Ghost [H.S.]

Chapter 10

"What am I going to do about work?" I ask Harry as we sit silently in the jet. I'm staring out my window at the ever-growing smaller ground and frown at the idea of leaving Olivia and Eli without so much as a good-bye.

"Don't worry about that," Harry mumbles and rubs his eyes.

I sigh. "I need to let them know I won't be there for a while. I need to tell my friends and Olivia," I urge. I finally tear my eyes away from the pure dark blue that went on for miles underneath us. I grip the armrest tighter and look away.

Harry sets his hand on top of mine and takes a deep breath. "There's something else you need to know."

I nod and wait for him to continue. He fiddles with my fingers. "Olivia is also sort of involved with the Ghosts."

I shake my head in disbelief, but remember when Eli says something about her being related to someone at table three, but it never connected until now. I furrow my eyebrows and look back up.

"How?" I ask.

Harry sighs and laces his fingers with mine in a sweet gesture. I lean back against the seat and roll my head to look at him. He continues, "Jax– He's her dad."

My chest tightened at the news. My mind immediately went to the sweet woman with a soft smile and welcoming hugs. I shoot him a confused look though, not able to see the resemblance between the angry old man and the beautiful young black woman.

He notices my look and nods. "Well, her step-dad, sort of. There was something between him and her mother when she was little. They never married, but Olivia is really close with Jax, I guess. When they're at work, Jax wants her to act like they aren't family; for her protection," he explains and rubs his free hand on his pant leg.

"Why isn't she in any danger?" I ask, envious of a girl that's also closely related to the Ghosts, yet has Jax caring about her safety when he seems to not care about anyone beside himself.

"She doesn't know as much. How? I'm not sure, but she doesn't," Harry honestly explains. I nod and decide that asking any more questions would either leave me disappointed or even more frightened. So, I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, realizing that I am indeed afraid of flying.

**

I wake up with a pounding headache and a tight chest. I'm now in a state of constant fear, a constant state of unknown. I don't know when I'd ever be free from this shackled state. The only thing I know is that Harry, this man sitting next to me, sleeping soundly with his head resting against my shoulder, is now my only hold on safety. He's protecting me from all of those fears and questions.

I slot my fingers together in my lap and look ahead of me, eyes looking around the jet cabin. I watch the flight attendant clean up in the front, washing the few dishes Harry and I dirtied with the hours spent on the plane. As she passes us, I raise my free hand.

"Miss, how long until we land?" I whisper.

She smiles. "About three more hours, Ms. Heeds."

I smile in appreciation and look back out the window, my hands lying limply in my lap. I watch the ocean beneath the plane peek through the clouds as we fly above them. I wonder what it would be like to touch the water, let it glide beneath my hand, what it would be like to be free of worries again. It feels like it's been ages since the last time I was actually happy, yet somehow this mess only started about a week ago

I want to go home. I want to be somewhere I know. I don't want so many issues going on with my family. I grew up thinking my parents were good people. I grew up thinking nothing was wrong with my family, that it was only as dysfunctional as any other family. I can't take being so lost in a world that's filled with such terrible secrets. The only person being true, as true as they can be, is Harry surprisingly. And I've been acting weak.