What? I’ve got five guys to keep entertained. Boobs will do the trick almost every time, because...boobs!
Giving the mirror one last glance, I realize I’m no longer the girl I once was. They made me this way, forced me to become the woman I am now, and I can’t forget that. Old Fate is dead. Now it’s my turn to be who I need to be in order to do what needs to be done.
Looking at my phone, I’ve got roughly thirty minutes to waste. I’ll be damned if I give Cole any satisfaction by showing up early. Candy Crush, it is! Stepping into my bedroom, I’m suddenly hit with that odd tapping sensation in my brain, like someone knocking to get my attention, but it’s just the Gateway trying to get me a message. At least this time I know I’m not losing my mind as I calm my thoughts and let the image hit me. It’s fuzzy, but someone is in the hall, just outside the main chamber, and the Gateway wants me to know. But why?
Without thinking, I touch the mark on my arm and silently say, Gateway. The trip doesn’t take nearly as long this time and is a lot less disconcerting. The main chamber appears, candles flickering in sconces along the wall, almost like it was expecting me, and in a sense, it was. We’re connected, and I can truly feel it now. It’s the blood in my veins. The air in my lungs. It’s soul deep. It’s also different from my connection to my guys, but just as important. Taking a deep breath, I swear I feel the Gateway do the same. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Pretty sure it’s relieved that I’m here and finally accepting who and what I am.
There’s a tug on my mark, Knox’s line specifically, similar to all those times he inadvertently played summon the ghost girl. By touching the mark, I can travel to wherever he is almost immediately, or I could communicate with him, letting him know where I am. But I can also choose to ignore it. Which, of course, is what I do, then grimace slightly. Yeah, I didn’t really think this through. He’s going to be pissed. The guys are all going to be pissed when they find out I left without them knowing. Guess this whole team player thing is going to take some getting used to.
I walk over to the chamber doors, willing them to open. The hinges creak and startle the man standing on the other side, his hand raised, about to knock.
“Fate? It’s really you?” the male spirit asks, his eyes wide when they land on mine. “Have you seen Liv?” He takes a step closer, but I step back, an orb appearing in my hand, ready to chuck it his way if he so much as thinks of taking another step toward me. One glance at the orb and his eyes widen.
He’s standing there in a light-colored suit, the jacket unbuttoned to show off his crisp dress shirt and dark tie. His blond hair is parted dramatically to the side and appears to be slicked back with...whatever they used to slick hair back with in his era. There’s a sudden stirring in my gut, maybe a sense of familiarity, but this feels different from the guys or even Reggie. I know him, but I’m not sure how.
“Who the fuck are you?” I growl. “And what are you doing here?”
“So it’s true. You don’t have your memories.”
“What makes you say that?”
“There have been rumors,” he hedges, his nerves kicking up a notch along with a hint of something that’s gone before I can make it out. He quickly changes the subject. “Plus, you wouldn’t be asking who I am. It’s me, Fate. Nicholas.”
Well, fuck! Way to give away your secret, Fate. Might as well roll with it now. “Sorry. That does nothing for me.”
“Shit. I was afraid of that.”
“What are you doing here?”
“When I heard you were back, I rushed here immediately. I need to find Liv and thought she might be here with you.”
“That’s the second time you’ve mentioned Liv. Who is she?” Another spark in my gut, but this one much warmer than the first. I should know Liv. She’s someone close to me. I can feel it in my heart every time he says her name.
“Liv was my sister. Look, I don’t have much time, but I also needed to warn you.”
“Warn me about what? If it’s about the spirits who are angry that I’m back, I already know.”
“Not just the spirits, though there are plenty of those out there as well. Trust no one. Not even the ones closest to you.”
He tugs on his tie, the movement somehow stirring a memory that doesn’t ever fully coalesce. Something about it makes me feel uncomfortable, slightly nauseous even, but I’m not sure if it’s the movement itself or what he’s insinuating.
“What do you mean?”
“Fate, you need to know. What happened to you, it was no accident. The whole thing was orchestrated.”
“Who orchestrated what?”
“It was all an elaborate plan set up with the intent to see you gone.” He glances toward the door nervously, tugging on his tie again. “Look, I have to go. Meet me at the club on Elm tomorrow night. I can tell you more then. Be careful and stay alert. I’ll see you soon.”
“Why would I…” I don’t bother finishing my question as he disappears. “Well, shit. That whole encounter was beyond bizarre. Almost as bizarre as a spirit going to a damn club.”
When did this become my life? I go from being a crazy spirit to being the Queen of Crazy Spirits. Not sure I’d consider this a promotion at the moment. And let’s not forget, the guys will lose their shit if they find out I was alone here with some lunatic ghost.
“Hey, Gateway, let’s keep this between us, yeah?”
I sense the Gateway shaking its head at me in disapproval and roll my eyes.
“You try dealing with that band of overprotective hooligans and then tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing!” I huff, which is met with silence.
And did Nick just insinuate that someone close to me was responsible? Yes. Yes, he did. But who? I refuse to believe it could be my guys, and from what little I remember, there are only a handful of people that are in my immediate circle. Reggie, my sisters, and this mysterious Liv, if my gut is right. Something else is going on here, and I need to get to the bottom of it, now.
Even knowing I don’t have much time, I walk up to the black and white damask wall covered in photos. Moments in time captured for all eternity. Not all of them are traditional prints. It’s like the Gateway took snapshots throughout our lives and recorded them for all of us right onto the wall itself, framing them in mismatching colors and shapes. Everywhere I look is proof of the life we once shared. Love we once had. If I didn’t believe it before, I’d believe it now. Which makes what Nicholas just said all the more strange.
Almost every single image contains smiling faces, stolen kisses, loving embraces. My fingers trace Knox’s shoulder-length hair and charming grin as he dances with me to music that’s long since gone silent. They move to run along Mack’s monocle. He’s holding it up to inspect some sort of document while I grin up at him, tucked into his side. My eyes catch an image of the twins standing side-by-side, their arms crossed, with me sitting on their shoulders, balanced between them, grinning cheekily. And Cole, my grumpy asshole. Looking at me from across a crowded room, anyone else would think he was angry. Furious even. But I see differently. I can see the protectiveness in his gaze as he watches me with complete focus.