Hunter Academy - Book 1

ROAD TRIP PART 2

JESSICA

I feel the air shift, and I look up. Leo is holding a travel packet of tissues out to me. I take them with a grateful smile and gives his own tentative one back. I take a tissue out of the packet and turn my head toward the window and discreetly; well, as discreetly as I can when I'm locked in a travelling vehicle with three people of the opposite gender; blow my nose. I take a clean one and wipe my face and eyes clean of any remaining moisture. I clear my throat.

"So, you think my friend, Kriss, is hanging around me in her afterlife?"

"Unless you've had someone else pass away recently, she's the most likely candidate. Seeing her death is also the reason why you can see the demon while you're awake. Only people who have seen a violent death can see her." Dane explains. I nod my head in understanding.

"So what do I do about it? I want her to find the peace she deserves. She doesn't need to be hanging around with me for the rest of time. Especially if I don't get the benefit of seeing her."

"Well, there are a few things we can try. Was she buried or cremated?"

"Cremated, but we buried her ashes in a cemetery so we would have someplace to visit when we wanted to." I explain. Dane nods his head, his brain working.

"Well that eliminates one option." He doesn't elaborate, so I just assume it's something I don't want to know.

"Do you have something that belonged to her? Something personal?" Leo asks.

"Lots of things."

"How about something that held significant meaning?"

"Again. Lots of things. I'm the one who cleaned out her place after. I kept a lot of her things because they hold personal meaning to me, too. She was my sister in every meaning except blood." Dane seems to realize something.

"Well, we'll just have to worry about that later, then. Okay," he claps his hands together, "let's play Never Have I Ever. I know it's normally a drinking game, and since we're in a moving vehicle, how about we touch our nose if it's something we've done instead of taking a drink?"

"I'm game," I say and I hear affirmative sounds from the front of the car. "I'll start. Never have I ever eaten rocky mountain oysters."

"What are rocky mountain oysters?" Leo asks. He obviously has never had them or he would know what they are. I laugh and open my mouth to answer, when Sam beats me to it.

"Fried bull's balls, man. And they are good." Sam''s deep voice says, and when I look up, he's got his finger on his nose and he grinning at me in the rearview mirror, which makes me laugh harder.

"Okay, Sam, your turn." I say with a grin.

"Never have I ever played chess." I reach up and touch my nose, looking around the car. Both Dane and Leo are also touching their nose.

"Never have I ever broken a bone." Leo says. I've never broken a bone, either, but apparently dane and Sam both have.

"Never have I ever been to jail." Dane says. I grin really big and put my finger to my nose. None of the guys are touching their nose, and they're looking at me astounded.

"I tend to roll a lot of doubles when I play Monopoly." I shrug my shoulders and they guys start laughing and touch their noses.

"Never have I ever been bungee jumping." I say. Dane touches his nose. "Was it fun? I've been invited to go, I just can't see myself jumping off a perfectly stable platform. What if the cord breaks or something. I really don't want to be a smear on the ground."

"I did it over water. Also, there are two cords attached. The likelihood of both of them breaking is very unlikely." I absorb this information for a later date. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Never have I ever sang in front of anyone. I immediately touch my nose, and so does Leo. I'm roping him into going to karaoke with me some time.

"No you won't." Leo says. Did I say that out loud? "Yes you said it out loud. You also said 'Did I say that out loud?' out loud." He chuckles, looking over his shoulder at me. My face flames. I can literally feel the heat from my blush.

"Don't be embarrassed, Snow." Dane says nudging my shoulder. I fan my face trying to cool it down.

"My brain to mouth filter must be broken." I say as an excuse. "Also, Sparta, I'm pretty tenacious. I'll get you there some time. That's a promise."

"Well, Bear, I look forward to you trying." He teases. My stomach chooses that moment to let out a growl worthy of the nickname he gave me. The guys all laugh. I just shrug my shoulders.

"Guess I'm hungry."

"There's a truck stop up ahead. We'll stop there for gas and food." Sam says. We ride the next mile in companionable silence. It's weird how at ease I am around three guys I don't really know. It's like how I am with the girls or Matt. Sam pulls off the exit for the truck stop and parks the Jeep. We all get out and head inside for food. The guys immediately go to the counter to order food and I wander around a little. I love truck stops. The smell of the food is always amazing. There's nothing like greasy diner type of smells. And the knick knacks and souvenirs are always plentiful. I'm in the snack aisle, when my eyes land on a prize. I grab it and go to the counter and order a plain cheeseburger and fries. I join the guys at a table and wait for our food.

"What do you have there, Snow?" I clutch my prize in my hand, hiding it from sight.

"You'll have to wait and see." I tell him as our number is called for our food. Sam and Leo get up and get it for us. I take a drink of my Pepsi, still hiding what I have in my hand from Dane, who is really trying to see what I have. I laugh and nudge him. "You'll see in a minute Mister Impatient." Leo set my food in front of me and i grab a plastic knife. I finally allow them all to see what I have in my hand, It's a snack size container of peanut butter. I peel the top off and scoop it up with the knife and smear it on the bottom bun of my burger. I put the burger back together and take a bite. It's so good. All three of them are looking at me like I've grown a third eye. Oh, well. If they don't know what's good in life, that's their problem.

"Peanut butter? On a burger?" Leo asks incredulously.

"Mmm hmm." I swallow. "It's really good. Want a bite?" I ask as I offer my burger for him to try. He shakes his head.

"I'm allergic to peanuts." Well, shit. I move to remove myself from the table. He places his hand over mine. "You're fine. Just being near peanuts won't send me into anaphylactic shock. I just can't eat them." I sag in relief, the warmth of his hand spreading throughout my body, relaxing me.

"I'll try it!" Dane grabs the hand holding the burger and brings it up to his mouth. He takes a bite, and his eyes close.

"It's good, isn't it?" He nods his head as he chews. He swallows the bite and gets up. He disappears for a minute, coming back with his own container of peanut butter. I can only laugh at him as he spreads it on his own burger.

"Want to try it, Sam?" Dane asks, brandishing his burger around the table.

"Dude, no, and stop waving your burger around. You're going to get crap everywhere." Dane isn't at all phased by Sam's admonishment and digs into his burger. He is clearly enjoying it. Making little sounds as he eats. I look at Leo and Sam and all they can do is stare at him. I just laugh and take another bite of my burger. Dane looks up for a moment with a look on his face that says "What?" I just laugh some more. Leo and Sam finally snap out of their stupor and eat their own food.

These guys are fun. And not for the first time in the last couple of hours, I realize I'm in trouble when it comes to them. Getting to know them a bit more, I like them all.

KRISS

Well, hell. They're onto me. But they don't know what I know. I'm not just your ordinary everyday ghost. I'm so much more. Now that they're getting to know each other more, I think I'll go check on Belle. There's definitely something up with her.