Read Online Cold as Ice by Jody Morse, Jayme Morse - Free Book Online Page B

into a smile. “Good luck with that, sweetie. One thing you should know about me is I don’t have regrets.”
     
    *
     
    Lexi lay in her bed, staring at the wall. She was past the point of sadness; the only thing she could feel at that moment was hopelessness. How could she get Dan back . . . and the potion? She felt like a failure.
    An na had suggested that she should ask Gabe if he could try to have a vision about it, but Lexi knew that was really hit or miss. It could take him weeks or longer to have a vision, and by that time, there was a risk that whoever had it would either drink it themselves or pour it down the drain, not realizing the powers that the jar contained. She needed to come up with a quicker solution, but her mind felt blank.
    She kept replaying the situations over and over again in her head, without coming up with any solid ideas of how to get both Dan and the potion back, when she heard a sound.
    Glancing at the window in front of her, Lexi nearly gasped.
    Her ex-boyfriend Justin was hovering there, his body nearly translucent, his skin as white as porcelain.
    “Justin?” Lexi whispered, unsure if what she was seeing was reality. Justin had been killed in a supposed car accident shortly after she’d arrived to Briar Creek—the same day he happened to be going back to New Jersey to ask his mom for permission for Lexi to live with them.
    She knew that wasn’t what really happened, though. Someone—probably her uncle and Greg Lawrence—had murdered Justin.
    “Hi, Lexi,” Justin said, his voice soft and calm.
    “Are you a ghost?” Lexi asked, even though she knew that he had to be. That was the only way he could be standing in front of her at that moment. It wasn’t that surprising, either. Her mom was a ghost, after all.
    Justin shrugged his shoulders. He was wearing the same hockey jersey he had always worn when they were dating. “I’m not sure if that’s what you can call me or not.”
    Lexi raised her eyebrows at him. “What do you mean? Obviously you’re not alive.”
    “I think I’m more like a spirit or something,” Justin replied. “Actually, I think I might be your guardian angel.”
    “Those really exist?” Lexi asked. She wasn’t sure why she felt surprised; if vampires, werewolves, witches, and immortals existed, sur ely guardian angels could, too.
    Justin shrugged again. “No one’s actually told me that’s what I am, but I have been watching over you ever since the day I died.”
    “Why me?” Lexi questioned. “Or do you get to watch over more than one person?”
    “Well, I check in on my mom sometimes. I really miss her,” Justin admitted. “But I think I watch over you because you were my first love.”
    Lexi glanced down at the palms of her hands. Before she’d moved to Briar Creek and had fallen in love with Gabe, it had been obvious to her that Justin still had feelings for her. Even though she’d agreed to move in with him and his mom just so that she could get away from her aunt and uncle, she’d never given him nearly enough consideration. Mostly, she’d just blown him off.
    “Do you think you’ll have to be my guardian angel forever?” Lexi asked quietly. It made her feel guilty to think that he was stuck in his afterlife watching over her.
    “I’m not sure,” Justin replied. “I think it’s just until you figure everything out.”
    Lexi stared at him blankly. How much did he get to see while he was “watching over her”? Did he know everything that was happening in her life now? Did he watch her changing her clothes or showering this morning?
    Justin shook his head and laughed at her. “No, I don’t watch you change your clothes or shower, Lexi. Sure, I’d like to, but I know I have to respect your privacy. But I do know everything that’s going on. I can hear your thoughts, which you might have realized just now.”
    “I see,” Lexi replied, fe eling at least sort of relieved, except now she knew that she needed to monitor her