“Cole—”
He wasn’t done. “You’re smart, fierce, brave. You have a habit of staring off into space, your mind lost to your memories. When you love, you love with your whole heart. And your compassion... When Holly Dumfries went on a date with Chad Stevens, Kerry Goldberg—Chad’s ex—dumped a bottle of water on Holly the next day at school. You helped Holly clean up, even switched shirts with her. Yeah. I checked into the shirt thing. Then, when everyone made fun of Aubrey Wilson for getting pregnant, you offered to throw her a baby shower.”
My eyes were so wide they had to look like saucers. I’d had no idea he’d known about Holly and Aubrey, and the fact that he did, that he’d kept tabs on me... My knees were threatening to buckle.
“What am I going to do with you?” he asked softly. He pressed his forehead into mine. “I’ve thought about sending Gavin back to Georgia, but then I feared something would happen to force you to follow him, and I wouldn’t be able to see you.”
“Cole—”
“You were right to call me a coward before. I’m afraid of the future, Ali. I can’t stand the thought of you with him, so how am I going to survive the reality of it?”
I wanted to wrap my arms around him, which is exactly why I pushed him away. “You don’t trust me when I say I’m not interested in him in a romantic way, and that I’m not ever going to be interested in him. You trust the visions more than you trust me and my feelings, and I deserve better.”
There was torment in his eyes as he muttered, “You’re right.”
And like that, something seemed to break inside him.
He fell onto the bed, put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a long while, simply breathing.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly.
“Not yet, but I will be.” He looked up, and I saw determination swimming in his eyes.
Determination to what?
It kind of...scared me.
I turned my back on him. Trembling, I said, “By the way, some of your friends aren’t happy with you lately. You’ve been really mean, apparently.” There. A safer topic.
“You want me to be nicer to them?” he asked almost carefully.
“Yes.”
He pushed out a breath. “Then I’ll be nicer.”
That easily? “Thank you.” I drew him toward the vanity. I sat down, keeping my gaze downcast. “Now, what I wanted to show you. Take a look at my reflection.”
“All right.” He remained at my back, his hands steady on my shoulders. “Is there something specific you want me to notice?”
“Watch what happens,” I said, and opened my eyes.
Z.A. grinned at me, and there was blood on her teeth.
My blood?
“What do you see?” I asked Cole, trying not to fidget.
He lifted my hair, bent down and placed a soft kiss at the curve of my neck. I stiffened, and his grip hardened, as did his gaze; he straightened. “I see you.”
A dangerous shiver stole through me. “No,” I said. “What do you see in the mirror?”
In the glass, his gaze met hers. He frowned. “I still see you.”
My brow furrowed with confusion. “You don’t see the black smudges?”
“No,” he said.
“Please. Introduce us.” She chuckled, the sound low and creepy. “He might prefer me.”
“Did you hear that?” I asked, clutching my stomach.
“Hear what?”
“Her.”
Comprehension dawned. “The dark presence you mentioned?”
I nodded.
“I didn’t.”
Dang it. Why? He could see and hear spirits in any form. He could see and hear Emma. Why not Z.A., too?
A hard knock pounded at my door. “Dinner’s ready,” Gavin called.
Scowling, Cole straightened. I stood, a little relieved.
“We’ll continue this later,” he said. A promise.
“All right.” An evasion.
We were silent as we headed into the kitchen.
Chapter 19
Go to Sleep, My Darlings