I was going to throttle my sister.
I had no idea how 'stay indoors' was so hard to follow when she was with Kat. As soon as those two got together, common sense nosedived off the roof of a nearby building.
Today they weren't staying home.
I'd watched them from living room window. Within fifteen minutes of getting home from school, Kat's front door had swung open, and I'd expected, out they came, walking straight for Kat's car.
Dee's arms were empty, but Kat was carrying a stack of books. She carefully placed them in the backseat of her car. I was surprised she didn't buckle the books in.
Kat climbed in behind the wheel and Dee got in on the passenger side. As Kat backed the car out of the driveway, I resisted the urge to bang my head against the window and pushed away from the glass.
I went outside and jogged down the porch, into the fading glare of the afternoon sun. Kat's car disappeared from view. I crossed the driveway and picked up speed once I was among the trees. I easily caught up with them at the end of the room. When Kat hung a right, I knew she was heading to town.
Slipping into my true form, I was able to follow them into town. Felt like a damn stalker, and I was going to blame my sister for that. I wouldn't have to keep tailing them if they just stayed in one place until that traced faded. Until then, I would literally be a few yards behind them. I wouldn't let my sister get hurt.
And I would also keep... Kat safe.
It was becoming a full time job.
Couldn't say I was entirely surprised when Kat pulled into a parking space outside of the library, one not too far from where she was attacked.
Not even an Arum nearly strangling her to death would keep her away from books. God.
Slowing down, I stayed about a block back. Last thing I needed was Kat catching sight of me. They got out of the car, and Kat opened the back door, grabbing the stack of books. Assuming she was returning books to the library, I waited until they entered the building before I drifted closer.
How in the world did that girl read so much? There were so many piles of books placed throughout her house; she could operate her own personal library. And then add that atop any reading assignments for school?
Kat was such a nerd.
For some reason, the corners of my lips tipped up in a wry grin as I walked along the side of the library. From my vantage point I'd be able to see them without being seen.
I leaned against the warm brick wall. Man, I was such a stalker right now. Shaking my head, I pulled out my phone. The things I did to keep my sister safe. Tapping on an app, I opened up Candy Crush.
Level 852 was a real bitch.
About fifteen minutes later, I heard Kat's husky laugh. The fact I actually recognized her laugh annoyed me. Closing the app, I slipped my phone in my pocket and inched toward the corner of the building. A few seconds later, I saw them hit the sidewalk.
I stiffened.
Dee glanced around, and even though she couldn't see through the back of her head, she could sense I was nearby. I was going to catch so much shit about that later, but her out roaming around with Kat when the latter looked like a damn light blub was dangerous.
My sister cleared her throat. "So why did just take those books inside the library and put them randomly on shelves?"
I blinked. Huh?
Kat laughed again as she glanced over at Dee. She was carrying two more books, ones that must've checked out. Again, how in the hell did she read so much? It was like a super power.
A nerdy super power.
"It's just something that my dad and I used to do before he... before he got sick." She switched the books to her other arm. "He believed in sharing the books you love the most, so that other people can experience them too. It's something I still did after he passed, but haven't had a chance to do it since I moved here. I know it's kind of corny, but... it's a way of honoring him. At least for me."
"It's not corny. Not at all," Dee replied, smiling at her.
They crossed the narrow street, and I couldn't hear whatever they were saying to each other. Didn't really matter that I couldn't, because I was staring at her and I was thinking about... about Dawson.
About how I still spent at least one day a week marathoning anything on TV that was ghost related, because that's what I used to do with Dawson. Sure, it wasn't as giving as what Kat was doing, but it was the same.
She was honoring her father's memory.
I was honoring Deacon's.
And I could totally respect that. Nothing about it was corny, because it was those things that helped ease the grief of losing someone who was such an intricate part of your life.
I turned that over in my mind all the way home, and later, in the middle of the night, when I couldn't sleep and decided to patrol instead of staring at the ceiling, I thought about how weird it was.
Kat, a nerdy little human, and I, totally not a nerdy little human, had something in common. Not a shallow bond like we enjoyed the same movies or shows. No. This was the kind of similarity no one, human or Luxen wanted to share, but we did, despite all of our differences.
And that made her more... real to me.
