Free The Ghost Files 2 (The Ghost Files - Book 2) by Apryl Baker Page A

I’ve never in my life thought of a boy as beautiful, but this one is. He’s tall, as tall as Caleb, but his hair is lighter than his brother’s. It’s a dark brown, but it’s streaked with caramel highlights, giving it a lighter appearance. His complexion is darker, a golden color compared to Caleb’s softer tones. High cheekbones speak of an Indian heritage and a day’s worth of facial hair make his face rugged and soft, full lips make me want to see how soft they’d feel against mine.
    It’s his eyes, though, that I can’t look away from. His eyes remind me of one of the few things I love. They are like the ocean right at daybreak, when the waves are soft and the foam rushes the sand. I’ve never seen anyone with eyes that color.
    “Dude, you got your ass kicked by a girl.” Caleb laughs, not even trying to conceal his smirk.
    Eli lunges at his brother, but his dad catches him before he can move three inches. “Caleb, don’t antagonize your brother. I’m sure he didn’t expect her to come out swinging.” There’s a grin on their dad’s face and fortunately, Eli doesn’t see it as he’s still glaring menacingly at me and Caleb.
    “Wouldn’t dream of it, Dad,” Caleb grins.
    Doctor Olivet sighs. “Mattie, how are you feeling? Is your head still hurting?”
    “I’m okay,” I tell him. “Um, Doc, where’s the bathroom? I really need to find one.”
    “I’ll show you.”
    I step away from Caleb and make a wide girth around Eli to follow Doc down the hall. The bathroom is only three doors down from my room and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The room is all white with gold accents, but I don’t mind that. The old fashioned tub calls my name. It’s huge and deep. The toilet is modern, but everything else in the room screams 19 th century. The only splashes of color are the deep blue towels.
    After taking care of my urgent need to pee, I rinse out my sewer mouth. Dear Lord, it tastes foul. How long had I been out? Now that I’ve taken care of my immediate needs, I don’t really want to leave the bathroom. Truth be told, I’m a little embarrassed, something entirely new for me, but there it is. I grew up with the mentality of hit first before you get hit. Being a foster kid who lived in some really bad homes, I had to think like that. It gave me a bit of a reputation.
    I lost my last boyfriend, Jake, because he saw me beat the snot out of his friend Tommy for threatening me. It disturbed him to know that the rumors about me were true. I mean it’s one thing to hear about it, and another to see it live, up close, and personal. He was the first guy I ever dated who I thought might be able to see past all the shields I put up and see me . He did see the softer side most never bothered to get to know, but the first time he met the foster kid who doesn’t take crap from anyone, he bailed. I mean, he didn’t even officially break up with me. He just stopped talking to me. Not even a text or phone call when I was in the hospital recovering from Mrs. Olson’s torture. It hurt a lot more than I liked to admit. I really, really liked Jake, but he couldn’t handle the real Mattie Hathaway any more than the other guys.
    I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. I have curls and they are snarled and tangled. My face is pale and the skin under my hazel eyes is bruised. I look awful. The past couple months have been rough on me. I’ve lost weight and I’ve closed myself off more than usual. It’s not healthy. Nancy wants me to see a psychologist, but I keep refusing. Shrinks I don’t do. I’ll eventually get a handle on being tortured without any help. I will. Maybe if I say it enough, even I’ll believe it.
    Most nights I can’t convince myself of that, though. I wake up screaming and I’m right back in that basement. I don’t do scared, I go on the offensive when I’m scared. I lashed out at everyone, even Dan. He stuck around, was there in the beginning every night when the nightmares terrorized