Page 72 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Lucky groaned. “Maverick, don’t do this to me.”
“Don’t do what?” He laughed nervously. “Do youwantyour hair to turn white?”
“Georgia said it was only a patch,” she reasoned, laughing too. “It’ll turn gray someday anyway.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I am a well-seasoned supernatural researcher. It takes more than a phantom bumper car to stop me.” Her stomach didn’t even react. They’d befine.
Maverick led them back to the middle of the path just as it began to make its first curve and the park instantly quieted down behind them.
Lucky grinned. “That didn’t scare you, did it?”
His intense side-eye was all the answer she needed.
“I’m sorry,” she said, gaze on her feet. “I told you I-I don’t really get scared. Stuff like that barely registers anymore.”
“Rebel is out there.” Maverick was quiet for a moment before adding, “I wasn’t scared of the bumper car. I was worried about what you might do because of it. None of this bothers you. Just…how?”
“Practice, I guess.” She shrugged. “My stomachache system keeps me in check. That didn’t feel dangerous at all.”
“Stomachache system,” he repeated.
“Yeah, you know how like when you can tell something is wrong? You get a bad feeling? I figured out how to reliably use it to my advantage.”
“Mmm.” He nodded. “How did you even figure out you wanted to be a…supernatural researcher?”
“Not sure if I mentioned this but I have ESP.”
A rustling pair of bushes directly on their right grabbed their attention. Their flashlights caught three raccoons in mid-scurry. One of them froze in place standing on two legs as they passed it.
“Poor little guy.” Lucky laughed.
“You know what I meant,” he said. “How did you go from knowing how to read people to living in Hennessee House? I want to understand.”
“Everyone has a calling. This is mine.” She shrugged. “Thank you, but also no offense. I’m not sure I care all that much if peopleunderstandmy choices as long as they respect them. That’s the biggest issue I have.”
“You told me that. I remember,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t take you seriously or believe you.”
“Yeah because you’re in it. Youknowit’s real. I don’t have to prove anything to you. But outsiders, like my family and the people I thought were my friends? They didn’t get it,” she said. “That’s why I made the decision to just be alone.”
Maverick shivered suddenly—their eyes locked. He gave a quick nod for her to continue.
According to the legend and Georgia, the entity had a vested interest in emotions shared between people. Lucky wondered if that meant they needed to be solely romantic in nature. As long as she was genuine, she might get an answer.
“I don’t talk to my family,” she began. “I don’t date at all. I don’t think I’m the kind of person who was made for other people. I can be a lot sometimes. Intense. Impulsive. Obsessive in a way people don’t understand. No one ever really sticks around, and I don’t blame them. It’s okay.”
Maverick frowned as his teeth began to chatter. “Being a lot doesn’t mean you deserve to be alone. Not if you don’t want to be.”
As he spoke, Lucky’s goose bumps returned with a vengeance. “I don’t know if I have much of a choice. My ability helps me see people in ways I probably shouldn’t. One of the first lessons I everlearned was that people don’t really change. If they don’t want me, as I am without lying or pretending to be I’m something I’m not, there’s nothing I can do to change someone’s mind. I can delay it, but never stop it.”
“I don’t think that’s true. Peoplecanchange.”
“On the surface it might seem that way,” she said. “Everything starts as promising as it should, but then I’ll watch as their behavior takes a turn. They’re not as nice. They make fun of the things I like only to claim it’s a joke and call me sensitive. It’ll steadily get worse: they ignore me, insult me, accuse me of things that aren’t true. They act like that in response to me. It’s my fault.”
“No, it isn’t,” he said through clenched teeth. He was shivering so bad, their hands shook. “No one has the right to treat you that way.”
Strangely, Lucky didn’t feel any colder. “Your jacket…”
