Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(58)

Because I’m a monster. Because my kind go around feeding on people.

“Give my mom a chance, please,” Kylie whispered.

Della let go of a deep emotional sigh. “You sure she’s not going to run a stake through my heart while I’m sleeping?”

Kylie chuckled. “No, but she might take a bath in garlic.” When Della didn’t find the comment humorous, Kylie asked, “Did you and Steve have a fight?”

Della decided denying it wouldn’t do any good. She’d end up telling them, she always did. “Yeah.”

“Was he mad because you were coming here?”

“He was mad about a bunch of stuff.” Della stared out the window at the trees passing by, her heart heavy.

“What kind of stuff?” Kylie asked.

Della glanced up and spotted Kylie’s mom staring at her. Again. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay.” Kylie squeezed Della hand. The chameleon must have turned herself into a fae, because her touch was extra warm and comforting.

Della felt the ache in her chest lessen, but no sooner had she relaxed than another chest-tensing thought hit. Chan. Was he involved with a gang? If so, was Chase involved? She needed to figure things out. And quickly.

“Crap,” Kylie muttered under her breath.

“Crap what?” Della muttered back.

Kylie reached up in Della’s hair and pulled something out. It took her a second to realize what it was. Another feather.

Oh, fracking hell! The ghost was back.

Della swallowed a lump of panic down her throat. “I still think it’s here for you or Holiday,” she whispered to Kylie. “It showed up when Holiday and I were at the funeral.”

“Yeah, but you were there,” Kylie whispered back. “And I’ve only seen it hanging out by your room, and I don’t think Holiday has seen it unless you’re around. So I still think it’s your uncle, or maybe your aunt.”

Almost as if the ghost heard her, two more tiny white feathers spiraled past Della’s nose and landed on her lap—her lap and not Kylie’s.

Della knocked them on the floorboard. Didn’t she have enough to deal with already?

Chapter Seventeen

The dang ghost still never showed himself or herself, but Kylie said it was in the car with them most of the ride. Ms. Galen kept turning the heat up and complaining about the weather getting cold too early. About five miles from Kylie’s house, the car warmed up and stayed warm as they pulled into the driveway.

“Does this mean it won’t know where we are?” Della asked as they piled out of Kylie’s car.

“Sorry, when a ghost’s attached to you they seem to have internal GPS. They want you; they find you.”

“That sounds like stalking,” Della said.

“It sort of is,” Kylie said. “Sorry.”

“I love your house,” Miranda said to Ms. Galen as she bounced up the sidewalk in front of them.

As Della admired the two-story home, she reached up and rubbed her temple. She’d been doing that a lot lately. The tiny but persistent headache wouldn’t go away. She wanted to blame it on Aunt Flo, but she had taken leave for the month already.

“Thank you,” Ms. Galen answered. “I’m trying to sell it, but haven’t had any luck.” She glanced at Kylie. “I know she doesn’t want me to move, but it’s too big for me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to move,” Kylie said. “I just … I’ll miss it.”

Della considered how she’d feel if her parents sold their house. It would hurt, but nothing compared to how she felt losing the family who still lived there. And after her father’s visit, it really felt as if she’d lost them. For one second, she wondered if faking her death wouldn’t have been easier. Then that little spark of hope that she might have an uncle and even an aunt somewhere flickered to life.

She started walking up the sidewalk to the front porch. The sun hung low, painting the western sky in an array of colors, while darkness worked at chasing it away. A cool wind brushed past and stirred the trees. A few dead leaves cascaded to the ground, reminding Della of feathers.

She leaned back into Kylie. “How long does it usually take before a ghost appears, or tells you what it wants?” Della asked, hanging on to that hope that her uncle or aunt was alive.

“That depends on the ghost,” Kylie said.

Della sighed. She hated waiting. But maybe she wouldn’t have to wait long. The trip to the funeral home could shed some light on things. She looked up at the darkening sky, which seemed to match her mood. She could use some light.

Light that didn’t come with any kind of trouble. If she got Kylie and Miranda in trouble, or God forbid, if they got hurt, she was going to feel bad. Really, really bad.

An hour later, Miranda, Della, and Kylie were on the sofa, delivered pizza on the coffee table, surfing through Netflix looking for a good movie. Della had managed to eat one slice of pepperoni, and was trying to let go of her concern about tomorrow’s visit to the funeral home. But the prickle of worry stayed with her.

Popping off the sofa, she went to the kitchen to grab another soda, hoping to get the aftertaste of the pizza from her mouth. She’d consumed a big glass of blood for lunch today so she wouldn’t need any more until she was back at Shadow Falls on Sunday. The last thing she wanted was for Kylie’s mom to see her drinking it. Who wanted to be looked at with disgust?