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Athena waits for him to look back at her and when he does, she can see it in his eyes: he really is as reserved as she is. Nowhere in his gaze does she see the hungry, wolfish look of a man on the make. In the time she's spent with Elijah, not once has he put his hands on her in a suggestive way, nor has he done anything that makes her feel as if he's looking to score with a random girl while he's on the island. She relaxes as this realization comes to her, letting loose the muscles she's been unknowingly clenching all the way to her core. He really does seem to be the guy he’d appeared to be on his Instagram account: a music loving, dog walking, art appreciating, easygoing guy who volunteers to work with kids in his spare time.
"I've loved it too," she says, holding her fork in one hand as they grin at one another.
They meet Ella on the beach at nine o'clock. She's waiting there with a handful of other people—all older than Elijah and Athena—who are talking quietly, hands in pockets as they get ready to hunt ghosts and share stories about the supernatural.
"So when you think New Year's Eve, you think ghosts, huh?" Athena bumps Elijah with her shoulder as they walk across the sand in the dark.
He thinks about this before answering, and when he does, he looks down at her with an impish grin. "I just wanted to find something that might spook you out and make you jump into my arms." Without warning, he lunges at her, grabbing her by the waist playfully.
Athena jumps and gives a little squeal that makes the others on the beach turn to them with indulgent smiles.
"Sorry," Elijah says to them in his charming British accent. He holds up both hands as he and Athena move closer to each other and laugh a little more. "We're ready for the spirit walk."
Ella greets them all. “Welcome." She shines her flashlight out at the ocean. "My name is Ella, and I think we're all here now." She does a quick headcount as she waves a hand at each of them. "Five, six, seven, and I'm number eight."
The group shifts around eagerly, and a man with a giant white beard clears his throat. "Are we on the hunt for the famous Flora?" he asks, running a hand down his beard as it lays against his chest.
"I would expect that we might see her.” Ella wraps a long, hand-knitted sweater around her body and holds it there tightly. She turns off her flashlight and tucks it into her pocket. "Flora is the most popular ghost on the island, and for good reason: she was a stunning woman who died in her prime after losing the love of her life. She haunts the shores of Shipwreck Key to this day, hoping to find him and bring him home with her again."
Athena takes a step closer to Elijah in the darkness, letting her arm press lightly against his.
"But there are no hard and fast rules with the Other Side," Ella warns them, spreading her long fingers as she talks. The rings that cover both hands catch glints of light from the moon. "If any of you have loved ones looking to make contact, then that could easily happen. I've certainly taken groups out on spirit walks assuming that all we'd do is talk about island folklore, only to find that a departed grandmother or a long-lost love is waiting eagerly to send a message to one of my guests." Her eyes skim the group. Now that their eyes are all accustomed to the dark, they can see one another more clearly. "Shall we?"
They follow Ella down the hard-packed sand by the water. She walks backwards, arms spread wide while she tells them about Flora and her beloved sailor, John Lee. They'd crashed just offshore in 1513, and Flora had been the only survivor of theFlor de Azucar.Rumor has it that Flora stayed on Shipwreck Key for the rest of her life, which had ended far too soon because she'd died of a broken heart. Flor had spent those long, lonely years wandering the shores and waiting for John Lee to appear on the horizon, and she's still waiting there now, as the story goes.
A shiver runs up Athena's spine as she thinks about a woman walking the beach eternally, waiting for her lost love. What would that be like, to love someone so much that you were willing to spend the rest of your life mourning his loss, hoping fervently that he’d magically reappear? She's not sure she'll ever know what that kind of love feels like, and that actually kind of depresses her.
"Stop, please," Ella says, waving her arms back and forth so that everyone will halt on the sand. She's standing there next to the crashing waves, her long, silvery blonde hair blowing in the breeze. "I have someone with us--someone who the rest of you can't see."
On instinct, Athena slips her hand into Elijah's.
"Who among us has lost a father?" Ella asks, closing her eyes.
Athena can feel people looking at her. It's old news that Jack Hudson's widow and two daughters are living there on Shipwreck Key, and even though a few members of this ghost tour are visitors to the island, Athena can feel that they know who she is.
"I have," she says meekly, pressing her lips together and squeezing Elijah's hand tightly.
"And I have as well.” An older woman raises her hand.
"I have a father here who says he called his little girl 'Bean,'" Ella says, opening her eyes and looking at Athena and then at the older woman.
A sob catches in Athena's throat. “That’s me," she says. Her knees start to shake. No one but her family knows that her dad had nicknamed her Bean at birth, though it’s a name her mom still regularly uses for her.
Ella's eyes focus in on Athena in the darkness. "He wants you to know that you're doing all the right things. He's incredibly proud of you."
Athena starts to cry as she nods. Elijah slips his hand from hers and wraps his arm around her, pulling her close.
"He's showing me a small child, which is my way of understanding that we're talking about a younger sibling, and this is a boy," Ella says, holding up a hand to indicate a person only a few feet tall. "I can't tell the age, all I know is that he's younger than you. Does this make sense?"
Athena nods in the darkness. Her body is tucked under Elijah's armpit protectively. "Are you okay with this?" he whispers in her ear. "We can get out of here if this is too weird. I promise I had no idea this would happen."
"It's fine," she says, glancing up at him. In truth, it's more than fine. She's hungered for some kind of message from her father in the time since his death. He'd left a letter for her mother that she'd shared with the world, and that was totally fine with Athena, but to have a message just for her is something that her heart has wanted desperately.
"He's showing me that there's a divide, honey. He wants you to fix that somehow." Ella puts the palms of her hands together and presses her fingers to her lips.
"A divide?" Athena frowns. She has some idea what this might mean, but she needs to hear more.
"Yes," Ella goes on. "Your mother has too much pain to do this on her own, and your sister doesn't have the right temperament. He's showing me that you will have to be the one to bridge the gap between all the members of this family, and most importantly with this young boy. He's sorry if that puts a burden on you, darling, but he knows you can do this."
