“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Talking to my cranky friend. What’re you doing?” I smirked at him, even though it hurt my face.
“You called me, whining about how Ronnie wouldn’t talk to you, and that you fucked it all up … She’s been going through hell. Can you imagine what it’s been like for her? Your dead sister basically harassed her into telling you the horrible truth, and you snapped her head off. She put herself in danger to save her friend, and catch that psychopath and his frat boys. She would’ve been next. She couldn’t tell anybody how she knew about it, either. Come on, man. You’re Andrea’s friend. You should’ve been more understanding.”
Shit. I didn’t think about how she was going to explain it to the cops. She must’ve thought I didn’t believe her. I did. Even before I saw the writing on the mirror. I did believe her … because I’ve been feeling another presence in the house. And those cold patches that followed me everywhere I went? That must’ve been Tish.
Ben aimed his blue stare at me. “How are you gonna fix it?”
“She won’t see me, let alone talk to me.” I shoved the glass back to him.
He shook his head. “Drink the rest.” He waited while I swallowed it down. “So, what else have ya got?”
“Huh?” I frowned. My pickled brain wasn’t getting his drift.
“How. Are. You...” He poked a thick finger into my chest with each word, “… Going to. Get. Around...” He twirled his finger in the air, “… The problem?”
Shuffling back to the lounge, I lowered into the cushy seat. Ben took a seat on the coffee table, resting his elbows on his knees. I looked at him blankly as my head slowly whirred back into gear, thanks to the painkillers. A smile turned the corners of my mouth up, and Ben raised his eyebrows.
“I still have an ace up my sleeve.”
Ben slapped me on the shoulder. Ow. “Good. Welcome back.”
Ronnie
Sunday morning, Felicity decided she wanted to watch cartoons. Instead of stirring up those memories, I burrowed my head in a book, and pumped heavy rock directly into my ears.
I felt a whack on my leg and looked up to see Marissa and her sister … my sisters, looking down on me. Ripping out the earbuds, I jolted upright, leaving my jaw on the couch. The girls blinked at me and I blinked back at them. We all had the same long, curly, brown hair. The only thing their mother gave me that I didn’t hate. None of us knew what to say.
Marissa broke the silence. “Hi, Veronica.”
“Marissa. Hi.”
They both shared the same blue eyes. She gestured to her older sister. “This is Penelope.”
I held out my hand, and she took it while studying me silently.
“Hello … How did you find me?” The need to know burned inside me. This was so unexpected. A miracle.
Marissa piped in again. “Brad.”
My pulse stopped, my eyes pricking at the mention of his name.
“He kept coming back to the café until he saw us again.”
Oh, my God. Adorable Brad.
“Luckily, it was just me and Pen walking Casper. Mum gets a bit psycho if we mention you. Well, I only did it once, when I found your photo in a box. She yelled at me, and threw it in the bin.”
Of course, she did.
“Shut up, Marissa. She doesn’t need to hear that.”
“Sorry,” she said, biting her lip.
“It’s okay, I know how your mum feels about me. Believe me.”
“I fished it out and showed it to Pen. We noticed your hair. It took a bit of coaxing, but we found out we had another sister. She told us you were sick.”
“Humph. That’s what she believes.” I scooted over to the side and invited them to sit. “I don’t know if you should really be here. Your mum will be so angry if she finds out. I don’t want to badmouth her, but there’s no love between us. She’s not my mother. It’s … difficult to think about her.”
“Do you want us to leave?” Penelope’s brow creased over narrowed eyes.
“No. I don’t want you to get in trouble. I know what that’s like.”
“It’s fine. Dad knows we’re here. He’s on our side.” Penelope shrugged and pulled her hair to rest over her chest so she could lean back, crossing her legs. “Brad told us a lot about you. He seems cool.”
“She thinks he’s hot.”
“Marissa!” Penelope bared her teeth at our youngest.
“Sorry!” She bit her lip again, hunching her shoulders.
I laughed. I let out a deep, raucous belly laugh because I was sitting here with my sisters, and they were doing that sibling thing I’d only heard about, and finally … finally, I was a part of it.
“He is hot.”
“And sweet. I thought it was romantic that he wanted to surprise you. He looked for weeks.” Marissa sighed dreamily, her eyes glazing over. What went on in her imagination, I could only guess.
Weeks?
“How old are you?”
“I’m nearly thirteen. Pen is seventeen. How old are you?”
“Twenty-four, nearly twenty-five.” I smiled, suddenly feeling geriatric.
“Cool.” She turned to Penelope. “Hey, Pen? She can get you into the clubs.”
“Oh, my God. You’re so embarrassing.” Penelope slapped her on the arm. I couldn’t stop grinning. These two were quite a pair.
“That’s something I wouldn’t be able to do. Sorry, I don’t do crowds.”
“Why?” Their questioning gazes locked onto me.
Should I tell them? “I … don’t like touching other people because I can sense their emotions or vibe. It drains me. And I stay away from people, because they treat me like a leper when they find out I can see and talk to the dead.”
“Yeah,
