Page 27 of Ghoul Kisses

“I’ve missed you, too. I’ve been staying with a friend,” I answer vaguely, hoping she won’t pry.

“With who?” she asks. I need to take the spotlight off of me.

“What have you been up to, lately?” The waitress brings me a cup of hot tea with sugar. Nessa must have ordered it; she knows me so well.

“Nothing; working and worried about you.”

I blow on the tea before sipping from my mug. Nessa rubs my hand, and I peer at her.

“Don’t go ghost on me anymore. Okay?” Her eyes glisten with tears as she continues. “It scared me to death when I couldn’t reach you.” She wipes the tears again. I hate lying to her. Guilt clogs my throat. I take another sip from my tea hoping to wash it away.

“Okay,” I say in a low voice.

We chat for a few minutes, and she tells me that she has a new boyfriend. They started dating a few weeks after I disappeared. I don’t tell her about Eric, because I’m afraid I might tell her a lot more than I intend to. Eventually, I walk with her to her car, and she gives me a long, heartfelt hug and kisses my cheek as we say our goodbyes. We agree to e-mail each other every day. I don’t want to leave her. It takes every ounce in me not to spill the beans about Eric. Once I’m in the car, I strap my seatbelt on, and Odessa drives off. Her phone buzzes like crazy.

“I need to take you home ASAP,” she says as she makes a left at the red light. The digital clock display on the dash glows four o’clock; it doesn’t get dark for another two hours.

“Why?” I ask.

“Eric is blowing up my phone.” The phone rings again, and this time she answers. I can hear Eric yelling from where I sit.

“She is right here, Eric. Calm down! Geez!” she yells back. He says something else to her, and her knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.

“Here, talk to your angry mate before I kill him.” She shoves the phone in my hand.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?” Eric’s voice is warm and gentle.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I thought something happened because Odessa didn’t answer.” He pauses for a minute.

“Are you on your way home?” he asks with concern. Home. I never thought of Eric’s mansion as my home. Does Eric want me to stay there with him forever? Or does he mean nothing by it?

“Sarah, are you there?”

“Yea, I’m here, and yeah, we are on our way back,” I answer again.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon. Put Odessa back on the phone.”

I do what he says, they chat some more, and she hangs up the phone.

By the time Odessa drives through the metal gates, the sky is pitch black, and the stars are not out. She kills the engine as Eric runs down the stairs. He glares at Odessa as he opens the passenger door. He wraps me in a tight hug like he hasn’t seen me in ages.

“You sure you’re okay?” He assesses me, making sure I don’t have any cuts or bruises. I wave him off.

“I’m all right, Eric. I promise.”

He holds my hand as we walk upstairs. Kate and Mae stand by the foyer. Kate says hey to us, and Mae looks at me with obvious hate in her eyes. I want to glare back at her, but I don’t. I can only pity her after what Odessa told me.

As we stand in front of my bedroom door, Eric places his hand on the knob.

“I have a surprise for you,” he says, opening the door. When I walk in, a blank canvas is in the middle of the room, and various paints and brushes are spread on the dresser.

“I’m going to paint you.” Eric kisses my neck.

“Naked?” I tease.

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