“I’m not,” he tries to assure me, standing at the table for another few seconds as he eyes Ethan. “I’m going to order some food to go. Do you want anything?” he asks me.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Thanks, though.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Ethan tells Harrison, who grumbles a response and goes to the counter to order. “Your brother seems rather protective of you.”
“Yeah. He’s older than me by like ten seconds or however long it takes to grab the second baby during a c-section, and he takes being the older brother seriously.” I roll my eyes.
“Good,” Ethan says, surprising me a bit. “I have two sisters. Call me old fashioned, but I believe all brothers should look out for their sisters.”
“I look out for him more than he looks out for me.” I break off another piece of muffin and get chocolate all over my fingers. “He just doesn’t realize it.”
“Don’t ever tell him,” Ethan says with a grin. “I’m gonna take off. It was nice meeting you Anora.”
“Likewise.” Smiling, I hold his gaze. “Thanks again for helping me.”
“Of course. We both know you needed it.” He flashes that cocky grin again and my insides feel all squishy. “Goodnight, Anora.”
“Goodnight.”
He slides out of the booth and starts toward the door.
“Hate to see him go, but love to watch him leave, right?” I say to a waitress passing by. She gives me a forced smile paired with a weird look and keeps walking. I finish the muffin, which is evidence that I did have a lot to drink. Normally, I’m very picky about sharing food or drinks with anyone. It just grosses me out.
I take another sip of coffee, choking it down in hopes it will sober me up faster, and then sweep the crumbs off the table into my hand, putting them back on the plate. I waited tables in college and try to do my best to make life easier for the waitstaff. I leave a tip and then join Harrison while he waits for his food.
“Who the hell was that guy?” he asks as soon as I stand next to him.
“I thought you weren’t being a Judge Judy.”
“Asking who that was doesn’t make me a Judge Judy.”
I purse my lips and then laugh. “This is the first time you’ve had to pick me up drunk. Do you know how many times I picked up your drunk ass?”
He frowns. “Don’t change the subject. Who was that guy? Was he trying to take advantage of you because you’re wasted?”
“I’m drunk, not wasted,” I press. “And no. We just got to talking. He was nice and didn’t even touch me or even ask for my number, which I suppose I could take as an insult. I’m hot enough to be taken advantage of, aren’t I?”
“I’m not answering that. And I don’t know, Annie. The guy knew you were drunk. If I hadn’t shown up, he might have offered to take you home.”
“Okay Anthony Bridgerton. No one is good enough for sweet little Daphne.”
“What?” He looks at me, slowly shaking his head. “And fine, you sound easily swayed right now, so the guy just taking you to a cafe was a good move.”
I nudge him with my arm. “I knew you’d come around.”
A few minutes later, Harrison gets his food, and we head out to his car. There’s a weird feeling in the air again, and the heaviness that usually sits on my chest is gone. It’s an odd feeling, made even weirder by my lack of ability to hold my mental shields up at the moment. I always thought the ghosts were the reason for the oppression, but I’m sensing them left and right as we drive to my house.
I change into PJs as soon as I’m home and go into the kitchen to steal a couple of fries from Harrison. I should have ordered something, dammit. Hunter is waiting by the back door.
“Need to go out, buddy?” I ask him and unlock the door. Hunter bolts forward as soon as the door is open, growling. My heart skips a beat and fear prickles down my spine. It’s the dog-creature. It has to be.
“Oh shit,” I say out loud and sprint out the door. “Hunter!” I call, but there’s no way he can hear me over his own barking. “Hunter!” I call again, but then the energy shifts, hitting me hard and making me dizzy. I shake my head, trying to force the mental shields up, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t block it out.
Red-hot fear shoots through me, and my eyes widen in terror. A shadow moves through the alley, visible through the chain-link fence. Hunter runs to me, standing guard as he growls at whatever is moving toward us. The shadow takes on a more human form. Energy buzzes in my ears.
I’m frozen, rooted in the same spot, as I watch the dark shape step through the fence as if it’s not even there. It reaches out, taking electromagnetic energy from my body. The darkness melts away as the ghost shifts into a human appearance. He’s a teenage boy, with scraggly blonde hair that ends above his shoulders.
He looks at me, his eyes pleading. Then he holds his arms out to the side and opens his mouth, trying to speak. His dead eyes meet mine, and he shakes his head. A chill goes through me, and I suddenly feel the ghost’s emotions. He’s giving me a warning…but I don’t know why. He looks behind him, fear crinkling his young face, and then disappears into the night without a trace.
What the fuck? First Bob, then that dog-creature-thing, and now this cryptic spectral visit? Shaking myself, I reach down and slip my fingers under Hunter’s collar. “Come on,” I tell him and turn, going back into the house.
Harrison is standing on the little patio, blue eyes wide.
“You’ll never believe what was out there.”
“I think I will,” he says, voice a little breathy. “Because I saw it too.”
Chapter Six
“What exactly did you see?” I usher Hunter inside and close the door behind us. Harrison either had the ability to see spirits all along or—more realistically—the spirit manifested strong enough for anyone to see.
“Some kid…walking in the alley.” Harrison’s eyes go to the little window at the top of the door. “And then he just disappeared.” He closes his eyes. “He, um, just run away really fast, right?”
“Come on, Har. It was a ghost and you know it. He walked through the fence. Did you feel the air?”
“Feel the air?”
“Yeah,” I say, still too drunk to do a good job explaining anything. “It felt different, didn’t it?”
Harrison slowly shakes his head. “It didn’t feel any different to me.” He steps back, rubbing his temple. “That was really a ghost?”
“It was.”
“Do they always look like that?”
“No. Most are just gray shadows or maybe a quick glimpse of how they used to look. It takes a lot of energy to manifest in that way.” I let out a breath, feeling dizzy, and I don’t know if it’s from the alcohol or the ghost. I get a drink of water and join Harrison at my little kitchen table. Four people can technically fit around it, if I slide it out from against the wall that is. But then there’s hardly any room to walk about the kitchen. Laney and Leslie are the only friends I ever invite over, and most of the time we sit in the living room with the TV on while we eat.