Chapter 100

Why would Nurse Irene want to know about Aimee? Surely she didn’t suspect Aimee of being the one with the projection ability. Aimee didn’t even have a wolf yet!

I wouldn’t say any of that to Nurse Irene. So I just gaped at her.

She continued on, unfazed. “Don’t you find it a bit suspicious that Brent suddenly became so terrified that he would apologize out of nowhere? And all this talk of a baby ghost… when we know what Aimee went through.”

“His guilt finally caught up to him,” I said. “That’s not unusual.”

“Perhaps, by why now? What was so special about this one night that he would change so significantly?”

When I didn’t answer, she carried on. “The baby ghost is the key.”

I shook my head, fear pulsing through me. “He was delirious when he said that.”

“It cannot be ignored.” She wrote something down. “You can try to keep things from me all you wish, but I’ll uncover the truth. If it is just nonsense, or not. I’ll believe no one until I have investigated fully.”

“I keep telling you, Nurse Irene, I was just asking hypotheticals…”

She hummed, like she was only half listening. She flipped closed her notebook and returned it to her purse.

“Well, it doesn’t matter right now. Unfortunately, this is only a pet project. I can’t dedicate all day every day to it. But even if it takes me ten years, I’ll get my answers. If anyone here has the projection ability, I will find out about it and finally be able to continue my research.”

I thought of the things she’d talked about: samples and experiments. Eventually shipping me off to some mysterious research facility, never to be heard from again.

“You know,” Nurse Irene said. “If you were willing to work with me, I could make it worth your while.”

“I don’t know anything,” I said once more, hating the way my voice trembled.

She frowned at me. “Pity.” Then she turned and walked away. She waved as she went. “See you around, Cynthia. And you will be seeing me.”

Despite my dread, Saturday night came quickly and before I knew it, I huddled in the corner of a dimly-lit bar with the rest of the cheerleaders.

I had my bathrobe wrapped around me, not quite ready to reveal my scantily-clad body to the searching eyes of the bar patrons. As Asher had forewarned, most everyone in the room was a drunk man, twice my age at least.

“Ug,” one of the girls said. “Some of these guys are old enough to be my dad.”

“Didn’t anyone invite anyone? There is literally no one in the crowd our age,” said another. When everyone shook their head, a few eyes turned to Elena.

There were few places Elena went without her entourage. A seedy local bar, it seemed, was one of them.

“Like I want anyone I know to see me here,” Elena said, glaring out at the crowd.

I understood her upset. The bar hardly seemed reputable, with neon lights of naked women hanging on the back wall. The only other woman in the place, a bartender, wore a see-through white t-shirt and had single dollar bills hanging out the waistband of her hot pants.

Coach was on the other side of the crowd, talking to a wiry-looking man who kept checking out each of our asses.

“We could make a break for it,” I whispered to Nicole, who stood close beside me, wearing an overcoat down to her ankles.

“He’d notice we’re gone,” she said, expression grim.

I worried for Nicole even more than for myself. She was so innocent yet. What would this experience do to her?

Coach wormed his way through the crowd, returning to us. He took one look at our faces and laughed.

“What’s the problem, ladies? Where’s the happy faces? The more you smile, the more these bastards will pay up.”

He pointed to the bar top. “All you have to do is strut across there in your swimsuit, down and back. Do a little turn at the end so the guys can see and gauge the winner. The genius part here is that in order to have their vote counted, they have to pay for it.”

He clapped his hands together. “These guys will go wild for you girls. We’ll be rolling in money.” He lowered his hands. “All of which will come back to help the cheerleading squad, of course.”

I looked at the rest of the girls, and saw my own abject mortification mirrored on their faces.

“Now,” Coach continued. “Who wants to go first?”

I shifted my weight, hiding Nicole behind me.

“I’ll go, Coach,” said one of the more confident girls. She was so gorgeous, she modelled part time. Showing off her body wasn’t as big a deal to her, even though she seemed as repulsed as the rest of us by the location. “I want to get this over with.”

Coach grit his teeth at her comment but let it drop when she slipped her jacket off, revealing her body.

“Show them how it’s done,” he said. To the crowd he shouted, “Here comes our first girl! This one I’m sure you’ll like!”

She first stepped on a metal chair and then up to the bartop. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she catwalked down the length of the bar, stepping gingerly over half-filled glasses and soiled napkins.

One man reached out and touched her leg, and she faltered.

“No touching!” Coach called. “That costs extra!” He waggled his eyebrows.

Was that a joke?

Bile rose in my throat.

The girl did her spin, then returned much faster than before. When she stepped down the chair, back to the floor, her face was pale. She grabbed her jacket in a rush.

“Next!” Coach said. When no one volunteered, he cast his eyes over us, and pointed at Elena. “You are up, honey.”

Elena frowned as she removed her jacket. To the rest of us, she hissed, “No one finds out about this. Understood?”

We nodded, because we all agreed. I doubted any of us would want to acknowledge this night once it was done.

But first we had to get through it.

Elena stepped onto the bar and started her walk.

“Shake it, baby!” someone in the crowd shouted. “Earn that money!”

“I’ll be seeing that one in my dreams tonight!” called another. “Without that damned swimsuit!”

Elena did her turn and hurried back. As she hid herself in her jacket, her eyes grew damp, and her eyeliner smeared. But no one, not even me, made comment on it.

“Next will be…” Coach looked over us, gaze stopping on Nicole. I instantly stepped in front of her. “You volunteering, Cynthia?”

He didn’t give me a chance to say no, before he turned to the crowd and announced, “Now one for you boys who like chunky girls!”

Somewhere in the crowd, someone whistled.

“Cynthia,” Nicole started, but I shook my head at her.

“Hold my robe, okay?” I said. “I’ll want it back as soon as I’m done.”

Hands shaking, I slipped off my robe and handed it to her. I kept my body toward her as long as I could, hiding as much as I could from the crowd behind me.

“Okay,” Nicole said.

“Now, Cynthia,” Coach hissed. “What’s the matter with you girls? It’s not like you have to strip naked! Let’s see some smiling faces!”

Slowly, I made my way toward the bar. I shook so badly, I nearly fell from the metal folding chair when I stepped on it. One of the other girls grabbed me, steadying me. With her help, I made the final step up onto the bartop.

From here, I could see every greedy eye as it soaked in the sight of my body. I could see every lifted beer. Every open, hollering mouth.

And in the back of the bar, I could see the door to the street open and a new patron slip inside.

“Get walking,” Coach grumbled at me, but my feet wouldn’t move.

Because Asher had just walked through the front door.