Page 25 of The Devil and His Ghost

Plastering on a biting grin, I jabbed my finger into his chest. “I didn’t forget anything. You’re leaving.”

“Also, I’m fairly certain there are more ghosts here,” Xander continued while effectively ignoring me. “I can sense multiple lingering souls here. They’re just … incredibly faint and distant. Like maybe they’re purposefully hiding.”

I recalled my time here in the past and how the spirits fled and were skittish back then, too. “Hiding from what, though? Me?”

Xander pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Not sure. Guess we have three months to find out.”

“How many times do I have to tell you there is no we?”

Smiling, he leaned down until we were nose to nose, and his voice dropped so that his words wouldn’t even reach the trees around us. “There’s always going to be a we, Qīn’ài de.”

My heart nearly burst with the need to fall into him and the old tender nickname. I feared he could see the impact his words had on me written all over my face, so without a word, I spun on my heel and ventured back inside and down the stairs.

I’ll be there soon, Qīn’ài de.

The air knocked out of me. I blew it out hard and clenched my trembling hands to expel the memory of his voice from my mind. I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t think about that day or that lie and the price paid for it.

A beast’s attack.

A beloved brother lost.

A hope forever gone.

“Stop it,” I hissed to myself while quickening my haste down the steps.

When I was a patient at Mountview, I only got to see so much of the building. I was only allowed to wander around the ward I resided in, and when I was taken out by the nurses, it was to walk the set path to the dining hall used by high-functioning patients, the doctor’s hall for sessions, or to the outdoor gardens. Being able to take my time looking through the various rooms and areas I’d never been to before made my skin crawl. Even though I knew I wasn’t a patient breaking any rules, that didn’t stop the worry that a doctor or nurse would pop out of a dark corner to grab me and drag me back to my room where they’d lock me up for good.

“You okay?”

I looked sideways at Xander who stared at me. Only then did I realize how I’d wrapped my arms around my middle as though to shield myself from nonexistent restraints. I slowly dropped my arms and shook them out. “Fine. Tired.” I looked at my phone, noting how it was nearly eleven. “It’s been a long day, so I’m going to call it a night.”

Xander followed me to my make-shift room. “That bed seems a bit small for the two of us. Oh, well. It just means I have to sleep even closer to you.”

I’d never frozen in my tracks quicker than I did then. Cheeks heating, I pressed my hand against his chest to keep him from coming any closer to my bed. “Woah! Absolutely not. Go find your own room if you aren’t leaving.”

“Why are you always trying to get away from me, Ghost?”

“Why are you always trying to follow me, Xander?”

The teasing smirk he wore disappeared in an instant. His brow furrowed as his eyes softened with pained longing. “You know the answer to that.”

I swallowed hard and barely managed to keep the same look off my own face. I couldn’t let myself get swept away by him or his words. Not again. The last time I believed him and his promises, the last time I believed I could be happy, life was quick to put me in my place. A place where I was alone and Xander was better off without me.

After the heavy silence, Xander suddenly smirked again and dissipated the seriousness with, “I’m your Mr. Monster. Obviously, I’m going to follow you.”

For once, I appreciated the joking air Xander often exuded. It gave me something to roll my eyes at, which I promptly did before digging through my suitcase for pajamas to change into.

Xander flopped down on the bed behind me with an aggrieved sigh. “You were so much friendlier when you were a kid.”

“Was I? Too bad. I don’t remember that child at all.”

“No? You gonna say you don’t remember everything that happened after, either?”

I sucked in a sharp breath and looked over my shoulder from where I knelt on the ground. Xander was stretched out on his side with his head propped up on his fist, and he watched me seriously. The easygoing and carefree demeanor had vanished. When he’d shown up today, we’d both done well at not talking too much about our past. It was like neither of us wanted to crack the seal on the mess contained within that tightly wrapped box. Yet here he was now, slowly tapping on the lid of Pandora’s box.

Clearing my throat, I forced out a haughty laugh and scooped up my clothes. “Oh. You mean, all the times I wasn’t in my right mind?”

“Wow,” he drew the word out with mock surprise. “You lose your mind a lot, then. Tell me. Do you sleep with everyone you lose your mind around?”