by Bella Jewel
They were never abusive, but they were neglectful. I spent most of my childhood doing everything myself, from cooking, to washing, to getting myself to school. It’s probably why I attached myself to Terry as fast and closely as I did. I was craving love. As soon as I could, I moved out, got a job, and cut contact. I don’t see or hear from them now, and I’m okay with that. My life is better off without them in it. I’m a stronger person because I took a stand for myself. I have no siblings, no one else to rely on. It was always just me.
“My mom is selfish and fake, and my father is a drunk. I tend to avoid them at any cost. I wasn’t something they wanted, and they made sure I knew that growing up.”
He nods. “Understand that, too. Shame you got no one in the world who can have your back. Everyone deserves that.”
I smile. “That’s not true. I have my best friend, Erin, and I have Marlie and Kenai. They have been great to me, and I don’t know what I’d do without them. So, I’m more fortunate than most. Some people out there, and even here at Sanctuary, they don’t have anybody. No one at all. I would never want that life.”
Oliver studies me for a long moment and my cheeks go red.
“Think I might just like you, Jade.”
With that, my knees tremble.
Well.
I think I might just like him, too.
Chapter 2
“Do you have any family?” I ask Oliver as we move up and down the stairs attaching lights so people don’t trip when the lights go off.
“Yeah, got a dad. My mom passed when I was a baby. Never knew her.”
That’s awful, and my heart goes out to him. I wonder if he’s close to his dad. I’d do anything to have parents I could be close to, parents who I could call when something was wrong. I’d give it all, to have big family barbecues, where everyone laughed and joked and there were kids running around everywhere. I never had that. And I can sympathize with anyone else who hasn’t.
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I tell him. “Are you and your dad close?”
He nods. “Yeah, we get along really well.”
“That’s good. What do you do for a living?”
He twists a cable tie around the light cord and glances over at me. When he does that, when those eyes hit mine, my stomach flutters. That’s a feeling I never thought I’d get to experience again. Not after what Terry did. In fact, I doubted that I’d ever be able to trust another man again, but I am trying, and this feeling I have as Oliver looks at me makes me have a bit of hope.
“I’m a motorbike mechanic. I do four days a week there, and then the rest of the time I spend here, fixin’ shit, helpin’ Kenai and Marlie when they need it.”
“That’s admirable.”
“It’s a good place.” He shrugs. “It’s for a good cause. I’ve always got time for things like that.”
Yep, I like him all right. There is something so real and genuine about him. Something I haven’t seen in a lot of men. I like that he cares. I like that he takes pride in what he does.
“There you two are!”
We both look over to see Marlie bounding up the stairs, looking flushed. No doubt this is taking its toll on her. It can’t be easy organizing all this, no matter how many helpers she has. Marlie is beautiful, without a doubt. Steel gray eyes set in a delicate, beautiful face. Her hair is honey colored, and she radiates the kind of strength and beauty that makes you want to be around her all the time. She’s the strongest person I know. Enduring what she has, and then opening this place with her sister Kaity, was a selfless thing to do.
“Hey, Marlie.” I smile at her as I fix some of the lights.
“Marlie.” Oliver nods her way.
“We’re probably going to be at this all night to have it ready by tomorrow.” She sighs, running her fingers through her hair. “So I was thinking, if Kenai and I provide pizza and drinks, will you guys stick around until we finish?”
“Sure,” I say, without hesitation. “I’m all in.”
“Got nothin’ else to do,” Oliver says, shrugging. “I’ll stay.”
“Gosh, you guys are gems. Thank you so much.”
“What else do you need us to do?” I ask, attaching another light. “Give us a list, and we’ll get to it.”
She claps her hands together. “Just decorate as much as you possibly can. Kenai and Kaity are on the food and drink run right now, and I’m organizing all the tables and chairs. So just keep decorating, and that’ll be great.”
“Can do,” Oliver says.
“Amazing.” She claps again. “Well, I gotta get back downstairs. Thanks again.”
She disappears and I turn to Oliver. “Looks like we’re in for a long night.”
“Goin’ to be even longer tomorrow night, with the amount of people they’re expecting.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “It’ll be a big one. Do you mind if I make a quick phone call? I want to let my best friend know I might not be home until later. I’ll need someone to feed my hamster.”
Oliver’s brows go up. “You got a hamster?”
I smile sheepishly. “Well, yeah.”
His lips twitch with a smile and my heart races. Gosh. He’s gorgeous. “Didn’t pick you for the hamster type, but now that I think about it, makes sense. You’re different.”
I’m different.
Not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.
“Well, ah, thank you . . . I think.”
He makes a snorting sound that I would almost say is close to a laugh. I smile and pull out my phone, dialing Erin and walking down the hall a little.
“Yo, chicky,” she says after the second ring.
“Hey. Listen, I was wondering if you could feed Batty for me tonight. I might not be home until later.”
I glance over at Oliver, who is watching me. Flushing, I walk further down the hall.
“Ohhh,” Erin says. “What’s the big occasion? Date?”
I laugh softly. “No. Marlie asked if I could stay and help to get this place ready for tomorrow night. Oliver and I—”
“Wait a second,” she cuts me off. “Did you just say Oliver and you . . . ?”
I flush. “Yes,” I whisper. “We’re working together. We’ve kind of been talking all morning.”
“Oh my God!” she screams. “How come you didn’t text me the moment he spoke to you?”
“Because I locked myself in a closet and he saved me, that’s the only reason I had the courage to speak to him.”
“Ohhhhh,” she croons. “You locked yourself in a closet to get his attention.”
I groan. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Sure, whatever you say.” She laughs. “Tell me more. Is he hot up close? Is he nice? What have you spoken about?”
“I can’t talk about that,” I whisper. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll tell you once all this Halloween stuff is over.”
“You better!” she chastises. “I want to hear every detail. Oh oh oh, kiss him when it’s all dark and spooky. Act like you’re afraid.”
I roll my eyes, even though she can’t see. “I have more class than that. We’re grown women now, we’re not fifteen anymore.”
“Pfft,” she snorts. “We’re only twenty-five, that is still young, and nobody has more class than that when a hot guy is around. Do it, Jade, you won’t regret it when he sweeps to your rescue.”
“Knowing my luck, it won’t be him that rescues me.”
She laughs. “True. Okay, well, get back to it and I’ll feed that crazy hamster. I want details, though!”
“Okay,” I laugh. “You’ll get them.”
“Later, chicky.”
I hang up and join Oliver on the stairs again. The second I stop, he says, “You named your hamster Batty?”
I can’t help it—I burst out laughing. “It’s a long story.”
He raises his brows. “Well, we’ve got a long night. Start talking.”
So, I start talking.
* * *
�
�You guys did an incredible job!” Marlie says when we all flop down onto the circle of sofas around eight that night.
“Thanks,” I say, my voice tired as I tuck my feet up beneath me. “It was a big job, but the place looks incredible.”
It looks like Halloween at its finest. Decorations, spooky objects everywhere—carved pumpkins, spiders hanging, ghosts strung up, skeletons in the corners, bats hanging from the fans, cobwebs, and a smoke machine ready to rumble. Marlie got Halloween-themed tablecloths, lights, cups, and plates. Even the food they brought in is all Halloween themed. Yes, it looks fantastic all right.
The event is adults only because we’ll be serving Halloween cocktails, and we are charging admission. All the money raised will go straight back into Sanctuary. We’re raising funds to extend the small back courtyard to a bigger space where we can run more outdoor activities.
“Couldn’t have done it without you guys,” Kaity says, sitting down on the sofa and pulling out her phone. “Let’s hope it’s a success.”
“I think it will be,” Marlie nods, smiling at her sister. “People love Halloween.”
“That they do,” I agree.
“Kenai and Oliver will be back with the pizza and beer soon. I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to having a drink.” Marlie sighs.
“Me, too,” I agree.
“Me three.” Kaity laughs.
“Soooo,” Marlie says after a giggle, looking to me. “You and Oliver looked pretty chatty today when you were decorating.”
My cheeks heat. “We were just talking,” I mumble.
“Mmmhmmm.” Marlie wiggles her brows. “Talking, sure . . .”
“He is super hot,” Kaity points out. “I can totally see why you’d want to talk to him.”
I flush hotter. “I think he’s a nice guy.”
“You should ask him out,” Marlie says. “Do you like him?”
“I, ah . . .” I hesitate. “Well, yeah, of course, but I don’t . . .”
“You’re shy,” Kaity says. “I get that, and you’ve had a hard time, so no pressure or anything. Take your time. If you like him, just see what happens.”
“Exactly, and honestly, by the way he was looking at you, I think he’s going to ask you out anyway.” Marlie smiles warmly, nodding. “You two would be super cute together. And he’s a really good guy. Kenai said so.”
And I’d trust Kenai’s opinion more than anyone’s, to be honest. Oliver isn’t the same age as Kenai, he seems closer to my age, but apparently he spent some time doing repairs on Kenai’s building when he was younger. Kenai took a liking to him, so he gave him a job. I’m not quite sure what the job was, but the two of them have been working together for a while now and get along really well.
“We’re back,” Kenai says.
We all look up to see Kenai and Oliver coming through the front doors. Kenai is holding pizza boxes, and Oliver has some bags I’m assuming are full of drinks. They join us on the couch, spreading everything out. We all dig in, starving and thirsty. I take a beer and a piece of pizza and lean back, glancing at Oliver, who surprises me by coming and sitting beside me on the sofa with his food.
I look over to Marlie, and she wiggles her brows. My cheeks heat and I focus on my pizza, so nobody can see how nervous I am.
“Well,” Kaity says. “Here’s to everyone. A great effort!”
We all clink our bottles.
“Considering it’s Halloween, I think we should all share a time where something freaky happened to us. Like a ghost story,” Marlie suggests. “I’m sure you’ve all experienced or heard of one.”
“I haven’t,” Kaity says, pursing her lips.
“Yeah, we totally have,” Marlie adds. “Remember when we were kids . . . ?”
Kaity’s eyes get big. “Ohhh yeah.”
“Okay, we’ll go first then,” Marlie says. “When Kaity and I were little, we used to play in the graveyards, as most kids do. One day when we were there, we were reading all the headstones and we came across one that was a teenage boy killed in an accident. We read his name, and then continued playing. But when we went back, I swear to God . . . Kaity, you tell them.”
Kaity’s eyes are wide. “His name was scratched out, and into the stone was scratched ‘get out.’ We ran so fast out of there and we never entered a graveyard again after that.”
My eyes get big. “That’s freaky!”
“Yep.” Marlie nods, shivering. “It was horrible.”
“I guess he didn’t want to be disturbed,” Oliver says, taking a drink of his beer.
“No,” Kenai agrees gruffly. “Guess he didn’t.”
“Okay, what about you, Jade? Have you got a story?”
I nod. “Actually, I do.”
I take another bite of pizza and a sip of beer before I begin. “When I was a kid, I went to a sleepover at a friend’s house. There were five of us, and her parents had an Ouija board.”
“Ugh.” Kaity shudders. “Those things give me the creeps.”
I nod. “Yeah. I know. Anyway, we decided, at the fragile age of twelve, that we’d play with it. I mean, my friend had seen the movies, her parents let her watch whatever she wanted, so she laid it out and we all held hands, just like she told us. She started babbling some chant, and then she asked the board a question.”
“Did it move?” Marlie gasps.
“Yes.” I nod, remembering it like it was yesterday. “The thing started moving like crazy, sliding all over the board. We freaked out and were screaming before we threw it out the window. We all got sent home, but I will never forget it.”
“Aren’t you supposed to finish those things off?” Kaity asks. “I thought you couldn’t just raise whatever it is and then leave? I thought you had to send them back to wherever the hell they came from.”
I shrug. “I don’t know, but I do know my friend . . . It freaked her out so much, she was never the same.”
“The ghost probably haunted her,” Kenai mutters. “Those things are dangerous.”
I nod. “Yes, they are. I’ve never gone near anything like that again.”
“Wow,” Marlie says. “Intense. What about you, Oliver? Have you got a story?”
Oliver shakes his head. “Can’t say I do. Never had any supernatural experiences.”
“Not even one?” Kaity questions.
“Nope.”
“Oh, well, think yourself lucky.” Marlie smiles at him before turning toward Kenai. “What about you, chief?”
Kenai grins at her, and she flushes. I smile at them. I love the way they look at each other. It’s the kind of look every girl wants to see from the man she loves. It’s the look that lets her know she’s the only one for him, and she always will be.
“I got one,” Kenai says. “When I was a kid, we found this old abandoned house. Me and my pals went inside, and honestly, there was something in there. Doors kept slamming, cupboards would fly open, there were sounds of footsteps everywhere. We bolted, but I left my favorite pair of sunglasses there, so I went back the next day.”
“And?” Marlie cries.
“The glasses were hanging from a fan,” Kenai continues. “I didn’t want to touch them, but when I was standing there, contemplating it, the fan turned on. I shit you not. And the glasses came flying off and right at me.”
“Oh my God!” Marlie squeals.
“Yep,” Kenai nods. “I ran the hell out of there, without the sunglasses, and didn’t look back.”
Marlie giggles. “I didn’t think much frightened you, handsome.”
He winks at her. “Was a boy, doesn’t count.”
We all laugh.
I love this night.
* * *
As us girls are just sitting around chatting, finished with our pizza and waiting for Kenai and Oliver to come back with ice cream, Marlie is in the middle of telling us about a woman who recently came to the Sanctuary.
“So, we have to be—” Marlie says before she’s cut off when the lights suddenly go off. The entire
place plummets into darkness, and everything goes silent.
“Dammit,” Marlie says. “The power is out. Let me find my phone.”
I reach into my pocket, pull my phone out, and turn the flashlight on.
“Do you know where the power box is?” I ask Marlie.
She sighs. “I do, but I’ve never had to deal with anything like that. Kaity, have you?”
“Nope.”
I stand. “I’ve done it more than once before, I’ll go and have a look. Call Kenai if you can, maybe tell him what happened.”
“Are you sure?” Marlie asks, concern in her voice.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I won’t touch anything if I’m not.”
“Okay, do you want one of us to come?”
“No, no, stay here and wait for the guys to get back. I’m okay.”
I walk toward the back exit and then turn left and head down the stairs to the basement where the power box is located. It’s dark and I can’t see much, even with my phone. I walk in and shine my light around until I see the power box. I move over to it, opening it and shining my light on so I can see. It doesn’t appear that any of the switches have flipped.
A creaking sound comes from behind me and I spin around. “Hello?” I call. “Marlie, is that you?”
Silence.
My heart starts beating fast and I turn back to the power box, checking all the switches again. More creaking. This time louder. I spin around again, flashing my light over the room. There is no one there, but I could swear I heard something. I take a step forward and trip over something. My phone flies out of my hand and I land on the ground with a thump. The phone must land facedown, because suddenly everything is dark. Dammit.
Heart racing, I start crawling in the direction I think my phone landed. I am making so much noise, scurrying around on the floor, that I don’t hear anything else. As I’m feeling around the floor, I head-butt a pair of legs. A scream rips from my throat and I throw myself backward. Two big hands find me, curling around my arms and hauling me up.
“Let me go!” I screech.
“It’s me. Calm down.”