Rachel groaned. “Is that how they’re claiming I died? How disappointing. They couldn’t come up with anything more imaginative?”
Novah’s migraine bloomed at having to keep ignoring Rachel’s comments.
“Those suspicious of the government often hack and search out classified information. I have to make sure they don’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Novah barely held back another eye roll. This guy. She couldn’t determine whether he was trying to sound like a cliche Hollywood caricature of a MIB agent, or if it was just his natural charm.
And he still hadn’t taken his sunglasses off. Which was really bothering her. She’d never had to pay attention so closely to someone’s facial cues before. She was far from an expert since she’d never needed to use that skill. Her ability gave her a leg up on what people were really feeling. People could fake facial expressions and hide the truth.
Novah narrowed her eyes on him. “Are you planning to wipe my mind before you leave?”
Agent Smith let out a heavy sigh. “No.”
“If you don’t want people to compare you to Will Smith, maybe consider a name change and taking your sunglasses off when you’re inside.”
“I have photophobia — a sensitivity to the light. It gives me migraines.”
“Of course.”
Maybe it was true, but it was hard to believe.
“And I have no choice of my name.”
She stood and looked down at him. “You’re really a Smith?”
“Yes.”
She pursed her lips to hide her amusement. “You do see the ridiculousness of this entire thing, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you this clueless or are you enjoying yourself making fun of me?”
He stood as well with the slightest hint of a grin on his face. “Little bit of both.”
“Oh, so you do have a slight personality.”
“Not really.”
Novah sighed and shook her head. “Are we done here? I need to get back to work.”
“Sure. I’ll stay and look around a little more. Thank you for your help. And remember, this is classified.”
“I remember. See you around, Agent Smith.”
“Yes, you will, Ms. Miller.”
His words sounded like a mix of a flirtatious promise and a threat. Novah wasn’t sure how to take it or him, so she shook her hand in an awkward wave and bustled out of Rachel’s apartment.
Once the door closed behind her, she leaned against it with a long, blown-out breath. She was glad Rachel remained in her apartment to keep an eye on the agent instead of coming along. Novah needed a minute to herself.
Today started off so normally, and now her sort of friend was dead, a government agent was sniffing around her life, and her empathic abilities were acting up.
Or Agent Smith was something other like she was.
As much as she wanted to find others like her, she couldn’t trust him. If he did have supernatural gifts, he used them for the government and that was something she never wanted to do.
She wanted to remain free.
Though Novah did want to find out the truth of what happened to Rachel and help her find her peace.
This was only the second time Novah had personally known a ghost when they were still alive.
She hadn’t been able to help the last one.
Hopefully she wouldn’t fail this time.
Instead of heading straight back into work, Novah pushed off the door and hurried to the stairwell leading upstairs to her apartment.
Samantha stood right in front of the door next to Armstrong, a smile on her ten-year-old face. “You’re back!”
Novah smiled. “Only for a moment, sweetheart. I have to head back to work.”
Samantha’s lips turned down into a pout. “You’re always working.”
Guilt stabbed her through the chest. “I know. I’m sorry. How about we do a movie marathon this weekend?”
Samantha brightened and bounced on her toes. “Yay. Are we still on for stargazing tonight?”
“Of course. Saturn is supposed to have near perfect visibility tonight.” Novah loved Saturn.
“I like Jupiter better.”
“Well, we should be able to see that one too. Not as well as Saturn, but we should still get a decent peek.” Novah scooped Armstrong into her arms and cuddled the fluffy gray cat.
“Good.”
“Do you need anything before I leave? Different TV channel? Would you rather I put on the audiobook playlist?” Novah relaxed a little more as Armstrong purred in her ear and kneaded the back of her shoulder.
She had really needed the snuggle.
“No. There’s a show coming on in half an hour I want to watch. I’m good.”
“Okay. Don’t forget, you can pop into my shop anytime if you want a change. I’ve told you I can change anything from the app on my phone.” Novah hated how much she left Samantha here alone.
Samantha shrugged. “I know, but I don’t like leaving the house.”
“I know, sweetheart. It’s okay. I’ll only be a couple more hours. Home before dark.”
“All right.”
Novah’s chest tightened at the forlorn look on the kid’s face. “We’ll work on your ability to effect technology more this weekend too.”
Samatha stared at her feet. “It’s not working.”
“It sort of worked that one time.”
“I still think it was a glitch. You’ve never seen anyone like me be able to do it, have you?”
Novah grimaced. “Well, no. But you’re the first one I’ve really spent any time with.”
“Thanks for trying, but I think it’s time for us to accept that I’ll never be able to touch or manipulate things like we can in movies.”
“If you want to take a break from it, that’s fine.”
Samantha sighed, aiming a look at the TV. “We can keep trying.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later. Enjoy your show.” Novah grabbed her USB she kept full of files from her desk and shoved them into her back pocket.
In case Agent Smith ended up finding a way to search her place, she needed this USB hidden.
She just wasn’t sure where she wanted to hide it.
“Bye, kiddo.”
“Bye.” Samantha didn’t look away from the screen, moving closer to whatever captured her attention, standing right in the middle of the coffee table.
Novah grinned as she locked up behind herself. Samantha rarely showed her ghost side, even in the privacy of their own home. She tried to pretend she was still alive, hating any reminder that she wasn’t.
Novah hoped this meant Samantha was coming to terms with her new life. Though the more she came to terms with it, the more likely she was to move on. And as much as Novah wanted what was best for the kid, she was definitely going to miss her.
Samantha had become a daughter or younger sister to Novah and she adored having the little monster live with her. But Samatha was stuck at age ten, frozen in time, not able to grow or interact with the world past Novah. She deserved better.
Novah wished Sadie had the ability to see ghosts and the two of them could play, they both could’ve used the company.
There was no sign of Agent Smith as Novah made her way downstairs and back to the donut shop.
The cops and emergency vehicles were gone by the time she arrived back to work.
But her group was still there, waiting for her to spill the dirt.
She had to be really careful what she told them since she didn’t want to give Agent Smith the slightest excuse to dig into her life.
She’d prefer him gone.
Even Talia watched with unabashed curiosity as Novah put her things away. “Well? What happened?”
Chapter Six
Novah stuffed her face with six donuts while she told her group what she could. Stress made her crave as much sugar as she could hold.
Once she was finished, Dorothy shook her head with a sad sigh
. “Poor Rachel. She was such a tortured soul, and then to end like that? It’s a real shame.”
Novah nodded. “It is.”
“What are we going to do about it?” Diana asked.
Novah frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, it wasn’t an animal,” Diana said. “That’s just foolishness. What about the chupacabra we planned to discuss today? Ben got a look at the crime scene and overheard one of the cops talking about two puncture wounds in her neck.”
“True.” Dorothy nodded.
“It could also be a vampire,” Diana added.
“In the middle of the day?” Novah shook her head.
Diana waved her half-eaten donut in the air. “That’s just fake news they’ve spread to get us to let our guards down. It’s all propaganda.”
Novah sucked on her cheeks to hide her smile at Talia’s expression — a mix of contempt and disbelief.
“I still think it’s the chupacabra. We should go talk to the ranchers, see if they saw anything unusual. Novah, you and I can go undercover as reporters for a small local journal or blog or something.” Diana blinked hopeful eyes at her.
“Sure. We can do that.” Novah shrugged.
It wasn’t the worst idea. They’d done things like that before and it was always fun, even though they never really found anything. But it was all part of their group, asking questions, searching for truth.
Novah was really glad Sadie hadn’t made it today for all this drama. She didn’t look forward to telling the kid about Rachel’s death.
Talia stood with a scrape of her chair and escaped back over to the counter, clearly unable to handle anymore.
Novah was impressed she lasted as long as she did. Especially with the vampire talk.
A couple of the members were a bit...more open in their beliefs than Novah. While she believed in the paranormal completely, since she saw ghosts and could feel people’s emotions, she wasn’t completely sold on actual other creatures. Other humans with supernatural abilities? Obviously. But actual monsters from myths and legends?
Though the legends had to come from somewhere.
Novah tried to keep an open mind since she lived every day with gifts or curses, depending on her mood. It was certainly possible.
She wanted to believe they were real. She wanted to believe in magic, in monsters, and in life on other planets. But the longer she searched for the truth, the more she doubted.
And wondered if she was just crazy.
It was what she used to believe when she told her parents and they sent her to doctor after doctor before committing her in middle school.
She learned to lie in time to get out for high school and the moment she turned eighteen and graduated, she left home, only sending birthday and Christmas cards to the family she still couldn’t quite forgive.
At first, they were just worried for her. Worried she had a tumor or something. But then, they grew scared of her because she could always tell what they were feeling and talking to people they couldn’t see.
So, they sent her away. And when she got out of the institution, their relationship was broken. They kept themselves distant from her, like they wished she hadn’t come home.
Which was where her obsession with the paranormal began. Since her family didn’t pan out, she decided to search for those who might understand her.
And she’d never made the mistake of confessing her secret to anyone else since.
Other than to the occasional ghost who couldn’t tell anyone else.
But it was lonely sometimes, always keeping secrets. Even from those closest to her.
Though apparently she hadn’t kept the secret as well as she thought if Rachel somehow knew.
Did she hack into her old medical files and find out why she was admitted and figured it out that way? Was Rachel gifted as well?
And what did those files say?
Whatever it was, Novah had a feeling Agent Smith would be knocking on her door sometime soon.
And Novah had no idea what she’d tell him.
“Novah?” Diana tapped her hand.
Novah shook herself and looked up at the circle of people eyeing her with concern. “Yeah? Sorry. I spaced out for a second.”
“Did you find out anything about Rachel’s funeral or next of kin?” Dorothy asked.
Novah shook her head. “No. Nothing.”
“Maybe we should do a little memorial for her. You were probably closest to her out of anyone is Roswell.”
“Maybe. She kept her life incredibly private. She could have family somewhere that she never mentioned.”
If Rachel showed back up, Novah would definitely ask.
Ben chuckled. “I still can’t get over how much that agent looked like a Men in Black agent.”
Diana joined in his amusement with her own laughter. “And his name is Agent Smith. That can’t be real. Not in Roswell.”
“Only in Roswell does it make sense that it’s real.” Frank grumbled the words.
“Hah. True.”
“He sure was hot though.” Dorothy smirked and fluffed her purple hair.
Novah grinned. She loved that crazy old woman. And she wasn’t wrong.
“So. Tomorrow? We head out to the farms?” Diana asked, almost bouncing in her chair.
Novah nodded. “Sure. It has to be in the afternoon though once Talia comes in.”
“Works for me.” Diana stood. “I have to get going. This meeting ran way over the usual time and I didn’t set my DVR for the new episode of Doctor Who.”
Novah straightened and her eyes widened. “Shatner! I didn’t either.”
Chapter Seven
Stars twinkled overhead and the hot day had finally cooled off enough to not be completely miserable as Novah laid out on the roof of her apartment building with Samantha hovering on her back next to her, the telescope between them.
Novah aimed the telescope at the moon, squinting through and tracked to the right until she found Saturn.
There it was.
It always surprised her how tiny Saturn appeared every time she got a good look at it. The planet looked like a little yellow-brown marble.
Novah pulled away from the telescope and moved away so Samantha had room to take a peek. “Here. I’ve got it aimed right at Saturn.”
Samantha bent over and a wide smile spread across her face. “That’s so cool.”
“Do you see the Aquila constellation above it? That’s one of my favorites. Aquila was the name of an eagle who carried Zeus’ thunderbolts. I always liked that story for some reason.”
“Where’s Jupiter?”
“Here. Let me move it a little. It’s a little further to the right and down.” Novah traded places with Samantha and frowned as she searched for Jupiter. “Shoot. There’s too much cloud coverage. It was supposed to be visible, but the weather forecast was wrong.”
Shocking.
Samantha shrugged, not seeming too disappointed. “It’s fine. Maybe tomorrow.”
She’d seen Jupiter many times before.
“We’ll try. I like doing this with you every night that we can. It’s fun.”
Samantha smiled back at her. “It’s fun for me too. I like all your stories about the stars. I wish I could go up there.”
“I’ve always wished that too. Did you like stars before?” Novah asked.
“No. I never really noticed them. I liked sports.”
“Which one?” Novah was surprised.
Samantha hadn’t mentioned sports before. And she never wanted to watch them on TV.
A sad look crossed Samantha’s face. “All of them. But mostly soccer and basketball.”
“I know nothing about sports. Well, I know which is which, but that’s the extent.” And barely at that.
Samantha snorted. “Oh, I know. I’ve seen you try to catch things. It’s pretty sad.”
Novah pouted. “Hey now. That was one time and I wasn’t ready.”
Samantha shot her a look. “It’s been
more like seventeen times. At least.”
Novah held her hands up. “All right. All right. You know you can watch sports anytime you want.”
“No. I don’t like watching them anymore.” Samantha turned her attention back up to the stars spread above them.
They always looked like a jar of glitter spilled across black velvet to Novah. So beautiful and peaceful and massive.
“Why?”
“It just reminds me I can’t play anymore.”
Novah winced. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“I thought I’d find you two up here.”
Novah jerked and spun around on her knees to face the source of the voice behind her. “Rachel. I’ve been expecting you to show up all day, but I gave up waiting. I thought maybe you...”
Rachel smirked. “Crossed over? Nope. Still here. I’ve been busy keeping my eye on that Agent.”
“Wait. How did you know about Samantha?” Novah rose to her feet to eye this woman she thought she knew a little, but was starting to realize she didn’t know anything about Rachel.
Rachel rolled her shoulders in a careless shrug. “Oh, I saw her move in with you months ago.”
“You could see ghosts?” Novah’s chest tightened.
Someone just like her lived on the floor right beneath her this whole time?
“Of course.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Novah’s voice cracked.
Rachel finally lost her cocky attitude a little. “I planned to. Once I knew it was safe. But something came up.” Rachel gestured at her neck, where her wound still stood out red and angry.
Novah’s brows furrowed. “Safe? Safe from what? Or whom?”
Rachel sighed. “You don’t understand how dangerous it is for people like us.”
Her stomach dropped a little. “What do you mean?”
“The government knows about those of us with special gifts. They’re always not the lookout because they want to use us and study us.”
Novah placed her hands over her stomach. “I guess that doesn’t surprise me.”
“It shouldn’t. You’ve been keeping your gifts locked tight. The only reason I found out is because I saw you interacting with Samantha here.” Rachel shot Samantha a sweet smile which she returned before turning her attention back to the sky.
Knead Some Space Page 3