Mel blinked like I'd said something ridiculous. “Leave? Why would I want to leave? I'm having a lot of fun with you, Edgar.”
Just as a swarm of butterflies took flight in my chest, Mel's eyes widened and his face turned red.
“Oh! You meant eventually…” He looked embarrassed. “I mean, yeah. I should go home at some point. My landlord will get annoyed if I stop paying rent,” he said with a weak laugh.
I narrowed my eyes. “Who is this land-lord? An enemy of yours?”
Mel's laugh was genuine this time. “No, it's fine. I owe him money every month.” He grimaced. “Ihavebeen late a couple times, but I always catch up.”
I scoffed. Money. Another strange human concept.
“As long as he doesn't bother you,” I muttered.
Mel was quiet for a moment. Then he coughed. “So, do you want to take a video?”
I raised a brow. He seemed too keen to change the subject and this time, I wasn't going to let it go.
“Doesthis land-lord bother you, Mel?” I asked.
He avoided my gaze. “Um... Not always. Mostly when I'm late on rent. But that's only happened a couple times, when my channel isn't particularly popular and I don't make enough ad revenue.” He sighed and rubbed his arm. “Maybe my parents were right about my channel…”
A chill ran up my spine. The way he mentioned his parents made it sound like they had a rocky relationship—and by context clues, I surmised that Mel's parents were not proud of him. And why not? He was a perfectly competent young man.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Mel chewed his lip and avoided my gaze. He seemed to want to talk about his parents even less than he wanted to talk about his land-lord. Was he ashamed?
“I don't want to push you into uncomfortable topics,” I said softly, wanting to reassure him. “But I'm here for you, Mel.”
He met my gaze with a surprised look. His blue eyes sparkled with hope. More than ever, I wanted to reach out and touch him. I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders as a physical reassurance that yes, Iwashere.
A protective urge swirled inside me like a brightly burning flame in the billowing wind. Not only did I want to protect Mel from his land-lord and his parents, I knew Ihadto. Even if I couldn't touch him, that didn't mean I wasn't able to protect him.
I couldn't ignore the feeling. I couldn't stay behind knowing Mel needed help.
“Say, Mel,” I began. “How would you feel about me going home with you?”
He blinked rapidly. “Wait. You can leave this house?”
“Of course I can.”
He blushed. “I thought you were... I dunno.Bound. Like you haunted this place and couldn't leave.”
I scoffed. “You've watched too many movies with inappropriate depictions of supernatural entities. I can go wherever I wish.” He smiled coyly. “There's just never been anything luring me out of my home before... except you.”
Mel lit up. “R-really? That's awesome! Yes, I'd love it if you came over to my place!”
Excitement made my heart race. Not only did Mel want to spend more time with me, he actually wanted me to visit his home.
“What are we waiting for?” I asked. “The night is young. Let's go!”
Five
Mel
I couldn't believe it.
Edgar was a real-life phantasm. And he wanted to hang out with me.Me! Of all people!
