Ashes and Embers

08. Childhood

Holy hell, did the Ghost show himself in his corporeal form? And I missed it?

I shrugged then, chucking my pajamas into the hamper. There were plenty of times yesterday where I could have changed into my pajamas and not remembered it. There's nothing weird about forgetting things. I do it all the time.

Another grumble of impatience came from my stomach, and with a huff of exasperation, I jumped into the shower. After showering, I'd get dressed, raid the kitchen, maybe go chill in the library for a bit, and then...

Realization shot through me then, like a bolt of lightning.

Oh god.

"She's extremely anxious for his arrival tomorrow."

OH GOD.

"What! He's coming tomorrow? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

OH MY FREAKING GOD.

Jase was coming today. Here. At the manor. In the same building as me. Don't freak out. Don't freak out...

I'm acting like a schoolgirl with a crush.

It's too early for this. I need some caffeine.

I shut off the shower and stepped out, quickly throwing on my clothes and tossing my hair back up into a ponytail, and why was my hair tie around my wrist?

Didn't it fall out into my bed?

Am I just going crazy?

Nevermind that, go get food, my stomach growled. Let's move, move, move!

Pushing away my thoughts, I rushed back out into my bedroom and pulled on my socks and sneakers, and raced out of my bedroom, up the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen at full speed.

Caffeine and food, I chanted. Caffeine and food.

"Um... are you okay?"

A young girl, roughly Sophie's age, was staring at me with wide eyes from the kitchen table. She had an omelet in front of her. A delicious-smelling omelet.

I tore my eyes away from the food and studied the girl. I didn't recognize her, and from first glance, she was stunning. Dirty-blonde hair, dark blue eyes framed by thick lashes. But the more I studied her, the more the imperfections shone through. Gap-toothed. A nose that was slightly too big for her face. Mild acne.

"Caffeine," I said simply, my mouth refusing to operate without caffeine.

"I'm sorry," the girl apologized, though for what I wasn't sure. "Let me just get you a cup of coffee - "

"No coffee!" I shouted, probably waking the entire house in the process.

The girl looked very confused. "But you said you wanted caffeine..."

I sighed and mentally urged myself to operate without caffeine. I managed to do it yesterday... though I did wake up in a rare good mood. I don't need caffeine when I wake up happy.

"I need chocolate," I told her, moving past where she sat with her omelet and - ugh - cup of coffee. I rummaged through the cupboard in search of the magical source of caffeine that will get me through the morning. "Chocolate contains caffeine, you know."

"So does coffee," the girl said, still sounding bewildered at my outburst.

"Coffee is disgusting," I informed her as I found my stash of morning-chocolate. There you are. "Chocolate is the most delicious and wonderful thing the world has to offer."