Read The Healing Power of Sugar: The Ghost Bird Series: #9 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series) Online
Authors: C. L. Stone
Once they were at the hospital, Luke spent the next hour with Mr. Blackbourne in the waiting room, on an uncomfortable green sofa with nothing but a television playing the news for entertainment. Normally he’d wander around, but because he was sick, he had to sit still, away from everyone, and every angle he tried to sit or lay down, he ended up hurting. Dr. Green sent everyone’s samples to the lab to test for strep, and then ordered Luke’s X-Ray.
When it was finally time, Luke was got a table for the X-Ray, with Dr. Green and Mr. Blackbourne standing by. He remembered Sang doing this not too long ago. “If it’s just broken, there’s not much you can do,” he said.
“Just sit still,” Dr. Green said. “Don’t move.”
Luke sighed and stilled. He fiddled with the hem of his jeans, waiting.
He pictured Sang, sick in the bed between him and Gabriel. Maybe he needed to talk to her and Gabriel together. They needed to figure out why Sang cringed around the others when they were watching, or when she was discovered, like when Kota had kissed her forehead. She needed to know that was progress.
Maybe that’s what he needed to do. He needed to show her that it was okay to daydream of all of them together, and that soon, once everyone was in on the plan, she wouldn’t need to worry. Jealousy was something they may have to work through, but Luke was sure if they talked it through, they could make it work.
Or maybe, maybe he needed to talk to Kota himself? Or to any of them who doubted this could work.
Being open and honest was the only way it could work. Liam and Lily had been right. When he spoke to them, they said over and over again that honesty was what mattered.
The truth was, it wasn’t just Volto Luke was hunting. He’d spent a lot of time going back to Liam to talk to him. Liam often met him halfway at a coffee shop. They talked about relationships, about jealousy. Liam told him tricks that helped with his own family. Luke asked questions, often of what it was like in that secret, hidden house they all lived in.
A house much like the one he lived in now—the old Victorian house Uncle wanted to fix up, and flip.
Maybe they would buy it from him.
Luke grew excited by the idea of it. He hadn’t pictured the house as anything more than a rotting old building. He was never the construction type. It was too big for Luke to picture living in for himself, even with Uncle and North. Prior to meeting Sang, it was just a means to some income.
However, North had his garage there. There was plenty of space around, like trees they could cut down to make room for additions.
With some work, it could be a lot like what Lily had: a secure place where no one would bother them. There were plenty of bedrooms, or they could add some. He didn’t mind sharing, but he guessed a few of them might appreciate having their own space. If they did it right, it would be like a mansion.
A mansion for Sang, hidden from the rest of the world. Safe. They could all live there.
“Luke,” Dr. Green said in a soft voice. “You’re done.”
Luke breathed in deeply, sitting up, suddenly very excited by the idea. “Can I go home now?”
Dr. Green chuckled. “Don’t you want me to fix your nose?”
Luke made a face. He was tempted to say no so he could rush home, but just nodded and let Dr. Green work on his face while he got lost in his own thoughts.
He wanted to talk to North. He’d help him with the house. He’d promise to take care of the skunk, or find it a new home if he really didn’t like it, and he’d be on his best behavior.
He’d ask North his ideas for the old house, that perhaps they could rework it.
There was a catch: Would the rest of the team approve?
Would Sang?
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BOOKS BY C. L. STONE
The Academy Ghost Bird Series:
First Kiss (2016) – Turn the page for a sneak peek!
The Academy Scarab Beetle Series
Hoax (2016)
Other C. L. Stone Books:
READ AN EXCERPT FROM THE NEXT BOOK IN THE ACADEMY GHOST BIRD SERIES
The Academy
The Ghost Bird Series
FIRST KISS
♥
Book Ten
♥
Written by C. L. Stone
Published by
Arcato Publishing
FIRST KISS
I
was one of the last people to return to the house at the finale of the snow fights. When Luke finally admitted defeat due to being too cold, we returned to the house. We left our boots by the back door and Luke went to find out if the downstairs shower was open.
I went upstairs, finding Kota’s bedroom empty but the bathroom occupied.
Shivering in my soggy clothes, I contemplated whether I should go downstairs, or strip in the closet and put on warm clothes there.
The warm-looking bed called to me, and I kept my clothes on, crawling between the sheets. I suspected Kota or one of the others would yell at me, but I was too cold to wait for a bath, and stripping in the closet meant I’d get even colder once my skin was bare.
The sound of the shower spraying in the bathroom was starting to get to me, too. Lately, that had become very hard to ignore.
I pulled the pillow over my head, appreciating that it was helping to get my face warm, and using it as a sound barrier.
A hand grabbed my ankle and then tugged at the blanket, but I held on, keeping it where it was.
"Sang," Kota said, his voice muffled through the pillow. "Don't fall back asleep."
"I'm too cold to get up," I said.
"Let me walk you to Nathan's house," he said. "We’ll shower over there. The hot water here will probably run out soon. It’s probably gone already, even with the new bigger tanks we installed. My mother is up and so is Jessica and they've already had their showers."
The thought of trekking over the road through the cold and snow back to Nathan's house wasn't appealing. I had just started to warm up underneath the blankets. Still, I shivered after all the excitement had drained away. We’d gotten up too early and now I just wanted to get warm and sleep.
"I'm fine," I said. "Just wake me up in a few hours." It was meant to be a joke because there was no way they would let me sleep after I’d woken them so early over snow.
"Hurry up," he said. He rubbed his hand over my calf, warming me a little over the blanket. "You're not going to want to miss pancakes."
With Erica at home, there would be chocolate chip pancakes. It was what Luke requested every time we were together. The thought of melted chocolate and maple syrup made my stomach rumble. I pushed the pillow and blanket away in a heap, and was hit by a new wave of cold air against my wet clothes. A shiver started at the base my spine and moved upward through my body, finishing at my neck. I gritted my teeth. “Cold,” I bit out.
Kota stood over me, wearing a clean pair of jeans and a new green sweatshirt. His brown hair was still a little damp, combed neatly to one side of his face. I suspected it was something Gabriel had suggested, slightly different for Kota, but stylish.
The thought of getting back into my boots in my bare feet caused another shiver. “The boots are going to be icy,” I said.
He gave me a considering look before he said, "I was going to pick you up, but I don’t want to drop you on the stairs," he said. "Just get to the garage. I’ll carry you over so you won’t have to put your boots back on.”
I winced as I stood, feeling guilty for being such a baby. I was the one who’d walked outside in my bare feet. I was the one from Illinois who was supposed to be used to the cold. Cold was still cold, though, no matter where you’re from. And I was freezing. “You don’t have to do that,” I said. “I can run over. Just go ahead of me and open the door.”
Kota smirked and then turned toward the stairs, but before we started to descend, his bathroom door opened. Victor stepped out wearing only his usual black slacks and a towel around his bare shoulders. His torso was trim with delicate lines around his abdomen and deep indents at his hips. His wavy hair was still wet from the shower and appeared much darker than normal, almost black and contrasted against his light skin. His fire eyes were dim; he looked tired. He noticed at us at the steps and raised a smooth brown eyebrow. "Is she showering downstairs?"
"I'm taking her over to Nathan's house," Kota said. "There's not enough hot water now."
Victor dragged his eyes from Kota to me. "She prefers baths," he said. "Your bathroom has a tub."
He was the only one that knew about my fear of showers. I shivered where I stood and not just from the cold. I didn’t want to talk about showers right now. "I can take one in the other bathroom," I said.
Victor pressed his lips together as he looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded slightly and turned toward the closet, picking through the hanging shirts.
Since he didn’t say anything else, I assumed had kept his promise not to tell the others until I was ready. As I descended the stairs behind Kota, I hoped he understood why I hadn’t said anything to Kota this time.
Being cold wasn’t the only reason. I didn’t know where to start. Every time I hesitated, I felt the guilt of holding back. At first, it seemed such a stupid little thing to worry about when we had
real
worries like Mr. Hendricks and his people following us, Mr. McCoy hunting for me, and all the other problems we had been facing. Maybe back then when it had first come up, it had been the wrong time to talk about something like that.
Now, after almost a month of quiet, of all of us going about our routines, and forcing Mr. Hendricks to stay put by not drawing attention to ourselves, I could have told them but I hadn’t. At first I didn’t want to trouble anyone with a new problem. It’s not like they could have solved it, anyway. All I had to say was that I wanted a bath; no one had questioned it.
Still, I knew it was probably best to tell them. I wanted to wait until I got a moment alone with Victor; maybe he could help me figure out how to tell one of the others.
I followed Kota to the back door and the salty, greasy smell of bacon frying hit my nose as we passed near the kitchen, making my stomach rumble.
Kota encouraged me on. “Hurry and get a shower in,” he said. “By the time you get back, it’ll be ready.”
I got out in the garage before he had a chance to close the door behind him and descend the few stairs. The big door was open and I could see the snow had already started to get soggy and melty, only patches remaining now that it had warmed up. There was the start of a very soggy snowman at one corner of the house, the one we had given up on when the boys finally realized they wouldn’t be able to collect enough snow before it all melted.
My clothes were sticking to me and I sniffed as my nose started to run. I wiped at it with the sleeve of my jacket.
Kota came up behind me. “You sure you don’t want me to carry you?”
I looked over at him. “No, it’s okay.
He grinned at me and then blurted out, “Ready, set, go!” before he took off in a jog.
Finding a spurt of energy, I raced behind him, catching up only when we got to the road. Once he realized I was about to leap ahead, his run turned into a faster sprint, aiming right for Nathan’s front door.
I was breathing in cold air and had to go around the wet grass so I wouldn’t slip on it in my bare feet.
He was able to get the key in the door right before I crashed into him, breathing heavily. The short run wouldn’t normally have winded me so badly, except I was already exhausted from playing earlier.