Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
DARWIN
Liam stands beside me as he slices the steak into thin strips. Without conversation, we tend to cook meals together. The four of us. In a way, I feel like it’s bonding time.
Even though we talk throughout the day—sometimes as a group or in pairs or in any combination—we somehow find that there are always things we haven’t talked about throughout the day. It’s as if we all went to work and now we’re coming together to catch up.
I smile as Matty tells us about Madeline and George, both ghosts who died very young. Madeline died in a fire somewhere, but George was sick. He’s too young to know what he was sick with, but he was sick when he died. He died right here in the castle.
He died in a window of time when Mrs. Callendale wasn’t here, either living or dead. She’s apparently butthurt about this.
In a way, listening to Matty talk about the ghosts is like him reporting gossip he learned at work today. Workplace drama. I fucking love it.
I glance at Liam. He has an almost permanent smile on his face as he listens to Matty, though his gaze is on the steak he’s slicing. When he feels me watching him, Liam glances at me. His eyes meet mine, and I smile.
I’m not going to pretend I like him now.
There hasn’t been any magic fix or improvement in my opinion of him, but I think we understand each other a little better.
I believe he punishes himself every day for what he’s put Matty through.
Even if we can’t see him do so, I have no doubt at all that he’s mentally berating himself from the moment he wakes in the morning until he falls asleep at night.
I know I told him he needs to forget about himself and concentrate on Matty, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he needs to heal a little on his own, learn some self-forgiveness, before he can truly be what Matty needs.
He turns back to the steak and continues slicing. We’re having cheesesteaks tonight. I’m slicing onions, Matty is slicing mushrooms, and Zephyr is slicing peppers. Matty and I don’t like pepper, but he and Liam do. Which means we’re using more pans than necessary, but that’s okay.
I really enjoy the time we spend together. I think it’s good for both Liam and Matty. I pause when I get to the end of the first onion and lean forward to look at Zephyr. He has such an infectious smile. Especially when it’s big and genuine like it is now. You can’t help but smile, too.
Zephyr feels me looking at him, and he meets my eye. His lips pucker, and he kisses the air in my direction. My chest warms. Is he really mine?
I grin and turn my attention to my onions again, pulling the second one forward. Matty’s laughter has me glancing up, and the same thought expands to include him. Are they both actually mine? I get to call them mine?
We haven’t had a conversation to include that yet.
Not outside of the bedroom that one night before our daisy chain fuck, which, Jesus—that was hot.
The most that we covered that night was that we were interested.
The three of us were interested in each other, and after Liam helped Zephyr understand some things about himself, he agreed that we’d see what happens.
That’s it. That’s not a commitment. That’s not a promise.
If I hadn’t spent as much time with Zephyr as I have these past two and a half months, I’d say it’s nothing more than an empty statement to move beyond the conversation.
Once, I’d have felt confident in saying that about what comes out of his mouth.
That’s his vibe. That’s his energy. That’s the facade he puts forth to the world.
I’ve seen under that mask, though. He lets me in a little more every day. We share things that bother us, things that hurt us, our pasts.
I glance at Liam and note that he’s the only one who doesn’t. That’s probably by design. We don’t go out of our way to include him, and… maybe that needs to change.
When there’s a lull in the conversation, I elbow Liam gently. Not enough to disrupt his knife skills, but enough that he looks at me.
“Your turn. Tell us about your day.”
His eyebrows rise slightly in surprise. Confusion flickers across his face, but I don’t miss the hint of a smile when he turns back to the steak. “There’s not a lot to report. I finished chopping up the last boat, and stacked the finished lumber on a tarp so we can carry it to the pit.”
“Why didn’t you tell us? We’d have helped you,” Zephyr says.
Liam shrugs. “You were watching a movie and playing cards. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
Matty and Zephyr both frown. I nod minutely.
This is why I wanted Liam to share his day.
I think we all need to be more aware that Liam is extricating himself from us.
I have a feeling he’s doing it for Matty, but I think even deeper down, he’s doing it to punish himself so Matty can be happy without him.
“I don’t know which pit you’re thinking of using, so I didn’t try to bring it myself,” Liam says.
“Good,” Matty says, frowning. “They’re everywhere. I think there’s more than we even realize based on what they say.”
‘They’ is always in reference to the ghosts.
Liam nods. “I agree. After that, I joined you for lunch. I took a nap with Matty. Made a call into the office to make sure I’m not fired. Checked the windows on the third floor since the wind was rattling them pretty loudly while I was outside. And… now I’m here.”
“You’re not fired, are you?” Matty asks.
“No.” He meets Matty’s eyes and smiles. “I took a leave of absence shortly after I arrived here.”
“You did?” Matty’s eyebrows knit together. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I don’t want you to worry about my job. It’s my responsibility to worry about it, not yours, baby.”
Matty sighs.
“Everything is fine,” Liam assures him. “My project isn’t a huge priority to anyone, so it’s not a big deal if I put it on pause until after the new year.”
“You’re staying with us until after the new year?” Matty asks, his face lighting up.
Liam smiles, and it feels genuine. “Absolutely. I’m hoping never to leave you again.”
Matty’s smile lights up the damn room, but it fades. “You can’t do that. You have a life.”
“Not outside of you, I don’t,” Liam says, shrugging.
Matty opens his mouth to argue, but he legitimately freezes. His eyes widen, and I think we all think he sees something behind Liam. The three of us turn to find nothing.
Matty’s head whips around, and he stares out the window. My heart races, already anticipating what he’s going to say.
Nobody moves as we wait for Matty. Unlike every other time, we hear the engine as it gets close to the island. It’s loud, and the wind carries it to us, which is the only reason we hear it.
“They’re circling the island,” Matty murmurs.
I stare at Matty, chills covering my entire body, making all the hair stand on end. It’s as if he can actually see through the walls. See through the trees. As if he’s watching it all play out, and we can’t see the scene he’s watching.
“They’re…” He steps away from the island, and I set down the knife in my hands to grab the hand towel and wipe them off.
“What’re they looking for?” Zephyr asks.
Matty doesn’t answer. I’m not sure he heard the question. A minute passes. We all jump as Matty leaps toward the window and presses his hands against it. “We have to go. Right now. There are… There are five. Five!” He turns to face us with wild eyes.
Zephyr grabs Matty’s hand on his way to the door.
I have enough presence of mind to make sure we haven’t left the stove on and then follow Liam, hot on their heels.
As we have every other time, we stop to bundle up, mask up, grab some lights, and knives.
I’m surprised when Matty takes a knife. He looks absolutely terrified, but he grips it tightly in his hand.
“I wish there was a safety on that,” Zephyr mutters as he stares at Matty with a knife in his hand.
“He’ll be okay,” I say and force Matty’s attention on me. He doesn’t see me. He’s not focused. “Look at me, precious,” I murmur. “I need you to look at me.”
He blinks several times. “We need to hurry. There are five!”
“I know, but I need you to be absolutely present in this, uh, realm if you’re going to carry a knife. Understand?”
“I have to,” he says. “We’re outnumbered already, even without my having a weapon.”
Liam covers his hand, wrapped securely around the knife, and Matty’s attention turns to him. “We can take care of this. You don’t need to do anything at all. I promise you, Matty. We’ll keep you safe and take care of them.”
Matty swallows. His eyes drop to the knife for a minute. “I want to bring it.”
“You can. Of course, you can. But don’t feel like you have to use it. Okay? We will protect you.”
Matty smiles softly. “I know, Liam.”
Liam brushes his face. “Good. Never push yourself into something you’re not comfortable with for anyone ever again. Least of all, me.”
There’s a flicker of mischief in Matty’s smile.
“That can wait,” Zephyr says as he pulls a hat over Matty’s curls and drops a kiss onto his forehead. “Don’t get all dirty or mushy. We don’t have time for that right now, doll.”
I’m relieved that Matty looks here when we head for the door. That little tease was exactly what he needed to pull himself from being caught up in the ghosts. Or… whatever he was trapped in.
Matty stops abruptly as soon as we’re all outside and looks around. The engine is silent. Did they leave? Were they just doing reconnaissance?
“They split up,” Matty says quietly. “Two are heading toward the tower. Two are coming this way. One is… wandering aimlessly?” He tilts his head. “I don’t know what he’s doing.”
“The tower is secure,” Darwin says. “I checked it not long ago. Let them be for now. Bring us to the ones heading this way. Can you do that, Matty?”
“They say that the other one is more important. The one just wandering aimlessly.”
“Why?” Zephyr asks.
“He has a small, boxy camera, and he’s sharing secrets?” Matty says, still confused. “Oh. I think he has a cell phone.”
“Fine. Let’s go,” Liam says. “The castle is locked tightly anyway.”
Matty begins running. “Stay behind me. In my footsteps.”
I drag Liam directly in front of me since he ignored Matty’s instruction. “He means directly behind him. He’s avoiding the pits.”
“How?” Liam asks.
“The dead tell me where they are,” Matty answers as he skirts around a clear spot. It doesn’t look like there’s something there, but I trust Matty’s ghosts more than my eyes.
We race through the trees until Matty stops abruptly and points. “He’s there,” he whispers and then spins. “There’s another over there. The two going to the castle broke up.”
“Is one at the castle?” I ask.
“Yes, he’s watching it. Probably doesn’t know we came out already.”
“I’m glad we left the lights on,” Liam says. “Let him think we’re inside.”
I pull my mask over my face and head for the man in front of us. He sees me coming and pulls up a phone. The light flashes in my face, and I know he takes a picture. “Where is he?” the man demands. “Where is my brother?”
“Who’s your brother?” I ask.
“You know who he is!”
“I don’t even know who you are,” I say as I circle him. He has a knife in his hand, too. He takes another picture, and I roll my eyes behind my mask. I also make sure I close my eyes when he does, so the flash doesn’t disrupt my vision, which is acclimated to the night.
“Where’s Kennedy!”
“Do you honestly think you lot of trespassers sign in?” I ask as I slowly close in on him. It’s clear that he’s wild and terrified. Desperate. Young.
“Where is he?! Tell me! Release him now!”
He’s watching me closely, so he doesn’t see where he shuffles his foot.
It gets caught in a tree root or stubs against a rock, and he stumbles.
He drops both the phone and the knife as he tries to catch his balance.
I dart forward before he manages to right himself.
With his hand twisted behind his back and my knife against his throat, I say, “I’ll take you to the first man who trespassed. I’m assuming that’s your brother.”
He doesn’t answer, and I move him toward the well.
Interestingly, he’d been hunting around in that vicinity, which makes me wonder if the first man had a cell phone on him.
I’m sure it’s dead by now, but had it been giving off GPS before it died, showing that this was the last place Kennedy had been?
Using my foot, I shove the top off the well as best I can. “He’s down there,” I say, forcing the kid to lean forward.
“Kennedy!” he hollers.
“Why don’t you visit him?” I suggest, and before he can register my words, I shove him forward.
He stumbles, his shins hit the edge of the well, making gravity pull him forward.
I help him along until he’s hanging onto the lid and staring up at me in terror.
“You want to see your brother, don’t you? ”
“You’re going to kill me?” he asks.
For just a beat, I have second thoughts. Now that I’m staring at him, he’s not as young as I thought. Twenties, probably. Young, yes. But not a kid. Not even a teenager.
“Please,” he begs.
“ZEPHYR!”
Matty’s wild voice has me spinning on my heels, eyes wide, heart trying to punch its way from my chest.
“ZEPHYR, STOP. STOP!”
The panic in his voice has me leaving the kid at the well.
I’m barely a dozen paces away when I hear the kid behind me screaming.
I hear the splash. And then a terrified scream, telling me that Kennedy’s body is still right where we left it.
Likely preserved very well since the water is probably freezing.
His screams fade as Matty’s fill my head. I race harder, with no idea where I’m going. Aware that I could fall into a hidden, forgotten hole at any minute.
I come to a sudden stop as Liam grabs the collar of Zephyr’s jacket and yanks him backward, just as someone disappears through the ground. The second shadow spins, screams, drops to his knees to stare into the dark pit where the first shadow vanished.
I make a wide berth around the hole, come up behind the man on his knees, and use the shovel he dropped to slam against his face. He ends up on his back, unconscious.
“That’s the last of them,” Liam says, breathless.
The moonlight filters through the canopy then, and I meet Zephyr’s eyes just as Matty comes up beside him and grips his arm tightly, burying his face into Zephyr’s shoulder.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what had Matty screaming. Zephyr nearly went into the hole himself.