Dark Spirits by Rebekkah Ford Read Free Book Online

hypersensitive since you’ve been back, but I also know you.” She smiled and then quickly amended that statement. “Not that Nathan doesn’t know you.”
    “I get what you mean,” I said.
    “But I’m sure if you were in a situation where you had to keep your emotions in check, you would. You’d make a conscious effort not to ruin it.”
    “Exactly,” I said. “And I hate to say this, but Brayden would feel the same way as you.”
    “You’re right. He would,” she agreed. “So, what are you going to tell Nathan if he asks you about what we were talking about?”
    My lips quivered into a snicker. “I’ll tell him you think you’re pregnant.” I covered my mouth with both hands, trying not to laugh out loud when a horrified look entered her face.
    “Omigod. Don’t say that!” she exclaimed, the panic rising in her voice. “You might jinx me.”
    I raised a finger to my lips, and she pointed harshly at me, mouthing “You better not, Paige!”
    I hugged my arms around my stomach and bent over in quiet laughter, not because the idea of her being pregnant was funny, but because of her reaction. Red-faced, she violently shook her head.
    I took a couple deep breaths. “I’m only joking. I’ll tell him it was girl stuff, but I don’t think he’ll ask me anyway.”
    Carrie sighed and slumped to her knees. She glanced at her phone and placed it in my hand. I had a message from Brayden:
    hi, paige. it’s, brayden. I’m so sorry 4 what I did. Pls forgive me. I miss u. see u soon.
    I stared at the text, not realizing until now, how much I’d missed him. Yeah, what he had done the last time I saw him was wrong, but his apology seemed genuine. Not to mention, we had a history together. And honestly, every time I thought about that night and his deplorable behavior, fond childhood memories of us being together far outweighed that one mishap of his.
     My chest ached, and I didn’t know whether to answer him or not. What would I say? Just saying “hi” would be too cold. If I were to say I missed him too, it would just lead him on, and I didn’t want to do that. I read his words again, and for some strange reason my stomach did a roller coaster dip. I bit my lip and handed Carrie her phone. And then we emerged from our hiding spot, back to Nathan and her mom.
     
    ***
     
     
    “Caroline told me Carrie plans on going to beauty school in Portland,” Nathan said on the way to Astoria’s Sunday Market. “She also mentioned Tree would be going to Portland with her to get his auto mechanic’s degree.”
    “That doesn’t surprise me,” I said, zipping up my plush purple hoodie. Even though it was a dry day for coastal Oregon, the gray and cloudy sky made it a bit chilly. “Tree was basically born with a wrench in his hand and grew up working in his father’s garage. As for Carrie, well, she loves working with hair.”
    Nathan braked at a four-way stop sign and looked at me while he waited for the two cars ahead to pass. “Did you know both Carrie and Tree delayed their plans to go to school this fall until next year?”
    I didn’t know that, and in the pit of my stomach I had a sinking feeling on why that was.
    “No, I didn’t,” I said, wanting to strangle them both. They were so frickin’ stubborn. I wanted to scream. I bet Brayden had something to do with it. A surge of anger whipped through me. Didn’t Brayden care about the lives of our two best friends? Didn’t he realize what could happen? In that brief moment I didn’t care whether Nathan knew about Brayden being here or if Nathan had too much on his plate, because if Brayden was going to be careless, I didn’t want to be around him. But when I opened my mouth to confess about Brayden’s arrival, Nathan spoke first.
    “Caroline told me they had decided this back in April. I’m guessing right after you became immortal,” he said, driving through a parking lot packed with rows of vehicles. “They told her they wanted to take a year