Page 22 of Ghoul

21

Hazel

Loud laughter and the sound of things clashing together intermittently were the first sounds to register in my brain. I slowly blinked my eyes as they tried to find focus. The room was dark, and it took a couple of seconds for me to figure out I’d dozed off earlier as I waited for Ghoul to get out of the shower. Stretching my legs and arms outward, a frustrated groan left my mouth. It was tempting to go back to sleep and not worry about what the guys were doing, but the longer I listened, the more my curiosity increased.

So much had changed in such a short time frame, none of which I’d ever suspected would, really. If someone had told me I would willingly be here in Ghoul’s clubhouse with his lungs still functioning, I would have called them a liar. It was fucked up how much had changed and how quickly. It wasn’t happiness that thrived within me to be here, but I wasn’t unhappy either. I was somewhere in between. Everything around us was ever-changing, but for me, I was at a standstill. What I needed was a good swift kick in the ass to get me motivated. No one was going to do that apart from me, though. If given a chance, Grams would, no question, but I hadn’t given her a chance.

I gritted my teeth and dialed her number, bringing the phone to my ear as guilt got the best of me.

“Hazel Jane, where in the—”

“Grams, I’m sorry. Before you continue, let me tell you how bad I messed up. I know I should have called, but I’m fine. Everything is okay. I promise,” I lied through my teeth, hoping she didn’t pick up on it.

“You had me worried to death,” she groused in an irritated voice.

“I’m surprised you didn’t call the cops.”

“I was going to, but that biker friend of yours stopped by and told me you were safe.”

“He what?” I spat out completely shocked. Betrayal ran through my blood, and I told myself to remain calm. Not for my benefit, but Grams’. Panic sizzled into my body. I didn’t know how much information she had about anything, but I was certain of one thing: Ghoul was back on my shit list.

“In his defense, it was either that, or I was busting the damn door down in that place you all hang out.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“I have my ways.” She half-heartedly laughed. “I’m just happy to hear your voice. All the rest of the stuff isn’t important.” She was dodging the question, and I wasn’t going to force it out of her. I wasn’t entirely certain I could even if I tried, so I didn’t bother.

“It’s good to hear yours, too, Grams. Listen, I’m going to get off here. Okay? I’ll call you in a few days. I love you.”

“Love you, too. I’ll call you tomorrow. Don’t think you’re off the hook for avoiding me,” she warned, and I shook my head, smiling as I ended the call. Things were far from okay, but after talking with Grams, my mind was a little more at ease, at least from the aspect of not having any contact with her for so long. Now, there was a whole different wave of concern for me to worry about. Murdering Ghoul had been off the table for some time, but it was back up for consideration.

It didn’t take long after the call with Grams to throw on some clothes. Too frustrated to give any thought to an outfit, I grabbed the first things I’d found and marched into the common area. It was flooded with people, some of who I recognized and some I didn’t. Women dressed in skintight clothing, a lot of it made of leather, hung off most of the brothers, begging for their attention. A large number of them were club skanks,’ if I had to guess. At least they fit the description of what Ghoul described to me. He’d given me a brief run-down of the clubs interworking but did not say more than he had to. It was enough for me to understand the basics, and to be frank, most of it I already knew from the hours of research I had done before meeting him.

I stood at the end of the bar, tapping my foot as my teeth ground together impatiently, waiting for him to look up at me.

“Ginger?” he asked through a half-grin, giving me his full attention, and the woman to his left huffed, clearly upset he wasn’t giving her what she wanted. My brows furrowed together, and I glared at her, hate beaming after her as she stomped off as a child would.

Even though she couldn’t see me, I flipped her off with my middle finger. “Can we talk?” I shook my head, irritated at myself for getting even the slightest bit upset at the sight of another woman showing interest in him. Why did it bother me? It wasn’t like he was anything to me any more than I was to him. Sure, our pasts were so tightly woven with heartbreak and blood, it would be a miracle if we were ever able to find peace. Yet, that didn’t mean he was mine or I was his.

“Of course,” he answered as he stood and nodded toward the direction of his room.

* * *

“What’s on your mind?”

“You.”

“Oh really.” He smirked, closing the door behind him, and the testosterone all but radiated off his chest as he puffed it out.

“Not in that way, Ghoul.”

“Oh.” He responded flatly with a simple twitch of his mouth.

“You told my Grams where I was.” Each word came out faster and louder than the one before it. It wasn’t a question. He was the only one who would have bothered telling Grams I was okay, other than maybe Spider, but he probably wouldn’t have spoken to her, to begin with.

“I did.”

“Why the fuck would you do that? Did you tell her about Dad and all that other fucked up shit, too? What kind of…what did you call this?” I waved my hand between us as I took a step closer to him as he leisurely leaned against his dresser, clearly not troubled with the problem I had.

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