Read Online Ghoul Interrupted by Victoria Laurie - Free Book Online Page B

talking about it?” I asked.
    Heath sighed heavily and stared at the ground. “My family always makes things ten times harder than they need to be,” he said. “I mean, it’s bad enough that we lost Uncle Milton and Aunt Bev, but I know the flak my mom’s gonna take when she shows up at their funerals, and it’s killing me that they all know she’s in bad health and they’re still holding a grudge.”
    “A grudge?” I asked. “For what, Heath?”
    But he shook his head. “It’s a long story, Em.”
    “I’ve got time.”
    Heath sighed again. “Yeah, well, I appreciate that, but I’m not up to telling it.”
    I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice when I said, “Oh, okay.”
    Heath lifted his eyes to my face then, and I could see the pained look there. “Aw, man!” he said. “I’m sorry, Em. It’s just that my mom and I left the Pueblo a long time ago, and most of the rest of my family have never gotten over it. My granddad, and Uncle Milton and Aunt Bev, and Ari of course, are the only ones who never made me feel like an outsider. Everybody else resented the fact that I was a Whitefeather living off tribal lands. It’s like, because I’m loyal to my mom, the tribe doesn’t consider me an actual member and it hurts sometimes, you know?”
    I wrapped my arms around him. “I’m so sorry, honey,” I told him. I realized I’d been saying that a lot lately.
    We sat there for a while, but I could still feel the intense sadness filling Heath’s heart. Eventually he kissed the top of my head, saying, “Think I’ll go upstairs and get some sleep.” Then he hugged me tight one last time before moving off.
    I could tell he wanted to be alone, but it still stung a little to be pushed away.
    Gil found me about an hour and a half later still sitting in the courtyard. “You’re a gloomy Gus these days,” he said, coughing into his hand before sitting next to me on the bench.
    I sighed. “What else would I be? My boyfriend’s just lost two of his closest relatives, his mom’s sick, and most of his family hates me.”
    “Oh, come on,” Gil said. “I’m sure they don’t hate you.”
    I told him what’d happened at Ari’s house and about how just by being there I was guilty of trespass. “Ah,” he said when I was finished. “Allow me to retract my previous statement. They obviously hate you.”
    I cut him a look. “Gee, thanks , Gil.”
    “What do you want me to say, M. J.? You know I’m not good at this sentimental stuff.”
    I pulled my legs up and hugged my knees. “I wish Teeks were here.”
    What I felt I really needed was the support of my best girlfriend, Karen O’Neil. Karen lived in Boston (Gil and I lived there too) and she was currently looking after the pug I’d adopted from Scotland. Karen is also one of those breathtakingly beautiful women who just wakes up looking perfect. If she weren’t so great and such an amazing friend, I’d probably hate her. Anyway, Karen is such a knockout that Gilley had been the one to first nickname her TKO, or Teeko for short. What can I say? The nickname stuck.
    “Yeah,” Gil said with a knowing smile. “If only Teeks were here.”
    There was something he was hiding from me, but just as I was about to press him on it, he coughed again. I listened hard for the telltale wet sound that indicated an infection was setting in, but he seemed to be recovering from his bout with the flu very well. “Maybe you should call her?” Gil said after a minute, and again that knowing smile returned.
    But to my surprise, at the mention of calling Teeks, my eyes watered. I was starting to feel off-balance emotionally. So much had happened in the last few months and through all of it I’d just kept going. I hadn’t paused long enough to stop and consider what I might be going through. “Naw,” I said, wiping my eyes and sniffling. “She’s got her own stuff to deal with. She doesn’t need me to dump on her.”
    Gilley bumped my shoulder with his.