“Lighten up, Addie. It looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”
That voice. My heart stops and starts again in the same beat, disbelief coursing through me.
“Will?” I whisper, the name a fragile thing on my lips.
He steps closer, and now I can see him. The whites of his hair, and the dark bits in his eyes. He looks exactly as I remember him.
Like he didn’t die. Yet, at the same time, not at all. It’s something I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s there.
“You don’t look surprised,” he says, tilting his head, his smirk as sharp and cocky as ever. “Seen a lot of ghosts lately?”
I can’t help it. I laugh, a short, broken sound. “I—well, yes.”
His grin widens.
“It’s just like you to make a dramatic entrance,” I manage, my voice trembling.
He chuckles, and it’s so achingly familiar that it hurts. “Had to.”
I’m not surprised to see him. Not really. But I don’t know what to say. How do you talk to someone you’ve already mourned so recently? Someone you’ve cried for not even hours before? But he’s here. He’s here, and I’ve missed him.
“Where are we?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Will steps closer, crouching down until his face is level with mine. His black eyes hold mine. “Where do you think?” he says, his voice low, almost… gentle.
Then the smirk returns, curling at the corner of his lips. “Don’t worry, Addie. Believe it or not, this isn’t hell.”
His smirk shouldn’t belong to someone who’s dead. But of course, it’s Will. I shouldn’t be surprised.
“I must be crazy,” I say, forcing a laugh to keep the tears at bay. “To make this up in my head.”
“Maybe you are,” he says, tilting his head as if genuinely considering it. “Embrace it, darling.”
To my surprise, I laugh. A real, startled laugh, and he grins like he’s won something.
He sighs, his expression softening. “How’s my sister doing?”
“She just lost her favourite person. She’s grieving,” I say, my voice trembling. As much as she claimed to hate him, he was and has always been family.
Will’s smirk flickers, but it doesn’t disappear. “Favourite person, huh? I like the sound of that.”
I roll my eyes, though tears prick at them. “You gave up your life to save hers,” I say softly.
He stands then, looking down at me with something that almost resembles peace. “She never got a chance to live,” he says simply. He extends a hand, pulling me to my feet. “And I… am satisfied with the way I did.”
I can’t help but stare at that.
He must see the look on my face, because he smiles faintly. “I found a family,” he says. “She did not.” His gaze flickers to me, softening as he does so. “She does now, though.”
My throat tightens, and I swallow hard. “You really loved them, didn’t you?” Will’s expression grows distant, his black eyes clouding. “Kai, Liam, Christian. They were your family,” I state. Anyone with eyes would be able to tell how close they were, how much he really cared. And Will… he doesn’t love perfectly, or even well, but he loves. I’m just now beginning to understand that. “You didn’t want to leave them,” I say. “Or Kym.”
He doesn’t answer at first. Then, finally, he nods. “No, I didn’t.”
I take a step closer, needing to ask, needing to hear it. “You’ll be okay. Won’t you?”
His grin returns, faint but reassuring. “Of course I will. You can’t get rid of me that easy, Ross.”
Despite the tears burning my eyes, I smile. “Never doubted you for a second, Carson.”
