God, Ellie hated conflict.
Josh grunted and held out his hand. She took it without thinking and wrinkled her nose at him. “This is going well,” she murmured.
Josh shrugged. “Maybe we should put them on the naughty step?”
Just like that the tension that had been building in her fizzled out, and she giggled.
Which cut Liam off mid-tirade. He waved his hand pointedly toward her. “See, that. What the hell is that?”
Ellie guiltily moved their clasped hands onto Josh’s thigh.
“No. No.” Liam shook his head, a vein beating visibly in his throat. “It’s too late. You think I don’t know? You think I’m stupid, but I’m not.” He leaned forward, nostrils flaring. “I listened to all the old stories Mum used to tell. About her Celtic granddad who read the cards and was always uncannily accurate in his predictions. And her grand-aunt who knew the minute her son died on the battlefield because she spoke to himafter he was dead.” His fists clenched on the surface of the table. “And I’ve been watching you talk to air since the moment we met.”
Josh’s eyes widened, the muscles in his jaw ticking in a way she hadn’t seen since he first started appearing. “I forgot about that,” he whispered. “I forgot about the cards and the soldier. I guess I thought they were just stories.”
He started to pull his hand away, but she held tight. The worry and distress rising in his eyes was too much to bear. She leaned into him, no longer caring what Liam and Vic saw. “I believe in you, Josh. Youarereal. This is just more proof.”
“No.” His voice rasped. “It means I’m dead… or as good as.”
No. That couldn’t be true. She wouldn’t let it. “You’re not dead. You’re in the hospital.” She turned to Liam. “Tell him he’s alive. Tell him!”
But Liam didn’t tell Josh anything. He stormed out of his chair and around the table, reaching out toward the space where Josh was sitting as if he would strangle him with his bare hands. “Heishere! You’ve been here the whole time. You fucking bastard!”
Josh stood, and the chair fell back with a crash, which only seemed to incite Liam further. He thrashed through the air, hands stretched out toward where Josh had been, roaring, “How could you do this to me?”
Josh stepped out of Liam’s reach even as his brother flailed more wildly, his face going dangerously blank. “Youdid this, Liam.”
Liam turned the wrong way, still searching. “How could you? Fuck you, Josh! Fuck you!”
Josh clenched his fists, bringing them up in a fighter’s stance. But Ellie could see what Josh had missed: tears were streaming down Liam’s face.
She grabbed Josh’s arm, drawing his attention. “Wait, he’s hurting. Look at him.”
Josh growled, but his face was already softening, already taking on the protective air she recognized. “He’s… what?”
Liam turned, and they could all see his distress. “Why?” he asked brokenly. “Do you know how many hours I’ve spent sitting beside your bed—Mum too? Do you know how much we’ve cried?” He dragged in a sobbing half breath. “She asked me so many times if she would ever see you again. And I had to sit there. Knowing it was all my fault. Knowing you might be gone forever. And you never once… you never… you werehere.”
Josh lurched back, stunned, and Ellie stood for a moment, torn between the two brothers. But then she stumbled forward—she could help them both, she could be their voice—and rested her hands on Liam’s arms, turning him to face her. “Josh didn’t know. He would have wanted to see you, but he didn’t know.”
Liam scraped a hand over his cheek, dashing away the tears. “I don’t understand.”
She shook her head. “I don’t either. But when he came here, he didn’t remember anything. We only figured out who he is today, and we started looking for you straight away.”
“But you didn’t tell me!” Liam sniffed, scrubbing at his damp cheeks.
Ellie snorted sadly. “How would that have gone? Hey, Liam, I’ve only known you for three seconds, but I think your friendtried to kill me… which you helped him with. I also know you broke into my house to steal the only thing I have of value. Oh, and by the way, I’m sleeping with your brother who is a… ghost? Maybe?”
Liam winced, but the tension in his frame softened slightly. “Okay, that’s fair, I guess.” He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “He’s here? He’s with us now?”
“He’s with us,” Ellie agreed.
“Right,” Liam said shakily. “Right. Can I… Can you tell him I’m sorry?”
“I can hear you, arsehole,” Josh muttered. “It’s Ellie you should be down on your knees begging for forgiveness, not me.”
Ellie huffed an amused breath. “He can hear you, Liam. Just speak to him, and I’ll tell you what he says. He’s standing next to me.”
Liam stared intently at a spot at her side—the opposite side to where Josh was standing—which made Josh growl and Ellie want to laugh hysterically. She took pity on them both and told Liam where Josh was, then wrapped her arm around his waist, linking her fingers into his belt. It probably looked bizarre, but she was fine with it.
