Free Phantom Eyes (Witch Eyes) by Scott Tracey

there who had my back. Someone who liked me regardless of what I was capable of. “We can’t just pick up and leave. Can we?”
    She twisted her wrist until her palm was facing up, and mine down, and then she slid her hand under mine. Slowly, though, like she expected me to pull away at any second. “Why not? There’s nothing tying you down here anymore.”
    Wrong. There was Jason. And Drew. Riley, who was still broken and who I’d promised to try and fix. Trey. How would they be if I left? Would they stick together? Or would Lucien and Catherine pick them all off one by one?
    She squeezed my hand again. “You remember the first time we met?” I nodded. “I don’t remember what I was talking about, but you had one of your attacks. That probably should have been the end of it, but I couldn’t get you out of my head that night. I was worried, you know? And then the next day at school, you were like this lost puppy. But I could tell you understood. You weren’t meant for a small town life any more than I was.”
    “I’ve never lived in a big city,” I pointed out. Jade wasn’t making much sense.
    She waved a hand dismissively, her expression a frown. “I never said you were. But you weren’t meant for here either. We’re bigger than this place.”
    “Maybe,” I shrugged.
    She scooted up on the bed, and nestled her head against the side of my shoulder. “You know he’d follow us, right? If that’s what you’re worried about.”
    I wasn’t worried about Trey. “You have to stop,” I said, resting my cheek against her hair. Jade smelled like vanilla and spice. “I can’t … Trey and I … I just can’t.”
    “I know,” she said. “Not right now. Just … he’ll be there someday if you change your mind, y’know? And you guys can figure out what you’re both like when your life isn’t being threatened all the time. Maybe you won’t even like him. I’m telling you, he snores. And he’s a total slob.”
    “Jade … ”
    “I’m just saying,” she added defensively. “Just something to kick around in the back of your head.”
    “For your birthday this year, I’m going to teach you what ‘subtlety’ means.”
    “I’m surrounded by idiots, Braden,” she said, squeezing me. “Subtlety gives them an excuse not to pay attention to what’s really going on under the surface. I like when people confront their feelings up front.”
    “How’s Drew?” I asked.
    I was a good friend who didn’t point out how long of a pause she had before she responded, “No one likes a know-it-all, Braden.”
    “What would we even do in New York? Do you know the first thing about how to live on your own?”
    “Do you? I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it’s a better option than staying here and waiting to see what my mother and her demon are cooking up next.” She barely suppressed a shudder.
    “I don’t know what I would do,” I amended. “I mean, I always thought, in the back of my head, that the witch eyes would kill me sooner or later. Especially since I’ve come here. But now they’re gone, and I have to worry about everyone else trying to kill me. I never really thought about what I’d do if things were different. Who am I if I’m not the kid with the freaky eyes? If I’m not the kid with the overprotective uncle and the house in the middle of nowhere? If I’m not the enemy of half the town?”
    “You’ll figure it out,” Jade said, a confidence in her voice that neither one of us seemed to believe. “That’s all I want. I deserve to figure out who I want to be, and make the decision for myself. Not because of my last name or because my family has fallen into the same damn cycle over and over again. All I know is that the only thing I can learn by staying here is how to lie, cheat, and kill. I don’t want that.”
    “I’ll think about it,” I murmured quietly as a content silence wrapped around us. I drifted off to the sounds of Jade’s even breathing. At least she