Free Soulstice (The Souled Series) by Diana Murdock

all, the aftermath was over-the-top overwhelming.
    After that freaky-ass encounter, I hid in the bathroom between classes to avoid seeing him. I was seriously creeped out all day. My senses were on high alert. It was as if something watched me, sniffing me out like a blood hound. There was a seriously dark force that pulsed strong, but somehow stayed contained within Jock Boy’s body. I felt its threads winding around me, like tentacles reaching through bars. It was trapped. And it was evil.
    Feeling a bit like a coward, I bolted out of the parking lot as soon as my last class got out. By the time I drove my car safely into my garage, though, I had convinced myself I wasn’t running scared, merely staying one step ahead of something I knew nothing about.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    “Well, was he angry with you?” Mom closed her book and placed it on the coffee table. “Maybe his negative energy was pulling you in.”
    It seemed to take forever for Mom and Jon to get home. After giving them a chance to sett le themselves in, I rehashed what happened.
    “I’ve never spoken to him,” I said. “I don’t think he knows I exist. I was just standing in the hall before my class. He didn’t even notice all the other girls practically falling over themselves.” I shook my head. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
    “If he wasn’t aware of the magnetism… and Alyx felt a distinct pull…” Jon looked at Mom, “I don’t know. Maybe an attachment?”
    Mom dropped her gaze to the floor as she thought, and then slowly raised it to Jon’s face. “That could very well be,” she said. “It would have to be a strong attachment in order for so many others to pick up on the vibration, though.” Her brows came together. “Highly unusual.”
    “Attachment?” I looked between the two of them. “Explain please?”
    “An attachment,” my mom said, “is an energetic body that enters an individual and disrupts his or her well-being. It feeds on the individual’s energy.”
    “Like a leech.” I shivered.
    Mom nodded. “The signs can be so subtle that the intrusion often goes unnoticed, but left unchecked, the attachment can twist the individual’s thinking and influence how he interacts with others. The host will often begin to behave just like the discarnate spirit.”
    “Seriously?” I sat in a chair across from her.
    She nodded. “Most of the time the attachment’s intentions are self-serving. Unlike our spirit guides who give to us from outside our body, an attachment takes from us from inside our body. If they’re unable to let go of this energy plane,” her arms made a sweeping gesture, indicating the space around us, “and cross the veil, they stay stuck here and oftentimes find a living, breathing extension of their residual issues. And since souls are energy, they follow the law of attraction. If we think sad thoughts, a sad soul is going to find its way in because they’re drawn to us. If we’re an addict, the drifter soul’s toxic energies will only enhance what resonates within us. It’s usually those with the most intense emotions that get caught up with an attachment.”
    “Well, there was definitely something off about him.” I hugged away the goose b umps that colonized on my arms.
    “It’d be a good idea to pr otect yourself,” Jon suggested to me.
    I looked at Mom . “How can I protect myself against something I can’t see?”
    “Well, there are different ways of going about it.” Her eyes took in every detail about me. “It would help to wear brighter colors.” Her hand shot up right away to silence the protest that had formed on my lips. “I said it would help . You might want to consider red lipstick to help gather some lighter energy.” She cocked her head a little and smiled. “You’d look very pretty with red lipstick. Maybe a ribbon, but that’s your decision. There are definitely other ways. Have you been centering yourself every morning?”
    I nodded. That was