Page 41 of One Last Touch

He didn’t reply and ice swept through me when he stepped out into the slither of light, a ghostly glow taking him. His dark hair was rumpled and his clothes were different to before, his jeans and jumper out of place with the formal stiffness of his shoulders.

The silence stretched on and I swallowed hard as I took in the hollow expression on his face—that isn’t Edward

“A little dramatic, don’t you think?” I said, trying for bravado as I faced down my mother’s murderer. What did he want? Was he here to kill me next?

Jared stood metres away. I couldn’t understand how two people could look as similar as the brothers did and yet have such different vibes. It was like Jared had killed some fundamental thing inside of himself, his skin paler, his eyes nearly translucent instead of grey, his lips were bloodred and darkness seemed to radiate from him like the pigment in his hair was bleeding.

He’d wanted me to hear him. Wanted me to know he was coming. But the fact that he’d waited until nightfall made me more confident that what he’d stolen from me was nowhere close to the life-force I’d given to Sage to save him. Otherwise he wouldn’t be back so soon.

“I fear it’s a quality you may have inherited from me,” he said and I jolted. His voice was smooth when it felt like it should have been a rumble or a growl. That was the thing with monsters though, sometimes they were far too human.

“Then you clearly don’t know me very well.”

“I don’t know you at all. Your mother took care of that.”

“Thank god she did.”

His eyes narrowed and I wanted to back away but held myself still. “We wouldn’t be where we are now if she had just loved me.”

“So you admit now that she didn’t? That she never did and never will? I love seeing personal growth.” The snap of anger in my voice made me flush but it was hard not to lash out. This was the bastard who’d killed my mum. Who’d murdered Sage and Ms Weathers and Edward and god knew who else. How could anyone look into the face of evil like that and not burn with anger at what they’d done?

Jared smiled and it had all the markers of pleasantry whilst somehow seeming terrifying, too wide, too toothy. “Ah, yes. Let it all out, Georgina. You got your anger from me too.”

“No part of you lives in me.”

He tutted. “Such strong denial. It’s sad, truly.” One heavy foot hit the ground as he moved closer to me and as the moonlight hit him, he began to glow. I had been right, it was muted. Would he try to kill me now? What else could he be waiting for? “You can run, if you want. It didn’t help Natalia.”

I clenched my fists and tried to tune out his words. Should I run? Somehow that seemed like a trap, like dangling temptation in front of an animal and expecting it not to pounce.

“I could make it quick for you, if you behave.”

“You’re a ghost,” I said finally, “so I can’t spit on you. But if I thought it would land, trust me, I would do it.”

His head tilted back as he laughed and then he lunged at me, his hand solidifying as he grabbed my cheeks and squeezed. “You have spirit and I have to tell you how much that pleases and enrages me.” I jerked my head and he held on tighter. “So much like your mother.”

I smiled devilishly, even as it stretched my cheeks uncomfortably and he watched me do it with a kind of fascination on his face that alarmed me.

His other hand came up between us, becoming corporeal as he placed it on my chest over my heart. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you yet. I want Natalia to watch as I take the last thing she loves from her and she’s a little… lost, right now. But soon,” he promised as his hand pressed down harder and that same energy I’d given to Sage rushed out of me once more. “Soon.”

He vanished as quickly as he’d appeared and I gasped, falling to my knees as sound slowly trickled back into the night. He hadn’t taken that much because while I was dizzy, I was nowhere near unconscious like I had been last time. In honesty, I think he’d mostly just wanted to speak to me, take my measure while he threatened me. If he’d been hoping to scare me, he’d failed. I now felt more strongly than ever that I’d made the right decision.

I’d once told Sage that I would do terrible things for the people I loved. Now, time was running out and I could only hope that he would forgive me.

* * *

“There you are.” Sage and Ms Weathers were in the kitchen when I got in, the former looking like he was moments away from pacing the room. “I was worried.”

“I’m okay.” I smiled at him as I hung up my coat, making sure I tucked my berries securely inside and took only a handful of leaves out as I rushed to put the kettle on. “It’s gotten so frosty outside, I’m pretty sure some of my hair froze on the walk back.”

“Did you find her?” Ms Weathers watched me bustle around the kitchen with something like envy and I shook my head.

“No. I spoke with Edward though.”

“That’s nice, dear.”

I stifled a laugh. In so many ways, Ms Weathers was like the grandmother I’d never had. Both of my mother’s parents had passed away when I was young, or so she’d told me. I guess there was no real way of knowing what was truth and what she’d hidden to protect me from her past.

I was grateful, of course. She’d given up everything she knew and loved to raise a baby by herself. I’d thought we moved around a lot because she liked to travel, but now I suspected it was more about safety. But it was a lonely way to live. I never really got to make friends, moving from school to school, plus I was shy after the kids at one primary school had shunned me for having ‘freaky eyes’. That had become my nickname and I’d endured it for an entire year before we moved. For a long time, it was only me and her. Now she’d gone somewhere I couldn’t follow and that would have been okay if she hadn’t left such a mess behind for me to figure out.

---