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STEVE PULLED UP TO the front of the school and glanced at the clock. He had a couple minutes before the bell rang and he shifted the car into park. The earlier conversation with Cleary kept replaying in his mind and he glanced at the high school, wondering what would happen to CJ and Tom if he landed in jail.
Welcome to my world. Ty’s voice echoed in Steve’s head.
“Your attempt at keeping your kids safe is going all to hell,” Steve whispered.
“Don’t worry. You won’t go to jail.”
Steve scoffed, and the school bell rang. He turned his attention to the front door. Kids flooded out like a bunch of ants, scurrying to the buses and scattering towards the different exits. When Tom appeared, it took Steve a moment to realize the girl walking next to Tom was actually talking to him and she didn’t have that accusatory glare when she looked at him.
Tom said goodbye and headed toward the car, his expression not quite happy, but at peace and Steve said a silent prayer of thanks.
* * * *
TOM OPENED THE DOOR and glanced back toward Raven, his good mood souring.
“Get in,” Steve barked the order from within the car.
“Bu...” Tom leaned down, meeting Steve’s glare. He glanced back at Raven and swallowed both his anger and the underlying fear for her safety. Bear and the other defensive linebackers surrounded her, their taunting barely audible over the bus engines.
“You can’t help her unless you’re willing to spend the next who knows how long locked up in jail.”
“It’s my fault,” Tom signed.
“CJ’s on his way, now get in the car,” Steve said.
Tom sat, against his will, and glared at Steve as his door slammed shut. He couldn’t move and couldn’t speak under Steve’s silent control. Anger flared like a dormant volcano bursting through the surface and Tom did the only thing he could, he voiced his dissatisfaction in a litany of projected curses.
Steve sent an eye roll in his direction and that burned through the frustration. She is the only one at school that talks to me. I’m sure she’s not going to give me the time of day after this. Thank you very much.
“Like she’d give you the time of day if you were in jail.”
You’re a real prick, you know that?
“Yes, I am.”
Tom felt the invisible restraints lift as they pulled into the garage, and before Steve stopped the car fully he was out and storming into the house without a glance back. He even slammed the garage door for good measure.
“How was your day?” Jennifer said from the stairwell.
“Fine,” Tom signed and marched across the kitchen. Before he hit the archway into the family room, the temperature dropped, and his feet flew from under him. Instead of finding himself on his back on the floor, his spine slammed into the wall, along with the back of his head and he stared into Tanya’s furious eyes.
“You cheated on me today,” she growled.
Jennifer was halfway across the family room when Tom put his hand out like a traffic guard, stopping her with a shake of his head. He didn’t know what Tanya would do if anyone interceded, especially with the fury radiating from her in frigid waves.
He glanced in the other direction, meeting Steve’s frozen stare in the doorway, the keys held over the key dish in shocked pause. Tom knew Steve heard Tanya’s voice in his head, along with her accusation and he glanced back at her.
“Put me down,” he said and he had the luxury of seeing Jennifer’s reaction just before Tanya slammed him into the wall again.
“You’re mine.”
He laughed. “You gave up the right to be possessive when you broke up with me,” he said but she still held him in place and her eyes narrowed to slits of fury.
“You told me you loved me,” she snapped.
“I did.”
“You still do,” she screamed.
“Tanya, you are dead. Dead, as in no more. You’re just a spirit.”
“You kissed me yesterday,” she repeated, her voice cold and detached and her face a mask of anger.
“I wanted to see if I could, okay? I was curious, especially since you can hear me.”
“You were curious?”
He knew he said the wrong thing and her hand holding a fistful of his shirt tightened along with the one by her side.
“What about us?” The whispered question sent a cascade of shivers down his spine.
“There is no more us. There isn’t any chance of us ever again,” he said and tried to break her grip.
She screamed and stepped back, her hand forming a claw and she aimed it at his chest. “Your heart is mine!”
Black fury filled the room and when her nails passed through his skin, Tom went rigid. Pain gripped his chest as her ghost squeezed his heart.
The flurry of white wings filled his vision and Tanya was yanked away from him, her scream making him cover his ears, but he couldn’t block the angel tossing her aside like a rag doll.
“Get away from my son,” Ty roared, positioning himself between Tom and the ghost, his wings spread enough to block Tom’s view.
“Take her to heaven, Dad,” Tom whispered, and Ty turned his head, meeting his gaze.
“I can’t. She had a chance but made the choice to stay and that door won’t open again until she lets go or we can find the last piece of her and put her to rest properly.”
Tanya stood and glared at the angel before her gaze moved over Ty’s shoulder, meeting Tom’s. “This isn’t over.”
Her form dissolved and the air in the room returned to normal. Ty turned, his wings folding neatly behind him and he offered a nod.
“Thank you, Dad,” Tom said.
He smiled and glanced in Steve’s direction.
Tom glanced at Steve. Steve’s eyes bounced between Ty and where Tanya had stood a moment before. His mouth propped open in a lazy ‘O’. The jolt of surprise stabbed Tom as hard as Tanya’s nails had.
“Ou aw,” he said and clamped his mouth shut in surprise. His words were no longer clear now that Tanya had disappeared and his gaze snapped back to Ty. Ty’s shoulders rose and fell in a pronounced shrug leaving him no explanation for the phenomenon.
“You got yourself one pissed off ghost,” Ty said. Papers on the kitchen table fluttered in the breeze of his sigh. “I know you didn’t kill her, so what the hell did you do?”
I kissed another girl at school today.
“The redhead?” Steve asked.
“What redhead?” Jennifer asked from the living room.
“Ye,” Tom said, meeting Steve’s gaze.
Ty started chuckling. “Boy, where the hell is your common sense? She hasn’t even been dead a week.”
Tom crossed his arms and glared. I didn’t mean to.
“What? You tripped and your lips happened to land on hers?” Ty said and continued to laugh.
“Fu you,” Tom said and stormed up the stairs, leaving Steve and Jennifer staring at each other.