Read Online Light Shadows by S. L. Jennings - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: S. L. Jennings
Ads: Link
should respect her wishes.”
A long moment passes between us before Niko huffs out a breath. “Fine. We’ll be in the kitchen. But if anything happens—if she even breathes wrong—I’m coming over.”
I nod. “Deal.”
The two walk over to the kitchen, disappearing from sight, as I watch Morgan’s eyelids begin to flutter. They open slowly before focusing on my face. When she doesn’t scream in horror, I finally allow myself to feel a sense of relief. She’s back. My friend has come back to me.
“Hey there, sleepyhead.”
“Gabs? What the…what happened?” She scrambles to sit up, clutching her wrist. When her hand comes up completely clean, devoid of blood, her eyes widen with shock and her mouth goes slack. “What happened to me, Gabs? How did this…how can this be?”
“How do you feel?” I ask in my calmest voice, as if she isn’t trembling in front of me, confused and afraid.
“I don’t know. I-I don’t know what happened. And you…how did you... What did you do to yourself?” Morgan stammers. She reaches a shaky hand toward me, but drops it before her finger touches my face. “Your eyes...what happened to your eyes?”
Shit. I didn’t even think to do something about my appearance. There’s hardly an easy explanation to spontaneously spawning one blue and one golden eye.
“I’ll explain later,” I lie, knowing I’ll never be able to share my true identity with her. I know I’ll have to enlist one of the guys to help me out with covering my ass. “Right now, I want to talk about what happened last night.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Morgan’s eyes go glassy and she shakes her head. I can see that whatever terror lies just beneath the surface is ready to manifest at any moment.
“Last night, I had been trying to call you, but you wouldn’t pick up. I was just about to go to bed around midnight, when I thought I saw you in the hallway. I called out, but there wasn’t an answer. So I went to ask you where the hell you’d been when…”
Morgan sucks in a sharp breath of air, her lips quivering with fear. I don’t want to push her, but I need to know what happened. “Go ahead, Morgan. It’s alright.”
She shakes her head again, eyes closed tight, trying to erase the memory. “It wasn’t you, Gabs. It wasn’t you.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.” When Morgan opens her deep brown eyes, a solitary tear rolls down her cheek. “But it wasn’t alive. None of them were. I could… see …what killed them. How they died.”
They? Holy fuck.
I look across the room at Niko, then Alexander, searching for a logical explanation. They both share the same look of bewilderment, rivaling my own wide-eyed dread. “Morgan, are you saying you were haunted by… ghosts?”
“I know what I saw!” she cries, more tears wetting her cheeks. She shivers like she’s been dipped in an ice bath, yet her forehead begins to bead with sweat. “ I swear! I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!”
“I know, honey,” I coo, trying to calm her. “I know you’re not crazy.”
“So you believe me?” she asks, hysteria in her stare. “You believe me, right, Gabs? I wouldn’t make this shit up! I wouldn’t…do that…to myself if I had any other choice!”
“I know you wouldn’t. But I have to ask...why did you do it? Why didn’t you have a choice?”
She struggles to swallow down her terror as if it’s choking her. “They kept talking to me…kept telling me to do it. I had to. They wouldn’t get out of my head, Gabs. They wouldn’t leave me alone!”
In a fit of immeasurable horror and insanity, Morgan begins to fist her hair, pulling at it as if to pull the memories right from her skull. I beg for her to stop, but I don’t want to lose control. I can’t let her see me yet. Not when she is in such a fragile state.
“Stop it, Morgan! Stop before you hurt yourself!”
With a broken sob, she pounds her fists against her temples over and over, shaking her
A long moment passes between us before Niko huffs out a breath. “Fine. We’ll be in the kitchen. But if anything happens—if she even breathes wrong—I’m coming over.”
I nod. “Deal.”
The two walk over to the kitchen, disappearing from sight, as I watch Morgan’s eyelids begin to flutter. They open slowly before focusing on my face. When she doesn’t scream in horror, I finally allow myself to feel a sense of relief. She’s back. My friend has come back to me.
“Hey there, sleepyhead.”
“Gabs? What the…what happened?” She scrambles to sit up, clutching her wrist. When her hand comes up completely clean, devoid of blood, her eyes widen with shock and her mouth goes slack. “What happened to me, Gabs? How did this…how can this be?”
“How do you feel?” I ask in my calmest voice, as if she isn’t trembling in front of me, confused and afraid.
“I don’t know. I-I don’t know what happened. And you…how did you... What did you do to yourself?” Morgan stammers. She reaches a shaky hand toward me, but drops it before her finger touches my face. “Your eyes...what happened to your eyes?”
Shit. I didn’t even think to do something about my appearance. There’s hardly an easy explanation to spontaneously spawning one blue and one golden eye.
“I’ll explain later,” I lie, knowing I’ll never be able to share my true identity with her. I know I’ll have to enlist one of the guys to help me out with covering my ass. “Right now, I want to talk about what happened last night.
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Morgan’s eyes go glassy and she shakes her head. I can see that whatever terror lies just beneath the surface is ready to manifest at any moment.
“Last night, I had been trying to call you, but you wouldn’t pick up. I was just about to go to bed around midnight, when I thought I saw you in the hallway. I called out, but there wasn’t an answer. So I went to ask you where the hell you’d been when…”
Morgan sucks in a sharp breath of air, her lips quivering with fear. I don’t want to push her, but I need to know what happened. “Go ahead, Morgan. It’s alright.”
She shakes her head again, eyes closed tight, trying to erase the memory. “It wasn’t you, Gabs. It wasn’t you.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.” When Morgan opens her deep brown eyes, a solitary tear rolls down her cheek. “But it wasn’t alive. None of them were. I could… see …what killed them. How they died.”
They? Holy fuck.
I look across the room at Niko, then Alexander, searching for a logical explanation. They both share the same look of bewilderment, rivaling my own wide-eyed dread. “Morgan, are you saying you were haunted by… ghosts?”
“I know what I saw!” she cries, more tears wetting her cheeks. She shivers like she’s been dipped in an ice bath, yet her forehead begins to bead with sweat. “ I swear! I’m not crazy! I’m not crazy!”
“I know, honey,” I coo, trying to calm her. “I know you’re not crazy.”
“So you believe me?” she asks, hysteria in her stare. “You believe me, right, Gabs? I wouldn’t make this shit up! I wouldn’t…do that…to myself if I had any other choice!”
“I know you wouldn’t. But I have to ask...why did you do it? Why didn’t you have a choice?”
She struggles to swallow down her terror as if it’s choking her. “They kept talking to me…kept telling me to do it. I had to. They wouldn’t get out of my head, Gabs. They wouldn’t leave me alone!”
In a fit of immeasurable horror and insanity, Morgan begins to fist her hair, pulling at it as if to pull the memories right from her skull. I beg for her to stop, but I don’t want to lose control. I can’t let her see me yet. Not when she is in such a fragile state.
“Stop it, Morgan! Stop before you hurt yourself!”
With a broken sob, she pounds her fists against her temples over and over, shaking her
Similar Books
