Page 69 of The Circus

“Oh, god. Does the world need a mini murderous Teddy, though?”

He grins and nips at my nose. “Of course. Someone has to be a vigilante when I’m gone.”

On cue, the bouncy ball—glowing a pale yellow—rolls to a stop at the edge of the mattress. Teddy springs up onto his arms, hovering above me protectively, eyes focused on the doorway. I smile softly. We’re clothed once more, so I don’t feel awkward when Lily’s timid face comes into view, wavering apprehensively, her round eyes stuck wide on Teddy.

“She wants to play with you,” I whisper to him.

“Who?” he asks just as softly.

“Lily. The little girl. She…she seems really attached to you, for some reason,” I say, turning my gaze to the side of his face, pondering the connection I feel between the two. He’s grinning, still staring at the doorway. When he looks back to me, he’s giddy with boyish excitement. I nod my head to the ball. “Roll it back to her.”

He pecks my lips with a quick, sweet kiss and hops up, seating himself on the floor with his back to me, plucking the ball from the ground and rolling it to the void beyond. Lily’s eyes shine with girlish excitement, and it warms my heart, witnessing this; the master of death playing with a ghost stuck in childhood forever.

My smile slowly fades, though, as I study her eyes. Even with the staticy vision I have of her, the color is still visually striking. Coldness creeps over me, banishing the warmth I felt just moments ago. Teddy cheers as the ball rolls back to him, turning to grin proudly at me. My smile in return is tempered by sinuous fear, but he doesn’t notice, too distracted at the moment.

Fear, because Lily has his eyes.

And I have no idea what that means for me.

THIRTY-NINE

TEDDY

Binx ridesin the pocket of my hoodie as Eden and I meander down the desolate dirt road, hand in hand, the two of us quiet. Something is on her mind, because she keeps chewing her bottom lip and staring at the ground instead of peering through the forest for her ghosts. Mist clings to the mossy trunks of the innumerable trees around us, and scant sunlight the hue of a pale, silvery fish glitters down in patches along the puddle-ridden muddy path.

“How’d you get out here?” she asks, head snapping up quickly. Her face is paler than usual, her hair tangled from our thorough and honestly beautiful fuck-session. I never knew an intimacy like that could be real—tangible— yet I’ve discovered it is, and I just wantmore. Forever.

I smirk down at her little doll-like face, those violet eyes round and innocent. She’s still just a little girl, hiding in the shell of an almost-adult. The voices have added new victims to their long list, bumping Miss Goss almost to the bottom in favor of decimating her mother and the man who molested her as a child. Although I am slightly apprehensive to share what the voiceshave demanded, I think Eden will understand when I disappear soon and hunt them down.

“Cash was owed a date, so I convinced him to have it at the diner down in Hangman Hollow. He dropped me at the end of the road and he’s picking us up there.”

Her brows slant and her eyes narrow.

“A date? With?”

I snort, tearing my eyes from hers and glancing around us to ensure nothing follows. The spirits are allowed to.

It’s humans and voracious mountain lions I’m worried about.

“Juniper.”

She stops in her tracks, our arms going taut between us, and I glance down at her again, our height difference so much more stark when we’re not horizontal. It sends that shiver of pleasure down my spine, how little and fierce my ghost is. I wish we had time to play another game of chase, but darkness is about to prevail, and I know the two of us have finals to study for to prepare for our last week of school.

“Juniper? Juniper Wells?” she hisses.

“The one and only,” I quip, tugging her along and quickening our pace. She makes a befuddled face but relents, following me silently once more.

“Am I allowed to know anything about that?” she grumbles. I give her a sideways glance and smirk.

“I’m sure she’ll shit her pants when you get into the car. The gist of it is…Cash helps her. A lot. With various things. He’s just getting what he’s owed,” I say with a simple shrug. Her lips purse, and she cocks a brow at me.

“You said at prom it was a blow job.”

“I did,” I say, hiding my laughter. Hearing my innocent little Eden talk so brazenly warms the cockles of my heart.

“So she’s prostituting herself?”

I can’t fight my smile, and my eyes slice to hers sideways.

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