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“Pretty sure Kinsley gets that.”
“Well, if she doesn’t want it, can I be the runner-up?”
I crack a smile at her words. “Sure. You’ve got it. Runner-up maid of honor.”
She refolds the paper and shoves it back in the vase before sitting back in the chair, her hands clasped around the armrests. “I met him in the woods,” she admits finally. “One night when I was out looking.”
Looking for what, I want to ask her. But I keep my mouth shut. I don’t need her to confirm Kayde’s suspicions or my worries.
“Did you like him?”
She scrunches her nose and shrugs. “He was weird. He’s so happy, and he giggles.” She’s right. He does, in fact, giggle like a psycho. Mel is quiet for a few moments, and I take the time to drum my fingers on my stomach and wish I could go home earlier than tomorrow.
“Kayde is…like me,” she says finally. Carefully.
And instantly, I know this is not a conversation I want to have. I grimace and turn to look at her, studying Melody’s face. “Like you?” I repeat, but she just glares at me. “Okay, all right. But you’re twelve, Melody. I do not think you can compare yourself to Kayde at twelve.”
“I turned thirteen yesterday,” Melody corrects.
“Happy birthday. My point still stands.”
“Can I come visit you guys sometime, maybe? I like you. And umm.” She taps her fingers against the armrests. “I’ve never met anyone like me.”
I hope she never will again.
“If you ever need help, then absolutely. If you want to just come hang out and get away from your mom and all that stress, then absolutely to that too. With her permission, of course. Don’t pin a kidnapping charge on me, please.”
She smiles at that, and hops out of the chair to hug me, suddenly. “Thanks, Summer,” she mumbles, squeezing a little tighter than I’d like her to. “You made Camp Crestview worth going back to.”
“Nah,” I sigh, as the door opens to admit a curious Kayde and Melody’s mom. “You just think that.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
I’d never thought it possible before coming home from the hospital.
I’d never thought anyone could stand up to Kayde’s superpowers and his Lassie face. Never imagined for one minute that someone had enough of a spidey sense to know when he’s around before anyone else does, and could prevent him from doing his sneaky-walk.
But Elena, it turns out, has powers that rival even Kayde’s.
My mouth twitches into a smile as I lean back against my headboard, and I can imagine the look on Kayde’s face as Elena loudly greets him on the landing outside of my door. She waylays him for a few minutes, asking how he’s doing and if my mom knows he’s here.
But luckily for him, he has carte blanche approval from my mom to be here during the day, even when she’s across the ocean in Thailand with one of her longest, most faithful clients. It’s just a shame he’s on trial for coercion, and she’s had to take the whole week to learn how to proceed with the laws in Thailand.
My door opens and Kayde breezes in with a sigh before closing it gently behind him. “She hates me,” Kayde informs me, sitting down hard on the end of my bed.
“Elena doesn’t hate you,” I laugh. “She’s very…responsible. She takes her job as chaperone incredibly seriously.”
“When does your chaperone leave, exactly?”
I glance at the clock, then back at him, as a wolfish smile crosses my face. “She’s probably on her way out. You timed it perfectly today.” Because of course he did. His beaming grin tells me it isn’t a coincidence, and I roll my eyes at him as Kayde stretches out on the bed beside me.
“Go me,” he murmurs, peering at the magazine I’m flipping through. “Horror Weekly?” he deadpans. “Where are the wedding magazines your mom told me she was bringing home?”
“Probably in my mom’s office,” I tell him absently. I’m a little out of it, thanks to the effects of the pain medicine I continue to swallow every few hours, but not enough to not enjoy his company.
Every day Kayde shows up by two in the afternoon, and every day he stays until after midnight. Normally he doesn’t leave until the morning, and only then, so my mom or Elena don’t think he’s over here spending the night.
When I’d asked Mom why he can’t spend the night, she’d only given me the look and asked Kayde if he wanted pizza or tacos for dinner.
