If this woman thought she was talking to an imaginary person, this would go nowhere. Aurora changed tactics. “Maybe I can help you. What’s your name?”
She hesitated for a long moment, a lock of hair falling into her face, but she didn’t brush it aside. “Gia,” she said at last.
Aurora liked the name, short and punchy. “Nice to meet you. I’m Aurora.”
“Um…hi?” Gia’s lips twitched, and she almost smiled.
“Hi.” Aurora floated closer, and Gia didn’t retreat.
Their eyes locked, and a tingle vibrated through Aurora’s soul. When she wasn’t scared out of her mind, Gia’s delicate face was as sweet as her scent.
The moment passed too quickly, and Gia closed her eyes, making a helpless sound. “Ghosts aren’t real. Covens aren’t real. Witches aren’t real.” She fixed Aurora with a glare. “Youaren’t real.”
So Gia was a human, unaware of the magic world. Butthen… “If witches aren’t real, how do you know the Lockwood Coven?”
Gia’s expression darkened, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the only logbook she hadn’t dropped. “Knowing someone in a cult doesn’t make witches real. How can you be real? I can see through you.”
Aurora’s frustration flared, or maybe it was something darker. “If I’m not real, why are you talking to me?”
Gia seemed to deflate, and she averted her eyes. “I don’t know. So I don’t have to be alone.”
Aurora’s phantom heart clenched. “Funny. I don’t want to be alone either.”
There was a long silence, but Aurora couldn’t think of a single thing to say. All the hopelessness she’d felt the night she’d lain down in the dirt to take this risky stab at freedom swelled within her.
“I’m sorry. I have to go.” Gia skirted around Aurora. “God, why am I explaining myself? You aren’t even really here.”
“No, wait!” Aurora followed her to the door, but Gia didn’t stop as she hurried out.
Aurora couldn’t pass the threshold, the tugging sensation holding her firmly in place. “Please tell the Lockwood Coven I’m here!”
The door shut and the lock clicked. Aurora was alone.
NINE
GIA
Gia’s heartpounded as she hurried across the street and into her condo.
She’d been talking to a ghost. No, toherself. She shouldn’t even consider the possibility that ghosts were real.
Gia dumped the logbook on the coffee table and curled onto the couch, bending her legs and tucking them against her chest. One of her pill bottles sat on the table beside her. Too bad they didn’t prevent hallucinations.
God, her stomach hurt. What was she supposed to do?
She’d been to countless doctors ever since her blackouts started, and none had come up with a conclusive explanation for what was happening. Would these hallucinations help a new doctor find a better solution for her than the pills that worked as often as they didn’t? Or was she back at square one?
Gia buried her head in her hands.
She didn’t need this. Physically, she could have sworn she’d been doing well. She hadn’t blacked out since before escaping her family. Nothing more than a regular headache had bothered her, and since she’d recovered from the long drive, she hadn’t even had a twinge.
If it weren’t for the ghostly hallucinations, she’d have said she was doing better than ever.
Could they be unrelated to her headaches?
Could the ghost bereal? Would that be so bad?
Aurora hadn’t been frightening. It wasn’t as if she’d been covered in blood or trying to attack Gia. If, against all odds, the ghost was real, she didn’t seem more threatening than any random woman Gia might meet.
