Ghostly (Darkly Devoted Book 1) (12 page)

Chapter Seventeen

“You’re house is
so
cool. It’s almost like you can feel the spirits,” Ryder said excitedly as he followed me up the stairs.

“It is, if you like the whole ‘I’m never alone and always being stalked by a ghost’ feeling,” I replied as we passed Cade. He leaned against the wall and stared angrily at us. Like he might very well kill Ryder if he stepped any closer to me.

A shiver of air ran down my back as my body erupted with goose bumps. I ran my hand over the back of my neck in an attempt to make stop. Each time I felt his presence brought tears to my eyes. Time with the girls helped me feel a little better; I wanted to try one last time to see what things could be like with Ryder. If it wasn’t the same connection as I had with Cade, I would stop trying to fight the attraction to him.

My dad had a work meeting and would be gone really late, so I invited Ryder over for the tour of my home. He was an absolute delight as we walked through the house, able to identify stories for each room, ones I hadn’t heard before. It gave the house an almost fascinating quality and an understanding that I hadn’t had before, even though no one seemed to know why there was so much ghostly activity.

It was so different from living in a world with a ghost boyfriend. When his warm hand brushed across mine, it was a different sensation completely. Walking around with him felt natural, but so far there wasn’t as much of an intense spark as there was with Cade.

I pushed him out of my mind and returned to the moment. If I was going to give Ryder and me a real try for the night, I couldn’t keep comparing them. They were two totally completely different guys.

We stepped into my bedroom, so I could change clothes. Ryder had big plans to watch movies in our pajamas. I pulled out my red striped shorts and black tank top.

“Those are cute,” he commented and tried to hide his smile.

“Shut up.” I slapped him with the clothes and pushed him out into the hallway so I could change.

“I will be outside if you need anything,” he said as I closed the door behind me.

I rushed to put on my clothing. Since I knew the house was haunted and Cade wasn’t there to ward off the others, it freaked me out to think that another ghost could be watching me.

When I was done, I stepped out into the hallway to see that my friend wasn't there. It worried me, sent my heart into racing mode. I was afraid to leave anyone alone in my house because of the ghosts.

“Ryder?” I questioned.

“I’m down here,” I heard him say from the bottom of the stairs.

I sighed out loud. He was safe and alive. I rushed down the stairs and stopped at the living room. Ryder sat on a pile of pillows and blankets in front of the television with a big bowl of popcorn in his hand.

“What do you think you are doing to my living room?” I feigned accusation and crossed my arms.

“I’m planning a long overdue date with a beautiful dark-haired girl. Have you seen her? I hear she likes horror movies and extra buttered popcorn.” His brown eyes beamed at me.

“Well,” I started. I walked into the room and plopped down onto the pile of pillows. “If she doesn’t show up, I’d be more than happy to take her place.”

Ryder smiled that beautiful smile of his and sat down beside me. “Sounds like a plan.”

I took the bowl of popcorn out of his hands and wrapped my arms around it possessively. “Mine.”

Ryder laughed and grabbed the remote control. “Lights on or off?”

“Off, duh.” I pushed his shoulder.

He cried out and fell over to his side as if I’d pushed him hard. Before I could ask if he was okay, he rolled over and jumped up. He flipped off the lights and came back to sit with me. As he stretched his long legs out in front of him, he told me the name of some B-rate movie I’d never heard of.

“I’m up for whatever.” I held up the popcorn bowl to him, but when he reached into it, I pulled it away from him and laughed. “You thought you’d get some huh?”

He looked at me, speechless for a moment as my words sank in. After a few stuttered words, he pressed play on the movie and turned his attention to it. Teasing him was becoming too much fun to stop, so I pulled out two pieces of popcorn and held them out toward his mouth.

“Open up.”

A growl arose from the corner. When I glanced over, Cade was leaning against the wall watching us.

“You’re not going to feed me,” Ryder said with a laugh.

“No, you’re not,” Cade agreed.

“Yes I am,” I insisted, eyes flickering over to where he stood and back to Ryder.

“No, you’re not. I can feed myself.”

Another angry growl came from Cade. It made me want to flirt even harder. Just to spite him.

“Oh yes I am!” I pushed the popcorn in Ryder’s mouth before he could close it.

He jerked back from me and fell onto the pillow with his hands on his throat. Without a word, he looked up at me in fear. I wanted to scream at Cade for making him choke and ruining my fun. I should’ve gone over to Ryder’s house instead. Panic trickled over my skin as I reached for him.

“Shit, are you okay?”

Grabbing me with his hands, he pulled me down onto the floor and started to laugh. He rolled me over and pinned me to the floor, but kept himself off me.

“You cheated.” I glared at him, but on the inside I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. He was safe.

Ryder shook his head and smiled. “I didn’t cheat. You’re just angry that I was able to outsmart you.”

I pursed my lips. “You suck.”

He laughed. “I can’t have you angry at me. Is there any way I can fix it?”

“I have an idea.” I bit my lip and looked up at him, hoping he would get the hint. He didn’t always catch onto my flirting or know how to respond. With a crooked smile, he began to lean forward to close the distance between us.

He was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes, ready for the moment I would forget there was ever a ghost in my house. It was time for my chance at normalcy. It was the moment that would tell me what I needed to know.

But the electricity flickered off and left us in dark silence.

“Really?” Ryder moved away from me.

I lay back down on the ground and frowned. Cade had done it.

“Breakers in this house are crap,” I said, trying to give an explanation that sounded feasible. When I sat up and there was space between us, the lights flickered back on and the movie started to play. I groaned. “See, I told you.”

Ryder shrugged. “Not worried about it.” He moved closer to me and picked up the popcorn. “Still mad at me?”

“Yes,” I joked.

Cade had successfully ruined the moment, so we went back to our movie and popcorn in silence. It was probably for the best, considering I was getting sick of the ghostly commentary. I continued to help myself with the popcorn and pretended to immerse myself in the movie, even though I was very distracted by both of the boys in my life. I could
see
Ryder looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I could
feel
Cade watching me from across the room. There was no choice but to address it, so I could have some peace.

I brought my hand up to my mouth and began to lick the butter from my fingers, feigning irritation when they continued to be buttery. Ryder’s eyes didn’t leave me once I started, and I knew he was hooked. He stared at my fingers as if he would lick them clean himself if given the chance.

I frowned and looked at him. “Do you think you could get us some napkins?”

“Yes, yes I do.” He stumbled quickly to his feet and ran off to retrieve them.

I turned my attention to Cade. “Can I help you?”

“You can help me by getting that jerk out of my house.”

“He’s not a jerk, and this is not
your
house, remember?”

“That’s just what you think, Briar, but it is mine. That includes the things in it.” His dark glare settled on me, reminding me that he saw me as his.

Heat rose in my skin at the intensity of his eyes. My body wanted him, even after finding out he was a ghost. I was such a freak.

I forced a scowl to my face. “Get over yourself.”

“He doesn’t understand you like I do. He’ll never accept you for who you are—good
and
bad.”

“Just leave me alone.”

“If he tries to kiss you again, I’m not going to be so nice.”

“Just stop it, okay?”

“Who are you talking to?” Ryder asked as he came back into the room with napkins and sat down beside me.

“No one. I talk to myself sometimes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you talk back?”

“Nope. No insanity here.”

“Good.” He leaned over to pat my leg. “But a little bit of insanity is always welcome.”

His words made me feel a little better, even though he had no idea about the scars on my thighs or my past.

After we finished the movie, we watched a second one. The movies were dark and twisted; I loved every moment of them. Ryder grew still during the second one and stopped talking all together. After a few minutes of silence, I looked over at him. His gaze was on the screen, but his mind was definitely somewhere else.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked him.

My words startled him, and he jumped. “I, um, well, I’m watching the movie.”

“Ryder, I don’t think the movie is quite as deep as that look on your face suggests.”

“No? I mean, attacking squirrels? People seeing that as a sign of the apocalypse? It’s just ridiculous.”

“It’s a movie, Ryder. I thought you liked scary movies.”

“Oh, I do. It’s just that this one in particular has me baffled.” He frowned.

I raised an eyebrow and poked him in the side with my finger. He wasn’t making a whole lot of sense. “I don’t like you being serious. Lighten up. What are you really thinking about? It can’t be the movie.”

“The movie, Briar, really.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

Ryder ignored me and focused back on the television.

“Okay, have it your way.” I wasn’t going to make him talk to me.

Halfway through the movie, he moved closer. I responded by moving the popcorn bowl to the other side of me, so I could scoot closer to him.

“Are you nervous about something?” I asked him. He was still acting weird. He wasn’t talking to me or anything like he was before.

He looked over at me but failed at erasing the shock from his face “What? No. Why, why would I be nervous? That’s ridiculous.”

“Okay…”

Ryder yawned and stretched his arms into the air. He wrapped one of them around me as he brought them back down. I suppressed a giggle.

He totally didn’t just do that,
I thought.
He really is nervous, but what about?

I forced myself to watch the movie and not Cade, who started to pace the room. It felt nice to be near someone warm and alive, but it didn’t feel as right as it did when I was in Cade’s arms. Why couldn’t I just go for the one who I
should
be with? The guy who cared about me and didn’t have one bad bone in his body? The one who was alive and the right choice to make?

When the movie ended, Ryder let go of me and finally spoke. “Briar—”

“And he speaks.”

“I want to talk to you about the ghosts.”

“Yea, go ahead.”

“Do you think that they are watching us?”

My heart dropped.
Yes, definitely watching us.
“No, why?”

“It’s just, that I feel like they are. Like they aren’t happy we are spending time together.”

“That’s silly. Do you see any ghosts?” I asked and motioned around the room.

“Funny, Briar, really funny,” Cade commented.

Ryder shook his head. “No, but I feel them. Don’t you?”

“No, I just think you want to feel them and that’s why you think you do.”

“But that video…” He stood up and began to gather his movies.

I thought back to the video he’d shown of the girl at my party.

“Well, that video was really creepy, but I don’t know what it was.” There was no way I was telling him about Cade; he would freak out. Besides, he couldn’t have been the one to possess that girl because he was with me the whole time.

“I just don’t want you to end up getting hurt here.”

I stood up and walked toward the door with him on my heels. “I’ll be fine. I stay here alone all the time.”

“You can always call me if you need someone, you know that right?”

“I know, but I’m not afraid of this place.” I opened the door, and we stepped onto the porch.

“Well if you do, ya know, get scared or something, I can keep you company.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”             

He reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear as he smiled at me. “Please do. You don’t always have to be the tough one.”