“Let me guess, they then said a solid, life-changing ‘okay.’ And never spoke about it again.”
“Exactly. It’s almost like we grew up with the same parents.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. They were a piece of work, but…still, it could have been worse. Less frustrating, but at least it wasn’t worse.”
I nodded. “I miss them. I missed you.”
“I was afraid to call you that day at the airport.” Wilson’s voice was low. He wouldn’t meet my eyes as he confessed. “It felt unfair to ask for your help after all this time.”
“I cried after you did,” I admitted, looking down at my hands; my cheeks burned. Being emotional didn’t happen often in childhood because I learned at a young age it didn’t offer me much. Not attention from my parents, not care from strangers. So, I stored all my feelings in a carefully guarded box because there was no use in actually feeling them if all they’d do was make me susceptible to dismissal or silent judgment.
“I was selfishly happy you wanted me to be the one to help you through it.” I played with Rae’s necklace as I made the confession.
“I don’t think that’s selfish.”
I brushed my cheek. “Yeah, well, wanting things with Mom and Dad…you know, they always thought everything was self-centered. Owning things. Wanting things. Needing people.”
Wilson’s hand stretched across the table, palm open, but I couldn’t slip my fingers inside. They were trembling too much, so I sat on them instead.
“Before I called, before I left.” Wilson looked down at his hand as he spoke. “I thought I saw something.”
I frowned and leaned forward, willing him to continue. “Something?”
“After the accident, I’d been seeing a lot of things, but this time the person spoke to me.” He swallowed and finally looked up again. “They died a couple of weeks ago.”
“Wil” was all I could manage.
“I know, it’s…I was sure I was losing my mind. So, I did what I always did, what we both do: questioned everything and looked for answers.”
Except he’d been more than willing to accept the solutions that hadn’t fit the model of the world in his mind. “And?”
He laughed a little, wiping his hand over his face. “There were none. But, as you well know, there were plenty of other answers to questions I hadn’t even thought of.”
“Do you still…see whatever it is you were seeing?”
“No, not once since I came here with you. But I’m going to be honest, I’d rather a ghost haunt me than a demon.”
“We’re cut from the same cloth like that.”
We shared a laugh. The sound of bare feet on the wooden floor made me stop short. Rae appeared at the kitchen entrance. Her curls were in full effect, bouncing down past her shoulders.
“Do you keep cleaning supplies down here?” She pointed to the cabinet under the sink. Wilson waited a beat before answering.
“Yeah, take whatever you need.”
“Thanks. We made a bit of a mess, but promise we’ll be done cleaning it up soon, and then we can head out.” She bent over, and I glared so hard at my drink that I’m shocked the ceramic didn’t crack. Wilson laughed under his breath, but as soon as I looked up, he stopped.
“Twenty minutes tops!” Rae promised as she hurried back upstairs with her arms full of paper towels, bleach, and spray.
“You like her?” my brother asked once she was out of hearing distance. He smiled, taunting.
“She’s not bad at her job.” I picked at a hangnail. “And she’s kind, so…I appreciate it.”
“I mean,likeher.”
“No, I think that’s you,” I joked because for a second, I did think Wilson had a thing for her with how deep his research had gone.
He shook his head. “Not my type.”
