Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (31 page)

Crap, they were totally going to make me take yoga or something terrible like that.

“I can’t go in there,” I said, pacing outside the hospital door. “She hates me.”

“Of course she doesn’t,” Connor said. “You go in there and I’ll go talk to Christian.”

“What are you going tell him? At least Ava knows what happened – sort of.”

“I’ll play it by ear. Jeannie gave me some tips.”

I shook my head. “Great. This just keeps getting more complicated. Why can’t we have a simple, easy life?”

Connor wrapped his arm around my waist and pushed me gently against the wall. “Easy isn’t in our cards, Jane Watts.” He pressed his lips against mine.

The warm feeling brought back a flood of memories, some good, some not. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything from when I projected at the gallery?”

“Nothing,” he said, but his eyes shift to the side. “From what you said, I’m glad I don’t.” His hand touched my cheek. “I’d never hurt you like that.”

“I hurt you first,” I said, grazing his bruised lip.

“It’s over. Stop procrastinating,” he said, arching his eyebrow. “Go see Ava.”

He was right about the procrastinating. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door, pushing it open before I lost my nerve or she could send me away.

Propped on the bed, Ava looked expectantly at the door. When she saw me, she broke into a wide, relieved smile. “You’re okay! I told them I wouldn’t believe it until I saw you.”

“Me? You’re the one who was tortured and almost killed,” I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked good. Clean hair and striped pajamas. The only difference was that her hands and wrists were wrapped in soft, white gauze. A drip of fluids was injected and taped to her arm.

“Being possessed is its own kind of torture, I’m sure. I know you’d never hurt me on purpose. Plus, it wasn’t even you. It was Tony who did the bad stuff.”

“I’ve been so scared,” I confessed. “This was really bad, Ava, and we almost didn’t make it.”

“I was scared, too. Of Tony and then of you. The look in your eye,” she shuddered. “I thought you were going to do it.”

“I
was
going to do it. I fired the gun, Ava. I had every intention of killing you.”

“Good thing you missed.”

“Good thing you pack a hell of a kick,” I said back.

“Seriously, Jane, I had faith in you the whole time. I knew you wouldn’t do anything to me.”

Faith. The second time that word had been used. “Is that why you kicked me in the face? Because you had faith?”

She laughed. “I trust you, dummy, but I’m not a fool. I let Tony get the jump on me. I couldn’t afford to do that twice.”

I looked around the room and saw a bag and papers on the small table. “Where are your parents?”

“They went out for some food. Well, I begged them to give me a little space. They’re understandably freaked. Once the doctors let me out, they’ll take me home.”

“Back to the dorm?” I asked hopefully.

She shook her head. “Not now. Christian and I are going back to Atlanta for a while. I’m okay, Jane, but I’m not
okay
. The nightmares are rough and I keep thinking he’s going to come back for me. Thank God for meds, right?”

“I understand.”

“Have you heard what the police are saying?”

“No.”

“They’re calling Tony a serial killer and Christian and I are his only survivors. The media has been calling my mom all day. She finally shut off her phone. It’s a little crazy and it’s a big part of why I’m leaving school for a while.”

“Serial killer. I guess that’s true,” I said, unable to lose the uneasy feeling in my stomach. Poor Darius.

“Either way, I’ll be back next semester. We’ve got to let all this die down some.”

“I’ll miss you, but I understand.”

I stood to leave, worried about facing Ava’s parents, but she caught my hand and held tight. “Don’t let this tear you up. I’m okay. Christian’s okay. There was nothing different you could do to change this.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is,” she argued. “From my perspective, it is true. You’re my best friend, Jane, and I’m a willing participant in your messed up, supernatural life. I want to keep it that way. The good, bad and crazy.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Probably,” she kissed me on the forehead and I had the feeling she was a little drugged. “Get out of here. I need to get ready for my interview with Oprah.”

“Shut up. You do not have an interview with Oprah.”

She smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Look, if this is the story the police are running with, then I’m making the most of it.”

I leaned over and gave her a tight hug. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

Being the victim of a sensational, yet imaginary crime had its perks. People were really nice to me and gave me a welcome, wide berth. My professors. The girls in my dorm. Even random people on the street seemed to know who I was and what I’d been through. Or what my roommate had been through.

It was weird, since all of it was a lie.

The police seemed content to have found their killer, and the people in the gallery that night had hazy memories. I read one theory where they thought they were drugged. Compelled was the correct term. Apparently, there was no limit to the gifts and abilities of the members of my new group. I learned new things every day about the world I was part of. I now carried some sort of Shadow Bound swagger, not in this world, but in the one beyond ours. I helped the good ghosts and the bad stayed away. Far away.

The cravings subsided for the most part. Other things helped. Running helped. Art helped. Connor helped.

“Ready?” he asked, parking the car.

“Yep.”

He leaned over and kissed me. He knew how his touch affected me and was happy to oblige. Breaking away, I stepped out into the cool air and inhaled the salty breeze.

Connor locked his car and I waited, stretching on the sidewalk. He brushed his hand over mine, linking our fingers, and we walked over the weathered boardwalk onto the beach. Short pieces of his hair stuck out the front of his cap, curling up on his forehead. When we reached the packed, level sand near the water, we picked up the pace and fell into an easy rhythm.

“How did your project go?” he asked, breathing effortlessly.

“Good. Dr. Markson gave me an extension, but I turned it in on time anyway.” When news about Ava and Tony broke, the school set up a variety of services for me and the others affected. Jeannie suggested we go to the counselor so as to not raise suspicion. I went, the lies coming as easily as they had back in high school. Back then though, I didn’t have an army supporting me. “What about yours?”

“I took the extension. But mostly because it’s for an intro to dance class that I got stuck in because I’m a freshman and I had to fill that requirement.”

“I bet you look cute dancing,” I laughed.

“I look like a giraffe on roller skates.”

We jogged the three miles to the pier, talking occasionally but more just enjoying the roar of the waves and the silence. Ghosts were scarce on the beach and these runs had become a refuge. An opportunity to refuel, physically and emotionally.

We slowed and took the path toward the damaged buildings. Connor took my hand and stole a kiss. “
Mmm, sweaty,” he laughed, licking his lip.

“Gross.”

“You like me gross.”

He had me there.

“I’m coming out here next week with a photographer,” he said. The graffiti wall came in view. “Professor Collins wants to use my artwork to apply for a grant, helping encourage and reform street art.”

“Using the reverse graffiti method?”

“Yeah. We’ll have some exhibitions and then workshops over the summer. I would get paid.”

I gripped his elbow. “That’s great. You’ll be like
Banksy.”

“I wish.”

“I’m really proud of you,” I said. “You’ve come so far.”

His eyes lit up. “
We’ve
come so far.”

“We have.” I nodded, stepping closer. He wrapped his arms around me, shielding my body from the wind.

“How do you feel about all that stuff Jeannie told us?”

“You mean that we’re part of something bigger? And that she’d hidden it from us because we weren’t ready?”

“Yes, that.”

I sighed and pressed my hands against the wall, seeking sun-soaked heat. “It makes sense, I guess. This has always been like peeling layers off an onion. Each one we remove brings another one. I like the idea of having help.”

“I do, too,” he agreed. “And I like having a community to back us up. We can’t do this alone anymore. It’s too dangerous.”

The wind whipped around us and I burrowed my face in his neck and asked, “So, we’re going to do this then?” There was more than one “this” to consider. Our relationship, the community led by Nina. I looked in his eyes and he knew I was curious about all of it.

“We already are, Jane. I don’t think we ever stopped. Maybe just a time-out.”

His words lit a fire under my skin, but it was different from before. The desire was still there, but the unhealthy craving had diminished. When the hotspot closed, the crazed feelings I had for Connor cleared into something stronger. Something real. For the first time, I felt content with Connor. Like we were on even territory. I loved him and I knew he loved me. He’d proved that to me countless times. We’d spent so much time fighting each other and our abilities that the peace we had was well won. For the first time, I was confident we’d finally overcome our issues.

We huddled against the demolished building, warming each other’s hands and mouths. “I’ll never get tired of this,” he said between kisses. I stepped away and smiled, loving what we had between us.

“Race you back?” I challenged, already running before I said the words.

Those long legs caught me before I hit the beach. I could try to out run Connor Jacobs, but he’d proven he would never stop chasing me.

I never wanted him too.

The hardest part of everything that happened was losing Tony. He’d become a friend and an ally. He was also a victim of the scary side of the supernatural world. A reminder of how little control we had and how important it was to hold onto the little bit we could manage.

“I can’t believe he did it,” Amber sobbed. “I can’t believe he was a monster.”

“He was sick,” I justified, feeling terrible that his memory was tainted. But some of this was Tony’s fault, too. He made the deal to gain artistic skill. Taking from the other side, like I had. The consequences were severe. “He wasn’t himself. The Tony that was your friend would never do something like that.”

Amber wiped her nose with a tissue. “I just feel like I’m missing something. Everything from that night is really confusing.”

“I know. I can’t remember much either,” I lied. Darius had held a small, private memorial for Tony that afternoon and we’d gone. Amber felt conflicted about going, but I agreed it may be a good thing. Remember the good part of Tony and not the bad.

My phone buzzed and I knew I had to go.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked. Lila stood in the doorway, ever present for Amber and the rest of us. “I need to meet Ava before she leaves town.”

“Go,” she said with a watery smile. “Give her my best.”

“I will,” I said, walking out the door. From lies to secret meetings, nothing about my life seemed to be getting any less complicated.

*

“We’re going to be late,” I said, dragging Connor down the sidewalk.

“Do you think they have some sort of initiation ritual?”

“Like a fraternity?”

“I was thinking more like a cult,” Ava said. Her eyes popped wide. “Maybe they’ll make us blood promise or something.”

“You have got to stop watching so many lame movies,” Connor said. We arrived at Madam Rosemarie’s and he tapped on the door. The closed sign hung in the window.

“I can’t help it,” Ava said. “I feel like I’m some kind of weird sidekick in your crazy, supernatural world. I need to know as much as I can.”

I threw an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “We agree. That’s why you’re invited to the meeting. Being a victim of supernatural crime gets you a pass to all underground meetings.”

“Do I really get a pass? Like a card?”

Nina opened the door and smiled, “Hey guys, come in.”

We entered the shop and I felt Connor’s hand at my back. Jeannie stood behind the counter, passing out drinks. She’d stayed in town for a while, slowly filling me in on a lot of details she’d withheld over the last two years. I waved when she spotted us.

Misha approached us, beautiful and friendly. Nothing like the last time we’d seen her in this very spot. Helping me control Jeannie and Connor. Thank God that was over. From the look of relief on her face, I suspected she felt the same way. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”