Theirs to Keep

“Flashlights?”

“Yup,” he said, shimmying into a pair of loose-fitting workout shorts. Silently I lamented seeing his cute ass disappear. “Half this place still isn’t wired for power yet. We’re gonna need em’.”

A minute later we were back in the hallway, getting ready to explore. Bryce was eager and anxious. I couldn’t help but grin back at him, his smile was that infectious.

“You ready?”

He held his hand out, and I took it readily. His touch was warm and welcome. As our fingers intertwined, I was reminded sharply of my time beneath the blanket with Camden.

Camden…

I hadn’t liked the look in his eye, right before he left. It was more than awkwardness, more than guilt. It was almost… a sort of pain.

“Hey, do you think Camden’s alright?”

I asked the question casually, hoping Bryce wouldn’t read too much into it. He let out a short laugh.

“Why, did that asshole do something to you?”

“No, no,” I said quickly. “Nothing like that.”

“Walk around without a towel or something? He’s been known to do that.”

“No,” I chuckled, taking a moment to enjoy that little picture in my mind. “Definitely not.”

“Because I’ll break his ass if he—”

“Relax,” I smiled, trying to make light of it. “It’s just, well, I saw him earlier and he seemed… sad.”

“He’s a little moody sometimes,” Bryce shrugged. “But overall he’s pretty solid. Maybe he just had a bad day or something.”

“Maybe,” I nodded. “Yeah.”

“You know he dipped into the Army for a few years, while Roderick and I set up the company,” Bryce went on. “Infantry. Airborne.”

“Wow.”

“Served two tours in Afghanistan.”

Bryce’s disposition had gone from wanting to break his friend’s ass to his voice being filled with profound respect. We walked slowly, side by side, our flashlights bouncing as we moved down the wide, wood-paneled hallway.

“He okay from it?” I found myself asking.

“I think for the most part he is,” Bryce assured me. “Roderick and I still aren’t exactly sure what he did over there, but whatever it was definitely changed him. He’s still the same happy-go-lucky guy we grew up with, only now he’s got this strange sort of edge to him as well.”

Bryce paused for a moment, maybe searching for the right words. Still, I knew what he meant. Camden was fun, funny, cooler than hell, but there was definitely another layer. A detached sort of dangerousness to him that you only picked up on once you’d been around him a while.

“Anyway,” his eyes lit up again. “Wanna go scare up some ghosts?”

The grand staircase stretched out before us, leading down to the lower chambers. Bryce was already gravitating toward it.

“And what if they scare us?” I mused.

“Then you’ll protect me,” he laughed, pulling me along.

Eight

KARISSA