Til The Dawn [Midnights #1] ✓

chapter 47

Quiet. Her mind. Her world. Quiet.

In the park, with only the sound of her breathing to keep her company, Lydia Martin was at peace. And as that wasn't a place she found herself often, especially lately, she knew better than to take it for granted.

She'd made a point not to bring her headphones, which Jackson had insisted the night before was appalling. It made her crazy, he'd said. Only crazy people, according to him, went jogging alone in the park with no music. But his opinion on the matter hadn't bothered her enough to change her mind.

It rarely did.

And now, she was able to hear birds chirping as they started their day as well. Yeah, Jackson had been wrong. Which was strangely vindicating, even though he wasn't here for her to rub it in his face. As far as Lydia was concerned, people who willingly choose to block out nature were crazy, and she'd make a point to tell him that exact thing when she got home.

She was a woman, after all. And running with headphones wasn't actually smart.

Besides, maybe a small tiff would result in some stellar make-up sex after school. Something she'd never dream of complaining about. Not when it was with someone who looked like Jackson. And the fact that there was an absolutely captivating mind to go with that banging body made it even better.

Add in a dash of 'best friends-to-lovers' and it wasn't all that shocking that Lydia had been planning their wedding since they'd made it to high school more or less intact as a couple.

But she kept that to herself most days. Jackson Whittemore did not need her to stroke his ego. The entire cheerleading squad filled that role pretty thoroughly, as far as she could see.

When she came to another bend in the paved path, she let herself truly zone out. Her mind blank again. And a few minutes later, or maybe half an hour, she couldn't be sure, she came to a fork. She jogged in place as she went through the list of pros and cons for staying out longer.

The sun wasn't fully up, so she didn't have to worry about missing her first hour or anything. But if she didn't head back to the parking lot soon, there'd be no time for morning sex with Jackson. Even better than make-up sex.

And honestly, her favorite sort of cardio.

Her steps stuttered momentarily before she darted back in the direction of her car, moving much faster than she'd intended. Clearly, maybe embarrassingly so, the excitement of seeing her boyfriend was propelling her forward. But with no one else around, she didn't bother to mask it with her default aloof attitude.

And as she made it back to the entrance to the park, she came to a complete stop. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to determine just how disturbed she should be since she was no longer alone.

Or she was pretty sure she wasn't alone.

Either way, what she was seeing made no sense. The woman trekking toward the nearest bench, her face pointed up at the sun, now cresting over the tops of the trees, was Allison's aunt. A woman Allison herself had only seen a handful times in her life.

But as Lydia had attended her funeral several years earlier, she found it alarming. The last two dead bodies had definitely been dead. No ghostly behavior with them, but maybe it was escalating, she reasoned. Maybe she was like that kid in that one Bruce Willis movie.

This was bad. Jackson had been right. She'd lost it. But not because of anything to do with wishing for silence during her workout. And how long ago it'd been since her mind had effectively become mush was up for debate, though ultimately not the most pressing matter.

She was certifiable, it turned out. No one was ever going to take her seriously again. She was so fucked. All her dreams of going to an Ivy League school were gone in an instant. And maybe they should be with all she was obviously going through.

She'd finally snapped. Lydia Martin was seeing dead people.