain why my hands still trembled every so often.
Fear was weird.
It didn’t hit all at once.
It leaked through the cracks whenever you thought you were fine.
But being glued to Prime’s side made those cracks feel smaller.
That was another weird thing.
I hadn’t had the need to be with anyone in so long.It had been about seven months since I had left my asshole ex, but I had stopped wanting him long before I had left him.I had stayed for so long because it felt like I didn’t deserve any more than what I was getting.
Once I had left, I had figured out how wrong I was.I had settled into being alone pretty easily.Even though I had been homeless, living in my car, it had been one hundred times better than any relationship I had been in.
Prime kept me with him all day, with Lost trailing ten feet behind us like a silent ghost with attentive eyes.I didn’t need to look back to know Lost saw everything.Heard everything.Calculated everything.His presence was steady and comforting.
Prime walked with his hands in his pockets, like we were just out for a stroll, but I knew better.His shoulders were tight.His eyes scanned constantly.His jaw twitched every time the wind rustled the trees wrong.
We were headed down the path toward the haunted house.I’d seen glimpses of it from the clubhouse, but not up close.Honestly?I’d been too scared to ask.
Prime stopped halfway down the path and looked at me.“You ready to see it?”
“Yes,” I said too quickly.Then, because I was a little scared of the place, “Daylight makes things less creepy.”
That earned me a tiny grin.“You keep telling yourself that.”
I nudged him with my elbow.“What, you’re hoping I get scared so you can play hero?”
His grin widened.“I don’t need a reason to play hero.Comes naturally.”
I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t lying.Everything about him screamed protector.Solid.Capable.Dangerous when needed, and right now, I needed all three.
We walked forward.
And then the trees parted.
And I stopped breathing.
“Oh… wow.”
The haunted house wasn’t a cheesy tourist trap like I’d imagined.It stood three stories tall, looming and shadowed, with angled rooflines and boarded windows that looked centuries old.The paint was layered with so many details it felt alive.Dark streaks that mimicked rot, cracks etched into the walls, and shadowed corners where monsters could easily hide.
