Beyond The Ghosts (Legacy Falls Project) by Jody Pardo Read Free Book Online

fine. ma'am." She urged me to take it. thrusting her hands inside the sack of bread and rolls, pulling one out to show me a small roll crusted in pine nuts and seeds.
    "Thank you for your kindness." I accepted the sack, careful not to touch her or offend her. She stood in front of me as I sat down with the sack and reached in to try one of the rolls. When I reached my hand inside, pain seared up my arm as a burning and pinching sensation caused me to cry out in pain. 
    "What the fuck?" I dropped the sack at my feet, and a flood of camel spiders started crawling up my legs and around my feet, scurrying out of the bread-filled bag. I stomped at them and tried to brush them off my clothing, but they were fast, and another bit my hand again and latched on. 
    I looked up at the covered woman who stood there watching as spiders crawled all over me. "You terrorist bitch. I will kill you."
    I lunged at her full throttle, ignoring the burning and biting on my legs, throwing her to the ground.
    “Peter. Peter.” I heard a woman’s voice and my ears rang. The afghan hung around her shoulders and long, sandy-brown hair veiled her face. I wrestled with her, landing on top of her, my knees pinning her shoulders and my left hand fisting in her hair while I reached for my knife from my boot.
    “Peter, stop. You're hurting me. Ow.”
    My knife wasn’t in my boot . Why isn’t my knife in my boot and how does this terrorist know my name? She wasn't talking when she offered me a bag full of fucking spiders.  
    I looked down at Christina’s pale face full of horror and fear with my fist still in a firm grip in her hair, cocking her head to the side. I released her immediately and jumped up, backing away from her with my hands up until my back met the wall.
    “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I shook my head trying to erase her frightened face from my sight and memory. She smoothed her hair and rubbed her shoulders.
    “Peter, it's just me. Are you okay?” She raised her hands up and waved them in my line of sight. I tried to focus on her words. “Are you okay?” No. I needed to get out of there.
     

After coming home from Dad’s shop, I was relaxing on the couch flipping channels when Beth stormed in and made a beeline to me.
    “What did you do to my friend, jerk face?”
    “I didn’t do anything. I’m sorry.”
    “If you didn’t do anything, why are you apologizing?”
    Ugh, I didn’t want to even begin to get into it with my sister. Especially since I wasn’t even too sure what happened myself. I was asleep.
    “I don’t know. It seemed like the right thing to say.”
    “She says you kissed her and then attacked her.”
    “Whoa, let’s not put the cart before the horse. First of all, your friend kissed me. Secondly, I didn’t attack her. I can’t control what happens in my sleep.”
    “You attacked her in your sleep?”
    “I didn’t attack her, she spooked me. I don’t know what happened. It's all a blur.”
    “How do you kiss someone then hurt them, Peter? Your handprints are on her shoulders.”
    “I didn’t kiss her last night. That was last week at the club, and she kissed me.”
    “She did? I know she comes on a little strong sometimes, but that was no reason to hurt her. You could pluck her like a gnat.”
    “Beth, would you stop? I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t mean to hurt her. Please, just tell her I’m sorry.”
    “She is fine, just a little shaken up. Tell her yourself.”
    “She probably won’t want to talk to me.” Beth reached for my arm, and I pulled away. I didn’t want anyone to touch me. Even though I was fully awake and had been for hours, I was obviously not in control of my reactions.
    “Just talk to her,” Beth whispered. “She doesn't seem to mind. She is more concerned you are mad at her or don't like her. She actually thought it was pretty hot.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?” If my knife had been in its home in my boot where it had resided for