One side of his mouth curled up into a grin. “Is something going on with you two?”
“Of course not.” I snorted. “You know that.” When Sebastian and Lucas exchanged a glance, I added, “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Lucas asked.
“The look. Nothing is going on,” I protested.
“Then why is your tone all weird?” Sebastian added.
“My tone is not weird.” As soon as I said it, I heard what he meant. Not only was my voice louder, but more defensive. “Forget it,” I dismissed. “I’m going to make sure she’s okay.”
As I walked through the kitchen, they snickered.
The door to her place was closed.Don’t say anything that comes off as creepy. You’ve already done that enough.
I knocked on the door. When she said, “Come in,” I made sure the shades were drawn before I entered. No need for more embarrassing entanglements.
“Hey, Nova.” I leaned against the door frame in a relaxed posed, feigning nonchalance.
“Hi, Diego. What’s up?” She was curled up in one of Margaret’s afghans on the sofa, reading some papers in a manila folder.
When she caught my gaze, my breath seemed to get stuck somewhere in my throat, which was strange since I didn’t need to breathe. My position then felt more forced than natural. I stood up straight.
“Just wanted to see how you’re doing.” I motioned toward her. “You know, after last night.”
She closed the folder and set it on the coffee table. “I’m not usually so on edge. Sorry about breaking the glass and making a mess.”
“No, it’s fine.” I took a couple of steps into the living room. “I get it. You’re in a new place with strangers. All of this has been thrown on you. I’d be wary, too.”
She bit her lip and didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure.”
She shook her head. “No, never mind. It’s nothing.”
“No, tell me,” I encouraged.
She smoothed the afghan over her legs. “Okay. Please sit.” She motioned to the off-white armchair across from her. Once I did, she said, “I was at an appointment today.”
“With the lawyer? Realtor?”
Her expression turned perplexed. “No, nothing like that. A women’s appointment.”
“Oh.” That could mean a whole realm of things I wouldn’t understand.
“Somehow the nightmare or whatever it was came up. The woman I was talking to said the same thing happened to her friend two nights ago.The same thing.”
“Oh,” I repeated, proving my mastery of the English language.
“That’s super weird, don’t you think?” Nova asked.
“Yeah, I guess. Who was this lady? A witch?”
“I don’t think so. It was a… um… beauty appointment.” She pulled the afghan up higher. “What do you think? Have you ever felt a dark presence here?”
I snorted and then pressed my hand on my chest. “I’musually considered the dark presence in this house.”
Nova flashed me a you-know-what-I-mean look.
