Itzal was more than relieved to be back inside the walls of the Abbey. The smells and the sounds helped to calm him down as soon as he walked through the door. Omega had picked up that something was wrong, and he could tell he was desperate to ask what it was and try to help. He saw Sunshine intervening though, and they said their goodbyes to Seren and Omega and headed up to their rooms.
“Do you want a hand unpacking?” Sunshine asked him as they got to the doors.
He looked at his door and shook his head.
“I’ll be ok thanks, it won’t take me long.”
Itzal saw the look of disappointment in her eyes. He felt like a bastard for refusing her help when she clearly wanted to spend time with him, but he felt like he needed some space for a little while.
“Oh, okay. Well, I might wrap some of my gifts then. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.”
She turned and let herself in.
Itzal dumped his bags on his bed and took off his jacket and boots. He took out the phone from his pocket and put it on the bedside table. There were a few notifications, but he ignored them for now.
He flopped onto the sofa and sighed, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of dread from thinking he saw Santos in the store. He reasoned it was probably too soon for him to have left the Abbey. Everything was still fresh, so he was bound to be paranoid. He hoped he was right.
He would talk to Shay about it tomorrow. The old ghoul knew more than anyone else here how these things worked, and an expert opinion would put his mind at rest.
He looked over to the bed and figured the sooner he put his new things away, the better. So he unpacked the bags and put the clothes into his drawers and his closet. He put the shampoo, razors, and other toiletries into the bathroom. The blanket went on the sofa for now, as that’s where Sunshine kept hers.
The only thing left was the little gift that he had slipped into his cart while Sunshine wasn’t looking. He put it into the drawer by his bed and figured he had better check the messages.
One was from Terzo. It was a selfie of him and Omega making L signs on their foreheads with the caption,
“You chose the wrong team, loser! 😜😜😜”
He laughed and shook his head.
The second was a group chat with Secondo’s ghouls that Earth had added him to. They all said hi and it had details for their cards and whiskey night thing the next evening.
The third one was a text from Secondo, basically reiterating the sentiment from the note he had sent earlier. Itzal sent a reply, thanking him for the phone and the money. He replied to Terzo with a laughing face and thanked Secondo’s ghouls, telling them he would try to make it. The thought of socialising with the mostly unfamiliar ghouls filled him with dread. But he reasoned he would be working with them and that they were connected through Secondo, so he needed to make the effort.
He sat for a while watching the TV and managed to switch his brain off. The couple of hours of peace were amazing, and when he realised what the time was, he felt more relaxed than he had done all day. He looked over to the door and thought that he’d better apologise to Sunshine. Again. It seemed like all he’d been doing lately.
He knocked on her door, and it didn’t take her long to answer.
“Oh, hey,” she said as she poked her head out.
He gave her a sheepish smile.
“Hey. Did you get your gifts sorted?” he asked.
“Yup. All done,” she smiled.
YOU ARE READING
Nameless Ghoul
ParanormalA ghoul is summoned illegally and enslaved by a rogue sect of the Clergy. For the past twenty years, an evil Satanic sorcerer has held Itzal captive. He took control of his will, subjecting him to unimaginable horrors, and forced him to commit acts...
