“Hold up,” he says, grabbing my wrist. “You’re thinking of moving?”
I grin in a painful, wincing kinda way.
His eyes are serious, and he genuinely looks disappointed. “So, did you meet another guy? Or?”
I slap him across the chest with the back of my hand.
“It’s you, doofus,” I say, snickering softly to myself.
He breathes a sigh of relief and nods. “Oh, okay, good. That’s good.”
I can’t help but chuckle.
“So, Windhaven, huh…” he says, kicking at the ground in front of him.
“Yep.”
“Well, why do you think they want you then? I mean, if you haven’t shown any supernatural signs by now, I would have thought they would have passed you up.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I say, shrugging.
“Well, aren’t you the least bit curious? I mean, I know I would be.”
“Obviously, yes,” I say, turning forward again and continuing down the sidewalk. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I found out. Well, almost all I’ve been thinking about.”
He narrows his gaze, but doesn’t dig deeper, thank goodness.
When we reach the cemetery, he pulls my arm back and stares at me with the kind of serious expression that makes me self-conscious. “I know we just met and maybe my impression doesn’t amount to much, but here’s my two cents worth anyway. You need to figure out why you’ve been accepted, Dru. I mean, the Windhaven Academy doesn’t make those sorts of mistakes.”
“That’s what I was thinking too, to be honest. It’s just…my mom is pretty adamant I don’t go. She hates everything supernatural,” I say, scrunching my face.
“Are you living for you? Or are you living for her?”
I stare at him for a moment, unable to form words. It’s like he’s in my head.
“Fair point,” I finally say.
“A damn good point,” he laughs, pushing back strands of black hair from his eyes. “Besides, it would be pretty convenient for me since I’ll be going to Windhaven Academy soon, too.”
A strange sense of relief floods through me and I take a step back.
“Really? You’re supernatural?” I say, my mouth dropping open in surprise. He seems so…normal. Well, sorta.
“Yeah. I guess so. I mean, I don’t really know much myself. I guess I get psychic vibes, but they tell me I have to develop it,” he says.
“So, what are you waiting for? Why not go this year, too?” I say, quirking an eyebrow. “It would be nice to know another first-year student.”
His tongue grazes his lower lip, drawing my attention. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have a few things I have to take care of here in Mistwood Point first.”
I tilt my head. “Like what? What’s more important than developing your gifts?”
He inhales deeply, then lets out a sigh. “Like caring for my grandfather until he dies. He’s on hospice and I can’t let him die alone. He’s the only family I have left.”
“Oh. Oh—I’m so sorry. Is that what brought you here?” I whisper, not really knowing what else to say.
He nods.
“Well, this conversation has taken a turn,” I say, staring out over the tombstones beyond.
My responsibilities are niggling at the back of my mind, and I know I won’t be able to spend much longer here, let alone head deeper into the cemetery—or the conversation for that matter.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean for—” he begins.
I raise a hand. “Hey, no…no worries. I’m glad you told me.”
“Well, the point was to let you know that even though I won’t be at Windhaven this year, I will be there eventually. And if it were me, I would want to unravel that mystery of yours,” he says, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I hear orientation is coming up in a few weeks. I could go with you, if you want.”
“Yeah, they’ve made a pretty big deal about it in my letter, actually,” I say, biting the inside of my cheek.
“So, it’s a date then?” he asks, standing so close I inhale a heady mixture of Dove soap mixed with sandalwood.
I consider for a moment, realizing that if this has the chance of going any further, I no longer want to be talking to an alter ego.
“Angel, er—” I splay out a hand, asking silently for his name.
He narrows his eyes, as if trying to decide whether or not to release his trade secrets.
“Wade.” He blinks slowly, his dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks as they mound from his smile.
“Wade,” I repeat. My pulse quickens as his real name crosses the threshold of my lips. “I would love to check out Windhaven Academy with you.”
“Excellent. I’d love to unravel the mystery of your superpowers with you,” he mimics my gesture from before, trying to suss out my own name.
“Autumn,” I whisper.
Wade grins broadly. “Autumn. I like that. It suits you.”
“Well, I better…” I jab a thumb back toward the way we came. “I actually have to get to work.”
“Ah, no problem,” he says, taking a small step back. “But…since we’re going to check out Windhaven together, maybe we would have dinner or something to get to know each other a little better. Whatcha doing tonight?”
His face is open as he beams back at me.
Nervous energy blossoms through me and my words catch at my throat. I flit my gaze to the headstones again, and despite my worries, I say, “Meet me here at seven and find out.”
Wade nods in approval and I turn around to head to the craft store before I can talk myself out of this.
Relationships and I have a sketchy history, at best. As I walk away, part of me wants to jump for joy, but a darker, more sinister part of me wonders if this is really too good to be true.
Chapter 4
Barely Existedness
After my parents’ separation
