I bit down on my lips to stop from laughing. “No, I’m not sure I do. Not sure how smelling has anything to do with spirits and ghosts.”
He rolled his eyes. “Why me? Why does every conversation with you have to be like pulling nails from my mouth?”
“Why do you have nails in your mouth?”
“You know, if I didn’t care about you so much, I’d let you ride with someone else.”
I relented. “Okay. I know the smell thing was a joke. But what do you mean?”
His eyes flared with excitement. “It’s like I can see the world around us more deeply. I can see connections and fragments lingering in the air. As if a ghost had just passed through and all I saw was the residual power. It’s strange. And mesmerizing.”
“So that’s part of your ability. You can now see things more deeply than most people.”
“I guess.” He raked his fingers through his hair, ruffling up the back. “And I never, not in a million years thought I’d be going on a ghost chase like this. But—” He bit down on his lip.
“But what?”
His brows pinched, and I could see a tidal wave of emotion battering his insides. My heart did some sort of weird skipping thing. I wondered for a second if that’s what a heart attack felt like, and then I realized I was too young to have a one.
Well, most likely I was too young. But no matter how much I told my brain that, my chest constricted and my breathing quickened.
“Are you inhaling?” Roan squeezed my arm.
I sucked a deep breath. “Yes. It’s just, I felt really weird for a second.”
“You got a creepy look in your eyes.”
I punched his arm.
“Ow.”
“I’m not sorry. I didn’t have a creepy look. I was just…I don’t know. My chest tightened.”
“You too, huh?”
“Are you having a heart attack, too?”
Roan threw back his head and laughed. “No, Blissful, I’m not experiencing a heart attack. I’m talking about feelings.”
“I don’t know what those are.”
He chuckled. “Even you have feelings.”
I folded my arms. “I’m not sure about that.”
Roan squeezed my shoulder. “I hate to reveal this secret, but I’ve seen your feelings.”
“How dare you suggest such a thing,” I said dramatically.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. But you know what?”
“Am I going to like this question?”
“Probably not.”
I stared out the window, debating whether or not I wanted to get into this sort of discussion with Roan. My father always said what good are hearts for if they can’t be broken? What’s the point if you don’t experience the depth of scope that our hearts are capable of?
I disagreed. Hearts were made to be protected and kept close as if they were something sacred.
