Page 96 of Chasing Your Ghost

“Interesting,” Asher said. “So you’re a pumpkin spice, orange leaves, Halloween, scarf, and plaid jacket kind of girl.”

Riley clicked her tongue, letting him know she was in no way a walking cliché. But, yes, she had to admit to herself that she did rather like most of those things. Except for the plaid jackets. Some people could pull them off, but she was more of a hoodie or monotone jacket kind of girl. Ella, on the other hand…Riley could easily see her rocking a plaid jacket and embracing some serious Taylor Swift Evermore vibes when fall came around.

Asher chuckled. “I’m more of a Summer man myself. Going paddle boarding at Pohick Bay with Chris and Noah, grabbing an ice cream in Old Town with Ella, showing off my glorious abs while tanning by the pool.”

Riley would have laughed at the last point if it wasn’t so sad that he was currently missing his favorite season because some psychopath had kidnapped him.

“And what would you choose between ice cream and cake?” he asked next, and the questions went on and on, both of them learning random and seemingly trivial things about one another. Lying next to a sleeping Ella and a lightly snoring Archie wasn’t all that romantic, yet Riley was sure that night was better than any date anyone else could have taken her on.

???

“Riley, wake up.”

She groaned and pressed her face tighter into the rather hard pillow beneath her cheek. Her pillow vibrated as it laughed, and she was sleepily trying to figure out the mechanics of that when someone placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her.

“As comfortable as you look cuddling with my invisible best friend, you need to get up,” Ella said, her words taking longer than they should have to register. “I have to tell you about last night.”

Riley opened her eyes and sat up quickly enough that her head spun. She looked between Asher, who she’d apparently been using as a human pillow, and Ella, who was clutching Archie to her chest like a safety blanket. “Did it work? Did you find him?” She didn’t remember falling asleep, and if she’d messed up their plan by dozing off, she would never forgive herself.

“I did dreamwalk, but I still wasn’t able to reach his body. It felt like I was getting somewhere this time, like I was getting close, but then the same thing happened. I tried to fight against it, and it almost felt like I was about to break through, but everything went blurry, and I got stuck. Someone is definitely blocking me.”

Riley looked at Asher. They’d known this was a long shot, but Riley could see the same crushing defeat that she felt in the curl of his fists and the flat line of his lips.

“But you got closer this time?” Riley asked Ella, trying to find some hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

“I did.”

“Do you think you could get even closer if we tried again?”

Ella’s lips pinched together, and she looked like she was fighting back tears. “No,” she admitted in a trembling whisper, her eyes moving to where she correctly assumed Asher was sitting on the bed. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to get past whoever is doing this. I’m sorry.”

Riley scanned the woman’s face, seeing the cracks that had formed in her façade with her admission. Riley knew there was something else they could try, and she knew this was the time for her to ask Ella to reconsider.

“We need to tell Noah and Chris.” She turned to Asher, hating that she was being deceitful but needing to speak to Ella alone. “Can you go check if they’re awake?”

He didn’t show any signs of suspicion as he nodded. He climbed off the bed and disappeared through Ella’s bedroom. His trust only made her feel worse, but she didn’t hesitate to turn back to Ella and make her case.

“I’m going to ask you to do something, and I need you to really think about it before you say no,” she said, locking her gaze with Ella’s and begging the woman with her desperate and shiny eyes. “I know you said you wouldn’t try finding Asher while you’re awake, but it’s all we have left to try.”

“No,” Ella said, jerking her head from side to side as she got off the bed, still holding a content-looking Archie. “I can’t do it.”

“Ella, please,” she begged. “We can all stay with you and make sure you’re fine.”

“You can’t protect me while I’m in that place. Nobody can.”

“We have to find Asher,” Riley pressed. “I know you’re scared, but he needs us to help him—he needs you to help him.”

“I can’t,” she practically hissed. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”

Riley could understand the woman’s fear, could sympathize with it, but she couldn’t understand how she could let her best friend suffer all the while she might have the key to save him. She hated even thinking it because she knew Ella’s fear was very real, but Noah’s assessment of her was starting to hold more weight than Riley had ever thought it would. “Ella—”

“I’m going downstairs to make breakfast for everyone,” she interrupted. “I’ll see you in the kitchen.”

Riley fell back onto the bed after Ella had left the room, cursing herself for failing in this too. She felt the familiar burn of impending tears behind her eyes, but she refused to let them form, fisting her hands in Ella’s parent’s sheets as an outlet for her anger instead. That was how Asher found her.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer.

He joined her on the bed, pulling her against him so their faces were only inches apart. “It’s okay. We’ll find another way.”

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