AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t be smart. Keep talking.” He is now sitting up straight and intent on every word that I’m about to tell him.
“My parents were both killed in a boating accident. There was an engine explosion, and they were both thrown overboard but didn’t have a life vest on. The autopsy showed Mom died instantly, from a blow to the head. Probably hit it on the side of the boat as she was thrown. And Dad’s body was never found—well, technically. There were pieces of him in the water. They think he was probably killed instantly and bore the brunt of the explosion. I can’t even think about what happened to his body. It’s an image I will never get out of my head of what happened in that awful few seconds.” It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about any of this, and it’s tough to be dragging it all up now when I’m emotionally exhausted already.
“Where were you at the time?” There was an image that made me like Ghost just another little bit more. He didn’t have pity written all over his face but instead is just genuinely curious as to how my life pieces together.
“I was getting ready to head to college. It was their first holiday trip without me. At the time I was angry with the world that I wasn’t with them. Why did I have to get left behind? First Eli, then my parents. But after a few years of pushing through the grief and pain, I took the mindset that there is something better out there for me. A reason I’m still here. I have no idea what it is yet, but eventually I’ll find it.”
“I knew you were one tough chick just looking at you this morning and the way you weren’t backing down with me. But now, knowing where you’ve come from, I know you are probably stronger than others give you credit for. Including the mysterious senator who is about to regret not seeing the warrior beside him, I’m sure.” It feels nice to have someone on my team. I’m not sure Jason ever was.
“Not really, I’m just living my life the best I can. And now I’m just trying to get through one day at a time.” That’s all I can do.
We both just sit in the stillness for a few minutes, which is what I need to settle all the feelings that always resurface when I talk about the difficult times in my life.
“You've told me all the hard parts of your life, now let’s start on some of the good things. Like, what did you study at college?” Ghost now stretches his legs out down the steps, looking a little more relaxed. He knows all the answers to his questions, but it feels nice that he wants to know them from me, instead of reading them off my file.
“I studied financial accounting. There is something about numbers that I was always good at. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but it came naturally. My careers advisor at school said that accounting was the way to go, and my grades got me into college, and that’s the program I took.”
I remember my years at college living on campus in a tiny dorm room with my friend Penny because that was all I could afford. I inherited all of Mom and Dad’s assets, but it wasn’t much. They had a house, but it came with debt. They had used all their life savings to have Eli and me through IVF. Then it took years for Mom to manage to go back to work. We did all right, lived a normal suburban life. There just wasn’t much left for me and no life insurance policies. However, I was grateful for what I had, and it kept me from living on the streets. I learned to budget and be frugal with my money, and by the time I got through college, the inheritance was just about all gone. Since then, I have worked hard and lived a good life.
Yesterday, that changed.
The sad part now is that all my life savings are in the bag in my room, under the lining at the bottom. Twenty thousand dollars sounds like a lot but isn’t much when you have no home, clothes, car, or belongings.
“Where did you just go? Your mind wandered off.” Ghost is waiting to hear more.
“Just some memories of college, nothing important. Anyway, that’s enough about me for the time being. Tell me about you. What made you become an agent? I mean, it’s not a very common job.”
Something I learned early on with Jason is how when you’re out at dinners with people you don’t know, to deflect a conversation and get them talking so you can just listen. Those people could talk for hours about nothing and think they are the most important person in the world.
“Don’t think I missed what you did there, but I’ll ignore it for the moment.” Standing, he starts to wander in the yard in front of me. Is it because talking about himself makes him nervous? I don’t know, but watching him, his body language is different from before. The confidence has gone and the bravado not as strong.
“My family aren’t quite like yours from what you've told me. I’m what you would call a loner. I haven’t seen them in a long time.” I can see his hesitation to continue weighing on him.
“One of the reasons I chose this job was to get out of town and disappear, to some extent. I like to do my own thing and live my own life. No responsibility and no ties to anyone. I don’t need a family.” There is hurt written all over his face.
“That’s a big statement, sad too. What, you don’t want any family in the future?” I can’t stop myself from asking. From someone who has lost all hers, this hurts deeply.
“Nope.” The anger in his voice makes me want to push for more from him, but I bite my tongue. His arrogance is on full display, but it’s not fooling me. He's pacing the back yard now. This topic is extremely sensitive to him. I’m glad I haven’t asked more. I need to break the tension.
“Oh well, regardless of the history, I bet they are extremely proud of you. You save hundreds of lives, I’m sure. Look at me. Right now, you're making me feel like I’m safe here for the time being. So don’t worry about your family, the only one you need to impress here is me. Show me that you are big and tough and will scare the bad men and women away.” I was trying to joke it off, but his stride is determined as he heads straight back to me.
“I’d like to show you more than how tough I am,” he mumbles under his breath, and the look in his eyes is far different than the heat I saw earlier from annoyance. The way his eyes see right into me, it sets off a current of tingles rushing through me that I don’t know what to do with except feel them.
Shaking his head and then taking the steps two at a time, he moves past me and heads through the door, calling out to me, “I'm gonna grab more iced tea to cool off. Sun's hot.” His voice is now yelling out from the kitchen.
The heat out here has nothing to do with the sun.
What the hell was that? I don’t know if my brain can handle any more emotional whiplash today.
There is banging and crashing of the fridge opening and closing and then silence. I don’t know what he’s doing in there, but I doubt it takes that long to grab the container with the tea in it. It’s not like he's making it from scratch.
Finally, he emerges out the door and looks like he is a different man. The mask is back on, and he is my agent again, all serious. His silence is hanging between us.
As he pours my drink, then his own, I try to get more out of him.
“So, you found your calling as a WITSEC agent…” I don't even get to finish my sentence before he interrupts.
“Yes,” he snaps, draining his glass quickly. “Would you like a newspaper to read or a book from the shelf? I have work to do.”
