Haunted

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kole chokes on his milkshake, and Blake suddenly looks like he wants to crawl under the table, his eyes going wide.

Sadie's eyes slowly narrow at me.

Sorry, but I'm a little done with her shit tonight. She picks at Kole every moment she can, and when it's just us, he's all she talks about. So, I'm a little annoyed, and I'm prepared to get a little bitchy just to make her shut the hell up.

The table is ominously quiet, and I can see Kole's face reddening, his lips pressed together in a white line.

"Uh," Blake clears his throat rather loudly, and my eyes flick to him. "So, the, um ---."

"Amelia, if there's something you want to say to me, go ahead and say it," Sadie abruptly interrupts him, apparently ready for a fight.

I glare at her.

I like Sadie, she's become my friend, and I appreciate her.

I'm just.... not appreciating her at this very moment.

"How about that arcade?" Kole suddenly says, shifting. "That suddenly sounds like a wonderful idea. Don't you think, Blake?"

"Uh," Blake looks at a loss. "Yeah. Arcade, right now, sounds great."

Blake and Kole both get to their feet, practically scrambling out of the booth. Sadie and I don't immediately move, just look at each other.

"Amelia," Kole offers his hand to me, his tone rather stern. I flick my eyes at him, but I really don't want to fight with Sadie, especially not like this. I don't see why she's suddenly so insulted, considering how flippant she usually is about the fact she likes fucking everyone.

I take Kole's hand, letting him help me out of the booth. The ice cream is suddenly sour on my tongue, and I can't stand the thought of sipping anymore of that overly sweet milkshake.

"You two head on for the arcade, Amelia and I will take care of the bill." Kole says, squeezing my hand. He tugs forcefully, pulling me immediately for the register before either one of them can say a word, and I huff as we walk through the diner.

I seethe silently as we step to the register, Kole tugging his wallet out of his back pocket and offering his credit card to the waitress, who really hadn't even had a chance to bring us our check.

"You don't have to pay for ---."

"Let me handle the bill, Amelia, it's fine," Kole interrupts me, glancing over my shoulder. His eyes are one Sadie and Blake, no doubt, as they leave the diner; I hear the ding of the bell as the door opens.

The waitress returns his card, and he slips it back into his wallet. He takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine as he leads me towards the door, holding it open for me as we step into the cool night air.

"I hate it when she does that," I finally mutter, seeing Sadie and Blake are not in the parking lot. They were probably already walking for the arcade, and I really don't want to go now.

"I thought you responded quite well," Kole says, and I look up to see he's actually grinning, his white teeth gleaming in the dim light of the parking lot. "I've never been so proud of you."

"What?" I stare at him in surprise. He is?

He chuckles, turning to look down at me, his black hair framing his pale face. "I'm glad you said something to the snobby bitch, to be quite honest. I understand that you're friends, but she really gets on my nerves."

I laugh slightly, feeling my shoulders relax. I thought that he would have been irritated that I'd snapped back at her, started something. I hadn't realized he would think it's funny!