Page 9 of Séance

“Oh, you’ve done so much for me already,” I protest and shake my head. As much as I want to spend more time with them, it’s better not to get more attached. “I don’t want to impose on you more. I already feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

A wicked smile crosses Jameson’s face, but Jaceson speaks before his twin can open his mouth. “It’s not taking advantage if we’re offering.”

I’m unable to argue with his logic. I nibble on my bottom lip, then mentally sigh when it throbs in protest. I’m so used to painthat I keep forgetting it’s injured. It would have healed much sooner if I could keep from biting it.

I peer at each of the guys, only to find them watching me closely, each wearing various expressions. Unfortunately, I have no experience reading anyone besides my father, so I can’t judge their moods.

These men don’t appear to be anything like my controlling father, and I’m unsure how to act around them. Even alone in the room with the five of them, I don’t feel threatened. It’s an odd sensation, and I’m not sure I trust it.

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve ever been alone with a man.

I’m cautiously optimistic that not all men are raging assholes, but I’m determined not to get my hopes up. Between my father and the wardens he calls servants, men in general have not left a good impression on me. My body throbs as if remembering the many times I’ve been beaten for speaking without permission or even looking up from the ground and daring to meet anyone’s gaze.

I’ve been pretending to be meek and mild for so long that it’s a hard habit to break. It’s ingrained in my psyche at this point, but I refuse to start my new life like the biddable little mouse my father tried to mold me into.

I’m determined to be me…just as soon as I figure it out myself.

“Um, sure,” I murmur with a hesitant smile, and the guys seem to relax. “I’ll ask Nan where she keeps her tools.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jameson replies with a flirty wink, and I’m not sure if I’m charmed by his forceful nature or overwhelmed.

Hicks comes to my rescue before I need to decide. He shakes his head, then points to the many pieces of furniture around the room. “Stay and unpack.”

I almost expect him to volunteer to go with me. Instead, he nods to Jaceson. “You go. If they don’t have what we need, you know where to find the stuff at my house.”

Jameson shares a long look with his twin. I almost expect him to argue, but he just shrugs and flashes me an unbashful grin. As I head out of the room, Jaceson follows silently. I don’t like having anyone behind me when I’m on the stairs, having been shoved down them one too many times in the past, so I slow until he’s at my side, then I indicate he should lead the way.

Jaceson pauses for a second, seeing a little too much when he looks at me. With a silent nod, he heads down the steps on light feet, and I breathe a sigh of relief that he didn’t force the issue.

I’m not ready to answer any questions.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I look around the living room but don’t see my grandmother anywhere. “Nan?” I call out.

Her head pops around the corner of the kitchen, her face dusted with a white powder. “Yes, dear?”

I repress a smile, then point to a spot on my cheek. “You have a little something here.”

She reaches up and brushes at the spot with the back of her hand, but only ends up smearing the flour-like substance on her face. “Thank you.”

I blink once, then bite the inside of my lip. I might not know my grandmother well, but I’m coming to understand her a little more after living with her for two weeks. Telling her again will only make the situation worse. “Um, we were wondering if you have any tools so we could assemble the furniture?”

She purses her lips, tilting her head slightly as if trying to recall where they might be stored, then she shrugs and waves a hand like she can’t be bothered. “Try looking in the garage, dear. That was your grandfather’s domain. I haven’t ventured out there much since he passed away.”

Whenever my grandfather is mentioned, she gets that misty, faraway look in her eyes, and I’m disappointed I never had the chance to meet the man who could make my absentminded grandmother all atwitter.

My parents’ relationship seems obsessive and unhealthy by comparison.

A pang of longing takes me by surprise. Love is a sham, but buried deep in my heart, I can’t help but yearn to find someone to care about me that much.

In both relationships, they loved each other more than everything else. While the couples might be on opposite ends of the spectrum, the results are too similar to dismiss. When their spouses died, it nearly destroyed the surviving members.

They just stopped living.

A beep from the oven timer interrupts my ruminations. Nan disappears in a whirl of skirts and an absentminded smile, leaving the smell of perfume she bathes in every morning in her wake. Raising a brow toward Jaceson, I tilt my head in the direction of the garage, silently asking him to follow.

I enter the garage warily, unsure what to expect. I’ve never been in a garage before—it wouldn’t do for me to have access to cars. I peer around warily, and I’m pleasantly surprised. Instead of a dark dungeon of unfamiliar tools, dangerous weapons, and grime, the space is as neat as a pin.

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