I snort. “Awkward. Now you’re being subjected to X-rated peep shows? What kind of gift did you get cursed with?” I chuckle, but her lips are smashed into a thin line, signaling she doesn’t find any humor in it.
“Yeah…you’re right. It’s not funny. Sorry.”
She shrugs. “It’s her business. Not mine.” She clears her throat, leaning in as though to share a secret. “She’s into some pretty kinky things.”
I attempt, unsuccessfully, to stifle my laughter at Nina’s appalled expression.
“Kink shaming, Nina? I didn’t think you of all people would be so scandalized. You lived with Richard Dunbar, king of orgies back in the day.”
She grimaces. “That was before my time. And I’m not kink shaming. To each their own. I’m just saying that hers are a shade darker than what I’m accustomed to.”
My eyebrow lifts in question. “Just what are you used to?” I tease, watching her cheeks flush with color.
She shakes her head. “Not me personally. From movies.”
“Riiight,” I drawl, earning myself a severe scowl.
I raise my wineglass to my lips, observing her nose scrunching as she chews on her cheek. “I don’t think I could even bend my legs like that.”
I choke on the wine, spluttering as she looks on in confusion.
“Are you all right?” she asks.
I bob my head. “Yes, of course. I was just thinking how it doesn’t seem right that some women can bend themselves like pretzels while the rest of us are hardly able to bend at the hips.” I smirk and she smacks her lips together in pure irritation.
I suck on my teeth, thinking about Nina’s situation. What we need to determine is how this ability of hers works.
“How often is this happening? Is there anything that seems to trigger it?” I ask, watching her neck roll.
“It’s happening far more often than I’d like,” she admits. “When I touch someone, I typically seesomething.”
“Is everything you see bad?”
She’s quiet for several moments, seeming to contemplate my question. Likely by running through what she’s seen.
“Yes,” she finally says. “Even when I touched the professor and saw Ian’s mother, it was a vision of her being very sick.”
“We need to consult Natalia about this. She should have some insight. At least I hope so, for your sake.”
“In the meantime, I guess being a town outsider will have its perks after all. When people avoid you, it’s hard to touch them.”
I purse my lips, not liking the way Nina’s downplaying something that is clearly painful. It’s not like her, which I’m adding to my growing list of things to address.
“I know way too much about Knox Harbor and the people who live there. They’re all hiding things. Some darker than others.” She visibly shivers. “I do not want to know any of it.”
“Sounds to me like there are a lot of people throwing stones while living in glass houses around Knox Harbor,” I grumble. “Maybe the next time someone looks at you weird, you should go ahead and touch them. Let them know that they’re not as perfect as they like to pretend.”
She laughs. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should give them a taste of their own medicine.”
We both laugh, thinking about that scenario. It would certainly make things interesting around there, but it would also put more of a spotlight on Nina. They’d simply find a way to turn it around on her.
“But you won’t, because that’s not you,” I say, and she nods.
“I wish I had the nerve. I wish I wasn’t so scared of what people think of me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a good person. Don’t change who you are, Nina. Richard could make anyone bitter, but I don’t want to see you turn into that.”
“That’s the problem, Ally. I don’t even know who I am,” she says, slumped over the table. “I spent so many years putting on a front.” She huffs, shaking her head. “I’ve been wearing so many masks that when I look at myself in the mirror, it’s like I’m looking at a stranger. All the hopes and dreams I had growing up, I threw aside.”
