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

me. I used to wake up in the hospital bed with him beside me and I’d calm down almost instantly. I need him.
    Being around Caleb and his dad makes me miss Dan. Heck, they even look like him. It could just be me missing him and seeing him everywhere, but I don’t think so. They all have the same brown eyes and chocolate hair, the same facial structure and Caleb even sounds like Dan when he laughs. It’s a little freaky. Eli, on the other hand, looks nothing like his family. Must take after their mother.
    Eli… I don’t really want to think about him. He’s another reason I want to hide in the bathroom. I had a strange reaction to him. I’ve never touched someone before and felt electricity run through me. It was the oddest feeling, like my body tensed up and every nerve in it snapped. If I were still talking to Meg, I’d ask her about it. She seems much more boy savvy than me, even though I know for a fact I’ve had more boyfriends than her. I’m still a virgin, though, and she’s not. She would know what my reaction to him means.
    I laugh bitterly. Meg betrayed me worse than Dan did. Dan never promised to stay away from her, but Meg did and she went after him anyway. Here I am wanting advice from someone who didn’t think twice about lying to my face. I need to start acting like the old Mattie again, the one who never let anyone in, who never got hurt. I don’t like this new person who has feelings.
    Stop it . I need to pull it together. Sitting in here hiding is not something Mattie Hathaway would ever do, at least not the old Mattie. Time to start acting like me again. Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and walk out to face everyone.
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    They’re still in my room or at least I assume it’s my room because I woke up there. I can hear them talking softly and stop to eavesdrop.
    “Mattie is unique,” Doctor Olivet tells them. “She grew up in one foster home after another. That’s why she is the way she is. She had to learn to defend herself.”
    “Her parents ditch her?” Eli asks.
    It’s a long moment before the Doc answers. I think he’s debating how to answer. He knows how private I am, but again, he needs them to understand if we are going to work together.
    “Do you remember me telling you that Mattie is different from you?”
    I hear a murmur.
    “In order for Mattie to be able to do what she does, she had to die and be brought back. When she was little, her mother tried to kill her. Mattie died for just a few minutes, but it was long enough for her gift to activate.”
    “Her mother tried to kill her?” Caleb asks, shocked.
    “No wonder she’s the way she is,” their dad says softly. “What about her father?”
    “She doesn’t know who he is,” Doc replies. “I know that her friend Dan is looking into her past to try and find her father for her.”
    “Is that the same Dan she was talking about in her sleep?” Eli asks.
    OH MY GOD! I was talking in my sleep? What did I say? No, no, no…this isn’t good.
    “Yes,” Doc agrees. “They seem to be in a bit of an argument at the moment.”
    “Sounded to me like he broke her heart,” Caleb says. “I was tempted to find him and break his face.”
    I must have said some really personal stuff. My face has to be six shades of crimson right now.
    “Really, Caleb?” Eli scoffs. “You’ve spoken to her for what, an hour at best?”
    Caleb sighs. “It’s weird, but she’s…I don’t know how to explain it.”
    “Caleb’s right,” their dad agrees. “I didn’t even speak to her, but I felt this sudden need to protect her. It gets stronger every time I’m near her. I think it’s because she looks a little like Amelia.”
    Amelia? Who’s Amelia?
    “You’re both crazy,” Eli laughs. “I have no urge to do anything when it comes to that she-cat, except stay out of her way.”
    “You’re just pissed because she gave you the smack down!”
    That’s a new