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Jamie’s smile was traced by light, filtering in from outside. Intimate in the shadows. Like the smile of a lover in the half-light.
‘I could ask you the same questions.’ He murmured.
Anna wasn’t going to answer either of them. Particularly the one about having better things to do on a Friday night because she didn’t. She spent more evenings here than she liked to admit, and the clinic often felt more like home than her flat did.
‘You’re not going to stay here all night, are you?’ She wouldn’t put it past him. Jamie’s unswerving belief that Darren had seen something, and his determination to find out what, was mesmeric. Attractive in a way that moved her beyond any physical thrill.
‘It’s gone half eleven. I’m just curious, I’ll give it another hour and then I’ll go.’
‘And you’re absolutely sure that it wasn’t one of the nurses that Darren saw?’ Anna had privately made up her mind that that was the most likely explanation.
‘He told me twelve o’clock. The nurses make their rounds on the half hour and I checked the notes for last night. The nurse on duty wrote down when she’d checked on him.’
‘This is crazy, Jamie.’
‘Yeah, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
He was calling her bluff. Jamie had slid a long bench across from under the window, and placed it as close as he could to the side of the bed, so that he’d get the same view of the room that Darren would have done last night. Anna sat down beside him, and they lapsed into companionable silence together for a few moments. The temptation to sink into the darkness with him was almost unbearable.
‘I heard there was an impromptu concert on the roof this afternoon. Jonny Campbell unplugged.’
She heard Jamie chuckle quietly. ‘Yeah, I fetched a guitar from home for him, and asked if he’d like to play. It was a sell-out, we had a crowd of more than a dozen when the nurses’ shift changed.’
‘Not quite what Jon’s used to, then?’
‘It was a lot better than he’s been used to recently. Jon’s been talking about getting back to his roots, and he was enjoying it as much as Darren was. I think it meant something to him. Darren’s a brave kid, and making him smile helped Jon, too.’
‘It sounds like great therapy. For both of them.’ There were some things that the hospital couldn’t give to its patients, and this was one of them.
‘Darren’s mum was pretty thrilled as well. Jon sang “Everywhere” for her, and I took some pictures.’
‘You didn’t join in?’
‘Nah. We’re not quite there yet.’
Making music together had been such a bond for Jamie and Jon. Maybe it was too much to expect of their fragile new relationship. ‘Next time maybe.’
‘Maybe.’
She wanted so badly to touch him, to comfort him. Jamie had put all his own feelings aside and had turned his attention to helping Jon and Darren. He was making a great job of it for both of them, but at some point he was going to have to confront his own emotions. Anna moved her hand, laying it on Jamie’s arm in what she hoped would be construed as a friendly gesture of concern.
She felt muscle flex beneath her fingertips. She should move away, but she couldn’t. Then she felt Jamie’s hand on hers as he leaned towards her. She could hardly breathe.
‘It’s nearly midnight. Are you frightened yet?’ He whispered the words in her ear.
Terrified. Afraid of what might happen if she sat any longer with him in the darkness. The supernatural world had nothing that rivalled this for sheer, unthinking dread.
Then she saw it. A pale figure that seemed to shimmer slightly on the other side of the room. Anna let out a gasp, feeling Jamie’s
arm move protectively around her shoulders. Suddenly she was clinging to him, feeling the beat of his heart quicken against her cheek. Then he let out a low chuckle.
‘So that’s it.’
* * *
Jamie didn’t have an extensive knowledge of ghost-hunting, and had always assumed that it was a ruse, intended to entice a girl closer. If that was the case, then this had unexpectedly worked like a charm. He’d assumed that his night-time vigil would be spent alone, but suddenly Anna had slid towards him and was in his arms.
It was obvious now, what Darren had seen. But his first glimpse of the illusion had taken Jamie by surprise, and he’d automatically reached for Anna, seeking to protect her from the unknown.
