AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, man,” Foster said, smacking Hudson in the arm. “Remember that time when we were helping Arch move some shit up into the attic, and those two chairs on opposite sides of the room just…tipped over toward each other at the same time for no reason?”
Hudson cringed and hitched up his chin in acknowledgment. “I still have nightmares about it, yeah. Thanks for the reminder.”
I smiled softly as I watched them talk. It actually made me feel better that they knew what was up and were so accepting of my new…skills.
Listening to them made it seem almost normal.
“So...are you just going to keep living here?” Keene wanted to know, trying to glance over my shoulder and into the apartment. “With a…?”
Foster smacked him in the gut to get him to shut up. “Dude.”
“What? I’d be fucking freaked out if I were her.” His gaze shifted to me. “Whyain’tyou freaked out right now?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe because it’s just Thalia.” I wasn’t sure how else to explain it. “She’s, like, the farthest thing from scary I’ve ever met. And I thought she was alive when I first met her. It’s pretty easy to just…keep thinking of her that way.”
“So are you going to ask her who killed her?” Thane wanted to know.
I blinked at him in surprise.
“I…” I’d been thinking about myself and my “new” abilities so much that I hadn’t even considered hunting down her murderer.
But now that Thane had asked, I knew it was the noble next step.
“I mean, I can try to,” I answered. “But she’s kind of the queen of avoidance. If she doesn’t want to tell me something, she won’t.”
They all gave a sad but understanding nod.
Finally remembering my manners, I took a step back, opening the door wider. “Hey, y’all can come in if you want; you don’t have to stay standing there on the front stoop.”
All five of the remaining men took a collective step backward, away from the door.
“Uh...no,” Thane declined for them with an uneasy laugh and wave of his hand. “We’ve all experienced unexplainable incidents in there, so we’re good, thanks.”
“I don’t know how Damien can handle going inside at all,” Keene said.
“Seriously?” I asked, amazed. “I’m telling you, Thalia wouldn’t hurt a fly. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“Yeah, she’s a regular old Casper,” Parker muttered. “The woman screamed bloody murder at me the one and only time I tried to enter her room.”
Shaking my head, I scoffed. “And you called poor Alec a chicken.”
“Hey, he was the first to take off,” Hudson defended with a shrug. “That’s just the law of the pecking order.”
With a soft chuckle, I shook my head. “Alright. Go ahead and stay out there. You’re only going to make me feel that much braver.”
“Trust me, you’re the fuckingrulerof bravery right now,” Thane assured. “We are legit in awe of you.”
I straightened and felt my face heat, flattered by the compliment. “Really?”
“For sure,” he added with a small bow. “And I know we didn’t come here to talk about Damien, but… He absolutely hated knowing you were over here, dealing with this by yourself. So if you ever need anything, please know you can come to any one of us, okay? Wewillhelp you.”
I blinked away tears as I sent them all a grateful smile. “Thank you,” I said. “Just you coming here now has already helped a lot. I was beginning to worry that nothing would ever be the same again, that I’d be this super freak with horrible supernatural powers I couldn’t tell anyone about, and…and… I was just scared that life as I knew it was over. I’d never be able to go back to the regular, old, normal me again. So it’s really nice that you’re not treating me like I’m a…”
“Oh, darlin’,” Thane said, stepping forward with his arms open to hug me. “This doesn’t change who you are at the core. You’re still you. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Any time.”
