Page 131 of Ghosted

“I’m done,” she says. “With you. With whatever fucked-up game you think we’re playing. It’s over.”

I look at her then. Really look.

Damp hair. Shaking hands. My brother’s water on her skin. My brother’s calm still hanging in the air between us like something I can’t scrape off the walls.

And that’s what clicks everything into place.

Fuck, it pisses me off.

Jagger won.

“You don’t want me?” I ask.

“No.”

No hesitation. No stumble. No fun.

I smile because my mouth knows its fucking job. “Say that again.”

“I don’t want you, Johnny.” Her voice snaps across the pool room, sharp enough to echo. “I don’t want your hands on me. I don’t want your eyes on me. I don’t even want to breathe the same fucking air as you.”

The room goes dead quiet inside me.

Then my smile fades.

Not all at once. Slowly. Like something being turned off.

“Well,” I say softly, stepping closer, “That can be arranged.”

Her expression changes.

There it is.

Too late.

She moves, but I move faster. My hand closes around her wrist, and when she jerks back, I pull her with me. She fights immediately, shoving at my chest, nails catching skin, but all I can hear is that one sentence.

I don’t even want to breathe the same fucking air as you.

Something ugly and calm settles under my ribs.

“Don’t worry, pretty thing,” I say, dragging her toward the edge as she twists hard enough to almost slip free. “I’ll make sure you never have to breathe my air again.”

Her eyes widen.

Then we hit the water.

For one second, everything goes stupidly silent.

Then Alice starts fighting.

She comes up hard, choking before she gets a full breath, one hand slapping the surface while the other claws at my shirt. Water runs down her face, into her mouth, and she coughs so violently her whole body jerks.

“Fuck you!” she spits, half cough, half gasp.

I laugh because she’s still trying. Because even terrified, Alice Aster has the nerve to sound pissed at me.

She kicks away, reaching for the ledge, and for half a second she almost gets it. Her fingers smack against wet tile, slip, grab again.