Page 81 of The Curse of Redwood
“Drink up then, buddy.” I pushed his cup toward him. “Because what I’m about to tell you guys will probably shock you.” I looked at Taylor. “Well, more so with you. Ben already knows most of it.”
Taylor nervously glanced between the two of us. “Okay. What is it?”
And there goes my nerve. Cowardly Carter should be my new name.
“Not to keep you hanging in suspense, but is it cool if we order first? I’m starving.”
When the waitress came back around, Ben and I ordered the breakfast platter of eggs, sausage, and pancakes, while Taylor ordered a Belgian waffle and bacon. Once we were alone, I leaned forward on the table, meeting Taylor’s eye.
“Before I start, I just want to say I’m sorry for keeping it from you for so long. I didn’t know how to tell you… or if you’d even believe me if I did.”
And then I told him everything, starting from the night I’d first met Zeke in the ballroom after Ben’s book signing. I skimped over the details of Halloween night when Zeke and I had fucked each other’s brains out in my house, but I explained how I’d started having nightmares and feeling the pull to go back to Redwood.
The waitress brought our food, and I paused the story long enough to eat my sausage links and eggs before I dove back into it.
“I know how crazy this sounds,” I said, after telling them about the incident when Jasper chased me through the mansion with an axe. “But just bear with me. There’s more.”
“I’m still stuck on how you’ve been banging a ghost,” Taylor said a bit too loud, alerting the people in the booth behind him. He then cringed and added in a whisper, “Sorry. I just… I’m struggling here.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Wait. You said this Zeke guy is blond?”
“Yeah, and he…” I paused as I started to shake a little. “He knew your uncle. Zeke’s the guy Charlie wrote about.”
“Did you know he was the same guy when you and I talked about it?” Taylor asked.
Slowly, I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at the time. Like I said, I didn’t know how to. And I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I was also protecting Zeke.”
“I understand.” Taylor bit off a piece of bacon and was quiet as he chewed.
“Are you mad?”
“No.” He expelled a sharp breath and rested his arms on the table. “Just trying to process everything. It’s a lot to take in.”
“What about the rest?” Ben asked. “You said there’s more.”
“Oh. Yeah. Um.” I rubbed at the back of my neck. “I think I might be possessed by Zeke’s old boyfriend.”
Ben nearly spit his coffee. He quickly dabbed at his mouth and turned to me in the seat. “What?”
“You remember those visions I had about Zeke? Well, I think it’s connected. It has to be. Somehow, Philip and I are linked. And it’s even stronger now. It’s getting to the point where he takes over my body and I’m powerless to stop him. He even spoke through me last night.”
“More coffee?” the waitress asked, appearing out of nowhere.
Taylor screamed, which in turn, scared the people behind him. They shot him a nasty look before throwing money down on the table and standing from the booth to leave.
“No, thank you,” Ben answered for us, giving her a gentle smile. “Bring us the check, please.”
“You all right, hon?” she asked Taylor.
“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry.”
I hid my smile behind my cup as I lifted it to take another drink. Leave it to Taylor to make a serious conversation funny, even if it was unintentional.
“Hey, you don’t have to do that,” I said, as Ben pulled out his debit card and placed it on the ticket tray. “I invited you guys to breakfast, so I’ll buy.”
“Not a chance,” he responded. After the waitress returned with a receipt, he signed it and we stood from the table. Once we were outside, he turned to me. “What do you need us to do? I’ve read about ghost possession in my research, but I don’t know how accurate it is.”
“We can ask Callum,” Taylor said. “He should be at his shop.”
“He told me to come to him if I needed help in the future,” I pointed out, looking down the street.
