Chapter 25 Clarke
Clarke
I was disoriented when I woke up. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was, even though I was in my own bed. Maybe it was because of the weight that was draped over my middle, or the breath I could feel on the back of my neck, or the way there was someone else’s feet tangled with mine.
Because I didn’t go to bed alone last night.
I felt Leith stretch a little behind me before pulling me closer, so my back was flush with his front. I didn’t know what time it was. Maybe that was why I felt so disoriented—because everything felt different this morning.
I generally didn’t wake up feeling rested. I woke up feeling like I’d taken a thirty-minute power nap and was desperate to fall back asleep even though I was never actually able to do that. I didn’t wake up like this.
I was calm. Relaxed, even.
“Good morning,” Leith said on a yawn. “Your bed is very, very comfortable.”
“I told you,” I said. “It’s a luxury experience.”
Leith moved his hand to my hip and gave it a light squeeze before he moved it down the side of my thigh and back up.
“Hmm,” he said. “I like being in your bed, Clarke.” His words dripped down my spine like honey.
Now that the magic of prom night was fading into the harsh reality of the morning light, I realized that we were probably going to have to talk about this—what it meant, but I genuinely couldn’t think of something I’d rather do less.
I turned my head back to look at Leith. His hair was messy—sticking up in every direction. He looked content. Happy. There was still sleep in his eyes, but they were bright.
He moved to kiss me, and I decided to let him—turning my body so I was facing him.
I tried to let myself fall into him like I did last night, but I couldn’t for some reason.
I felt like there was something…off in my house.
I tried to push my senses outward, but I didn’t feel any ghosts—not even my house ghost.
“What’s wrong?” he said when he pulled back.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I think I’m nervous not knowing what time it is.”
“Probably half past seven,” he said. “Based on the way that the sun is just starting to show through your window.”
“When’s the last time you slept this late?” One of Leith’s hands was stroking my hair.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t even know my body could sleep this late. I’ve been waking up at four since I was twelve.”
“Do you want breakfast?” I asked.
Leith gave me a mischievous grin and said, “Absolutely,” before pulling me back to him. I fell into the kiss easier this time—loving the way it felt when his hands moved up and down my body.
Right when he decided it was a good time to roll himself on top of me, though, my stomach growled. Loudly.
“Oh my god.” I slapped both of my hands over my face—hiding.
Leith collapsed onto me and laughed into my shoulder. “All right,” he said. “Breakfast it is.”
“Sorry,” I said.
“Don’t be,” Leith said with a kiss to my forehead. “We have time.”
Did we?
Leith rolled off my bed and reached out a hand to pull me up.
I was normally a matching pajama set sort of gal, but all I could be bothered to do last night was pull a giant T-shirt over my head before we fell asleep.
Leith was wearing his boxers. They were slung low on his hips.
I decided that morning was his best look—followed closely by the baseball hat and shearling-lined denim jacket combo.
Or maybe the suit he wore last night. I guess it was time to admit that I liked all his looks.
When we walked out my bedroom door, I got that feeling again—that something was off. I scanned the room until I saw her sitting on the chair in front of my fireplace, with one of her hands on Pearl’s giant head.
“Hi there,” my sister said in an exaggerated accent. She looked extremely perky for this early in the morning—they weren’t her thing. “Isn’t this cozy?”
For a solid ten seconds, both Leith and I were stunned silent—two deer in the headlights fixing to get run down.
“C-Collins,” I stammered out, but nothing followed. I just stood there—open-mouthed, gaping like a fucking fish.
“That’s what they call me,” she said. “Golden boy, hi, good morning.” Leith just waved.
Collins stood and walked straight toward my left hand.
I tried to put it behind my back, but she grabbed it before I could.
I tried to yank it away, but she turned around and brought my arm under hers and held mine tight between her arm and her torso.
Still, I kept fighting. Collins and I were fifty-fifty on winning physical altercations with each other, and I was determined.
I yanked again and pushed on her back with my other arm, but she reached behind her and got me into a headlock.
“Asshole!” I shouted.
“What the actual fuck, Clarke?” Collins said as I squirmed and squirmed. “Is this really an engagement ring?”
“I can explain,” I said.
“Should I go?” Leith asked. Both of us ignored him.
“You can explain that you got engaged—to golden boy of all people—didn’t tell me, and the only reason I know is because you sent me a picture of something else and I noticed the ring on your finger?”
Shit. The magazines.
“So then I hurry my ass home—blow through Meadowlark at light speed—thinking ‘no, that doesn’t sound like something Clarke would do,’ only to find this.”
“I think…I think I should go,” Leith said next to me.
“Yeah,” I said at the same time Collins said, “Absolutely fucking not.
“Both of you,” Collins went on, “are going to tell me exactly what’s going on, and you’re not going to lie to me.” She released me from the headlock, and momentum from my squirming threw me backward. Leith caught me before I ended up flat on my ass.
I looked up at him. He looked sufficiently terrified of my sister.
“How did you even get in here?” I asked Collins. “My spare key is on the kitchen counter.”
“I don’t think you want to know the answer to that question,” Collins said. “Sit.”
Collins returned to her spot on the chair, and Leith and I made our way to the couch. “Can I grab a shirt?” Leith asked.
“Nope.” She was really on one this morning. “So, what the hell is going on?”
“Nothing,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”
Collins gave me an exaggerated eye roll. She always got pissed at me for rolling my eyes at her, and now I understood why. “But you guys are together?”
“Yeah,” Leith said.
“How long?”
“Few months,” I said with an attempt at a nonchalant shrug.
“Lie,” Collins said. “Try again.”
“Officially, two months,” Leith answered.
“Not a lie,” I said to Collins, who was only looking at—no, studying—me.
“And you decided that was enough time to decide to spend the rest of forever together?”
“Yes,” Leith said. He sounded confident. Resolute. He was so much better at this than me.
“All right, golden boy, get out,” Collins said. “I clearly need to talk to my sister. Alone.”
Leith looked at me, and he saw my panic. “Are you okay?” he asked and then looked at Collins. “I’m only leaving if Clarke is okay.”
Collins stared Leith down, and he didn’t give an inch. Going toe to toe with Collins Cartwright was no easy feat, but Leith was holding his own.
“I’m okay,” I said to him. “Collins and I obviously have a lot to talk about.”
Leith took a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “If you’re sure.”
“Okay, both of you are being, like, super dramatic right now,” Collins said. “I’m not going to kill her. I’m just going to interrogate her about you guys’ relationship.”
Leith’s eyes widened a little bit. “Got it,” he said. Then to me he said, “I’ll get your truck from the high school.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll get it later.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said, and then he kissed my temple. I caught a glimpse of Collins, who looked like she was trying to solve the correct math equation for time travel.
Collins and I stayed silent while Leith went back into my room and grabbed his stuff. He emerged with his pants on and his shirt unbuttoned, and then he did something I didn’t expect—cupped my face in his hands and kissed me right in front of my sister. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said.
As soon as he was out the front door, Collins said, “Well, that was disgusting. You better start talking.”
“Again,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”
Collins folded her arms across her chest. “And this has nothing to do with the fact that Leith will lose his family farm if he’s not married before mid-May and that Toades needed more repairs than we could afford?”
My mouth dropped open. “How in the hell—?” My thoughts immediately went to Wilder, but I didn’t think he’d tell Collins outright, because he hadn’t told me outright.
The reality was that there were a lot of ghosts in this town, and Collins had a relationship with most of them. I didn’t. But we had one in common.
“Earnest,” I said.
Collins shook her head. “Your and Leith’s little Coop’s break-in adventure left quite an impression on Oakley.”
“Who the hell is Oak—” Wait. A pathway connected in my head. “Chewing Gum girl?!”
“Right-o.” Collins nodded. That ghost continued to be my arch-fucking-nemesis.
“How does she even know? We didn’t make our agreement anywhere near Coop’s.”
“You know ghosts talk, Lars. They gossip just like humans do, and you and Leith seem to be a hot topic on both sides of the mortal plane right now. Oakley didn’t even let me get into the apartment before she started spilling everything she knew about you and Leith, which was a lot,” Collins said.
“Something is off here. The ghosts are restless. I felt it as soon as I crossed the town line.”
“I haven’t felt anything.” I shrugged.
Collins arched a brow at me. “Oh really? Because everything seems…active to me. Is your head okay?”
“No worse than usual,” I lied. Because, of course, it had been worse than ever. But rather than be a good steward for my abilities, like Collins, I kept pushing them away like I always did.
“It all feels…connected to me,” Collins mused. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we just had this thing with Toades and right after, Leith’s dead dad starts badgering you about the farm, and the ghosts start acting crazy.”
“There’s more,” I said. If Collins knew this much already, I might as well bring her fully up to speed. “Leith spotted his uncle Flynn with Ed Sullivan at Ron’s office.”
My sister’s spine snapped straight. “Ed Sullivan was…here?”
“Apparently,” I said. “I don’t know if he’s still here, but if Leith and I can’t do something about the farm succession, it goes to Flynn…”
“And he’ll sell it to Sullivan,” Collins finished for me.
“Which would effectively be the end of Sweetwater Peak as we know it.” I nodded solemnly.
I had been so busy ignoring the ghosts, and whatever the hell I was doing with Leith, that, if Collins’s instincts were right, I might have missed something very important.
Something that could impact Leith’s family, his legacy.
And my town. And if that was the case, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
“So what do you think we should do?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Collins admitted. “I think we need more information. I would love for us to figure out a solution for this that didn’t involve you legally tying yourself to Leith for forever.”
“He’s not so bad, you know,” I said.
“I know,” Collins responded. “But if you want to be with him or marry him or whatever, I want you to be able to do it because you want to do it—not because you had to. It doesn’t matter what you feel for him now; I know you, and I know that even if you think you won’t, one day you’ll wonder whether it’s real or convenient. You deserve more than that.”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I didn’t let myself, but I was kind of grateful that my sister had. And, as much as I hated to admit it, Collins was probably right.
“So what do we do?”
“We start with a good, old-fashioned ghost hunt.”